TRANSFER STUDENTS Step-by-step guide to transferring Pablo Sanchez

Finishing Up the Semester by Transferring Step-by-Step Guide on How to Transfer

Rocky Sanchez, Reporter & Designer

To transfer or not to transfer, that is the question.

Making the decision to attend a twoyear institution in a transfer program means students intend to continue their education with a bachelor’s degree in mind.

“Most of the time, students come to enroll and are not necessarily aware of the importance of knowing where they want to transfer. All four-year institutions that they plan to transfer to, they each have their own requirements for their four-year degree,” said Miranda Engelken, Business Instructor, who advises accounting transfer students.

Transfer advisors want to give students the best advice possible when deciding where their next step will be. It is essential to talk with them about where they want to go and if that school matches their interest.

“Each four-year college has their own degree requirements on their web

▲ Photo by HutchCC Marketing ▲

Business Instructor Miranda Engelken is a business transfer advisor. Her office is located in Lockman Hall 100. page, and usually you can go to their web page and just type in transfer, and it will break down by community college you are transferring from as far as what you should take here that would transfer to their program there,” Engelken said. “We also have a lot of institutions that are starting to do dual advising. Wichita State University does a great job, K-State started their own resource site for transfer students, and Fort Hays has good transfer dialog.”

The first step a student must take is contacting the transfer college to set up an appointment and work with a transfer advisor. Students who want to complete an Associate of Science or Associate of Art degree will benefit in the long run to have it completed before going to a four-year college. A degree in hand shows their progress and intention to complete the next step.

Leading the advising team at Hutchinson Community College is Christopher Lau, Coordinator Advising, Career Development, and Counseling Services.

“One of the top reasons [to attend HutchCC] is because of the affordability of community college and we see this even more pronounced with the pandemic because you’ll have students that otherwise would’ve gone to a university, but with those universities converting classes to online, the students think ‘I can take nearly the same course and pay less money to take it at the community college,’ Lau said. “That’s one of the top reasons students choose us as a stepping stone.”

Another reason is the strength of being able to transfer to another university, the State of Kansas has the Board of Regents that aligns general education courses so they are transferable between institutions.

“Third reason would be how much smaller we are,” said Lau. “Let’s say you want that university experience, and you have to take general biology. Imagine what it would feel like to be non-pandemic in a lecture hall with 800 students and not feeling like you have a connection with the instructor or really anyone else in the class cause it’s just so big. Whereas you can take that same course here and know the instructor’s name, and they know your name.” A list of transfer areas can be found on the HutchCC website for students interested in what the college offers.

“For example, if students want to get into [Kansas University] pharmaceutical program, HutchCC is the place to start,” Lau said. “We have almost a 100 percent acceptance rate of students taking pharmacy here and then transferring to KU.”

When it comes to taking steps to transfer, it is essential to talk about this with an advisor.

“Talk to your HutchCC advisor because we have dual advising relationships with many of the universities in Kansas. So for example, let’s say a student came to me and told me I want to go to Wichita State,’ Lau said. ‘I would have the student go to Wichita State’s website, fill out a form, and they would request an advisor at Wichita State even now while you’re at HutchCC. If the student does not know which university they plan to transfer to, there is no pressure to select one.

“Let the university court you.

Universities will recruit high achieving academic students. They will offer scholarships and sell their institution because they want the enrollment. Don’t rule out private schools simply because of cost too much because often they offer more in scholarships that will make the price the same or less than one of those large public universities,” said Lau.

A good transcript is a necessity when planning to transfer, that record travels with the student and scholarships are available to transfer students based on the grades they received while at HutchCC.

“Some programs there is a primary transfer it’s just you don’t have to go in that area, but it makes the most sense,” Lau said. “Let’s say a student came in here and said that they wanted to go into pharmacy, that’s going to be a transfer to KU. If a student said architecture, probably the first school they would look at is K-State, so some of those transfer relationships just make sense. When a student is just an open book and has no idea where they want to go, it helps that advisor learn more about their interests, likes, and dislikes.” If there is still some uncertainty, universities from around the state come to campus throughout the semester to offer assistance in connecting students with the right area at their college.

Karina Varela, Scott City, said she knew attending HutchCC would be cheaper rather than attending another college with higher fees. It would be easier to get her general studies out of the way. She originally planned to attend Fort Hays but she was more familiar with people here instead of going straight there. Her next step after HutchCC is K-State.

“The connection with instructors, I knew I wasn’t going to get at the university, and I’ve noticed that I can talk to my instructors personally,” Varela said. “Classes are much smaller and nicer being able to know what’s going on in class is great.”

