Bert's Alerts—Nov. 2, 2018
In the Spotlight
On Halloween, there were witches and pirates and... Gilligan? College of Western Idaho’s annual Employee Halloween Costume Contest, sponsored by the Culture and Employee Engagement Committee (CEEC), was a great success! Visit the CEEC site on myCWI to see all of this year’s entries and vote for your favorites! Voting closes at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5.
News Highlights
CWI Partners with Saint Alphonsus to Offer Training
Local partnerships are bringing resources together and positively impacting the workforce, offering an integrated education and training opportunity to College of Western Idaho’s English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The Environmental Services Pre-apprenticeship class, held twice a week at Saint Alphonsus in Boise, focuses on language and career development, preparing students to work in the healthcare industry as Environmental Services (EVS) Technicians.
“The demand to hire and retain hospital workers to sanitize and prepare rooms in the Boise Metro Valley is very strong right now,” said Talent Acquisition Partner for Saint Alphonsus Health System, Rance Portenier. “EVS Technicians are critical to the prevention of infectious outbreaks, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. The shortage of well-educated, capable EVS Technicians can be very detrimental to patient outcomes.”
Students in the class receive 80 hours of instruction and training including English language acquisition and literacy, job task and soft-skill training, and career navigation skills.
“Our class is very great,” said student, Linda Akike, who came to Idaho from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We are so excited to come and take this class because it helps us a lot. We learn things like how to clean, how to talk with the patients – a lot of very important things.”
Pierre Kamergeri, a classmate from the same Central African country, agreed adding, “It will be a foundation for our life.”
At the conclusion of the training, students are prepared to interview for and succeed in an EVS position. Once hired, the students are encouraged to continue training and education in order to move into additional health careers in high demand. Additionally, students hired by Saint Alphonsus will receive continuing education to become a Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technician, a nationally transferrable credential.
“The supportive services provided to our students by Saint Alphonsus and International Rescue Committee through this partnership have been an example to me of what ‘community’ really means,” said Trevi Hardy, ESL and Pathways Supervisor in CWI’s Basic Skills Education department. “This partnership is providing our students with real-life career and English language skills that will lead to full-time employment with a living wage, health care benefits, and opportunities for additional education and training.”
Thank you to the following Treasure Valley Health Careers Council EVS Project partners who help make this opportunity possible for our ESL students:
- Saint Alphonsus
- International Rescue Committee
- Metrics Reporting
- Idaho Department of Labor
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
- Goodwill International
To learn more about the EVS Pre-apprenticeship class, contact Trevi Hardy at 208.562.2014 or trevihardy@cwi.edu.
Scholarship Spotlight – Nichelle B.
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Major: Biology-Healthcare, Nursing
Graduation: 2021
Thank You: “As a single mother, this scholarship will come as immense help. Thank you for helping me achieve my dreams.”
Not going to college has never been an option for College of Western Idaho (CWI) student, Nichelle B. She shares, “I have always known I wanted to go into the medical field. CWI has made this path so clear and obtainable due to the staff, affordable tuition, available scholarships, and online classes. I couldn’t be any happier with my choice of a college.”
At 15, Nichelle found out she was expecting a baby. This news influenced her desire to graduate from high school early and go to college. During finals week in her first year of college, two trips to the hospital left Nichelle with an unfinished semester and student loans.
“In addition to that, the relationship I was in had become very unhealthy,” she said. “By the time I decided I needed to leave, I had two children.”
As a single mother, Nichelle worked multiple jobs in order to make her dream of an education possible, eventually choosing to attend CWI. As the recipient of the LTH Don’t Give Up Scholarship, Nichelle says because of scholarships like this she will be able to graduate debt free even as a single mom. Planning to continue her education after CWI, Nichelle would ultimately like to work as a surgical or trauma nurse.
“I have been able to become a positive example to my children. Even at such a young age they understand that to obtain your dreams, you have to challenge yourself—sometimes that means you have to be temporarily inconvenienced,” she said. “Because of CWI, our lives are changing.”
CWI Launches Practical Nursing Program
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) is proud to announce the addition of a new Practical Nursing program beginning January 2019.The three-semester curriculum (one calendar year) prepares students to become practical nurses by providing a combination of theory and practical instruction, as well as clinical experiences, in local healthcare facilities.
