Spring 2019 | Edition 4
RCTCMAGAZINE
HELPING OUR FURRY FRIENDS
VETERINARY TECHNICIAN GRADS
STUDENT PROFILE MEET JAMES HIGGS
HEAR MY SOUL SPEAK RCTC THEATRE DEPARTMENT
PLUS MORE INSIDE >>
COVER STORY
PINEAPPLES & SKULLS
Art + Design Student Takes on Tattoos >>Pg. 10
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR “FULFILLING THE ACADEMIC NEEDS OF OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE STUDENTS IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO US – IT’S A PART OF OUR MISSION.”
TRANSFORMATIONS SEEM TO BE HAPPENING ALL AROUND RCTC LATELY
The Plaza-Memorial Hall project is heading full speed ahead. The Aviation Pilot Program has students who will one day become pilots. Mass Communication and Radiography are back after a hiatus. There’s even new furniture in the atrium. The point is, nothing sits still. Not the buildings we all learn and work in, and certainly not education. Programs come and go or evolve. Being an auto technician is much different from a decade ago. Mass Communication is different too, with social media having become a powerful force. Community and technical colleges are perfectly poised to keep changing along with the times. If we need new technology to work on the latest cars, we work with partners and industry to get it. If there is a shortage of pilots in Minnesota and the nation, we create that program. Responding to community, business, and workforce demands are a big part of what we do. Fulfilling the academic needs of our current and future students is of the utmost importance to us – it’s a part of our mission. But it goes beyond evolving programs, new educational opportunities, and the latest tech. It’s also important that we continue to make campus an enjoyable place for students to learn. That’s why we’re investing in creating and renovating spaces to provide students with a better learning environment. We hope to inspire students every semester, much like the ones featured in the stories within this magazine. In this issue, you will find out just how much tattoo artist Luke Austin enjoyed his time at RCTC. He even comes back each month to teach students in both the art and design clubs. He’s a successful tattoo artist who absolutely loves pineapples (and skulls). We also chatted with veterinary technicians to see what their life was like in the program here at RCTC, and what it’s like to work with animals. Some of them work in traditional clinic settings, making sure pets like my cat are prepped correctly for surgery. Others have found careers at Mayo Clinic – yes, a human hospital – working with animals in a research environment. We profile current student James Higgs on his journey to figure out what his ultimate goal in life is, and how RCTC is helping him get there. He’s but one of the many creative, hardworking students on this campus making his dreams come true, one class and work shift at a time. We also have a deep dive into theater for you. I took time when I first started working here to explore everything I could. I totally missed the area below the theater where students put on makeup and clothing to prepare for rehearsals and shows. The story has some pretty fun insights into why students decide to join theater. The actors would also like to remind everyone that anyone can try out for a part on stage! We’d like to thank everyone who reads this issue and urge you to check out RCTC if you’re not already a student. From the facilities to the staff, to the instructors in the classroom – RCTC is here to help you succeed at all your life goals.
RCTCMAGAZINE RCTC MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED TWICE YEARLY FOR MEMBERS OF THE GREATER RCTC COMMUNITY FREE OF CHARGE. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING, AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS NATE STOLTMAN RCTC MAGAZINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LOUIS LIVINGSTON-GARCIA RCTC MAGAZINE GRAPHIC AND LAYOUT DESIGNER JENEE MCGURREN RCTC MAGAZINE MARKETING SPECIALIST MICHELLE MESSENGER RCTC MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS LOUIS LIVINGSTON-GARCIA MICHELLE MESSENGER NATE STOLTMAN CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS NATHAN HOOVER LOUIS LIVINGSTON-GARCIA JENEE MCGURREN NATE STOLTMAN RCTC MAGAZINE IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. CONTENT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE RCTC COLLEGE RELATIONS OFFICE. COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR STORY IDEAS CAN BE SENT TO:
MAGAZINE@RCTC.EDU OR RCTC MAGAZINE ROCHESTER COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE COLLEGE RELATIONS AND MARKETING - BOX 25 851 30TH AVE. SE ROCHESTER, MN 55904
A member of Minnesota State
LOUIS JOHN LIVINGSTON-GARCIA JR. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 2
RCT C IS AN EQUAL OP P OR TU NITY EMP LOY ER AND EDUCATO R . ALT ERNAT IVE FORMAT S O F TH IS DOCUMENT ARE AVAIL A B L E BY CONTACT ING DISA B IL ITY SUP P OR T AT 507-280-2 9 6 8 .
Helping Our Furry Friends
PAGE 6
Pineapples and Skulls
PAGE 10
CONTENTS
Student Profile
FIRST GLANCE.............................. PAGE 4
PINEAPPLES AND SKULLS ......... PAGE 10
Mad Scientists? No, just students in one of our science labs!
