September 2012
Johnson County Community College
Calaway His first 5 years
New Look!
College updates logo, colors and message
The Nerman throws a party Oppenheimer Collection’s 20th anniversary
Fall Sports Preview How teams stack up
The Open Petal | 1
The
Open Petal September 2012
The open petal is a symbol of JCCC’s openness to new concepts and ideas as it strives to serve each member of the community.
Editor Diane Carroll
The View From Here
Associate VP, Marketing Communications Julie Haas Senior Graphic Designer Randy Breeden Photographer Susan McSpadden Writers Melodee Blobaum Anne Christiansen-Bullers Tyler Cundith Judi Reilly Writer/Editor Tim Curry
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elcome to the newest incarnation of JCCC’s magazine, renamed The Open Petal. The new title refers to the open petal in the college’s logo – both the old and the new one. You’ll find in this issue a story about the college’s rebranding
effort. Its new logo retains not only the petals of the old sunflower logo, but its single open
The Open Petal is published four times a year by Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210-1299. It is produced by College Information and Publications and the Office of Document Services. To subscribe or to offer a comment, call 913-469-8500, ext. 3886.
petal, signifying the college’s openness to new ideas. A new logo, however, isn’t the most important thing we realized through our rebranding effort. We also have new messages that reflect Johnson County Community College’s position as a first-choice college. There’s a lot upon which we can base that assertion. To begin with, there are the results of the recent Overland Park Chamber of Commerce Foundation study, which showed that 93 percent of the participants said they had a favorable
Stay in touch with JCCC by visiting jccc.edu, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCCC411 or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/ JCCCtweet. Or you can connect by visiting jccc. edu and clicking on “Connect with JCCC,” where you can also subscribe to JCCC Update, an email newsletter sent twice a month.
opinion of JCCC. As the pollster quipped, JCCC was more popular than Santa Claus. JCCC has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any postsecondary educational institution in the state and JCCC students who transfer to four-year schools do better than transfer students from other community colleges. For those students in our career programs, 92 percent of completers find a job within six months; 94 percent of their employers are satisfied with their preparation. Other stories in this issue of The Open Petal, ranging from the college’s impressive Oppenheimer Collection to its outstanding scholars, also demonstrate why JCCC is a firstchoice college. We appreciate the support of this community and do our best to make sure
When planning your estate, please remember Johnson County Community College. For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835.
their support is well-founded. I hope you enjoy this issue. Sincerely,
Terry A. Calaway JCCC President 2 | The Open Petal
C o n te n ts 10
30
22
Features 4 Catching up with Calaway
In Every Issue
9 Rebranding
2 The View From Here
President finds ways to move college forward.
The college updates its look and its message.
10 Gala honors Oppenheimers Art collection at the Nerman marks 20th anniversary.
20 What’s your bucket list?
These four guys know how to make dreams come true.
22 Birds and photogaphy
Professor David Seibel knows both.
24 Ledger editor aims high
19 Alumni/Foundation Nursing graduate finds her place. 25 Center for Business and Technology Instructor Doug Wood answers a call from Haiti. 28 Campus Life Here’s what’s happening. 30 Sports Fall preview gets you set for the season.
Wants to include “world outside these walls.”
On the Cover
26 How to make a movie
President Terry Calaway reflects on his five years at JCCC and those who work with him detail the changes.
Film professor to share insights in campus appearance.
Photo by Susan McSpadden The Open Petal | 3
Calaway’s first 5 years ‘Positive vibe,’ focus on students mark president’s tenure at college
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank visited JCCC on July 23 to highlight the innovative nature of the BNSF-JCCC relationship and its role in creating jobs. 4 | The Open Petal
By Diane Carroll
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resident Terry Calaway still remembers a phone call he got decades ago while attending Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.
His college counselor, George, wanted to know if Calaway had changed his mind about pursuing that program they had talked about at Kent State University. If not, George said, he might want to know that the classes for which he had just registered were not going to transfer. “I was not a very good student when I first started,” Calaway said during an interview in his office. “I just didn’t have the motivation … George didn’t need to but he called me at home. He knew me well enough to know that those classes wouldn’t fit. He kept me from wasting my time and money and probably – after all is said and done – dropping out.” Calaway tells that story to help explain why he has championed initiatives that promote personal connections with students since he took the helm of Johnson County Community College five years ago, on June 18, 2007. Those connections can be one of the keys to a student’s success, he said, and helping students succeed is his primary goal. “When I arrived we were so caught up with awards and numbers,” Calaway said. “If you look around my office you don’t see a lot of plaques and awards. It’s not that we don’t get them. But you don’t want to be measured by how many awards you have won. I think you want to be measured by how successful your students are.” Despite the crash of the economy in 2008 and resultant budget challenges, Calaway has moved the college forward, those who work with him say. He’s developed a collective concern for student retention and success, they say, and allowed the innovative spirit to flourish in numerous ways.
Photos by Susan McSpadden
“He’s brought a real positive vibe to the campus,” said Jeff Anderson, a counselor who served as president of the Faculty Association until May. Calaway has an open-door philosophy, Anderson said, “willing to talk to anyone, any group.” The Open Petal | 5
During the last five years, the college has taken these steps: • Developed “learner engagement” strategies to promote personal connections between students and staff. For example, at the beginning of each semester, staffers who choose to do so wear “Ask Me” tags and hit the hallways to help students find their classrooms. Each year, volunteers make about 1,500 personal phone calls to new students welcoming them to campus. • Joined a national program called Achieving the Dream, which focuses on students who need help with reading, writing and math before they can be ready for college work. As part of the initiative, now called Dream Johnson County, the college instituted pilot learning communities and is looking at ways for students to complete their developmental work faster. • Negotiated with education leaders throughout the state and the Kansas Board of Regents to ensure that at least 55 credit hours of general education courses will transfer seamlessly among the state’s 32 public higher education institutions. • Signed reverse transfer agreements with Kansas State University and Pittsburg State University that allow JCCC students who are just short of an associate’s degree to finish up while attending those respective universities. • Secured a $713,625 federal grant that allowed the college to open a Center for Sustainability and take a leadership role in green efforts in the community. Calaway has pledged that every new building will meet at least silver LEED certification, the third-highest mark awarded under the dictates of the U.S. Green Building Council. • Built the Olathe Health Education Center, a 50,000-squarefoot building that opened last fall near the Olathe Medical Center. The college partnered with the hospital on the project and JCCC students now do some of their training there. The center received LEED gold certification, the second-highest mark. • Connected with University of Kansas architecture students to build Galileo’s Pavilion, a 3,000-square-foot building that opened in the fall with two classrooms and a student lounge. It’s a hands-on green laboratory for students built with the hope that it will achieve platinum rating, which is the highest. • Raised enough funds through the JCCC Foundation to break ground in May for a new building near the Regnier Center to house the culinary and hospitality program. Calaway said he believes the college’s accomplishments have been huge, thanks to staff, faculty, the board of trustees and the Foundation. “No single person gets it done,” he said. “It takes a great team and we have one.” The president said he personally believes the college is already one of the best community colleges in the nation, if not the best. A survey early this year of Johnson County voters found that 93 percent of those polled had a favorable view of the college. 6 | The Open Petal
“I think that says a lot about the work that is happening here,” Calaway said. “Neil Newhouse, the guy who did the study, said he had to go back and check the numbers because he had never seen a community college ranked so highly by its constituents.”
