January 30, 2004

CONTACT: Kimberly Stark, (901) 333-4023 -- Marilyn Duncan, (901) 333-4247

SOUTHWEST SCHEDULES FREE SPRING CAREER/EDUCATION COUNSELING PROGRAM

Southwest Tennessee Community College will hold orientations and workshops this month for a free career/education counseling program that offers participants a fresh start.

The eight-week Professional Re-entry Education Program (PREP) serves single parents and displaced homemakers who have the potential to succeed in a post-secondary institution, but may lack the initial financial resources to get started or the motivation to attend. To aid in motivation toward achieving career goals, the PREP program includes workshops on college life, positive imaging, career options, stress management, assertiveness techniques, employability skills training, money management, time management, goal-setting and related topics.

The program also offers assistance in applying for federal aid and scholarships, an on-going counseling relationship between participants and PREP counselors, and, as space allows, childcare assistance for children ages 15 months through 12 years. After completing the eight-week career-counseling course, participants with a financial need can borrow textbooks from the PREP text library for their first term of enrollment at Southwest.

Orientations for the Spring PREP program will be February 9 and 11 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and February 10 and 12 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Spring workshops will be held on Monday evenings from 6 to 8:30 p.m., February 23 through April 12, and on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 3:30 p.m., February 24 through April 13, 2004. The orientations and workshops will be in Building F, room 204 on the Union Avenue Campus. To schedule a group orientation, call the PREP Office at (901) 333-5342 or (901) 333-5493. For more information about the program or to schedule an interview, call (901) 333-4486.

Southwest, Tennessee’s largest two-year college, serves more than 11,000 students in Memphis, Shelby and Fayette counties, and the Tri-State area.

Southwest offers 39 programs for career studies and transfer, 37 two-year programs leading to immediate career entry through the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree, and more than 40 areas of interest in traditional university transfer programs through the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree and the Associate of Science (A.S.) degree.

In addition, Southwest offers Academic Certificate and Technical Certificate programs in 28 areas. Technical certificates are usually completed in no more than one year, and prepare students for immediate entry positions in high-demand, specialized fields.

Southwest, a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.