Kimberly Mills Honored at Genesee's Discover the Stars Scholarship Reception

2010 Sep 16

Genesee Community College Foundation scholarship recipients and their families and Foundation donors gathered in the Conable Technology Building at the Batavia Campus, on Monday evening, September 13, 2010 to meet, greet, and share stories of student achievements and career aspirations. The evening event ran from 5:00PM – 7:00PM with a special presentation at 5:30PM. For this year's reception, three successful alumni were invited to share their stories and experiences at Genesee that guided them on the road to success. Distinguished alumni, Colin Garwood '76, Natalie Wedge, '10 and Crystal Fial '10 were the featured speakers for the evening.

Colin Garwood has been serving as the executive Director of LDA Life and Learning Services for the past 10 years. LDA serves children and adults with learning disabilities and other developmental disabilities. LDA employs 180 people and works with an $8 million budget. Mr. Garwood is the immediate past president of the Council of Agency Executives, a trustee of the New York State Learning Disabilities Association, a past executive director of The Advocacy Center (10 years), past director of Planning and Development for Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, and the former associate executive Director of the Catholic Charities Community and Residential Services. He holds an Associate's degree from Genesee (1976), a Bachelor's degree from SUNY Geneseo (1979) and a Master's degree from SUNY Brockport (1989). Mr. Garwood is a resident of Greece, NY and has three children, Jonathan, 22, David, 21 and Erica, 19.

Mr. Garwood expressed his congratulations to the winners and thanked the donors who make the scholarships possible. He shared his fond memories of attending classes at GCC, working a restaurant job after school and living in a rented apartment in Batavia. He also encouraged students to value their supportive families and the friendships made during their college years. He closed by encouraging students to continue learning after college.

"Learning is a life-long process," Mr. Garwood noted. "Learning isn't done when you complete college."

Natalie Wedge and Crystal Fial were selected to spend eight weeks in Brisbane, Australia for a Nursing study abroad preceptorship. They have since graduated and went on to acquire nursing jobs right after commencement. They shared their experiences abroad and their experiences as nursing students at Genesee.

Kimberly Mills, a resident of Basom, NY 14013 was among 180 students receiving recognition at the 2010 Discover the Stars Scholarship Reception at Genesee. Mills was awarded the Alumni Legacy scholarship.

For the full list of winners visit http://marketing.genesee.edu/images/DTS_FUll_List.pdf.

For more information regarding Discover the Stars Scholarship Reception, please contact the foundation office at 585-345-6809 or discoverthestars@genesee.edu .

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Editor's Note:

Photo Caption - Guest speakers Colin Garwood (left), Natalie Wedge (middle) and Crystal Fial (right) at the 2010 GCC Foundation Discover the Stars Scholarship Reception.