The biggest challenge Calaway said his biggest challenge has been serving more students while losing millions of dollars in state aid. Laying off 11 employees was particularly difficult, he said. “We’ve come out of three or four bad years and now are expecting an upturn in the economy,” Calaway said. “Layoffs are not at all on our radar screen. We’ve kind of taken our hiring freeze off, which we had for two years. We’ve been posting and filling vacant positions for almost a year now.” The college’s enrollment reached 33,100, when one includes credit enrollment for fall 2011, and unduplicated noncredit enrollment for fall 2011 and spring 2012. The number of credit students enrolled at the college increased 11.2 percent between fall 2007 and fall 2011, from 18,913 to 21,033. The latter figure placed the college as the largest undergraduate institution in the state. KU’s undergraduate enrollment for fall 2011 was 19,695, according to KU, while Kansas State put its total at 19,385. To help manage the budget more strategically, Calaway challenged the staff to allocate dollars in ways that would fund the college’s priorities, said Joe Sopcich, executive vice president of administrative services. The college also became aggressive in going after grants.
Developing connections Sopcich said he never used to visit the state’s congressional delegation in Washington but now he does. The grant to fund the sustainability office came about through assistance from Sam Brownback, who was a U.S. senator at the time and now is governor. “All of this is because of Dr. Calaway’s initiative and vision to develop these relationships,” Sopcich said. “There’s been an amping up of the institution and that’s all from the top.” Besides being willing to try a new idea, Calaway also is willing to provide the support it needs to succeed, said Jay Antle, who directs the sustainability office. In a recent memo to staff, Calaway encouraged more people to start using a recycling bin and a trash bin at their desk so they can do their own recycling. He said he was already recycling at his desk. Calaway gets involved, Antle said, adding, “I’ve seen pictures of him actually doing it.”
“A gift for students” Calaway’s main focus, however, has been the needs of students, staff and faculty said. “He’s done a lot of things that have been really good steps forward for us regarding student success,” said Judy Korb,
President Calaway takes part June 28 in the Greater Kansas City Chamber Johnson County Business Leadership Council meeting at the Regnier Center.
The TheOpen OpenPetal Petal | 7
President Calaway talks with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback July 23 during a break in the second annual Kansas Hispanic Business Forum at JCCC. The forum hopes to help Hispanic-owned businesses while creating more jobs.
executive vice president of Human Resources and Workforce and Community Development.
to another institution within five years. The college does not have statistics on how many of those students who transferred received a bachelor’s degree, she said.
She and Vice President Dennis Day both pointed out the significance of the articulation agreements approved by the Kansas Board of Regents in June. Calaway President Calaway will took a lead role in developing the agreements, which assure that at deliver his annual State least 55 credit hours of general the College address at education courses will transfer 1 p.m. Friday, Sept, 28, seamlessly among the state’s 32 public higher education institutions. in the Polsky Theatre.
State of the College
The agreements are “an absolute gift for our students,” said Day, vice president of student success and engagement. “The state of Kansas was lagging behind big time,” he said, and the agreements “are truly bringing Kansas into the 21st century.” Also, Day said, Calaway has “brought a sense of collective concern about the retention and success of students. It’s still important to get new students but even more important to retain them and help them be successful.”
of
One-on-one contacts Day’s staff has focused on forging those personal connections Calaway has championed. Student clubs and other organizations are now involved, as well as staff and faculty.
The college revamped some space on the third floor of the Commons building for students to study or hang out. And Anderson said the counseling center cut way back on most walk-in appointments (it still allows walk-ins on Wednesdays) and now encourages students to make an appointment in advance. The change allows a student to routinely see the same counselor.
The college tracks the success of first-time freshmen who are full-time and who state on their application for admission that they plan to transfer to another institution, said Natalie Alleman Beyers, assistant director of the college’s Institutional Research office.
Calaway said he thinks there are thousands of stories about community college students across the country and here who come close to dropping out. Their car breaks down, he said, or they lose their financial aid. Or perhaps they are a little lazy, like he was, he said, and need someone like his counselor George to get them back on track.
Of the 547 students who fit those criteria in fall 2005, she said, 63 percent either graduated from JCCC or transferred
“You don’t want to lose a student,” Calaway said. “Saving a student may be saving a life.”
8 | The Open Petal
Rebranding leads to new logo, new colors and new message to community By Julie Haas
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s institutions grow and change over the years, the symbols they use and the messages they deliver should reflect that growth. After all, Apple’s logo was once a busy image of Isaac Newton sitting under a tree. It evolved over time into a multicolored apple and then into the sleek, instantly recognizable silhouette we know so well.
JCCC is changing too and has just completed its first rebranding effort, a purposeful look at the college’s current perceptions and attributes and its aspirations for the future. Through Bernstein-Rein, a top branding agency in Kansas City, the college talked to current students, alumni, future students, faculty and staff, and community members in a series of world cafes and focus groups. From participants’ responses, the agency crafted a new college logo and helped set JCCC on its way with a new message. “It was time to take a new look at the college’s brand to determine how well it reflects the current – and future – college experience,” said Terry Calaway, JCCC president. “We wanted to improve our understanding of our stakeholders to determine the changes we need to make to our marketing for a new audience.” However, a college’s “brand” is more than just its logo; it reflects its institutional identity and values and describes a stakeholder’s experience or impression. If a brand identity no longer accurately represents what JCCC means to and does for its stakeholders, then it’s time the branding was updated and refined. The goal was to understand what stakeholders thought about JCCC and to see the gaps between where it was and where it wanted to be. “From that,” Calaway said, “we would work to better meet our goal of becoming a first-choice college focused on student success. That includes deriving a logo that reflects where JCCC is in a new century instead of where it was in the middle of the last one.”
