Dr. Jerry Robertson(far left),vice  president of student services at  Northeastern Technical College, and Sheryll  Marshall (far right), financial aid officer,  recently met with NETC students Angela Teal Carpenter (left) and Brittany Grooms (right)  to award them the William Carson Tolar III Scholarship

January 25, 2010
NETC Nursing Students Receive Tolar Scholarships

Angela Teal Carpenter, of Cheraw, and Brittany Grooms, of McColl, were recently awarded the William Carson Tolar III Scholarship named after long time Pee Dee resident, William “Bill” Carson Tolar III.  This scholarship is presented to a student beginning Northeastern Technical College’s (NETC) Practical Nursing (PN) program. 

The scholarship was established in 2001 by Tolar’s wife Jane, a retired public health nurse who lived with her husband in Bennettsville for more than 30 years.  She and her husband decided to establish the scholarship just prior to Tolar’s death.

“A few days before my husband died, we agreed to help a lady who was working so hard to provide health care for her child while at the same time pursing her desire to become a nurse,” she said.  “So after Bill passed away, I thought this would be a great way to help other people purse their nursing dreams in his honor.”

Carpenter is enrolled as a full time student in NETC’s PN program and works part time at Cheraw Health Care as a certified nursing assistant (CNA).  She earned her CNA certification from NETC where she has also earned a Practical Nursing Preparation certificate. Upon completion of the PN program, she plans to continue her dreams of becoming a nurse and giving back to the community.

Grooms is also enrolled as a full time student in the college’s PN program and works part time as a CNA at Scotia Village in Laurinburg.  She earned her CNA certification as a high school student at Marlboro County High School where she graduated with academic honors.  She plans to pursue an associate degree in Nursing after completing the PN program at NETC and hopes to one day become a licensed nurse working in a federal prison or in a trauma unit of a local hospital.

“I’m so happy that Angela and Brittany were chosen to receive these scholarships because they have the determination to succeed and have found an environment where they can work toward their dreams of becoming nurses,” said Tolar. “I know that Bill is happy because he is continuing to help someone pursue their dream and I hope his story, along with Angela and Brittany, will inspire other private individuals like us and local businesses like First Citizens Bank to support the scholarship and the college in order to address the shortage of nursing professionals in the area.”

The First Citizens Bank Foundation recently awarded the college a $100,000 grant in support of the college’s nursing programs.