Varela had the chance to talk with her K-State advisor since she was already being dual-advised. Being able to talk with her advisor and figure out what classes she needs to take for her engineering program has been beneficial.

“Talk to your advisor. That’s what your advisor is there for, they’re here to help you and are going to help you,” said Varela. Taking that next step in education is a decision every student has to make but the HutchCC resources can help make the question of to transfer or not to transfer a little easier.

5-Step Application Process

1.) Choose a college you like

Consider location and cost

2.) Fulfill the reqirements

Fill out forms & submit essay

3.) Let someone recommend you

Request letters from instructors

4.) Check throughly

Ensure everything’s in order

5.) Complete and submit

Best to submit before deadline

◄ Photo by Rocky Sanchez ◄ Karina Varela, Scott City, is talking with Christopher Lau, Coordinator Advising, Career development, and Conseling Services, about what to expect when she gets ready to transfer to Kansas State University. Lau is found in the Student Success Center in the Student Union if students have questions about where to transfer.

Changing the Face of Media Working in a Male Dominated Field

Kyli Dimmitt, Reporter & Designer

“I have been discriminated against. You can just tell when it happens,” Alexis Cruz, Video Editing/Post Production instructor, said.

Facing discrimination against being a woman in the media production field isn’t new to Cruz. Although she may have had her fair share of discrimination, that doesn’t stop her. It only inspires her to work harder and prove herself even further.

Cruz shared some experiences she’s had with discrimination. When she was working on editing a film with a small group of three that included herself, her friend who was also a girl, and a man. Whenever her and her friend would give opinions and insight, the person they were making the film for would brush it off and would only listen to what the man in the group had to say.

Another experience she’s faced is when she and one of her friends were wanting to be president and vice president of the college’s Audio/Visual club. The club was predominantly made up of males and the others in the group wanted this one guy to be the president.

“I could just tell it was because we were women and they wouldn’t want girls to lead,” she said.

This didn’t stop Cruz from thriving. She said that she just focused on her projects and worked hard to show people what she could do.

In 2019, she’s worked with several non-profits including Oxford House, Stage 9, and Bright House alongside her former instructor and now co-worker, Bobby Obermite, Media Production Analyst/Trainer.

Part of her success can be measured in online views. The film on Oxford House got around 50,000 views almost instantly. The Stage 9 project was a play covering a really difficult subject matter. Cruz produced, edited, and directed the project. She also directed and edited the piece with Bright House. These projects came out within 3 weeks of each other.

▼ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▼

Alexis Cruz, Video Editing/Post Production instructor, reviews the work of Landon Eilert, Beloit, and Joy Reiss, St. Albans, Maine. The project they produced was a commercial ad.

“I don’t know when she found the time to sleep,” Obermite said. “I have a hard time producing content matching her level with 10 more years experience. She’s quite the prodigy.”

The two have also worked together on a massive project on the pandemic where they turned it into a live comedy show and streamed it.

“She was intricate on the cinematography, she edited the vast majority of it. Without her, that project probably wouldn’t have happened and it certainly couldn’t have ended up to the quality that it did,” Obermite said. “She makes

▲ Photo by Kyli Dimmitt ▲ During her down time, Cruz works on a personal project. After shooting the footage for any project, she reviewed the content during the editing stage.

the team so much better. You know when she’s on set, there’s a better chance of success.”

Obermite described Cruz as a “jack of all trades.” He said his first impression of Cruz was how ahead of the material in class she was based off of experience alone.

“She scored through the roof. An ‘A’ grade is one thing, but we’re talking about having a 98-99 percent in the class,” he said.

When Cruz was graduating, instead of walking, she picked up a camera and helped film the HutchCC ceremony. Within a week or two of graduation she was offered a part-time job as the content designer at the college and 14 months later became a full-time employee with benefits. This led to her teaching a Video Editing and Post Production class. She’s also worked on everything from magazine ads to directing, editing, shooting, and producing for non-profits organizations, documentaries and narratives.

Cruz’s current project list includes a music video which she said is her favorite thing to produce. Her skills have even been appreciated outside of the country. She’s currently editing a video for a company from Canada.

No matter the obstacles Cruz has faced over the years, she continues to thrive in her field.

“Most of all,” she said, “I want people to see my work and get inspired.”

▲ Photo by Bobby Obermite ▲ Shooting the live footage for a documentary, Cruz concentrates on Robert Bubp. She worked behind the scenes to create an artist in their space documentary with several other media students.