Spreading cheer

This year's MCC Shines on the Havasu campus was relaxing and eclectic with about 250 guests enjoying a program of ballet, Hawaiian dancing, the Colomunde Chorus and English faculty Dan Pund on his trombone. The board of our local MCC Foundation Chapter threw the switch on the loveliest lighting display we've had in years. It was all home-grown this year and showed what a rich community we have.

The strategic use of a railing as a makeshift tripod helped me get the shot below. This shows why we call it "Shines."

Pretty stuff, good cause

Give the gift of art this holiday, and support the MCC, Lake Havasu Campus Student Art League. They're having their annual sale Saturday (Dec. 4) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mohave County Library at 1770 N. McCulloch Blvd. These photos give you a small taste of the gorgeous hand-made items that will be for sale. You're not going to find anything nicer than this in town -- but I'm prejudiced!

Where right brain meets left brain

One of the cool things about the Havasu campus is our San Juan annex. While the architectural aspects of our campus' oldest facility may not have obvious charms, it's one of the funnest places to learn at MCC. San Juan is home to our heating, ventilation and air-conditioning lab. Next door are our ceramics and sculpture studios, including two kilns and a forge. The two sides of San Juan actually have a lot in common. They both offer hands-on learning while attracting students who really love what they do. And it's fun to see what happens when the two sides meet, as they did last night when HVAC students dropped in on a ceramics class and got excited by what was happening there. "We should be taking this class," one student said.

Give stuff! Get stuff!

The halls of the 200 building seem unnaturally quiet this afternoon, and I wonder if that's because a lot of folks are off preparing for Saturday's big parking lot/rummage sale here at the Havasu campus. This is a campus-team opportunity to do good for the campus while giving everyone an excuse to unload their unwanted stuff. (High-quality, gently used unwanted stuff, of course.) The sale is being sponsored by the local chapter of the MCC Foundation, and proceeds will go for special projects here on campus that conventional educational funding doesn't cover. One of those is our wildly popular College for Kids program. Money we raise Saturday could help local kids from families of modest means attend the two-week college camp. If you have some stuff to give, drop it off by noon Friday. (It's tax-deductible.) If you want more stuff--and who doesn't?--join us Saturday, behind the 600 building, between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Our own Good Witch of the West

Who would stand for hours on a hard sidewalk wearing a witch's costume and a long, green wig cooking hundreds of servings of popcorn for a seemingly endless line of guests? And do it cheerfully? The answer is the Havasu campus' own Katie, the Good Witch of the West. This selfless student volunteer deserves a medal for refusing to leave her post at this year's Pumpkin Festival, Oct. 29. In fact, she stayed at the popcorn machine long after the event's published end time continuing to cook up the apparently irresistible treat until everyone in line had received their portions. What a trooper. Thanks, Katie.

Add the sunset: By the way, this year's Pumpkin Festival concluded during one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen in this land of spectacular western skies. Below is what it really looked like -- no fooling.

The personal touch

We have a lot of hands-on programs here at MCC, but Physical Therapist Assistant may be the ultimate. During a visit to a PTA class this week, I witnessed a lot of physical contact--all of the healing sort, of course. The PTA profession naturally requires touching, holding and lifting, and folks who are shy about doing that probably need to look elsewhere for their future vocation. For those that have what it takes, PTA is a great career that offers good pay and outstanding job prospects, especially with our aging population. To hear PTA resident faculty Carrie Perkins talk about it, PTA is more than a career, it's a way of life and a true professional home.

Above: It may look like PTA student Carolyn is trying to turn her classmate into a pretzel, but she's really testing his range of motion.

Brave enough

We're getting ready for this year's London Bridge Days Parade, Oct. 16 on Lake Havasu City's "Main Street." This year's theme is "Havasu Heroes" and I've been in search of a few heroic MCC grads whose faces will grace the college float. Today the search lead me to Fire Station No. 2 where the city's fire department was conducting a training academy for recent recruits. Three of the officers putting the recruits through their paces (in full gear and 100-plus-degree heat) were not only graduates of MCC, they're now faculty. These guys are tough, as the students in our fire science program have, no doubt, already figured out. Hey, community college isn't for sissies!

