- [Announcer] This original WSRE presentation is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(exciting music) - Hello everyone, I'm Rameca Vincent Leary, and welcome to this edition of Pensacola State Today.

Life is full of decisions that can be game changers, but we must be willing to take that first step.

Have you ever thought of applying for a PSC scholarship?

With over 200 options available, the possibilities are endless.

During this special edition of Pensacola State Today, we'll be highlighting two of those scholarships, the African-American Memorial-Endowed Scholarship, including the Dr. Garret T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship.

We'll take you on a journey of significant triumphs for past and present awardees and culminate with our special recognition for 2023 recipients.

To get the conversation started, I'm happy to welcome Dr. Ed Meadows, president of Pensacola State College.

He's joined by Andrea Krieger, executive director of Institutional Development.

Welcome to both of you.

- Thank you, Dr. Leary.

- I must say Dr. Meadows, during last year's show, we had a conversation about the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship.

And Andrea, you remember, during that conversation we mentioned the possibilities of endowment.

Where are we now?

- Oh, well, as I understand, through the diligent work of your volunteer team and your leadership, we are now fully endowed.

So the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Endowed Scholarship is now in existence.

- And we are so grateful to the PSC Alumni Association, aren't we, Andrea?

- We are.

Their team is hard at work so that they could do a match so that we could fully endow the scholarship.

It's a wonderful combination of passion for purpose.

- [Rameca] It certainly is.

And Andrea, when we talk about scholarships, we have over 200, as I mentioned previously.

How can students apply?

Is there a blanket application?

- There is a blanket application.

And the wonderful thing about that application is financial aid and the foundation team have been at work, and they have cut that application in half so it's much easier to fill out.

It's all online.

You apply one time by filling it out and it matches you to the different scholarships that are available for you.

- Dr. Meadows, we have, as she just mentioned, a bevy of scholarship opportunities.

Why do you think it is so important for students not to hesitate to take that step?

- Well, I think a lot of the times, students, particularly those students that are non-traditional students that have been out of high school for a while or even out of college for a while, they're thinking to themselves, "You know, I just don't think that I'm going to get a scholarship."

But what a lot of students don't realize is that scholarships are not just academic merit, but most of ours are based upon financial need and special circumstances that a student may not think about, such as their major field of study or their life circumstances.

And so a lot of donors that donate to endow scholarships, they set criteria that make it easier for non-traditional students in particular, and traditional students as well, to receive a scholarship.

And I want to take a moment to explain why we're so proud of an endowed scholarship.

An endowed scholarship means that the principal of the money that is vested with the foundation is never touched, as part of the scholarship, only the interest that is used, so it is there forever.

As long as there's a Pensacola State College, the Garrett T. Wiggins Endowed Scholarship will be there, as well as the African-American Endowed Scholarship.

So that's the beauty of an endowed scholarship.

It never goes away, and we use the interest to fund the scholarships for worthy students.

- Well, Andrea, I just love saying Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Endowed Scholarship.

Why don't you share the history of both of these scholarships?

- Sure.

I'll start with, because I'm really excited about what we're doing, with Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship.

That was our later scholarship, it was established in 2005, and it was done to recognize the value that Dr. Wiggins placed on higher education and making sure the opportunity to pursue that education was available for all students.

And especially considering his role that he played at the Booker T. Washington Junior College that eventually merged in '65 with Pensacola Junior College at the time, considering that role, it's really fitting that the original establishment in 2005 was to honor his dedication and the value he placed on education.

And it's exciting to think that we've been able to help students with about $55,000 worth of scholarships, but that really wiped out what was in there because it just was annual.

So we'd spend it each time, and there were about 77 students that were helped.

Well now, when you think about it, if we'd have had that money invested in an endowment, if you look at what has happened with the African-American Memorial Endowed Scholarship, that scholarship, which was endowed in '97, that scholarship has been able to support 122 students.

And while the balance, the level is a little bit less with 44,000, that's how much they expended, but there's 64, almost 65,000 still sitting in that principal that Dr. Meadows talked about.

So it will continue to spin off earnings that will become scholarships.

So we've been able to award as much in scholarships as we have invested in the principal that's not touched.

And so now what we're doing with Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship is we're endowing it, so the same thing can happen with that very important work that he started all those years ago.

So it's just, it's such a blessing because it will help students into perpetuity, you know, so it's just, I mean, it's a game changer.

- It certainly is, Andrea.

Dr. Meadows, we have such well-rounded students here at Pensacola State College, many of whom are student athletes.

I met a young man by the name of Jeremy Ruffin, he heads up a nonprofit called Ruff Path, and he speaks all across the Escambia County and other areas.

Let's take a listen to what he has to say.

(mellow hip-hop music) - [Jeremy] So, Ruff Path is not just motivational speaking and life coaching, but it's an opportunity to help kids get into college, and not just get into college, but stay in college.