Among the reasons for seeing JCCC as a firstchoice college was its 93 percent approval rating in an environmental scan conducted by the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the fact that JCCC is now the largest undergraduate institution of higher education in the state, the high GPAs of JCCC students who transfer to four-year schools, and the outcomes reported by students who complete JCCC’s career programs. The intention, then, was to create an updated identity that reflected a contemporary, vital JCCC. JCCC’s old brand identity included its sunflower logo with a single open petal, which dated from 1969. Its official colors were brown and gold, although maroon and either gray or gold had been in use since the 1980s. The college’s new logo retains not only the sunflower’s petals, but also its single open petal, signifying the college’s openness to new ideas. A major change, though, is the array of colors – beginning with gold, shifting through green and teal, and ending with a dark blue. In the focus groups conducted by Bernstein-Rein, the petal logo was the most well-liked design among those shown; it was the overwhelming favorite among both current students and alumni segments. The new colors reflect the attributes and perceptions uncovered in the world cafes. According to current color theory, greens express the idea of selfinvestigation and intellectual experience; blues communicate creative viewpoints and future-based planning; and yellows and gold convey comfort and warmth. In the process of creating the design, Bernstein-Rein worked with JCCC graphic design students and faculty; the students contributed to the more than 70 designs that were initially created. Bernstein-Rein has also hired JCCC graphic design graduates, several of whom worked on this project. The college started the transition to its new logos and colors in the summer. The Open Petal | 9
Nerman gala marks the 20th anniversary of Oppenheimer Collection By Diane Carroll
Marti and Tony Oppenheimer, at their home this summer in Beverly Hills, Calif.
10 | The Open Petal
Photo by Dusti Cunningham
J
onathan Borofsky’s life-sized sculptures of the common man stand tall outdoors in prominent places in Seoul, South Korea, and Munich, Germany, and Baltimore.
Oh – and there’s one here at Johnson County Community College. Yes, the college competes on the world stage when it comes to art. That’s largely because of the generosity of Marti and Tony Oppenheimer, who have donated more than 150 major works of contemporary art to the college during the last two decades. To celebrate that 20-year commitment, the Oppenheimers will be honored Sept. 29 at a gala that will start at 7 p.m. in the college’s Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. More than 500 artists, art dealers and art aficionados from Chicago and other cities are expected to attend, including friends from Sotheby’s in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los
Jonathan Borofsky Walking Man (On the Edge), 1995 Fiberglass and steel 72 x 60 x 24”
Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Also that evening, the Nerman will unveil more than 15 new gifts from the Oppenheimers. They will include another stunning painting from Dana Schutz, whose Swimming, Smoking, Crying graced the cover of Art in America in November. Other artists exhibiting new works will be Nick Cave, Kim Dorland, Asad Faulwell, Kirk Hayes, Angel Otero, Cordy Ryman, Kent Michael Smith, Stefanie Gutheil, Lonnie Powell, Ian Davis, Allison Schulnik, Leidy Churchman, Brian Calvin, Warren Inessee and Brian Tolle. “The Oppenheimer Collection is now synonymous with the Nerman Museum,” said Bruce Hartman, the museum’s executive director. “It is the foundation upon which our permanent collection rests. Do-Ho Suh’s sculpture Some/ One is an icon for the museum just as Jonathan Borofsky’s Walking Man is a signature work for the entire campus.” The Oppenheimers met on a blind date in 1992 through The Open Petal | 11
About the gala 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art For information about attending the event, visit jccc.edu/foundation or call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835. Admission is $125, with several patron levels available.
Angel Otero 10 Karat Still Life, 2009 Oil on linen, 84 x 84”
a cousin of Marti Oppenheimer’s. The same cousin, a prominent art collector, introduced the two to Hartman. “Tony and I married five months after we met and we met Bruce at about the same time,” Marti Oppenheimer said during a phone interview from their home in Beverly Hills, Calif. “I fell in love with him in two seconds. People ask us why we donate to JCCC and Bruce is why. We have been best friends with him for 20 years.” Tony Oppenheimer remembers the day that Borofsky visited the JCCC campus to talk about the sculpture that he and his wife had commissioned. It was a Friday, Tony Oppenheimer said, and there was a huge party going on outside the Commons building. A live band was playing and a lot of students were dancing.
Nick Cave Soundsuit, 2011 Buttons, wire, bugle beads, basket, upholstery and mannequin, 80 x 30 x 24”
12 | The Open Petal
“Borofsky looked around and said, ‘Here. This is where I want to put it.’ And he turned us around and he was pointing to the top of the building! “We didn’t know if we could get the trustees to go along with it,” Tony Oppenheimer said. “But they embraced it. They loved the idea. It also demonstrated to Marti and I that the trustees would be very supportive with what we were trying
Do-Ho Suh Some/One, 2004 Stainless steel military dog tags, steel structure, fiberglass resin, fabric 75 x 114 x 132�
The Open Petal | 13
Barry Flanagan Hare and Bell, 1988 Bronze 138 x 72 x 108”
to do with the collection.” Walking Man (On the Edge) has been astride the edge of the roof of the Commons since its completion in 1995. The “man,” made of fiberglass and steel, stands 6 feet tall, clad in red shirt and blue pants. When Hartman and the Oppenheimers started out, Hartman traveled to Los Angeles to present a $300,000 proposal for acquisition funds from the Jules and Doris Stein Foundation, a precursor to the Oppenheimer Brothers Foundation. Jules Stein was a Hollywood mogul who founded MCA, which later became Universal Studios. He also was Tony Oppenheimer’s grandfather. Hartman got the money. Jules Stein founded the Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles. His wife created the Doris Stein Eye Research Center at the University of California in Los Angeles. While growing up, Tony Oppenheimer lived in Raytown at a 14 | The Open Petal
ranch estate in the countryside of Kansas City. Marti Oppenheimer, meanwhile, grew up in Prairie Village. Her father, George Lieberman, spearheaded the fundraising efforts that led to the creation of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. Her mother, Floriene Lieberman, is a past president of the American Cancer Society of Johnson County. Both of the Oppenheimers grew up in families committed to philanthropy. The Liebermans recently donated a major gift to the University of Kansas Cancer Center. And Marti Oppenheimer said her mother, a cancer survivor herself, devotes her life to cancer prevention. She counsels patients with cancer, Marti Oppenheimer said, and is a hospice volunteer. “My parents are pretty special people,” Marti Oppenheimer said.
Stephan Balkenhol Man Lying on Platform, 1998 Cedar wood and paint 45 x 95.5 x 34�
Allison Schulnik Mound, Animated film 4.23 minutes
The Open Petal | 15
Louise Bourgeois Woman with Packages, 1996 Bronze 65 x 18 x 12”
Magdalena Abakanowicz Two on Beam, 1997 Bronze 84.25 x 104.75 x 22.5”
The Oppenheimer Collection forms the core of the Nerman’s permanent collection. It includes sculptures, paintings, photographs, ceramics, new media, textiles and American Indian art. About one-third of the collection features artists who have a connection with the Kansas City area.
When construction of the Nerman Museum was initially announced in 2003, the Oppenheimers immediately offered to take on the challenge of filling the museum’s galleries. They understood the importance of providing an art experience throughout the campus.
