Volume 26 Issue 21

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY–CORPUS CHRISTI

| ISLANDWAVESNEWS.COM | VOLUME 26 ISSUE 21 | 09.03.15

Islanders move onto the island

See more photos on page 4

From dean to provost

Dr. Quintanilla officially named A&M-CC provost, vice president

by JAMIE FINK editor-in-chief

As the new school year has begun, the university has appointed a new provost and vice president of academic affairs.

Dr. Kelly Quintanilla, former dean of the College of Liberal Arts, started serving as the Interim provost and vice president of academic affairs in April 2015, after the announcement of Dr. Chris Markwood’s departure from the Island University.

“We are proud to have Dr. Quintanilla to continue her service to our campus community in this new role,” said Dr. Flavius Killebrew, President and CEO of Texas A&MCorpus Christi. “They [Quintanilla and Mr. Tatum] will help our university focus on becoming an emerging research university committed to student success, closing gaps in achievement and delivering a robust campus experience.”

Quintanilla has been with the Island University since 1994 when she joined the faculty in the Com-

“I am excited to take on new responsibilities centered on maintaining student success, enrollment and retention and developing new academic programs.”

— Dr. Kelly Quintanilla munication and Media department that year. Later, she served as the department chair, then later became dean of CLA before her newest job as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.

“I do not see the various roles I have held as ‘working my way up,’” Quintanilla said. “Every position I have held at TAMUCC has come with its own challenges and rewards, but they all have one thing in common: each position is, at its core, about student success. My goal is to serve this University in whatever role I can be most useful at any given point in time, as long as that role allows me to stay focused on student success.”

Quintanilla’s newest position offers all of the items she hopes for.

Quintanilla has filled in as interim provost and vice president of aca-

INDEX OPINION 2 | NEWS 3, 6 | CAMPUS 4, 5 | SPORTS 7, 8

demic affairs since April, learning the ins and outs of the job. Now after officially being named to the position, Quintanilla said she is looking forward to learning more about each of the disciplines and about individual faculty members’ research and creative activity. She said she hopes to learn about the successes and needs of the faculty and students, as well as the ways she can help facilitate improvement the Island University needs.

“I am extremely honored to be serving in the role of provost and vice president of academic affairs,” Quintanilla said in a TAMUCC press release. “I am excited to take on new responsibilities centered on maintaining student success, enrollment and retention and developing new academic programs.”

A lot has changed over the years

Photo courtesy of TAMUCC FLICKR

since Quintanilla has been with the Island University, and she has seen first hand the progress A&M-Corpus Christi has taken to building a better future.

“Working for the Island University has been an incredible experience,” Quintanilla said. “When I arrived in 1994, we had just admitted the first group of first-year Islanders, Center for Instruction was the newest building on campus, and we did not yet have sports or Izzy the

see PROVOST on page 3

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opinion

ISLAND WAVES

09.03.2015

Welcome back, Islanders

a student publication of

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

island waves staff JAMIE FINK

web editor-in-chief

KELSEY FLORES copy editor

KARA HERRERA layout assistant

GERI LEMMONS

features reporter

ISAAC PAIGE

sports reporter

LUIS GOMEZ

advertising assistant

ELI T. BERKE

photographer

WENDY MOORE faculty adviser

contact us 6300 Ocean Drive Unit 5783 Corpus Christi, TX 78412 (361) 825-5862 write us a letter Island Waves accepts letters no longer than 250 words. Letters are subject to editing. Send letters to the editor via email at editor@tamucc.edu. about island waves The Island Waves is a student-produced publication at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The newspaper is printed weekly, except during summer sessions.

Island Waves is supported by student fees and advertising sales.

Any student or University employee may submit material for publication consideration. To become a contributor, e-mail or call the Island Waves editor.

Welcome Islanders,

I

sland Waves is pumped to have everyone back for another great year at the Island University.

We are also excited for all the incoming Islanders who are starting their journeys this fall.

We hope you enjoy the time you spend here.

