Heating up

It's been winter for a while now (winter Havasu-style, which most people in the country wouldn't recognize as winter), so I haven't had occassion to comment on one of our city's outstanding characteristics: H-E-A-T. And when I say heat, I mean toasty summers with daytime temps well over 110 for weeks on end and lows in the 90s (burrrr!). After what has seemed like a cool spring, today (it's currenlty 88) we are finally getting an inkling of what lies not far ahead. This heat wave won't last long -- the temperature is due to drop 30 degrees by Thursday -- but it's been nice to get a glimpse of summer.

Do the math

We talk a fair amount about our partnership with Northern Arizona University that allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in elementary education without leaving Havasu. (In case you haven't heard, that's 2 years at MCC and 2 years of classes at NAU's extended campus.)
What you may not know is now you can earn a solid Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in either humanities or public management by taking 90 credits at MCC and just 30 online with NAU. It's called the 90/30 option, and it can save you a lot in educational costs, even over the 2X2 option described above. Even better, NAU is talking about adding more 90/30 degree options. If you think you want to go for it, talk to the advisor at your NAU extended campus first. (Here on MCC's Havasu campus, that's friendly Tom Franklin).

Gardening

Most popular give-aways at our visit today to a college fair for juniors at Lake Havasu High School:
1) MCC lip balm (high school guys, in particular, must have a real chapped-lip problem)
2) MCC pens
3) temporary tattoos depicting the MCC Big Horn
4) MCC Catalog & Student Handbook on CD (Hopefully they won't be too disappointed when they realize there's no music on it.)
Hard to say if the fair had any impact on the students' future educational choices, but all those bright red trinkets at least planted a seed. And our lip balm really is awesome.

Lessons learned from the job fair

A couple of things I've gleaned from talking to folks at the Havasu Lanes job fair these last six weeks:
1) When deciding on your career path, ask yourself, "Do I want to be doing this when I'm 55?" (You may not believe you'll live that long, but statistics show you probably will, and you'll probably have many productive years ahead of you.)
2) If there's another dramatic change in our economy and your line of work suddenly becomes obsolete, it's good to have options. Education gives you options. In fact, it's pretty much impossible to have "too much education," isn't it?

In the game

I often hear colleagues lament that Mohave Community College is "the best kept secret in town." From my contacts in the community, I don't think it's such a big secret. I see how MCC touches thousands of lives: the people who go here, or who have a child, parent, relative or friend who goes here, or who aspire to go here. Nevertheless, it's now a major goal of the college to become even more central to community life as a mecca not only of education but of artistic, cultural and civic involvement. We're already making strides in that direction by hosting a "Community Listening Session" sponsored by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, this Friday, March 26, from 5:30-7 p.m., in our 600 building. The commission wants to hear from all of us about what our future vision for the arts in this region is, and MCC is a natural place to have that conversation.

Into the stretch

Now that Spring Break is behind us, it seems like no time at all before the end of the semester, and commencement, will be here. How did this year go by so fast? Which isn't to say there isn't still a lot of work to be done. In fact, for those of us who devote ourselves to helping new students get started at MCC, there's never a slow time. For many prospective students, the decisions associated with college are not quick or easy -- long-term rewards usually require long-range planning. A couple of weeks ago I talked with a group of students who are hoping to enter our nursing program in Fall 2011. It sounds like a long way off, and I admire their patience and their perserverance.

Art for art's sake

I forgot to mention there's a terrific exhibit in The Gallery (room 204) right now featuring works by art faculty and former faculty. The show includes beautiful landscape paintings by our resident faculty Alan Hall as well as provocative charcoal drawings by associate faculty Kevin Bangsund. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a collection of stunning and innovative ceramic pieces by former faculty member Harry Kaino II, who taught on the Havasu campus from 1976-1989. At right is one of his signature pieces that combines elegant wheel-thrown elements with almost organic hand-built components. Check the show out while it's here, through April 9.

Like a kid in a candy store

During the two-and-a-half hours I spent today at the weekly job fair hosted by Havasu Lanes Bowling Center, I had good, in-depth conversations with eight people. That may not seem like a lot on the speed-dating circuit, but for me, it's pretty good. The top career interest today? Counseling. I also talked to prospects with interests in truck driving, surgical technology, phlebotomy, computer science and casino gaming. They ranged from early-20s-just-starting-out to mid-50s-starting-over. But at this stage it's exciting (sometimes scary-exciting) for everyone, including me, because there are so many possibilities.