Twenty-one major pieces of sculpture, which include college acquisitions, adorn the campus grounds and its buildings.
One of their goals, the Oppenheimers said, was to introduce art in a unique way to students who might never step into a museum or gallery.
One of the first sculptures acquired was Woman with Packages, an important bronze by the great Louise Bourgeois, then in her 80s. It was located on the south side of the Carlsen Center but recently was moved to the Nerman. Outside the library is another bronze, Hare & Bell, by Barry Flanagan. And greeting visitors to the General Education Building is Two on Beam, a bronze of two headless figures by Magdalena Abakanowicz. 16 | The Open Petal
“And now they are surrounded by it every day,” Tony Oppenheimer said. “So that has been wonderful.” The Nerman, designed by Kyu Sung Woo, opened five years ago. When it did, it provided a home for Do-Ho Suh’s mesmerizing Some/One, commissioned by the Oppenheimers. The larger-than-life, floor-length stainless steel “robe” was formed from thousands of military dog tags.
Brad Kahlhamer Eagle Fest USA, 2005 Oil on canvas 108 x 144�
Bruce Hartman, executive director of the Nerman Museum, from left, Marti Oppenheimer, Louise Bourgeois and Tony Oppenheimer in 1996.
The Open Petal | 17
Dana Schutz Swimming, Smoking, Crying, 2009 Oil on canvas 45 x 48”
Over the years, the Oppenheimers have provided nearly $2.5 million for art at the college. The collection itself is valued well over $10 million. In 2006, JCCC was cited by Public Art Review magazine as one of the top 10 college campuses for public art in the United States. “Marti and Tony have transformed our campus with their generosity and passion for art,” JCCC President Terry Calaway said. We all benefit from their extraordinary vision and commitment.” The Oppenheimer collection will be out in full force for the gala. A number of pieces have been in storage, Tony Oppenheimer said, and they have been acquiring new 18 | The Open Petal
pieces each year. Almost 80 works have been purchased since the museum opened. The Oppenheimers serve on committees with the National Gallery of Art and the two Los Angeles art museums so they are expecting folks from both the East and West Coasts to attend. The Oppenheimers also will be bringing in artists from across the country and are eager to visit again with artists in the Kansas City area. “We are so looking forward to it,” Marti Oppenheimer said.
Nurse at Truman Medical Center says JCCC program taught her well By Judi Reilly
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daBeth Slavin received a double bonus when she decided to attend Johnson County Community College. Slavin received the nursing degree she always dreamed about and her JCCC education prepared her for the work environment. “I initially started nursing school when I was 19, but I soon got married and didn’t finish,” Slavin said. “I eventually had children so I stayed home to raise my three daughters.” Slavin said she started school again in 2005 at JCCC to “finish the degree I always wanted.” She didn’t look at too many other schools before choosing JCCC because she heard the nursing program was fantastic.
IdaBeth Slavin singles out the simulation lab as a factor in her success.
“I took two years of prerequisites and then I applied to the JCCC nursing school,” she said. “I feel I had as many clinical “I was fortunate to be chosen hours in the JCCC program than in the selective admissions process, and I graduated as a any four-year university offers,” registered nurse in 2009.” Slavin said. “Being able to work
her needs when she returned to college.
“All the people I interacted with truly did their best to help me as a student achieve a career I’d always wanted,” she said. in the college’s state-of-the-art When Slavin began her first job, “JCCC’s tuition is affordable. simulation lab prepared me to be The class sizes are small. she realized how well JCCC prepared her with the skills competent when I went out into Students get personal attention necessary to meet the demands from professors. There are the work environment.” of taking care of people. many activities you can be part of on campus. Plus, the education JCCC provided to me is “I feel I had as many clinical hours in the JCCC program comparable to any four-year university.” than any four-year university offers,” Slavin said. “Being able to work in the college’s state-of-the-art simulation lab prepared me to be competent when I went out into the work environment.” Currently, Slavin is a registered nurse at Truman Medical Center, working primarily in the mother-baby unit. She’s also trained as a nursery nurse and helps out in the neonatal intensive care unit. Slavin said JCCC met each of
Slavin can’t explain it, but she says nursing runs in her family. Her mother was a nurse, her two oldest daughters are nurses and her youngest daughter is interested in nursing as well.
Connect with alumni/foundation
For more alumni stories and to find out about events sponsored by the JCCC Foundation, visit jccc.edu/foundation.
“I’ve never pushed nursing as a career to any of my daughters, but somehow they saw the rewards in this profession,” Slavin said. “I don’t know how it happened, but I’m proud of my family of nurses.” The Open Petal | 19
See The Buried Life at JCCC Tickets for The Buried Life are $10 for JCCC students and $18 for the public. You can buy tickets in person at the JCCC box office in the Carlsen Center or at the student activities desk on the first floor of the Student Center. Or you can purchase by phone at 913-469-4445.
Dream a little dream with the four guys from The Buried Life By Melodee Blobaum
The first 750 people through the doors will receive a free copy of What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? the book written by The Buried Life team. Audience members who stay around after the show will have the opportunity for a brief meet and greet, including a group photo with the performers.
W
hat happens when four regular guys set out on a mission with a list of 50 things they want to do before they die?
If they’re the four guys who went on to star in MTV’s The Buried Life, they play basketball with President Barack Obama, appear on Oprah and write a best-selling book, among other things. Oh, and they help others achieve some of their dreams, as well. The Buried Life quartet will bring their show to Johnson 20 | The Open Petal
County Community College at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center. Expect a high-energy show, with the four “Buried Life” guys – Jonnie Penn, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn and Ben Nemtin – sharing their stories and videos, and audience members making a trip to the microphone to reveal their own bucket list wishes. The Buried Life crew got its name from a poem written by Matthew Arnold in 1852 that Jonnie Penn had read in an English class in 2006:
But often, in the world’s most crowded streets, But often, in the din of strife, There rises an unspeakable desire After the knowledge of our buried life. With the poem in mind and a sense that there was more to life than what they were experiencing in Victoria, British Columbia, they borrowed an RV, bought a camera, threw a party to raise money and set out in the summer of 2006 with a goal of accomplishing as many things on their list of 50 things they wanted to do before they died as they could on a two-week road trip. The twist? For every item they marked off their list, they helped a stranger achieve a dream as well. By the end of two weeks, they’d marked 26 items off their list and helped 24 strangers. But they didn’t stop then: they added to the list and just kept going. Crash a party at the Playboy Mansion? Check. Play basketball with President Obama? Check. Write a book? Check. What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? was released in March on Amazon.com in mid-July. As important, though, was what they did for people they met along the way: Acquiring a truck for a small businessman who wanted to deliver food to a homeless shelter where he’d spent some time. Reconnecting a father and son. Helping a mother and son achieve their dream of kissing the Stanley Cup. Their achievements and energy are what prompted JCCC to invite the group to the college, said Jake Akehurst, manager, student activities and leadership development, who is the adviser for the student-led Campus Activities Board that is co-sponsoring the show with the Performing Arts Series. “There’s a sense of purpose to it,” Akehurst said. “It’s hopeful in the face of a lot of negativity in the world.” The show appeals to people of different ages and different life stages. “People can see themselves in these guys,” he said. Plus, the show brings an audience to the Carlsen Center that may not be aware of all the amenities the building offers. “Students may not realize the state-of-the-art theaters we have there,” Akehurst said. He’s looking forward to hearing the dreams that audience members share. Knowing JCCC students, Akehurst said some may be silly or fun, but some may be worthy causes. “Our students are very into social issues and philanthropic kinds of things,” he said. “Who knows what happens when they share those dreams with that big of an audience?”
