THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409140137
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
JOHN BAILEY IS SUCH an admirer of the community college system that he wants to share his enthusiasm with the public.
As the recently chosen student ambassador for the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater Community College in Suffolk, Bailey will assist with public relations and act as a representative at various community functions.
``I want to help enhance the image of the school,'' Bailey said. ``I want to show students that community colleges can offer as good an education as a four-year college. It's less expensive and not as overwhelming. There are alternatives to spending large sums of money and going to a huge school.''
Promotional programs planned by Bailey include a series of formal lectures on campus.
``I hope to have speakers concerning international issues . . . perhaps, someone from NATO. We will invite the public and also high school students to come and hear the lectures.''
For the college's annual fall picnic, Bailey plans to help organize publicity with the various clubs on campus, as well as promoting shelters for the needy.
``This is a major fund-raising event, sponsored by the Student Government Association, for the HER Shelter for battered women in Portsmouth, and Oasis, a general shelter for those in need,'' he said.
During the 1995 spring semester, high school students will be invited to the college, where they will have access to a number of information booths. Questions will be answered concerning clubs, curriculum programs and the computer drafting program.
``This will really tell them what the school has to offer,'' Bailey said. Bailey, 23, is a native of New Orleans, where he developed a love for jazz. The son of John and Sherie Bailey, he has a younger brother, Jack, who is serving in Sicily with the Navy.
A resident of Churchland in Portsmouth, Bailey moved there when his father was transferred with the military. He graduated from Churchland High School and enrolled at Tidewater Community College in the fall of 1989.
He received an associate's degree in business administration and after a year's sabbatical decided to return to school. A political science major, Bailey attends one class in business law at TCC and four classes weekly at Old Dominion University.
After completing two more semesters at TCC, Bailey will be a candidate for an associate's degree in general studies.
The director of finance for the Portsmouth Campus United Nations Society, Bailey has represented France, North Korea and Mali at various mock United Nations conventions both at TCC and in New York City.
``A professor at TCC, who was an adviser to the United Nations, introduced me to the U.N. Organization on campus,'' Bailey said. ``We deal with the same problems that the U.N. does . . . nuclear proliferation and the crisis in Bosnia. We spend months doing research on what a country's viewpoint is on a certain topic. It's training for potential future world leaders.''
After reading an advertisement for the ambassador's position in the campus newspaper, Bailey was chosen for the position after completing an application and a successful interview session.
``This is an experimental scholarship program . . . like an internship working in the field of public relations,'' Bailey said.
Bailey works with the Student Activity Office 20 hours a week and, in return, receives 15 free credit hours at the college.
He has studied public speaking and tied for first-place in the most recent Portsmouth Campus Black History Month public speaking contest.
His hobbies include reading, working out at the gym, and listening to music, particularly jazz.
Bailey tutors several students three days weekly and plans to continue his studies at ODU. He wants to become an intern with the Central Intelligence Agency.
``I would like to go into public service, possibly politics, with the State Department or the Foreign Service.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
John Bailey, a graduate of Churchland High in Portsmouth, has been
chosen student ambassador for the Portsmouth Campus of Tidewater
Community College in Suffolk.
by CNB