At left: LHCFD Capt. Aaron Bracamonte, MCC graduate and faculty, doesn't even break a sweat as he takes a break from instructing fire department recruits in 100-plus degree heat.

Still time for art

You still have about a week to see the art show currently on display in The Gallery in room 204. It features provocative and innovative multi-media sculpture and "unique prints" by student Randall Shehi, who has become a fixture in our art studios at the San Juan Annex. Shehi really does have his own vision, and you're not likely to see artwork of this style or caliber elsewhere in Lake Havasu City or even this part of the state. The Gallery is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

At right: This sculpture by Randall Shehi features a delicate wing-like structure of hand-built clay set on a stand fashioned from a reclaimed trowel.

Welcome back already!

Yes, I've taken a bit of an hiatus from blogging, but I'm back now. The rush of new students in the weeks before the fall semester, combined with the wilting heat of August in Lake Havasu City left me a bit uninspired. But the temps have dropped below 100 (at least for now), and I'm feeling refreshed. It's great to see students back on campus, hauling around textbooks, putting their heads together in newly formed study groups and donning program-specific scrubs and t-shirts. Have a great semester!

Making myself useful

I spent the afternoon helping out where I could in Student Services with its crush of people wanting to register, pick classes, take the Compass Test, turn in financial aid documentation, and everything else you can think of. At times it seemed like the blind leading the blind. One very nice HVAC student was extremely patient with me while we tried to figure out his fall schedule. Not as easy as it sounds! My feet are tired, but it was fun rolling up my sleeves and pitching in. After all, this is what it's all about -- serving students.

Why is this woman smiling?

When I first came to work at MCC, I encountered a strange and delightful creature I'd never been exposed to before: the math professor. These people turned any gathering into a wild and crazy math-fest. Oddest of all, they obviously loved math; they ate, drank and slept it. Two of these rare animals--faculty member Laurel Clifford and Academic Chair Eric Aurand, a math Ph.D.--shared some of this crazy-crazy-math-love with about three dozen school teachers recently when they facilitated a professional development training workshop. Many of the teachers were as math-o-phobic as I am, having never taken a college-level math course. I have no doubt they came out of the week-long workshop not only knowing more about math but also appreciating something of its beauty. You can read more about the training on the Mohave Wire.

Thanks for your patience

It's four weeks until the start of the fall semester and the rush is on. I dropped by our Student Services area earlier this morning and it was jam-packed. If there was an available chair, it was an endangered species. The sight of lots of people registering for classes is a beautiful one to us, but it may not be that welcomed by our customers (a.k.a new and returing students). I'm happy to report everyone seemed mellow and we appreciate their patience. Thanks, everybody.

Officially summer

In case folks haven't noticed, it's hot. Really hot at last. And the humidity is starting to creep up, signalling the approach of the dreaded monsoon season. (When it's 113 degrees, even 20-percent humidity is uncomfortable and 35-percent humidity is downright unbearable.) Sounds like a good time to get out of town, which is what a lot of people around here are doing, including me. I'm headed out on a 10-day vacation in the mountains in the extreme southwest corner of the state. It's supposed to be in the mid-80s down there, so I'd better take a sweater.

Go ahead, have some fun

After the heavy information contained in my last post, I feel like lightening the mood and having some fun, especially heading into the long Fourth of July weekend. For many people Lake Havasu is synonymous with fun, and it's quite a sight to see the way people let their hair down, shall we say, on a summer holiday weekend. The lake is a great recruiting tool for me -- thus the title of this blog -- as long as students remember the time will come to get out of the water, pop a couple aspirin, smear aloe on the sunburn and hit the books. But for now Happy Birthday, America and Happy Party, Havasu. See you July 6, when on-campus registration for fall classes begins.