So what we've done is we've tried to get kids recruited, and we've tried to get college coaches to come in and see them and to teach them about what do you gotta do to get into college?

How do you stay?

What majors do you choose?

Go to the best college that you can fit in.

Where can I go not just to play, but to stay?

Where can I go where I don't have to pay or I don't have any debt when I leave?

And how can I get a great education for the rest of my life?

So, Ruff Path is not just trying to get kids to play college, but we want to take young guys and see them become better men, greater men, and see them do some great things, change the trajectory of their lives.

So yes, we wanna see guys go to high school and play, we wanna see them go to college and play, but we want them to get a great degree, great education, and be great men in society.

So if you have any questions, go to ruffpath.com so that we can help you and your kid not just find the right path, but stay on the right path, with Ruff Path.

- [Rameca] We just saw that, and interestingly, we're talking about expanding our horizons as individuals.

So, education is so pertinent, but we have many of our students here at Pensacola State College who participate in many of our sports, right?

- We have a lot of students that are majoring in a lot of different degree programs that are involved in softball, baseball, basketball, volleyball, cross country, and this fall, women's soccer.

- That's right, that's an interesting caveat, right, Andrea?

- It is.

- And with over 200 Pensacola State College scholarships, can you give us an idea about the variety that we have?

- Oh my goodness, yes.

If you think about just the two that we've talked about, they were set up first to memorialize and honor educators who'd been at Pensacola State that were African-Americans, and that was the African-American Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

And then you think of the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship, which was to honor, he was the known as the smartest man in Escambia County.

During his time, he was the only one who had a doctorate and to see his leadership come over.

So those two were particular to these donors.

When you talk about the 311 scholarships that the foundation has, it's the same thing.

People want to support what they're passionate about, that reflects their patch or their past.

So it may be somebody who was the first in their generation to go to college.

It may be somebody who has a family, who was a single mom, and so they wanna support a single parent.

It may be somebody who's in our nursing program.

It may be somebody who's a math major.

It really depends on what that donor was passionate about that they wanna support our students with.

- It's so interesting, Dr. Meadows, that Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins became the director of research and then PJC retiring in 1969.

His legacy lives on.

I'm sure that you hear people out and about in the public give you success stories about their journeys.

Would you like to share one?

- Oh, my gracious, you put me on the spot.

- There's so many, there are too many, right, Dr. Meadows?

- Well, you know, every time I'm in the community, there's someone that approaches me about how they got their start at Pensacola Junior College, or how they ventured to the university and failed and came back and were successful because of Pensacola State College.

And, you know, I can think of people like Charlie Switzer, who is very proud of the fact that he came back to Pensacola State College through the good work of family members, and he, being one of those has donated, had given much back to Pensacola State College and Pensacola Junior College in the visual arts program.

But, you know, I think the one that strikes a chord with me was one that I heard just last week with a gentleman that is a higher education administrator at UWF who lacked one credit graduating from Pensacola Junior College in order to be able to transfer to the university without losing an entire year of his life.

And that gentleman still remembers the staff member that worked with him to overcome that one credit shortage by a forgiveness clause that he knew nothing about that got him graduated and got him enrolled to get his bachelor degree and ultimately a law degree, very successful attorney and now an administrator at UWF.

So, you know, that kind of story touches the heart to know that we have people here that care that much about our students to make sure that they are successful and they move on into the workforce, so they move on to a university, and now they can even move on to Pensacola State with our baccalaureate degree programs.

- That's right, and we have several on the table, and you two are so inspirational.

I want to thank you for being on this special edition of Pensacola State Today.

- Always.

- All right folks, as we head to break, we want you to hear this soul-stirring redemption of "Come By Here," by none other than Dr. Larry Watson Jr., Pastor of Inglewood Missionary Baptist Church.

He's also the headliner for our inaugural Pensacola State College International Festival.

Take a listen.

We'll be back right after this.

(mellow hip-hop music) ♪ Come by here, my Lord (come by here) ♪ ♪ Whoa, come by here, me Lord (come by here) ♪ ♪ Come by here, though (come by here) ♪ ♪ Whoa (oh) oh Lord (come by here) yeah ♪ ♪ Somebody really needs you Lord (come by here) ♪ ♪ Somebody really needs you Lord, will you (come by here)?

♪ ♪ Somebody really needs you Lord (come by here) ♪ ♪ Whoa Lord (oh Lord) said we needed you (come by here) ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ (soulful music fading) (exciting music) - Hello everyone.

It's always a blessing when we can recognize our scholarship recipients in a special way.

We'll reveal them later in the show.

But first, we'd like to welcome a phenomenal duo who have assisted us in our efforts.

First, we have Tilly Sariusingh, owner of the Beauty Experts with multiple locations.

She's joined by Troy Watts, vice pPresident of KNO-3 Innovative Designs, and the brainchild behind "Dribbles the All-Knowing Cat and Friends."

