Community service and civic engagement

Nursing students from CLC have provided health assessments and disease prevention tips, such as proper hand washing, at community health fairs. These students conducted a health fair demonstration for the Minnesota Department of Health called "Germ City."

Presidential recognition for Central Lakes, one
of nation’s top colleges for community service
By Steve Waller, CLC Public Information Specialist
For the third straight year Central Lakes College has been placed on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, admitted a total of 641 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitalization to supporting at-risk youth. Of that total, 511 were named to the Honor Roll, 114 received the recognition of Honor Roll with distinction, 11 were identified as finalists, and six received the Presidential Award.
CLC is one of just five Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system two-year colleges to receive the 2010 award. It is given in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education.
Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school's commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.
“I must note that the eligibility requirements and review process were much more rigorous and competitive this year,” said Rebecca Best, Dean of Workforce, Economic & Regional Development and coordinator of service learning projects at CLC. “We are making such a positive difference in the communities where we work, live, and CLC serves.”
CLC service-learning initiatives involve college students volunteering beyond the classroom to help the community through projects that are meaningful, relevant, and exemplary.
The college community provides volunteer services that total several thousand hours each year. Most recently, the number of reported faculty, student, and staff project hours increased from approximately 10,313 hours in FY09 to approximately 38,569 in FY2010.
Among activities associated with service learning at CLC are helping at Community Health Fairs, Habitat for Humanity, Lakes Area Soup Kitchen, and Northland Arboretum, school-based mentoring, reading/math tutoring in local schools, and introducing the college and its programs to younger students in after-school sessions.
President Obama has made service a central cause of his administration, and through his United We Serve initiative he is calling on all Americans to make service part of their daily lives. The President places a high priority on supporting and developing the role of higher institutions, and their students, staff, and faculty, in addressing the nation’s most pressing social needs.
College students make a significant contribution to the volunteer sector. Last year 3.16 million students performed more than 300 million hours of service, according to the Volunteering in America study released by the Corporation.
The Corporation fosters a culture of service on college campuses through grants, AmeriCorps incentives, and initiatives to spur college service.
Other Minnesota schools on the honor roll are Augsburg, St. Benedict, Metropolitan State, Carleton, Century, Gustavus Adolphus, Inver Hills, Macalester, Minnesota School of Business-Rochester, Normandale, North Hennepin, St. John’s, St. Cloud State, St. Olaf, University of Minnesota-Crookston, St. Thomas, and Winona State.

Retiree likes CLC so much he’s been student for 20 years

Lester congratulated welding instructor Russ Jenkins upon his retirement as the Central Lakes College spring semester wrapped up. The two met as co-workers at a Fridley ordnance production plant before Lester retired in 1988.