Just like the rest of the university, Island Waves has also made some major changes over the course of the past year. We have officially started and are running our new website, islandwavesnews.com, which we hope you will become very familiar with and enjoy. This new website has allowed us to produce stories on a daily basis, instead of waiting to print in the weekly print issue.

We have also finally moved into our own space. The Island Waves offices are now located on the second floor of Classroom East in room 216. Whether you are looking for an on-campus job, or needing to buy an ad, we would be more than happy to help.

The last major change that Island Waves this year is with me.

I will be taking over the Editor-inChief position for Island Waves and look forward to making sure

we are producing an enjoyable, newsworthy product each and every week. I have taken over this position as Conner has stepped down to finish out her last year at TAMUCC. She did a great job and we wish her well.

I have been working for Island Waves for more than a year now and it has been an awesome experience so far. I am thankful for the opportunity to have this position and help give you a student newspaper that will make your time here at the Island University enjoyable.

At Island Waves, we have a great staff that is dedicated to working for you. We do our best to stay on top of everything going on around both the university, and Corpus Christi. Our job becomes a lot easier when we have feedback from our audience.

We love hearing from you all.

Please let us know what you think and what you want to read and see. Your feedback helps make us a more successful student publication.

I look forward to having a great year at the Island University and I hope you do as well.

There are some things you can do to

make your time here the best it can possibly be. Get involved.

Make new friends. Joining an organization is one of the best things you can do to accomplish both. Joining more than one makes it that much better. You can also go Greek and experience the Greek life at TAMUCC. Go to the sporting events,cheer on your Islanders. They are out there representing not only this university, but you as well. They love coming out of the locker room before games and seeing a packed house of students there to support them. That helps them play even better and makes them hunger victory even more.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and all the Island Waves issues to come.

-Jamie Fink Editor-in-Chief

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campus

09.03.2015

ISLAND WAVES

Green Zone benefits Islander veterans

by GERI LEMMONS features reporter

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reen zone is an organization at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi designed to help returned veterans get acclimated to pursue their education on campus.

The Green Zone is a designated offices on campus that veterans can go to speak with trained professors about what is going on with them and if they need help. This type of program was available on a few Texas campuses and with there being so many veterans coming to the Island University, it made sense to have the program created here.

Dr. Jeff Dillard said when he started teaching at the university, he found out about the veteran population and how high it was. He started thinking about starting the Green

Zone program but did not really do anything about it until Dr. Helen Yu suggested following through on the idea.

“Green Zone had training for the faculty and staff so that they can understand the unique needs for the veterans,” Dillard said. “It will hopefully create a cross campus network where a student veteran can see the little sticker on all the doors around here and see that this is an ally.”

During the first hour of training the trainees were given information about what to do and what not to do when talking to a veteran who are looking for help with a problem.

In the training sessions the faculty and staff were put into small groups and brainstormed for about three hours on different situations that could happen in the classroom or a real-world situation that could

happen on any given day with a student veteran.

Each group came up with ways to handle the situation and then the professors would explain the correct way of how to handle the situations.

Yu said some of the information provided were things the trainees already knew, but there was a lot of information at was new to them.

They were given all of the information and then asked to work on the situations at hand. Yu said she felt giving them information and then doing the different situations afterwards helped the trainees understand what to do.

“The way we had it set up went very successful. We had enough student veteran volunteers,” Yu said.

“Each veteran took a table and answered questions. Like if the veteran would sit at a table and before

the group would come up with the answer to the situation they would ask the veteran what certain things mean and how they should approach certain things.”

There was a great deal of commitment when it came to putting on the training and there was a good amount of professors in support of what the training was all about.

There was an assortment of moving parts when it came to setting up the training, but all in all, everything went over well.

Green Zone was held during Islander Forum since faculty was already on campus for training.

Overall, Yu said the training sessions had a great turn out and the feedback they received revealed that some participants wished it had lasted longer. Some thought the training was informative and helpful.

PROVOST continued from page 1

Islander.”

Quintanilla has played an active role in the growth of the Island University.

“I have worked side by side with dedicated faculty, staff and administrators who worked tirelessly to build a Hispanic Servicing Institution dedicated to student success,” Quintanilla said. “I can not imagine anything that would have been more rewarding.”