Former student Luke Austin voraciously went through RCTC’s art classes and extracurriculars. Now he’s a tattoo artist, helps with both the art and design clubs on campus, and is looking to always better his artwork.
HELPING OUR FURRY FRIENDS.... PAGE 6 Learn what RCTC’s veterinary technician graduates are up to, and how they help animals like your dog and cat. STUDENT PROFILE....................... PAGE 8 James Higgs is just like any other student: trying to find a way through the world via education and hard work. Learn all about Higgs and his journey through education. STUDENT ART.............................. PAGE 9 Art students have been working on great art all year.
PAGE 8 FINAL LECTURE.......................... PAGE 18 Find out why adjunct instructor Jennifer Kiehne recently won an award and really clicks with her students. Hint: she’s brilliant and passionate.
GOOD LUCK, GRADS................. PAGE 14 Take a look back at graduation day and the students who will step forward on their paths to a better future. HEAR MY SOUL SPEAK.............. PAGE 16 Find out what it’s like to be a part of the plays taking place each year right on campus. Students become someone else and transform on the stage.
ON THE COVER: RCTC Alum, Luke Austin. | ON THE BACK COVER: Workers erect the first beam for new chiller plant.
Theater at RCTC
PAGE 16 RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 3
ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY LABS =
FUN SCIENCE
Anatomy and Physiology lab class time is full of all sorts of fun science. By the time you read this, new lab spaces will be under construction, but the fun things done in them will remain the same. If you’ve ever walked by the previous labs in Plaza Hall, you may have even seen some of the science going on. •
Students can see everything the instructor does on a handy document camera. It’s not exactly groundbreaking, sure, but the clarity afforded to further the instruction on hand is super helpful. These are used quite a bit during dissections so that students can cut alongside the instructors.
•
Speaking of dissections. Sometimes you’ll see fetal pigs at a student’s workspace. In addition to pigs, sheep hearts are also examined. What for? To understand the cardiovascular system.
•
The labs also provide different skull and skeletal models for students to observe. One skeleton has different parts of the body – intestine, heart, liver – inside so you can see how they all sit within the body.
PAGE 4 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
FETAL PIG
FACT
A FETAL PIG DISSECTION IS HELPFUL FOR ANATOMY STUDIES BECAUSE THE SIZE OF THE ORGANS MAKE THEM EASY TO FIND AND IDENTIFY. THEIR INTERNAL ANATOMY IS ALSO SIMILAR TO HUMANS.
RCTC NEWS
A LOT HAS HAPPENED DURING THIS SCHOOL YEAR. WE HAVE GATHERED MANY OF THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE.
AVIATION PILOT PROGRAM LAUNCHED In response to unprecedented industry demand, RCTC, in partnership with Great Planes Aviation, launched the new Aviation Pilot program set to take off this fall. The new program features general education and aviation coursework plus flight training allowing students to earn not only an associate degree, but also obtain certification as a private pilot, single-engine commercial pilot with instrument rating, plus certification as a certificated flight instructor for single-engine land planes with an instrument rating. More information about the new aviation program can be found at rctc.edu/aviation.
RADIOGRAPHY PROGRAM ANNOUNCED The College announced in April the launch of the new Radiography Associate of Applied Science degree with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. This is the fifth joint program between RCTC and MCSHS. Students will complete courses at RCTC before moving on to MCSHS to complete the 18-month radiography coursework.
PLAZA-MEMORIAL HALL PROJECT: A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY Construction on the three-phase project began in December, 2018, with crews working on demolition in Endicott Hall. Since then, new floors, walls, mechanical systems, even new rooms have taken shape. Crews demolished the old maintenance garage in February to make way for the new Memorial Hall addition. Crews dug and poured footings and foundations through snowy days and freezing temperatures. The elevator shaft and structural steel are rising up from the ground. Crews broke ground on the new Chiller Plant in April. The site sits east of East Hall across from the loading dock. This summer will bring even more construction activity to many spaces on campus. The two Anatomy and Physiology labs in Plaza Hall will be relocated to the Science and Technology building, College Center second floor will get some renovation work, lecture classrooms in Singley Hall will get new seating, not to mention ongoing work on Endicott Hall, the new Memorial Hall, and the new Chiller Plant. You can watch the construction on the new building via webcam at https://app.oxblue. com/open/marketjohnson/rctc. The website also features a time-lapse function so you can see months worth of work in a matter of seconds.
2019 OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS
Jeff Lepper (English), Mary Shelerud (Nursing), and Jennifer Kiehne (Psychology) were selected as this year’s recipients of the RCTC Outstanding Educator Award. All three were nominated by faculty/staff/students for this honor and were recognized and celebrated at an April reception. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 5
RCTC VETERINARY TECHNICIANS
DO MORE THAN KEEP PETS HEALTHY
CATS ARE BEST Unless you are a DOG PERSON then, they are!