Register later!

One of our favorite tag lines around here is "Register Now!" But for new students it's important to bear in mind that there are a few very important things that need to happen before registering. In fact, the actual act of registering is your last step to becoming a full-fledged MCC student. Here's what should happen first:

• Apply for financial aid at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and wait for your award letter.
• If you've gone to another college, have your official transcripts sent to MCC's Registrar's Office.
• Fill out the online admissions application on our Web site and come in to complete your paperwork and receive your new MCC student ID number. Give the application two business days to be processed.
• With MCC ID in hand, take the Compass placement assessment.
• See an academic advisor to map out your course plan and sign up for new student orientation.
• When you get your financial aid award letter, see a financial aid advisor and complete your other paperwork.
• Attend new student orientation and while you're there -- TA! DA! -- register for your classes.

It seems like a lot, so if you get lost in the process, give me a call at 928-505-3393, or drop by Answer Tuesday, any Tuesday this summer, from 4-6 p.m. in the 200 building lobby.

Bye 'til next year

It only seems like yesterday our campus was occupied by more than 160 youthful souls for College for Kids. It's been fun getting to know the kids and being greeted with a big smile when I called them by name. It's also been fun seeing them learn and progress -- in the case of Primary Music literally from one note to many. The big kids used their time here to investigate a crime scene, learn American Sign Language, design fashions and perfect their self-defense skills, among many other things. Today parents, grandparents and siblings were invited to join in, including dancing around the May pole in Primary Dance, seen here.

Answer No. 1

Today--from 4-6 p.m. in the 200 building lobby--is our first "Answer Tuesday," an informal sort of open house where people who are thinking about coming to MCC can drop in and get the answers to some of their questions. We'll also be giving participants the chance to use Sigi-3, a career self-assessment tool that's fun to use and gives people insights into what they should do when they grow up. We'll keep up with Answer Tuesdays until the start of Fall semester, Aug. 23. If it's a success, we may continue them indefinitely. I don't know how many people to expect tonight. I might be pretty lonely until I can get the word out. But for anyone who's had a nagging feeling about attending MCC and didn't know where to start, this is the ideal opportunity to find out.

All I really need to know I learned in College for Kids

For two weeks a year our usually staid institution of higher learning is invaded by the rambunctious spirit of youth with the arrival of College for Kids. This is my first College for Kids, and after just a couple hours a day helping out with the 5-8-year-olds, I'm exhausted. I'd forgotten how much energy kids this age can generate, and how much energy grown-ups must expend to keep up with them. One thing I've noticed is, when you're that age it's not hard to have fun. Learning to curtsy is fun, lying on the floor kicking your feet in the air is fun and -- as seen at right -- riding a stick horse is really, really fun. You can read all about College for Kids on our news site.

Pretty enough to eat (in)

Now that the renovation of our campus dining area is complete, you can call us Mohave Community College or you can call us Mohave Community Bistro. The mismatched tables and chairs shoe-horned into a space that never made much since have been replaced by color-coordinated tile floors and counters, bistro tables and stools, all of which pleasingly complement the beautiful desert mural on the dining area wall. Those notorious old couches at the far end of the lounge area have been suitably disposed of and replaced by some snazzy leather love seats. I've already heard oohs and ahhs from staff and I expect to hear a lot more from students when they return in greater numbers this fall.

You gotta visualize

This morning I gave a tour of the campus to a young man, his mom and his grandparents. Because of all the renovation and construction going on, I found myself having to say, "You've just got to visualize it," a lot. The tour brought home just how transformed this campus will be come August 23 when the fall semester starts. The bulk of the improvements will directly benefit students and their campus quality of life. Many of us agree it's about time. The goal is to make the campus -- and all the MCC campuses -- not just a place to take classes but a place to spend time, study, connect with other students, share ideas and feel a part of things. I'll bring you the news of our renovations, complete with pictures, as they come together. In fact, I hope to have my first installment tomorrow.