Quintanilla received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Pennsylvania State University.

Quintanilla is a strong leader and visionary, who has helped the University grow and thrive. Under her tenure, the Island University established the CLA, Communication & Media and enhanced course offerings in journalism, graphic design and media production.

Photo courtesy of TAMUCC FLICKR

Dr. Kelly Quintanilla, newly named the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, visits with two students during the Dean’s List reception.

Island Waves

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campus

09.03.2015

Islanders settle in for the semester

ISLAND WAVES

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Photos by Jamie Fink

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1: Nursing major Brittany McClain is assisted by members of the Net on move in day, while mom directs traffic.

2: A TAMUCC freshman is assisted by her younger brother to move in at Camden.

3: Business major Sarah Shea begins to unload her vehicle to start her journey at TAMUCC. 4: Resident Adviser Nikki Shear helps direct students to their correct dorms while fighting the Corpus wind.

5: The bike rack in front of the Camden apartments is full, filling the void that has been there all summer.

6: A group from First Baptist Church Corpus Christi poses for a quick photo after assisting students and families on move-in day.

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news

09.03.2015

Art show documents year in Library

ISLAND WAVES

by GERI LEMMONS feature reporter

I

slanders in the Library is an art event currently taking place in the library from Aug. 3 to Sept. 15.

This exhibit is free and open to all who want to see it. The art exhibit is located in the back of the library directly facing the main entrance.

The exhibit showcases students in the library doing just about everything one can do during their time there.

Jeffery Janko, Library Information Specialist, is the brain behind the whole project. He said the library needed an exhibit that was inexpensive, because the library was going through some construction and renovation.

“We had to fill a space with something that would not be very expensive,” Janko said. “We would shoot students in the library who were doing projects, reading, doing

group projects, and study groups.

We came up to like 600 pictures.”

The exhibit features two PowerPoints on a laptop with projectors towards the front of the library near the back, in the downstairs level. The images play throughout the day and students can look at either themselves or see their friends and what they are doing in the library.

“It was a great way to put the show together,” Janko said. “It looked great looking from one picture to the next moving on the wall. It was inexpensive and something that all could enjoy.”

The pictures were taken by different photographers from Photos by JAMIE FINK across the campus, and were Junior Spanish major Andrea Rodriguez sits and admires the Islanders in the LIbrary art exhibit. collected to put in the presentation Vincent Nguyen, a mechanical library and what all one can do there. for all to see. engineering major, was one of the It is there for both entertainment It is said that there was a total of about 600 or more photos running people taking photos and helping value but also serves as art. out with the presentation.

One can even find some of every day.

He said the type of deadline they the photos online at the library’s had was one person getting as many Facebook or Twitter pages and photos at one time as they could in search for different photos there. one day and then from one day to The exhibit uses social media to the next. get some of its content out there “I spent my spare time along with getting some of the volunteering,” Nguyen said. “I subjects to participate online and would take the camera anytime I win. The exhibit also shows digital went to the library and it was really media that most college students fun to help out taking pictures.” can relate to which is going to the The exhibit will run all day long library where there is peace and as long as the library is open. It is a quiet and studying alone or with chance for students to take a break others. from studying and everyday life The art exhibit will end on Sept. and look at pictures of new people 15. The library is also giving away who are doing the same thing they prizes from 12 p.m.-2 p.m. every might have also done in the library. Tuesday and Thursday by visiting the It shows our fellow Islanders in the library’s Facebook or Twitter page.

Beloved campus dog passes away

by GERI LEMMONS feature reporter

T

exas A&M University-Corpus Christi is known for having cats in a variety of all shapes, colors, and sizes. However, the Island University is also known to have squirrels and many other animals that could be found around campus in places such as in front of the library, outside of CASA, and a whole assortment of other locations.

Something students may not have known is that the university actually had a dog that was a part of the Islander family. The dog, or Bonnie as faculty knew her, was taken care of in the same manner the cats are taken care of now

Bonnie was the only dog that was on campus and unfortunately passed away not too long ago.

