Future teacher's aide earns Academic Excellence Award at BCCC | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    Vickie Wilkinson, who is studying to fulfill a life-long dream of a career in education, has been chosen to receive the 2014 Academic Excellence Award at BCCC.

    Wilkinson, of Chocowinity, who will be graduating in May 2014, is pursuing an associate's degree in school age education and would love to fulfill her dream by one day working as a teacher's assistant in the local public schools.

    A native of Raleigh, Wilkinson graduated from Enloe High School and entered the job market with intention of working one year and then pursuing a college degree with the goal of becoming a third grade teacher.

    But after beginning a career in the health care field in medical records in the Child and Youth program at Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, she found it difficult to go back to school.

    "I always wanted to be a third grade teacher but it just never happened," she said. "I entered the workforce and it was hard to leave."

    Wilkinson found success in her career - after more than 11 years at Dorothea Dix, she began work as a manager for a large medical record release of information service, ultimately attaining the position of Vice President of the Eastern Region, overseeing 500 hospitals and 1,200 employees.

    Before coming to BCCC, Wilkinson worked as an administrative assistant for The Wesley Foundation of Greenville.

    But she found she "really had a longing to go back to school" and, after volunteering in kindergarten classes at Chocowinity and Eastern Primary Schools, found her calling as a teacher's assistant.

    "I am thrilled that I have gone back to school," Wilkinson said. "Initially, I was nervous that I wouldn't fit in, but I couldn't have come to a better place."

    At BCCC, Wilkinson has served as a college Ambassador and is a member of Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society. In her spare time, she enjoys running half-marathons, bicycle riding, hiking and reading.
Vickie Wilkinson, seated, a student in the Early Childhood Education Program at Beaufort County Community College, is BCCC's 2014 Academic Excellence Award winner. She is pictured with Lead Instructor Caroline Hardee.     She has two children and is married to Scott Wilkinson, who recently retired from campus ministry at East Carolina University with the United Methodist Church.

    The Academic Excellence Awards are offered annually to recognize and promote scholarships among the more than 750,000 students in the N.C. Community College System.

    Nominations for the award are based on a grade point average of 3.5 or better and a student's involvement on campus and in the community.

    Instructors within their academic divisions nominate the students.

    "Vickie Wilkinson is an excellent student inside and outside of the class," said Caroline Hardee, lead instructor in BCCC's Early Childhood Associate Program, who nominated Wilkinson for the award. "She has a special way for motivating her classroom peers to do their best and I can only imagine the impact she will have on young children. She will be a teacher that every child remembers."

    Wilkinson will be recognized at the upcoming Graduate Recognition Ceremony to be held on the BCCC campus in April.


    Beaufort County Community College is a public comprehensive community college committed to accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.