February 13, 2021 | 8:15 AM | Vi a Zoom
GALVESTON COLLEGE Programs and Careers Vi rtual Conference
C O N F E R E N C E
8:15 A.M.
I T I N E R A R Y
WELCOME Priselda Perez, Chair of the Student Outreach & Retention Committee Dr. Myles Shelton, Galveston College President Vera Lewis-Jasper, Dean of Technical & Professional Education
8:30 A.M.
CHOOSING A CAREER Dr. Latoya S. Mills-Thomas, MSW
9:15 A.M.
NURSING, VN, ADN, BSN Donna Carlin, MSN, RN
9:45 A.M.
BREAK FOR PARTICIPANTS
10:00 A.M.
RADIOGRAPHY, RADIATION THERAPY, SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY, DIAGNOSTIC SONOGRAPHY, EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AAS Daniel Fink, AAS, BS, MBA
10:30 A.M.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/LAW ENFORCEMENT, AAS Crystal Robinson, MSCJ
11:00 A.M.
STEM HONORS PROGRAM, STUDY ABROAD & STEM CAREERS Dr. Ana Sanchez Dr. Sandra Metoyer
11:30 A.M.
HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT, BAS Dr. Tirizia York Melissa Gauna, AS, BAT, MS
12:00 P.M.
BREAK FOR PARTICIPANTS
12:30 P.M.
ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY, AAS Tyree Bearden, BS, MS
1:00 P.M.
FINANCIAL AID/SCHOLARSHIPS, ADMISSIONS, STUDENT ACTIVITIES, AND HOUSING Meghann Nash, AS, BS, MMAL Diego Turrubiartes, AS, BS Jose Martinez, AS, BS, MS
1:45 P.M.
CLOSING, EVALUATION, PRIZES Priselda Perez, AS, BS, MA
W W W . G C . E D U / C O N F E R E N C E /
Dr. LaToya S. Mills-Thomas, MSW Coordinator, Career Readiness & Student Success Center Dr. LaToya S. Mills-Thomas is a master's level social worker who holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, with a Higher Education Concentration. She received both her BSW and MSW at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX, and her Ph.D. at Prairie View A&M University. She has over 17 years of experience working in helping professions, with 13 of those years dedicated to having served in Higher Education. Dr. Mills has assisted students with career advisement/navigation, personal counseling, and academic coaching. Outside of her higher education experience, Dr. Mills has various experiences working with vulnerable and minority populations locally and abroad. She founded the first SAMSHA model Leadership & Resiliency Program (LRP) in Texas via the Family Service Center of Galveston County, graduating 95% of her student mentees. Currently, Dr. Mills serves on the Board of Directors at Holistic, CDC, an agency dedicated to community organizing, social service, mentoring, and advocacy. She has worked with disadvantaged women and children in Mangalore, India, and she has facilitated process groups for parents, teens, and children in various agencies around the Galveston community. Dr. Mills is a published contributing author to the writings of Culturally Responsive Educational Theories (Tanner, 2013). As a past recipient of the City of Galveston's Village Keeper Award & Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, Dr. Mills's continued passion is to motivate, educate, and advocate for those who have not yet gained the strength to do so for themselves. Being born and raised on Galveston Island, Dr. Mills has a profound connection to the city and its residents. Thus, every time she assists a student at Galveston College, having served as a Counselor/Advisor and now the Coordinator of the Career Readiness & Student Success Center, she recognizes that she is not only bettering the students, but she is also bettering herself and her community. Dr. Mills is the wife of Sidney J. Thomas III. Dr. Mills & Sidney are the proud active parents to two adorable little people, Prince Manuel & Prosper Paul Thomas.
Donna Carlin, MSN, RN Director of Nursing Donna is a motivated and personable professional with over 29 years of experience in Higher Education in academic and technical policy, administering and managing state and federal grants, and approving new academic and technical programs. Currently, she serves as the Director of Nursing at Galveston College, a position she has held for the past two years. Before, Donna worked at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for 18 years as the Assistant Director for Workforce Education and oversaw the Carl D. Perkins federal grant at the state level. She worked in nursing regulation/oversight at the Texas Board of Nursing for nine years as a Nursing Education Consultant. She taught nursing at West Texas A& M University for five years and worked for several years as a Critical Care Nurse.
Daniel Fink, AAS, BS, MBA Director of the Allied Health Division and Radiography Program Director and Instructor Daniel is a graduate of Galveston College, with an Associate's of Applied Science in Radiography and a corticated in Computed Tomography. After, he received his Bachelor's of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake. He earned a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX. Over those years, Daniel has served as a Technologist and an Administrator in both hospital and outpatient facility settings. He has been teaching at Galveston College for six years.
Crystal Robinson, BA, MSCJ Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Program Director & Instructor Professor Crystal Robinson was born and raised in Dickinson, Texas, and has been a police officer for agencies in Galveston County, spanning over 20 years. The last 15 of those years have been with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, where she remains a Reserve Deputy and member of the Honor Guard. Crystal earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2014 from Sam Houston State University, where she double-majored in Criminal Justice and Spanish. After, she continued her education at the University of North Texas and earned a Master of Science in Criminal Justice. Crystal currently serves as the Director of the Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Programs at Galveston College. In her free time, she enjoys riding her motorcycle, exploring the outdoors, and most importantly, spending time with her friends and family.