Vote for Joe

You may have read about MCC student Joe Lengson on Mohave Wire or on my colleague Diane Olson's blog, but in case you still haven't gotten the message:
GO TO www.mtv.com/asm/dewmocracy/mtvu/ AND VOTE FOR JOE NOW!!!
Joe is one of three national finalists for the "Ultimate Dewmocracy Deans List" with a chance to host his own music show on MTV. While this didn't mean a lot to me when I first read about it, after watching Joe's audition video, I'm convinced he needs to win this thing. No offense to his worthy opponents, but Joe--an MCC Distance Education student and Bullhead City resident--is definitely the coolest of the three contestants. Plus, he's an English major! You can't get any better than that. So get going and vote for Joe. The deadline is June 11.

Summer buzz

This is a time of year when everyone gets a breather. Students get a break from classes and studying, faculty get a chance to pursue their other interests, and staff get the luxury of a slower pace for a few weeks. Everybody's kicking back, except--that is--our facilities staff. When the place empties out and quiets down, they get busy: cleaning carpets, patching and painting walls, and implementing a long list of remodeling and repair projects. At least one of those is really going to be noticed when students return for the summer session. I'll keep you posted.

Long-awaited debut

Kids probably won't be lining up at the multi-plex for this one, but here at last is the video I promised about six ... make that eight months ago. (See "The most fun you can have while sterile" from Oct. 1, 2009.) It offers a glimpse at what first-year students can expect to experience in the Surgical Technology lab, and I think anyone watching this, even the squeamish, will agree this program looks like a lot of fun. By the way, a recent listing of job openings in Lake Havasu City include three for surgical technologists.

Saving energy can be tiring

As the first week of what we like to call our "energy-saving summer schedule" nears its close, I can't help but note how exhausting saving energy is. I'm not complaining about the glorious three-day weekends, but working four 10-hour days in a row every week takes some getting used to. I was talking to a prospective student this morning at a time when I normally would have been pouring a second cup of tea and staring bleary-eyed at the newspaper. (His enthusiasm for coming to school, however, helped wake me up. I don't meet that many prospects who are as amped about studying engineering as he was.)

Awesome sign

Driving onto campus this morning, I saw a cherry picker extended over the front of the 200 building and assumed it had something to do with an air conditioner unit. In this climate, AC repair and replacement is pretty much ongoing. I was completely surprised later in the day when I spotted the beautiful new sign (at left) that now graces the recently remodeled facade of the building. It lights up at night, too -- or so I'm told. Pretty, huh?

Seeing red

If you love the color red or you love someone who graduated at MCC's Commencement ceremonies last Friday, you might want to look at our 2010 Commencement photo album on Facebook. Not only will you see a lot of red graduation robes and mortarboards, you will see a lot of white teeth from people smiling. It was a happy day all the way around, for everyone from GED completers finally getting to don cap and gown to newly minted RNs celebrating years of hard work and sacrifice. This day is what it's all about.

Happy to be happy

It's fun to see happy people and it's especially fun for me to see people who are happy about getting an education. There were a lot of happy faces last night at the pinning of MCC's Nursing students from the three southern campuses. The graduates were happy; their families were happy; the faculty was happy. After it was over, I was happy to get off my feet after a couple of hours of creeping and crawling around the Relics and Rods Hall shooting photographs. There were a lot of good shots to be had, like when graduate Casey Waits, at left, received his pin from his mom. Casey later obliged me by interrupting eating cake with his loved ones to give me a smile and a thumbs up. I wouldn't mind seeing that face looking down at me in a hospital some day.

Our hopes are pinned on them

The next few days are our harvest time. It's the sometimes frantic culmination of a long growing season--the academic year. The pomp and circumstance begins with a full dance card of pinning ceremonies for our various allied health graduates. Newly minted nurses, surgical technologists, physical therapist assistants, dental assistants and dental hygienists all earn their own hardware above and beyond the traditional cap-and-gown affair Friday at 3 p.m. at the Mohave Crossing Event Center in Fort Mohave. Of course, Commencement is the real prize students eyes have been on since they started their particular educational journeys. Graduates who've earned associate's degrees, certificates and even GEDs will tread the boards and shift their tassels from right to left. Be there or be square.

