VCC Magazine Fall 2017

21 / 32

Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2017 21
decided to take its generosity to a new level, giving away the
full tuition waiver, which Neal won.
“It’s a blessing this happened,” said Neal. “This will now
make it a reality for me. I don’t think I could have done it
without this. It’s definitely made it possible for me. I’ve always
asked my boys to go to college. What better way to encourage
that than to go back, myself?”
Bluefield College’s new online MBA is slated to begin in
January 2018, pending official approval from the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
(SACSCOC), and will have concentrations in leadership,
finance, and healthcare management.
“This new MBA targets industries—healthcare and
finance—where qualified people are needed that believe in
serving others and transforming the world,” said Dr. Sharon
Perot, dean of BC’s College of Professional Programs. “It
is different from others because all students participate
in service learning community-based projects at either a
business, community center, state agency, or non-profit
organization.”
Dr. Perot also noted that
students in the new MBA program
will gain a worldview through
participation in Net Impact, a
community of more than 60,000
students and professional leaders
across the world committed to
creating positive social and environmental change in the
workplace and the world.
“Bluefield College is committed to the idea of improving
lives through education, and our new MBA program prepares
students to do just that,” said Michael White, BC’s vice
president for enrollment management. “And this opportunity
(the full tuition waiver) makes affording a private education
more accessible than ever before. We believe in our
Appalachian community and stand with it as it soars to new
heights.”
For more information about the Bluefield College MBA,
contact the Admissions Office by phone at 800-872-0175 or
by email at , or visit the BC web site
at
Chris Shoemaker is the Director of Marketing
and Communications at Bluefield College.
Helping students understand and fulfill their calling is part
of the Bluefield College mission. Making higher education more
accessible to students of the region is also a BC cause. And
there’s no other person happier about those two things than
Natachia Neal, a single mother of two who recently won a full
tuition waiver for Bluefield’s new online Master of Business
Administration (MBA) program, giving her an opportunity she
might not have ever had to fulfill her dreams.
A native of Bluefield, Virginia, Neal attended Graham High
School and Bluefield State College before starting a family in
Bluefield, West Virginia. While furthering her higher education
was always in the back of her mind, the possibility of that
became virtually impossible, she said, when her sons lost
their father, and she suddenly became their sole provider.
“Their father passed away about 11 years ago,” recalled
Neal. “They were just about three and seven (years old) at
the time. I didn’t have life insurance. It was like completely
starting over as a single parent, raising two boys on my
own. It was tough, but you get through it, and you’re a
better person for it.”
Neal said she made ends meet
and provided for her boys working
12 years as a technician at Bluefield
Regional Medical Center. Now just
recently a corrections officer at the
Pocahontas State Correctional
Center in Tazewell County, Virginia,
she said she’s been thinking even more about going back to
college, even looking into the prison’s payback options for
higher education for employees.
“But even that’s hard,” said Neal. “As a single mom,
you just don’t have the funds to pay to go to college, even if
they’re going to be reimbursed. My oldest son is 18 now, and
he’s getting ready to go to college. I have to think about him
first and make sure he has a good foundation before I think
about myself.”
That’s why Neal decided to submit her name for a Bluefield
College drawing to win free tuition for its new MBA. The college
offered the opportunity during the Graham-Bluefield football
game at Mitchell Stadium on August 25. As a scholarship
sponsor for the annual event, the college gives a $1,000
scholarship to an outstanding student-athlete from both the
Bluefield and Graham football teams. This year, however, BC
BC Gives Away MBA Tuition Waiver By Chris Shoemaker
888-729-7428 • •