“I think the Introduction to Mass Communication course at MPTC should be a prerequisite for any college student. The amount of knowledge that I attained from this course has by far exceeded my expectations.”
Amanda Rondorf, MPTC Student
“When I first enrolled in the Introduction to Mass Communication course with Dr. Rebecca Leichtfuss, I was not sure what I was getting myself into. I knew I had to take some type of communication course, but I wasn’t sure what this course really entailed until the first week. It seemed quite simple and easy to understand initially, but as the weeks progressed throughout the course, I realized that this course was much more involved than I had first anticipated.”
“I think the Introduction to Mass Communication course should be a prerequisite for any college student. The amount of knowledge that I attained from this course has by far exceeded my expectations. I never realized how the Internet started and the purposes of social media. Until this course, I took for granted the resources and capabilities of the Internet and media communications in my life.”
“I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is in college. It gives you a view of how communication has evolved over the years and how it will continue to evolve.”
On April 23, MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald and Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke, were very excited to receive the Partner In Excellence Award from the Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area
Center Director Mindy Collado said, “Thank you so much for attending our Great Futures Celebration and for all of your hard work with the Dream Big Initiative!”
Teen Futures Coordinator Carrie Govek said, “We are so delighted with the opportunities Dream Big has offered the teens in our Career Launch program and we look forward to continuing this partnership.”
Club CEO Jason Presto said, “Dream Big is so amazing! We are very thankful for the way MPTC is introducing our members to opportunities they may be interested in or may have never even known was an option for them. This school year they learned about careers in Medical Assistant, Criminal Justice,Health and Wellness, Welding, and Automotive!
Nikki Dahlke is the new Recruitment and Advising Specialist
for the boot camps in the Economic and Workforce Development Department. In her
role, she will actively recruit students interested in participating in the
short term manufacturing boot camps as well as support the current students
attending them.
She comes to MPTC from a collaborative program between Goodwill Industries and Fox Valley Technical College where she was a Financial Coach for the Oshkosh FVTC students doing 1-1 financial counseling as well as classroom workshops to teach money management. Prior to that she worked at Fox Cities Habitat for Humanity for 4 years as the Family Services Coordinator and is still involved there as the Chair of their Family Selection Committee.
Nikki has spent her career working in non-profit case
management and is looking forward to the opportunity to use those skills to
help support students’ success at MPTC.
Nikki earned her Bachelors’ degrees from UW River Falls in
Communicative Disorders and in Spanish. She is fully bilingual in Spanish and
taught English in Mexico for a few years following college. She enjoys
traveling to places off the beaten path and spending time with her husband and
son.
“I am excited to continue to make a difference in the community by helping remove barriers to employment. These boot camps provide an incredible opportunity for students to gain skills, knowledge, and connections to a workplace through the internship. I look forward to working with the MPTC family in giving a hand up to people through these manufacturing boot camps.”
Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success. The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in service learning and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment.
Last year, MPTC started a service learning awards program where students can track their service hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours,Gold Award for 100 hours, or Presidents Award for 200 hours of service. In the 2018-19 school year 112 students logged over 2,800 hours of service impacting 138 area community partners! 15 students earned awards in December and 28 students earned awards in May.
You might remember Arletta from our previous blog posts, marketing campaigns, or perhaps you’ve seen her out in the Fond du Lac community. If not, you can catch up with her story here.
The 2017 graduate from Moraine Park’s Leadership Development program has big things on her horizon, and we are excited to highlight them!
When she came to the College in 2015, she had dreams of being a motivational speaker. To keep working towards that goal, after graduation she enrolled at Marian University to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Today, she has her own business, Authentically Arletta, LLC., and is finally witnessing her hard work come to life. In fact, in 2019 alone, she has been invited as a keynote speaker to multiple local events.
“I’m so much closer to my dreams than I’ve ever been before,” Arletta said. “Moraine Park was a huge part of my foundation, and the place I will always consider my second home.”
Of course, Arletta’s success didn’t happen by chance. She
has been on a long journey of self-discovery, one that she notes has had many
hurdles.
“This has been quite a journey, but I didn’t do it alone,” Alretta said. “I’ve had the support of family, friends, and many people at Moraine Park that have helped me along the way.”
Specifically, she names Moraine Park employees Bonnie
Baerwald, Mary Vogl-Rauscher, Steve Pepper, Rob Heyrman, and Amy Anderson-
among others, as key players to aiding her success.
Today, her dreams are even closer as she celebrates her May 2019 graduation with a Bachelor of Communication degree with a minor in business from Marian University and being named as Marian’s Communication Student of the Year. She was also a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication high honor society, and ended her college career with a 3.95 GPA.
