Emergency funds in the form of a Federal Grant have been provided to MPTC to help students impacted by COVID-19. Specifically, this funding is intended to aid students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. It should provide direct emergency cash grants to students adversely impacted by the ongoing pandemic with unforeseen educational expenses, including:

• books, e-books or audiobooks
• course-related materials, and
• technology (Keeping in mind that what works today may not work tomorrow, such as a checked-out laptop; borrowed equipment; laptops on the fritz. Cables, the continuing cost of high-speed internet, camera, headset, microphone, mouse, etc. are also additional expenses.)

THIS FUNDING CANNOT BE USED FOR TUITION EXPENSES.

Requirements:

• Applicants must be students currently enrolled at MPTC during the spring, 2020 semester.
• Applicants must be enrolled at Moraine Park in associates or technical degrees. Students who are in a certificate, boot camps, or basic education courses, Economic and Workforce Development, Department of Corrections, dual credit (high school), avocational or non-credit courses do not qualify.
• If you are in an online program and completing all of your program courses online at the start of the spring semester 2020, you are not eligible to apply for funding.
• Applicants need to be financial aid eligible; you do not need to be recipients to receive this funding. This means you should complete a FAFSA to demonstrate your eligibility. Go to studentaid.gov if you have not completed a FAFSA for 2019-20.
• Applicants must complete the application (see link below) including a statement related to how the COVID-19 has been impactful and how this funding will be used to alleviate any financial issues.
• Please apply for your current needs. You may reapply as other needs come about.

Moraine Park wants to make sure that all students who are eligible and need money, receive this support as quickly as possible. You are an important member of our community and this money is to support you!

For complete details and the online application process, go to the website: morainepark.edu/caresfund.

*If your emergency is not related to the COVID-19, please go to MPTC’s Student Emergency Fund application to apply for assistance.

Please contact the Student Financial Services Office with questions about the e-Refund of your credit balance at (920) 924-3124 or sfs@morainepark.edu.

Click here for Community Resources for students during COVID-19.

It’s time to submit your 2020 Census. You can complete your questionnaire online, by phone, or by mail.

What is the Census?

The 2020 Census’ goal is to count every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). The Census, which is done every 10 years, requires every person living within one of these states or territories to respond.

Why is this information important?

“The 2020 Census results will show where communities need new schools, new clinics, new roads, and more services for families, older adults, and children. The results will also help the federal government make decisions on how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs, including Medicaid, Head Start, block grants for community mental health services, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.”- Information gathered from census.gov.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Wisconsin counties on average stand to lose $22,170 in federal funding over the next decade ($2,217/year) per person not counted. –NCSL utilized data from “Counting for Dollars 2020,” a study published in February 2020 by Andrew Reamer of the George Washington Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP).

How does this impact MPTC?

Moraine Park is a state-funded educational institution. Understanding our general population helps the federal government allocate dollars to support technical education, among other things. Overall, the Census helps determine the needs in every state and community, and helps to define where funding is needed most. As a community partner, we understand that there are needs all around: k-12 schools, healthcare, transportation/roads, and rural / wildlife areas, to name a few. This elevates the importance of 100% timely participation.

How do I respond?

It’s quick and easy! Visit my2020census.gov to learn how to submit your response today. When filling out your census form, be sure to include all family members living in your home.

Enter by June 1, 2020

High School artists are invited to submit digital images of their work in the following categories:

1. Painting
2. Drawing
3. Photography (minimal photo editing allowed-adjustments of color or conversion to grayscale not altering content permitted.)
4. Digital Photo Creation and Illustration (extensive editing and design allowed)
5. Sculpture and Ceramics
6. Publication Design (including newsletters, invitations, event posters, etc.)
7. T-shirt Design
8. Web Site Design (submit your URL)
9. Video Creation (submit your URL)

To enter, complete the form below and email it, along with your digital submissions to artsubmission@morainepark.edu.