Tilly and Troy are the 2023 AAMES Wiggins Physical Award sponsors.

We'll delve into that a little bit later.

But first, I must say both of you definitely have a heart for our PSC students, don't you?

- Yes, absolutely.

So, Tilly, let me start with you.

You and I go back a little ways.

You actually appeared on another show that I host called "Connecting the Community."

You are a member of the Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce, and you have an interesting story.

So when I contacted you regarding our scholarships, why did you initially decide to jump on board with this?

- Well, I just feel like taking the initiatives to offer financial support for students who want to pursue higher education is really important.

And for me to be in a position where I can do that, I just feel so honored to be able to provide that.

- So have you ever received a scholarship throughout your educational journey?

Or maybe know of anyone who has?

- Actually, no, I've never received scholarships.

- And so to be in this position where I'm a part of a cause that's providing scholarships for other students means a lot to me.

- A lot, reaching beyond yourself.

Now Troy, you and I have a little bit of a history, don't we?

I was your professor for a few classes here at Pensacola State College, and you graduated recently.

When you found out about the scholarship program, I know that you were interested, but aren't you a scholarship recipient yourself?

- Yes, I'm more than a scholarship recipient.

I'm multiple scholarships.

- Yes, multiple scholarships.

Yes, I know, you are so humble.

So when I approached you regarding this scholarship campaign and your willingness to actually be a physical award sponsor, what was the catalyst?

You've told us somewhat in a nutshell, but just additionally the catalyst?

- Well, I enjoyed education.

Pensacola State College has actually helped me a lot with my education and with my journey with "Dribbles the All-Knowing Cat" and the job that I'm in right now.

So they've helped me out so, so much that I was willing to give back.

- And you have done that exponentially.

But folks, I must share something about Troy.

He's smart, a brilliant guy.

He writes songs.

I'm smiling, you're smiling.

Troy's smiling, but guess what?

Dribbles and friends like to smile too.

So why don't you take a listen to one of their fan favorites, a song called "Smile."

(uplifting children's music) ♪ When yesterday wasn't bright because it didn't go right ♪ ♪ You woke up with a frown, ♪ ♪ Which is nothing more than a smile turned upside down ♪ ♪ You start to wash your face ♪ ♪ And then you say ♪ (child giggling) ♪ No matter what others do ♪ ♪ I'm not going let them get through ♪ ♪ No matter what others do ♪ ♪ I'm not going let them get through ♪ ♪ And then I smile, oh I smile, oh I smile ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, I smile ♪ ♪ I want the world to know that I ♪ ♪ Have an inner glow and this inner glow will only show ♪ ♪ Will only show when I smile ♪ ♪ Oh I smile, oh I smile, oh yeah I smile ♪ ♪ When things are not right ♪ ♪ And others may want to fight ♪ ♪ Just remember all you need to do is ♪ ♪ Simply smile, oh smile, oh smile, oh yeah just smile ♪ (child giggling) ♪ When your friends are not around ♪ ♪ And you feel that the world has let you down ♪ ♪ Let you down, down ♪ ♪ Turn your sadness around, don't let it get you down ♪ ♪ Get you down, oh whoa oh ♪ ♪ Always smile, oh smile, oh smile, oh yeah smile ♪ ♪ When everyone is around to see you smile ♪ ♪ They will look at your face ♪ ♪ And their frowns will erase, why?

♪ ♪ Why?

Because you smile, oh you smile, oh you smile ♪ ♪ Oh yeah you smile ♪ ♪ Yeah you smile, oh you smile, oh you smile ♪ ♪ Oh yeah you smile ♪ ♪ Keep smiling ♪ ♪ See ya ♪ - Amazing, and Troy, you just told me that that is your daughter singing in that video.

- Yes.

- [Rameca] She has some stellar chops, as I would say.

But Tilly, back to you, your impression after hearing that song, so many motivational things, right?

- Absolutely, I love the message and learning that that was your daughter singing, that's amazing, Troy.

I love the message that was in that song.

You know, part of running a business, going to school, just life in general, there's a lot of ups and downs and our emotions are definitely dependent on ourselves.

And we choose to be positive and finding that positivity within us and it glows and yeah, you definitely, that message, it was beautiful.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- So Tilly, let's get down to some specifics because the Beauty Experts, one of these services basically, and you're gorgeous, by the way.

(Tilly chuckling) You offer facials.

We have some video of you and your workers in action actually helping someone with a facial.

And I must say, oftentimes we work so hard, all work, no play, we sometimes just need a little break.

But the services that you give back and the fact that you have that capability to do that at your business, and you are such a humanitarian in the sense, as we spoke about just a moment ago, regarding your willingness to reach beyond yourself to help others.

We're gonna find out a little bit more about what you do in just a moment.

But Troy, there's an educational element, right?

