Bert's Alerts - October 30, 2015
In the Spotlight
College of Western Idaho (CWI) hosted a Trunk or Treat event on Thursday, Oct. 29, which brought over 1,000 CWI students, employees, and community members to the Nampa Campus Academic Building. The turnout was a tremendous success, with attendance growing from 250 attendees at last year’s student Halloween event. Trunk or Treat was led by CWI’s United Registered Organizations and Clubs and saw 17 student clubs partner with five campus departments to host 20 trunks and 12 activity booths inside. Prizes were given for the three best costumes and best decorated trunk.
News Highlights
CWI Free Application Week is Nov. 9-16
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is continuing its efforts to help make higher education more accessible by waiving the College’s $25 application fee, Nov. 9-16. CWI has hosted its Free Application Week initiative since 2012 in an effort to encourage future students to take the first step in starting college.
In addition to waiving the application fee, CWI will also be hosting a FAFSA Completion Night event on Thursday, Nov. 12, to help future students complete their federal financial aid application. The event will be held at CWI’s Nampa Campus Micron Center for Professional Technical Education from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Directions
Anyone interested in applying to CWI can fill out the online application at cwi.edu/apply. For more information on becoming a student at CWI, visit cwi.edu/go.
LCSC Theatre Production Coming to CWI
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will host a free public theatre production in November as part of its Visiting Artist Series. The Lewis-Clark State College Silverthorne Theatre Program will host a pair of local performances of An Elaborate System of Ropes and Pulleys; a mind bending comic drama.
The curtain will raise on the show at CWI’s Nampa Campus Academic Building on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The group will host a second performance on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of The College of Idaho. Both performances are free and open to the public. The production does contain adult material and is not suitable for young children.
An Elaborate System of Ropes and Pulleys is a new play by Jef Petersen. This original production is a collaborative effort between LCSC and the University of Idaho and features original live music and puppetry to create the world of the play. The story follows a jaded and emotionally aloof, string theory physicist, Tess, who finds herself mysteriously shifting through time and space as she grapples with the loss of a loved one. Tess discovers that her scientific world is not orderly, but is in fact controlled by a vague and elaborate system of ropes and pulleys, with which she must reconcile her beliefs and understanding of self.
For more information on the performance at CWI, please contact Brenda Fisher at brendafisher@cwi.edu.
CWI Organizing Rake up Nampa Team
College of Western (CWI) employees are organizing a team for the annual Rake up Nampa event, which this year will take place Saturday, Nov. 14. CWI’s Culture and Employee Engagement Committee would like to encourage employees to sign up to help members of the community through this fantastic outreach opportunity. An email will be sent mid next week with more details. If you are interested, please email the committee at ceec@cwi.edu by Friday, Nov. 6.
Students Lead Shoe Donation Drive
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Exercise and Health Science Club is seeking donations to help provide opportunities for community members in need. The student group is collecting shoes as part of a repurpose partnership with Community Recycling. The club has set-up collection bins for the following types of shoes:
- Athletic sneakers
- Cleats
- Flats
- High heels
- Dress shoes
- Dress boots
- Work boots
- Fashion or casual sneakers
The club is currently unable to accept ski, snow, or winter boots, roller skates, roller blades, ice skates, rubber/foam shoes, flip flops, or slippers. Also, please do not donate broken, wet, muddy, or individual shoes.
Collection bins are located near security desks at the Nampa Campus Aspen Classroom Building, Academic Building, and Micron Center for Professional Technical Education, and Ada County Campus Pintail Center.
CWI Goes Purple for Domestic Violence Awareness
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) came together this week to take a stand against domestic violence. The CWI Student Conduct Office led an initiative that encouraged students and employees to wear purple on Wednesday (Oct. 28) in support of victims of domestic violence. Thanks to everyone that participated in the cause.
Art Contest to Showcase CWI Talent
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation is providing CWI students and alumni who are artistically inclined a chance to get recognized for their talent. The CWI Foundation is accepting entries for its annual art contest, which this year is themed: What does education give you?
