The Seminole State College Educational Foundation will host its 31st Annual Spring Recognition Banquet on Thursday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Utterback Ballroom of the Enoch Kelly Haney Center on campus. The event will recognize the achievements of alumni, employees and students.

This year’s banquet will include the induction of two former students, Carole Carter and Victoria Brooks, into the SSC Alumni Hall of Fame. Perthena Latchaw, former director of the Medical Laboratory Technology Program, will receive the Distinguished Service Award. Campus organizational leaders, outstanding students, employees reaching milestone years of service and retirees also will be recognized during the event.

Carter attended then Seminole Junior College from 1974 to 1976 and was a member of the 1976 national championship women’s basketball team. She later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Over the course of her career, she served as a teacher, counselor and coach at several Oklahoma schools and at Phillips University. Her coaching accomplishments included six high school state tournament appearances, a Sweet 16 appearance in the NAIA national tournament and multiple state-level honors. She was inducted into the Girls Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. Carter is retired from full-time education and currently works part time with Moore Public Schools’ Indian Education program.

Brooks attended SSC from 2010 to 2012, earning an Associate of Applied Science with a healthcare focus. She later earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Health Sciences from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Physician Associate Program. Brooks serves as a Surgical Physician Assistant in the Congenital Heart Surgery Division at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital – OU Health, where she assists with highly specialized procedures for patients with complex heart disease. Before joining Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, she worked in adult cardiothoracic surgery at Integris Baptist Medical Center. While at SSC, Brooks was a member of the volleyball team and later continued her collegiate volleyball career at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.

Latchaw served at SSC from 1982 to 2012 as director of the Medical Laboratory Technology Program. During her 30 years at the college, she oversaw accreditation efforts, taught coursework and maintained clinical affiliate partnerships that prepared students for careers in laboratory science. A graduate of Shawnee High School, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Chemistry from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, a diploma from St. Mary’s School of Medical Technology in Enid and a Master of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Oklahoma in 1986. Through the American Society for Clinical Pathology, Latchaw also traveled internationally as a Global Outreach consultant, working in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Lesotho and Nigeria. Following retirement, she continued her professional service through the ASCP Board of Governors until 2016 and later received Master status in the organization, its highest level of membership through service.

For information on sponsorships or to purchase individual tickets, click the link above or contact the SSC President’s Office at 405-382-9200. Tables may be purchased for $300. Sponsorships are available from $300 to $2,500. Individual tickets are $50.