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2010 Board of Trustees
John W. Lyon, Co-Founder, The Excel
Institute
George Starke, Co-Founder, The Excel
Institute
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Member, U.S. Congress
Katie Clark, First Vice President, Merrill
Lynch
Geoffrey Gitner, Esq., Attorney, Blank Rome
William Buckingham, Senior VP, McGinn
Investments
Florentino Gregorio, President, Anchor
Construction
Leigh Henry, President, Capstone
Henry Osborne, President, Osborne
Construction
Marc Slavin, President and CEO, Marc Parc
Inc.
Tamara Smith, President and CEO, YWCA-NCR |
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Calendar/Information
Excel Graduation - June 18
Summer Break - July 5 - July 25
Fall Semester Begins - August 23 |
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Statistics and Data
Current Enrollment: 87
Expected Graduates: 30
Recent Placements: 13 |
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"The Life and Times of Fredrick Douglass"
By Matthew Brown, Excel Student
After reading an article on Frederick
Douglass I have a new perspective and
appreciation for some things that now a days
are taken for granted... I wonder if his
mother or grandmother who raised him had any
idea of how influential a strategist he
would emerge as an advocate for the rights
and other civil liberties of plack people...
He did not know his lineage but he did not
let that hinder him in pursuit of knowledge.
He did not let his slave owners diminish his
quest to better himself by learning how to
read and to eventually obtain his freedom
and his wife's as well. He made a pledge to
himself that one day he would be free and he
accomplished that goal even though his life
was often in peril. Douglass became an asset
to the American Anti-Slavery Society when he
began speaking at rallies about his life on
the plantation. He became so eloquent a
speaker that he had to "dumb it down" so
that people would believe he had actually
been a slave...
I voted for the first time when Adrian Fenty
became Mayor of DC. I had no knowledge that
it was Douglass who helped ensure I had the
right to vote. I was ignorant about the
importance of what Emancipation Day was all
about until I read the article and realized
it was Douglass who encouraged President
Abraham Lincoln to emancipate the
slaves... Frederick Douglass accomplished a
lot in his 77 years that benefited blacks
before he died in Washington, D.C. |
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Sponsor Spotlight
Anchor Construction Corporation was founded
as C & F Construction Company in 1985. They
are a company of 175-200 highly skilled
employees who have completed more than 400
projects with billings in excess of $300
million. Anchor Construction specializes in
utilities, including water, storm, sewer and
conduits, and road construction, and also
has the capability and expertise to build
new construction and rehab existing
infrastructure. |
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Excel to Launch Alternative Fuels Program
The Excel Institute, with support from
Volkswagen of America and Macomb Community
College, will launch the region’s first
comprehensive alternative fuels technician
training program. Students will have the
opportunity to obtain training in the
service and repair of diesel and hybrid
electrical vehicles. Volkswagen of America
has trained Excel’s instructors to deliver
its diesel curriculum to Excel’s students.
Volkswagen of America has also provided the
Excel Institute with a diesel powered
vehicle so that students can obtain hands-on
 training. These efforts are part of a five
year commitment to Excel from Volkswagen of Amerca.
Macomb
Community College (MCC), a community college
in the state of Michigan, is partnering with
the Excel Institute to offer students
training in the service and repair of hybrid
electric vehicles. The instructors at the
Excel Institute will spend a week at MCC to
learn the curriculum and observe how the
program is delivered to its students. The
curriculum was developed in conjunction with
the Division of Engineering Technology at
Wayne State University, through a National
Science Foundation grant supporting the
creation of an integrated education and
industrial-based training program involving
an alternative fuel source. The Excel
Institute will be one of the first
post-secondary institutions outside the
state of Michigan to offer the curriculum.
Excel expects to officially launch the
program in the 2010-11 school year. |
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2010 Golf Classic Set for June 9th
 The Excel Institute is pleased to announce
its annual Golf Classic has been scheduled
for Wednesday, June 9th at
Whiskey Creek Golf Club in Ijamsville, MD.
Always an enjoyable day on the links, the
“5th Annual Excel Institute Golf
Classic, Presented by Anchor Construction”
includes all of your favorite tournament
perks, plus some surprises, that make the
day truly one to remember.
Log on to our website to see this year's
Sponsorship opportunities.
There is no better way to show your support
for the organization while gaining corporate
visibility. Sponsorship opportunities vary
from breakfast to the beverage carts and
everything in between, allowing for unique
exposure all over the golf course, making
this an exceptionally cost effective use of
your marketing dollars. And don't delay!
The Golf Classic is a popular Excel
tradition, and sponsorships always sell out
quickly. |
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2010 Valedictorian Donald Yates
 Donald
Yates once said that if he was ever
presented with a second chance to learn, he
would “hop on the opportunity” in an
instant. Growing up in the Washington,
DC-area in Southeast Ward 8, life was rough,
but luckily Yates had dedicated parents to
keep him on track and he was motivated to
make something of himself.
Donald discovered his passion for cars
during his junior year at Suitland High
School, when the automotive program was
created. It sparked an interest and he had
the opportunity to learn about cars. He
will never forget his first car, a raggedy
’87 Dodge, which he didn’t have the money to
fix. Donald remembered that his dad once
bought a book to teach himself how to fix
cars, he figured if his dad could do it
himself, why couldn’t he?
Donald’s probation officer introduced him to
The Excel Institute in 2007 and he never
looked back. He was enticed by the prospect
of more schooling in something that he loved
doing. Donald specifically enjoyed the
hands-on aspect of Excel’s automotive
program and how the staff was extremely
helpful in every aspect of their students’
lives. The Excel Institute’s help was
available around the clock and they were
flexible with their students’ schedules
outside of the Institute. What stood out
the most to Donald was how Excel prepared
its students for the real world job market.
“You not only learned what you were supposed
to learn about the field, but additional
qualities that would undoubtedly help you in
the workforce, such as punctuality and
responsibility. The Excel Institute was
like a second home. I plan to stay
connected with it in the future,” he says.
Set to graduate as Valedictorian this year,
Donald feels confident leaving with a vast
amount of more advanced knowledge of cars
and the automotive industry. His future
aspirations include working for the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority and opening his own repair shop.
“Excel has given me the knowledge and
confidence to work independently and
accomplish tasks on my own. My education
isn’t over yet though; I see every day as a
learning experience. No one can know
everything about cars; there’s always room
to learn more.” |
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Excel Dean Becomes "Dr. Joe McCoy"
Joseph McCoy Jr., Dean of Academics and
Student Affairs at the Excel Institute, was
recently awarded a Doctorate in Higher
Education Leadership from Argosy University.
Dr. McCoy began working at Excel in 2005
after 15 years of experience as an
Instructional Designer/Performance
Consultant in the automotive and
transportation sectors. A strong advocate
for nontraditional students success in
postsecondary training and workforce
development, Dr. McCoy also holds a Master
of Education in Instructional Design and a
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Public
Administration.
Dr. McCoy’s doctoral dissertation focused on
nontraditional students persistence and
attrition in postsecondary vocational
education programs. "I work to support my
conviction that any person who has the
desire and motivation to continue his or her
education and training must be afforded the
opportunity to do so and that the learning
experience is organized and supported to
reduce obstacles to student success," said
Dr. McCoy. He believes that the Excel
Institute provides that opportunity to
residents in the Metropolitan DC region.
Dr. McCoy also was recently awarded a
fellowship through the Association for the
Study of Higher Education (ASHE). This will
enable him to attend the ASHE Institute on
Equity and Critical Policy Analysis this
summer to increase his scholarship range and
effectiveness in areas related to racial
equity in higher education. |
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