Dr. Ana Sanchez Science and Business Division Director, Director of the NSF Honors Program, and Chemistry Instructor Dr. Sanchez is the Science and Business Division Director at Galveston College. She is a graduate of the National University of Cordoba, Argentina. She worked as a scientist at Emory University, Waterloo University, and the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Sanchez has been a Chemistry Professor for more than thirty years and has mentored graduate students at the major universities she worked. She has participated in several collaborative grants and is the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Honors Program at Galveston College. Dr. Sanchez was a recipient of Galveston College's 2020 Outstanding Faculty Award.
Dr. Sandra Metoyer Director of Title V Pathways Project Dr. Sandra Metoyer is the Director of the Title V Pathways Project at Galveston College. She has earned her Ph.D. in Geography from the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University. Her interests include STEM education, community college education, program evaluation, education research, and Guided Pathways. In her role as Director for the Title V Pathways project, Dr. Metoyer is responsible for facilitating the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Guided Pathways model at Galveston College. The Guided Pathways model, fully implemented, will improve student success at Galveston College through increased retention, academic and program success, completion, and transfer.
Melissa Gauna, AS, BAT, MS Allied Health Administration Instructor Melissa is the newest faculty member for the BAS-HCM degree program. This is her sixth year in the teaching field, and she loves it. She has over 20 years of experience in the medical field. Melissa received an Associate's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, followed by a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Medical Health Service Management at South Texas College in 2013 and a Master's of Science in Health Administration from the University of Texas-Pan American at Edinburg. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from Our Lady of the Lake University. Her goal is to share as much of her knowledge with her students to make them as proficient as possible in Healthcare Administration. It is a career that continues to grow, and she is glad to be a part of it!
Tyree Bearden, BS, MS Electrical/Electronics Program Director & Instructor Tyree has been the program director for the electrical and electronics technology program at Galveston College for the past 11 years. He teaches students hands-on classes in the electrician and electronics fields. While modernizing and explaining this electrical and electronics program to hire an adjunct instructor, he also was the principal investigator of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant, where he led a team of people to meet the needs of instrumentation technicians by developing an associate's degree in instrumentation technology at Galveston College that launched in the Fall of 2020. He is originally from Chicago, IL but got to Texas as soon as he could in 1993. He resides in League City, TX, and has been married to Tia Bearden for 27 years, and has three children: Tyree II, Tychelle, and Timothy. He has a master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. He began his career as a design engineer at Intel Corporation and Motorola, Inc in the semiconductor industry, where he designed semiconductors for cell phones. Then, Tyree became an applications engineer in the electronic design automation industry, where he discovered the passion he had for teaching as he conducted 5-day trainings on the latest design software tools at customer sites nationwide. After relocating to the Houston area, he followed his passion for teaching by becoming a full-time faculty member at DeVry University in the electronics technology department. He became recognized by the faculty by earning the Pride of DeVry award. Soon, he became the chair of the electronics department at ITT Technical Institute in Webster, Texas. As department chair, he managed the demands of students and faculty, implementing curriculum changes and ensuring the students in his department received awesome customer service. He also taught several engineering courses. Tyree is a certified NCCER instructor and is excited about serving the Galveston, Texas area!
Dr. Tirizia York Bachelors of Applied Science in Healthcare Management Program Director Dr. York is originally from Kansas City, MO, but spent 20 years in Atlanta, GA, before coming to Galveston College in 2019 to develop and teach the BAS-HCM degree program. She has a Ph.D. in Human Services with Healthcare Administration Concentration, an MBA in Health Services, and MA and BA in Sociology. Dr. York is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Gerontological Society of America, and the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education. Her dissertation research focused on the burden and anticipatory grief of caregivers of parents and spouses with Alzheimer’s Disease. As the BAS-HCM program director, her favorite part of the job is working with students to help them find their area of expertise within healthcare administration. She uses her healthcare management experience and teaching experience to encourage students to put theory into practice by relating the subject material to courses as well as the larger social world.
Meghann Nash, AS, BS, MMAL Director of Financial Aid Meghann Nash is the Director of Financial Aid with 18 years of experience at Galveston College. She graduated from Galveston College in 2004 with an Associate’s Degree in General Studies. She attended Texas A&M University in Galveston and graduated in May 2007 and May 2014 with a Bachelor's of Science in Maritime Administration and Master's of Maritime Administration and Logistics, respectively. Meghann was born and raised in Galveston. She has two children, 7-year-old Addison and 18-year-old Devin.
Diego Turrubiartes, AS, BS Admissions Coordinator A proud B.O.I., Diego was born and raised in Galveston, TX. Currently, he is the Admissions Coordinator at Galveston College. Diego attended Galveston College and earned his Associate of Science in General Studies. After, he transferred to Texas A&M University at Galveston, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. He is pursuing his Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Louisiana State University Shreveport, which he expects to be completed in May 2021. Diego is passionate about assisting students and providing them with knowledge and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. He is proud to work at Galveston College alongside many incredible colleagues.
Jose Martinez, AS, BS, MS Student Life Coordinator A Galveston native, Jose is the current Student Life Coordinator at Galveston College, where he oversees Student Housing and Student Activities. He received his Associate's degree in General Studies from Galveston College. After, he attended the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL), earning his Bachelor's of Science in Biology. At UHCL, Jose was involved in the Student Government Association and other leadership organizations on campus, having served as a Peer Mentor and Student Associate. He obtained his Master's of Science in Higher Education Administration with a Community College Leadership Certification from the University of Albany, SUNY. He has five years of experience working in Higher Education and is passionate about helping students grow.
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