RCTC student Taylor Scholz helps check Miyamoto’s temperature at Meadow View Veterinary Clinic in Byron, Minn. Scholz is currently interning at the clinic.
If you take your white, ginger speckled cat (or any pet) to Meadow View Veterinary Clinic in Byron, Minn., chances are the first person to welcome you will be an RCTC graduate. There’s a good reason for that. “I have been working with RCTC veterinary technicians since 2003. I have found many of them to be well prepared for their career as a vet tech. They have been eager to continue learning and expanding their knowledge even after graduating,” Meadow View Veterinary Clinic owner and doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) Garren Kelly said. Kelly has owned Meadow View since 2010 and Stewartville Animal Clinic since 2016. Each year he offers RCTC veterinary PAGE 6 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
technician students internships at both clinics and has hired several of them who still work at both locations today. The vet techs love their roles helping animals at Meadow View. “It has its ups and downs, that’s for sure,” Meadow View certified veterinary technician Whitney Bartley, said. “I’m not sure I knew when I got into the field how emotionally attached to some cases I would get. But it’s a really rewarding job. We get to help people better understand how to take care of their pets to make sure they stay healthy.” Meadow View certified veterinary technician Bonnie Grebin, concurs. “I’ve always been a caretaker, and have a love for animals,” she said
Bartley said the program at RCTC prepared her well for her current role. “The program was great. Very informative and a lot of fun,” she said. “It really did give me all the necessary skills to be able to perform my job to the best of my ability.” That’s not to say the day-to-day can’t get a little hectic. “How do I say crazy without making it sound like a bad thing?” Bartley said. “You just never know what’s going to walk through the door. We have our scheduled surgeries and appointments for the day, then next thing you know we have to do an emergency surgery on a dog that was hit by a car, or a patient who needs to be hospitalized for supportive care. It’s very busy, at least at our clinic, but I love every second of it.”
RCTC graduate Anne Miller listened to Miyamoto’s heartbeat.
Kim Rowley, DVM leads RCTC’s veterinary technician program. She explained that there are quite a few RCTC graduates who work in town. “Some of our students actually work in clinics while they’re in school,” Rowley said. Students partake in two internships in the program. For the first one, RCTC works with several local clinics where technicians are on staff, and also follow the program’s standards and ideals for practice. During sophomore year, the second internship is more diverse. Some decide to do a zoo internship, one student is currently at Mayo, and another is in Roseville, Minn., working at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota. “The second one we kind of let the students choose where they want to go,” Rowley said. “We kind of like to (fit) their second-year internship to what they want.” While many vet tech graduates work in local veterinary clinics, there are actually a number of other career opportunities available for graduates. Something unique to Rochester is the ability to do research after graduating from the program. “Many times, those are medical facilities that are doing research on animals; that’s the case at Mayo here, but there are veterinarians and veterinary technicians on staff that actually oversee the human physicians and make sure they are treating the animals properly in their research studies,” Rowley said. RCTC graduate Lisa Yngsdal is currently an animal cell technician at Mayo Clinic in the department of surgery. “Our area provides surgical support for research investigators performing surgical procedures on large animals,” Yngsdal said. “The large animals consist of rabbits, dogs, sheep, goats, and primarily pigs. Our primary services include but are not limited to protocol development for studies, surgical patient preparation, anesthesia monitoring, and surgical assistance. Every study is different and every group of researchers we work with requires different services from us.” Yngsdal also works in private small companion animal practice, but really had an interest in surgery and anesthesia. RCTC graduate Alyssa Vrieze also works as an animal cell technician. She said her day can consist of scrubbing in to assist or facilitate surgeries like tendon repairs, carpal tunnel induction, digit replantation, or any other studies she is assigned to. “I then either make sure the surgical animals are fully recovered, or check on already recovered animals making sure they are still active and normal,” Vrieze added.
RCTC veterinary technician lab.
ABOUT THE VETERINARY TECHNICIAN
PROGRAM AT RCTC
THE VETERINARY TECHNICIAN PROGRAM IS AN ASSOCIATE IN APPLIED SCIENCE DEGREE. THE DEGREE CONSISTS OF GENERAL EDUCATION AND VETERINARY TECHNOLOGY CORE COURSES.
