“As a Website Design/Developer student at Moraine Park, I need to know how to code and design websites, and how to troubleshoot issues by thinking critically and creatively.  I recently completed the Think Critically and Creatively class with Dr. Rebecca Leichtfuss at MPTC and learned how to really think outside the box. 

Throughout the course, I learned how to get to the focus of an issue by using the Elements of Thought model.  This model proves essential for solving problems by making sure you are concentrating on the correct issues and not only the facts.  Failure to identify what you are trying to achieve for a purpose and the problem or issue to solve will lead to poor outcomes.  Website Design and Development for clients requires this type of critical and creative thinking throughout the entire process of designing and building a website to be the most effective for a business.  The actual design and development of a website represents only a small part of what is needed when working with clients.  For instance, you must identify the audience a business seeks to reach, conduct research, and determine how you are going to design a site that will attract customers.  Critical and creative thinking plays a significant role in this process. 

I’m looking forward to graduation in May, 2019, and I know that this course has only enriched my knowledge in this area for career success.  I suggest anyone pursuing any type of degree take this course to help improve your problem-solving and decision-making skills.”

Written by Catherine Ziegler
MPTC Student

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

            Moraine Park Technical College’s Business Practice Firm students made a generous donation to ASTOP this holiday season. The Business Practice Firm class is a required course for business-related Associate degree programs. This year, the class developed a Marker Art Gallery business, where they created homemade arts and crafts, and then sold them on campus. Ryan Burke of Fond du Lac, Kristina Faymoville of Fond du Lac, Alyxis Hall of Oshkosh, Mikayla Kirchner of Adell, and Elizabeth Raven of Fond du Lac, worked together to develop a full business model and manage the marketing, human resources, accounting, and production. 

“The Maker Art Gallery inspired creativity,” said Amy Harmsen, business practice firm instructor. “The students worked hard to create different options that would be attractive to a wide variety of people.”

The gallery sold items such as holiday wreaths, spray paint art, hair ribbons, and drawings. On December 20, the students presented ASTOP, a sexual assault service provider that serves Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Waushara counties, with a check for $122, the full proceeds from their gallery.

“I’m proud of their work,” said Harmsen. “Not only did the students learn how to run a business, but they also helped to better their community in the process.”

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Congrats to the Fall/Winter 2018 NEXT magazine trivia contest winners!

• Wendy Kurkowski-Evans of Fond du Lac, winner of two Bucks Tickets (donated by WXRO Radio)
• Carl Dauterman of Campbellsport, winner of the DockSpiders Package (donated by the DockSpiders)
• Cody Vande vyver, winner of two Summerfest tickets (donated by WFDL)
• Scott Koerwitz of Fond du Lac, winner of a Roku Firestick (donated by Spectrum Cable)

Fall/Winter 2018 Trivia Answers

What country is Rosy from? Cameroon

What is the Moraine Park Nursing ADN pass rate? 93%

Where did Maximus spend most of his time this summer? Entertaining the crowds at the DockSpiders games!

What program at Moraine Park offers the opportunity of a free education? The Promise program.

Look for the Spring/Summer NEXT magazine in June for more contest opportunities.

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

When CNC student, Cory Schumacher, completed his semester project this last December, he couldn’t help but share his accomplishments on this personal Reddit feed. Little did he know, it would quickly climb to be the top post on machinist site. If you take a look at the image, and his quality work above, it should be easy to see why.

“The chess board was created in my advanced 3D milling and turning classes,” Cory said. “It was a combination of a few classes because of the time involved. That’s the only way something like this could come together.”

Jim Hokenson was the CNC instructor for this project. He created the drawings and prints for the chess board.

“Not every college is doing stuff like this,” Cory said. “I got to talk to people from around the country through Reddit and was told this from a few students at other colleges. It just goes to show you how good of a program Moraine Park has.”

Cory has his chess board proudly displayed, and he says it’s one of those things that he will keep for life.

“This was probably my favorite project we have made here to date,” Cory said. “It was also the most complex project we have made.”