- Yes.

- So Dribbles and Friends, Dribbles, Ricky, Nicky, and Blakey.

Hey there.

How are you doing?

I'm sure they're enjoying my water right now.

But let's talk about STEAM education.

Tell everybody what that is.

- Well, STEAM education is about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Because of a problem that we face with children actually getting into these fields, we decided to create STEAM custom lessons.

At this point, what we're doing is we went into the CAP schools.

Being in the CAP schools, we got an A plus rating.

We went into seven schools this summer from age three to five.

At this point, now we're working with Mr. Vinny Whipps with Reentry Alliance.

- [Rameca] A wonderful man.

- And what he's doing is he's gonna take the lessons in so we can start helping homeless children, so that way- - That's awesome.

- We don't want them to repeat that cycle.

- No, we don't.

- So we're gonna start teaching them inside the Maxwell Respite Center.

- We also have arts, right?

- [Troy] Yes.

- In addition to that.

But here's the interesting thing.

So these lesson plans are not, I guess, getting all the buzz in the United States.

We've reached out into areas such as Canada.

- Canada, yes, we have.

Yes.

And like I said, again, we have been in the CAP schools, CAP's a big organization, the Community Action Program Committee, they're pretty big.

Pretty big, they're pretty big in Pensacola.

- Astounding.

Now, aside from your work there, you've also authored a few books.

Do you ever rest?

- Not usually.

(Troy chuckling) - Not usually.

Well, Troy, I understand one of your books, "Questions, Questions, Questions," I think that was the first one that came out.

It's available in what other languages?

- Well, actually, all of the books.

- [Rameca] Oh, they are?

- All the books are in English, Spanish, and French.

- Wow, I love that.

- [Tilly] That's amazing.

- So Tilly, do you have any young ones?

- I do.

So my son is 13 and my daughter is 10.

And she loves to watch content just like this for educational purposes.

So I've had an opportunity to review all of your content.

And I love how vibrant it is and the music and the songs.

It's very beautiful.

- [Troy] Thank you.

- Speaking of which, Tilly, for your young ones, because we can always get a refresher when it comes to our ABCs, folks.

I know that I can, but hey, let us all learn, learn, learn.

So Troy, there's another song that we would like to share with our viewing audience.

"The Alphabet Song," take a listen.

(upbeat children's music) ♪ A is for apple, let's take a bite ♪ ♪ B is for ball, they're round and tight ♪ ♪ C is for caring, for everything you like ♪ ♪ D is for dogs, that bark in the night ♪ ♪ E is for eagle, we'll watch them take flight ♪ ♪ F is for fox, they can see at night ♪ ♪ G is for goats, that chew with all their might ♪ ♪ H is for help, when there is danger in sight ♪ ♪ I is for injury, when you fall of your bike ♪ ♪ J is for Jupiter, the fifth planet, with stripes ♪ ♪ K is for kangaroo, watch them hop ♪ ♪ L is for love, we embrace it with might ♪ ♪ M is for monkey because they're all right ♪ ♪ That's the alphabet song ♪ ♪ That's the alphabet song (let's sing it everybody) ♪ ♪ That's the alphabet song (that's the alphabet song) ♪ ♪ No is for no, for things we dislike ♪ ♪ O is for out, and you point to the right ♪ ♪ P is for pigs, who eat with delight ♪ ♪ Q is for quiet, so you can sleep at night ♪ ♪ R is run, when there is danger in sight ♪ ♪ S is for safety, to ensure you're all right ♪ ♪ T is for twins, that may look alike ♪ ♪ U is understanding ♪ ♪ V is for victory, and being polite ♪ ♪ W for woods, and those who like to hike ♪ ♪ X is for xylophone, with sounds so light ♪ ♪ Y is for yellow, a color so bright ♪ ♪ Z is for zookeepers, who dress alike ♪ ♪ That's the alphabet song ♪ - Oh yes, A through Z.

Right, Tilly?

(Rameca chuckling) That is "The Alphabet Song."

Speaking of which, I tell you that in the business world, we're always learning more, life is a continuum.

And getting back to the Beauty Experts, another service that you offer there, eyelash extensions.

And we have some great video of you and your workers inside the Beauty Experts aiding one beautiful lady who's coming in.

Just to take a a step back, right?

Take a breather.

So what was your motivation behind starting your business?

Did you have a lot of support?

- I did, I had a lot of support from family and friends and also the community, my husband is in the military, so I get a lot of support from military spouses as well.

My passion in the beauty industry is to help empower other women feel beautiful in their skin.

And lash extensions was one of the specialties that I was able to master.

And once I came to Fort Walton Beach, I had young estheticians that were wanting to join the team.

And through my ability to train, I was able to offer this opportunity for other estheticians.

- You're doing so much, and I love that beautiful smile.

Hey Troy, Dribbles and Friends were at our prior Be My Neighbor Day, life-size Dribbles as well.

