College president speaks about shooting aftermath
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on April 14, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Goldsboro Mayor Al King hugs Wayne Community College President Dr. Kay Albertson after a press conference about Monday's shooting.
She never thought this day would come.
So Dr. Kay Albertson sat behind her desk following a press conference Monday afternoon -- composed, yet obviously drained.
How could this have happened inside the college she has led for nearly eight years?
"It doesn't stop once when you hear the tragic news because there's so much going on that's a part of the investigation and part of what we have to share on our end, particularly when it involves an employee," she said. "The college as a whole is still in a state of shock."
The fatal shooting that unfolded Monday at Wayne Community College still, even after Kenneth Stancil was arrested and charged with murdering college employee Ron Lane, lingers in the minds of Mrs. Albertson and those she is charged with leading in the aftermath of the biggest crisis in the school's history.
"We are, of course, grieving for the loss of our employee and have such huge sympathy for the family," she said. "I have employees who were not witnesses, but who were part of the early stages of discovery, and I am taking all the steps I possibly can to provide them with counseling and support. But I have to say, the college was prepared. We knew how to operate a lockdown process. The first responders were here immediately. Everything clicked into place and we just took it one step at a time.
"I was not in fear for our students or our employees, because I knew they knew what they were doing. If I'm emotional, it's not just because of the loss of this employee. I'm emotional because I'm so proud of this college doing exactly what it needed to do."
But starting today, there is more work to be done.
There are countless people to console -- and to remind that WCC remains a safe learning environment.
Mrs. Albertson is confident she has the right team for the job.
"The community support for counseling has been coming in one right after the other. Dr. Phil Kirstetter at the University of Mount Olive, the religious community as a whole, have all said we will come and we are reaching out right now to them. We'll start (today) and go as long as the students and employees need us," she said. "We will have that extra help and we will move forward in providing what every kind of services they need. I do have a professional counseling staff, so with those employees and with our friends in this community, we will be able to assist."