• All entries in categories 1 to 8 must be submitted in electronic format as JPEG files no more than 4×7 at 200 PPI with a file size not to exceed 5 megabytes.
• All category 8 entries for web pages should be submitted by supplying the URL to the site with the entry.
• All category 9 video entries should be uploaded to YouTube and a link to the posted video provided with the entry.
• All entries must be submitted by JUNE 1st, 2020

Limit of two entries per person, per category. Entry form and permissions must accompany entries.

Winners will be selected by a panel of Art/Design professionals and the winning entries will be featured online. The top three winners will be awarded prizes.

For more information, please email artsubmission@morainepark.edu.

To date, over 600 class sections have moved from a face to face format to online. This means that there has been a lot of adapting and change by students and instructors.

Danielle Cook, surgical technology instructor, is embracing this ‘new normal’ and has been looking for innovative ways to stay connected with her students. She shared with us how she is finding success during these challenging times.

“When COVID-19 hit the US, we had team meetings to discuss how we could move to the digital format if the virus spread to Wisconsin. Less than 2 weeks later, we had to put those plans into place. Here is a glimpse into how the Surgical Technology program is enabling learning from home.

Second-year students were fortunate enough to have met the clinical case requirements set by our Accreditation body, thanks to our strong community partners who work with our students in clinical. Due to this, we can do simulation for their last rotation. Here is where the free mobile app Touch Surgery comes in. Touch Surgery has almost 170 free surgical cases on it and you first “learn” the procedure by going through the steps and virtually completing the surgery. After each section, you test your skills with a short quiz. The students are assigned various cases to be completed and tested on in Touch Surgery and they upload their test results into Canvas. The students are also completed Surgical Case Study Reports and we have a weekly Zoom virtual class and discuss the reports and other things as they arise. While they all miss the operating room, they are happy to be able to still practice virtually, and look forward to being in the workforce in May!

First-year students have one course that was already on-line and two that were blended. We have Zoom virtual classes twice a week to go over their assignments, worksheets, study guides, etc. I have also created short videos of how to use practice passing instruments, utilizing everyday stuff you can find at home. This course is trickier because we will need to be back in the lab to complete the work, but these students continue to review old skill videos and are excited to get back to class.

The Zoom virtual class is what I believe is keeping us all together as a program. Seeing and hearing each other at least once a week keeps that connection, and I bring encouragement to those who are feeling down and unsure right now. I have an awesome group of 20 students. They have been patient and understanding as we navigate this pandemic. Being prepared ahead of time and having the support that the College has provided has helped to make the transition to the digital world much easier. I am very thankful for everyone at the College who has supported the faculty and staff, and most importantly, our students. “

A sincere thank you to all of the Moraine Park instructors, and students for their patience as we move through these times together.

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

Due to the still-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Moraine Park Technical College has decided to postpone its 2020 commencement ceremony, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 16.

While the situation is still fluid, the College is moving forward with a new commencement date of Saturday, June 27, at 10 a.m. The College is also hoping to utilize a new location for this year’s ceremony, the Beaver Dam High School Field House, 500 Gould St., Beaver Dam.

Regalia (caps, gowns and tassels) will be available for purchase through the College bookstore online. More information, including purchase dates, will be available on the student portal in the coming weeks.

The College has invited Beaver Dam Mayor Becky Glewen and Moraine Park graduate Barbara Turner to participate as speakers at the ceremony. Commencement is expected to last approximately one and a half hours. 

College officials continue to monitor state and national regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. If social distancing guidelines are still in place, further extended or enhanced, the commencement ceremony would then be canceled. If cancellation occurs, graduating students will be offered the opportunity to participate in the 2021 commencement ceremony and celebrations.

“We recognize how significant the commencement ceremony is to our graduates,” Bonnie Baerwald, president at Moraine Park Technical College, said. “Commencement is also an opportunity for families, friends, and Moraine Park employees to surround our graduates with support and offer congratulations for this momentous achievement. For these reasons, we are hopeful that by postponing the date, it will allow all of us to celebrate together.”