“CWI decided to start a Practical Nursing program after the Idaho Department of Labor and Idaho Hospital Association expressed a tremendous need within industry for these workers,” said Cathleen Currie, Dean of Health. “The College is excited to provide a pipeline, through this new program, helping to fill a vital role in healthcare. Local hospitals have already reached out to us offering clinical placements.”
Graduates will earn an intermediate technical certificate and are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination-Practical Nursing (NCLEX-PN). Once licensed, practical nurses work as an important member of the healthcare team in many settings including rehabilitation centers, long-term care and assisted living facilities, healthcare clinics, and correctional healthcare service facilities.
Applications for Spring 2019 semester are being accepted now through Nov. 15. For more information about the Practical Nursing program, including dates for upcoming Healthcare Information Sessions, please visit the program webpage or contact Andrew Miller at 208.562.2270 or andrewmiller@cwi.edu.
ASCWI Partners to Encourage Voting
Associated Students of College of Western Idaho (ASCWI) partnered with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to help CWI community members register to vote.
“CWI was the easiest and most accommodating to our volunteers for this new project,” said Chris Stokes, AAUW Boise Area Branch leader. “It has been wonderful to partner with CWI as we build this program into a sustainable, annual event.”
Student leaders talked with peers at various CWI locations. Additionally, they were invited into classrooms to speak on the importance of voting and helped students register and find their polling locations.
Make your voice heard, and exercise your right to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 6!
Día de los Muertos Celebrated at CWI
Each year, students in Janel Holt’s Spanish 101 class celebrate the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, by constructing an altar and placing ofrendas, or offerings, to memorialize those who have died. The project is connected to the course Signature Assignment, which focuses on the experiences of Mexican immigrants coming to the United States (U.S.) as seen from their point of view. Each skull represents one immigrant who has died crossing the U.S./Mexico border since about 2010. Information about trends in immigration and border deaths, as well as Day of the Dead traditions, are also included on the altar.
This year, students in Abby Wolford’s CWID 101: The Dead and the Undead class contributed to the project as well. Students learned about Día de los Muertos and placed their painted skulls on the altar. Students have spent the semester studying death traditions in the United States. This holiday and project were a nice way to look at how another country approaches death and the loss of loved ones.
“The connection to immigration is especially important this year as we see the stance our government is currently taking with immigrants and refugees,” said Holt. “Students get the opportunity to see immigration from the point of view of those trying to cross into the United States and understand the complex reasons that motivate them. This activity helps students understand that immigration is not as black and white as we are sometimes led to believe, and policies implemented by the U.S. often create instability in other countries, which results in increased immigration to the U.S..“
Declare Your Major Week a Success
What do you want to be when you grow up? Students were encouraged to answer this question during College of Western Idaho's Declare Your Major Week Oct. 8 – 11. Declare Your Major Week was created to motivate students to think about their degrees and career goals. Students also signed up for appointments with advisors for degree planning and confirmed their declared degrees.
During Declare Your Major Week students were able to:
- Mingle with professors and students from different majors. Over 24 majors were represented on Oct. 10 with more than 23 faculty present at both the Ada and Nampa campuses!
- “Fish” for their future careers. Students captured “fortune fish” and advisors introduced the myPlan tool to help them explore majors and careers.
- “Rock” their majors. Student Advising and Success (SAS) painted rocks and then hid them around CWI’s campuses. Students brought in the rocks to win prizes throughout the week.
- Show their “major pride”! Students voted for their majors and participated in an open mic session. Top majors included Psychology, Health Science, Studio Arts, and English.
SAS is excited to make Declare Your Major Week a bi-annual event. If you want to participate or have feedback, please contact Erin Peterson at erinpeterson@cwi.edu.
Common Read Series: Historical Documents
College of Western Idaho's Common Read Series presents Historical Documents Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Nampa Campus Academic Building. Join us for a panel discussion and information tables as students share their essays on historical documents. Documents discussed will include the Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail. The event will also have a bean bag toss and free pizza!
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018
Time: Panel Discussion 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
Information Tables 11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Nampa Campus Academic Building, second-floor atrium
Contact Jana McCurdy at 208.562.3317 or janamccurdy@cwi.edu for more information.
