CWI Compass Connect - May 26, 2020
News Highlights
Students Launch Suicide Prevention Website
Marketing and Communication students at College of Western Idaho (CWI) launched an ambitious project called Hope for Idaho this semester with Dan Garrity, Marketing and Communication Faculty, to produce a website highlighting suicide prevention.
Students in three separate classes of Garrity’s – Multimedia Storytelling, Intro to Video Production, and Principles of Promotion – embarked on the project and worked together to complete the website.
“It’s been a dream of mine for quite some time,” said Garrity. “I’ve always been impressed with how excited and motivated students get when they see how they can apply what they’re studying to a real-world issue of social justice.”
“I think the biggest thing that has impacted me emotionally is just how everyone came together to build this,” says student, Jacob Ronnow. “I’ve had a lot of classes over the years where I didn’t even know the name of the person sitting next to me. But we aren’t just a class. I feel like we’ve become a team working on this. And it’s really built a sense of community within our small group that’s gotten to me emotionally. It’s quite beautiful how everyone puts so much into their own little contribution.”
Students had an opportunity to use the storytelling skills they cultivated over the semester to illustrate the importance of addressing suicide awareness in the community and shine a light on the issue with their stories.
Garrity continued, “It’s a very sensitive topic. It turns out we didn’t have to go outside of our own classroom. All the stories on the site come from students in one class, our class. It just convinced me even further how rampant the issue is and how important it was to start a dialogue. Now we’re anxious to see what kind of a difference we can make with the broader community.”
To explore videos, podcasts, and stories generated by the class - visit the Hope for Idaho website.
Faculty of Distinction—April 2020
Congratulations to Luke Yeates, College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Faculty of Distinction for April 2020. After graduating from CWI in 2014, Yeates went on to finish a bachelor’s degree in Communication, Media, and Journalism and a master’s in Communication at Boise State University. While there, he competed on the University’s debate team, the Talkin’ Broncos, and taught Communication classes as a graduate assistant for two years. Yeates returned to CWI in the fall of 2019 to teach Communication full time and take over as Director of Forensics.
“I knew I wanted to be a teacher back when I was a student at CWI,” Yeates recalled. “I was at a debate competition as a student, and one of my coaches commented that I might make a good coach. I took that to heart and decided to make it my chosen profession.”
Taking on the task of coaching CWI’s nationally-recognized Speech and Debate team is a dream come true for Yeates. Devoting countless hours of his time to this cause, he works relentlessly to uphold the high level of achievement the team has demonstrated for years.
“I remember the first student I recruited to the debate team,” he said. “It was my first week of teaching. The team only had four returning members on it, and I was supposed to take over the entire program. I taught a night class that semester. Lydia Shearman, a now decorated member of the team, was in that class. I asked if she wanted to come debate for the College. She accepted my offer, and that was it – that was the moment I knew I could do this work.”
“Luke has been a phenomenal asset to the Speech and Debate team,” said Shearman. “This past year has been incredibly unprecedented, and he has handled it with grace, checking on each of his students, not only prioritizing their education but their physical and mental well-being. I look forward to my future at CWI because of him and the positive impact he's had on not only my life but the family I've come to know at CWI.”
As both a coach and an instructor, Yeates demonstrates dedication, care, and commitment to the success of his students and the College as a whole.
“Luke has repeatedly expressed his position at CWI as his ‘dream job’,” said Jim Gatfield, Department Chair of Communication, Media Arts, and Marketing. “He is exactly what we want to see – a faculty member who understands and cares about his students because he was once one of those students. Luke approaches the classroom with a passion that is infectious. His care for this school, his students, and fellow faculty is perfectly evident through his genuine, heartfelt, and skilled engagement in all of his duties. Luke understands what it’s like to come back to school, try something new, and learn who you really are through grit and determination. He is truly fearless.”
Born and raised in Idaho, Yeates has always called the Treasure Valley home. While he enjoys film photography, shooting with rangefinders, and is a huge movie buff – debate is a big part of who he is and where he focuses most of his time.
“I wasn’t anything special when I came to CWI,” he said. “Because of CWI, I have meaning in my career. Everything I am now came from choosing CWI… all of it! CWI empowers people to be more than they ever thought was possible.”
