CWI Compass Connect - March 5, 2019
Spotlight
College of Western Idaho's Student Engagement team hosted a trip for #mightyCWI students to the Idaho Black History Museum, in Boise, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, in honor of Black History Month. "It was a great experience," said Tim Cornell, a Liberal Arts student. "For someone who has lived in Idaho my whole life, there are a lot of things I haven't looked into. Going to the Idaho Black History Museum was a great opportunity to explore Idaho's history."
News Highlights
CWI Night Takes the Ice
Thank you to all who supported CWI Night at the Idaho Steelheads on Friday, Feb. 22! The game, against the Tulsa Oilers, began with a ceremonial puck drop on the ice by College of Western Idaho (CWI) Professional Nursing student, Mike Tinker, his wife, Danielle, a 2016 graduate from the Professional Nursing program, and their boys, Jace and Brooks.
Congratulations to Denise Leon, a senior from Caldwell High School, who was awarded the $1,000 SCORE Big Scholarship. Enrollment Counselors, Eddie Villanueva and Heath Olson, drew ten additional names during the game for the SCORE Big 2.0 Scholarship giveaway. Each of the ten future students will receive a $500 scholarship.
“We were thrilled to give away $6,000 in scholarships to future CWI students at this event,” said Jeneé Snyder, Director of Financial Aid. “The SCORE Big Scholarship fund has grown tremendously since its creation just a few years ago, and this is exciting!”
The CWI section was full of future and current students, alumni, faculty, staff, and members of the CWI community. President Bert Glandon, members of the CWI Foundation, Financial Aid, Communications and Marketing, and Enrollment teams hosted all-star alumni in the CWI suite. Between quarters, the big screen showcased a video created by CWI student, Andrew Clark, while guests of the suite were spotted on the Zamboni, and Blue, the Idaho Steelheads mascot, greeted fans sporting a CWI backpack.
“This event brings great visibility and awareness to the opportunities available at CWI in a fun and engaging way,” said Assistant Vice President, Patrick Tanner. “It was wonderful to see our community being so supportive of our prospective, current, and former students.”
A big shout out to CWI staff members, Luis Caloca and Laurie Barone, for their efforts in promoting group ticket sales which raised more than $600! The funds, presented to the CWI Foundation by Idaho Steelheads Senior Account Executive, Steven Anderson, will go directly back to the SCORE Big Scholarship fund.
Join us this summer for CWI Night at the Boise Hawks—stay tuned for more information!
Visiting Writer Series Welcomes Reema Zaman
College of Western Idaho’s English department Writers and Words Reading Series is bringing Storyfort to you! Join us as we welcome award-winning author, speaker, and actress, Reema Zaman, to the Nampa Campus Academic Building Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m., for a reading of her memoir, I Am Yours, followed by a Q&A session.
Zaman, an award-winning author, speaker, and actress, was born in Bangladesh, raised in Hawaii and Thailand, and presently lives in Oregon. She is Oregon Literary Arts’ Writer of Color Fellow for 2018. Her essays have been published in The Guardian, The Rumpus, Narratively, SHAPE, VIDA, and elsewhere. She proudly partners with various organizations, like Girls Inc. and Literary Arts, to help empower diverse voices, both youthful and older, spanning cultures.
Her memoir, I Am Yours, published by Amberjack Publishing, was released in February 2019 and has received glowing reviews. Lidia Yuknavitch, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Joan and fiction headliner at Storyfort 2018 writes, “My heart just burst into a thousand songs after reading I Am Yours by Reema Zaman. From the first word to the last, this story is phenomenal triumph of one woman's body and voice rising up and through a culture that would quiet her. Moving through experience and language without flinching, Zaman reminds us that to have a body is to bring a soul to life. A stunning debut."
This do not miss event, part of the Visiting Writer Series, is free and open to the public. Contact Malia Collins at maliacollins@cwi.edu for questions or to learn more.
2019 Juried Art Show
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.
INBRE: Paid Summer Research Opportunities
College of Western Idaho (CWI) is excited to offer paid summer research opportunities for students through the Idaho INBRE Research Program. Students will earn $1,500 for three weeks of full-time work from July 8 to 26, 2019. Eight positions are available for CWI students and no prior research experience is needed.
The INBRE Scholars program will give students the chance to immerse themselves in scientific research for three weeks. They will delve deeply into the research project and carefully investigate a research question. Students will learn to analyze and interpret the results, and the project will culminate with the design of a scientific poster which will be presented at the INBRE Research Conference in Moscow, Idaho.
Through this process, scholars will develop and utilize quantitative reasoning skills and integrate scholastic learning with many aspects of the project. This program will give students the opportunity to participate in original scientific discovery while furthering their education and having fun!
Application deadline is April 5, 2019. Click here to apply and learn more about the program. If you have additional questions, contact Dr. Suzanne Oppenheimer at suzanneoppenheimer@cwi.edu.