Guest Speaker—Dr. James Hanley
The College of Western Idaho Political Science program is proud to welcome guest speaker, Dr. James Hanley, to campus Wednesday, Nov. 7. Hanley is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Adrian College in Michigan and Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Students, employees, and members of the community are invited to join us for his lecture entitled: The Cult of Charismatic Leadership vs. the Republic.
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018
Time: 6 – 7 p.m.
Location: Ada County Campus Pintail Center common area
Contact Rob Harbaugh, Associate Professor of Political Science, at 208.562.3406 or robharbaugh@cwi.edu for more information.
Settlers of Catan Tournament—Nov. 10
Join the Business and Entrepreneurship Club for fun, light refreshments, and prizes at their tenth Settlers of Catan Tournament Saturday, Nov. 10.
The tournament, held at the Nampa Campus Academic Building from 1 – 6 p.m., will feature three rounds of play for all participants. Prizes for the tournament, sponsored by Phoenix Fire Games, will be awarded to the first and second-place winners. Admission is $10 for pre-registration and $12 at the door, paid by cash or check on-site.
Native Beading Expert to Visit Campus
The Inclusive Excellence Committee is hosting Native beading expert, Liz Mummy, Nov. 13 at College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Ada County Campus Pintail Center common area from 4 – 6 p.m. Mummy will be sharing her artistry and tradition in honor of Native American Heritage Month which takes place throughout the month of November.
In addition to discussing the history and significance of beadwork among Native peoples, she will be providing all the materials necessary for participants to make dream catchers. The beading workshop is free, open to the public, and will include participation by both the CWI and Boise State University Anthropology Clubs.
Contact Nikki Gorrell at 208.562.3403 or nikkigorrell@cwi.edu with questions or for more information.
Visiting Artist Series Welcomes Opal Theatre Company
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Visiting Artist Series is proud to welcome the Opal Theatre Company to campus Wednesday, Nov. 14. Josh Rippy, Adjunct Faculty of Theatre Arts at the College, will be bringing his theatre company to the Nampa Campus Academic Building for a dramatic reading of “The Minotaur” from 6 – 8 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
The Minotaur is a modern update of the classic Greek myth. Ariadne is an unhappy teenager who lives in a deeply dysfunctional home. Her father, Minos, is the despot ruler of Crete who loathes his wife for falling in love with a bull (a divine punishment by Poseidon for the failure of Minos to sacrifice the bull to honor him) and giving birth to a monster. Her mother despises anything else that came from her womb, meaning Ariadne. As a result, Ariadne is so lonely that she frequently visits the prison maze beneath the castle to talk and play Connect Four with her half-brother, a man with the head of a bull.
Playwright Ziegler dances with several interesting intellectual questions: Is love the key to happiness, or is happiness overrated? Are men much different from beasts? Most importantly, are our lives preordained by fate or do we have free will that allows us to choose our futures?
CWI’s Visiting Artist Series is made possible thanks to a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts, which is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fire Drill Results—Fall 2018
Fire drills have been completed at each of the College’s campus locations for the Fall 2018 semester. These drills are to prepare students, faculty, and staff for an organized evacuation in case of fire or other emergency.
Cybersecurity Awareness: Wi-Fi
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM). To help raise awareness and educate members of the college community on the importance of cybersecurity, IT will be offering tips and information. This week’s topic is free, public Wi-Fi.
Be careful when using Wi-Fi hotspots. When you connect to Wi-Fi, your communications may not be private unless you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN allows you to send and receive data across a public network as if you were actually on a private network, so anyone intruding on the Wi-Fi connection cannot see or capture your data or login credentials.
Attackers often set up “open” Wi-Fi access points with names similar to the name of the establishment. This fools users into using the attackers’ open network, allowing them to capture your keystrokes and spy on your communication. For example, when visiting a local Starbucks you may see two options for Wi-Fi, one called “Starbucks Wi-Fi” and one called “Free Starbucks Wi-Fi”. Most people will choose the free version, however, just because a network is free does not mean it is secure! If there are not signs telling you the name and password of the authentic network, you will not know which to choose unless you ask.
15 Tips to Staying Secure While Staying Connected
Contact Mike Wilson at mikewilson@cwi.edu or 208.562.3193 with questions or for more information, and stay tuned for more tips in future issues of Bert’s Alerts.
