Hometown Heroes

Charity Martin Helps Deliver Meals to Students Who Are Homebound During COVID-19 Crisis

Charity Martin is a self-described extrovert who loves interacting with and helping people in her job at Chastain Road Elementary School and in her community. That’s why she was one of the first to sign up when the Pickens County School District began offering a new food service option of delivering meals to students who need food while they are homebound during the COVID-19 crisis.

Charity, who is a 2019 graduate of our Early Care and Education program, is the 3K Kindercare Director at Chastain Road Elementary School in Liberty.

She is a member of one of the bus delivery teams who, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, disseminates breakfasts and lunches at schools and churches in Pickens County.

The School District of Pickens County is offering breakfast and lunch for anyone under the age of 18 (and special needs adults up to age 21) on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Meals for two days are served and delivered on Tuesday and Thursday. They serve more than 1,000–1,200 meals a day with the five bus routes.

During her shift she and other volunteers load buses with up to 500 meals (breakfast and lunch). All meals are prepared by school cafeteria personnel.

The delivery service began in mid-March and will go through the end of the school year in June.

“It’s very fulfilling. It’s a safe way to serve my community and work as a team,” Charity said. CRJ Grad Jeanna Martin Makes Kids’ Days with Drive-by Birthday Parades

The smiles on the faces of Mauldin Police Officer Jeanna Martin and her fellow officers rival those of the kids they have been visiting with drive-by birthday parades that serve as substitutions for in-person celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place restrictions.

“The kids love it, the parents are excited, and they usually are videotaping it. Everyone waves and smiles. It’s good to see these homebound kids smiling,” she said.

“We, along with the fire department, acknowledge their special days with our sirens and lights and wish them a happy birthday via the PA system,” she said.

Jeanna, a 2015 graduate of our Criminal Justice program,

Officer Jeanna Martin stands next to her police cruiser.

worked at the Greer PD for two years before joining the Mauldin PD last year. She recently completed her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology through Arizona State University. “I loved my time at Tri-County. They were the best two years of school for me, and I would go back and relive it if I could,” she said. She is considering returning to Tri-County for paramedic training to complement her degrees. She also says a master’s degree is on the horizon “because my dream job would be to teach at Tri-County one day.” MLT Alumna Jamie Short’s Team at Premier Medical Laboratory Services Performs Tests for COVID-19

Two months ago, Jamie Short, an ASCP-certified Medical Laboratory Technician (Medical Laboratory Technology, Class of 2010), spent her days at Premier Medical Laboratory Services in Greenville overseeing the daily flow of the Genetic and Molecular Diagnostics Lab where she supervises a staff of seven technicians. Her daily work could include in-depth troubleshooting of issues with equipment and processes, handling training and orientation for new hires, updating policies and procedures, and overseeing regulatory compliance standards.

In March, amid the COVID-19 crisis, her job changed dramatically. She’s still serving as General Supervisor for Genetic and Molecular Diagnostics for Premier Medical, but her group is now part of a team performing tests for COVID-19, making Premier Medical the first private commercial testing facility in South Carolina to do so.

Her company partnered with MUSC who is sending patient samples from Charleston to Premier Medical where Jamie and her team of MLTs and Medical Technologists analyze the COVID-19 tests.

Before the FDA approval, she oversaw the validation process and received training with technicians. “We have all been