Big things come in small packages

It caused a few moments of comedy Saturday when three of our more "vertically challenged" here at MCC accepted the call to confer stoles, honor cords and tassels on members of our Alpha Chi Chi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa who will be graduating May 14. Diminutive and relentlessly upbeat English faculty Dan Pund declared himself "blessed" to be the tallest among a lineup of honoraries that included Campus Dean Nick Sanchez and PTK advisor Barb Freitas. As such he was tasked with replacing the standard red tassels on the mortar boards of the conferees with PTK-gold tassels. In all seriousness, it was a moving ceremony attended by a impressively diverse group of PTKers and their beaming family and friends. I'll wish them luck, even though they don't need it; with as much as they've accomplished so far, there's no doubt great things lie ahead for them.

Spring cleaning

What kind of stuff clutters the office of a college recruiter? Popcorn boxes (from a recent open house); balloons; college pens, pencils, lip balm, tote bags, etc.; promotional items from other colleges picked up at college fairs; piles of posters, fliers and pamphlets (what we call collateral); and a stack of paper admissions application forms that are destined for the recycling bin because our new online admissions application is up and running (www.mohave.edu/pages/420.asp). It's been embarrassing in here for a while, and I finally got a free moment this morning to clean up so that when a couple of prospective students dropped by this afternoon they could actually sit down. I'm told things will slow down in a couple of weeks, after commencement, when the college goes to a four-day work week. We'll see. I've never known it to be slow around here yet.

Continuous education

This summer semester promises to be bigger than past years with the addition of the year-around Pell grant. President Obama's push to increase the number of college graduates in the country has resulted not only in an increase in the amount students can get through Pell but also an extension of funding into summer. That's great news for the non-traditional students I work with who are in a hurry to get their education and move on to a new career as quickly as possible. It's also a benefit for those younger adults who delayed college to work and have families and now want to "start using (their) brains again," as one 22-year-old returning student told me recently. No need to wait until Fall to get that gray matter going. If you already have a Pell grant, come into Student Services to ask about a summer grant. If you're new to the Pell, the last day to submit your financial aid paperwork in time for summer is May 14. Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to get started, and see me or a financial aid advisor if you have questions.

Onward and online

I spent much of the day at our Bullhead City campus learning about MCC's new online admissions application and how I can use our techonology to keep in touch with prospective students. The online application is part of the college's green initiative to go paperless. But to the average new student, it's really about convenience and doing what already comes naturally to today's "digital natives." No more downloading and printing a paper form that has to be filled out longhand and delivered to the campus in person or by snail mail. Some of the truly techno-saavy have found the form on their own and used it, even though it hasn't been officially released yet. Welcome to now!

Work study students are cool

I went over to the Hodel Library today to interview a couple of work study students for a story I'm writing and came away really impressed. It wasn't just the fact that one of them is only 17 and the other is 18, or that they were both working on their associate's degrees in science to become veterinarians or that they were both really smart. It was all those things. It kind of blew me away watching these students help a patron, another student who was slightly older--shall we say--figure out how to format a graph to best display some complex data she had collected for a paper. The student workers were quick to help and knew exactly what to do. I wonder if I could have been anywhere close to that cool when I was a work study student.

Ready for our close-up

Our front office is back in business this week after a two-month renovation project brought on by some structural issues at the front of the 200 building. Not only is the rehabbed space more energy efficient with the disappearance of all that uninsulated glass (shown covered by verticle blinds in the photo on the right), the updated color scheme finally drags us out of the disco era. (Though there's some debate about whether the new paint is taupe or mauve.) It's also a better use of our scarce square footage. The large, previously fallow space behind the front desk is now occupied by our copy center and soon the faculty and staff mail room will be tucked into its own room to one side. Sometimes newer really is better.