“The program was great. Very informative and a lot of fun,” Bonnie Grebin said. When it comes to the veterinary technician role, there are numerous ways to work with animals. “For someone thinking about getting into the field of a veterinary technician, I would advise they do some research to understand the career options that it allows, such as research facilities, general clinics, emergency clinics, university settings,” Kelly said. Yngsdal said that RCTC is a good place to get the education for a career with animals. “I enjoyed the RCTC program,” she said. “The instructors were kind and knowledgeable. I liked the smaller class sizes so you could actually focus on your skills and get the help you needed when required. The program provided me with a general knowledge and basic skills to be successful in the vet tech field. It gave me a good backbone to know what is to be expected of me in the ‘real world.’” RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 7
STUDENT PROFILE
MEET
JAMES HIGGS Not everyone’s college story follows the same path. Take James Higgs for example. The current RCTC student is finishing up a degree in business management and marketing. It makes sense: James has a popular Instagram account where he helps to essentially market the place he works for, Forager Brewing Co. – he even brewed a beer called James and the Giant Peach there – and wants to ultimately own a bar or brewery. But more than anything, Higgs is an example of a student just trying to find the right fit in life. When he first attended RCTC, he was seeking wealth via an accounting job. “I started accounting out of high school; I wanted to be an accountant,” Higgs says matter-offactly. “That way I could be rich. Out of high school you just want to get rich as fast as possible, with the best ways possible, the easiest ways possible.” He pursued accounting for a year. At the time he was working at Outback Steakhouse when he had an epiphany. “I’m like, ‘James, you knew that wasn’t for you from the first credit you took,’” Higgs recalls. He moved on to mass communications, which makes sense too considering how social Higgs is. He took some classes before taking time off, but sadly, the program was suspended (it’s now back in a new, modern form), and Higgs was unsure of what would be next. Higgs says that’s when he sat down and really thought about what he wanted to do. RCTC had always felt like the right fit for him, so he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’ve always liked RCTC. Just a sense of what it is. A community. There are people from all over the place that come here. I’ve always PAGE 8 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
appreciated RCTC for what it is. Collegiate credits at the fraction of the cost in my backyard. I can live my life. I’ve always liked it that way.” Feeling at ease, and working in Rochester’s bustling brewery scene, he found a program that was a good fit for him: business management and marketing. Higgs began that program in fall of 2017 while continuing to work in the brewery and restaurant scene. “I was in the figuring out stage,” Higgs said. “I took a marketing class trying to complete the mass communication degree and I liked it. My personality suits that.” He doesn’t want to go to work to just collect a paycheck but wants to really like his job. “That’s why it was easier to start business management and marketing, because it was something I enjoyed doing, versus, ‘this sounds like another accounting adventure,’” Higgs says. “The teachers – and this dates back to kindergarten – the teachers make the class.” One instructor, in his eyes, stands out: Paula Theisen. “She’s a big help. She’s got a good, bubbly personality – like vibrant,” Higgs explains. “It just rubs off on the kids. At the start of class, she has everybody up stretching. It makes you want to come to class. She’s good with getting people engaged.” With instructors like Theisen, Higgs has enjoyed school, often using his work experience in class. Higgs has been in the restaurant business as everything from a line cook, server, bartender, brewer, manager, and hosting. “It makes assignments that much easier,” Higgs says. “If a teacher asks a question about the workplace…that just
happened last night. I can actually talk about this. She asks for one or two pages, I could give you four.” The future is up in the air at this point when it comes to more education for Higgs. He is certain of what he wants to do professionally.
“I’ve always wanted to open something, be a businessman of something.”
ISAAC BEACH – CONNECTIONS An exhibition focusing on relationships between humans and animals. “I grew up in a big family, and pets were an integral part of the household. As I was growing up, I was surrounded by the tangible connections my family made with animals in our care.”
BEN BIRKEY – REFLECTIONS
2019
RCTC ART PORTFOLIO
SAME
DIFFERENCE
“This is a collection of pictures that exemplify the layers that exist around us. They examine seemingly insignificant elements that can help shape our understanding of the big picture. Images appear recognizable at first, but they expose more details of the environment the closer the viewer looks. Opportunities to experience reflection are all around when we look for them.”
An eclectic mixture of painting, photographs, charcoal drawings, and more showcased in the RCTC art gallery displayed what students from the Associate of Fine Arts program were up to this semester.
AYUB HAJIOMAR – THE MOST EXQUISITE EXHIBITION BY ANY LIVING ARTIST BY GOD FT AYUBH Ayub painted multiple pieces displaying symbols – the human heart, a book, a gun, and more – “to provoke the viewer’s thoughts and challenge them to think: what does the text say about our hearts, or books, or about guns?” With all black backgrounds, Ayub tries to convey the crisis of immigration due to war, violence, or disturbing immigration policy.
Each year students partake in a portfolio show as a way for them to complete the semester and program. Here is a selection of some of this year’s work, with each artist explaining their methodology and philosophy in creating their work.
AJ SEABROOK – PORTRAITS “For this portrait series, I’m drawing a bunch of random initial ideas that come to mind at the time. The reason I’m choosing digital art for my studies is because it has become the industry standard when doing art for games and movies.”
RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 9
COVER STORY “I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of art and design.” LUKE AUSTIN
PAGE 10 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
Not many jobs let you draw pineapples and skeletons – or even a combination of both – for a living. But that’s what former RCTC student Luke Austin does as a tattoo artist at Sacred Heart Studios in Rochester. Despite his artistic talent, Austin didn’t aspire to be a tattoo artist when he left high school. His first move was to join the Illinois Army National Guard, ultimately serving for eight years. The Illinois-native then re-joined his family after they moved to Rochester to see what was next for him. College was an option as Austin received GI Bill money to use after his years of service for furthering his education.
and a sense of myself and what I wanted to do with my art at RCTC.” While taking classes at RCTC, Art + Design instructor Simon Huelsbeck connected Austin with Matt Holt, tattoo artist and founder of Sacred Heart Studios. Holt, like Austin, didn’t graduate with a degree at RCTC. (Austin is strongly considering going back to RCTC to take a couple classes to finish an associate of interactive design [since renamed] and associate of fine arts.) Holt took classes that would help him with his business over the course of a year.
“ALL THE FACULTY I HAD CLASSES WITH OR EVEN RUBBED SHOULDERS WITH AT RCTC ARE PHENOMENAL AND ENCOURAGING. I JUST FELT LIKE I GOT SO MUCH FROM THEM.”
Austin still stays in touch with not only his RCTC instructors but current students as well. As his time wound down at RCTC he found himself missing the school, especially his roles as an art tutor.
PINEAPPLES & SKULLS From left: Luke Austin tattoos an RCTC student and shows off art software at Sacred Heart and RCTC campus.
“I knew I wanted to do something along the lines of art and design,” Austin recalls. Specifically, he was leaning toward graphic and web design. During his time in the Guard, Austin was a photographer, but the self-described “compulsive doodler” was constantly filling notebooks with drawings. He would even sketch with a mouse in Microsoft Paint before he knew what Photoshop was. “There’s actually quite a few of those sketches floating around my unit; I just came across one the other day. I had no idea one of the guys put one of those that I drew of him as his (Facebook) profile picture some time ago.” RCTC made sense for him and his art as a starting point. Austin began with general education classes and a couple design classes, which he really enjoyed. “Right away I clicked with the faculty in those classes,” Austin says. He took drawing and acting classes the second semester. After that he was completely hooked. “I just enjoyed the encouragement; the faculty really allowed me to explore and do things and kind of run with the assignments they gave me. I had so much fun that I couldn’t stop going and I ended up using my entire GI Bill for the next four years, taking every art class I could get my hands on. I think I got an excellent foundation
“I really thought that was the benefit of [community] college,” Holt explains. “I don’t need a degree to do what I’m doing, but I need an education to do what I’m doing. It was really nice being able to take a couple simple business classes. “Writing classes were really helpful, because there’s a lot of that stuff that comes in handy here. But mostly just specific art related, like knowing how to use graphic design software. We don’t do a lot of graphic design as tattoo artists, but we do use the software to adjust imagery. And photography, because when you’re a tattoo artist, you don’t have a portfolio, you don’t have a tattoo portfolio. You have a photography portfolio.” Beyond the instruction is the sense of community RCTC’s art scene fosters that impresses both Holt and Austin. “It’s not just ‘take your class and leave,’” Holt says. “I took art classes in community college in Vegas too, and I never talked to any of those students outside of class. Or the instructors. When class was over, everybody goes their own way. And here, I would consider at least two of the instructors to be close friends of mine now that I still communicate with. And we try to support each other’s events. I’ve met a lot of other awesome students that I still communicate with and follow.”
Now, every other week, he attends Design Club and the Art Club (both clubs collaborate on meetings) and helps students with designs they would use for tattoos, tote bags, t-shirts, or even just how to draw a skull (one of his talents). RCTC sophomore Kylar Solie said having Austin visit club meetings has been great. “It’s been the most helpful thing,” she said. “It’s really good for my artistic process because I’ve always been the person that rushes to the final product. He’s really helping me to realize, start with the foundation, (and) build off of that to have a better final product.” In this case, Solie is designing a tattoo with mushrooms, pine trees, and more – a combo of things she likes and mean a lot to her – before she has Austin tattoo it on her. It seems the passion to help others learn is cyclical in the Art + Design Department. “They have a passion for what they’re teaching but their experience and expertise surpasses what you would expect to find at a community college,” Austin says. “All the faculty I had classes with or even rubbed shoulders with at RCTC are phenomenal and encouraging. I just felt like I got so much from them… and it was hard for me to leave there because of that. I enjoyed my time there so much going to the art studio or going to the theater. Practicing a play or working on a painting in those spaces was like sacred to me. That was the exciting part of my day.”
RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 11
OAKS EVENT AWARDS SIX SCHOLARSHIPS
The 19th annual OAKS Event (formerly known as Beat the Odds) was held on January 10 at the Rochester International Event Center. The evening was filled with inspiration and celebration as the RCTC Foundation awarded scholarships to this year’s deserving recipients. Incoming high school students include Amber Guillen (Winona Sr. High School), Beth Leeper (Triton High School) and Andrea Hart (Mayo High School). Current first-year RCTC students include Carroll Harrod, Diana Sanchez and Rasha Al salehy.
