Monday, October 28, 2013

Introducing Community Connections Newsletter

I am pleased to announce that Moraine Park has released the first edition of Community Connections, a MorainePark Technical College Newsletter.


The biannual newsletter is intended to keep business leaders and community members informed of the many happenings at the College. In our first issue you will find information about projects Moraine Park faculty and staff have been working on including the grand opening of our new Jackson Regional Center, lab updates and several new initiatives implemented by departments within the College. For questions or feedback on the newsletter, please contact jurben@morainepark.edu.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Students help build a Habitat home in West Bend


On September 9, I attended a very special groundbreaking for a new Habitat for Humanity home being built in West Bend. The groundbreaking was not only a wonderful celebration for the families getting a new home but it was also the start to an extraordinary learning experience for Moraine Park students in the Building Trades Construction Worker and Electricity programs.

 

Students will work alongside Habitat crews throughout the 2013-14 school year to help build the duplex for the families. They will be framing, roofing and wiring the house in preparation for the families to move in next year. Since the groundbreaking I have visited the site and the crews are already making a great deal of progress. In just two short weeks, they are already beginning to lay the foundation for the home.


Photo taken at the Habitat groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Sept. 24.
  
Just two weeks later students and Habitat crew are already making progress.
 
I can’t express enough how proud I am of the students and instructors involved in this project.  This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn their trades but more importantly they are also learning what it means to truly help people in need. This is exactly what Moraine Park is trying to achieve through our Service-Learning projects.  Thank you to the students and staff for your dedication to this project!  Make sure to stay tuned into my blog for more updates and photos throughout this project.