The Front Page 12/3/13

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Volume 26, Issue 7

Tuesday December 3, 2013

Spotlight On the Real Ryan McCoy Written by Carlos Escamilla C. S. Lewis once wrote, “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” Communication faculty, Foundation Assistant Director, and Adams County Board of Education member Ryan McCoy understands the metaphor. He has made education his life’s passion and is living it everyday.

probably have to be Superman. When you do all the comparisons, I don’t think that anyone could beat him. I know those people who are like, ‘Well Batman, this and that.’ Superman’s alien, he’s not even human!” The kind of logic applied to the answer is hardly surprising considering McCoy’s work ethic and aspirations.

Mr. McCoy grew up in Westminster; a product of District 50, he graduated from Westminster High School and his son will graduate from Westminster High School. His father graduated from Ranum and his mother from North High School. His roots are deep in the North Denver area, with most of his family residing in the Westminster area or the Highlands. As McCoy shares: “We’re a very large family here in, what some people call North Denver… that’s where my family comes from.”

His journey to Front Range is fascinating and says a lot about who McCoy is. He elucidates: “In college, when I was earning my Master’s degree, I was teaching there for about two years and during that time (I always knew I wanted to be in education) I took a brief step outside into the private sector. I didn’t really like the mission behind the private sector where they were all about the dollar. Now, not every organization is that way but this one was very much about that, so when the opportunity came and a position opened up in Front Range, I applied for it. I was offered the

When asked who his favorite superhero is, McCoy reveals: “It’d

position and took it, and that was in outreach and recruitment. I always thought I would want to go back to the university, but after also teaching classes at Front Range and interacting with its students, their view of their education is completely different than that of a student who starts out at the university. I think a lot of that has to do with most of the students who are attending a community college are paying out of pocket; it’s their loans that they’ve taking out so that they can go to school. That creates a different kind of student in the classroom; one that’s invested, one that’s interested, and one that collaborates more within the overall conversations. That’s what has made me ‘married’, if you will, to the community college system.” Mr. McCoy also elaborates on his role as an educator at FRCC: “I teach Intercultural Communication and Public Speaking. I love teaching

Photo by Carlos Escamilla

those classes. This is the first time, I believe, in ten years that I’m not teaching a course. That’s because I thought I’d be running a full-fledged campaign for School Board, which I ran uncontested so…. I could have taught a class. I can definitely say that I miss it. I’ve always taught a Tuesday night Interpersonal class and there are some Tuesday nights

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New Dean of Student Services Announcement Written by Carlos Escamilla The Front Range Community College Westminster campus will soon welcome the new Dean of Student Services: Aaron Prestwich. Mr. Prestwich is coming to us from Chadron State College (CSC) in Nebraska, where he was the Senior Director of Student Affairs for CSC’s Student Life. He received his M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Northern Colorado, where he also earned his B.S. in Exercise Science. He began his

career at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, CO, so he has gained experience at both two-year and four-year colleges. According to FRCC Westminster campus Vice President Therese Brown, “Aaron has taught psychology and academic achievement courses while in his leadership role in student affairs. This dual role has helped him to understand the whole student, inside and outside of the classroom.”

While at CSC, Brown shares, Prestwich “has been a change leader, identifying issues, proposing solutions and engaging varying constituents to find the right solution that is best for students.” One example of the myriad success initiatives that Prestwich led is the CSC “Back on Track” (BOT) program, which is an academic success program aimed to get students on academic probation back on the track to success.

Another was creating an online resource site that aids faculty and staff in dealing with difficult students and students with mental health issues. It is connected to the CSC Behavior Intervention Team and can be explored at: http://www.csc.edu/bit/ resources/index.csc. FRCC will be welcoming Mr. Prestwich on Monday, December 16.


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