National Park College Career Pathways announces student of the year recipient
National Park College’s Career Pathways Initiative hosted its annual graduation reception May 12 and Sarah Prince was announced as the program’s student of the year.
Graduates from the program were recognized during a reception and many provided emotional personal testimonials about their experiences. The 30 graduates earned more than 117 credentials. CPI Director LaTaschya
reported more than 90 percent of graduates from 2015 and 2016 are currently employed in their chosen fields.
Harris announced Prince as the recipient of the student of the year award. Prince joined the program in 2014. She said she experienced tremendous growth during her time in Career Pathways.
“Our Student of the Year is a shining example of how mindset, fortitude and perseverance are what it takes to make it from point A to B,” Harris said. “She is the self-proclaimed Career Pathways ‘president’ and promotes and recruits for the program all of the time.”
Prince overcame complications from a high-risk pregnancy in order to complete her studies. Harris described the college journey as one about perseverance, but also personal growth, and said Prince has grown the most over the past year. Prince said the Career Pathways staff went above and beyond to mentor her and help her reach her goal of becoming a nurse.
“I feel like Career Pathways is so much more than books and gas,” Prince said.
Arkansas Career Pathways is a grant program from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. It offers services for low-income parents for child care, transportation, tuition and fees, books, supplies and more.