Scholarship for RichmondCC Established in Honor of Long Time Educator

Another scholarship has been made available to Richmond Community College students, thanks to former teacher Sandy Bryant who established the Bobbie Sue Ormsby Annual Scholarship in honor of another fellow educator.

“I believe learning is lifelong. I don’t believe you should ever stop learning or furthering your education,” said Bryant, who taught English at Richmond Senior High School for 30 years.

“Bobbie Sue (Ormsby) has served in so many capacities in education in this county, and I admire her both personally and professionally,” Bryant said. “She is very loved by many teachers and children who came through her schools.”

Ormsby served in education for 37 and a half years. The Rockingham native started as a second-grade teacher at LJ Bell Elementary School in 1976. After 12 years in the classroom, she became assistant principal and then principal of LJ Bell.

Ormsby was elected to the Richmond County School Board in July 2014 and now serves as vice chair of the board. She has also served on the RichmondCC Foundation Board of Directors for four years.

“I’ve always loved education, and I’ve always loved children,” Ormsby said. “It sounds like a cliché, but I always knew I wanted to be a teacher.”

Education has always been very important to both Ormsby and her late husband, Ed, who also was a teacher, principal and school board member in Richmond County.

“I’m very attached to Richmond County, and we’re very fortunate to have Richmond Community College here. I was overwhelmed when Sandy told me about the scholarship,” said Ormsby, who described the feeling of having the scholarship established in her name like “a thousand children hugging me.”

Bryant said she and Ormsby both share a desire to see children succeed and to understand there is more after high school.

“The bragging point used to be: ‘I was the first to get a high school degree in my family.’ I’d rather hear: ‘I was the first to get a college degree in my family,’” Bryant said.

Dr. Dale McInnis, president of RichmondCC, said it is because of scholarships such as this one that many students are able to attend college.

“On behalf of the College, our Board of Trustees and Foundation, I want to thank Mrs. Bryant and Mrs. Ormsby for their dedication to higher education and for making this scholarship available to our students so they can better their lives,” McInnis said. “This is a great opportunity for Mrs. Ormsby’s students, teachers and colleagues to join in and honor her career while supporting our students through this scholarship.”

To support the Bobbie Sue Ormsby Scholarship through a donation, contact Foundation administrative assistant Sara Allen at (910) 410-1808 or email sballen@richmondcc.edu. To apply for the Bobbie Sue Ormsby Scholarship, which will be available this fall semester, go to Apply for Scholarships. For more information, call RichmondCC at (910) 410-1700.