What do you want to do before you die? We posed that question to folks around JCCC, and here’s what they said. Terry Calaway, JCCC president: “Go on an old-fashioned cattle drive.” Mackenzie Clark, editor-in-chief, The Campus Ledger: “I’d like to attend a White House Correspondent’s dinner. If I’m ever invited to one of those it will mean my life has gone as planned.” Muhammad Ibrahim Gul, JCCC Student Senate secretary: “I want to change at least one person’s life before I die, by providing them with one thing they want the most. For example, providing finances for education to those who can’t afford it otherwise.” Neeraj Bang, JCCC Student Senate parliamentarian: “I’d love to stargaze from the Atacama in Chile.” Nancy Whedon, dining services supervisor: “If I could attain a miracle, I would love to bring total peace to the world, where everyone helped the others in need. In near reality, I would like to be the head of an undercover operation to wipe out human trafficking. In reality, I would try to build “International Village,” a place where all the international and out-of-state students could live until they find friends and housing and get adjusted to school.” Dave Krug, associate professor, accounting: “I have played harmonica in a blues band for the last five years. Before I die, I would like my band to play a gig in Aggieville (I am a proud K-State alumni) on a Saturday night after a K-State football victory ... preferably at Last Chance Saloon, which was my personal pub of choice (and still exists!) as a student.” Mindy Kinnaman, manager of student life and leadership development: “Publish the novel I just finished writing and compete on Jeopardy.” Mysti Byrd-Meiers, JCCC recruitment specialist: “I love to travel, so there are two places I would like to visit before I die – Greece and Japan. Greece because I have always thought it looks amazing and has a rich culture to experience. And Japan because I was born there but was adopted and grew up in the United States. It would be nice to visit the place where I was born.” The Open Petal | 21
A passion for birds College Scholar David Seibel shares what makes birds fascinating By Anne Christiansen-Bullers
Photo by Susan McSpadden Seibel’s interest in birds began at age 4 when he saw a cat that had grabbed a cardinal.
I
It’s a story he’s told “probably a hundred times,” but David Seibel doesn’t mind repeating it. It’s full of drama and cinematic imagery, and it also has a happy ending. The story – one of a cardinal, a cat and a caring mama – is the source of Seibel’s love for birds. That story continues this fall as Seibel, professor, biology, presents yet another chapter: three separate lectures as part of JCCC’s College Scholar program. He will speak to the general public from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in Hudson Auditorium at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on campus. A reception at 6:30 p.m. in Regnier Center 270 will precede the event. Seibel will follow up with talks to students Oct. 31 and to faculty Nov. 7. In all, he expects the content to reflect a lifetime of ornithological study. “It all started when I was about 4 years old. I came across a cat that had grabbed a cardinal – a red bird … I chased the cat away, and I brought the bird to my mother,” Seibel said. “She was good at helping injured animals, so she took the bird, and her method of treatment was to pour tincture of Merthiolate (an antiseptic) all over its broken wing.” Seibel said he can still remember the three hues of red – blood, cardinal feather and the crimson tincture – in the theater of his mind. It’s a memory that ends well, since the bird’s wing healed, and it grew strong enough to fly away. “I have been absolutely fascinated by birds ever since,” he said. His first scientific publication was at age 11, in the Kansas Ornithological Society Bulletin. He wrote about two Mississippi
22 | The Open Petal
Kites (a type of hawk) nesting just a block from his home in Arkansas City, Kan. Since then, he’s combined a life inside the classroom with time in the field – literally – studying birds not only in Kansas but also all over the world. A JCCC science teacher since 1991, Seibel has been a six-time winner of the Distinguished Service Award for JCCC faculty. His most recent book, Birds of Kansas, is a 528-page authoritative reference written by Seibel and four other ornithological experts. Seibel also co-edited and contributed many of the photos. His latest passion has been in photographing birds. Unlike many photographers, who have the photo-taking skill but little bird knowledge, Seibel said his path of learning about birds first and photography second has produced images other photographers often can’t get. “I understand the birds, I know where they’re likely to be, and once I learned the necessary photo skills, I was able to capture images not easily attained,” he said. His presentations will rely heavily on the images he’s taken. Some of his 300,000 wildlife photos are at www.davidseibel. com and at www.birdsinfocus.com. The latter is a partnership with photographers Bob Gress and Judd Patterson. “That was probably the single best decision I have ever made in my life. I have learned so much about photography from Bob and Judd,” Seibel said. Seibel will only have an hour for each presentation. “That’s the joy and the frustration, because I could talk about birds for 20 days and 20 nights without stopping.”
Biology Professor David Seibel will share his knowledge and images of birds at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, in the Hudson Auditorium at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College. The address will be preceded by a reception at 6:30 p.m. in Regnier Center 270. The event is free and open to the public.
Eastern Bluebird
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Exposure: 1/1250 sec, f/14.0, ISO 2000 Lens: Canon 500mm f/4L IS + 2x II TC Date: March 2, 2011 Location: Overland Park
Henslow’s Sparrow Seibel, professor, science, photographed this adult male Henslow’s Sparrow at the Mill Creek Streamway Park, which runs from Shawnee to Olathe about 10 miles west of the JCCC campus. “For three hours this morning, this particular bird sang mostly from this perch, but it would make periodic flights around a small triangle that apparently constitutes its territory,” Seibel wrote.
Snowy Owl
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f/14.0, ISO 400 Lens: Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS Date: March 13, 2012 Location: Butler County, Kansas
Indigo Bunting
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N Exposure: 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 Lens: Canon 500mm f/4L IS + 1.4x II TC Date: May 29, 2008 Location: Miami County, Kansas
American Kestrel An American Kestrel takes flight in Shawnee Mission Park, Lenexa. This particular Falco sparverius is male, according to Seibel. The JCCC professor has been photographing birds for decades. See more of his work at www. davidseibel.com.
