With so much attention — and some very mixed reviews — of NBC’s comedy’s Community, I almost missed the other community college connection in this fall’s lineup — Jayma Mays, graduate of Southwest Virginia Community College, plays Emma in the Fox comedy, Glee.

This show is well on its way to being a hit, and is probably more engaging than the pilot of Community.  Besides you can do a lot more with an hour.

A native of Grundy, Jayma began her acting career as a student at Southwest Virginia Community College, and was hooked after performing in her first play. She graduated in 1998 with an associate’s degree in science. Here’s Jayma describing her character, Emma, on Youtube:

Jayma has also starred in guest appearances on a number of television shows, including House, Joey, Heroes, and Pushing Daisies. She recently also starred in Paul Blart: Mall Cop.