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• Itawamba Community College receives $100,000 and joins 41 other schools across the US as All Within My Hands' Metallica Scholars Initiative expands in year five

    Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands, continues its multimillion-dollar investment in critical workforce programs at community colleges nationwide. Among the schools, Itawamba Community College was selected from a competitive pool of applicants to receive $100,000 to transform the futures of students in the community. “It is a tremendous honor for Itawamba Community College to be selected as one of the recipients of the prestigious All Within My Hands grant, which will significantly impact our career education programs, providing funding for students to pursue a pathway and their best start,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “It is another indication of the success of the College and reinforcement of the mission that students and their success are our top priority.” The Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) was launched in 2019 by Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands (AWMH), in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The workforce initiative marks its fifth year with an ambitious expansion into new curricula. MSI now directly supports 42 community colleges across 33 states, and by the end of this year, it will have helped ...
• ICC's Celebration of Unity programs set for Feb. 4 at both Fulton and Tupelo

   Itawamba Community College’s Student Government Associations and Student Activities have scheduled Celebration of Unity programs at both the Fulton and Tupelo campuses, Feb. 4. The Tupelo Campus program will be at 12:05 p.m. in the student presentation room of the Student Support Center, and the Fulton Campus event will be at 7 p.m. in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium. Juanita Floyd, vice president of finance and administration for the CREATE Foundation and co-author of “Summer of 1969,” will be the speaker for both programs. She has been employed with the Foundation for almost 35 years. The Foundation established the Bernice Gambrell Endowment Fund in the amount of $10,000 to honor both Floyd on her 20th anniversary as well as her mother. She is active in community affairs, serving on several boards. Floyd was the Tupelo PTO President and was selected “Parent of the Year” in 2008. In August 2019, she was selected as one of Mississippi’s Most Influential African Americans. Her additional honors include Tupelo Trailblazer of the Year, and in 2016, she was the focus of a WTVA ...
• ICC celebrates STEM Week with special speakers, events

  Itawamba Community College is celebrating February 3-6 as STEM Week with special events through its organization.             They include STEM Club meetings featuring Ole Miss representatives, Feb. 3 and Mississippi State University representatives, Feb. 4; debut of ICC’s planetarium in the John S. Crubaugh Education Building, Feb. 5; and Community College Innovation Challenge, Feb. 6.             Although the special events will take place at the Fulton Campus, they are open to all members, including those from both the Tupelo Campus and Belden Center. The STEM Club connects students with an interest in STEM-related fields. Members have an opportunity to attend events with speakers from different fields, network with other students in similar fields of study, meet representatives from universities and local companies, discover and engage in new technologies and support ICC’s five-county district through community service.             For more information, including membership for ICC students, email stemclub@iccms.edu.
• ICC joins two-year colleges in February commemoration of Career Education Month

  Itawamba Community College is joining two-year institutions across the United States in commemorating February as Career Education Month.             “Career education is a major part of the solution to such economic and workforce issues, including high school dropout rates, a weakened economy, global competitiveness and massive layoffs,” said Dylan Baldwin, dean of Career Education at ICC. “Career education associate’s degrees can pay $10,000 more per year than those in other fields, sometimes even more than bachelor’s degrees, while limiting student debt.”             According to the latest figures available from the Association for Career and Technical Education, 23,062 postsecondary career education participants in Mississippi are developing technical, academic and employability skills and engaging in work-based experiences with industry partners. “These youth and adult learners enrolled in career education programs are more engaged, earn industry-recognized credentials and have rewarding and family-sustaining careers,” the ACTE noted. In addition, there were 16,064 postsecondary credentials earned during the same time period.             Career education programs, such as advanced manufacturing; agriculture, food and beverage; distribution and logistics and forestry, construction and information technology can fill skills gaps, particularly ...
• ICC celebrates April as National Welding Month; students in Metallica class share their stories

  Chris Adair of Saltillo is a student in Itawamba Community College’s welding class that has been funded by a grant from Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands.             He and his classmates as well as all students in ICC’s welding classes are joining in the celebration of April as National Welding Month.             Adair said that enrolling in the class was a great opportunity to learn welding. “I’m hooked on a hobby that I can have for a lifetime.” His grandfather was a welder for both the Navy and NASA. “I would have made my grandfather proud. I can feel his arms on mine when I stick weld.” A general studies graduate in 2018, Adair said he didn’t know what his future would bring. He said he spent a lot of time playing video games. “I didn’t know what to do. I saw the opportunity and decided to go for it. I was nervous at first, but I’ve started a hobby that I enjoy.”             Adair and his classmates have different stories, but their chance meeting in ICC’s welding class has given them ...
• ICC joins in commemoration of February as Career Education Month

  Itawamba Community College is joining two-year institutions across the United States in commemorating February as Career Education Month.                 “Career education is a major part of the solution to such economic and workforce issues, including high school dropout rates, a weakened economy, global competitiveness and massive layoffs,” said Dylan Baldwin, dean of Career Education at ICC. “Career education associate’s degrees can pay $10,000 more per year than those in other fields, sometimes even more than bachelor’s degrees, while limiting student debt.”                 Recent news reports indicate that those who now realize that immediate employment in the skilled trades and no student debt lead to promising careers are referred to as “The Toolbelt Generation,” Baldwin said. “Many are benefitting from the secure job track and high earnings potential these career education jobs now provide. Additionally, federal data shows that trade school students are more likely to be employed after school than their degree-seeking counterparts and much more likely to work in a job related to their study.”                 According to the latest figures available from the Association for Career and Technical Education, 21,897 ...