Red-legged Honeycreeper Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Exposure: 1/125 sec, f/8.0, ISO 2000 Focal Length: 1000mm Date: December 2, 2011 Location: Alajuela, Costa Rica
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Roseate Spoonbill
Camera: Canon EOS 20D Exposure: 1/1250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 200 Lens: Canon 500mm f/4L IS + 1.4x II TC Date: April 16, 2006 Location: High Island, Texas
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Exposure: 1/1250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 2000 Lens: Canon 500mm f/4L IS Date: June 24, 2012 Location: Arkansas City, Kan.
Virginia Rail Seibel stumbled across this downy chick, a Virginia Rail, at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County, Kan. “The parents and chicks called back and forth to each other, the chicks giving soft, high-pitched, descending whistles, until the last chick was safely hidden in the reeds,” he wrote of that fortuitous afternoon.
About David Seibel David Seibel is a native Kansan and lifelong birder. He holds a PhD in ornithology from the University of Kansas and is a biology professor, author, poet and popular lecturer as well as an avid nature photographer. His passion for birds has taken him to three continents, eight countries (including a transformative expedition to Amazonian Brazil with his daughter Emily), most of the lower 48 states, and Alaska. An expert in field identification by sight and sound, he has seen more than 630 species in the U.S., and over 400 in Kansas alone. His knowledge of birds, photography, and computer technology converged in 2003 when he undertook the art of digiscoping (super telephoto digital photography through a telescope), which quickly propelled him into a second career in photography with professional Canon equipment. He has now captured tens of thousands of digital images of birds and has hundreds of published photos to his credit. An award-winning faculty member at JCCC, Seibel has also published several scholarly and educational works and is a coauthor and contributing photo editor for the authoritative Birds of Kansas, published in May 2011 by the University Press of Kansas.
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The unexpected journalist:
Ledger editor’s career path took surprising turn By Melodee Blobaum
M
ackenzie Clark didn’t plan to be a journalist.
report news using whatever format best suits the story.
She thought she was headed for a career in medicine when she was a student at Shawnee Mission West High School, and enrolled at the University of Kansas with that in mind. But when that plan started to sour, Clark took a year off, completed some career assessments at Johnson County Community College and discovered that her best career bet was a different path: journalism.
The first year of convergence was rough, Clark said, but she hopes that this year will see smoother sailing.
“Communication is the biggest issue,” she said. “Making sure everyone is on the same page.” placed in the paper’s top
“Mackenzie was position at a very precarious time. She rose to the task, rallied the staff and pulled them together when they needed it.” Corbin Crable, Campus
“I never thought this was where I’d want my career to go,” Clark said.
Her goal this year is to have at least one article from each issue of the bi-weekly Ledger be accompanied by a JCAV video story. Likewise, Ledger adviser she’s hoping to have JCAV videographers write a story for the Ledger when they’ve covered an event.
In the fall of 2011, she enrolled at JCCC, majoring in journalism, and took a job as the features editor at JCCC student newspaper, The Campus Ledger. It was familiar territory – she’d been the features editor at the Shawnee Mission West school newspaper, The Epic, her senior year in high school. Clark became The Ledger’s managing editor this spring, then took over as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief when the previous editor unexpectedly resigned midway through the semester. “Mackenzie was placed in the paper’s top position at a very precarious time,” said Corbin Crable, Campus Ledger adviser. “She rose to the task, rallied the staff and pulled them together when they needed it.” Being editor-in-chief puts Clark in charge of a paid staff of 20 to 25 students, including the newsroom, advertising, circulation, marketing and the Web. She also works closely with Kel Dansby, station manager for ECAV, the college’s online radio station, and Richie Wolfe, executive producer for JCAV, the college’s student-produced video magazine. The three student news outlets share space in the Student News Center, and their cooperative effort at news gathering is entering its second year. Known as convergence, the idea is that the employees of the three news outlets work together to 24 | The Open Petal
Another of Clark’s goals is to broaden The Ledger’s coverage to relate national and local issues to JCCC students. “We’re not living in a little bubble here,” she said. “There’s a world outside these walls.” Ledger adviser Crable said he is particularly pleased with Clark’s efforts to use social media both to promote the publication and to enhance coverage. For example, Crable said that she uses the microblogging site Twitter to send live Tweets of board of trustee meetings to @CampusLedger’s 182 Twitter followers. In addition, the number of people who “like” the publication on its Facebook page quadrupled during her first month as editor in chief, he said. “She’s really taken social media and made it her own,” Crable said. Clark said her passion is for print journalism, but she’s learning all she can about all journalism fields. Her goal is to be a White House reporter, though she doesn’t see herself in front of a broadcast camera. “I like the editing side of things, and even the management side of newspapers,” Clark said. The Campus Ledger is published every other Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and is available on campus. It’s online at www.campusledger.com.
Delivery of aid at issue
JCCC instructor helps U.N. solve problems in Haiti By Anne Christiansen-Bullers
I
magine trying to deliver a package of supplies – items that may be life-saving – but the streets aren’t named. How do you get the supplies to the right person?
address the problem.
He had adjusted the curriculum to fit the unique demands of MINUSTAH. But when he began teaching there in January, That’s only one of the problems facing the aid workers in he realized that he would have to change even more. The Haiti, a country still reeling class had 20 people from from the 2010 earthquake 14 countries, and though that killed 220,000he taught in English, Wood “The biggest issue there is that no one plus people, the Haitian said the many languages knows all of the needs, no one knows all government estimated, and cultures slowed the class of the aid that’s pouring in, and so no one and decimated a quarter of considerably. million homes in its wake. knows where the aid needs to go next.” “They all understood English Doug Wood, instructor, very well…but small-group Center for Business and discussions took about 30 Technology, and process improvement consultant/owner of percent longer,” Wood said, compared with a homogenous DC Wood Consulting, was invited by The American Society group using their native language. “There were four people for Quality (ASQ) to teach United Nations managers in Haiti in a group, but they spoke four different languages. They’re a better way to handle the supplies they are using to rebuild all very used to that, but it still takes longer.” the country. Wood said he needed to listen very closely and choose his Wood has taught classes in quality control and in words wisely. “We were able to adapt the material and make management techniques at JCCC, and he took those it work for them.” same skills with him when asked by the United Nations Specifically, MINUSTAH wanted an introduction to quality Stabilization Mission in Haiti (called MINUSTAH, from management, a way to measure the performance of suppliers the translation of the title) to help strengthen its quality and a process to find problems within a system, Wood said. processes. One of the major headaches facing the UN was the package MINUSTAH is a 13,000-member peacekeeping operation delivery contract. “You have to imagine a city of 3, 4, 5 miloriginally set up to protect human rights. Its mission lion people, where most of the streets have no names, and changed drastically when the earthquake hit. Peacekeepers most of the buildings have no numbers. And you’re going to were still needed, but relief efforts became the main focus be delivering things,” Wood said. overnight. The students in Wood’s class met directly after his teaching “The biggest issue there is that no one knows all of the to brainstorm how to handle this difficult issue. They were needs, no one knows all of the aid that’s pouring in, and so still working with delivery vendors when Wood headed no one knows where the stateside. aid needs to go next,” Wood said. “Even with all that staff “The students found that the there, that’s a tall order.” tools and techniques that we taught in the class were provFor more stories and information Wood drew upon his ing invaluable for them to be about the Center for Business and background and his able to able to talk about the Technology, visit www.centerfor association with the ASQ to process to their suppliers,” put together materials for a business.org. Wood said. five-day seminar in Haiti to
Connect with CBT
The Open Petal | 25
Kevin Willmott, left, directs with cinematographer Matthew Jacobsen.
