2022MayWarriorWEB

Fresh Faces at ECCC T iffany E lkins N amed N ew D irector of B ands

for ECCC. The college’s new Thomas W. Carson Band Hall was officially opened last month. Elkins received a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music and master’s degree in education from the University of North Alabama in Florence and a master’s degree in trumpet perfor-mance from the University of Florida. Since joining the ECCC faculty in January,

East Central Community College has named Tiffany Elkins as director of bands beginning with the 2022-23 school year. Elkins has been serving as temporary band director and music instructor at ECCC during the cur-rent spring 2022 semester. She will officially begin her new duties on July 1. In her new role, Elkins will direct the nearly 200-member Wall O’ Sound Marching Band, as well as the college’s Concert Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, and Percussion Ensemble. “I am thrilled and honored to be selected as the director of the Wall O’ Sound band and other bands at East Central Community College,” said Elkins. “I hope to continue the tradition of ex-cellence in music education set by Tom Carson and others before me. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with students and colleagues who share my joy and passion for music and the arts. The students I have worked with thus far have impressed me with their dedication, resilience, and optimism, and I want to continue to improve the quality of their education by giving them every opportunity to perform at a high level.” The late Tom Carson was the longtime director of bands

Elkins has conducted the college’s Jazz, Concert, and Pep bands and taught Music Appreciation courses. Prior to her time at East Central, she was an adjunct professor of music at the University of North Alabama and a student teaching intern with Florence City Schools, as well as a graduate assistant at both UNA and the University of Florida while working on her master’s degrees. She has performed with the Huntsville (Ala.) Symphony Orchestra and Shoals (Ala.) Symphony Orchestra, the University of North Alabama and University of Florida bands and ensembles, and at Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence. Elkins is a member of the Tau Beta Sigma national honorary band sorority, the Association of American Educators, and the International Trumpet Guild. ELKINS

F ormer O le M iss C heerleader B ailey G ibson N amed ECCC C heer C oach

instructor at East Mississippi Cheerleading in Meridian and as a fitness instructor, also in Meridian. She is an ACE (American Council on Exercise) certified Group Fitness Instructor. Gibson and her husband, Cade, reside in Clarkdale. “I’m thrilled to be asked to take over leadership of the ECCC Warrior Cheer Team,” said Gibson. “The Cheer Team at East Central has a long history of supporting our student- athletes, bringing energy and enthusiasm to Warrior fans, and being important members of the campus and greater community. We want our cheerleaders to be held to a higher standard as they represent the college publicly

Meridian native and former Ole Miss Rebel cheerleader Bailey Swearingen Gibson is the new cheerleader coach at East Central Community College. She began her new duties with the Warrior Cheerleading Team following the completion of the 2021 football season. Gibson has been the college’s Warrior Wellness Coordinator since August 2020. Gibson is a graduate of Northeast Lauderdale High School and helped cheer the Trojans to three state high school cheer championships. After graduation, she continued her academic and cheerleading career at the

GIBSON

at many times during the academic year.” Gibson said her goal is to eventually transition ECCC Cheer into a competitive program. “That transition is a couple of years away, but our goal is to build a foundation of hardworking, energetic, driven, and talented student-athletes so that one day we will compete in the Game Day Division of the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Nationals,” explained Gibson. More details will be posted when available at www.eccc.edu and on our social media accounts. To schedule a special reunion group, contact Maria McLeod, director of external relations, at mmcleod@eccc.edu or call 601-635-6303.

University of Mississippi, where she was a member of the Rebel Coed Cheer Team for three years, earning the Chucky Mullins Cheerleading Award during the 2018-19 school year. She was also a member of the Ole Miss Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She graduated from Ole Miss with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in education. Gibson previously has worked as a cheerleading

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HOMECOMING 2022 Thursday, Oct. 20

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