By Steve Waller, CLC Public Information Specialist
When he turns 86 in June, Lester Netley of rural Pine River will have been a student at Central Lakes College in Brainerd for 20 years.
He never intends to graduate. He doesn’t keep track of credits, because he’s here for the joy of machining and enrichment.
College Registrar Nick Heisserer reports Lester has completed 160 credits, the equivalent of more than two associate degrees.
The retired machinist last worked a real job in 1988, leaving after 36 years with Northern Pump Co, a Naval ordnance factory in Fridley. By 1991 he had found his way to family property near Whitefish Lake in Cass County and also found the college.
Within a year he registered for the first in a string of open welding labs. He splits his time nowadays between welding and a small-engine lab.
“They sent me a circular,” he said. “It had some interesting classes and programs, so I took a closer look.” His last college experience had been through the U.S. Navy, when he attended machinist school at the Henry Ford plant in Dearborn, Mich.
During nearly three years of active duty in WWII, Lester learned much of what would lead him to his career. His training evolved into work as an aviation machinist.
Machines have always been part of his life, starting with his childhood near Sioux City, Iowa, where he tinkered and learned by trial and error. “I also tried an accounting school in Omaha for about two years, but it just didn’t work for me. I learned a lot anyway and got to know some high-caliber people.”
His tinkering continues to this day on equipment of various sizes, from a tractor to a one-cylinder Maytag washing machine engine. The 1930-vintage “one-lunger” has a fresh coat of green paint and may be long-gone from original purpose but has been mounted on other platforms to power such things as go-carts.
“My folks bought it in the 1930s. I still have it and it runs great,” he said. Not made for a long time now, since everything’s Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh, Honda, and such.”
Lester has disposed of his impressive collection of outboard boat motors, but he has kept a functional snow blower, snowmobile, and four-wheeler. “They get me around the place a lot better than walking,” he said of his eight-acre parcel called home.
His commutes to the college campus are about as mechanically efficient as a tinkerer would want. The red Volkswagen Beetle is a diesel rig that once provided about 55 miles per gallon. “I still get about 45, which isn’t too bad for 270,000 miles,” he said.
What does he do at CLC? He helps younger students who are unfamiliar with some of the older, enduring machines showing up for repair. He learns about the new world of technology, up to a point.
“I enjoyed seeing how a motorcycle is put together,” he said of a project in the Marine and Small Engine program. He’s never owned nor has he ridden one.
He also learned more about maintaining his vehicle through the college’s automotive technology program.
When not tinkering with motors or operating a lathe to rebuild older machines, Lester can be found probing landscapes. He is a rock hound. As a member of the Cuyuna Rock, Gem, and Mineral Society of Crosby he takes outings along Lake Superior’s north shore as far as Thunder Bay, Ontario for geological gems such as amethyst and agates.
He occasionally follows his curiosity into other classes at CLC. Minnesota Geology is one that really spoke to him. “Instructor Dave Kobilka took us all over the state,” he recalled. He would never have thought cactus is a natural plant in Minnesota, but in the south “we found where they grow. They’re tiny.”
Students and instructors know Lester to be helpful and willing to work on most any problem. But when it comes to women, the bachelor admits, “I’m bull-headed.” He’s had female friends but nobody in the marriage loop. He jokes, “No woman deserves a nice guy like me.”
Lester counts among family four brothers and a sister, as well as his 60-year-old, four-wheeling nephews who make use of Lester’s trails and the machines that can be ridden there.
He’s had other hobbies, such as collecting coins (“The only hobby I made any money on.”)
He likes attending what he calls “a highly rated college” and finds the younger students to be likable and willing to let a grandfatherly figure hang out with them. “I don’t weld any more, but I do quite a bit on the lathe,” he said.
He said CLC is a “good place to spend my time -- better than the casino or the bar.”
Signed up for the fall term, Lester has enlisted welding instructor Mike Reeser and others to help with a unique project: a scale model of a Henry Ford-designed 1920s snow machine.
“This was a wild machine,” said Reeser, who has viewed archival footage of a tank-like creation. Lester is assembling critical parts, such as an engine and lawn mower frame. Old water heater tanks are rumored to be in the mix.
On campus at least three days per week, he has decided to play it safe next winter. He has rented an apartment in Brainerd to avoid those difficult commutes in bad weather.
“Lester is always looking for projects, always thinking,” Reeser said. ‘If our nine-month students could be as dedicated it would be phenomenal.”
Such dedication warranted designating a portion of the welding lab as “Les’s Machine Room.”
College administration is looking at an appropriate way to bestow broader recognition for the enduring, endearing octogenarian.

Why is CLC important?