The benefits of higher education

One of the perks of going to college: Donuts! Bigger institutions of higher learning may have a Starbucks in their student center. But how many can boast a free feast of colorfully frosted deep-fried dough rings--plus coffee, juice and milk--all served up by a friendly member of the campus' own Student Government. As seen here, ravenous students from a morning psych class weren't exactly shy about partaking of the donut bounty. Neither was I, by the way.

Baseball paradise, too

One of the great things about living in Arizona, in addition to the nearly endless sunshine and bone-roasting warmth, is the proximity to Spring Training baseball. I spent a just-about-perfect morning this weekend watching the Seattle Mariners working out at the Peoria Sports Complex followed by an equally blissful afternoon watching them play a game against their complex partners, the San Diego Padres. Of course, Sunday's action was rained out. So much for that endless sunshine.

Yes, to be outdone

Check out this blog from "Kimberly" who apparently enjoyed her time recently on MCC's campus "in beautiful Lake Havasu City." I couldn't have expressed it better myself -- literally. After a long period of idleness with this blog, the discovery of Kimberly's sprightly dispatch gave me a Wally Pipp moment. (You'all remember who he was, right?)
Here's the link: http://yovia.com/blogs/kimberly/tag/mohave-community-college/

This is when the fun starts

The first week of the spring semester is coming to a close and things are already feeling back to normal around here.
I came back from a lunchtime walk yesterday to find a clutch of Surgical Technology students, decked out in their characteristic bright red scrubs, sitting around a table in the lobby quizzing each other on test questions. Now entering their second semester of the rigorous program, all the nervous jitters of the fall have been replaced by an aura of confidence as well as an impressive body of knowledge, evident as class members snapped off the answers, sometimes before the question was even finished.
For me, too, the idle days of Winter Break are hardly a memory as plans for campus events and recruiting efforts bloom in fast motion. It will be a busier semester than ever as we strive to offer students and community members a good reason to spend time with us on the Havasu campus. After all, we kinda like it here and we think everyone else should, too.

The family that studies together...

One of the unique things about a community college like MCC, with its open enrollment policy and high population of "nontraditional" adult students, is that children and parents often wind up being students together.
I talked to a mother today who was a little late in registering and was searching for an open class she could share with her son and daughter. She said she just did better with her kids as "study buddies."
While her children's section of Beginning Algebra was already full, we did find there was still room in the Introduction to Humanities class the kids were taking, and she was amped at the prospect of sharing the interdisciplinary study of art, history and philosophy with them.
Talk about quality time with your kids.
This is not the only case of multi-generational students I've run across, and both kids and parents invariably display a glimmer of pride in each other when they recount their shared college experience.

Seeing the light

We don't let the grass grow under our feet here at MCC. Something always seems to be afoot (excuse the pun) that's intended to make a process better, faster or cheaper.
This week our campus facilities staff has been climbing up and down ladders installing new, more energy efficient ballasts and light bulbs in our ubiquitous fluorescent lighting fixtures.
At first, the change was met with skepticism as office-bound campus workers, like the ground hog that takes its first reluctant look at the sun on Feb. 2, squinted at the strangely bright light emitted by the new bulbs. Comments like, "We're going to need sunglasses in here" were heard in the hallways.
After about two hours of cohabiting with the new lights, we began to realized what we'd been missing -- the ability to see.
The lights, which lend a cheerfully sunny aspect everywhere they shine, will eventually be installed all over campus and ought to make the labors of learning, teaching and working easier for everyone.
On top of that, the lights are expected to save the college up to 60 percent on lighting costs.
It's a beautiful world!

Here we go again

Classes don't start for more than two weeks, but students are already roaming the halls here saying they can't wait for school to start again. What is this world coming to?!
Seriously, the Winter Break for students -- which extends from Dec. 4 to Jan. 25 -- is a long period of idleness for people who are in a hurry to learn something new and get on with their productive lives.
Monday morning at quarter to 8, students were bunched around the door of Students Services waiting to get in, and business has ranged from brisk to overflowing ever since. Our academic advisers are booked solid almost all the way to the 25th and slots to take the COMPASS assessment are filling quickly.
Yes, it's great when people are clamoring to get the product you have to offer. It's not so great when students are disappointed because the classes or sections they want are full. That's why our mantra at this time of year sounds like something a car salesman would say: Hurry in for the best deals (i.e. classes) while they last!

