Bert's Alerts - May 13, 2016

Five College of Western Idaho (CWI) Dual Credit students are competing for $2,500 and a trip to California through a nation-wide contest aimed at promoting geothermal energy. The competition is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, in partnership with the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and the Idaho National Laboratory, to promote the future of clean energy. Students from Thomas Jefferson Charter School in Caldwell entered the competition as part of a CWI Dual Credit class project. Fifteen high school entries from Idaho, including two from Thomas Jefferson Charter, were selected to advance to the second round of the contest.

Emma Brickey, Rebecca Lamb, Dorla Rueda, Breanna Thompson, and Emma Siple make up the two Thomas Jefferson teams selected to advance in the contest. The project was part of Jamie Brunmeier’s biology 120 class, through which all five students are earning college credits from CWI. Thompson and Siple collaborated on one submission, while Brickey, Lamb, and Rueda partnered on another. Their entries required research on geothermal energy and creation of an infographic on the topic.

After being selected to advance to the regional round of the competition, both teams have been revising their work based on judges’ feedback. Updated infographics must be re-submitted by May 15 for consideration in the final, national round of the competition. The final phase of the competition will consist of developing and executing a social media campaign to promote the submitted infographic.

The winning teams selected from round three in both the high school and college categories will receive $2,500. The overall grand prize winner will receive $2,500 and a trip to the Geothermal Resource Council’s 40th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, Oct. 23-26. For more information on the competition, visit www.caesenergy.org/geothermaldesign/.  

A retired paramedic is stepping forward with a gift to the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation. Local business owner Joe Levitch has established a scholarship for students going through CWI’s Paramedic program. Levitch, who worked to save lives for nearly 40 years, says the scholarship is his way of paying it forward.

“This scholarship was a gift to me from my coworkers and (St. Luke’s Health Systems) on my retirement,” Levitch said. “I loved the profession. It shaped me and this is my legacy.”

Levitch started working in emergency medical services right out of high school. He became a paramedic in 1979 after completing his studies at Stanford University Medical Center. He moved to the Treasure Valley a short time later and continued his passion. Along with being a founding member of Saint Alphonsus Life Flight, he also worked for Ada County Paramedics and Air St. Luke’s.

“I like the concept of carrying things on,” he said. “Years ago, I paid for a friend’s paramedic education and he paid me back. I then used that money to pay for another paramedic education and they repaid me again—all the while the account was growing. I have helped very deserving people by loaning money to pay for people to go to school for years. They paid it back and the pot has grown. Now, it fills me up to give money to offset the cost of becoming paramedics.”

The Air St. Luke's/Joe Levitch Pay it Forward Paramedic Scholarship is available to full-time students enrolled in the Paramedic program, offered through CWI’s Workforce Development division. Applicants must be prepared to write an essay.

“For me, this is much more than a money thing,” Levitch said. “I want to be tied to your success and career. It means a lot to me that I am encouraging future generations to be great paramedics.”

The application period for this scholarship is currently open. The deadline to apply is May 31.

Students at Caldwell High School recently earned credit where credit is due. Thanks to a community effort between College of Western Idaho (CWI), the Whittenberger Foundation in Caldwell, and Boise State University, more than 50 students got a jump start on their college education. They collectively earned 728 credits through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP).

CWI’s CLEP Initiative

Over the past few years, CWI’s Dual Credit team has been actively working to help Spanish-speaking high school students earn college credit through native language skills testing. Students who successfully pass CLEP testing can earn between eight and 16 credits. The tests are conducted at Boise State’s Testing Services. The credits earned are kept in a national database for up to 20 years, and can be transferred to a student’s institution of choice when they are ready.

“The test isn’t the most important part of this; getting them here on campus is,” Steve Jenkins, CWI’s Dual Credit and College Readiness Project coordinator, said. “Exposing them to college is key.”

Students Who Benefit

Some of the students who recently tested say they have already chosen where they want to go to school. CWI, Boise State, and University of Idaho are among their top choices. Then there are a number of students like Max San Pedro who have yet to decide. Out of 80 possible points, he scored a 78—the second highest score to date.

“I know I want to work in the oil industry as an engineer,” San Pedro said. “But I don’t know where I want to go to school yet. I’m only a junior. I’m taking chemistry as a dual credit course. I just have to figure it out.”

That’s where people like Claudia Beltran can help. The Spanish teacher at Caldwell High School worked to expand this CLEP initiative to include all high school students who could benefit—not just juniors and seniors.

“One of the students testing here today isn’t even a native language speaker,” Beltran said. “Our goal is to give all students an incentive to go on.”

Partners Make it Happen

The Whittenberger Foundation played a large role in this day’s testing effort. The actual test and transportation cost per student is roughly $150. The Foundation awarded the CWI Foundation with a $5,000 grant to help cover the majority of the expenses.

“The Whittenberger Foundation chose CWI for this grant because of its focus on the youth of Southwest Idaho,” Scott Gipson, the Whittenberger Foundation’s board president, said.

In addition to the grant, Boise State provided students with lunch and allowed them to tour the campus. CWI also picked up some of the cost, and coordinated the testing.

“We could not do this without our valuable community partnerships,” Stephen Crumrine, CWI’s Director of Dual Credit, said. “This is a brand new initiative. We (CWI) are the only ones who are doing this, and we have the connections to make it happen.”

“Being a newer institution, it gives us the flexibility to offer these types of services,” Jenkins said. “Some of these students weren’t even thinking about going to college. Now they are. This is a catalyst to get them there.”

To date, the Dual Credit team has helped Treasure Valley high school students earn 2,213 college credits through CLEP testing.