Growing up in northwestern Jackson County, Drucilla Russell learned the value of hard work from her parents.
Rogers and Rita Shelton also showed Drucilla and her brother William Shelton how a good sense of humor can brighten someone else’s day.
To honor her parents’ memory, Drucilla found another way to enhance the lives of others for years to come. She and her husband, Dr. Barry Russell, have established the Rogers and Rita Shelton Memorial Endowed Scholarship through the Southwestern Community College Foundation.
“SCC runs deep into my roots and into my blood, and into Barry’s as well,” Drucilla said. “When Mom & Dad passed away within four months of each other in 2018, it became obvious that this would be a nice way to honor them – to endow a scholarship at an institution and in a community that has been so important to us.”
Rita (then Cabe) and Rogers grew up on opposite ends of Jackson County but didn’t meet until after Rogers returned from serving in the Navy during World War II.
Rogers was living in the Qualla community at the time. Rita worked nearby at the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) office, but her home was more than 15 miles away in the Savannah community.
“They met at the ASCS office,” Drucilla said. “Family legend has it that my father told my mother: ‘I’m going right by your house, if you want a ride home, and we’ll stop for coffee.’ My mother said yes, and that’s how they began dating.”
Rogers Shelton operated a couple of Dairy Queen franchises – in Cherokee and Brevard – before ultimately becoming a farmer on his family’s land in Qualla. In the early 1980s, he made the family’s first connection with the school that would become SCC when then-Southwestern Technical College President, Dr. Norman Myers, arranged to run his herd of Beefalo on the Sheltons’ land.
From that point on, the bonds between Southwestern and the Sheltons continued to grow. Rogers Shelton served on the SCC Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1984-2001, and Drucilla’s brother William served on SCC’s Board of Trustees from 2007-11.
Finances prevented Rita from attending college, but that only seemed to reinforce her commitment to ensuring that her own children obtained a college education.
“There was never really a question that we were going to go to college,” recalled Drucilla, who attended the University of Tennessee after graduating from Sylva-Webster High School.
While still in her 20s, Drucilla began working at what was then STC in 1984. She remained at Southwestern until 1998, serving in Admissions, Counseling, Student Support Services and Public Information.
Her time at Southwestern was transformational.
“I grew up there, made mistakes, was forgiven and learned so much,” Drucilla said. “I became a believer in community colleges because I have seen the very important role they play in our society.
One particular event during her time as SCC’s Counselor helped drive home the power of philanthropy.
“One of the students in our Physical Therapist Assistant program realized some of her classmates could really use some money, so she gave me three envelopes of cash and asked that I make sure those students received that money,” Drucilla recalled. “One young man said, ‘You’re going to give me some money, aren’t you?’ When I handed him the envelope, he just burst into tears. That experience really drove home for me how much good a small gift can do.”
Drucilla’s husband, Dr. Barry Russell, served as SCC’s President from 1991-96, during which time he worked with then-Jackson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Charlie McConnell to establish the New Century Scholars program. Designed to provide deserving middle school students with the resources and support they need to plan for – and attend – college, New Century Scholars has assured last-dollar tuition to more than 2,500 students since its inception in 1995.
The Russells later moved to South Carolina and continued their careers in higher education before returning to Jackson County, where they still reside today.
“The Russells understand our mission and our students as good as anyone, simply because of their close ties to Southwestern,” said Dr. Don Tomas, SCC’s current president. “This scholarship they have endowed will help students who might not otherwise be able to attend college. It’s the kind of gift that changes lives for the better, and I can’t think of a better way to honor Drucilla’s parents.”
The Russells were major donors to the SCC Foundation’s Student Success Campaign, which in 2017 established the first million-dollar endowment in college history.
They are also regular attendees at the SCC Foundation’s annual fundraising gala, and they understand how much a ‘hand-up’ can help students.
“These students are real people with very real struggles,” Drucilla said. “Anything we can do to help them become successful citizens of the community, of the state and even of the world – we want to do our little part to help. This scholarship will be given in perpetuity, and I think Mom and Dad will approve.”
For more information about the SCC Foundation and the scholarships it provides, contact Brett Woods at 828.339.4241 or b_woods@SouthwesternCC.edu.