Making movies in the Midwest KU’s Kevin Willmott comes to campus to share his cinematic vision By Anne Christiansen-Bullers
A
ll filmmakers live in Hollywood. They drive fancy cars and “do lunch” and create blockbusters where things explode. Right? Wrong. In fact, filmmaker Kevin Willmott is the perfect homegrown rebuttal to that West Coast stereotype. Willmott, associate professor of film and media studies at the University of Kansas, will appear at JCCC twice during the fall semester. His first presentation, sponsored by the Kansas Studies Institute, is Race, History and Being a Kansas Filmmaker at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Hudson Auditorium at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on campus. A reception in the Atrium is at 6:30 p.m., and the public is invited to attend. Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kan. He wrote, produced 26 | The Open Petal
and co-directed Ninth Street, a film that examined Junction City’s (or “Junk City,” as it was known by locals) seedy downtown during the Vietnam War era. Ninth Street, released in November 1999, starred well-known actors Martin Sheen and Isaac Hayes. Willmott also co-wrote screenplays bought by Hollywood’s Chris Columbus and Oliver Stone and by executives at CBS and NBC. He worked with co-writer Mitch Brian until 2000, and then Willmott was hired by KU. He began writing and directing his own film projects while teaching, and in 2005, his film, CSA: Confederate States of America, answered the question of what the United States would have been like had the South won the Civil War. His latest project is a send-up to the 1950s sci-fi films with a racially engaging twist: Destination Planet Negro! The year is 1939, and a group of African-Americans fear that the only way to escape racism is to fly to another planet. However,
Actor Wes Studi from Willmott’s film, The Only Good Indian.
instead of landing somewhere else, they land somewhen else: Earth in the 21st century. Have they truly landed someplace foreign, or will the terrain start to feel familiar? Willmott’s presentation at JCCC will focus not only on what it means to be an African-American filmmaker, but also what it’s like to be a Kansas-born filmmaker living and working in Kansas. He said he likes making movies in the Midwest. “There’s a different atmosphere in Hollywood, where everything is dependent on money. Here, everyone wants to help you,” he said. “We go into these small towns [to shoot scenes], and it’s amazing how much everyone wants to help you. It’s sort of this whole, ‘Let’s build a barn together’ mentality that you don’t get many other places.” In his second appearance, he’ll show his film From Separate to Equal: The Creation of Truman Medical Center at 11 a.m. Oct. 10, also in Hudson Auditorium. The movie will serve as a cinematic introduction to the book chosen as JCCC’s Common Read for 2012-13: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta Lacks, a black woman from Virginia, died of cervical cancer in 1951, and her cells – taken without her knowledge or her family’s consent – were used in medical research. The book details the little-known Lacks and shares the effects of this medical research on Lacks’ family. Both the film and the book examine how the health care establishment treated the black population of the United States in the 20th century.
The moon landing from Willmott’s film, CSA Confederate States of America.
“The film ties together [with the book] because in one of the first scenes, we show a Kansas City newspaper article from 1898 … a black man had been shot, and the police were taking him to the hospital. But he was so afraid of the hospital – so afraid that they were going to experiment on him – that he jumped out of the ambulance, and he preferred to have a police surgeon fix him up at the station than go to the hospital,” Willmott said. “All of this happens because of segregated medicine and the double standard of medicine in the country,” he said. “And that’s what most of my films deal with – to put a human face to the problem, and to show the absurdity of slavery and segregration.”
The Open Petal | 27
CAMPUS LIFE Datebook Sept. 19, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Polsky Series features Dr. Jeff Burns, director of the University of Kansas Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center, who will speak about healthy brain aging. Polsky Theatre. Free. Sept. 20, 7 p.m. Thursday, The Buried Life Quartet shares its “bucket list.” Yardley Hall. Tickets: $10 students; $18 public. For tickets, call 913-469-4445 or visit the JCCC box office in the Carlsen Center or the Student Activities desk on the first floor of the Student Center.
Sept. 26, 7 p.m. Wednesday, University Kansas Professor Kevin Willmott presents Race, History and Being a Kansas Filmmaker. Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Preceded by a reception in the Atrium at 6:30 p.m. Free. Sept. 28, 1 p.m., Friday, Polsky Theatre, President Terry Calaway delivers his annual State of the College address.
Sept. 29, 7 p.m. Saturday, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Oppenheimer Collection. For information about attending, visit jccc.edu/ foundation or call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835. Admission starts at $125, with several patron levels available Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, JCCC Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble Concert, Bach to Basie, Polsky Theatre. Free.
Oct. 5-7, and Oct. 1214, Academic Theatre, BecauseHeCan, Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sundays, 2 p.m., Bodker Black Box Theatre. Free. Oct. 10, 11 a.m. Wednesday, KU Professor Kevin Willmott shows his film From Separate to Equal: The Creation of Truman Medical Center. Hudson Auditorium, Nerman Museum. Free.
Oct. 24, 7 p.m. Wednesday, JCCC biology professor David Seibel, a co-author of Birds of Kansas, will speak on his fascination with birds and his experiences photographing them. Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum. Preceded by 6:30 p.m. reception in the Atrium. Free. Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Beyond the Diagnosis: Autism Across the Lifespan. Keynote speaker Michael John Carley addresses Asperger’s syndrome in the workplace. For information and registration, visit www. ksautismconference.org
On stage For tickets and information about these and other events sponsored by the Performing Arts Series, visit jccc.edu/TheSeries or call the college box office at 913-469-4445. Singer Nellie McKay 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 Polsky Theatre
The National Circus of the People’s Republic of China 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12 Yardley Hall
Dr. John and The Blind Boys of Alabama 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21 Yardley Hall
At the Nerman These works will be unveiled at a Sept. 29 gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Oppenheimer Collection. They are among more than 15 new gifts from Marti and Tony Oppenheimer. Kent Michael Smith (American, b. 1976) Cascade, 2011 Acrylic and resin on panel, 28 x 45.5” 28 | The Open Petal
Kim Dorland (Canadian, b. 1974) Crows, 2010 Oil, acrylic, synthetic feathers and glitter on wood panel, 72 x 48”
Asad Faulwell (American, b. 1982) Mujahidat #11, 2010 Acrylic and paper on canvas, 64 x 48”
Online Exclusives Want to know more about what’s going on? Easy. Visit www.jccc.edu, type in the search words highlighted below and click the top link.
