Embracing Challenges to Be a Light for Others

Brooke Porter is Cleveland Community College’s 2024 Academic Excellence Award winner. She graduated on May 9, 2024, with an Associate in Arts degree and a 4.0 GPA. She is transferring to Gardner-Webb University to earn her bachelor’s degree and then attend medical school. Ultimately, she wants to be a neurologist.

“First, I want to thank God and say that I am honored to receive the Academic Excellence Award from Cleveland Community College. As I peel back the layers of my life and my education, I feel like I lived the Robert Frost poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ and have come full circle. It has been a difficult journey. In my eighth-grade year, COVID hit, my mom got cancer, and I left my friends and school to take care of her. I knew this was my new calling; my mom needed me.”

After returning to in-person classes, Brooke pursued dual enrollment with Cleveland Early College High School and CCC. She got a part-time job and an internship at Atrium Health, participated in the Governor’s Page Program, and dedicated over 1100 hours to volunteering and community service. Brooke also obtained a seat on the International Jr. Civitan Board and became the Jr. Civitan Region 3 Director for North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Brooke says her time at CCC has given her a solid foundation for achieving her career goals. “I want to be a light and an inspiration to others, and I look forward to the challenges and rewards that lie ahead.”

About the Academic Excellence Award

The annual Academic Excellence Award is presented by the North Carolina Community College System Foundation to one deserving student at each of the 58 community colleges in North Carolina.

To be considered for the award a student must have completed at least 12 semester hours in an associate degree program or at least six hours of coursework toward a one-year certificate. They must also have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.