CWI Compass Connect - June 12, 2019
Spotlight
Family and friends came together Wednesday, June 5, for a memorial dedication honoring long-time CWI employee, Joyce Bair. A beautiful stone, provided by her family, was unveiled in the College’s Native Plant Garden – one of her favorite places on campus. Joyce will be remembered for her many contributions to CWI’s science programs throughout her six-and-a-half years at the College.
News Highlights
Pioneering Idaho City Dual Credit Student
As the wind blows the top of Ponderosa pines, Idaho City High School senior, Jason Carignan, works on his dual credit chemistry homework at his house, which bumps up against a portion of the more than two-million acre Boise National Forest.
Carignan is the first high school student in Idaho City, a small town 36 miles northeast of Boise and known for its famous gold rush during the 1860s, to graduate with an associate degree through College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Dual Credit program. He hopes to inspire future graduates to get a two-year degree while attending high school in this remote town, and so does the school’s counselor Lynsey Bell.
“In a rural community, it is hard to get resources and access to college classes," said Bell. "However, with the state of Idaho, and flexible college’s, like CWI, we have been able to provide those opportunities. Seven years ago, we had one student taking dual credit classes. This year, we had 38.”
Carignan, who has a passion for computer software engineering, also enjoyed the Liberal Arts classes he took through Dual Credit.
“I hope more people do what I did, it was a lot of work, but well worth it,” said Carignan. “Don’t even look at the degree and how the credits transfer — all the classes you take make you a better person overall. The money and time saved are obviously awesome, but the lessons I’ve learned doing it are incredible! Learning that sometimes you have to give up doing fun stuff to get something done was a big part of it.”
Dual credit programs are a collaborative partnership between Idaho’s colleges, universities, and high schools to deliver college-level courses to high school students. This program gives students the opportunity to receive both high school and college credits for pre-approved courses. For CWI’s Director of Dual Credit, Stephen Crumrine, it is an exciting time of year — CWI provides more than 10,000 high school students in the state with dual credit and a growing number of students graduating with an associate degree.
“It is a wonderful accomplishment for a student to complete college at the same time graduating from high school. CWI Dual Credit is very proud of Jason and wish him the best on his academic future; he is certainly off to a great start,” said Crumrine.
Application for 2019-2020 Scholarships Open
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation scholarships application period is open once again for the 2019-20 academic year. One application makes applying for scholarships at CWI easy and provides students with a number of scholarship opportunities in the College’s academic and career-technical programs. More than 200 students received scholarships through the Foundation last year.
New scholarship opportunities are available for the 2019-20 academic year including the new Nagel Foundation Scholarship for second-year Career Technical Education students. Students interested in applying for scholarships must have the CWI admission application completed, be accepted, and have myCWI login information. The application closes July 31, 2019.
Visit the Grants and Scholarships page to learn more or apply.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Grab your family and friends and join us for CWI Night at the Boise Hawks Thursday, June 27! College of Western Idaho (CWI) is proud to partner with the Hawks for a night of baseball and fundraising. All are invited to attend as the Hawks take on the Eugene Emeralds Thursday, June 27.
Get a shaded seat on the third-base line in the CWI section for just $10. Spend $6 more and receive a voucher for a hot dog, chips, and a drink. $5 of each CWI group ticket purchased goes directly back to the SCORE Big Scholarship fund. We are excited to award yet another SCORE Big Scholarship during the game! Thank you to all who attended last year’s event which raised nearly $500 to support students
A Leafy Task
Early Childhood Education Preschool Co-Creation Project
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Early Childhood Education Preschool Laboratory participated in the Co-Creation Project with the Boise Art Museum this past semester. The Co-Creation Project facilitates opportunities for three- to five-year-old students to meet and work with professional artists. Through this collaboration, Boise Art Museum and early-learning partner classes document the meaningful work pre-school children create as artists and the role professional artists have in the learning process.
The College’s afternoon preschool class paired with local artist, April VanDeGrift, who is also Adjunct Faculty in the Art department at CWI. Early Childhood Education Instructor, Mary Griffin, worked with VanDeGrift, Early Childhood Education students, and the preschool children in the lab to document the children’s process and learning throughout the project. The finished, collaborative art work is currently on display at the Boise Art Museum through September.
Basic Skills Education Recognized for Community Impact
Congratulations to College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Basic Skills Education (BSE) program, recently recognized by Easterseals-Goodwill as a Community Partner during the organization’s Idaho Awards Celebration May 2, 2019. The following was presented by Easterseals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain President and CEO, Michelle Belknap, during the event in acknowledgement of this achievement and in appreciation of the College’s impact on the community:
"The community partner award recognizes a person or business that goes beyond normal business expectations to enhance the lives of the people we serve. This year we have three community partners in Idaho to recognize. This first community partner is the College of Western Idaho. Easterseals-Goodwill is one of three independent Goodwill organizations that was selected to implement a pilot program called GoodPaths, which helps retail workers advance their careers. GoodPaths, is a first-of-its-kind career navigation initiative aimed at the broader retail industry. We currently utilize this model in all of our retail stores, as well as with employers in the community that we partner with. Since October 2017, the Treasure Valley Healthcare Council, which includes community agencies such as us and the College of Western Idaho, have partnered with Saint Alphonsus to improve recruitment and retention efforts. CWI was the first of many community partners that expressed an interest and pursued our training to train their own staff. Because of CWI’s willingness to embrace the model, we were the first of the GoodPaths pilot sites across the nation to expand the coaching model outside Goodwill and the retail sector. With CWI’s excellent reputation, other partners followed suit and joined them in receiving the training, and to provide individuals and families within the community this great opportunity to experience the positive impact of an evidence based career coaching model. Thank you to the College of Western Idaho for partnering with us to help others."
“The BSE program at CWI relies on solid partnerships, like the one we have with Easterseals-Goodwill, to leverage services for the betterment of our students,” said BSE Director, Jac Webb. “Thank you to Easterseals-Goodwill for this honorable recognition!”