Making the Move
Tehani Schnupp, a first-year Marketing Communications and Media Arts student at CWI, also wears the titles of wife and mother. Most days for her are full of what she refers to as “organized chaos”, especially these last two months as she has been working hard to finish up the semester in the midst of a pandemic.
“My husband and I have five kids ranging in age from sixteen to five years old,” Schnupp explained. “Our kids attend four different schools including high school, middle school, elementary, and preschool, and of course, all our kids are in sports or music lessons year-round. Needless to say, there are always dishes in my sink, and the laundry is never done.”
While her decision to go back to school was scary and intimidating, Schnupp wanted to find a career that would allow her to earn a livable income while working remotely in order to spend more time with her kids.
“The greatest challenge on my educational journey has been finding balance between my family life and my full-time student life which has demanded a level of organization I did not have prior. This challenge has forced me to find creative, problem-solving solutions. I try not to forget to stop and laugh from time to time – like the time I was studying for finals while cooking French toast for my kids and grabbed what I thought was cinnamon but actually cayenne pepper. I am now barred from cooking during finals week. It may take years for them to trust me to make them French toast again!”
As a student at CWI, Schnupp has had many memorable and enriching experiences including sharing her story as part of the Mom’s Next Move promotional campaign with 107.9 Lite FM, interviewing Shannon Decker from The Speedy Foundation to promote a suicide prevention website, and building and executing a marketing campaign for a local, Boise-based business.
“These and several other experiences at CWI have brought richness to my education by giving me direct, real-world experience as well as solidifying to myself I am in an industry I love.”
Encouragement from faculty, like Dan Garrity, have made a powerful and lasting impact on her education.
“For anyone who has ever met Professor Garrity, you cannot sit in a room with him for longer than five minutes without feeling how deeply he is invested in his students. This investment goes much further than a letter grade. He works to take each and every one of his students and empower them to find their way.”
Schnupp hopes by sharing her story she will inspire other mom's to consider their next move, and if that next move is education, she says to go for it!
“CWI took a shy and quiet mom and made me into a fierce, strong, and career-driven woman. This transition happened because of unmatched professors, an advisor who should be promoted to sainthood (Teresa Martinez), and curriculum that has prepared me for the world. Because of CWI, I believe I am capable of achieving anything!”
Following graduation from CWI, Schnupp plans to transfer to Boise State University to study Public Relations.
Are you, or a mom you know, ready to make the move? Nominations for this year’s Mom’s Next Move one year, full-tuition scholarship giveaway are open now through Friday, May 15!
Visiting Artist Series Hosted Matt Bodett
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Visiting Artist Series welcomed Chicago artist, Matt Bodett, Friday, May 8 via Zoom. Studio Art students were privileged to learn from Bodett’s expertise as well as ask him questions.
Bodett received his Master of Fine Arts from Boise State University in 2011 where he taught printmaking until he moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 2013. Since moving to Chicago he has played an active role in disability advocacy and utilizing artwork to open dialogue around mental health. As a visual artist, poet, and performance artist, Bodett has had opportunities to share his work at venues throughout Chicago including Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, The Poetry Foundation, Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Evanston Art Center, Gallery 400, and several other locations. Bodett has also exhibited and performed internationally, most notably at the Freud Museum in London and the No Limits Festival in Berlin. Matt is on the advisory board for the Institute for Therapy through the Arts based in Evanston, Illinois, and serves on the artist’s counsel for 3Arts.
“The content of this workshop was amazing! Matt presented his work and the concepts behind them in a really effective way,” commented Studio Art student, Jordan Barno. “I loved how he mixed so many mediums and some classic art history pieces in very new ways.”
CWI’s Visiting Artist Series is made possible through a grant from Idaho Commission on the Arts, which is supported by National Endowment for the Arts.
Planned Blackboard Outage
College of Western Idaho’s Blackboard system will be unavailable from May 22-29 during a planned outage.
Work will take place to complete the migration from self-hosting the system on the College’s internal servers to a cloud-based Blackboard service. The cloud-based system will provide a better user experience for students and faculty by improving support resources. Additionally, the changes will make it faster and eliminate the need for a weekly maintenance window on Sunday mornings, which prevents users from accessing the system.
Faculty will submit grades by May 21, so the migration can begin the next day. The Grade Appeal deadline is extended to June 30. More information on the process can be found in the Grade Appeals Policy of the Student Handbook.
Students can contact One Stop Student Services with questions at 208.562.3000.
