New Opportunites in 2015

As we embark on a new year, I am confident in saying that 2015 will be a year of new adventures for me. As some of you may already know, I have accepted a presidency position at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington, and soon I will be leaving Moraine Park and heading west. I have had some remarkable experiences at Moraine Park and have seen the college achieve amazing goals, with some of the most recent highlighted in our newly released 2013-14 Annual Report. I am also thrilled to have one more opportunity to wish our students good luck as we begin another new semester. So whether you are just starting your college career today or you are a seasoned veteran, best wishes to you this semester and into the future. May you always be driven to do great things, find opportunities that challenge you and be proud of your accomplishments.

 

 

Welcome Back, Students!

Although it doesn’t feel much like spring, our Spring Semester is into its second week!  I hope everyone had nice and relaxing winter break. Hopefully you all got the chance to attend the welcome back lunches last week featuring John Cassidy. I got a chance to attend at the Fond du Lac campus show and it was definitely an experience!

It was great to see all of you reconnecting with classmates! Make sure to check out some of the photos from the event on our Facebook page. Here are a few of my favorites from each campus:

 

 

I hope this is a wonderful semester for all of our students; we are so happy to have you all back on campus! Whether you are a first-time reader of my blog, or a regular, I hope you continue you to follow along with my blog. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions or share how your semester is going in the comment section below.  

Welcome back to a new semester!

Welcome to the spring semester! I hope everyone had a nice winter break and that the new semester gets off to a great start. There are many services available at Moraine Park to ensure new and current students have great success during their time at the College. If you are new to campus or just need a reminder of some of the services available at Moraine Park, check out this new video. Maximus wants to meet you! Also, be sure and keep an eye out for Moraine Park staff wearing a “Just Ask” button. These staff members can help answer your questions!

Though things are a bit quieter around Moraine Park during the Holiday Break, there were many exciting things happening behind the scenes during this time. The first CNC Machinist Skills Academies class under the Workforce Partnership Grant from the Wisconsin Covenant Foundation graduated on Friday, Jan. 11. These 12 graduates are now either employed, pursuing entry-level CNC machinist positions, or furthering their education. We look forward to continuing these CNC and Welding Skills Academies over the next three years, helping to address the skills gap in our region.

CNC Machinist graduates with Wisconsin DWD Secretary Reggie Newson.

On Jan. 16, the Moraine Park District Board approved leasing a new facility in Jackson to help Moraine Park meet the demands of regional manufacturers by providing training in Welding and Computer Numerical Control (CNC). The facility will offer a CNC lab, welding lab, two classrooms, and equipment.

Finally, I want to send a big “thank you” to all of the student organizations who took time during the holiday season to coordinate, or donate to, the many service projects happening on and off our three campuses to help the less fortunate. Again, thank you!

Whether you are a first-time reader of my blog, or a regular, I hope you will continue to follow along with my blog to receive College updates, ask questions or to share how your semester is going. Have a great semester! 

Spring 2013: Are you ready?

It’s hard to believe we are halfway through the first semester! I hope classes and extracurricular activities have been going well for all of you as we move closer into the winter season and last part of the semester. Even though January 21 is a couple months away, it’s already time to start thinking about the spring semester. Registration dates start in early November and registering for spring classes is an easy process!

On November 6-8, returning students can start to register for the spring semester; On November 13, new students may start registering for the spring semester; pre-core and certificate student registration begins on November 27. Open registration for everyone begins on November 29.  You can find all of the spring class offerings listed at morainepark.edu/classes. From there, you can take a look at the classes and get a better idea of winter and spring class details by viewing the Online 2013 Class Schedule. Our Winterim session that runs Jan. 2-11 is a great way to pick up some quick credits in between semesters.  Winterim classes are also listed in the course schedule.

I hope classes continue to go well for everyone over the next couple months. Do you have any exciting projects planned? Leave me a note below with what classes you are thinking about taking this spring! 

Time to Refocus - Second Eight Weeks

It’s hard to believe Spring Break has already come to an end.  It seems like we just started in August, made it through a mild winter and in eight weeks we will have finished the spring term.  I’m sure your spring semester has been keeping you busy. Whether you are preparing for graduation, actively seeking, or soon to be seeking employment; or beginning to look at classes for the summer; I hope your educational experience has been a good one. 

A couple of students will be especially busy in the spring semester because they are moving on to national competitions they qualified for during the fall semester. A big congratulations goes out to Tyler Benvenuto, who took first place in the ABC of Wisconsin Construction Skill Competition. Tyler will be heading to the national competition in Texas this April. Moraine Park Business Professionals of America (BPA) students Ariel Kritz and Theresa Gumz are heading to Chicago in May for the National BPA Leadership conference.

Also keeping busy are the nine Culinary Arts students who participated in the Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s College Culinary Arts competition March 12. Moraine Park’s Hot Food team placed third and there were a couple individual winners as well.

If you have any thoughts to share or suggestions for change, I would appreciate hearing from you.  We are well into planning for the 2012-2013 academic year and always welcome input from our students.

Welcome back students!

It was a week of excitement and vibrancy as students returned for spring semester classes. Hopefully everyone had a restful winter break and feel ready to get back into the swing of things with their new classes.

I had the opportunity to be a “semester greeter” where I helped answer questions and direct students to their respective classrooms.  As I assisted with this task I was impressed with how students helped the president learn things that I still have not had the opportunity to learn or inquire about.  The enthusiasm from students returning to the Fond du Lac, Beaver Dam and West Bend campuses is great to see as we begin another academic term.

One way students and staff were welcomed back was with lunch events on the three campuses. There were comedians, an interactive inspirational speaker, Lunch n’ Learn event, and opportunities for students to stuff and bring home their very own gray wolf mascot. What a fun way to kick off the new semester!

Students, how did the first week of classes go for you? Do you have anything that you are especially looking forward to this semester?