Continuing Education courses for Summer II and Fall 2026 are now available to view in Self-Service. Course sections listed with a begin date after July 1, 2026 will open for registration on July 1, 2026.
Durham Tech students Britanny Sanchez and Kevin Hernandez have been selected to participate in the North Carolina Community College System’s Student Leadership Development Program (SLDP) for the 2026-27 class. The program, which made its selections from the 58 North Carolina community colleges, states that being selected reflects a student’s demonstrated leadership potential, commitment to growth and desire to make a meaningful impact on their campus and within their community.
SLDP is a yearlong initiative, partnering with the LeaderShape Institute, that equips North Carolina community college students with essential leadership and soft skills. The program features a competitive, immersive four-day summer institute, followed by fall and spring sessions, focusing on ethical decision-making, strategic problem-solving, and professional development.
“Our nomination process was intentionally designed to reflect Durham Tech’s commitment to access, equity, and student voice,” said Durham Tech Success Coach Jennifer Castillo, who has been named an SLDP facilitator for 2026-27. “Rather than solely relying on the typical leadership pipelines, we cast a wider net by sharing a referral process with our Student Services Leadership Team and faculty in gateway courses to ensure a broader, more representative pool of students.”
Hernandez, a mechanical engineering student with three more semesters to go before graduating with his associates, said he was hopeful he’d be selected. When he was told that he had been selected, he said he started to connect the dots on things he’d been intentionally working toward.
“Durham Tech has made me more accountable for my choices, and I’m becoming more comfortable in making decisions,” Hernandez said. “As I move intentionally at the College, this leadership program aligns perfectly. I believe the SLDP program will sharpen some ideas on leadership I’ve had. As a leader I see myself finding the right people — like-minded people, with focus on wanting to contribute, then converging that energy into creating change.”
Sanchez, with a projected graduation date of 2027, is studying sociology and says she hopes to grow as a leader through the SLDP program.
“I hope to learn how to become a strong leader of diverse groups of people,” Sanchez said. “I’ve led Latino groups before, but I want to learn how to bring people of all backgrounds together and lead them toward a common goal.”
Sanchez says Durham Tech prepared her for this opportunity by pushing her to be a part of group projects and through the knowledge she has gained from communications courses she has taken at the College.
“My communications courses taught me how to use my voice, and through connecting with other students and making friends, I learned about opportunities,” Sanchez said. “Having my voice allowed me not only to take advantage of those opportunities, but to take on leadership roles.”
Castillo said this opportunity isn’t about polished leadership or about a leadership title — it’s about potential, reflection, and a genuine commitment to growth, individually and collectively. Castillo says what makes this program especially powerful is its connection to a broader, statewide effort to strengthen communities through leadership.
“Through our partnership with Achieving the Dream and the Community Vibrancy Framework, this work goes beyond individual development,” Castillo said. “We’re not just building individual student leaders on isolated campuses — we’re strengthening the future of our communities by modeling leadership that is relational, grounded in belonging, and driven by shared purpose through this program and its outcomes.”