And I know that we've got some great video that we are going to be rolling into this segment because you all do a lot in the community, different festivals, events, you're out there, you're spreading the word, encouraging not just the youngsters but everyone to advance their education.

So if I had to ask you for a success story, because Dribbles and Friends reach a lot of people, can you think of maybe one success story, maybe somebody you've run into that has told you how much your work impacts their life?

- Again, I was still have to go back to the CAP schools.

Missy Birdsdale, she really loves the Dribbles series because what it does is, with the STEAM program, it takes the guesswork away from all the teachers.

All they have to do is go to our private drive, pull up the lesson with the videos, and it basically teaches the STEAM lessons to the teachers.

So it's actually a win for all teachers.

- Yes, a huge win-win.

- Yes.

And quickly, Tilly, a takeaway that you can share with our audience.

- Just by connecting with the community and really focusing on persevering and not giving up.

Making sure that you're open to other opportunities and taking risks and having adventure.

- Be a risk taker, right?

We must put that foot forward, that first step folks.

Such a pleasure to have both of you in this segment.

So folks, as we head to break, gather the little ones around the television set as Dribbles and friends tell us why it's so important for everyone to wake up with a smile and brush their teeth.

We'll be back right after this.

♪ When you wake up in the mornin' ♪ ♪ And your breath smells like yuck ♪ ♪ You look in the mirror and you say, what's up?

♪ ♪ Your teeth are all foggy and your gums look sunk ♪ ♪ You put your hands to your mouth and you say, what's up?

♪ ♪ You pick up your toothbrush ♪ ♪ And you squeeze the toothpaste ♪ ♪ You bring it to your mouth and you start to brush ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ ♪ Now it's time to rinse your mouth with a steady flow ♪ ♪ You spit out the water and you're ready to go ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ ♪ Brushing your teeth and flossing your gums ♪ ♪ Is what must do to make your smile brand new ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ ♪ Brush your teeth, brush your teeth ♪ (classical piano music) (piano music continuing) (exciting music) - Hello everyone, you just saw the smiling faces of the 2023 African American Memorial endowed scholarship recipients.

We'll highlight the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream scholarship awardees later in the show, but during this segment, we're taking you back a few years to catch up with some PSC scholarship recipients and 100 for 100 scholarship campaign volunteers.

I'm excited, I'd like to welcome Khaliah Williams, a PSC scholarship recipient and 100 for 100 scholarship campaign volunteer.

Next we have Obi Kalu, who wears many hats at PSC and is a cheerleader for our PSC students.

To round out the segment, I have Dr. John Woods, a faithful volunteer who's worked very hard throughout the years with this scholarship initiative.

Dr. Woods, all right, let's take everybody back, right?

- Sure.

- 2020 is when you and I first met, and I know during that year we had a banquet in 2021, we started our 100 for 100 scholarship campaign.

We would be remiss not to mention all of those who have helped us.

We have some scholarship recipients, yes, but let's talk about the volunteers for a moment, those who aren't here right now.

We have Trace Brown, we have Ingrid Davis, Tom Ford, and Michelle Jones.

And I must say Dr. Woods, you all work oh so very hard.

In your mind, what is the catalyst that just makes you jump on board every year with me and say, "Hey, we gotta do this again, I'm here with you."

- Well, I think it's important to invest in other individuals' education.

I know when I was going through and I was getting my education, I was able to get some scholarships.

And even though I had other means of being able to pay, I still, the scholarships helped.

So this is an opportunity for me to be able to help individuals and invest in their educational opportunities.

Some of these individuals I have never met before.

- [Rameca] That's true.

And they go here to PSC and I may never see 'em again, but I'm able to invest in what they do.

So I love the way that we do it, especially with the 100 for 100, and how we go out.

And we also are able to get other individuals in the community to be able to participate too.

- And I tell you one thing, our president, Dr. Ed Meadows, really loves you all.

He always talks about how sharp you look every single year.

And he is always looking for our theme.

What color this year?

Of course, we know that that color was purple.

- Yeah, purple.

- But as we stood there with Dr. Meadows taking pictures, he was beaming from ear to ear.

Which reminds me of your role specifically, Dr. Woods, at Pensacola State College.

Because you work a lot with veterans.

Why don't you tell us a little bit about that.

- So, I'm the academic coordinator for Veterans Upward Bound here at Pensacola State College.

And we prepare veterans for college.

So we're a prep program that veterans that need a little bit of help with math, reading, writing, they can come to us, we can provide that, and then they can go on and enroll in college and be successful in college.

And the neat thing is it is free to the veteran.

It costs them absolutely nothing but their time.

And that's the only thing that it costs them.

- Khaliah, I always like to hear the word free.

(panelist chuckling) Speaking of which, you have received multiple scholarships at Pensacola State College, Wiggins being one of them.

