SANFORD, N.C. — Students taking English as a Second Language classes at CCCC often have big goals in mind — not just to learn English, but to use it to open career opportunities for themselves and their children.
In response to that ambition and curiosity, CCCC recently held a College and Career Exploration Night last week tailored to help them learn more about the different types of career education CCCC provides.
An estimated 80 CCCC students attended the event, including those taking English as a Second Language classes and those pursuing High School Equivalency Diplomas in either Spanish or English.
Claudia Clayton, Dean of Career and Academic Engagement, welcomed and oriented the students to the event in both of those languages. She noted that for many of the students, this was their first time visiting the Lee Main Campus in Sanford. There are about 500 English as a Second Language students at the college, across Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties, in-person and online.
At CCCC, academic programs are divided into seven clusters called “Career Communities.” These are Applied Technologies, Arts, Business Technologies, Professional Services, Public Safety, Health Sciences, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).
Students at Thursday night’s event were divided into groups and rotated together through a series of classrooms where representatives from the various career communities explained the classes they offer and how those courses can prepare students for specific careers.
Group “E” started out the evening learning about Business Technologies, which prepares students for careers like accounting and business administration, and Public Safety, which prepares students for careers like law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency medical services.
“I’m very excited,” said attendee Ana Cecilia Lule, as she switched between classrooms with her group after seeing those presentations. “All of the careers are very interesting.”
Clayton encouraged attendees interested in next steps with their education to contact Jessica Lujan, an Education Navigator and Career and College Readiness Coordinator at CCCC, who is also fluent in Spanish. Lujan can be reached at jlula821@cccc.edu or (919) 718-7310.
