CWI Compass Connect - March 19, 2019

Dr. Yolonda Barnes, Advisor for College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, Beta Sigma Pi, has been selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants to receive an Advisor Convention Scholarship to the 2019 PTK International Catalyst Conference this April in Orlando, Florida. Also included in her award was a scholarship for Elizabeth Carter, President of Beta Sigma Pi. John Nahlen, Vice President of Fellowship for Beta Sigma Pi, will also attend the conference representing the College.

As part of the conference, Barnes will be discussing the importance of soft skills in career success during her workshop, “Soft Skills. The Total Package!”. Barnes will present the same workshop at CWI on Thursday, March 21, along with a mini-workshop on conflict styles and the workplace by Co-Advisor, Dr. Liza Long, at 10:30 a.m. at the Nampa Campus Academic Building in room 107F. The workshop is open to all Beta Sigma Pi honor students.

For more information about CWI's Beta Sigma Pi Honor Society, contact Dr. Yolonda Barnes, yolondabarnes@cwi.edu, or Dr. Liza Long, lizalong@cwi.edu.

English faculty member, Ryan Witt, represented College of Western Idaho (CWI) at the 2019 Conference on College Composition and Communication, a national writing studies conference, on Wednesday, March 13, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the conference, Witt facilitated a half-day workshop entitled, “The Art of Performing ‘This is Fine’: Addressing the Impact of Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Students, Teachers, and Programs”. His workshop, for writing teachers, writing program administrators, and writing center staff, focused on practical tools they can use to work with students who are struggling with the after effects of trauma in their lives.

The people in my field – just like my colleagues at CWI – are very focused on student success," said Witt. "The strategies we discussed in this workshop are critical for helping students from all backgrounds succeed. I look forward to expanding my use of these approaches at CWI and sharing them with colleagues."

Elizabeth Carter, the chapter President for College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Beta Sigma Pi organization, has been named a 2019 New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar by Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), an international honor society. Carter will receive a $2,250 scholarship to the college of her choice. Chosen from more than 2,000 applicants across the United States, Carter was the top scoring student from Idaho in the All USA Academic Team competition.

The scholarship program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Foundation and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, with additional support provided by the American Association of Community Colleges and PTK. Carter will be recognized for her achievements at the Annual PTK President’s Breakfast during the annual American Association of Community Colleges Convention, Monday, April 15, 2019, in Orlando, Florida. She will also be presenting a paper at a conference in Las Vegas that weekend, along with Beta Sigma Pi Advisor, Dr. Yolonda Barnes.

“I am surprised and blessed,” Carter said upon learning that she had won the scholarship.

Carter has led the Beta Sigma Pi chapter to numerous achievements, including achieving five star status. The chapter is competing for eight awards at the PTK International Catalyst conference in April.

For more information, contact PTK Advisors Dr. Yolonda Barnes at yolondabarnes@cwi.edu or Dr. Liza Long at lizalong@cwi.edu.

College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Visual and Performing Arts Department is proud to be hosting the third-annual Juried Art Show. College and high school students across the Treasure Valley are invited to submit artwork. Selected works will be displayed in the CWI Art Gallery during the College’s annual Connections Project event, April 25, and will remain on display through early September. One artist’s work, selected by a juror, will receive the Connection’s Excellence Award and be honored during the awards ceremony. The selected artist will additionally receive a $100 prize.

Last year, the exhibition was honored to have John McMahon, the Artist Services Director for the Idaho Commission on the Arts and a professional artist, serve as juror. McMahon selected 17 works to be featured at the Connections Project event selecting “Til We Part Media”, a drawing of a swinging bench by Rheanna Danes, as the winner of the 2018 Juried Art Show.

Dan Scott, a professional artist and Art Department Chair at Boise State University, has been selected as the juror for this year’s Juried Art Show.

Artwork must be submitted by Friday, March 22. For full submission details please visit the Connection’s Project submissions page or email juriedartshow@cwi.edu with questions.

Mark your calendars for this year's Connections Project, April 25, 2019, at the Nampa Campus Academic Building from 3-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

On Thursday, Feb. 28, Student Advising and Success and Student Engagement teamed up to host an open discussion with College of Western Idaho (CWI) students who entered the country as refugees. A refugee is a person that has fled their home country to another because of persecution due to race, religion, political opinion, ethnicity, or nationality. Boise is one of two resettlement cities in Idaho in which newly arrived refugees are resettled. Since the 1980s, Idaho has resettled thousands of families and people which have fled ethnic cleansing, territorial conflicts, political unrest, and religious prosecution. Within the last decade, the majority of peoples resettled to Idaho have been from Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Burma, Bhutan, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Current data for the number of CWI students identifying as a refugee are unknown.

Attendees of the meeting ranged from first-semester students to alumni who discussed their successes, barriers, and frustrations experienced as a student. Many of the topics discussed were found to be common among the refugee students. Participants had a positive experience working through their struggles together with the help of CWI resources and faculty.

Common topics included:

• Refugee students face language barriers in the classroom.
• About half of the refugee students care for other dependent family members other than children (i.e., parents, siblings).
• Refugees come to the United States with a college education already. Despite this, many of their credits do not transfer, and they are starting over.
• Most have a desire to befriend domestic students to help them with notes, study, talk with, etc., but they often are too scared to make the first move to start a friendship.
• Terms that may be familiar to domestic students are not easily understood by refugee students (i.e., FAFSA).
• Many students struggle to balance work, school, and the caring of their children and/or other family members.

Students interested in joining the conversation are welcome at the next International and Refugee Student meeting at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, at the Ada County Campus Pintail Center in room 1204.

Flyer: International and Refugee Student Meeting

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2019 Innovation in Action Awards!  We had twenty-two great examples of the work faculty are doing in and out of the classroom that create effective, meaningful, and impactful learning experiences for our students.  With 79 votes, Arts and Humanities took away the school trophy with individual category winners going to the following: 

Scholarship of Research: Kim Scheffer, for her work researching college persistence of Hispanic community college students. 
   
Scholarship of Application: Ryan Witt, for partnering with the CWI Communications and Marketing team to provide students an opportunity to apply rhetorical appeals to community projects.   

Scholarship of Integrative Learning: Nikki Gorrell, for her work to help our Anthropology students create a learning experience for middle school students around the larger themes of Ecological Stewardship, Global Citizenship, Anthropology and Native American Heritage.   

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Meagan Newberry, for her work to successfully incorporate peer feedback in her classroom through the use of online platforms and effective instructional methodology.   

Faculty were provided an opportunity to share their work and experiences with their colleagues during the Professional Development Day on March 1, 2019, through lightning presentations, a poster session, and interactive panel presentations.