Wallace State Community College unveiled the college’s newly-renovated northern entrance, complete with a new brick sign and flags, on Frances Dodd Drive on Thursday, May 10, 2018. (Heather Mann for The Tribune)
HANCEVILLE – Wallace State Community College on Thursday cut the ribbon on the college’s newly-renovated northern entrance on Frances Dodd Drive. The entrance now boasts a new brick sign with the school’s name, as well as three new flagpoles. The ceremony saw honored speakers Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman; Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Fairview; WSCC President Dr. Vicki Karolewics; Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leah Bolin; Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs; and Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail.
After opening remarks from Bolin and an invocation from Michaela Bryan of WSCC Campus Ministries opened the ceremony, Karolewics talked about the accomplishments the college has seen in its 52 years.
This year alone, said Karolewics, school teams won 55 SkillsUSA medals, more than 30 of which were gold. She said tennis, softball and golf teams are playing at nationals, the baseball team is playing at state, and a team of physical therapy and dental students recently went of a trip to Kenya to provide medical and dental care to needy citizens. Karolewics said the college will soon see the groundbreaking for a new welding building and has also been approved for a student center that will house the culinary arts.
Karolewics said the new north entrance sign not only represents a gateway to the college, but to opportunity and to a new life that many students might not have had without Wallace State.
“Another great day at Wallace State Community College,” smiled Bussman. “It’s always amazing to me how one project gets done, and then there’s one more right behind it. You see a lot of times in schools like this you’ll have a project, and it’ll be many years before another project goes, but that’s not the way we do things at Wallace State Community College. Y’all have a real gem here. When you look at Wallace State Community College and you compare it to other community colleges around the state, and even across the country, we have a tremendous gem here. Our industries are better for it, our cities are better for it, and the citizens of Alabama are better for it.”
Shedd echoed Bussman’s positive remarks on the college. “It’s always an honor to be at the events at Wallace State. I commend you on the economic impact that you have on our community, you know, one life at a time, one individual at a time, and the difference that you make,” he said. “Today, as we stand underneath these huge flags and have this ceremony, we can all be thankful for the opportunity to be at Wallace State, for being Alabamians and for being Americans.”
Jacobs congratulated WSCC on the outstanding training it provides for the county’s future workers and thanked Karolewics for the school’s significant contribution to Cullman’s industries.
A beaming Nail expressed the pride he has for Hanceville’s connection to WSCC (literally, now that the last piece of concrete has been poured to connect Hanceville’s city sidewalks to those on the college’s campus).
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