CELEBRATE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION AT THE RCTC FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY
Dr. Jeffery Boyd, RCTC President; Ian Pringle, Douglass Family Scholarship Recipient (top photo); Danika Otis, Art + Design Department Scholarship (bottom photo) ; Heather Donovan, RCTC Foundation Board Vice President.
PAGE 12 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
The RCTC Foundation offers scholarships that have a variety of criteria and are available for numerous areas of study to accommodate the needs of a multitude of students. Scholarship awards are made based on a combination of factors, including financial need, demonstrated academic excellence, student life involvement, or social contributions. Each year, scholarships are awarded to incoming, returning, and graduating, or transferring RCTC students. Earlier this year, the RCTC Foundation created a Scholarship Ceremony Committee to review our process of recognizing students who are awarded Foundation scholarships. Each year, as the number of awarded scholarships continued to grow, the number of students, family members, and friends also continued to increase. For the past few years, more than 250 people attended the Scholarship Ceremony and the event was broken up into two more manageable sessions lasting approximately 90 minutes each so attendees did not have to sit for almost three hours. The Scholarship Ceremony Committee, comprised of Opal Richards (RCTC Foundation board member), Mary Juenemann (RCTC faculty and ex-officio Foundation board member), Colleen
Landherr Maddox (donor), and Jeanne Wilson (RCTC staff), presented a recommendation to the RCTC Foundation board to create a separate scholarship ceremony for graduating and transferring scholarship recipients to be held in April, and to move the larger scholarship ceremony to early September. The recommendation was approved by the board in February. The RCTC Foundation recognized 12 students at a Scholarship Awards Ceremony on April 30 in the Heintz Center Commons. The following students were awarded scholarships ranging in amounts from $500 to $3,000: Danika Otis, Ashley Meyer, Ian Pringle, Ilhan Raage, Tatum Hayft, Tayla Von Hagen, Bryan Onofre, Brittany Hjalmervik, Cora Casper, Rylee Roshon, and Naa’il Mahdi. Scholarship donors, family, friends, and RCTC Foundation board members were also present to offer their congratulations to the recipients and celebrate their achievements. The Scholarship Ceremony scheduled for September 14 will recognize more than 100 incoming and returning students this year. More details will be available as the event gets closer.
RCTC NEWS CONTINUED
HLC GIVES RCTC HIGH MARKS The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) site visit occurred on April 29 and 30. RCTC spent the past two years developing a campus-wide culture of assessment and thoughtfully documenting our processes, results, and improvements. Although the final HLC report and recommended actions will be received in June, the site visit team shared that they were very impressed with the great work of RCTC faculty, staff, and interim vice president of academic affairs, Michelle Pyfferoen.
RETIREES HONORED
LUTHER AUTOMOTIVE DONATES TO AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN PROGRAM RCTC Automotive Technician students and instructors proudly accepted the keys to a Hyundai Elantra which was generously donated by the Luther Automotive Group. The vehicle will be utilized for training purposes in the Automotive Technician program. RCTC instructor, Dave MacLeod, is looking forward to working with the advanced technology to provide better training and enhance the skills of RCTC students. Luther Automotive also presented a gift card to the RCTC Automotive Technician program which can be used for purchasing Hyundai parts.
RCTC 2018-19 retirees include: Donald Baldus, Christine Bushaw, Bonnie Crawford, Leonard Cronin, Marjorie Reif, and Fan Shen. These retirees were recognized and honored for their many years of dedication and service to RCTC, the State of Minnesota, and our students at a retiree reception on April 23.
COLLEGE LAUNCHES WELCOME AND ONE STOP CENTER
Formally starting this fall, the new RCTC Welcome Center is shifting its focus to offer comprehensive services to students while minimizing barriers. The Welcome and One Stop Center will assist visitors and students at all points in the enrollment cycle – visitors, prospect-graduate – with directions, paperwork, processes, demographic/address changes, applying for financial aid or for admission, among other things.
RCTC AND ZUMBRO VALLEY HEALTH PARTNER FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
After nearly two years of work behind the scenes, RCTC and Zumbro Valley Health Center announced a new partnership which brings enhanced mental health counseling and therapy services to RCTC students. This project, spearheaded by student leaders and mental health advocates, paves the way for much needed mental health services on the RCTC campus.
WORKFORCE EDUCATION RECEIVES GRANTS
COLLEGE NEWSPAPER RANKED BEST IN STATE The RCTC Echo won five awards including General Excellence for best college newspaper in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s (MNA) Better Newspaper Contest. This contest recognized work done during the previous 2017-2018 academic year. The Echo’s first-place finish in General Excellence is a noteworthy achievement because it competes against student newspapers from four-year universities throughout Minnesota. Editor-in-Chief Lydia Hansen placed in three individual categories, while former Editor-in-Chief Angelina Labonne placed in column writing. This is the third consecutive year that The Echo placed in general excellence in the MNA’s Better Newspaper Contest. It placed second in 2018 and third in 2017.
