Meridian Community College: Smith Named South Mississippi Education Support Staff Person Of The Year

Press release from Meridian Community College:

July 9, 2021

Because of her commitment, she was named South Mississippi Adult Education Support
Staff Person of the Year. The announcement came at the Mississippi Association of
Adult and Community Education (MAACE) Association meeting.  Colleague Jamila Brown Coleman, who nominated Smith, explained MAACE is the adult
education’s professional organization. Yearly, MAACE recognizes a teacher and a support
staff person spotlighting those making significant contributions to or improvements
in adult education. Coleman noted Smith makes it a point to meet with each adult education student who
comes through the program. “She allows students enough independence to grow academically
and assists them in developing realistic goals while having proper college/career
support when they need it,” Coleman said.  Smith goes beyond the call of duty. Coleman noted, “She helps students in finding child
care, health care providers, food resources, jobs, and countless other needs. She
has been known for delivering meals to students, taking students to doctor appointments,
going grocery shopping for students, taking students home if they do not have transportation,
providing mock interviews for students who have job interviews, and many other things
that are outside of her job description.” The recognition humbles Smith. “The best part of my job is that I get the opportunity
to build a relationship with all of our students. That could be anything from helping
them to enroll in our High School Equivalency Prep, SMART Start or Literacy Classes,
enrolling in college or workforce courses, finding a job, connecting them with a military
recruiter, finding food to feed themselves or their family, conducting a mock interview
to help them prepare for a job interview or just encouraging them to keep moving forward
toward reaching their goals,” she said.

She thanks her colleagues for the kind words. “And the smiles from our students when
I do something to help them is enough for me,” she said. 

She thanks her colleagues for the kind words. “And the smiles from our students when
I do something to help them is enough for me,” she said. Smith added, “However, I will have to say that having that piece of hardware displayed
in my office will always be a gentle reminder of how much my MCC family cares for
me and also that I must be doing something right.”

This press release was produced by Meridian Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.