To promote awareness about the value of a college education – especially that offered by Central Lakes College in Brainerd and Staples – students have produced a two-minute YouTube video asking “Why is Central Lakes College important to you?”
The video message offers fast-paced, short statements concluding with the CLC mission statement: We build futures.
About 20 students weigh in with videotaped comments on the value of their educational experience at the community and technical college, recently named one of the 120 best in the nation by the Aspen Institute. CLC’s enrollment has gone from 3,953 to 6,062 in five years.
The responses include
• CLC’s tuition and fees are a fraction of the cost compared to many other quality institutions
• CLC and the state have higher educational standards than some other schools and states
• If qualified, high school students can jump-start their college education through enrollment options
• Lots of support from campus services such as the Veterans Resource Center
• Close to home
“It is the collective effort by faculty, administration, and staff that gives us the tools to help us on our way,” stated Steve Sabin and Toy Ross-McRae, respective presidents of the Brainerd and Staples student senates.
Student senators at CLC have joined college student advocates from across the state urging state lawmakers and Gov. Dayton to reach an agreement on higher education funding that considers students first.
The video was sent to the offices of several legislators who will vote on higher education funding. Their replies showed appreciation for and awareness of education as part of the economic recovery.
Some, such as Rep. John Ward and Sen. Paul Gazelka, pointed out they are parents of successful CLC graduates for whom the experience was essential en route to employment.
Supportive lawmakers note that higher earnings of CLC students and associated increases in state income expand the tax base in Minnesota by about $16.5 million each year.
The video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/4xyvM7DI3Iw?hd=1

CLC among nation's best 120

Aspen Institute news release
Washington, DC. – In its first step to identify the nation’s best community colleges and award $1 million in prize money, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today ranked Central Lakes College as one of the nation’s 120 best community colleges, challenging it to compete for the Prize funds (to be announced in December 2011) by insisting on high standards for learning, college completion without delay, and serving as a training ground for jobs that pay competitive wages. The full list of eligible institutions can be found at www.AspenCCPrize.org.
Citing the urgent need to focus on the value and potential of community colleges, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Executive Director Josh Wyner said, “We must set the bar much higher than we have in the past. To achieve excellent student outcomes, we need to highlight our country’s success stories and learn from them so that we can keep reaching higher. Recognizing community colleges like Central Lakes College sends a message to others that aspire to excellence, while encouraging Central Lakes College to apply for the nation’s top community college prize. As a country, now more than ever, we need all community colleges to graduate more students with the knowledge and degrees they need to be successful in the workforce.”
Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, attended the Aspen Institute’s announcement event on April 25th. The Aspen Prize was announced at the White House Community College Summit hosted by President Obama and Dr. Biden in October. At that time, the President noted how critical community colleges are to the millions of youth and adult learners – who enroll in America’s nearly 1,200 community colleges every year.
Dr. Biden, a lifelong educator who continues to teach English at Northern Virginia Community College, noted that “The country is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of community colleges in educating our way to a stronger America. I am inspired by all of today’s community college students—the workers who have returned to school to improve their job prospects, the mothers who juggle jobs and childcare while preparing for new careers, and those who work diligently while at community college, preparing to transfer to a four-year institution.” Central Lakes College and 119 other community colleges will be winnowed to eight-to-ten finalists in September based on how much students learn, how many complete their programs on time, and how well students do in the job market after graduating.
Central Lakes College is now eligible to submit an application containing detailed data on these criteria. Central Lakes College must demonstrate that it delivers exceptional student results, uses data to drive decisions, and uses that information to continually improve over time.
Speaking for the jury that will select winners and finalists, former Governor of Michigan John Engler – president of the Business Roundtable and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers – emphasized the tremendous importance of community colleges in preparing the high-tech workforce American companies need.
Aspen will conduct site visits to each of the ten finalists in the fall. And, based on the evidence, the Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner and two to three runners-up, to be announced in December.

The Aspen Prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to identify and replicate campus-wide practices that significantly improve college student outcomes. Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, projects targeting a new generation of college leaders, and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses. For more information, visit www.AspenCCPrize.org.

