{"id":8498,"date":"2018-12-03T22:22:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T22:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/?p=8498"},"modified":"2020-05-28T13:36:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T13:36:45","slug":"blue-love-a-students-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/2018\/12\/blue-love-a-students-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Love: A Student’s Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NCC Culinary Arts student, Kizzie Harrison of Wilson, plans to graduate in May 2019.\u00a0(Photo Credit: Gene White, Nash Community College)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI got good grades in high school and I really wanted to go to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but we just did not have the money,\u201d Nash Community College student Kizzie Harrison said. \u201cMy Grandmother, whom I adore, kept saying to me, honey you can do more\u2014you would do great in college. But there was just no money.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Kizzie Harrison at the 2018 Celebration of the Power of Possible Gala\u2014Innovation to Impact in New York City (Contributed Photo)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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Sarah Crawford, Single Stop National Education Director with Kizzie Harrison and daughters at the 2018 Celebration of the Power of Possible Gala\u2014Innovation to Impact in New York City\u00a0(Contributed Photo)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Harrison, of Wilson, is a 39 year old mother of three. She has spent most of her adult life as a work-at-home-mom preparing and selling bakery items as a way to earn income while being with her family.<\/p>\n

Harrison took a few community college small business classes and decided to pursue a business degree. She enrolled at Nash Community College where she found a community of support – a family of faculty, staff and peers. \u201cPeople at NCC have helped me through the most difficult times in my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After years of physical pain, and searching for answers, Kizzie Harrison\u2019s young daughter was diagnosed with Crohn\u2019s Disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the digestive system. Balancing her daughter\u2019s chronic illness and pain, medical appointments, dietary restrictions, and eventually surgery on top of the responsibilities and stress that come with being a non-traditional college student and parent made everyday life overwhelming for Kizzie.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many days that I had to leave class because my daughter was in such pain at school. I broke down to one of my professors who recommended I make an appointment for counseling at NCC\u2019s Student Wellness Center.\u201d She described her NCC support system as providing a gentle nudge, encouraging word, and other provisions just when she needed them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Student Wellness Center, I explained that while we had insurance, it did not cover all of my family\u2019s medical costs. I also needed to pay for books, school, gas, clothes and food. I just did not know how to manage it all,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

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Harrison and her daughters at the 2018 Celebration of the Power of Possible Gala\u2014Innovation to Impact in New York City (Contributed Photo)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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Kizzie Harrison in NCC’s Culinary Arts Kitchen (Photo Credit: Gene White, Nash Community College)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

NCC offers no-charge clinical counseling, Single Stop services and Blue Love resources to help students address barriers. The resources, provided in collaboration with partners and financial donors, often allow students to stay in school when their challenges seem to be too much to handle. \u201cThat place is a safe haven for students. They do so much good,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

The center has identified more than $4 million in federal, state, and local resources for NCC students since 2016. And, thanks to generous Blue Love Fund donors, Harrison was provided gas cards, food from the food pantry and clothes from the campus clothes closet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the help of Single Stop Assistant Sharon Barnhill, I applied for and was connected with resources that assisted me,\u201d Harrison explained. \u201cShe also helped me navigate the application processes to see if I could get assistance with medical bills, and eventually helped me obtain financial support directly from the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since enrolling, Kizzie changed her major to Culinary Arts. She has maintained a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and plans to graduate with her two year degree in May 2019. \u201cBit by bit, NCC helped me tackle issues that seemed impossible to do alone. I know that I would have dropped out if it was not for NCC,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cThey helped me to believe in myself. They told me I could do it\u2026 and I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

She plans to help others like her daughter who for health reasons have to modify their diet. \u201cI am confident that the knowledge I gain will be applied to help others for many years to come,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

Because of her life experiences, and the support she found at Nash Community College, Harrison was invited to share her story along with her daughters at the 2018 Celebration of the Power of Possible Gala\u2014Innovation to Impact on Monday, November 26th in New York City. \u201cIt was an incredible experience \u2013 one I will never forget,\u201d she said. “My favorite moment was when the chef came out to meet me and my girls and then took me behind the scenes where an army of chefs was preparing dinner for the nearly 800 guests.”<\/p>\n

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Kizzie Harrison at the 2018 Celebration of the Power of Possible Gala\u2014Innovation to Impact in New York City\u00a0(Contributed Photo)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The event was sponsored by Single Stop and The Fedcap Group, organizations dedicated to advancing the economic and social well-being of impoverished and disadvantaged individuals. Harrison was the only student nationwide to be selected to speak at the gala.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI got good grades in high school and I really wanted to go to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but we just did not have the money,\u201d Nash… Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8498"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11213,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8498\/revisions\/11213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nashccnews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}