CWI Compass Connect - April 1, 2014
In the Spotlight
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Skills On Wheels Car Show returns to campus on Saturday, April 5, transforming the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education into a showroom of muscle cars, stock cars, eighteen wheelers, motorcycles, and more. The event will serve as a fundraiser for CWI SkillsUSA to help students travel to the organization’s national competition this summer. Admission is $5 for adults and free for kids 12 and under.
News Highlights
CWI Speech and Debate Places Second at Nationals
College of Western Idaho (CWI) Speech and Debate has capped the 2013-14 season in successful fashion, earning a second place finish among two-year colleges at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., March 21-23. The runner-up honor continues an incredible run of success at nationals for CWI, following first place finishes in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
CWI was represented by 12 students at the national competition, which included participants from 80 colleges and universities across the United States this year. CWI competitors received individual recognition for excellence in both speech and debate events, resulting in a first-place debate honor for the team and the second-place finish for overall sweepstakes.
Luke Yeates and Nathaneal McBride led the way for CWI with individual honors in both speech and debate events. They were joined by Megan Greco and Matt Mudd in achieving individual awards.
OVERALL RESULTS
Second Place Overall Sweepstakes, Two-Year Schools
First Place Debate Events, Two-Year Schools
DEBATE
Luke Yeates - Second Place Open IPDA
Nathaneal McBride - Sixth place Overall Speaker Open IPDA
Megan Greco - 10th Place Speaker Novice IPDA
SPEECH
Luke Yeates and Nathaneal McBride - Duo Improv Semifinalists
Matt Mudd - Impromptu Silver Award
CWI Students Enjoy Historic Spring Break
A group of College of Western Idaho (CWI) students took a non-traditional approach to spring break this year heading to Celebration Park, south of Melba, for a week of work, learning, and fun. Members of the CWI Anthropology and Geology clubs spent March 24-29 mapping and recording petroglyphs at the park, kicking-off a multi-year collaboration with the Canyon County Parks, Recreation and Waterways department.
“This opportunity has been tremendous for our students,” says Social and Behavioral Sciences Instructor, Nikki Gorrell. “The experience is providing a really valuable component to their education, giving them a chance to take anthropological theory and apply it to real world context. Along with the field experience, they are also learning teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and critical thinking.”
Gorrell says 15-20 students participated in the project each day, including a core group that camped out all week at the park. Students from the Geology Club helped create GPS mapping, while Anthropology Club students recorded and photographed the glyphs. She says the focal point for the group is recording the glyphs according to guidelines established by the American Rock Art Association, which has never been done at Celebration Park.
“On an academic level this is just incredible, because it is real field experience,” says Anthropology Club President, Jessica Mylan. “For me personally, it is really fulfilling because I get to do this with an incredibly smart group of people who are also some of my best friends. If we could, I would do this for another week.”
According to Gorrell, the goal is to make the partnership a multi-year project to allow students an opportunity to help continue moving the data collection forward.
“It is so rewarding to know we are part of starting this project,” Mylan says. “I hope I can come back and help again next year, if not for 10 more years, to see the project through.”
Writing Tutors Present Research at National Conference
In March, the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Writing Center proudly sent a tutoring staff duo to the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Indianapolis, Ind. The tutors, Rachel Durrant and Georgianna Collins, were two of just a handful of undergraduates who presented their work at the prestigious national conference. The conference is primarily attended by professors and writing program administrators from colleges and universities around the country.
Durrant and Collins presented their work with using Multiple Intelligence Theory in writing center consultations. Their work investigates the relationship between the ways a student learns and how that can be used in targeted tutoring strategies.
The research done by Durrant and Collins is completely original and has never been approached in a higher education setting. The presentation went so well, that Durrant and Collins were encouraged to submit a proposal to present further developments in their research at next year’s conference.
“The impact of this study could be monumental,” says CWI Writing Center Coordinator, Rick Coonrod. “It will be interesting to see how this will change the way we approach the tutoring of writing at CWI.”
