Welcome

“I’m the type of person to adapt easily, but I’m a historian, I need to learn, study and educate myself. In my field, it takes 20-30 years just to be good at it. Where will I put my books and do my research when I just lost 40-50 hours a week that I usually spend in an office?” he said.

He also shares the sentiment that district administration has not given faculty the chance to share their opinions on the matter.

“Our opinions were not really asked for and no evidence has been given to convince me that this is a good idea other than the reason to collaborate when I collaborate with a scientist in a different building with no problem,” he said.

He feels as though this will take away from him as well as his students and has known people that left TCC because of this change.

“It’s unfortunate and sad when I feel these things are being taken away when they very much help me do my job,” Borougerdi said. “And I understand that you can’t tailor the needs to one person. But, I can’t see any possible scenario where this will make my job more productive, meaningful and better for my students.”

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“The country music and all the food, snacks and goodies given away passed the vibe check,” Cruz said.

For NW Campus, they had multiple help stations set up to direct students called “Ask Me Tables” where Navigators could assist finding classes, provide snacks, and hand out pins and maps at each table.

NW student activities coordinator Rachael McCloskey explained that a favorite of hers from the week’s events was the boba tea provided to students.

“Students are always so excited to see them on campus,” McCloskey said. “It was also fun to see students’ excitement about a free T-shirt on TCC Tuesday.”

SE Student Activities coordinator Veronica Guzman said that the Welcome Week had gone very well.

“The Game-A-Thon was definitely the highlight,” Guzman said.

The event, which is only held in the spring semester, included arcade games, pingpong, air hockey and pool.

Guzman said that this event had the most student turn out with and sum of over 350 students who signed in. Guzman also said there were “definitely new faces at the event,” and was able to recognize them from the spring new student orientation.

TR student development services director Carter Bedford explained that welcoming students was a pleasure. He said that TR had made sure that there were activities like breakfasts, snacks and open-house events throughout the week for students both returning and new to choose from.

“Hopefully students were able to take in some aspect of this week at TR and know that they are welcomed here,” Bedford said.

South Campus a few times,” he said. “During this event as of the power being lost we had some domestic water lines exposed to the cold and froze and caused some flooding.”

Roese and general maintenance supervisor Manny Rodriguez were emailed by staff that were on-site that there were problems on Christmas Eve. By Christmas Day, they were both called to the campus.

“I kind of knew that we had some issues, but I didn’t get on-site until Christmas Day to look at what happened,” Rodriguez said.

When he was notified on Christmas Day, his initial thoughts were that this could never happen on a normal Wednesday when the staff is there.

“It always happens at the wrong time, the worst possible timing,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he always keeps in the back of his mind the possibility of things that can happen, and his family knows that. He, along with other maintenance staff, worked throughout the holidays to ensure that the campus was ready for the new semester.

“My goal was trying to see if we can get this done before students and the faculty get back, that way we are not holding them back,” Rodriguez said.

However, to some students the food was not adequate and did not enjoy the environment, citing inconsistent portion sizes and unfavorable prices. Instead, they solicited the bookstore, vending machines or outside sources for food options.

TCC anticipates a new vendor by the end of spring break, and until then all campuses, except TR, which includes two food options, can access food options via vending machines, campus smart markets and bookstores.

Roese said that while there was some work done to the campus to ensure safety, everything has been restored back to being student ready.

“All in all with the work of the TCC employees quick action to get the water shut off and the work of the Remediation Company everything is back in order,” Roese said.

According to an informational memo presented to the board of trustees during the January meeting, there was damage on the Erma Johnson-Hadley Center for Logistics and Transportation, South and NE Campus. The estimated costs for complete repairs across the district is up to $250,000. TCC chancellor Elva LeBlanc commended the staff that stayed to work through the holidays.

“There were about 185 facilities staff members working during the holidays so that everything would be perfect and ready for the faculty and the students when everyone came back from the holidays,” LeBlanc said.