Why don't you tell us what some of those other scholarships were?

- So I was awarded the scholarship by Sue Strong as well as Sandy Sansing, By His Grace Scholarship.

And then I served three consecutive terms as the vice president of the Student Activities board of directors in which I receive monetary scholarship for that as well.

- And I will tell you this, scholarship recipients are always so excited when they find out about their awards.

But you and I also have a little bit of a history because you are in several of my courses in the business department.

- [Khaliah] Yes ma'am.

- And I see you smiling because you were a stellar student.

Wish I had a hundred more like you.

But there's some amazing things that you're doing outside of college that we'll highlight momentarily.

But we have a brand new 100 for 100 campaign volunteer, Obi Kalu, and honestly, you're the poster child for PSC.

Can I say that, Obi?

What don't you tell everybody what you do here at PSC?

- At PSC I work for our Trio Education Opportunity Center programs.

And we are also a entry prep type program where we assist students that are new to college or coming back after they've taken a maybe a small break and decided I wanna continue on their, with my education.

And we assist them with admissions, financial aid, career guidance, whatever it is, let them know what resources are available so that can help them achieve, you know, their goals here at PSC or or anywhere they want to go, even after PSC.

- You have what I call a can-do attitude.

And for those of you watching, if you're working on a dissertation like Obi and Ingrid are two of our volunteers here, takes a lot of work.

When I asked you to help us out with this, you did not hesitate one bit because you understand the importance of our students receiving these scholarship funds.

Game changers, as Andrea said in segment number one.

But life changing on many levels, right?

- Absolutely, you know, when you've finally get, when you have that barrier of finances removed, a lot of doors open and your mind opens up too.

And you definitely get that motivation you need to do it because you know you've got some support.

- That is true.

So Dr. Woods, outside of PSC and one of the things I really like about you, you work very closely with prison ministry.

Why don't you tell us some more about that?

- Yeah, so I go in once a once a week normally on a Saturday and I teach life skill classes.

It's through an organization called Family Integrity Training.

And I go in there and usually teach for a couple of hours.

I teach anger management, I teach parenting and other financial aid.

I teach loss and grief.

And what I try to do is I try to get these individuals, because most of them are going to be getting out of corrections.

So I try to get 'em prepared mentally and with skills so when they get out, hopefully they're successful and they don't go back in.

- Re-entry.

Khaliah, a lot is going on in your world.

I'm going to say two enthusiastic thumbs up for everything that's on your plate right now.

I must say that you are sought after in the community.

And tell us about what you're doing now in the business world.

- So right now I do run a small business.

I have about 25 to 30 families locally that I do random tasks for, grocery shopping, things like that, to take the stress off of their plate and to be able to provide convenience for them.

I happily accepted a new job.

- [Rameca] Tell us about that.

- I'll start on March 20th, it is with the University of Florida Escamia County Extension Services.

So I will be the assistant to the nutrition and wellness director and the office assistant.

So I'm very excited about that.

- Let me just say, the energy that's emanating from you right now, I can understand why they hired you for that position.

You are always on my radar.

Obi, back to you.

And as I had spoken to Dr. Woods and you all previously about the other volunteers that we have for the campaign, one of them is Tom Ford, and he was with us last year.

He's not on the show this year, but I just want to say that he is a former student and he's a Dr. Marjon Maza scholarship recipient, just like you, Khaliah.

And getting back to your dissertation work and what you are doing as a student, can you give anyone out there who hasn't applied for a PSC scholarship yet some words of wisdom?

- Yes, definitely apply for the scholarships.

I mean, now with the way technology has advanced, it's so simple to do it and you really don't wanna leave that money on the table when really all you have to do is, you know, just go in, fill in your name, your information, and hit submit.

And there's plenty of resources around in our community here in the Pensacola area that you can reach out to to help that.

So, you know, don't leave money on the table, very simple.

I say if you're able to hop on one of your social media apps or TikTok or Facebook, then you have time to fill out a scholarship application.

- And Obi, you actually help people fill out the free application for federal student aid, applying for financial aid.

- That's correct.

- People need to be timely, don't they?

- They do.

You definitely want to be timely with that.

Because that just opens the opportunity for you to be able to receive more funding and other funding like additional scholarships, because you can use the FAFSA or free federal application for student aid along with scholarships as well too, so.

- That's right.

And let's clear up any myth about veterans because veterans are able to apply for scholarships, aren't they?

- Oh absolutely, and even if you're getting the GI bill or you have another means of funding, you still should fill out a FAFSA and look at the different financial aids that are available out there.

And we actually have some scholarships here at PSC that are specific for veterans.

- One thing that really makes me feel good inside is just knowing how many scholarships we offer.

It's such a blessing, Dr. Woods, Khaliah, and Obi.

And Obi, I would like to end this segment with you because you're out in the community a lot helping people that may not be knowledgeable about what it takes to apply.

