Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) has selected its 2025 President’s Pathfinder Award winner and it’s a name familiar to most Grayson Countians.
State Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield, received the 2025 Elizabethtown Community and Technical College President’s Pathfinder Award “in acknowledgement of her impact on the college and in the community,” the school said in a press release.
ECTC established the award to recognize college partners whose leadership has created paths to better lives throughout the region. ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate presented the award Tuesday at the college’s annual Community Breakfast.
“It is an honor to recognize Samara Heavrin,” Pate said. “She has been a been a true champion not just for this college, but for our community.”
Heavrin represents Kentucky’s 18th House district, which includes Grayson County and part of Hardin County.
“I’m truly speechless,” Heavrin said. “I wouldn’t be here receiving this award or in this position without all of you being in a community that says yes. I appreciate you all letting me do the job that I do and loving and serving our people.”
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At the breakfast, Pate provided an update on recent ECTC accomplishments and plans for the year ahead. Topics included an overview of ECTC 3.0., a comprehensive strategy to improve students’ post-completion outcomes such as entering a high-demand career or completing a bachelor’s degree after transferring to a four-year university.
Pate also discussed current and upcoming construction projects such as the Leitchfield Campus expansion and the Occupational Technical Building renovation now underway.
Other highlights included an update on climbing student success rates at ECTC, such as fall-to-fall retention rate at 65.2 percent and course-based success among students at 79.6 percent. Annual graduation rates also are projected to grow from last year’s 59.5 percent.
“This is why we do what we do.” Pate said. “Each of these numbers represent human lives, and this team has done so much work to help us envision a different way of connecting with our students. These are the results.”
Community Breakfast guests also heard about the Student Success Circle Unstoppable Fund and Going Pro Fund, which seek opportunities to support students not only while at the college, but also after graduation, ensuring a smooth transition into the workforce.
“There is just a myriad of things that are still barriers to a high-performing student getting a high-wage, high-demand degree to crossing that threshold to being employed,” Pate said. “Maybe it’s the cost of a licensure test, or the place they want requires steel-toed boots and they can’t afford those yet. The Going Pro Fund will help eliminate those barriers.”
(Photo l-r: Rep. Samara Heavrin, ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate, courtesy of ECTC)
By ECTC and Ken Howlett, News Director
