“I was genuinely shocked and honored,” Tokura-Gallo said. “Receiving recognition was never my motivation for volunteering, so I never imagined that this award would come my way.”

She received the award for her work with the ANSWER Scholarship, a local program offering critical financial support, mentoring, and professional development opportunities to nontraditional female students who are mothers.

Susan Anderson, founder and executive director of the ANSWER Scholarship, presented Tokura-Gallo with the award in September, praising her years of service and commitment to empowering women through education.

“What made the moment even more memorable was that I was convinced the award was going to another volunteer,” Tokura-Gallo said. “As Susan described the recipient’s service and contributions, I kept smiling and looking around, expecting someone else’s name to be called.”

Tokura-Gallo’s interest in higher education and service began in her hometown, where she studied social psychology and sociology at Toyo University. After moving to the United States, she earned a master’s degree in neurolinguistics and developmental psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Tokura-Gallo was encouraged to continue her career in higher education when she discovered an open adjunct position for a psychology instructor at ������Ƶ.

“I applied, was hired, and the rest is history,” she said. “What started as a part-time teaching opportunity eventually grew into a career that has allowed me to teach thousands of students, serve in leadership roles and combine my passion for psychology with my commitment to helping students achieve their educational goals.”

Tokura-Gallo began her career at ������Ƶ over 20 years ago, teaching high school students at the Lincoln Campus. Her role quickly expanded to a full-time faculty position, and she now serves as department lead and program chair for the Associate in Science and Associate in Engineering programs. For more than 16 years, she has played a pivotal

role with the ANSWER Scholarship, currently serving as co-chair of the Selection Committee.

Since its founding in 2006, the ANSWER Scholarship has helped more than 160 local mothers continue their education, awarding over $1 million in scholarship support. In the 2025-2026 academic year, every ANSWER scholar graduated, showing the program’s importance and impact.

“The secret to that success is our support network,” Tokura-Gallo said. “Each scholar is matched with a mentor who walks alongside her throughout her educational journey, providing encouragement, guidance, and support during both the challenges and celebrations.”

While the program’s statistics impress her, Tokura-Gallo cherishes her work with the ANSWER Scholarship for the professional and personal development it creates for each student.

“One of our favorite sayings is, ‘We are small, but we are mighty,” Tokura-Gallo said. “We change one family at a time.’”

Tokura-Gallo’s dedication and leadership continue to inspire students and colleagues at ������Ƶ, embodying the college’s mission to educate and care for people.

It all started with an email. Andrea Gill, one of our dedicated instructors, wanted to spread the word about the amazing animals that our Veterinary Medical Technology students and staff work with. Every week, we partner with ������Ƶ County Animal Care and Enforcement to care for eight animals. Andrea realized these furry friends needed more than temporary care—they needed forever homes.

“In the last spring semester, we had so many amazing animals,” Andrea shared. “I just wished I could let people know what kind of animals could be adopted and thought people would be interested in helping.”

That’s when “Rhino Rescues” was born. Andrea began sending out weekly emails to ������Ƶ faculty and staff, highlighting one special animal each time. The response has been overwhelming.

“I knew I was sending the emails to faculty and staff, but I thought maybe somebody knows somebody who wants a cat or a dog that we’ve shown,” Andrea explained. Her intuition was spot on. The ������Ƶ community rallied around these animals, and the results have been nothing short of incredible.

In just a short time, five out of seven featured animals so far have found their forever homes. It’s a success that’s exceeded even Andrea’s wildest expectations. “Somebody asked me what my goals were when we first started and I thought if I could’ve gotten one adoption per semester that would be good,” she said. “I really didn’t know how people would respond to the emails. But I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback and have had people get interested in seeing more.”

The impact of “Rhino Rescues” goes beyond just finding homes for these animals. It’s bringing our college community together, fostering a sense of compassion, and making a real difference in our local area. “There’s so many animals in the shelter that it’s just nice to get their faces out into the community and have people adopt some of them,” Andrea noted.

Encouraged by this success, Andrea is committed to continuing the program. She’s particularly excited about sharing updates on the adopted animals, giving everyone a chance to see these furry friends thriving in their new homes. “I definitely plan on keeping it going and I would call it a success so far,” she said. “I’m excited. I think it’s going well and I plan on continuing it.”

Initiatives like these embody our College mission to educate and care for people—and, in this case, our furry friends, too!

Roupas has more than 20 years of nursing experience and has worked in a variety of areas including the Operating Room, Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Nursery, Research, Primary Care, School Nursing and Nursing Education. She was a Certified Nurse Educator before she completed a post-Master’s Simulation Certificate Program at Carolinas College of Health Sciences and became a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) in November 2023.

“The favorite part of my job is facilitating experiential learning experiences that allow learners to practice hands-on skills and critical thinking skills in a safe environment,” Roupas said.  Her teaching strategy is designed to “create a psychologically safe learning environment that is as close as possible to what they will be seeing in real life. We want to help students build momentum for future careers through simulation.”

Rowe has been a Simulations Technology Specialist at ������Ƶ for 3 1/2 years. Prior to joining the college, he spent 25 years working for Mecklenburg County – 12 as an IT Business Analyst at Mecklenburg County Information Technology, eight as a Senior IT Programmer Analyst, and five as an Applications Specialist at Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.

He has received multiple certifications and awards since earning his A.A. Degree in Liberal Arts from ������Ƶ in 1980, his B.A. Degree in Political Science from Belmont Abbey in 1982 and his A.S. Degree in Accounting from ������Ƶ in 1988.

“Utilizing my IT experience and skillset to advance medical student learning” is his favorite thing about his job and Rowe adds, “I especially enjoy seeing former students at health care facilities and knowing that I had a small part in helping them get there.“ He says his teaching strategy isn’t much about teaching as it preparing his students for success.

 “My primary responsibility is to ensure that the lab equipment and related software operates as it should from a technical standpoint.”

������Ƶ was awarded $60 million by the state of North Carolina in late 2023 to build a new Health Science Education and Simulation Center on the Dallas campus geared towards providing training opportunities for new and existing healthcare personnel.

“Not only will our students develop necessary skills in this facility, but current healthcare workers can come to retool skills, work to advance their position, acquire certifications, and more,” said Dr. John Hauser, president of ������Ƶ.

It will take several years to complete the facility, but the College plans to work with partners at CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Atrium Health, ������Ƶ County Schools, Lincoln County Schools, Cleveland Community College, and Catawba Valley Community College to provide increased access to the training opportunities it will provide.