His Reddit post so well received that he even had people requesting him to make more. He did state that the time and energy involved in this project is significant and that he doesn’t expect to create this chess board again.

“A project like this is the best experience you can get,” Cory said. “From the blueprint reading, programming, and setting the block up to be machined. You’re doing everything you would be doing in the workforce.”

As if 1/21/2019, Cory’s post still remains at the top, as the #3 top post of the year.

For more information on programs like CNC, visit morainepark.edu

Moraine Park Technical College held its seventh Strategy, Alignment, Talent
(STRAT) 2.0 program graduation ceremony on December 12, 2018, at the Fond du Lac campus.

The STRAT 2.0 program was developed by Moraine Park’s Economic and Workforce Development division and goes beyond the typical training –  integrating feedback, stretch assignments, experiential learning and one-on-one coaching to accelerate individual performance. Individuals are sponsored by their employers and organizations to participate in cross-functional development linking strategy and execution to achieve measureable results within their organizations.  Through the program, students participate in workshops, networking events, professional coaching and self-assessments to reinforce application of key concepts to enhance individual and organizational effectiveness.

STRAT teaches participants how to make big-picture management decisions and helps them develop self-awareness as a leader that improve their company’s performance. A local executive sponsor indicated, “STRAT teaches participants how to deal with today’s issues and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. You need to look at how to put out today’s fires while preventing them in the future.” The program supports companies with their succession planning strategy and developing their talent pipeline for the next level of executives.

The STRAT 2018 participants included Kelly Weninger, Human Resources Manager at A&W Iron & Metal, Inc.; Shannon Neu, RN Manager at Beaver Dam Community Hospital; Briana Wagner, Strategic Projects Manager at Grande Cheese; Megan Pea, Deposit Operations Officer at Horicon Bank; Christopher Stath, Director of Purchasing and Sales at Sadoff Iron & Metal Company; and Oliver Vogel, IT Administrator at Spring Valley (not pictured).

Registration is currently in process for the 2019 STRAT session. To register, call 1-800-472-4554 ext. 3449. For more information on the STRAT program visit morainepark.edu/strat.

Nursing students in Instructor Michele Mengert’s Mental Health and Community Concepts course recently completed their community advocacy projects as part of our fall, 2018 service learning opportunities. Michele said, “students are purposefully working to learn community oriented nursing. We want to target prevention as a priority. Nurses need to understand how to advocate for specific populations of people and have knowledge of the resource programs in your community that you can partner with to help your patients.”

This semester 20 students spent over 100 hours researching and collaborating with community partners on projects such as drug free communities, family resource centers, Alzheimer’s, poverty, mental health, breast cancer, obesity, domestic violence, sexual assault, and more. Students formulated detailed advocacy plans to address how a nurse could help a community identify and address these issues, providing education, awareness, advocacy and resources. Students gathered data to help determine strength and weaknesses in their own communities. Project presentations were held on December 21. Congratulations on all of this great work on important community issues!

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Here is what’s happening on your campus January 21-25.

Many of us can identify life-changing moments as a result of being in the right place at the right time. For Danairis (Deedee) Melendez, that is exactly how her Moraine Park journey began.

Deedee is a mother of six children and originally came to Wisconsin from Puerto Rico. Her family settled in Milwaukee, and she found employment at a local Optometrist office. To the outside world she led a normal life, but behind closed doors, she was in a vicious cycle of abuse, both mentally and physically. It is apparent that Deedee has a strength that is rare to come by. However, she said that even her strong, independent personality was no match to her abuser.

“I never thought that I would be a victim of abuse,” Deedee said. “I knew my family deserved more. So, I packed up and fled the situation.”

She relocated her family to the West Bend area and welcomed this as an opportunity to have a fresh start.

Deedee started working at Advanced Focus Eyecare in West Bend. On a typical workday, she was helping a woman find glasses when they began to talk about career goals. Deedee mentioned her desire to become a nurse, and her customer just happened to be Kathy Vandemark, a counselor at Moraine Park Technical College in West Bend.

