FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DCC STUDENT RECOGNIZED AT  

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

DANVILLE, VA, January 19, 2005 -- Zena Hibbler, a Danville Community College student and

DCC student Zena Hibbler and Russell Scruggs, Assistant Professor of History.

 resident of Danville, has been honored as the 2005 recipient of “The Wind Beneath My Wings” Award, also known as “The Katie”. The award was presented to Hibbler by The Stuart Educational Leadership Group, Inc., during the Carroll F.S. Hardy National Black Student Leadership Development Conference held recently in Arlington.

The award honors a student who has achieved academic success while providing service and exemplary leadership to his/her college/university and community. The recipient must have made a difference in the lives of others through volunteerism and leadership.

Hibbler, nominated by Russell Scruggs, DCC Assistant Professor of History, was described as “mature, diligent, and high-achieving.” She has coordinated several successful DCC student community service projects. 

“Rarely does one find a student as mature, diligent, devoted to serving others and high achieving as Zena Hibbler,” Scruggs said. “In the classroom setting, she is equally dependable, insightful, and affable. All of her professors know that if they desire a critically analytical response to a thought-provoking question, they should just ask Ms. Hibbler!”

Hibbler, a single mother of three, is pursuing an Associate in Arts and Science Degree in Liberal Arts with a specialization in social science. She expects to complete her studies later this spring and then transfer to either Averett University or Duke University to pursue a baccalaureate degree in psychology.

“Ms. Hibbler has been able to balance her roles of simultaneously being a loving mother, an avid volunteer leader on campus, a high-achieving student and an employee of the college. I believe her to be an outstanding and positive role model, an ideal student and an inspiring leader. She is greatly deserving of the award,” Scruggs said. “Her kind efficiency, tactfulness and helpfulness are other examples of her service to others.”

In service to her community, Hibbler organized a Halloween party for more than 50 youth in the Cardinal Village housing development, providing the children with a fun and safe environment for two consecutive years. Additionally, she continues to coordinate community leadership workshops and seek grant money to fund projects in at-risk areas.

Hibbler also serves as the president of the African-American Culture Club, of which Scruggs is a co-sponsor. In addition, she holds a part-time job in the DCC Admissions Office, and is serving as the Interim Coordinator of the DCC Alliance for Excellence program.

Hibbler is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students, and she serves as special projects coordinator. She is listed in Who’s Who Among Students in America’s Junior Colleges and was a recipient of one DCC’s Student Achievement Awards for 2003-2004.

            “My educational experience at DCC has been awesome because of the encouragement, the care and the concern of the staff and faculty members,” Hibbler said. “They helped me to explore my hidden gifts and talents which placed me on a path of understanding my purpose.”