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Student Profiles

Melissa Mason
FastForward program puts mom of two on the fast track to success

With two small children to support, Melissa Mason knew any job wouldn’t cut it. Mason, 30, always longed to be a nurse and even started a program only to abandon it twice due to her mother’s death followed by a high risk pregnancy. Melissa, what are you going to do? she asked herself. That’s no […]

TCC student Brooke Marcia
“I hope I can encourage more women to enter the STEM fields.”

“Why pay so much more for your general education when TCC is right in your own backyard?” That was the question high achiever Brooke Marcia asked herself. That led her to choose Tidewater Community College. A 2020 graduate from the international baccalaureate program at Princess Anne High, Marcia was accepted into the engineering program at […]

Dylan Wilson
Animal lover found the veterinary career he wanted minus the student debt

Dylan Wilson considered a career in meteorology and then firefighting before he settled on veterinary medicine. The Kempsville High School graduate was on track after graduating from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s in biology. After working at Midway Veterinary Hospital, two realities became clear. Vet school carries a huge price tag. On average, graduates […]

Oliver Grant
“I owe my success to TCC”

With no background in health care, Navy veteran Oliver Grant turned to Tidewater Community College in hopes of training for a career. “I knew I wanted to go to school in the medical field and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do,” he said. “From everything I heard, TCC was the best.” After […]

Alyssa Beach
Save time and money by completing your associate degree in just 1 year

Between moves and mom life, Alyssa Beach never got around to college. When the Portsmouth resident finally carved out the time, she wanted to complete an associate degree program quickly. Tidewater Community College’s Accelerated Degree program offered her the opportunity to do just that. Beach is among three Portsmouth Campus students who completed associate degrees […]

Shannon O'Hara Wiora
STEM scholar with autism found opportunity at TCC

Shannon O’Hara Wiora has Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication. She’d often overhear the word “retarded” from her peers in high school. Yet she started taking classes at Tidewater Community College at 16. Today the 19-year-old is part of the Women’s Center STEM Promise Scholarship program. O’Hara […]

Talon Rodgers
Scholarship student turning lifelong hobby of tinkering with cars into career

Talon Rodgers was one of those kids who liked to take things apart and put them back together. As a teen,  he worked alongside his father, a master technician. “I started by helping flip cars and worked my way up to my own projects. I learned the business really from the inside out,” he said. […]

Courtney Aristy
Short-term workforce program gave career-switcher a fresh start

With two children at home, Courtney Aristy didn’t want to work weekends anymore. She wasn’t about to go back to retail. She had limited experience in medical billing but no certification. Today she holds a management position at Optima Health and she spends Saturdays and Sundays with the kids. Aristy credits a three-month workforce training […]

Katherine Martinez
Student veteran honored by national magazine

Tidewater Community College student Katherine Martinez is one of 48 veterans nationwide  selected to receive the inaugural 2020 Student Veteran Leadership Award presented by G.I. Jobs magazine. This list, which honors student veterans who are making a positive impact at their school and in their communities, will be published in the August issue. “It’s really […]

skilled trades academy
Inside the Skilled Trades Academy: Sheet Metal

Tidewater Community College’s Skilled Trades Academy offers hands-on, short-term instruction for in-demand trade jobs. This is the first part in a series. Kyle Cooke is ready to build a future. Navy wife Marcy Camacho wants to prepare for a leadership position. Devin Wilson needed a new career after more than a decade as a trucker. […]