This August, Arletta will be one of the keynote speakers at TedXFond du Lac and is working towards a goal of one day speaking at the Essence Festival in Louisiana.
“I’ve thought about my dreams becoming a reality for a long time,” she said. “My work isn’t done, in fact in a way it’s just beginning, but it’s so exciting that I’ve made some big accomplishments and that they are no longer just a part of my dreams.”
Additionally, Arletta is working diligently on a new initiative, the Peculiar Princess Project, a mentoring program for youth girls of color ages 10 to 18.
“I look forward to taking on more speaking events registering with Wisconsin’s Speakers Bureau and taking my career to the next level,” Arletta said.
We wish Arletta the best of luck as she continues towards accomplishing her goals, and are so fortunate to be a part of her journey.
Nick Clarenbach, Waupun High School Special Education At Risk Instructor said, ” Thank you so much for this opportunity. The students learned a lot and really enjoyed the entire experience! They were talking about it all the way home!”
The Dream Big project started last year with Boys and Girls Club of Fond du Lac teens learning more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. This year, Dream Big expanded throughout the MPTC district to include Boys and Girls Club of the Tri-County Area (Berlin, Green Lake County) and Waupun High School. This is a great community partnership opportunity for Moraine Park students to showcase their degree programs and practice service learning and for teens to get excited about their many career choices!
Moraine Park Technical College’s Electricity and CNC Tool and Die students and staff are celebrating some major achievements at the 2019 Wisconsin SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Madison, WI.
ELECTRICITY
The electricity students participated in two categories;
Electrical Construction Wiring and Industrial Motor Controls. The College
earned a complete sweep of the top three spots in the Industrial Motor Controls
category. Participants were Michael Schaefer of Juneau, first place; Daniel
Sowin of Sheboygan Falls, second place; Anastasia Szczesny of Iron Ridge, third
place. Also, Moraine Park student, Noah Johannes of Fredonia, earned the
College another first place award in the Electrical Construction Wiring
category.
“I’m very proud of their accomplishments,” Mark Wamsley, electricity instructor at Moraine Park said. “I have watched them grown and excel in their field. I look forward to watching them compete at Nationals.”
Schaefer and Johannes will represent Moraine Park Technical College at
the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, KY this
June.
CNC
The CNC Tool and Die club representatives competed in two separate categories; Automated Manufacturing Technology and CNC Milling Specialist. Earning first place in the team Automated Manufacturing Technology category are William Kraus of Jackson, Zachary Rabideau of Jackson, and Jarred Welnak of Germantown. Isaac Schrage of West Bend competed in the CNC Milling Specialist category and achieved fifth place. Kraus, Rabideau, and Welnake will represent Moraine Park Technical College at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Louisville, KY this June.
SkillsUSA is the showcase for the best career and technical
students in the nation. The philosophy of the event is to reward students for
excellence, involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and
keep training relevant to employers’ needs. More than 16,000 people are
expected to participate in the NLSC weeklong event.
For more information about Moraine Park Technical College programs, like Electricity and CNC, visit morainepark.edu.
The hard work and academic
achievement of Moraine Park Technical College students was recognized during
the College’s annual Student Awards Banquet held at The Golf Club at Camelot in
Lomira on May 10.
Moraine Park presented the 2019
Student of the Year Award to Ashley Martin of Fond du Lac. The Student of the
Year Award is designed to recognize a student who excelled in and outside of
the classroom and has taken full advantage of the opportunities that Moraine
Park has made available for them.
The 2019-20 District Student
Ambassador Award was presented to Barbara Turner of Beaver Dam. The Moraine
Park District Student Ambassador Award identifies outstanding students in the
technical college system, with nominations solicited from faculty and staff in
the spring semester of each year.
Technical Achievement Awards were
presented to 33 students. To receive this award, recipients must be enrolled in
a technical diploma program and have maintained a 3.25 GPA. They are judged on
classroom participation and other contributions and characteristics that exemplify
an outstanding student. The 2019 recipients were August Baumgartner of West
Bend, Alex Canfield of Jackson, Calin Eigner of Iron Ridge, Zach Fahrenkrug of
Campbellsport, Zach Franck of Prairie du Sac, Ben Henriksen of Beaver Dam,
Aaron Hess of Richfield, Genevieve Hicks of Beaver Dam, Keisha Krezman of Fond du Lac, Mitch Lochen
of West Bend, Nicholas Martinez of Fond du Lac, Nic Nielsen of West Bend,
Nicole Nowicki of Beaver Dam, Hunter Scannell of West Bend, Isaac Schrage of
West Bend, Zachary Wilson of Adell, Pete Cruckson of Fond du Lac, Brady Detert
of Beaver Dam, Troy Essmann of Oconomowoc, Thomas Freiberg of Campbellsport,
Nick Giudice of Waupun, Alexander Hoepfner of Fond du Lac, Zac Hoogeveen of
Randolph, Joe Jasinski of Adell, Michael Moon of Beaver Dam, Derek Mueller of Port Washington, Melanie
Pitr of Slinger, Mitchell Regan of Hartford, Andrew Robinson of Cedarburg,
Michael Schaefer of Juneau, Alex Sippel of Saint Cloud, Daniel Sowin of
Sheboygan Falls, and Anastasia Szczesny of Iron Ridge.
