President’s Message

Welcome to the Fall 2021 edition of Northwest Link, our biannual e-newsletter. Each semester, we share with you articles that highlight the great work being done on our campus. These stories also serve as a way for you to get to know our campus. To that end, this semester we will highlight different facets of our campus community, with articles focused on students, faculty, staff and activities related to the Northwest redevelopment project.

We have two stories that feature our students in this edition of the newsletter. The first is a short round-up of our newly launched Student Activities on the Go model, which is an initiative to provide student engagement events throughout campus — a real challenge due to the space limitations caused by the redevelopment project. The second student-focused article is about a partnership between TCC faculty, Marine Creek Collegiate High School faculty and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Fisheries division to provide an opportunity for Marine Creek Land Scholars to engage in electrofishing, which in this context is an example of work-based learning.

We also have two stories that highlight the work of our staff in Student Development Services. In a new feature of the newsletter, Day in the Life Of…, we have an article about the work of Jessica Collins, coordinator of testing services. In addition, each fall semester we do an in-depth profile of a new faculty or staff member. This year, we have a profile of Dr. Robin Washington-White, director of counseling and advising. In this profile you will learn about her career journey, including how she went from working in accounts payable to counseling.

We also have a story about how faculty and staff on the Marine Creek Nature Discovery Center work team have collaborated to create an outdoor classroom that can be used in a variety of ways. This cross-functional team has been at work for years on one of our best kept secrets and is ready for it to be a secret no longer! And in a first for our newsletter, we have an article that highlights the work of three adjunct instructors from the Public Safety Training Center who were recently invited to present a training they developed on a national stage. You will hear from Ritchie Tice, Mike Noyes, and Jeff Holloway about Managing the Multi-Alarm, how they developed it and the way that particular training benefits our community.

Finally, we have two stories related to our redevelopment project. First, we have an article that details how faculty and staff have adapted to new swing spaces and redesigned workspaces after the demolition of WADM earlier this year. We also have a story about the groundbreaking celebration for our redevelopment project, which was just held in November.

As we approach the end of our fall term, and enter the holiday season, I think it is important for us all to reflect on what we are grateful for. I am grateful for the amazing work our faculty and staff do to serve our students and our community. I hope you enjoy this selection of articles that highlights that work and allows you to get to know us a little better.