The miracle of Christmas

With MCC Shines behind us and a two-week Winter Break ahead, this is my Christmas miracle: I don't have to work on the holiday.
As a newspaper reporter, working on holidays was my habit and my choice. The time-and-a-half pay was too good to pass up. But after a couple of years of covering the free Thanksgiving dinner at the Catholic church or trying to find anything at all to write about on Christmas Day, I was ready to make holidays days of rest again.
Now I'm the ecstatic beneficiary of an academic calendar that gives staff a full two weeks off at the holidays. It goes a long way toward making up for the many long, jammed-packed days and occasional weekends I worked this fall.
January 4, we go at it all over again. We have a lot of plans for next semester, that's in addition to academics. We'll be hosting a series of open houses to introduce prospective students to our programs. And we're working on offering students and community members a line-up of cultural events such as the campus hasn't seen in a while.
But in the meantime, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna be lazy. Same to you.

Coming up for air

To misquote a famous poet, "November is the cruelest month." This one has been from my perspective as a blogger, anyway.
The demands of planning two big campus events have caused my dispatches from paradise to become fewer and farther between. That doesn't mean our Lake Havasu City campus has become any less paradisaical - the opposite, in fact.
The campus is proud to welcome to our gallery the traveling exhibit "Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes: the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II." We're just the sixth site in the state - and the only in northwestern Arizona - to host this important educational exhibit, which recounts the story of how Navajo Marines used their native language to baffle the Japanese during the Pacific War.
The exhibit's curator, Zonnie Gorman - daughter of an original Code Talker - will kick things off with a lecture Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. in our 600 building. That will be followed by a reception to mark the exhibit's opening from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery. The public will be able to view the show through Dec. 18, when we close for winter break, and from Jan. 4-8.
On Dec. 3 the campus will transform into a holiday paradise as we as we host our annual lighting extravaganza, MCC Shines. The merry open house will happen Dec. 3 from 5-7 p.m. and include music, treats and photos with Santa with the climax of the evening being the moment Santa flips the switch that turns MCC into a twinkling fairy land. OK, maybe I'm overstating things, but it ought to be a lot of fun.
With great events like these going on, I'm counting on December being better.

Planting a seed

I spent this morning with Admissions Counselor Anne Frazier pitching to a future generation of MCC students at a career fair attended by eighth-graders from Lake Havasu City's two middle schools.
Maybe I forgot what middle school was like, but it seems to me these kids get bigger and more grown up every year. The adult is a lot more evident than the child in the faces of these young teenagers, making their college futures seem even closer than they are.
Anne and I heard from a lot of kids who want to be pediatricians, architects and aeronautical engineers. There were also a number who aspired to careers in theater, music and photography.
I don't know the exact value of pressing a CD of our college catalog into the hand of a 14-year-old girl who wants to become a psychologist, but I hope it will be another little shove down the road she has already set for herself.

New tricks

One question I habitually confront during my visits around the community to recruit new students is "how old is too old to continue one's education and pursue a new career?"
All ages march by my table outside the unemployment office, many of whom appear to be well into retirement age. One who stopped to talk to me said he was age 81, felt great, and was looking for a job just to have something to do.
He was lucky enough to be looking out of choice. Too many people over 50 are there because their life-long careers have been pulled out from under them like a trick chair, leaving them in free fall.
"I'm too old to go to school," they tell me, looking over my laminated program fliers longingly, like pastries in a glass case at the bakery.
But how old is too old?
My job, of course, is to get people to come to school at MCC, so I tell them it's never too late, even though I know full well that never is a long time. On the other hand, 55 is pretty young for the world to throw you away because you can't do the same job anymore.
I was reminded of that today, talking to a former truck driver who was intrigued by MCC's Chemical Dependency Studies program. I talked to him about the value of life experience - which he obviously had a lot of - and how he could use it to help people. I wasn't just giving him a soft sell.

Thrilling

Well, I survived Pumpkin Fest.
It was scary, but I guess you could say it was a "good kind of scary" - like falling out of an airplane.
I felt that same combination of helplessness, excitement and terror as hundreds of parents and little kids in costume streamed and then jammed into our student center last Friday night.
And in spite of the fact that we couldn't make popcorn fast enough to keep up with the demand, everyone seemed to have a good time.
Now it's on to the next thing in this event-mad time of year; from Halloween we go hurtling on to the Christmas season and our annual campus lighting event "MCC Shines."
In the meantime, don't we operate an educational institution here? Good question. In fact, Spring registration has started already and it's the perfect time to register. Don't procrastinate or you might find you're one of the "walking dead" on Jan. 25 with that English class you absolutely had to have is full.