1998

Whitlock says he earns more tlian he teaches Some people ne\ er have a chanLe to reach theu goals. Roger Whitlock gets that chatKc e\ erv dav. NI JU't wimt to do mv part m helpmg .;;omebody ebe be suc– Whitlock said.

He said that the days of p.lants, even those with assemb lv lines or other repeti– tive work, hiring right off the s treet are bac;t– calJy over. "They want people with some kind of work skills," he said. "Any kind of educa– tion you can get is of value." Among the plants in Newton County workmg wtth Eas t Central Community College's program are ESCO, Peavey's and La-Z-Boy. No t o nly does

cessful." he .;;atd. "If 1 can just do ~orne­ thing to help them unlock th~u poten– tial, then that s all vou can ask.. - 1 he 3b-) ear-old Whitlock and hjs

by Aus t in Bishop Appeal Staff Writer

family live in Neshoba County's Hou e Commuruty, but basically call Union he me. ''I've had a lot of good experi– ences in Union and have learned a lot rrom a lot of people," he satd. ''That's one of the things I thtnk about sometimes. I try to remember the people who had a ig mfluencc on my life and I jus t hope that someday somebody ''ill have the same thoughts ard feelmgs about me." W hillock,'' ho taught market– mg and coached baseball for 10 ears at Union High School, has n Work-Based Learrung oordinator at East Central ommunity College for the past ur \ears. One of the things I rruss is the e-to-face, day-to-day contact th the students," he said. "You all\ feel like you have an ct in a situation like that. have a chance to learn and '" "ith them and they learn tru t and depend on you.'' But he abo enjoys what he's ng no,.,, which is basically pmg students find mearung– ployment in what can be a bmes \"JCJous market place -"There are good jobs out there people of all skill levels and mdu tries want good, dable employees,"

Whitlock help select the students who go out into the work– place, which means they receive a salary as well as receive college credit, but he also goes and checks on them at the work– place. ''I'm always learning and I think that's important," says Whitlock, who points out that what he really wants to do for the students, the industries and all of those he comes out in con– tact with is to serve. "That's where I get my joy," he said. "Doing something for other people is important to me." And although he is well-edu– cated and has 15 years of experi– ence in his field, he's also far from being a know-it-all. "When I go out to the plants and other various places I'm also there to learn as well," he sa1d . "You can never know e\ery– thing. And if you go into a situa– tion thinking you do knO\\ 1t all.

tiona! one who hollered a lot has become a moti,·ational-t} pe speaker. "I talk to different groups here on campu... at other schools and also in plants and places like that," he satd. One thi "g ',\'hitlock tries to do is ~c?i the "rost out o f his life '" It~ oo• aoout mone\' or ntles ,. u ~am, u's about wh3t you \'e done wt•h tJ-.e opponumh~:; you haw,· 1"1~ .;;a1d. '" L1fe is u~t a \apor B ·~re you know tt its :t:ane. • t thin its important to use it to ·ouch as rnanv li\ es in a posi– ti\'e manner that ' ou can he 5atd. •tti'

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ESH BA Ut:MU'-' rve. • --~=;;;...._- 8NTONRECORD_________ MERIDIAN STAR_________

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