Dental Assisting Participates in Elementary School Presentation
On Tuesday, March 18, students from the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Dental Assisting program participated in a Lessons in a Lunch Box presentation at Heights Elementary School in Middleton to promote oral health literacy. Five CWI students, along with one instructor, were on-hand to demonstrate proper brushing and flossing techniques to the children.
Lessons in a Lunch Box: Healthy Teeth Essentials & Facts about Snacks is designed to empower children and their families with knowledge about routine dental care, oral health maintenance, and good dietary choices using a “dentally designed” lunch box. The lunch box contains a My Plate, a USDA nutritional diagram, along with instructions on how to brush and floss. The lunch box also provides children with their very own “Dental Care in a Carrot” case that includes a carrot-shaped toothbrush case, toothpaste, dental floss, and a rinse cup.
Dr. Maria Martinez, from Middleton Dental, organized the event and presented information to the children about healthy snacks and brushing and flossing. The event provided 180 lunch boxes for the children.
“This was a great event for our program to participate in,” says CWI Dental Assisting Program Chair and Assistant Professor, Elaine Laursen. “The children were very excited to receive a lunch box. Some children commented they don’t have dental floss at home. My hope is that those children go home and tell mom and dad about the importance of flossing and that dental floss becomes a regular staple in the home.”
Laursen also says she would like to thank Dr. Martinez for providing this tremendous opportunity, giving CWI students the chance to serve the community with the skills and knowledge they have developing in the Dental Assisting program.
College of Western Idaho to Explore Social Issues in a Digital Age
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to announce a dynamic event intended to engage the Treasure Valley in a thought provoking examination of some of today’s biggest social issues. On April 18 (Friday), the CWI Social and Human Relations Department will host a free public symposium, Social Relations in a Digital Age, to dive deep into the everyday impact of technology on relationships, education, crime, and more.
The symposium, scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the CWI Nampa Campus Academic Building, will focus on three themes: Social Relations in a Digital Age; Education in a Digital Age; and Technology and Society. Some of the event highlights include:
- Panel discussion with local high school students on Teen Relationships in a Digital Age
- Presentation by Dr. Eric Kellerer from Northwest Nazarene University on Education in a Digital Age
- Presentation by Nampa Police Detectives on Law Enforcement in a Digital Age
- Keynote by Idaho Deputy Attorney General Casey Hemmer on Internet Crimes Against Children
Various organizations will also be providing social technology demonstrations, resources to help the community stay informed, and updates on the social impact of technology. See the attached schedule for more details.
CWI Night at the Steelheads
College of Western Idaho (CWI) invites employees, students, alumni, friends, and family to support student scholarships by taking in CWI Night at the Steelheads, Friday (April 4), at CenturyLink Arena. CWI has partnered with the Idaho Steelheads hockey team to offer discounted $15 tickets, of which $5 will be donated to the CWI Foundation for student scholarships. The puck drops at 7:10 p.m. and the game is sure to provide a fun night in downtown Boise. To purchase tickets, visit:
www.igrouptix.com/idahosteelheads
Username: CWI
Password: TICKETS
CWI Hosting STEM Out! Event
College of Western Idaho (CWI) will be presenting a day of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) exploration, April 26, as STEM Out! Into PTE returns to the Micron Center for Professional Technical Education. The event is intended to help connect girls, grades 6-9, to STEM and Professional Technical Education opportunities.
The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. Attendees will learn about careers in STEM, experience demonstrations of some of CWI’s professional-technical programs, participate in hands-on STEM related workshops, and have fun. CWI and Idaho's Career Pioneer Network are sponsoring the event.
The event is free. Lunch and materials will be provided. Registration is required and space is limited. To register, visit stem.signupsheet.com. For more information, contact Allison Molitor at allisonmolitor@cwi.edu or 208.562.2378.