The Aspen Institute’s mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

He's going to Disney World

By Steve Waller, CLC Public Information Specialist

Central Lakes College student Jeffrey Wuollet isn’t just going to Walt Disney World after graduating this spring. He’s going to work there.
And he’s going to college.
The Staples resident and Associate in Arts degree earner was awarded an expense-paid internship for the fall semester in which he originally planned to attend Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, to pursue theater arts.
Now he’ll be earning credits as a Disney College and International Program cast member in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., which is accredited by the American Council on Education.
“My plans changed when I received the letter of acceptance on April 29,” said the 19-year-old aspiring actor. His application had been considered since last March, when he followed a relative’s suggestion.
“My mom’s cousin worked there for 20 years and mentioned that internships are available and sometimes lead to more permanent career opportunities there,” Jeffrey said.
From the time his family visited all four theme parks of the world’s largest resort when he was 15, Jeffrey had such a pursuit in mind.
“I wanted to get a year of college closer to home first,” he said. After taking college classes as a high school senior and then as a second-year CLC student on the Brainerd campus, he’s ready to go.
At Disney, Jeffrey’s role will be to work in quick-service food and beverage, where responsibilities may include selling at outdoor carts and/or indoor restaurants, taking and filling orders, preparing and assembling food items in a kitchen, cash handling, bussing tables, and working independently or as part of a large team.
Jeffrey’s theatrical interest began in sixth grade as Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” For the Madhatters of Wadena, he has performed lead roles. His first was at age 13 in the musical “Brigadoon.” A few years later he was recruited to play the leading role of a detective for the community’s murder-mystery dinner theatre troupe, which performed in several Wadena venues as well as a Perham resort.
Jeffrey’s experience in theatre at CLC includes acting in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “The Doctor In Spite of Himself,” and “When Life Hands You Lemons.”
He also plays euphonium in the CLC Community Band and has enjoyed intramural activities such as broomball sponsored by CLC Student Life.
In Florida during what is called the “Fall Advantage Quarter,” Jeffrey expects to add studies in business management and entrepreneurship. The five-month internship includes classes as well as networking opportunities. He said it is entirely possible that he could stay on at Disney following the internship.
As an intern he will earn a wage slightly above the minimum and pay only for textbooks. His award includes food, housing, and transportation throughout the massive resort complex.
Jeffrey and fellow Disney interns will live in an apartment that is part of a housing complex that attracts students from here and abroad. “I could have roommates from Japan or North Dakota, and I will enjoy meeting people from around the world,” he said.
His food service assignment includes a variety of venues and is sure to offer an array of tasks associated with feeding the masses. He has a background in food preparation.
“I enjoy cooking,” he said. For up to 25 hours per week, Jeffrey is with the kitchen detail at Woodland Good Samaritan Center in Brainerd. He has also worked in food prep at the Elders’ Home in New York Mills, a 54-bed skilled nursing facility.
As an intended theater major, Jeffrey said he hopes to broaden his knowledge base to open many doors in many directions. He also has acquired above-average computer skills as a 17-hour-per-week student worker in the college tech support area. His supervisor, Liz Tinsley, has watched the progress in his assignment at the computer commons.
“Jeff has shown great work ethic skills while working in the computer commons/help desk,” she said. “This will carry Jeff into a bright future. This is a wonderful opportunity and we all wish him the best of luck.”