“We hit it off, I liked her immediately,” Deedee said. “Kathy helped walk me through the enrollment process, and ultimately helped me get into my program.”

Deedee not only wants to be a nurse, but she also has aspirations to be a neonatal nurse.

“My oldest son was born at 23-weeks,” she said. “He had a one-percent survival rate, and he just turned 17!”

Her experience in the neonatal unit as a parent is what motivates her to want to serve the parents and babies in need of care.

Both Deedee and Kathy were in the right place at the right time. The result? Deedee will petition to begin her nursing clinical this March and is expected to graduate in December of 2020.

She is also writing a book documenting her journey as a victim of abuse. Her goal is to help others in similar situations find the help that they need to redefine their life.

We look forward to following Deedee’s journey and wish her the best of luck as she continues to pursue her degree.

**A fun side note**

Deedee’s daughter Jayanie age 12, sat in on our interview. I couldn’t help but strike up a conversation with her also. Jayanie is quite possibly the most polite 12-year old I’ve ever spoken with, and she also aspires to be in health care. Her goal is to be a heart surgeon, and her eyes sparkled a bit when she talked about her dream career. I look forward to interviewing Jayanie in the future as a Moraine Park health sciences student.

Meet our business analyst (BA) instructor, Jo Ann Giese-Kent!

Jo Ann grew up in Campbellsport but now resides just outside of Fond du Lac with her husband Tim (a Moraine Park Alumnus), her teenage daughter, Ashlee, and her furry feline friends Pepper and Lilly. 

Prior to her current role, she worked as the VP of business intelligence and entrepreneurship for the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation. During this time, she also served as an adjunct instructor, teaching small business classes for Moraine Park’s Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) department.

“I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration majoring in marketing in the early ’90s,” Jo Ann said. “When I interned as a market researcher at a paper company, I discovered I liked the analytical side of marketing.   Throughout my career, I have done all aspects of marketing but felt the most comfortable with analysis from analyzing customer segments’ behavior and needs to analyzing processes or other business needs and recommending solutions to deliver more value to customers or internal stakeholders.  I’ve done analysis type work in several industries including direct marketing (catalog business), banking, higher education, and economic development.”

Jo Ann worked in Moraine Park’s Institutional Research department from 2000-2009  and returned to Moraine Park in August of 2017 as the full-time BA instructor.

“I enjoy working with students and sharing my experiences,” Jo Ann said. “When I heard about the new BA program instructor position, I was very interested. I am grateful that I was offered the job! Instead of being behind-the-scenes researching and understanding our students, I now can have a direct impact on their learning and success.”

The number one reason why someone should consider a career as a business analyst is that they are in high demand across many industries. According to the US Bureau of Labor  Statistics, employers throughout the United States will need 861,400 management analysts (which includes the business analyst title) by 2024.  In Wisconsin, employers will need 13,151 by 2024.  That’s a growth of 14%, almost double compared to all occupations nationally.  As a plus, an experienced analyst can earn $71,230 as the median annual wage.

“Employees who do business analysis have many different titles and roles,” Jo Ann said. “Most have the business analyst title but could also have titles such as systems analyst, process analyst, database analyst, market research analyst, supply chain analyst, and many others. They primarily help identify business needs, solve problems to produce better business outcomes, and help organizations add value to customers, suppliers, or end users of a process, or system.  They are known as the liaison or agent to enable that change to occur.”

The online BA program teaches the fundamental knowledge areas, tasks, and techniques needed to be successful in the business analysis field.

Outside of the College, you can find Jo Ann enjoying time her yard planting and landscaping. You might even catch her at a heavy metal concert.

“I’m more of a quiet and reserved person. Some people find it surprising that I love hard rock and heavy metal music,” Jo Ann said. “At this year’s Rock USA, I won a hand-painted, autographed Dean guitar!”

Thank you, Jo Ann, for your devotion to Moraine Park and the BA program. For more information, visit morainepark.edu/programs.