Wallace Community College-Dothan (WCCD) was recently recognized by Auburn University as one of the Top 10 feeder schools to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, placing WCCD among the top schools whose students go on to enroll in engineering programs at Auburn. “This recognition is a testament of the dedication and commitment of every faculty and staff member at our institution to successfully guide and prepare our students to meet their educational goals,” said WCCD President Dr. Linda Young. “We are so incredibly proud of our students and their continued success.
In a recognition letter, Auburn University College of Engineering Coordinator: Recruitment Andrew McGill acknowledged that the College of Engineering’s success was directly tied to the caliber of students that come from its top feeder schools. “We are very excited to recognize Wallace Community College,” said McGill. “We hope to continue to foster a relationship between the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Wallace Community College to provide opportunities for future engineers for years to come.”
Maddie Phillips was a 2017 WCCD student who transferred to Auburn’s College of Engineering after her freshman year at Wallace. “I knew in high school I was good at math and science, so I investigated careers geared towards that,” said Phillips. After she job shadowed an engineer, she discovered a career she knew she would love. “Engineering is all about changing the world,” said Phillips, “inventing and creating new ways to make lives better and easier.”
Phillips says her time at WCCD as a dual enrollment student and then as a freshman helped prepare her for Auburn. “The small class sizes and one-on-one interactions with instructors definitely made the transition easier,” said Phillips. She graduated Auburn University with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and is currently employed as an Industrial Engineer in the manufacturing division of Humminbird in Eufaula, a company that makes sonar and depth finders, marine GPS, lake mapping, radar, and full boat control integration.
Auburn’s College of Engineering is the highest ranked engineering program in the state, and consistently ranks among the top institutions in the country. The College produces more than one third of Alabama’s engineering graduates. The College of Engineering is the largest on Auburn University’s campus with approximately 5,300 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students. Prominent alumni include four astronauts and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Inc.