Educator of Year from CLC

Betsy Picciano is one of 4 in Minnesota
Betsy Picciano of Central Lakes College is one of four college instructors in Minnesota to receive the highest academic honor, the Educator of the Year Award, from the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
Other Educator of the Year honorees are David I. Page of Inver Hills Community College, Pamela Anne Tranby of Riverland Community College, and Catherine Egenberger of Rochester Community and Technical College.
The four honorees were selected from among 33 Board of Trustees Outstanding Educators in the Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching award program. They are Paula Croonquist of Anoka-Ramsey Community College; Lori Halverson-Wente and Pam Whitfield, both of Rochester Community and Technical College and Mark Hickman of Dakota County Technical College.
“These faculty members demonstrate clear and consistent excellence in serving students and their communities,” said Scott Thiss, chair of the Board of Trustees. “When Minnesotans are enrolling in our colleges and universities in greatly increasing numbers, it’s gratifying to
know that faculty like these are preparing them for the future.”
Chancellor James H. McCormick said: “I am proud that we highlight the excellence of our faculty with these awards. The honorees exemplify what we value most in this system - high-quality teaching, learning and service.”
CLC’s Nancy Smith, a health instructor, was among those nominated.
“The nomination and selection process is very rigorous and participants face tough competition from their colleagues throughout the MnSCU system,” said Larry Lundblad, president of Central Lakes College, who attended the award event in St. Paul April 20.
President Lundblad had nominated Betsy and Nancy. “We are proud of our nominees and congratulate Betsy on her exceptional honor,” he said.
Picciano is an instructor of reading and college and career studies at CLC. Reviewers said her enthusiasm for educating students jumps off the pages of her portfolio. “She’s the type of instructor who can push her students in ways they didn’t know they could be pushed,” the Selection Committee announcement said.
“Her classroom techniques and ideas for serving the institution are ones that any teacher would want to borrow.”
Picciano’s use of the “Interview Stream” technology was cited as helping students
prepare carefully and realistically for getting a job. “She helps students understand their own strengths. Her use of a ‘contract’ teaches students the meaning of commitment and responsibility.”
Smith is retiring after 31 years.
The college’s enrollment is large enough to permit two nominees.
This is the fifth year that the board has presented its Excellence in
Teaching Awards. Each of the four honorees receives $5,000 and a
handcrafted medallion. A short video about the program featuring the
four award winners is available at botaward.mnscu.edu.

CLC alumna earns state award

Jennifer Perez ('07) is Trio Achiever
Jennifer Perez, a 2007 graduate of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, has been named a 2011 Minnesota Trio Achiever.
Perez, the first CLC graduate to attain the honor, received the award at the annual Trio conference in Chaska.
Trio is a national student support program that helps low-income and first-generation Americans complete college.
Sue Austin, assistant director of Trio Student Support Services at CLC, nominated Perez as an extraordinary participant who has obtained a college degree and is working within a field of choice.
Perez earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the College of St. Scholastica in 2009. She is a case manager for Lutheran Social Services, working with families to prevent homelessness.
“When Jennifer decided to begin college she was terrified,” said Austin, “but college was important to her and she believed education was the only way to make a better life for her and her daughter.”
Perez attributes her academic success to additional support she received through Trio Student Support Services at CLC. As a first-generation college student and single parent, she had to work hard to succeed.
She said that Trio advisers kept her focused on a positive life direction to complete her goal of college degrees.
Perez persisted while facing the challenges of poverty, stereotyping, relationship and peer group changes, transportation and childcare barriers and learning how to live differently.
“Jennifer’s ability to continue her education and overcome these challenges is what epitomizes a Trio Achiever,” said Austin, noting that the honoree is driven by a passion for assisting others to rise from poverty.
While a student at CLC, Perez participated on a panel for the Legislative Committee to End Poverty by 2020. She has worked for Advocates Against Domestic Abuse in Aitkin and has helped women see college as an opportunity through sharing her story.