The Campus Impact
Award recognizes students who have served the College by participating in a
college focus group, a college-related function, or a club/student government
activity or project. Other considerations include GPA, reliability and
follow-through. In total, 18 awards were presented, recipients were Trina
Anderson of Fox Lake, Alizabeth Barnes of Waupun, Noah Bille of Brandon, Isabel
Clark of Chilton, Kevin Fritsch of Fond du Lac, Christine Gil of Randolph,
Thomas Holman of Hartford, Joe Jasinski of Adell, Sheri Laidler of
Campbellsport, Bekah McCardell of West Bend, Ashton Mislivecek of Hillsboro,
Abby Muenchow of Horicon, Peggy Rider of West Bend, Isaac Schrage of West Bend,
Jerod Splan of Iron Ridge, Anastasia Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Queenie Weesen of
Mequon, and Janine Williams of Fond du Lac.
The Meritorious Service Award is
granted to students who have served the College through their leadership and
participation in co-curricular activities such as student clubs, student
government or other volunteer opportunities. This year’s 45 recipients include Alyssa
Ahlstrom of Van Dyne, Austin Barber of Fond du Lac, Danielle Barron of Berlin,
Maurice Beck of Campbellsport, Jacob Berger of North Fond du Lac, Taylor
Branski of West Bend, Kerwana Clayborn of Fond du Lac, Deborah Davis of
Oshkosh, Derek DeChant of Randolph, Brady Detert of Beaver Dam, Calin Eigner of
Iron Ridge, Tamara Freeman of Beaver Dam, Nick Giudice of Waupun, Eileen
Grammas of Beaver Dam, Connor Gray of Cottage Grove, Mollea Greylord of Fond du
Lac, Derek Jackson of Rubicon, Mitch Jacobs of Slinger, Shayenne A. Jaffke of
Hartford, Ty Kaage of Oshkosh, Corina Kanwischer of Hartford, Brittany Kjell of
Rubicon, Kelsey Kliefoth of Menasha, Jay Kroncke of West Bend, Kaleb Krueger of
Mayville, Jessica Leibham of West Bend, Heidi Lucas of West Bend, Jesse Mack of
Beaver Dam, Christian McCreary of West Bend, Jodie Meyer of Oshkosh, Rebecca Moreno
of West Bend, Kellie Murray of West Bend, Nicole Peterson of Eldorado, Zack Petit
of Watertown, Melanie Pitrof of Slinger, Zack Rabideau of Jackson, Gretchen Rauls
of Fond du Lac, Susan Rodencal of Fond du Lac, Patrick Rupprecht of Randolph, Lauryn
Slade of Hartford, Amy Spiekerman of West Bend, Alex Tischedndorf of Kewaskum, Nicole
Toombs of Ripon, Alyssa Wescott of Theresa, and Christina Whitehouse of Waupun.
The Leadership & Service Award is reserved for
members of Moraine Park’s Student Government. A student’s comprehensive
level of commitment to the College and their representation of the student body
through their attendance and engagement in Student Government and its related
opportunities are taken into consideration during award selection. The 12
award recipients include Alden Broome of Beaver Dam, Dominic DeLaura of
Slinger, Zach Fahrenkrug of Campbellsport, Thomas Freiberg of Campbellsport,
Brad Hetzel of Lowell, Ashley Martin of North Fond du Lac, Michael Moon of
Beaver Dam, Leah Pietrangelo of West Bend, Joshua Strnad of Rio, Jonathan
Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Sam Turner of Baraboo, and Elizabeth Wustrack of Fond
du Lac.
Student government leadership
recognition included Jonathan Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Beaver Dam Student Senate
president; Elizabeth Wustrack of Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac Student Senate
president; Leah Pietrangelo of West Bend, West Bend Student Senate president; Kevin
Fritsch of Fond du Lac, District Student Government president; Queenie Weesen
of Mequon, Wisconsin Student Government lt. governor; Joshua Strnad of Rio, Wisconsin
Student Government governor.
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