Prizes will be awarded for first place ($125), second place ($100), and third place ($75). In addition to cash prizes, the Foundation may also turn the first place winner’s artwork into a holiday card that gets sent to friends of the College.
There is no fee to enter the contest. Official entry packets are available at all One Stop Student Services, Library, and Tutoring Services locations in Ada and Canyon counties, and at the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education One Stop and Tutoring. Packets are also available through the Art Department in the Nampa Campus Academic Building.
All entries—which must be 8 1/2 by 11 inch drawings—must be submitted to the Foundation office located in Suite 102 of the Nampa Campus Administration Building by 5 p.m. on Nov. 2.
Questions about the contest? Contact the CWI Foundation at foundation@cwi.edu or Brenda Fisher in the Art Department at brendafisher@cwi.edu.
Declare Your Major Week Helps Students
College of Western Idaho (CWI) hosted Declare Your Major Week, Oct. 19-23, which challenged students to ask what they want to be when they “grow up”. On average, college students change their major three times during college. Knowing a direction or pathway to success is very important to save time and money. Declare Your Major Week aims to get students thinking about a pathway.
The main attraction for Declare Your Major Week this semester was a booth at the Transfer Fair. The theme for the booth was Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! At the booth, students:
- Found answers to the question, “What can I do with this major?”
- Verified their declared major
- Scheduled an appointment to meet with a their professional advisor
- Won prizes
Declare Your Major Week would not have been a success without the participation of CWI’s Academic Transfer departments. Thank you to the Education, Communication, and Philosophy departments for promoting available majors.
Fall Semester Fire Drills Complete
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Fall semester fire drills have been completed. These fire drills/evacuations are designed to prepare students, faculty, and staff for an organized evacuation in case of a fire or other emergency requiring evacuation.
Each campus evacuated quickly and efficiently utilizing the evacuation routes specific to their area. The building administrators and floor captains did an outstanding job of clearing their assigned areas and reporting to the centralized location in a calm and professional manner.
You can view the results for each location at the safety announcements menu on the Environmental Safety and Health page on myCWI.
Thank you to everyone for your cooperation and participation in this process.
Halloween Contest Results Announced
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Culture and Employee Engagement Committee (CEEC) would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s employee Halloween Costume Contest. There were some great submissions for Halloween Costumes this year. The winners are:
Canyon County Campus
First Place: Christie Cremer
Second Place: Andy Jensen
Nampa Campus Aspen Creek Complex
First Place: Morriah Marks
Second Place: Joan Smith
Micron Center for Professional Technical Education
First Place: Kyle Nelson
Second Place: Oster Hernandez
Ada County Campus
First Place: Eric Smith
Second Place: Jennifer Wind
Nampa Campus Academic Building
First Place: Bryan Hess
Second Place: Kayla Adams
Honorable Mention: Tim Dienes
The winners will be receiving a tasty treat via inner office mail next week. To view more pictures of the Halloween Costumes seen around campus check out CEEC team site on myCWI.
Fall Festivus Invites Fierce Competition
Judging by the performances at College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) annual employee Fall Festivus on Friday, Oct. 23, reality show singers have some potential competition. Some of CWI’s best and bravest performers took the microphone during the festival’s first-ever Lip Sync Battle.
Performers from all different departments showed up ready to throw down. Round after round, a winner was chosen to advance to the next round by way of the crowd’s applause. The show-stopping performances ranged from the serious to downright entertaining. After seven, grueling head-to-head rounds, Andrea Schumaker—the Assistant Director of Admissions and One Stop—walked away as the event champion.
The festival, which was held at the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education, was hosted by CWI’s Culture and Employee Engagement Committee. In addition to the Lip Sync Battle, employees were invited to compete in a Chili Cook Off, bring canned food donations, and participate in a raffle. LaZonnia Miller won the Chili Cook Off and Grace Barnes won the raffle.
Thank you to everyone that helped coordinated this fun event, it was a day to remember.