Rochester Community and Technical College’s Center for Business and Workforce Education received two Minnesota Job Skills Partnerships (MJSP) grants. The first grant, in collaboration with Crenlo Manufacturing, totaled $49,485 and the second, in collaboration with Olmsted Medical Center (OMC), totaled $49,931. MJSP allocates grants to educational institutions that are working to expand employment opportunities in growth sectors within Minnesota’s economy to keep high-quality jobs in the state.
RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 13
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RCTC CELEBRATED ITS 103RD COMMENCEMENT
( Rochester Community and Technical College held its 103rd commencement ceremony at the Rochester Regional Sports Center on Thursday, May 16. 840 students graduated, 143 of whom graduated with high honors (a grade point average of 3.75 or above), and an additional 134 students graduated with honors (a grade point average of 3.5 – 3.749). Congratulations graduates, you make us proud! View more pics on our Facebook page at: http://bit.ly/RCTCgrads.
RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 15
THEATER AN OUTLET
FOR STUDENTS
Roy Womack applies makeup.
Down a long, innocuous hallway a coterie of individuals gathers to rub colored powders on their faces, don ware from another era, and transform into different people for the evening. “You can be somebody else,” Roy Womack says while seated in a room below the theater where a group of actors puts on makeup and costumes. “It’s fun to express yourself.” These actors – a mixture of current and recently graduated students – were part of the RCTC Theatre production of “Figaro” which ran during the end of April and beginning of May. Maria Felt and Emilie Pentico have been in at least four RCTC productions, including “Figaro.” Both took theater classes and have a background with community theater or singing at church functions. “In my case, this is my first time back at RCTC in like three-and-a-half years, so I was super excited to get into a show. I’m graduating and going out with a bang,” Pentico says. “Jerry’s [RCTC Theatre instructor and play director Jerry Casper] a great theater teacher,” Felt says. “If you’re uncomfortable Jerry really helps you get out of your shell.”
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“It’s another extracurricular and way to get to know people,” Pentico interjects. “It’s nice to be with other college students, because they feel your pain. ‘Oh, I have an exam at 8 a.m., what am I doing here,’” Felt says with a laugh. Like sports or other activities on campus, theater is a huge commitment. “You can’t procrastinate when you have rehearsal five days a week; there’s no way you can put it off,” Pentico says. Felt says she gets more exhausted in theater than sports. You have to think about movements, lights, cues – all sorts of events on stage to make sure the play comes together. And stage paint is the worst, according to the actors. Your face will break out. But you have to overexaggerate the makeup for it to be visible and work on stage in such bright light. Applying makeup for a performance can take about an hour. For Womack, it’s tough work but fun. “It’s sometimes to deal with time management but I’ve gotten better at it,” he says. Womack had no theater experience before he performed in college plays. One day, RCTC assistant basketball coach Jason Bonde told him he might want to try acting because of how expressive he was.
“I was like, ‘acting? I’m not acting!’ I tried it out and I fell in love with it.” More than anything, he says the group of people are wonderful and want you to flourish. And after talking with Casper, you find out that success in theater can mean success in life. “What’s great is watching them succeed,” Casper says of the students. “I love seeing the lightbulbs come on and whether they stay in theater or not, I don’t care. What I care about is they become better communicators, they become lovers of humanity and life, and want to give back. I believe theater teaches us to be more humane and to give back.” Casper has been with RCTC since 2001 (and even had a stint as an adjunct here in the ‘90s) and has written some of the plays performed on campus. He gets to see firsthand how theater and the arts can transform a student at RCTC. “It’s that idea that you’re holding a mirror up to humanity and figuring out who we are, and it’s through positives and negatives,” Casper says. “That’s one thing that plays do. Every play – at least for me, every play I’ve been in, every play I’ve directed – I’ve learned something about the human condition. In learning that I’ve learned something about myself, which helps us gain confidence in life.”
If you’re a fan of the arts, you don’t need to be an actor. Technical director Ben Hain has been at RCTC since 2006 but actually worked on some plays back in 1986. Hain started doing theater in 4-H one-act plays and then taking classes in high school and kept with it. He found that he enjoyed the behind-the-scenes stuff: sound, building sets – and his passion – lighting. “When you’re around you just end up doing everything,” Hain says of his trades. According to Hain, RCTC Hill Theatre is one of the best equipped in southeast Minnesota. It has a huge stage and most likely the biggest scene shop behind it. Some theater students don’t always crave the acting gig. Like Hain, some want to learn about sound or lighting. One former
student went to college for sound after RCTC, and actually runs his own business doing lighting [we wrote about him in issue two] for bands like AC/DC. “He’s traveling the world with major rock bands,” Hain says. “I tell students coming through here, you can get a job doing technical theater. Maybe not in Rochester, but there’s a lot of demand even up in the Twin Cities.” No matter what you want to do with theater, Womack says that if you have any interest in it at all, you should go for it. “Come to theater; it’s a fun thing to do. You get better at it every day. Just try it.”
