SANFORD, NC - A strip of bright red carpet and dozens of smiling Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) staff greeted many seniors at Lee County and Southern Lee High Schools last week. The #RedCarpetRegistration event on both campuses brought many of the full resources of the admissions and counseling staff at CCCC right to the students just a few weeks away from crossing the stage in a cap and gown.
Mary Schmid Carter serves as the College Access Coordinator for the college. #RedCarpetRegistration for local high school students was one of her team’s ideas when they began the effort three years ago. “We meet with graduating seniors who are getting ready to come to CCCC in the fall. We have a checklist of items that need to be done so they can come to CCCC and anything that isn’t done yet, we help them with today,” Schmid Carter explained.
The goal of the event is to remove barriers to the enrollment process and help students know exactly what they need to get done as they navigate the sometimes complex worlds of financial aid, course registration, and entry requirements. Graduating seniors can receive assistance completing the CCCC Application, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), registering for classes, and even register for New Student Orientation.
CCCC held 12 #RedCarpetRegistration events this year in Lee, Chatham and Harnett Counties, meeting with more than 350 students across the College’s three county service area. The event series relies on a team of more than 40 College staffers to bring the event to life in various locations to assist students with each step in the process.
The Red Carpet program has been very successful, with 97 Lee County Schools seniors from last year’s Class of 2023 still active in the Central Carolina Promise/K14 (also known as Lee County Promise) program after two semesters. Schmid Carter closed, “We’re just really grateful for the partnerships that make this event happen and bring it to students. The principals in both Lee County high schools have been so supportive and have been major advocates for getting students through the program. We really couldn’t do it without them and the support of our CCCC staff.”
Madyson Daniel, a senior at Southern Lee, was one of the students taking advantage of CCCC rolling out the red carpet for local students. “I came because I knew I wanted to go to CCCC first, to have an associate’s degree. I want to end up in a university, but financially it is just easier and smarter to go to CCCC first.”
“I went through the dual enrollment program, so I’ve been taking lots of classes at CCCC since my junior year,” Daniel explained. She plans to take full advantage of the Lee County Promise Program that pays for up to two years of tuition at the community college if students successfully complete four CCCC classes during high school.
“The free part definitely drew me in and I knew I’d be one step closer to an associate’s degree already if I stuck with CCCC. It definitely shortened my timeline to pair my classes from high school with what I’ll do in the next year or so,” Daniel smiled.
Schmid Carter elaborated that the Red Carpet events really give the students a firm footing heading into classes in the fall, “It is always great to meet the students, but really it gives us an opportunity to sit down with them and assist them in a way where they do not have to seek us out over the summer. We try to make it a one-stop-shop for them to get everything they need done in one place.”