Seven students at the Beaufort County Ed. Tech Center took a major step toward pursuing their dreams on Wednesday.

Meeting with representatives from Beaufort County Community College, students completed paperwork solidifying their enrollment at BCCC during the spring semester, each seeking professional credentials and certifications that will make them eligible for well-paying jobs that are in demand, right here in Beaufort County.

Through the state’s College and Career Promise program, which was recently expanded to include workforce pathways, each of the students’ registration fees for college will be waived. Tuition and books will be provided courtesy of BCCC Foundation scholarships. In essence, these students have the chance to complete these trainings at no cost, all while still enrolled in high school.

“If they’re successful, they’ll complete the program with an industry credential and they can either go straight to work or continue their education and get other stackable credentials that would make them even more employable,” BCCC Vice President of Continuing Education Stacey Gerard said.

Michael Batchelor and Rasheem Rivers will each pursue Level I HVAC Technician certifications. In the healthcare field, Stephon Neals and Yasmine Corprew are both enrolling in the community college’s EMT program, while Mailya Blackledge and Malaija Foreman will pursue Nurse Aid certifications. Tionna Holland, also seeking a position in healthcare, will seek credentials to become a pharmacy technician.

For each student, the chance to pursue these credentials is a tremendous opportunity.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to make a positive change in people’s lives,” Batchelor said. “With this opportunity, I plan on making my life better and the people around me better.”

For a number of the students, the Ed. Tech Center has presented a chance to change their outlooks on life and strive for something greater. Crediting the environment, the staff and the individualized attention they receive there, the teens agreed that Ed. Tech had helped them find the confidence to pursue these opportunities.

“I’ve made better choices to have these opportunities,” Blackledge added.

For Batchelor and Rivers, the HVAC credentials they are seeking could be more than a foot in the door for a good career — it could be the beginning of a path to small business ownership in the future.

“I’m going to work for somebody else until I can make it on my own,” Rivers said. “I want to be a leader.”

For all of the students, it is a valuable chance at self-improvement, and it’s not just limited to students at Ed. Tech. The Career and College Promise program is available to all junior and senior high school students in Beaufort County. Programs available through the workforce pathway at BCCC include EMT, Nurse Aid I, HVAC Technician, Commercial Truck Driving, Phlebotomy Technician and Pharmacy Technician.

“I was thinking about it one day and thought I would want to try and do it one day,” Holland said. “When I saw this scholarship, I decided I wanted to do this because it is an opportunity for me to do better in life.”

For more information on the program offerings at BCCC, visit www.beaufortccc.edu