COMMUNITY NEWS
FIRST SUSAN HELSABECK SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED AT ANNUAL NIGHT OF THE STARS EVENT
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licia Cruz-Ortega and Natasha Hamlet were named the first two recipients of the Susan Helsabeck Scholarship for Early Educators at the Randolph Partnership for Children (RPC) annual Night of the Stars event, held last night at AVS Banquet Centre. Ortega is an early educator at Precious Memories Preschool in Asheboro and is attending Randolph Community College (RCC). She is working on an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Hamlet is an early educator at Liberty Early Childhood Center located at Liberty Elementary School. She is currently attending Guilford Technical Community College. She is also working on an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. The scholarship program is a new addition to the Night of the Stars celebration. The Susan Helsabeck Scholarship was established to provide financial support to early educators in Randolph County enrolled in degree programs in the field. The scholarship was created in memory of RPC’s beloved colleague Susan Harris Helsabeck, who served as professional development specialist from December 2015 to January 2021, when she unexpectedly passed away. Her husband, Oliver Helsabeck, presented the scholarships at the event. “Susan was deeply committed to ensuring children were well-cared for and that they had every opportunity to thrive and flourish,” Helsabeck said. “We deeply miss Susan and her infectious smile and caring heart. It’s our hope that this scholarship will not only benefit the recipients, but also keep alive Susan’s belief in the importance of advancing higher education for our county’s early educators, who are caring for our youngest citizens.” RPC Board President Jerry Moore took a moment to recognize longtime staff member Andee Edelson at her final Night of the Stars in her role as director of early care and education at RPC. She plans to retire December 31. “While Andee would say, ‘let’s keep the attention on our graduates,’ we all want to salute you, Andee, for your amazing leadership and vision for a special blend of Randolph County early education that brings together elements of Reggio, outdoor learning environment transformations, collaboration instead of competition within our local early education community, evidence of quality programs far beyond rating scales, and so much
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more,” Moore said. Serving as emcee for the evening was Larry Reid, station manager for WKXR and WZOO. He announced the theme for the evening, which was storytelling. He introduced RCC President Dr. Robert S. Shackleford, Jr., who delivered the keynote address. “I think it’s a wonderful theme selected for tonight— storytelling,” Shackleford said. “People underestimate the power of stories.” After explaining he would have told stories even if it hadn’t been the theme, he told stories from his childhood and his career to demonstrate the impact storytelling has when we use it to teach. Twelve early educators were recognized for earning degrees in early childhood education and related fields this year, including six who earned Associate Degrees and six who earned Bachelor’s Degrees. Graduates honored for earning an Associate Degree were Victory Burger, an infant teacher at Randleman Enrichment Center; Kasey Holcomb, a preschool teacher at Connie Redding Head Start; Cheyenne Lambeth,
Oliver Helsabeck with scholarship recipient Alicia Cruz-Ortega
