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Le Roy resident is April's Student of the Month at GCC

By Billie Owens

(From left, chemistry instructor Rafael Alicea-Maldonado, Ph.D, named Employee of the Month, College President Stuart Steiner, and Phyllis Washburn, Student of the Month.)

Genesee Community College has named Le Roy resident Phyllis Washburn the Student of the Month for April.

She is a nontraditional student pursuing a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Business. She not only excels in the classroom, but also in service to the college community. She is a supervisor of the Student Safety Patrol (SSP) and puts in countless hours scheduling SSP members, coordinating events and leading activities. She is highly respected by her classmates, is a good listener, and provides carefully crafted commentaries in the classroom.

Washburn is originally from Rochester. She quit high school in 1971 and earned a GED in 1981. She completed a little college at that time, but didn't have time to complete a degree with four children at home and a full-time job.

Now that her youngest is also attending Genesee, she decided it was a good time to finish her degree.

"I realized it was time for me to finally get a degree in something," Washburn said. "GCC is close to home and tuition is reasonable. Once I got here, I realized this was the best place. With the smaller class sizes and the amazing teachers, I was able to achieve everything I had hoped I could."

She completed a Criminal Justice degree in December with a 3.89 GPA. She is now working on a Business Administration degree and currently holds a 4.0 GPA. She will complete that degree this coming December. Phyllis hopes to one day own her own private security company.

She has been named to the President's List every semester since her return to school. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She received the Student Safety Patrol Service Award and the Gsell Memorial Scholarship. She has also been selected for Who's Who in Universities and Colleges and she is the president of the Criminal Justice Club.

"At GCC I feel like I have a whole new family. I have been so lucky to meet and become friends with so many wonderful people here," Washburn noted. "The fact that this is a small school gives me that opportunity. I believe that the atmosphere here at GCC gives a student an extraordinary opportunity to succeed."

Phyllis is married to her husband of 38 years, Waylen C. Washburn Sr. They have five children: Jennifer Downard (Richard) of Greenfield, Ohio; Waylen C. Jr. (Candy) of Hamlin; Ryan (Dawn Kenyon) and Daniel of Le Roy; and Aaron (Elysia) of Byron. She has seven grandchildren, Steven, Richard II, and Jonathan Downard and Ashley, Trinitty, Virginia and October Washburn.

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