Amy Nordmeyer, a Tidewater Community College sophomore and mother of two from Suffolk, was nationally recognized this week.

Nordmeyer was one of two TCC students named 2017 Coca-Cola Community College scholars.

A panel of judges reviewed the academic achievements and community service of more than 1,800 students nationwide. Fifty Gold Scholars and 50 Silver Scholars will be recognized by honor society and program administrator Phi Theta Kappa.

“I’m incredibly proud and overwhelmed,” Nordmeyer said. “An award where they only give out 50 of them in the whole country — I didn’t think I would end up getting one.”

Griffin Leach of Chesapeake was named a Gold Scholar and will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Nordmeyer was named a Silver Scholar and will receive $1,250.

“This is one of the ways I hope to finish my undergraduate education with no student debt at all,” she said. “I’m eternally grateful.”

She has been a Phi Beta Kappa member since she met the 4.0 GPA requirement after her first semester at Portsmouth’s TCC campus. Students are nominated for the award by campus administrators, and she was nominated by Portsmouth provost Dr. Michelle Woodhouse.

“That’s a great honor in itself, to have someone nominate me for it,” Nordmeyer said.

She submitted her application packet in December, and she got her response in an email while working on campus last Wednesday. She immediately printed the email and shared it with Nicole Walker, who had been her academic advisor since Day One.

“We both celebrated,” she said.

Nordmeyer’s 20-year-old son, Alan, is a TCC student, as well. Her youngest, Joshua, is 18 and will graduate from Nansemond River High School in June. She said he will also attend TCC to earn college credits, and then transfer to George Mason University.

Nordmeyer said she never would have gone back to school if it weren’t for her sons.

“They’re the ones that convinced me to go back to school,” she said. “Without them I wouldn’t have done it.”

Nordmeyer will earn an Associate of Applied Science Degree in administrative support technology this summer, with a specialization in medical administrative assistant. She plans to transfer to Old Dominion University in the fall.

She said the goal is to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in health services at ODU. She wants a career helping Virginia hospital staff use information systems more efficiently to cut down on patient wait times.

“The actual medical care is great, but most of the delays are due to the behind-the-scenes stuff,” she said. “I’m hoping to bring my education into that and get it as organized as possible so the doctors and nurses can just focus on patient care.”