Graduation

On Saturday, May 17, Moraine Park celebrated and recognized the accomplishments of our students at our 2014 Commencement Ceremony.  This is an event that I look forward to every year knowing I too experienced my first “official” graduation at Madison Area Technical College receiving an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Business Administration/Marketing- Fashion Merchandising. 

We were at full capacity at the Fond du Lac High School Fieldhouse and that indicates the great support that family, friends and other special guests have for our graduates.  The smile each and every graduate had as they accepted their diploma from me was “priceless.”  It also meant a lot to me to be able to personally thank the graduates whose service and leadership to our Fond du Lac, Beaver Dam and West Bend campuses has had such an impact on our College during their time with us.

I encourage all of our graduates – now officially Moraine Park Alumni – to stay in touch, let us know of your careers successes, and more importantly, to stay involved with your alma mater. It’s easy to connect! Simply go to morainepark.edu, click on Alumni & Friends and explore the opportunities available to stay connected with MPTC.  You can also contact Dana Knebel, Director of College Advancement 920-924-3225.

Service-Learning Celebration

On Thursday, May 1, I attended our Service-Learning Celebration Breakfast on the Fond du Lac campus.  This has become an annual event to learn about the community service-learning projects our students, or in some cases, entire classes, participated in.  Students from Accounting, Building Trades Construction Worker, Business and Event Planning, Corrections, Introduction to Sociology and Introduction to Ethics presented their projects.  I am so proud of all of these students and the leadership from their instructors to engage them in such wonderful hands-on experience and learning about the community project.  All of the students spoke about what a great opportunity this was to get involved and engaged. 

 
I had the chance to talk with Building Trades Construction Worker students Tim Milligan, Nate Stockhausen, Mike Schmid, Dillon Pufahl, Luke Breuer and their instructor Don Enders, about their Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge Counties home building project in West Bend.  When I asked the students if everything with the project had gone as planned, their response was, “No. We learned to adapt to change.”  When they shared how rewarding it was to add their names to the footings of the home, I could see their pride knowing this would be a project that would “last a lifetime.” 

The Business and Marketing Events class along with Instructor Jeff Stueber are planning a Pink Pumpkin event on the Fond du Lac campus, Saturday, Oct. 18.  As this team noted during their project presentation, “it is about making a positive impact in our communities.”

I encourage you to learn more about MPTC’s Service-Learning classes and projects and see how you might be able to get involved.  With so many opportunities, I’m sure you will find something you are passionate about that will engage you to help others!