Maria Felt during rehearsal.
“I WAS LIKE, ‘ACTING? I’M NOT ACTING!’ I TRIED IT OUT AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT.”
From left: Maria Felt and Emilie Pentico.
RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 17
PSYCHOLOGY
JENNIFER KIEHNE the education of
FINAL LECTURE
When nominated for the 2019 RCTC Outstanding Educator Award as an adjunct instructor, a nominator wrote, “It is evident that not only does Jennifer [Kiehne] care about us as students, she cares about us as people and our overall well-being. I always look forward to going to her classes because I know I will be learning in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.” I received this vibe very quickly when stepping into a classroom to interview Kiehne having had a bad morning. Outstanding instructors typically stand apart thanks to their compassion in addition to the grasp they have on a subject they teach to students. RCTC Magazine caught up with Kiehne to talk about her classroom work, the nomination, and more.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY TEACHING? I usually teach a general psychology
class, psychology of adjustment, human growth and development, and I teach FYEX (First-Year Experience). I love psychology; I would talk about it for free so it’s awesome I get paid to do it. I have a [master’s] degree in counseling and psychological services, so for 10 years I was a therapist in different capacities. I really try to bring that experience into the classroom. A lot of my class stuff is based on “here’s what the research says, here’s how you might see it in your life, here’s how you might see it in someone else’s life.” I want you to talk and think about that. I do a lot of experiential, a lot of critical thinking around the content. I want it to be applicable. It’s a science… but I want you to use it, I want you to share it, I want you to build community around it, I want you to understand it more.
WHY WERE YOU INTERESTED IN THIS?
I always knew I had a heart for helping people. I always knew I wanted to be a therapist. I just never remember wanting to be anything else. So, when I got my degree, I was ready to save the world, like the world needed my saving, and I was ready for it. I got into the counseling world and recognized in short order that nobody really needed my saving. What they needed me to do is walk next to them and support them – and offer resources and information that I had available to me, or encourage them to seek it out themselves. I realized in my counseling work that about 70 percent of what I was PAGE 18 | RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019
doing was education. I was always so humbled by people’s experiences, and their resiliencies, and their strengths, and then I see all that in my students. I got into education and it was a great fit because of those experiences that I had.
WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED ABOUT WORKING AT RCTC?
Well, I got to teach FYEX and be involved in the growth of the high school FYEX program, so that’s been awesome. I feel like collaboration is such a central part of this College. When I got here, I had no idea there was a music department in the way that it was; I had no idea that the theater was as rich as it was; I had no idea that nursing was as rich as it was. Teaching FYEX, I’ve gotten to learn intimately all the available resources for students. Every single person here is wanting to help students be successful – and I love that. It’s a very collaborative effort. We have such a diverse population of students. I love the diversity in my classroom because when I talk about cultural differences, I have 10 different cultural differences in my class, and people who’ve lived in different countries, who speak different languages, and understand different realities that they’re willing to share and make everybody richer. RCTC is really lucky with our diversity; I find that as a huge blessing in my class.
WHEN SEEKING OUT HELP, WHAT CAN YOU TELL STUDENTS?
One, I think we seek counseling out when we’re desperate. We definitely seek it out then for sure. But I think counseling is a way to build what you want, not build from what happened. If we shifted our focus and priority around counseling as far as a maintenance or as a thriving idea, I think that would help. I think perspective helps. Two, when you care for yourself, you can care for others. Going to college is a huge time and money commitment. What I say to them [students going to college], is this is a self-actualizing behavior. On Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-actualizing is the top one. When you’re putting the time and money and commitment to doing this, and you’re putting yourself out there like you are, that’s self-actualizing. You are literally trying to be a better human by knowing more, understanding more, contributing more. Just that alone is great but you need support to do that. Successful people don’t do it alone.
“I ALWAYS KNEW I HAD A HEART FOR HELPING PEOPLE. I ALWAYS KNEW I WANTED TO BE A THERAPIST”
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ANYTHING ELSE?
I was on the way here and I was thinking about class and I thought, “Oh, I can’t wait to get there and share this with them.” I was in class and I said, “Guys, before we do anything, I just need to tell you thank you for being the kind of people and the kind of class where I can’t wait to get here.” That’s what I feel like RCTC is – like our students, I can’t wait to get here and get to class because of our students. You can’t be a good teacher unless you have really great students. And I think we’re really lucky to have really great students.
A member of Minnesota State RCTC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2019 | PAGE 19