Feeling the love

If pizza and cookies make people feel appreciated (and they usually do), our students were feeling pretty good about themselves today as Student Government treated the campus to a high-cholesterol feast during both lunch and dinner hours in the Library Courtyard. Though cool weather, by our standards, was predicted, mother nature cooperated just enough to make Student Appreciation Day a pleasant repast. Twenty-six pizzas were disseminated at midday with another dozen disappearing pretty quickly just a few minutes ago. (For those of you in northern climates, what you see behind student Malachy Ryan is sunshine and blue skies. Note, also, that he is comfortably dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Just another not insignificant perk of life on MCC's Havasu campus.)

Please come again

Thanks to everyone who dropped by the campus Friday afternoon to "discover" MCC during our first MCC Discovery night. We got a chance to show off our people and have a lot of substantial conversations with people who want to chart a course for themselves in life. A few visitors, mostly the young ones, were lucky enough to find their way to the Gallery where our Student Art Show is on exhibit and where the students themselves were demonstrating their artfulness. Art is a part of our campus life that brings a lot of value, even though it's often overlooked. Thanks, also, to everyone who stayed late on a Friday night to help out with "Discovery." Everyone had a great attitude, and I think we showed potential students what we already know: that MCC is a friendly and inclusive place where you can also get a terrific education.

Here to stay

While I was sitting here staring at a blank "New Post" box trying to figure out what I was going to blog about today, one of my success stories stuck his head in to say he's on his way. Jeff literally stuck his head in because his great height requires him to duck when entering a standard doorway. He stopped by to let me know he'd scored well enough on his Compass assessment to begin college classes toward his associate's degree in Chemical Dependency Studies. As a disable Vietnam vet, he was looking for a way to move on to a new career with the help of his veteran's benefits. I call Jeff "my success story," but of course the real success is his. He took that first step, contacting us, and has faced each successive little hurdle with calm determination. It looks like this one's going to make a big impression around here, in more ways than one.

OK, this is getting big

It's not exactly the discovery of America, but "MCC Discovery" night, our last big bash of the year, is shaping up to be--dare I say it?--colossal. Guests will be able to take a free, fun, computer-based career assessment and learn about (a.k.a. discover) some of the high-demand career paths they can train for at MCC. There will be demonstrations and tours of our labs, and I just found out our art club will be doing their thing in The Gallery, where a juried show of their artwork will be on display. Believe it or not, art is a potentially lucrative career path, too. How can that be? Come to MCC Discovery night to find out.

Brain trust

Whoever said community colleges aren't about academics obviously never attended an induction ceremony of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges. Our campus' chapter, Alpha Chi Chi, welcomed its latest crop of eggheads Friday and, as campus documentarian, I was on hand to take photos. I have to admit, it was pretty inspiring seeing our top students lined up in one place. Newly pinned chapter president, Shawn Gall, will be a good role model. He's a straight-A student and by all appearances a straight arrow, too. It's cool to be smart!

Fun, a fair

I'll be taking my show on the road again tomorrow as I set up shop at a "Family Fun Fair," organized by the Auxiliary of the VFW to raise funds to buy a shade cover for the toddlers' play area at Rotary Park. Though I'll have all our most kid-friendly MCC give-away items (temporary tattoos, crayons, coloring books and really pretty bright red pencils), my ulterior motive will be to pitch education to their parents. Look for me in the big white tent.

Hungry, and not just for knowledge

I don't know what JC has whipped up for lunch today, but it has prompted a common refrain from people walking by outside my office: "Smells good!" Ever since JC's Chuckwagon opened in the fall, tantalizing smells wafting down the hallway have made it difficult for those of us who are trying to keep our appetites from running wild. Sometimes it's bacon, sometimes waffles. Today it's sauteing onions. As well as reminding us about our stomachs, the smells coming from JC's kitchen remind us how lucky this campus is to have fresh food service. In fact, I've got to go now. My stomach is growling!

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!