On June 2, the Transportation Club of DFW awarded Otarius Napoleon, a student in the Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of his academic achievement and contribution to our community. Award recipients also included students from the University of Texas at Dallas, University of North Texas, University of North Texas at Dallas, University of Dallas, Texas A&M, Collin County Community College and Dallas College.
Beginning on August 23, and for the first two weeks of classes, the Northwest Navigators welcomed students back to campus with tables inside and outside, at major thoroughfares and points of entry. The goal was to provide directions, maps, bottled water, snacks and a warm welcome back to TCC Northwest. The program was coordinated by Student Activities staff, including Catherine Stevens, Vesta Martinez and Rachael McCloskey, with special assistance from Michelle Gasca and Anna Hinman. More than 80 faculty and staff served as Navigators over 11 days (including Weekend College). In total, Navigators made 8,388 student contacts with 60 percent of those contacts coming in the first two days of school. This program helped students to navigate the construction on campus and find their way to class.
On Sept. 2, Student Activities hosted Northwest Fest in the WTLO Lobby and outside in the North Parking Lot. The goal of the event was to get students engaged on campus with opportunities to get involved and services they may be looking for. Tables were arranged in the WTLO Lobby, and students had the opportunity to pick up several giveaways, learn about services and sign up for student clubs. Additionally, In-N-Out Burger donated lunches to students, which they served fresh out of their food truck. The event had a virtual component for all the evening students and others who missed the party during the day. The virtual event in the evening was hosted online where students could log in and chat with various clubs and offices on MS Teams. In total, 770 students signed into the event, and there were more than 1,700 club signups.
In late August, the Aviation Maintenance Technology program was the recipient of a donation of a CF34-8E engine from General Electric. The program was already in position of both large and small high-bypass turbofan engines, so this new, medium-sized engine completed the set necessary to prepare Aviation Maintenance students for work in the field. You can read more about this donation on TCC’s News site.
In September, Irma Daniela Molina, coordinator of community education, was selected to serve on the Northwest YMCA Board. The Northwest YMCA helps drive influence through community mobilization, planning, strategic development, research and services.
On Sept. 24, the Marine Creek Nature Discovery Center inducted 16 new members into the Marine Creek Land Scholars program, a partnership between TCC and Marine Creek Collegiate High School (MCCHS), bringing their total membership to 40 students ranging from sophomores to seniors. The induction ceremony took place at the Marine Creek Nature Discovery Center – Pocket Prairie. The Marine Creek Land Scholars Leadership includes Greta Bowling, professor of biology; Juanita Britton, MCCHS biology teacher; Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, instructor of Spanish; Melanie Grubbs, MCCHS social studies teacher; James Hobbs, instructor of geology; Sarah Matlock, kinesiology learning lab manager and Mark Rhoades, instructor of biology.
On Sept. 25, Mark Loud, instructor of aviation maintenance technology; Trevor Saylors, coordinator for CEATL; Chris Woo, product planning analyst with Bell Helicopter; Christina Carey at Hillwood Group and team hosted an Aviation Merit Badge event for Boy Scouts from the North Texas area at CEATL. More than 70 Boy Scouts attended and completed the requirements needed to earn their Aviation Merit Badge. Loud, Saylors, Woo and Carey collaborated to deliver the program. The response from scout masters and parents was extremely positive. The feedback from the scouts was that the event was educational, informative and fun. The aircraft inspection module was a hit, and the scouts enjoyed having access to hands-on aircraft experiences. The G2 and King Air planes were a triumph, and guests thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated having access to physically board and learn more about aircraft flight controls and systems.
On Oct. 1, Northwest’s Dual Credit Office hosted New Beginnings, its annual ISD point of contact meeting in the café at CEATL. Numerous Northwest service area schools were in attendance including representatives from Diamond Hill-Jarvis, World Languages and Western Hills High Schools (Fort Worth ISD); Boswell, Chisholm Trail and Saginaw High Schools (Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD); Keller, Central, Fossil Ridge and Timber Creek High Schools (Keller ISD), Brewer High School (White Settlement ISD); Lake Worth High School (Lake Worth ISD); Northwest, Eaton, Byron Nelson and Steele Accelerated High Schools (Northwest ISD) and International Leadership of Texas Keller-Saginaw. This event takes place every fall and is a great opportunity to discuss current concerns, conduct training in areas needed and offer appreciation to our ISD points of contact for all that they do. This event is hosted to strengthen our partnership with our ISDs and to effectively serve our community.
