College of the Albemarle Wins Next NC Competition; Students Win Their Future

Left to right, Autumn Price, Shaquaisha Hampton, and Giaire’ Overton, three College of the Albemarle students featured in the college’s social media posts about the Next NC Scholarship

For Autumn Price, a human services major at the College of the Albemarle (COA), the Next NC Scholarship doesn’t just represent funding for a higher education, it represents hope.

She wanted to go back to college to improve her life and the lives of her children. And with the Next NC Scholarship, she was able to do that. But it also signals to her the possibility of achieving a future she didn’t think possible.

“My biggest barrier for not continuing my education past an associate’s degree is financial, but it’s scholarships like the Next NC scholarship that gives me hope that maybe I can pursue those higher degrees that I really want,” she said. “I want to add some letters behind my name. I’ve worked my butt off.”

COA was the first-place winner in the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority’s (NCSEAA) Next NC Scholarship Social Media Challenge. Towards the end of the summer, the state’s community colleges competed to see who could promote the scholarship the most on their various social media channels.

COA receives Next NC promotional items for placing first in the NCSEAA statewide social media campaign, which shines a spotlight on this scholarship opportunity for students. Pictured left to right: Brittany Forbes, COA graphic designer/webmaster; Kristen Childers, COA creative assistant; Tammy W. Sawyer, COA director of communications and marketing; Tyler Dew, NCSEAA manager for college access and FAFSA outreach; Alex Granados, NCSEAA associate director of communications; Lisa Pipkin and Crystal Woodley, COA financial advisors.

With more than 600 points, COA blew the competition out of the water. As the winner, they received a host of Next NC branded prizes, including pop-up banners, a neon sign, branded Yeti mugs, notebooks, T-shirts, and Cornhole sets.

Price was one of the many students the college featured in their social media posts about the Next NC Scholarship. She said she decided to participate after the college reached out to her as a way to pay forward what she’d been given.

“I have a 20 year old who I’dve love to go to college, but he’s taking a different path right now,. and being an example of what’s possible — that’s what we have to do for the next generation and for our kids to let them know it’s possible even if you hit some hurdles,” she said.

COA students Shaquaisha Hampton, left, and Autumn Price play checkers at the college.

 While the staff at the COA are a competitive bunch, it wasn’t the competition alone that spurred them on. They regularly promote the Next NC Scholarship on social media, their website, and their marketing materials.

The scholarship guarantees most families making $80,000 or less $5,000 to attend a UNC-System Institution and $3,000 to attend a community college. That covers most tuition and fees at a public university, and all the tuition and fees at a community college like COA.

“We hear a lot of times that cost is the barrier to education,” said COA President Jack Bagwell. “It’s the ignorance to what’s available that’s really the barrier.”

Kristen Childers, a creative assistant at COA, was tasked with finding students who received Next NC and asking them to be featured in posts for the social media competition.

She said the fact that the scholarship is available to most of their students really highlighted the opportunity Next NC provides. 

“It made me realize, this is a really important scholarship,” she said. “I need to let people know, ‘Hey you could be in this position, too.’”

Tammy Sawyer, Communications and Marketing Director for the college, said that highlighting students who benefit from the Next NC Scholarship inspires others in our region. It shows that real students in our own communities are using this support to move forward—and that they can, too.

“When you’re featuring students, their families see it, their friends see it, they share it, they like it. It creates a lot of engagement,” she said.

Shaquaisha Hampton is another student at the college who was featured in the Next NC social media posts. She has an 18-year-old daughter and said that being featured by the college was a way to be a good example. Receiving the scholarship was a lifeline for her.

“For me it was like a breathe of fresh air,” she said. “I can work full time. I can still go to school full time and not worry about the financial burden of having to pay out of pocket.”

Kris Burris, Vice President of Student Success and Enrollment Management at the college, said that another great thing about the Next NC Scholarship is how simple it is.

“When you’re able to present it and package Next NC in a way that’s easy to understand, I think that’s made a huge difference,” she said.

Plus, since it’s so widely available, nobody feels any shame associated with accepting the scholarship.

“When you think about the criteria and what you need to qualify, it really takes away some of the stigma,” she said.

Giaire’ Overton is studying general business administration at COA and was also featured in some of the Next NC posts from the college. He said he went there straight out of high school and paid out of pocket. But he quickly realized that wasn’t sustainable. He pivoted and looked into his financial aid options. There was Next NC, ready to provide the help he needed.

“I pushed myself even harder, learning from the mistakes I made during the first semester,” he said.

And in addition to the financial help, he found the scholarship also offered him the encouragement he needed to keep going.

“There’s opportunities with the scholarship, but when you fall, you also have to get back up,” he said. “And when you get back up, you also build back up.”

The Next NC Scholarship is also here to help you get back up and build back up. If you’re interested, go to CFNC.org/NextNC and find out more about it.