Mississippi Delta Community College has been selected as one of only three institutions statewide to receive the 2025–2026 Non-Traditional Recruitment and Retention Grant from the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB). MDCC’s Career-Technical and Health Sciences divisions have been awarded $5,000 to support initiatives aimed at increasing enrollment and retention of students in non-traditional career and technical education (CTE) programs.
The grant will fund the “Career-Technical and Health Sciences Discovery Day,” an event tentatively scheduled for March 24, 2026, that will bring high school juniors and seniors from CTE centers across MDCC’s seven-county service area to the Moorhead campus. The day will feature hands-on exploration, sessions with nontraditional student role models, and activities designed to spark interest in high-demand fields.
“As Provost, I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity to help students discover career paths that align with their interests and talents,” says Dr. Valarie Morgan, Vice President of Instruction and Accreditation/Provost. “By offering hands-on experiences and personal connections with professionals in these fields, we’re opening doors for students to see themselves in careers they may never have imagined.”
The project includes hands-on learning opportunities, mentorship engagements, and strengthened partnerships with industry and schools. It is designed to support recruitment into programs where one gender comprises less than twenty-five percent of the workforce, such as Construction Equipment Operation and Welding for female students and Practical Nursing and Dental Hygiene for male students.