Opening doors Luis Aparicio learned English at Wyandotte High School and now is studying molecular bioscience at JCCC.
The best option Brenda Romo, who is a JCCC Cav Leader, encourages fellow students to get involved on campus.
Sew busy JCCC retiree LeAnna Wilson returned to JCCC to teach her passion: sewing.
QR codes pop up Quick-response codes have been posted at JCCC to help students find their way around and to learn a little about the campus itself.
Sporting life When journalism student Abner Aceves got an internship with Kansas City’s soccer team, he found himself covering Hope Solo, the star goalie for the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Relief from road construction on the way Much of the work on the Quivira Road widening project from College Boulevard to 119th Street is expected to be completed in mid-September, with only sidewalks and sod remaining to be done. Work continues on the Quivira Road bridge over Interstate 435, with a scheduled completion date for that project in November. The Open Petal | 29
SPORTS
How do our teams stack up this year? Here’s how we see it By Tyler Cundith
D
espite the blistering heat in the Midwest, fall is just around the corner. The new school year is here and so is the official kickoff of the fall sports campaign at Johnson County Community College. Enjoy this preview of the upcoming fall action, and visit www.jccc.edu/cavs for complete coverage of JCCC athletics.
Jennifer Ei
Jessica Andersen
Volleyball The JCCC volleyball team enters the 2012 campaign looking to extend its streak of qualifying for the NJCAA Championship Tournament to seven years, five under head coach Jennifer Ei. Last season, Ei led her squad to a tie for 10th nationally and a 26-13 record. This fall, she returns seven players from that squad, which is a large class at the community college level. Leading that group is sophomore setter Jessica Andersen. She was the only player on the roster last year who played all 154 games. Andersen registered 1,336 assists, which ranks third all-time at JCCC. Andersen was honored as a NJCAA D-II All-American, All-Region and All-East Jayhawk setter. Emily Bragaw
30 | The Open Petal
Ei also welcomes back all-conference libero Emily Bragaw, all-region libero Sara Slater, outside hitter Kim Blusher, middle hitter Allison Ewing, middle hitter Shannon McCarty
and middle hitter Perri Tucker. Adding to the mix will be defensive specialist BreeAnna Tibbs, a transfer from Arizona Western, and freshmen outside hitters Lori Angello, Maggie Bones, Bethany Farres and Hannah Sittig, middle hitters Preecy Seever and Molly Young and defensive specialist Hailee Hanson. The Cavaliers face another brutal schedule in 2012, and will be tested immediately when they open the season against East Central, Longview, Kishwaukee and Central, all programs that regularly appear among the top 20 nationally. “We are excited about the challenge this schedule presents, and it will benefit us when postseason arrives,” Ei said. “We will have already played big matches against tournament-caliber teams.”
BRIEFLY
Jim Schwab
Fatai Ayoade
Cross Country
Women’s Soccer
Men’s Soccer
Last year was a memorable campaign for the JCCC cross country and track programs, but head coach Mike Bloemker has no intentions of resting on his laurels. Both teams completed a conference triple crown, winning titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. The Lady Cavaliers did one better, winning all three titles at the region level, a first in team history and seventh in Region VI history.
The Lady Cavaliers soccer program has established a tremendous legacy of success in its 13-year existence, winning the region title seven times. Head coach Jim Schwab and his team’s focus will be on capturing the program’s eighth title in 2012.
Since its inaugural campaign in 1976, the JCCC men’s soccer program has been the most dominant team in the region, winning 14 titles, more than double its nearest competitor. However, it has been seven years since the Cavaliers last hoisted the region hardware and in five of those seven years, the Cavaliers failed to advance past the first round in the playoffs.
Bloemker feels he has a assembled a team this year that can repeat again, and contend for a national cross country championship, but he knows that only through hard work and dedication will this team reach its potential. “I expect a lot out of people,” Bloemker said. “They don’t have to be the most talented, but if they work hard and are committed to what I tell them, they will go a long way.”
Golf For the first time in school history, the JCCC golf program enters a new season led by a returning All-American. Mario Funcic recorded an 11th-place finish at nationals last year, which earned him honorable mention All-America honors. He will be the anchor of the 201213 team that features two sophomores and six freshmen.
Schwab returns seven players from a 14-5-2 team. All seven saw significant playing time last year, and six earned at least one start during the season. He also has added a talented pool of newcomers to the roster, and several will have the opportunity to be in the starting lineup immediately.
Lafayette Norwood
Funcic was clearly the ace of the team last year. He led the team with a stroke average of 75.5, led with seven top 10 finishes and tied for the lead with five top five finishes. The player he tied with, Joe Morrisey, is also returning for his sophomore season. Morrisey had the second-best stroke average of 77.9. Head coach Lafayette Norwood will rely on these two veteran players to lead his younger roster.
Head coach Fatai Ayoade enters the 2012 season with expectations of his team contending for a 15th championship, but a lot must take place before his team can talk about a deep run in the playoffs. “The players must be determined and dedicated to the program and goals we set from the first day we step onto the field,” Ayoade said. “If we remain focused and if this group can put their egos aside and come together and work together, we will have a tremendous season.”
Mike Bloemker
Coach of the Year Head cross-country and track coach Mike Bloemker was named the NJCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year by the NJCAA Track and Field Coaches Association earlier this summer. Bloemker’s women’s program posted a fifth place finish in the team standings at the 2012 NJCAA Outdoor Championships, matching the program’s best finish all-time.
Hitting the books The National Junior College Athletics Association released the names of studentathletes honored as 2011-12 Academic Student-Athletes in July, and JCCC had 15 athletes honored. Of the 15 to qualify, one earned the Pinnacle Award (4.0), seven earned the Superior Award (3.80-3.99) and seven the Exemplary Award (3.60-3.79).
Mario Funcic
The Open Petal | 31
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
12345 COLLEGE BLVD OVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299
s! t ea s d ad best t Jus for ow n Act
! ed
Johnson County Community College
President’s Choice
A benefit for the JCCC President’s Scholarship
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30
www.jccc.edu/TheSeries | 913-469-4445
Performing Arts Series
Johnson County Community College | NO ONLINE FEES | FREE PARKING