For Moraine Park’s COVID-19 updates, visit morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

Moraine Park, as well as other Wisconsin Technical College’s, are working to find a solution to the shortage of face masks at our local healthcare systems.

Kim Olson, a mechanical design technology instructor at Moraine Park, has been working virtually with colleagues to design and print masks on a 3D printer.

He has successfully designed and printed some samples, but is working on efficiency and waiting to see if they can get approval for these to be used in a medical facility.

“The masks need to be approved for efficacy by the medical profession, and we need to become a certified manufacturer before a healthcare facility could accept them,” Kim said. ” We aren’t sure if the state will have the ability to certify each technical college, but if they can, we will be ready!”

Kim’s hard work is just one of the ways that Moraine Park is working to provide solutions during the COVID-19 outbreak. The College also made a significant donation of PPE to local healthcare facilities in our district and the College’s culinary program donated their perishable foods to local food banks.

For more information on moraine park, visit morainepark.edu.

There is no greater sacrifice than that of our Veterans: past, present, and future. Guillermo Avilesperez of San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, a fourth-generation veteran, made that sacrifice when he enrolled in the Marine Corps after high school.

“I graduated high school in 2012 and enrolled in the Marine Corps a year later,” he said. “I served in the infantry unit for four years and traveled around the world.”

Guillermo was deployed twice. He spent his first tour in Spain, where he did infantry training with the local embassy. During his second tour, he was stationed in Japan and Korea.

As his contract came to an end, he decided to seek out his next steps, and his girlfriend suggested he come to Moraine Park. He connected with the College while he was on base and planned his college journey before even seeing the campus.

“Moraine Park is a perfect fit for me,” Guillermo said. “The class sizes are small, the instructors are knowledgeable and teach you the skills you need for the career, and the learning is hands-on.”

His military contract ended in May 2018, and he began the Criminal Justice program that fall.

“I’m looking for a career similar to my military life,” he said. “I enjoyed my work in the Marine Corps, but I look forward to having the option to clock-out and go home at the end of the day.”

He is scheduled to graduate in May 2020 and has goals to someday serve full time on the Milwaukee Police Department SWAT team.

“My transition to civilian life is still ongoing,” Guillermo said. “Every veteran’s needs are different, but for me, it worked well to come here directly from my active duty. It has been stressful at times, but the support and resources at Moraine Park have helped me through.”

morainepark.edu/ican

With the statewide school closings, Moraine Park Technical College Culinary Arts Department found itself with pounds of fruits, vegetables and cheeses that would not be used as planned. However, this also presented an opportunity to reach out to the community.

Associate Dean of Trades, Steve Horvath, organized Culinary Arts staff to clear out the coolers. Together they were able to package the abundant and healthful product for distribution through the Fondy Food Pantry and the Broken Bread program at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac.

Both organizations were very grateful for the donations and Culinary Arts is grateful that the food programs saved the food from being a total loss.

This donation, is just one way that Moraine Park is working to help during the COVID-19 outbreak. The College also donated over 37,000 items to local healthcare facilities.

Stay up to date on Moraine Park’s COVID-19 updates, at morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

Moraine Park Technical College will host Tech Knowledge College, a summer camp for students entering grades 6 through 9. This event gives participants an interactive look at the skills and careers needed today and in the future.

Registration is now open for this annual three-day camp, held August 4-6, at Moraine Park Technical College’s Fond du Lac campus.

New for TKC 2020!
• Registration exclusively online.
• Open to students entering grades 6-9.
• New sessions: Dog Rescue, Drones, Photography,
Social Media Influencer, and more!

$125 includes: three full days, two sessions, lunch and
snacks, and busing from Beaver Dam and West Bend.

Session space is limited. Register by May 29 to secure your spot!

For a full list of sessions or to register, visit morainepark.edu/tkc.