ACCS Board of Trustees holds monthly meeting at Wallace State

Patrick Camp, The Cullman Times, Ala.
·3 min read

Mar. 16—HANCEVILLE — The Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees chose Wallace State Community College as the venue for its monthly meeting on Wednesday and took the opportunity to spotlight several of the college's student success stories.

WSCC President Vicki Karolewics shared a brief video with the board which featured a number of community partners and alumni, including the notable paraplegic athlete and motivational speaker Timothy Alexander. Karolewics then introduced the Pell City graduate Captain Aaron Mathis who has turned his stint at WSCC into a successful career as a United Airlines pilot.

The 28-year-old Mathis said he began having ambitions of becoming a major airline pilot at the age of 9 and earned his personal pilot license while still in high school. At the recommendation of his flight instructor, Mathis said he began attending WSCC in 2013 and was awarded the Richard Caretti Career Technical Scholarship through the Wallace State Future Foundation.

Mathis was also named WSCC's Most Outstanding Alumni in 2019 in part due to the scholarship he created which has awarded $1,000 each year to a "hard working flight student." Mathis said moving forward he would be doubling that amount to an annual $2,000.

Mathis is now certified to fly both Boeing 757 and 767 passenger planes. He said, last year alone he accrued more than 1 million miles in the air and had a total of 63 Atlantic crossings while flying to 22 unique destinations. Mathis said he owed his success to WSCC and described his enrollment as a pivotal moment in his life.

"Discovering WSCC gave me purpose. It gave me a reason to try and to want to succeed," Mathis said. "I saw purpose in myself and WSCC delivered that purpose to me. It gave me an avenue to accomplish my dreams reasonably, effectively, timely and most important affordably."

In other business the board:

* Reviewed the mission statements for Chattahoochee Valley, Lurleen B. Wallace and Snead State community colleges.

* Revised its policy on conducting background checks.

* Authorized the president of Gadsden State Community College to expend $659,500 to purchase training equipment for the new Advanced Manufacturing Center.

* Authorized WSCC to transition from a campus housing application that incurs a $200 refundable deposit to a campus housing application that requires a non-refundable application fee of $100 for fall and spring semesters of $50 for the summer semester.

* Approved for an Associates Degree program in Applied Science in Welding be implemented in the Fall 2024 semester at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College.

* Approved

* for a Dental Hygienist Associates Degree be implemented in the Fall 2024 semester at Northeast Alabama Community College.

Authorized

* Southern Union State Community College to proceed with the renovation project called Valley Campus Carmichael Building Phase 1 Renovation.

* Authorized Jefferson State Community College to proceed with its building lab and classroom renovation construction project.

* Authorized the chancellor to complete negotiations for capital improvement projects at Enterprise State Community College and Shelton State Community College.

Authorized

* Central Alabama Community College to proceed with the second change order for its library demolition project.

Authorized

* Gadsden State Community College to proceed with Wallace Hall classroom renovations and theater entrance improvements.

Authorized

* Shelton State Community College to proceed with improvements to Martin Campus Softball Complex.

Authorized

* Lawson State to approve a change order for its HVAC equipment replacement project.

* Authorized WSCC to proceed with its campus drainage improvements which include upgrading and replacing failing storm drainage systems across the campus.