Fall 2022 Accolades for TCC Northwest
On July 19, TCC Northwest’s Horticulture Program partnered with TCC Southeast to grow vegetable transplants for Urban Farms, a non-profit company with the goal of empowering new farmers to provide fresh produce to Southeast Tarrant County residents. Since most new farmers lack the facilities and resources to produce their own plugs, they are often forced to pay higher costs to out-of-state plug growers. This financial stressor often proves to be a difficult barrier to navigate for start-up farmers. TCC Horticulture identified this as a need that could be addressed by our staff and facilities. After finalizing the list of farms working with GROW SE, members of the Horticulture staff were able to seed transplants on July 19. Once the seedlings had emerged and established, they were moved outside to a low-cost shade structure. After growing to full size, they were moved to full sunlight and natural field conditions. As of August 22, they were finished and ready to be delivered to small farms. In summary, the Horticulture program grew 72 cell trays, featuring swiss chard, kale, collards, mustard greens, bok choy, broccoli and cauliflower. The staff members involved in this project were Andrew Davila, Elizabeth Chi, Stephanie Schmitz and David Cole.
On July 29, Dr. Mayra Fuentes, Associate Professor of Spanish, was invited by Kim Jackson and The Cole Lab to be a panelist at the 2022 TCL Lead Small Business & Leadership Conference. The group discussed the need for culturally responsive leadership to address current social, political, and economic challenges.
During the week of Aug. 19-26, Student Activities hosted Welcome Week for students to kick off the fall semester. The festivities began on Aug. 19, as 200 students and their families took a tour of the campus, found their classes and learned about services available to them. The week featured a first-day photo booth, boba tea, breakfast burritos, coffee, an ice cream social and boxed lunches, all to give students a sense that they belonged as an important member of the TCC community. In total, these events served 1,980 students.
On Aug. 25, TCC Northwest, in partnership with Keller ISD, announced a new agreement to offer TCC classes at Keller Collegiate Academy on evenings and weekends which will deliver affordable, quality education for community members. To announce this agreement, TCC hosted an open house at the Keller Collegiate Academy to showcase the opportunities, resources and programs offered at TCC Northwest. Attendees had the opportunity to complete a survey and share their interest and recommendations for future course offerings.
On Sept. 1, Career Services hosted a Tailgate Party to promote on-campus student employment. The event yielded more than forty participants who learned about the valuable professional experience they could accrue while simultaneously working on campus and maintaining their status as a student.
On Sept. 29, Student Activities and the Intercultural Network collaborated to host Fiesta Northwest. With the assistance of the Walsh Library and the Humanities Division, Fiesta Northwest enabled students to experience Latin culture through art, street tacos, elote, paletas, churros, piñata making, and playing loteria. Nearly 300 students attended this successful celebration of culture.
This October, Eric Camarillo, Dean of Learning Commons, was published in a collection titled Violence in the Work of Composition. His chapter, “Antiracism is Antiviolence: Utilizing Antiracist Writing Center Theory to Mitigate Violence in Writing Centers,” contributed to the goal of the publication by focusing on overt and covert violence and bringing attention to the many ways violence inflects and infects the teaching, administration and scholarship of composition.
On Oct. 1, the aviation programs at TCC teamed with Alliance Air Services and Airplanes & Coffee to host a Fly-In. With the annual Alliance Expo moving to a one-day-only event with limited ramp access, TCC aviation began seeking alternatives to connect with those interested in aviation. Airplanes & Coffee is a non-profit, grass-roots organization that promotes aviation and raises money for scholarships. The founder, Russ Keith, and Dean Clint Grant connected last summer to brainstorm a Fly-In at Alliance to raise money for TCC students and to market the programs offered at CEATL. Alliance Air Services offered a hangar, ramp and marshalling services. TCC hosted the event, providing a pancake breakfast and golf cart tours of CEATL. There were more than 40 volunteers comprised of faculty, staff and students.
The event was a huge success with 150 airplanes flying in to the event. In addition, many spectators drove, in with an estimated 400 people in attendance. TCC raised more than $2,500 for scholarships. Airplanes & Coffee proclaimed it their most successful fly-in ever to date. The three parties have unanimously agreed to make this a permanent event on the calendar and ideas are already flowing to improve and raise more money for TCC aviation students.
On Oct. 4, Alex Potemkin, Director of Library Services, and Teri Rogers, Public Services Librarian, presented their “Go Textbook Free” session at The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience on Students in Transition meeting in Atlanta. Their presentation outlined how institutions can use library resources to support and supplement classroom instruction. Consequently, colleges can offer courses without the associated costs of a pricy textbooks. Potemkin and Rogers also described how this idea came about, the pros and cons of going textbook free and what the future may hold for coursework in a digital world.
On Oct. 4, Clint Grant, Dean of Aviation, Business and Logistics along with Aviation Maintenance Technology instructors Phillip Craig and Dewey Monroe, attended the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the new Gulfstream Service Center located at Alliance Airport. Executives at Gulfstream had contacted Dean Grant prior to the ceremony and generously invited Aviation Maintenance Technician program students to attend. The ceremony occurred at the grand opening of the 162,000 square foot facility that includes state-of-the art aircraft maintenance hangar and equipment. Speakers included Congressman Mike Burgess, Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. and Mark Burns, president and CEO of Gulfstream, who highlighted Gulfstream’s relationship with the aviation program at TCC.
On Oct. 11, the Information Technology Department hosted a Candy + Coding event to increase awareness of computer science programs, introduce participants to basic coding skills and expose students to the robust history and contributions women have made in the IT field. Candy + Coding coincides with Cyber Security Awareness month. The inaugural event grew out of Joan Shriver’s idea to celebrate the birthday of Ada Lovelace, considered by many to be the first computer programmer.
On Oct. 15, Mayra Fuentes, Associate Professor of Spanish, and Daniela Molina, Coordinator of Community Education and Engagement, spoke to parents and high school students about making the transition from high school to college at the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Super Saturday Event. EMS ISD invited both Fuentes and Daniela Molina to give their presentation, which was delivered in both English and Spanish.
On Oct 17, Science Learning Lab Managers across the District collaborated to host Mole-arious Mole Day. The event aligned with National Chemistry week and was a fun way to engage students with the Science Learning Center. During the event, students could submit jokes to win a nano-mole plush, with one grand prize winner who was awarded the Professor Molenium Plush. The mole, also spelled mol, is a standard scientific unit in chemistry for measuring large quantities of small entities such as atoms, molecule, or other specified particles, and is widely used in chemistry classes. The mole designates an extremely large number of units, 6.02214076 × 10^23, so Mole Day is observed on October 23rd.
During the week of Oct. 17-20, Student Activities and the Kinesiology Department collaborated to develop Float On, an event to bolster student retention during midterms. Students attended events such as Float on Air with Less Stress at which students could grab cotton candy and talk with counselors about tips to combat stress; Dive-in Movie, where students could watch a film with friends in the WHPE pool; Ice Cream Floats, where students enjoyed a treat during registration for Spring 2023 classes; and Keep Your Dreams Afloat on where students could chat with Stay the Course representatives to learn how to persevere in their goals.
On Oct. 21, Northwest hosted TCC’s first-ever Naturalization Ceremony at which 35 participants took their oath to the United States of America in front of family and friends. The event was coordinated by Lourdes Davenport and the English Language Learning program as well as Lisa Benedetti, Dean of Humanities; Sonya Brown, Dean of Public Services and Social/Behavioral Sciences; Daniela Molina, Coordinator of CEE; and Maggie Burns, Administrative Assistant for Public Services & Social/Behavioral Sciences.
