Community College Baccalaureate Association Announces 2009 Student Essay Contest Winner

Naples, FL, March 06, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) and Community College Week are pleased to announce the winner of their 2009 Student Essay Contest. Kristell Mohammed, a student at The College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas, Nevada has won first place for her essay entitled, “On the Road to Success”.

Kristell’s essay was selected from over 170 essays submitted to the 6th Annual CCBA Essay Contest. Her composition describes the many challenges that she has faced in furthering her education, while raising a family as a military wife. She also details the advantages to community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees.

Kristell’s essay will be featured on the CCBA website at www.accbd.org and at the CCBA Ninth International Conference: Access and Success. Kristell and the college she attends, The College of South Nevada, will receive awards at the CCBA Ninth Annual International Conference on March 13 – 15 in Reno, Nevada. She will receive an all expense paid trip to the conference and a $1,000 scholarship. $1,000 will also be awarded to the Student Government Association of The College of South Nevada.

Community College Week and the CCBA would also like to congratulate the other finalists: Sirius Amiri (Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto), Matthew Kinderman (Edison State College, Florida), Anthony Strader (Bronx Community College, New York), Shiloh Kinner (Central Florida Community College, Florida), Allyson Thompson (Lincoln Land Community College, Illinois), Gregory Larson (Bucks County Community College, Pennsylvania), Marsha Raskin (San Diego City College, California), Neira Rodrigeuz (South Texas College, Texas), and Heather McArthur (Niagara College, Ontario).

Baccalaureate degrees are now offered on community college campuses throughout the United States and Canada through University Centers, 2+2 programs, and Distance Learning. Community Colleges in fourteen states and three Canadian provinces currently confer the degrees themselves. The CCBA conducts the contest annually in order to determine what students think about community colleges offering baccalaureate (four-year) degrees.

Dr. Kenneth P. Walker, District President of Edison State College of Florida, is the Founder and President of the Community College Baccalaureate Association.

The CCBA strives to promote better access to the baccalaureate degree on community college campuses and to serve as a resource for information on various models for accomplishing this purpose. For more information, go online to www.accbd.org.

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