Cheryl Sington, director of Gadsden State Community College’s Cheaha Educational Opportunity Center, was selected to IE Magazine’s “Top 10 Inspiring Leaders” list for 2023.
The digital magazine describes itself at its website as “a source of information, inspiration, and motivation for the industry’s leading leaders, executives, investors and entrepreneurs.”
Sington has been at Gadsden State since 2021, when she launched the EOC that seeks to increase the number of adults in Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee and Cleburne counties who enroll in college, according to a news release from the school.
“I am humbled for this honor, but it’s not just about me,” she said in the release. “It’s a testament to the incredible team at Gadsden State who has joined me on the journey to help adult learners complete their secondary education and pursue post-secondary education.
“I am reminded that true leadership is about igniting the spark of inspiration in others, guiding them to their full potential and collectively achieving remarkable success,” Sington said.
The EOC program has federal TRiO status (designed to identify and provide services for individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds) and was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
“We provide opportunities for academic development and assistance in applying for college enrollment and financial aid among other services that will motivate them and lead them to complete their high school equivalency and their postsecondary education,” Sington said.
Those services include counseling, tutoring and career workshops.
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The program does community outreach to recruit 850 participants each year, and Sington in the IE story noted that building community partnerships has been an important part of her strategy. A key one is with former University of Alabama and NFL player Dre Kirkpatrick’s 21Kids Foundation.
Joining Sington on the “Inspiring Leaders” list are Jay Feilen, chief executive officer of ERC Benefits; William Rubio, chief revenue officer of CallTower; Madison Whitcher, CEO of MDZN Studio; Bret Webb, CEO of Sentry Protection and Investigations; Tony Coder, executive director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation; Pedro Langa, vice president of finance for Space Perspective; Christopher Miller, CEO of Freedom Warranty; Timothy Witucki, CEO of Omada One; and Lori Moriarty, vice president of operations for Michael Management.
Sington is the only Alabamian and educator on the list.
“These people are truly remarkable,” she said. “I find that their stories fuel my own journey. They have become a source of my own inspiration. I try to always surround myself with inspirational people. They are a reminder that greatness is not achieved in isolation, but through shared energy and aspirations of those who dare to dream.”
A native of Gadsden, Sington holds bachelor’s degrees in theater and dance from the University of Alabama; a master’s degree in educational administration from Middle Tennessee State University; and a Master of Science and a Ph.D. from California Coast University.
She had a career in the performing arts before moving into education, appearing in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video and on the television shows “Roseanne” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” among others. (She teaches a theater class at Gadsden State, assists with the school’s theater department and will direct a play early next year.)
Sington also worked as director of performing arts at The Cate School in Carpinteria, California, and The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee — she doubled as director of girls’ residential life at the latter — and developed the performing arts department and was director of social sciences and faculty development Sandia Prep School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Before coming to Gadsden State, she had a consulting business that assisted students seeking to continue their post-secondary education, and was director of outreach programs and supervised grant programs at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Visit https://www.gadsdenstate.edu/admissions-aid/eoc.cms for information on the EOC program.