Jackson Community College
Alumni Relations Alumni ProfilesTammy Myers
Myers helps girls to believe in themselvesJackson Community College graduate Tammy Myers was recognized recently by Michigan Campus Compact to receive one of five undergraduate Outstanding Community Impact Awards in the state. In her nomination of Myers, Professor Paula Hopper wrote: “In Myers’ Nursing Leadership class, all students had to develop a community service project. Tammy got her small group started long before leadership class even began, because she had a vision. She wanted to get a message to middle school girls in Jackson County: ‘You are special, you have potential, and if you make good decisions, you can change the world.’ With incredible drive and hard work, she led her team to develop a program at the college that brought over 800 middle school girls to campus. She had inspirational speakers – a young woman who overcame poverty to become a nurse, a female cardiologist who told the girls it was okay to be smart, a nurse practitioner who gave them straight information about what was happening to their bodies, and others. She led fundraising efforts so that each girl received a bag of goodies, a healthy snack, and a T-shirt. All in all, it was an incredible effort and result from an incredible lady.” Myers’ special event was called Dream, Believe and Achieve, and was organized with classmates Neysa Carpenter, Diane Wolff, Jillian Camp and Deb Lockhart. Myers has graduated from JCC and is continuing work toward a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Before the event, she said: “As new nurses, we really want to show that we care about our community, and that these children are our future. We wanted to make a difference with the leadership project that we did.” JCC nursing Professor Colleen Chadderton said: “She single-handedly achieved her dream by submitting grants, fundraising, and collaborating with the local community to help young girls make good choices. Attendees said ‘They didn’t know anyone else felt like they did” and ‘She makes me know that I can be somebody to.’” The Outstanding Community Impact Award honors those students who have made service an integral part of their college experience by their significant contribution to community resources. She received the honor at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing in April. |