In October, David Cole, horticulture program learning lab manager and adjunct instructor, was selected by the Irrigation Association for the Irrigation E3 Leaders program. As part of this program, he will attend the Irrigation Association Show and Education Week. In addition, he will select three students from his irrigation class to attend the E3 Learners program. These students received a full scholarship to attend the Irrigation Association Show in San Diego in December.
On Oct. 4, Spanish faculty and Walsh Library collaborated to launch a student magazine, El Lago Artístico. This is the Spanish Department’s first virtual student magazine and is written entirely in Spanish. It can be found on the library’s website. It features poems, short stories and stories for children.
On Oct. 8, Blended Fire Academy Class #2 graduated under the leadership of Class Captain Sarah Scheinoha. Scheinoha is only the second woman to be named Class Captain in the Fire Academy’s history and provided excellent leadership to BC #2. Fifteen students were able to complete the Blended Fire Academy this year. The Blended Fire Academy is provided through the Public Safety Training Center and is an opportunity for students who are unable to attend Monday through Friday to participate in a non-traditional fire academy that allows them to obtain their fire certification at nights and on weekends. This certification is earned through rigorous online work and intense training on Saturdays in an 18-week academy.
On Oct. 11, in observance of LGBTW History Month and National Coming Out Day, Northwest Student Activities hosted a progressive art display for students, staff and faculty to post positive messages about the LGBTQIA+ community. Seventy students participated and many more added messages of inspiration, self-love and support for fellow people to the display throughout the month of October.
On Oct. 25 and 26, Student Development Services launched the Registration Kick Off Spooktacular. This event took place in the WTLO Theater Lobby and provided a fun, engaging opportunity for students to meet with various Northwest departments and advisors to learn about course offerings and resources available to them. Registration assistance was also available for students, as needed. Students completed and submitted a punch card, and if they visited two or more tables, their punch card served as their ticket for free lunch. If they visited with four or more department tables, they were entered into a prize drawing. Additionally, students who registered or were already registered for their Spring 2022 courses received a Halloween treat bag. More than 250 students submitted punch cards after visiting with Academic Advising, the Transfer Center, Visual and Performing Arts, Ceramics, Center for English Language Learning, Student Accessibility Resources, Business & Economics, Intercultural Network and CTE (Public Services) advising.
On Nov. 2, faculty members Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, Alejandro Garza and Mayra Fuentes partnered with the Intercultural Network to facilitate an informative virtual session, Día de Muertos: historia, cultura y mito. This event included information about the origins of where this tradition began and how it has evolved through the years to what is currently celebrated in Mexico. In addition to the origins and myths, the professors shared their personal experiences while celebrating this holiday in Mexico. Professor Garza presented his personal and amazing pictures from Día de Muertos celebrations in Oaxaca, Mexico. The event was well attended, by students, faculty and staff from TCC Northwest. The Intercultural Network kindly sponsored the event with churros and traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate, La Abuelita.
On Nov. 3, the Humanities Division’s Common Reader Program held an Immigration Journeys Roundtable event. The roundtable panels featured faculty and student essay contest winners. Carroll Savant, professor of English, and Zainah Usman, instructor of English, emceed the discussions. Mayra Fuentes, associate professor of Spanish, Elizabeth Gabhart, professor of sociology, and Alejandro Garza, professor of Spanish spoke about the sociological and psychological impacts of immigrating. After a brief Q&A the Common Reader Program’s student winners read their essays and fielded questions from the audience. The Common Reader Essay Contest was held during October, and judges received numerous entries in English and Spanish. As a campus-wide contest, winners represented the Spanish department, dual credit high schools, Veterans Resource Center and English co-requisite programs. This semester’s winners are Skyler Lee, Jack Bloodworth, Omer Raziuddin, Charity Cheruiyot and Eleazar Valdivia. The Common Reader Program will host another contest in the spring that includes the visual arts as well as written word.