But I know that you've helped a lot of individuals and it makes you feel good inside, doesn't it?

- Absolutely.

It feels, it's amazing.

You know, it's a great feeling to help someone be able to achieve and reach their goal, and, you know, we offer assistance, so they still are doing the work but now they know how to navigate so that next time they're able to do it on their own and then maybe help somebody else with that as well.

- Oh certainly, group hug all of my 100 for 100 volunteers and all the others that are not with us on set right now.

Okay folks, as we pause momentarily, we want to reveal the 2023 Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream scholarship recipients.

We are so proud of them.

Take a look.

(classical piano music) (classical piano music continuing) (exciting music) Hello everyone.

It was heartwarming to see the smiling faces of the 2023 Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream scholarship recipients, what an amazing honor.

Collectively there were 17 AAMES Wiggins awardees and during this segment I have the pleasure of welcoming three of them right now.

I'm thrilled to introduce Teala Reguindin and Onesimus Gordon, both Wiggins scholarship recipients.

We also have an AAMES awardee, Taelen Stovall.

I can definitely feel your excitement, the fine trio.

Let me call you the Three Musketeers, how does that work?

(panelists laughing) - That's wonderful.

- Teala, let's start with you.

When I spoke with you on the phone, and this is why I'm just so excited about all of you, you were heading to Alabama to take an exam.

Why don't you tell us about that?

- So I recently graduated from the RN program at PSC.

- [Rameca] Wonderful.

- Thank you.

In December.

So I've been studying hard for my boards and it just so happened when you were reaching out to me, I was heading there to take it.

(Teala chuckling) - And I know that you did well.

- [Teala] Thank you very much.

I hope so.

- So what was your first reaction when you found out that you were a Wiggins scholarship recipient?

- I was very humbled by, you know, being- - [Rameca] Part of it, right?

- A part of it, yeah, exactly.

And I'm really grateful that they considered me and to invest in my future, and I find that very inspiring.

- And it's always good, Onesimus, to hear from someone who has applied, because there's a blanket application, folks, as Andrea said during segment one, it's pretty easy.

So Onesimus, when you applied, hey, I know that you were gangbusters, saying "I'm in it to win it," right?

(Rameca chuckling) - Yes, yes ma'am.

- [Rameca] It's going to be good.

So your first reaction I'm sure, off the charts amazing.

- My reaction, I was very excited about it and I know that it has helped me a lot in my educational pursuits, yes ma'am.

- So what is your major at Pensacola State College?

- Well my major now is Advanced Facial Specialty.

It is a vocational program here at the state college.

And I am basically a esthetician if you- - [Rameca] All right.

- It's, yeah, it's a more fancier word- - You and Tilly probably had a conversation in the green room.

(Onesimus laughing) - I would imagine.

(Rameca laughing) - Yes.

- How much time do you have left at the college?

- My program concludes in May.

And yes ma'am, I'm excited.

This has been an amazing experience.

I've been in this program for, I got my first part last year and this year I'm just continuing on and it's wonderful.

- So, any prospects, people scouting you?

Saying, "Hey, Onesimus, that's the guy," right?

- Yes, I'm, I'm getting some clienteles right now.

I'm getting my roster built up, but, you know.

- And employment down the line?

- Yes ma'am, fingers crossed.

- Fingers crossed.

- Good things, good vibes, good things.

- I like it.

Good vibes coming from right over there.

(Onesimus chuckling) So Taelen, AAMES recipient, and I will say when I spoke with you on the phone, we had such a delightful conversation.

Please tell the viewers about your educational journey here at Pensacola State College.

- So my educational journey starting out, I'm just now doing my pre-reqs and I'm going to be nutritional dietician to help other people that struggle with health or obesity.

Because I struggle out with myself, so the fact that I've been through that myself, I know the tips, the advice to give them, because I've been through the same steps.

- And Khaliah Williams in our last segment, one of our 100 for 100 volunteers.

It's similar prospects and jobs and she was just hired for a reputable organization.

So networking is so important, isn't it, Taelen?

- Yes ma'am.

- Because when you're a student here at Pensacola State College, rather online, face-to-face, we call hybrid, we have those types of courses as well.

When you meet others, like-minded people, those who want to go the extra mile and earn an education, it's very uplifting, would you say?

- Yeah, a hundred percent.

- Do you have anyone in particular, maybe family members that have inspired you to continue on this path?

- Honestly, my parents, they've been through a lot and raising a set of twins then me and it kind of put a setback but at the same time growing up you see that it's more to life once you grow up and able to see that you can do more for than just yourself but for other people as well.

- So do you have a favorite class or professor or both at the college?

Is there one class that really stands out?

- Right now, I'm only taking two classes, right now I'm doing part-time and full-time work.

But if I had to pick between the two, it would be humanities arts, because I'm learning the different cultures and the different steps of the past.

