ENGELHARD — Residents of Hyde County will have expanded educational opportunities at the Hyde County Davis Center in Engelhard when a new workforce and continuing education coordinator comes aboard.

Hyde County native Georgia Ballance will work to address the training and educational needs of Hyde County through Beaufort County Community College’s Engelhard location.

Ballance is familiar with the county and its people. The rural nature of the county means that residents who wish to attend college have difficulty doing so.

“It’s complicated to go so far to get what you need,” she said. “You can’t go to college, so you go to work.”

Ballance attended classes at BCCC’s main campus in Beaufort County as well as taking remote classes. She remembers making the drive to the main campus at night when she was in high school. She said the opportunities are already much better.

She will be developing new classes and facilitating existing classes at the center. While BCCC has expanded its opportunities to residents living far from the Beaufort County campus by increasing its use of online and remote classes, this expansion has not benefited those who lack computer access.

“One of the roadblocks to training is access to computers and the knowledge to use them,” she said.

There are parts of the county where dial-up internet is still the only option. The center has high-speed internet and computers, so that residents can take classes without worrying about their home internet access.

Having Ballance at the center will also help residents who may be unaware of opportunities available at BCCC. This spring, the Hyde County Davis Center will host a variety of continuing education offerings including high school equivalency, small business, health care, computer and personal enrichment classes.

The Hyde County Davis Center is located at 33478 U.S. Highway 264 and is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 252-940-6375.