2011 Awards Day

By Steve Waller, CLC Public Information Specialist
Central Lakes College 2011 Awards Day winners have been announced. Ceremonies were held recently at campuses in Brainerd and Staples.
Brainerd campus
Student Employee of the Year - Adam Schlangen, Watkins; CLC Department of the Year - Natural Resources; Club of the Year - Natural Resources; Club Advisor of the Year - Lori-Beth Larsen, International Club; Student Senate Executive Officer of the Year – Schlangen; Student Senator of the Year - Catie Sabin, Brainerd; Administrator of the Year - Rick Kangas, interim dean of enrollment and student services; Faculty of the Year - Kent Montgomery, natural resources; Staff of the Year - Myron Stevens, maintenance; Male Freshman of the Year - Cody Platta, Brainerd; Female Freshman of the Year - Melanie Mankowski, Brainerd; Male Sophomore of the Year - Santiago Continenza, Brainerd; Female Sophomore of the Year - Abra Fisk, Fort Ripley; Student of the Year - Steve Sabin.
Writing Awards – Co-sponsored by the CLC Foundation and Student Senate, the English Department presented awards in poetry, fiction, and essay writing judged by non-affiliated writers. Honorees were Poetry: 1. Kirsten Gudgeon, Staples; 2. Eric Bowman, St. Louis Park; 3. Neela Jarrott, Brainerd; Fiction: 1. Jason Rochelle, Deerwood; 2. Maggie Desmond O’Brien Tiede, Brainerd; 3. Jean Hopkins, Brainerd; Essay: 1. Cassidy Conklin, East Gull Lake; 2. Julie Jo Larson, Brainerd; 3. Rochelle.
Business Awards – Mary Monn, Little Falls, received the Paul Findorff Memorial Scholarship, and Mary Richards, Deerwood, received the Reese/Webb Family Memorial Scholarship.
Trio-Student Support Services – Marcus McDonald (pictured), South Daytona, Fla., received the Trio-Student Support Services Student of the Year award.
Natural Resources Awards – Matt Toenies, Randall; Brian Havrey, Aitkin; Wadena Lund, Brainerd; Laura Jean May, Little Falls.
Staples Campus
Student Employee of the Year - Jeremy Janousek, Staples; CLC Department of the Year – Diesel Technology; Club of the Year – Robotics; Club Advisor of the Year - Nate Peterson, robotics/automated systems; Student Senate Executive Officer of the Year - Tyler Acheson, Minneapolis; Student Senator of the Year - Rob Brown, Brainerd; Faculty of the Year - Mike Kuklok, heavy equipment operation and maintenance; Staff of the Year - Calvin Gudgeon, maintenance; Male Freshman of the Year - Dylan Arceneau, Belgrade; Female Freshman of the Year - Sharaea Bartlett, Sebeka; Male Sophomore of the Year - Brown; Female Sophomore of the Year - Alishia Zoch, Remer; Student of the Year - Mark Dahmes, Hawick; Heavy Equipment Student of the Year - Brown.
Academic Achievement Awards (4.0 GPA)
Aitkin – Sara Lindman, Elias Peterson.
Backus – Todd Malecha.
Baxter – Alexie Larson.
Bertha – Elizabeth Williams.
Brainerd – Melissa Anderson, Stephanie Burley, Rebecca Ellzey, Joseph Frink, Juli Hann, Scott Hubert, Sherri Huchel, Julie Larson, Bradley Mullen, Aidan Muller, Djamaluddin Paratmadi, Layne Risnes, Jill Schlegel, Margaret Tiede.
Breezy Point – Taylor White.
Chandler – Andrew Dirks.
Coon Rapids – Matthew Berscheid.
Cushing – Stephanie Trutwin.
Eagle Bend – Michelle Borchert, Vanessa Lenzen.
East Gull Lake – Cassidy Conklin.
Fifty Lakes – Elenea Igonina.
Fort Ripley – Golden Fisk, Kelsey Lindberg.
Freeport – Alissa Blommel, Beth Blommel.
Hackensack – Elizabeth Dodd.
Hawick – Mark Dahmes.
Ironton – Lainey Drevlow.
Little Falls – Ralph Finch.
Mankato – Jonathan Muller.
Melrose – Christine Cole.
Merrifield – Maria Anderson.
Motley – Ida Lombard.
Nisswa – Katey Hegstrom, Cari Lucas, Brad Waidelich, Philip Yeh, Jacob Weizenegger.
Ottertail – William Neumeister.
Pequot Lakes – Claire Erholtz, Jane Grangroth, Catie Burkhead, Natasha Gallett.
Pillager – Karen Barg.
Randall – Matthew Toenies.
Riverton – Jacob Frahm.
Sauk Centre – Maren Greenwaldt.
St. Cloud – Chelsey Hansen.
St. Louis Park – Eric Bowman.
Wadena – Shelly Arel.
Walker – Tammy Hanson, Keaton Pederson.