This program is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health and is contingent upon continued INBRE funding to CWI.
Local Entrepreneur Series Welcomes Joshua Adams
Join us Friday, March 8, from 11 a.m. to noon, at the Nampa Campus Academic Building in room 102/104, as the Local Entrepreneurs Series, presented by College of Western Idaho’s Business Department and Entrepreneurs Club, welcomes Joshua Adams to campus.
Adams has over 15 years of experience in his field, six of them as founder, CEO, and President of Paradigm Roofing Group – which has become the highest rated, fastest growing roofing company in the state with 35 employees and redefining what it means to be a home improvement contractor. Winning awards for customer service through Yelp, Angie's list, Home Advisor, and the Better Business Bureau, Paradigm is redefining the standards of their industry with a team of young, bright talent focused on the customer experience.
Writing the Novel Event
Storyfort and College of Western Idaho are proud to present Writing the Novel – an intimate conversation, reading, and novel-writing discussion with novelists, Jonathan Evison and Jamie Ford. Join us as we discuss their novels, Lawn Boy and Songs of Willow Frost, and explore the craft, process, grit, and art of assembling and delivering a quality novel.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
MING Studios
Writing the Novel is a ticketed event, but free and open to all with a suggested donation of $10. Tickets are available online or at the door as space allows. The author’s novels, Lawn Boy and Songs of Willow Frost, are available for purchase at the CWI Bookstore located at the Nampa Campus Micron Education Center.
Students Paint with Internationally-Known Deaf Artist
College of Western Idaho’s Visiting Artist Series welcomed Nancy Rourke, an internationally-known Deaf activist and professional artist, to campus Feb. 19 and 20. In addition to a lecture, Rourke hosted a hands-on painting workshop where students were given the opportunity to paint one of Rourke’s original paintings about the deaf experience. The painting, comprised of the hand shapes used to spell the word L-O-V-E in American Sign Language, was created using the colors red, yellow, and blue.
“The use primary colors is part of Rourkeism, an artistic movement,” explained Rourke. “Each color has meaning. The colors in the hand shapes indicate a diversity of people and an inclusion of people of color. We talk about how to use opposite colors to give balance. This helps people have a feel for what the artist is conveying.”
The College’s Visiting Artist Series, made possible through a grant from Idaho Commission on the Arts, features visual and performing artists through a series of workshops, lectures, and performances. The CWI Foundation and Wishing Well Fund, created to support student learning, helped make this particular event a great success and enjoyable time for students.
“For our students to interact with professional artists is a great opportunity,” said Art instructor, Goran Fazil.
Visit CWI on Facebook to watch Rourke's Live With 5 interview. Stay tuned for information on the next Visiting Artist event in March which will feature the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.
PTK President Selected as Rocky Mountain-Cascade Region Flag Bearer
College of Western Idaho’s Beta Sigma Pi Chapter President, Elizabeth Carter, was selected from all regional applicants as the Rocky Mountain-Cascade Region Flag Bearer for the 2019 International PTK Catalyst Conference. The Parade of State Flags and the Roll Call of States will be presented during the opening session of the conference. Carter was nominated by Dr. Yolonda Barnes and Dr. Liza Long, Beta Sigma Pi advisors.
“Elizabeth has shown great leadership over the past year as CWI’s PTK Honor Society President,” Dr. Barnes said. “We were happy to nominate her and are thrilled she is receiving this deserved recognition for her achievements. She was chosen from hundreds of community college students in our region! We are very proud!”
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
Settlers of Catan Tournament—March 16
Join the Business and Entrepreneurship Club for fun, light refreshments, and prizes at their next Settlers of Catan Tournament Saturday, March 16.
The tournament, held at the Nampa Campus Academic Building from 1 – 6 p.m., will feature three rounds of play for all participants. Prizes for the tournament, sponsored by Phoenix Fire Games, will be awarded to the first and second-place winners. Admission is $10 for pre-registration and $12 at the door, paid by cash or check on-site.
Community College Luncheon Highlights Student Success
On Feb. 18, 2019, College of Western Idaho (CWI) President, Bert Glandon, and his counterparts from Idaho’s three other community colleges, hosted the annual Idaho Community College Luncheon for legislators. The annual luncheon, which highlights student success, provided students an opportunity to engage with legislators and thank them for their continued support of community colleges.
Elizabeth Carter, CWI Beta Sigma Pi Chapter President, spoke to the group about her experiences as a child watching her father search for gold, inspiring audience members to pursue their passions and overcome obstacles.
Following the luncheon, students attended an awards ceremony for the Idaho All State Academic Team in Governor Brad Little’s office at the Idaho State Capitol. During the ceremony, CWI student scholars Elizabeth Carter, Sarah Knowlton, Charity Watson, Kami Tuohy, and Amelia Miller were presented with individual All Idaho Academic Team Medals by Lieutenant Governor, Janice McGeachin.
