Ten Students Graduate From SMC Paralegal Program

11/19/10 — Student, Instructor of Year Awards Also Recently Presented

For Immediate Release:

SPARTANBURG - Ten students recently graduated from Spartanburg Methodist College's Paralegal Certificate Program.

Those students include:

• Cindy Chavez, of Spartanburg
• LeoAnn Claunan, of Inman, SC
• Jennifer Greene, of Spartanburg
• Kayla McArthur, of Spartanburg
• Briana Phillips, of Gaffney, SC
• Shynekia Riley, of Spartanburg
• Derek Skinner, of Boiling Springs, SC
• Jeffrey Spires, of Spartanburg
• Kasey Wentz, of Spartanburg
• Rachel Williams, of Boiling Springs

James Renfrow, Jr., CEO and in-house counsel for RSN Promotionals of Spartanburg, served as the keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony.

Renfrow previously served as vice-president of operations for Renfrow Brothers. From 1982 to 2005, he was a sole practitioner whose law office practice included general civil litigation, criminal litigation, corporate, probate and business law. A U.S. Army veteran and former probate judge in Dillon County, SC, Renfrow is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY with a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989.

Jeff Spires, of Spartanburg, who was selected as class representative prior to graduation, served as the student speaker for ceremony.

Several recognitions and awards were also presented recently with the Paralegal Program.

Derek Skinner, of Boiling Springs, was named The Liz Patterson Student of the Year.  The award's namesake, Liz Patterson, is a former three-term South Carolina 4^th District congresswoman who is credited as the founder of this Paralegal Program which began in 1997 at Converse College. The award is presented to a student to honor and recognize their good moral character, confidence, strong academic and leadership abilities and their exceptional promise.  They have been judged to represent the ideal qualities of a Spartanburg Methodist College Paralegal Certificate Program Student. 

Skinner, a 1999 graduate of USC Upstate with a Bachelor of Arts in History, previously worked as a warehouse associate with McNaughton-McKay Electric Co. His prior experience was a pharmacy technician at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

"In Derek's application packet [to the Paralegal Program] was a letter of recommendation from a co-worker who stated he 'always exemplified a high level of integrity, responsibility and professionalism, all traits that would benefit him in his program of study.'  His instructors and I would agree with this assessment," says program director Yvonne Harper.

Tracy Haynie, of Spartanburg, was selected by the students as the program's Instructor of the Year. Haynie, an alumnus of the Paralegal Program when it was previously operated at Converse College, is a graduate of Dorman High School and has taught in the SMC Paralegal Program for three years.

Haynie currently serves as a title abstractor and district internship trainer with the Columbia, SC law firm of Rogers Townsend & Thomas. She has previously worked as an abstractor/closer for the law firms of Odum Terry & Cantrell, Henderson Brandt and Bieth.

"Tracy has continuously challenged our students to reach within to be the best - and consistently stepped up to the plate whenever I have asked anything of her," says Harper.

A total of 20 courses, with each course meeting 10 times, and a 40-hour internship are required for completion of SMC's Paralegal Certification Program. All legal specialty courses within the program are taught by local judges, attorneys and/or paralegals.  

The cost for each course is $300, however, the general public is welcome to audit the full 10-session seminar for $150, or $15 per session. 

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 100th academic year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning. 

For more information, please contact Yvonne Harper, harpery@smcsc.edu or (864) 266-7409.