GCC student on Nightline Monday

Germanna student Aundrea Handy will be featured on ABC News' Nightline Monday night, June 7, at 11:35. That's all we can tell you. The rest is a surprise.

Germanna nursing the winner as Culpeper loses weight

Thanks to Joe and Linda Daniel, Germanna nursing the winner as Culpeper loses weight ...

"Just Drop It" dropped nearly $160,000 into Germanna nursing program piggy bank.

The Culpeper "Just Drop It" Campaign resulted in more than 3,132 pounds lost by participants and a resulting donation of $156,610.00 for the Nursing and Allied Health Programs at Germanna Community College.

The goals of helping people to be healthier and better manage their diets were possible through the leadership and support of Culpeper Regional Hospital, Powell Wellness Center, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Daniel and Germanna Community College.

The Hospital, Wellness Center and the Daniels committed financial support to the College and its joint program in nursing with Eastern View High School as a way of challenging participants and investing in the long-term health of the community. This donation will go a long way towards helping Germanna educate the next generation of nurses and health care workers. We thank them for their ongoing support

Our deep appreciation to Sandy Boone at the PWC, Lee Kirk from CRHS, Greta Haggerty from GCC, Joe and Linda Daniel, and other stakeholders including our faculty and nursing students. And congratulations to all the participants. You won both by becoming healthier and by helping Germanna Community College and its students.
--Germanna President David A. Sam

Germanna graduates its biggest class ever

Friends and family snap pictures of Germanna's Class of 2010 in this photo by Peter Cihelka of The Free Lance-Star ...


By PAMELA GOULD

The Free Lance-Star

James Richardson is a second-generation Germanna Community College graduate who said his father's words inspired him to complete his degree despite self-doubt and challenges.

"My father always told me, 'James, you have to do the hard thing,'" Richardson said last night before a crowd of about 2,500 at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.

Richardson, a 20-year-old Falmouth resident, was the community college's student speaker at last night's commencement ceremony. He spoke of the determination, sacrifice and belief in self that were needed to meet the requirements for his associate degree.

He spoke not only of his own struggles but also those of classmates who worked full time and who had families.

"It takes determination to get up in the morning and go to class knowing that after you're done you have to go work for eight hours so you can pay for your house," he said. "It takes determination to study for a test when you've got kids who want and need your attention."

He added that teachers can't teach determination.

"It's something that you have to work at and want. It is the difference between those who make it and those who don't," Richardson said. Click here for the rest of the story.

Chichester to be honored at June 3 Germanna Educational Foundation dinner

Retired Virginia State Sen. John Chichester has been named the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation’s Distinguished Person of the Year.

Mike Catell, Director of the GCC Educational Foundation, said Chichester was chosen “because of his extraordinary commitment to higher education--in particular his support of the mission of community colleges.”

Mary Washington Healthcare is the title sponsor of a June 3 event in his honor.

Chichester was President Pro Tempore of the Virginia Senate when he announced his retirement in 2007. He represented the 28th district in the Senate from 1978 to 2007. He initially entered that body by winning a special election following the death of Paul Manns, who had held the seat.

In 1985, the Republican Party nominated him for lieutenant governor, but he lost to Doug Wilder, who went on to become Virginia’s first African American governor since Reconstruction.

In 1995, Chichester became co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. When the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1999, he became the committee’s chairman, a position of power and prestige.

There will be a 6 p.m. reception on Thursday, June 3 at Fredericksburg Square, followed by dinner and an award presentation.

The dinner is $100 a plate, with all proceeds going to the Educational Foundation. Contact the Educational Foundation office at 540/423-9060 or foundation@germanna.edu for more information and to purchase tickets.

For sponsorship and other gift opportunities, please contact Darla Burton, Foundation Executive Committee member at 540/371-3566 or Mike Catell, Foundation Director at 540/834-8988

Deadlines approaching for application to Germanna RN and PN programs

Apply for admission to GCC nursing programs now ...

The deadline for applications to Germanna's Registered Nursing Program at the Locust Grove Campus is July 1.

The deadline for the GCC Practical Nursing Program with classes at Eastern View High School is May 7.

Call 540/423-9821 or email nursing@germanna.edu or visit the nursing office at the Locust Grove Campus for to apply or to request more information.

Above: Members of the Certified Nurse Aide class of Spring 2010. The CNA program quickly prepares students to enter the health care field, allowing them to earn a living in nursing while further studies move them up the ladder.

Germanna's Monte Carlo Night draws big crowd, raises big money for students who couldn't otherwise go to college

Germanna's Monte Carlo Night fundraiser hits the jackpot ...
The Germanna Educational Foundation raised netted $70,000 with Saturday night's Monte Carlo Casino Night fundraiser at the Daniel Center. All the proceeds go to the Germanna Guarantee Program, which helps students in need.
Above, Culpeper native Dana Brill plays the slots at Monte Carlo Night.

Saturday's Monte Carlo Night: Fun for a good cause

The Daniel Center hosts scholarship program's black tie fundraiser Saturday ... BY MICHAEL ZITZ
Life itself is a game of chance, says Germanna Community College President David A. Sam.

"And Germanna Community College is about second, and even third, chances," he said.

A little bit of Las Vegas comes to Culpeper on Saturday, when Germanna Community College's 16th annual Monte Carlo Casino Night returns to the Daniel Technology Center, located 30 minutes west of Fredericksburg, just off State Route 3.

But buying a ticket--or even better, a table--for Monte Carlo Casino Night is no gamble, Sam says. It's more than a roll of the dice.

It's a sure thing.

Monte Carlo Night is what they would call in Las Vegas "a mortal lock"--that is, at least in terms of helping local students who have financial need, and helping to jump-start the area's economy at the same time by making its work force more competitive.

The black-tie event has become a highlight of Culpeper's social season, while providing scholarship funds for the Germanna Educational Foundation's Germanna Guarantee Program. See Free Lance-Star story on Monte Carlo Night and photos of last year's event.