John Sanchez, the grounds keep supervisor, said that the dog recently passed away over the summer all of a sudden.

“We had at least 50 cats and Bonnie at one point here on the island all at one time until her passing,” said Sanchez.

Bonnie was said to have been really respectful of everyone and was truly loved while she spent her time here on campus. Most knew about the dog but some had no clue that the dog had even passed away.

Erin Nash, a junior communications major, said that she had no clue that the dog had

passed away and she had only saw the dog every now and then.

“I didn’t know anything about the dog until I saw it one day, I even did not know there was a dog here. I saw the dog and I had to do a double take and realize what I was seeing,” Nash said. “It was the type of dog that really kept to itself and was not dangerous at all.

I think at one point I saw it with its owner too.”

With the loss of Bonnie there are plans to remember her since Bonnie was like another member of the Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi family. Bonnie was fed and well taken care of. Bonnie will be missed and will never be forgotten and will be remembered as part of the Island University.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is in part known for its cats and of course having cat ally. It can now be known for Bonnie and how she equally touched the hearts of the people here on campus.

A special thank you should be said to the grounds personnel who do a great job of taking care of the campus and also help take care of the many animals they come in contact with on this campus including Bonnie.

Bonnie will be missed by the grounds keeps as well as the many people she came in contact with like the many volunteers that helped out with feeding the animals and it is said that the dog will be remembered in some way shape or form.

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09.03.2015

ISLAND WAVES

Photo courtesy of TAMUCC FLICKR

Islander alum named director In this archive photo, Jill Jacobs, Russell Wagner, Rosie Collin and Joshua Poorman are pictured at the Momentum 2020 event hosted by the Young Business Professionals of the Coastal Bend.

by ISAAC PAGE sports reporter

O

ver the summer, Russell Wagner was named the director of engagement at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi.

Wagner, formerly the alumni development officer for the College of Liberal Arts, was hired to his new position in June, and moved to his new office over the summer. In his new role, Wagner will still connect to alumni and the community, but on behalf of the entire university now.

“We are at the point, especially with the Alumni Association were there is a lot of potential for growth,” Wagner said. “We are looking to build on that.”

Though originally from Shiner, Texas, Wagner has been involved with Corpus Christi and the Island University for more than 10 years.

He attended the university from 2004-08, earning a bachelor of arts in communication in 2008. The communication and public relations skills he learned in his classes have proven useful.

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Wagner said while studying at the Island University, he also wrote for the Island Waves student newspaper.

“During my junior year, I did layout design for Island Waves,” Wagner said. “[I] would sit and work on layout for days, then we would go straight to print. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed working with Island Waves.”

Wagner began working at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi just after graduation in 2008 as an admissions counselor. In 2012, he began working for the College of Liberal Arts. All of those years of university involvement has helped him maintain and create more relationships with the community and alumni of the Island University.

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Kelly Quintanilla has known Wagner for a long time.

“I have worked with Russell Wagner since he was a hardworking, talented and enthusiastic student,” Quintanilla.

Wagner’s current responsibilities include overseeing and implementing the University’s alumni relations

efforts. He also engages with the community to create financial, personnel and athletic support for the Island University.

“In my job, I oversee a lot of strategy and event planning,” Wagner said. “We are in the process of editing a new website that is about to be released. I don’t really have a set routine, my job is different dayto-day, which keeps me on my toes.”

In his new role, Wagner also acts as executive director of the National Islander Alumni, an organization that specializes in keeping former Islanders connected with each other and to the university through various promotions and events.

Wagner is also the executive director of the Young Business Professionals of the Coastal Bend and oversees the Student Foundation Association, a student philanthropy group at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

“I think Russell will excel in his new role,” Quintanilla said. “He is a dedicated Islander who truly enjoys representing this University and working with our alums. I expect to see more opportunities for alums to stay engaged. I am incredibly proud of Russell.”

Check out Island Waves Online!

