Rocky Now - October 2007

ROCKY NOW Vol. 1 Issue 5

Fresh news every day at www.rocky.edu

October 2007

Rocky Now: Keeping our friends and supporters informed about what’s new and exciting at Rocky Mountain College

It’s all about our students Whenever you wonder about whether your contributions make a difference, it’s refreshing to read about students like Steve Tyler.

BILLINGS — Steve Tyler didn’t earn a penny from volunteering at Billings Head Start. He simply believes in helping communities that have helped him. It’s why he was once a firefighter in Woodcock/Billings Gazette Oregon where he Steve Tyler shares a fun first went to col- moment with a Head Start child. lege. It’s why he Tyler, who graduated in May, volunteered for three years with helped young the local program. kids learn to read for three years when he was a Rocky Mountain College student. Tyler, who graduated in May with a degree in sports management, saw a need and filled it.

“He didn't mind having a couple kids hanging on his leg and another on his arm,” said Mary Ann Mackay, Head Start Volunteer Coordinator. His wonderful smile and extraordinary patience were two attributes most important to his job.

“He was the ideal role model for kids,” she added.

For Tyler, there will be plenty of memories, including from when he first started: A young girl who took her first bus ride on a field trip.

“To see her excitement and hear her laugh made it all worthwhile,” he said.

When The Billings Gazette featured Tyler in an article in May, a small boy gave him a going-away present, a pipe cleaner strung with colorful beads.

“You see why I love them,” Tyler told the reporter, grinning.

Steve Tyler: One more way RMC students make a difference.

A winning program RMC Professor K. Stuart Smith found a way to recruit students, sponsors and public awareness

with proThe high school students viding a excitedly hovered together challengon a Saturday morning in ing and Technology Hall, brainfun constorming on how to solve test to programming problems in h i g h a competition that not only school meant “bragging rights” students. for their high school, but also possible college “This is scholarships. That was the the only scene on campus when event of Rocky Mountain College this type hosted the first programin the ming competitions. state,” What began five years s a i d ago as a small contest at RMC Computer Science Professor K. Stuart Smith has spearheaded a successful campaign Smith.

RMC for local high school to recruit students to RMC. He has also “Even in students, now has sprouted reached out to high tech companies and garschools a Western Regional High nered media attention for the College. that do School Programming Competition, held in Helena, as well as not have computer programming as part the Eastern Regional High School of their curricula, we find programmers, Programming Competition, in Billings. so it is not exclusive.”

The brainchild of RMC Professor K. Stuart Smith, it demonstrates how a recruitment effort can go hand-in-hand (Please continue to back page)

A new feature for scholarship benefit: Proxy bidding on BTBJ auction items Can’t attend Black Tie Blue Jeans? Or just want to have more time to visit friends while you’re there?

But you still don’t want to miss out on bidding on the Cathedral Mountain building site or the trip to historic Williamsburg, Virginia? Easy, says RMC Development Director Shari VanDelinder. Just go to www.blacktiebluejeans.com, scroll through the auction items, and submit a proxy bid for those you’re interested in to vandelis@rocky.edu.

VanDelinder

A winning program Continued from front The Helena event, as similar events in Billings in previous years, also got media attention for RMC. NBC affiliate, KTVH, covered the programming competition. Seventeen students, comprising five teams, competed in the daylong event and the two winning teams will be hosted by the College to join five local teams for the final competition Oct. 27.

The high school competition is one part of a larger strategy to grow the RMC Computer Science program. And it's working. At the start of the fall semester 2002, the RMC program consisted of two faculty members and twelve students. Now, five years later, at a time when many college technology programs are wondering where their students have gone, 47 students are pursuing majors in the program that employers are calling the “best in the state.” And they should know, since Rocky computer science graduates are filling the ranks of the local high tech industry.

The turn around began with the development of a new computer science curriculum that was introduced in the fall of 2003. Near the same time, RMC initiated an aggressive high school outreach program to attract excellent “pre-qualified” students to the program. In the spring of 2003, two high school seniors from Billing West High School began taking introductory computer science classes at Rocky, attending alongside traditional students, and in the fall of 2004, the program hosted its first programming competition for high school teams, attracting about a dozen high school programmers from Billings West High School and Billing Senior High School.

Both of those high school outreach initiatives have thrived and grown. This fall, 12 high school juniors and seniors -some of the best programming talent in the state -- are enrolled in computer science classes at Rocky.

Local high tech employers provide prizes and the College provides scholarships to the outstanding individuals. For the first time, computer science students are being employed through the work-study program to help with the pre-competition logistics and Amanda Hill, a program graduate and member of the Professional Advisory Council (an organized group of local technology industry professionals who provide guidance and support to RMC’s computer science program) has worked tirelessly to line up industry support.

“Professor Smith has basically covered all the bases, bringing high school prospects, potential employers and public awareness all together to promote the College,” said President Mike Mace. “It benefits students and the community.”

Rocky Mountain College

Still Number One! The 1955 Rocky Mountain College Football Team was inducted into the Athletic Ring of Honor Sept. 29th. This team won the conference championship, dethroning Carroll College from five years as conference champions. RMC football was a little different in those days. The players played both ways, offense and defense, and they had just one coach: Frank Mathew. Coach Mathew was also given special recognition for his years of coaching success.

Team members traveled from far and wide for this event, including Dick Carpenter from Mission Viejo, Calif., Fred Arnst from La Grand, Ore., Gary Nelson from Wellington, Nevada, Paul Venell from Surprise, Ariz., and Frank Oglesbee from LaConner, Wash. Other players who attended from Montana and Wyoming were Mel Mattingly, Arlie Diserly, Berv Kimberley, Dean Gerke, Ralph Johnson, Rich Alberta, and Jim

McCauley. The family of the late Ralph Artery also traveled from Colorado.

The festivities kicked off Sept. 28 with a reception in Prescott Hall. Each of the players was presented with a football signed by the team, as well as a certificate. A plaque recognizing their achievement hangs in the recently remodeled Herb and Clara Klindt Athletic Hall of Fame Room in the Fortin Center.

On Saturday, the team was invited onto the field for recognition at half time. Each player was introduced individually and Coach Mathew was presented with a plaque that read: “You are one of the finest people one could expect to meet. It was an honor to have you as our coach and it is an honor to call you a friend. Your patience and example provided many with the opportunity to participate in athletics, to earn an education and prepare for life after college.”

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