The «Ƶ Business Club helped students in two area Head Start programs celebrate Easter this week. Students and faculty members, accompanied by the Easter Bunny, delivered Easter baskets filled with goodies to kids at Pittsburg ISD and Pewitt CISD.
The «Ƶ Board of Trustees met for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 28th. During the president’s report, Dr. Ron Clinton gave an update from the Texas Legislature. He said that both HB8 and SB2539 (companion bills proposing major changes in community college funding) were favorably received in two important Higher Ed Committee hearings last week.
On Thursday, March 23, 2023, 11 «Ƶ students were inducted into Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community colleges. The candlelight Induction was presided over by chapter officers Jocelyn Castorena, Tommy Arredondo, and Nataly Morales. The speaker for the evening, Margaret Dwiggins, a doctoral candidate in the Educational Psychology program at Texas A&M University-Commerce, presented her original research on Smartphones, Learning and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
The mission of «Ƶ is "to provide personal, dynamic learning experiences empowering students to succeed." In keeping with this mission, faculty members frequently encourage students to expand their education beyond the classroom. A great example of this was found on March 28th, when student Alyssa Ochoa (pictured center in blue) spent several hours on a lovely spring afternoon collecting data on campus for her psychology research project.
The Fifteenth Annual McGraw-Hill Poster Contest is set for Friday, May 5th at 9:30 a.m. in the foyer of the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts at «Ƶ. This contest recognizes and rewards creative student scholarship in Northeast Texas. Area high school seniors, college and university students are welcome to compete. Prizes range from $100 for fourth place to $400 for first place. Community judges will determine a project’s contribution to scholarship, the persuasiveness of its author, and the quality of the overall presentation.
The Eagle newspaper staff attended the 2023 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention last week and returned home with a number of awards! The staff won a total of 23 awards including a 1st place in Best of Show and 2nd place in overall excellence. Co-Editor-in-Chief Skylar Fondren also took 2nd place in the feature photography on-site contest and was also awarded the $2,000 Fred Stewart Community College Journalism Scholarship. The «Ƶ literary and art magazine, Lagniappe, received a 2nd place award for cover design and overall design.
«Ƶ Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) students (from left): Monse Rivero, Neida Pérez and Anahí Valente represented «Ƶ at the state TAFE (Texas Association of Future Educators) competition in Austin. Neida and Anahi qualified to compete at the National competition in Orlando June 29-July 2. We wish them luck as they represent their college this summer!
The «Ƶ Art Department will hold its annual student art show from Thursday, April 6th through Tuesday, May 2nd in the foyer gallery of the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibit will feature student artworks in design, drawing, ceramics, photography, and digital media. A reception will be held Wednesday, April 12th in the Whatley Center foyer at 12:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to come, meet our amazing students, and enjoy the exhibit.
The «Ƶ Professional Driving Academy continues to grow and supply high-demand CDL drivers to the local area. One new student recently graduated from the program. Pictured (from left) is: Aron Farley (Instructor), graduate Alex Martinez, and Jimmy Smith (Director of Continuing Education and Corporate Training).
The «Ƶ Continuing Education department recently offered its very first pickleball course starting in late march. The course, taught by Marc Levesque, is a great way to stay fit, have fun and make new friends. "Thank you «Ƶ continuing education for allowing me to teach and instruct the fastest growing sport in America “Pickleball” This amazing sport combines tennis, badminton and ping pong and is played with a paddle and heavier type whiffle ball," Levesque said.