- All right, now did you say two jobs?

- I work, technically yes.

- Now see, that's dedication, right Teala?

- Definitely.

- Because many of our scholarship recipients do just that, but they don't let time constraints bother them because when we are dedicated, as I know all of you are, we will go that extra mile and we will persevere.

And oftentimes when we do that, we just, somebody say kill it, right?

And just do an exceptional job.

So Taelen, I know that you mentioned previously about your journey and the fact that yes, you do have people who have inspired you, but oftentimes there are people that watch us, right?

That observe us in class and we're wondering, "Well gee, how was I nominated for a specific accolade?"

Or, "Wow, I'm so glad that my teacher told me about a scholarship."

So Onesimus, in my classes, I teach in the business department, I always tell my students about PSC scholarships and how to apply.

We can never assume, viewing audience, that people already know about this.

And so that's why I think it's such an amazing thing to have scholarship recipients on the show.

We're honoring you.

It's all about you.

So, Onesimus in your program, do you have a favorite professor or a class?

- Well, I do.

I have to give an honor to both of my department head, Ms. Sonya McCall, and also my instructor, Ms. Leticia Hughes.

They have been very inspirational for me.

And my favorite part of my program is really doing dermabrasions and doing more facial work.

So that is my go-to thing when I go into class.

(Onesimus chuckling) - And here's the thing, so how do they inspire you?

Motivational words?

Say, "Hey, you can do this," if there's a tough assignment on the horizon.

- I know when I first began in the program, it was very difficult for me because going into this type of arena, it was very different, you know, from what I usually am used to with my education.

But they've always been there encouraging me in my corner, just my biggest cheerleaders, biggest supporters.

So that's how they inspired me.

Yes, ma'am.

- Well, Teala, I know that we've talked about motivation around the table and I know that you have some family members supporting you.

Who actually inspires you the most, or maybe collectively?

- I'd say my boys, my sons, they inspire me, as well as my mother, she was a teen mom, so she was a non-traditional student just like myself.

So it was very encouraging that she set the tone and I'm grateful that I'm able to do the same with my boys.

- Taelen, have you ever experienced a time where things just seem so overwhelming and you thought to yourself, "How am I going to finish this assignment?

How will I break through?"

I think all of us have, right?

Academically speaking.

- Yes, yes.

- What has given you that extra push to keep on going, persevering?

- The fact that you have a passion, that you're determined to get to.

That and, with chasing your passion, you have to be intentional, you have to plan.

But without that, everything can get really discombobulated, honestly.

- [Rameca] It certainly can.

And outside of school, Teala, are you involved in any volunteer initiatives?

Maybe other means?

I guess, as we say, well-rounded students.

- Yeah, most definitely.

In school I did a couple of clinicals at the Health and Hope Center on Olive and I was interested in trying to do some volunteer work there.

I currently am studying and currently awaiting for my results, but I also work part-time right now outside of that.

- That's amazing.

Onesimus, I see you shaking your head.

(Onesimus laughing) I'm sure you would like to tell us all about some volunteer initiatives.

- Yes.

Yes ma'am.

Currently right now I am somewhat working but volunteering, giving back to the community, working as a receptionist at a physical therapy office.

And it really touches me to get out there and help and get the patients going and everything.

My other volunteer work has been, I was starting out here at this school, I was a part of the Trio department.

- Okay.

- So they did a lot of like fundraisers and, you know, go-tos and everything like that to come and help back into the community, yes ma'am, with humanitarian arts and everything.

- Oh, that sounds phenomenal.

(both chuckling) So Taelen, I would like for you to share some words of encouragement for not only PSC students, those who are currently enrolled, but anyone maybe who's thinking about jumping on board the pirate ship, right?

Go Pirates.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Because they need that.

- A hundred percent.

Honestly, what it boils down to is like, even though you might be starting something or being scared, the fact that there's more than just people that you know, your circle that wants to help you and wants to just benefit you and wants you to honestly just strive.

- Strive, strive, strive.

And Teala, we have images of all of you, the scholarship recipients, taking beautiful picture with our president, Dr. Ed Meadows, and I saw the smiles gleaming from ear to ear.

He is just so very proud of you and what you've done.

And you all are really encouraging so many others.

And when I am in the classroom and I tell my students about these scholarships, I want them to realize that you can do this.

And in life we can never forget, right Teala?

One person can make a difference and it can start with you and you and you.

And I'd like to thank all of you for being in this segment.

You have really inspired me to reach even more so beyond myself.

Now folks, as we close the show, I want to thank all of our guests for joining us.

And I must say it's always a pleasure to honor our Pensacola State College students.

As a final note, for more information regarding the PSC Foundation, you can log on to foundation.pensacolastate.edu.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary, thanks for watching, and remember to keep it locked in right here on WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast.

(exciting music) (exciting music continuing)