IslandWavesNews.com

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sports

09.03.2015

ISLAND WAVES

Islanders shutout in season opener

by ISAAC PAGE sports reporter

T

exas A&M University–Corpus Christi women’s soccer team lost to the Rice University Owls 2-0 in their home opener Friday evening at the Dugan Soccer Stadium in Corpus Christi.

The Islanders feverishly competed in 89-degree heat in front of a raucous crowd of 827 spectators, but the Rice University defense proved to be too overwhelming for the struggling Islanders.

The Islanders just couldn’t seem to get their offense going as they only had seven shot attempts for the whole game. There were a few flashes of brilliance with the Islanders on the attack, but it’s obvious they have their work cut out for them.

Lauren Hughes of Rice University scored the first goal of the game,

unassisted off a free kick past a diving Megan Delaney at the 29-minute mark.

Danielle Spriggs scored the insurance goal assisted by Lauren Hughes at the 75-minute mark. That was all the Owls would need as they easily cruised past TAMUCC for the victory.

Megan Delaney of TAMUCC played exceptional at goalkeeper, posting 12 saves and allowing only two goals while playing the whole 90 minutes. She ended the game with a .857 save percentage.

Jordan Harden and Emma Biba also played the whole game for the Islanders.

With this loss, the Islanders fall to 0-3 this season. Their next shot at earning a victory will be a home game Friday Sept 4 against the Texas State University Bobcats who are 1-1 on the season.

Photos by ISAAC PAGE

Above: Islander goalkeeper Megan Delaney sends a ball down field after a goal kick during the Islanders first home game of the season.

Middle: Zoe Cole takes a shot on goal during Friday nights home opener against Rice University.

Bottom: Junior Emma Biba looks to avoid an Owls defender to press the ball up the field.

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sports

09.03.2015

ISLAND WAVES

Islanders sweep Maverick Classic

by JAMIE FINK editor-in-chief

T

exas A&M University-Corpus Christi volleyball opened up the season by going 3-0 and sweeping the Maverick Classic at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The Islanders opened the season with a complete three-set sweep of Grambling State University 25-5, 25-9 and 25-16.

Head coach Tony Graystone deemed the opener a “good start,” and said that his Islanders “played clean, kept [our] errors down and got all of [our] hitters involved.”

Sophomore Madeline Doud and Freshman Hannah van Warmerdam led the Islanders. Van Warmerdam saw her first kill of her collegiate

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY–CORPUS CHRISTI

career, which led to a five nothing run to jump the Islanders ahead 7-2 early on in the set.

The Islanders saw no struggle through their first match of the season, even after having to replace the holes that graduation left as they looked to replace both Brianna Brink and Ashley Phelps.

At one point, the Islanders lead had grown to 13 before finally winning the first set 25-5 as Kristyn Nicholson capped off the set with an ace.

The second set of the match started off better for Grambling State as they kept it close opening the set knotted up at four a piece.

However, the tie was short lived after six straight points from the Islanders increased the lead to 10-4

around midway through the set.

Doud picked up one of her 12 kills in the second set, which pushed the Islanders even further ahead 14-5.

After winning the second set 25-9, the Islanders completed the sweep of Grambling State, winning the third set and match 25-16. The three-set sweep gave the Islanders their first win of the season and showed many signs of great potential for the rest of the upcoming season.

Doud provided big numbers in the first game of the season leading the Islanders with 12 kills and three blocks.

The dominance continued throughout the weekend as the Islanders wrapped up the classic defeating Campbell College in three sets 25-16, 30-28 and 25-20,

| ISLANDWAVESNEWS.COM | VOLUME 26 ISSUE 20 | 08.27.15

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and wrapped up by defeating host school UT-Arlington in five sets 2518, 16-25, 25-17, 21-25 and 15-10.

Ivy Baresh, Morgan Carlson and Madeline Doud were named to the Maverick Classic All-Tournament Team.

The Islanders look poised to make a run for the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championship this season. The Islanders are competing in the Boise State Invitational hosted by the Boise State Broncos in Boise, Idaho, before returning home to the coastal bend to host their annual Islanders Classic starting Sept. 11.

For more news on Islander volleyball this season, check out goislanders.com, or follow them on Twitter (@islandersVB).

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