PRESIDENT’S REPORT | December 2014
Men and women stand to recite the Oath of Allegiance on Oct. 25 in the SSB auditorium at a naturalization ceremony hosted by SCC.
Immigrants become naturalized citizens during ceremony at SCC St. Charles Community College’s midfielder Catie Blake challenges Darton State College (Ga.) player during the NJCAA national championship tournament on Nov. 18.
SCC women’s soccer National Tournament run ends with tie St. Charles Community College women’s soccer ended the season with a 2-2 tie against Darton State College (Ga.) at the NJCAA national tournament on Nov. 18. DSC is ranked sixth in the nation. The Cougars are ranked tenth. “The team came into the game ready to play at the highest level,” said Josh Tyler, SCC women’s head soccer coach. “Darton State was a very good team, and we were up to the challenge.” The Cougars came out fighting. SCC forward Raven Loughridge scored the first goal of the game with an assist from SCC forward Alyssa Coons with a little over three minutes left in the first half. After the half, DSC evened the score, 1-1, with 25 minutes remaining. SCC countered with another goal by Loughridge, assisted by Coons, with seven minutes to go. With about three minutes left, DSC answered by scoring the final goal of the game. SCC goalkeeper Katie Martin made 18 saves.
“This whole season the team has played with heart and for each other,” said Tyler. “They left everything on the field one final time. As a coach, that is what you ask for. Walk off that field with no regrets, and every player could say that. I was very proud to be on the sideline and even more proud to walk off the field with that group of women.” The Cougars finished their regular season with a record of 12-4. They went on to win the Region XVI Tournament and District D Tournament to qualify for NJCAA nationals. They were defeated 2-0 in the first match of the tournament pool play by Eastern Florida State College, ranked third in the nation. This was the SCC Women’s Soccer team’s first appearance at the national tournament. The Cougar’s final record is 15-5-1. “Congratulations to this group of women and their coaches for being one of the top NJCAA women’s soccer teams in the nation,” said Chris Breitmeyer, SCC vice president for academic and student affairs.
Some 42 immigrants became U.S. citizens on Oct. 25 as part of a service-learning project conducted by students in a SCC government course. In a naturalization ceremony, immigrants take the Oath of Allegiance to complete the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. The idea to host the ceremony originated when Virginia Guneyli, SCC associate professor of English, mentioned to a colleague that her husband, who is from Turkey, was about to be naturalized and wished it could happen on SCC’s campus. Ron Pettus, SCC associate professor of political science, presented the idea of hosting a naturalization ceremony to his State and Local Government class and the project got underway. “The class handled almost every element of the program,” Pettus said. “This was service learning at its best,” said SCC President Ron Chesbrough, Ph.D. “Students tasked with organizing this event practiced management and leadership skills. They learned the intimate details of this rite of passage to citizenship, and they exposed those in attendance to an event that they might otherwise never have attended and people they might not otherwise have met.” Due to the success, SCC plans to host an annual naturalization ceremony on the last day of the Democracy Days event each September. “It was a demonstration of the college’s commitment to the community,” said Pettus.