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 student community impact and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment. 

In 2018, MPTC started a community impact 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 learning or volunteering. In the 2019 fall semester, 17 students earned awards and logged over 800 hours of service!

Congratulations to the fall 2019 award winners!

Bronze Award Winners

Completing 25-49 hours of service learning.

• Brielle Aylesworth, Medical Assistant
• Merinda Chamberlin, Medical Assistant
• Kylie Cody, Medical Assistant
• Ashley Despres, Medical Assistant
• Stephanie Dobek, Medical Assistant
• Brittany Enderle, Medical Office
• Erika Kaatz, Medical Assistant
• Amy Kaminski, Medical Assistant
• Sarah Lemmenes, Medical Assistant
• Heather Pieper, Medical Assistant
• Rhonda Roehl, Medical Assistant
• Olivia Sharp, Medical Assistant
• Kayla Wagner, Medical Assistant
• Rebecca Wenninger, Medical Assistant
• Haley Ilkenhans, Medical Assistant
• Tania Torres, Graphic Communications
• Meghan Griswold, Marketing and Social Media     

Have you submitted your answers for our spring/summer 2019 NEXT magazine trivia contest?

Answers are within the NEXT magazine. You can find the online version here, or there are copies at any of the Moraine Park campuses.

Questions are:

• What MPTC location do Emma, Kayli and Mackenzie attend?
• What sport did Dr. Bruce Forciea coach prior to teaching?
• Where does Brett Hebert volunteer?
• What degree will LaToya earn in May 2020?
• What is the age range for eligible Promising Futures applicants?
• What percentage of MPTC grads are satisfied or very satisfied with the training they received?

Submit your answers here!

Answer them all correctly by December 31, 2019 and be entered for a chance to win one of these exciting prizes:

• $100 gift certificate to Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells–donated by Magnum Radio.
• Four ski lift passes for Ski Brule in Iron River, Mich–donated by RadioPlus, Inc.
• $20 gift certificate to Techniques Salon at Moraine Park–donated by Techniques Salon.
• A three-course lunch for two at Park Terrace, Moraine Park’s culinary student restaurant.

Winners will be announced by January 8, 2020. Good luck!

For more information, visit morainepark.edu/nextcontest.

The fall/winter 2019 NEXT magazine is filled with student, alumni, and faculty stories.

You can find the magazine throughout all of the Moraine Park campuses, or you can view the online version here.

The Moraine Park NEXT magazine is released twice a year. Please send story suggestions to khaensgen2@morainepark.edu.

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

On October 29, in celebration of Fair Trade Month, the Moraine Park Technical Fair Trade College and Just Fare Market hosted a wonderful education event!

Over 600 Grades 3-5 students and teachers from FDL and NFDL elementary schools, Riverside, STEM, and Friendship, and 50 plus community members enjoyed an amazing story from One Plastic Bag Author Miranda Paul!

The evening event also included educational community partner displays focused on the Fair Trade Principle of “respecting the environment” from Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, CD Smith, FDL Audubon, Sustain FDL, UWFDL Fair Trade University and FDL Fair Trade Towns!

Miranda Paul has been a teacher in Gambia as well as the owner of a Fair Trade store in Green Bay. Her presentation focused on two of her books, “One Plastic Bag” and “I am Farmer.”   One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia tells the inspiring story of five women who creatively dealt with their village’s plastic trash problem. Despite limited resources and ridicule, Isatou and her friends persevered for more than a decade, eventually realizing economic empowerment through their recycled plastic purse project. 

I am Farmer, written in collaboration with Baptiste Paul, is the true story of how environmentalist Farmer Tantoh is transforming the landscape in his home country of Cameroon. When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he’s an environmental hero, and bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon.

A big thank you to Just Fare Market for their Fair Trade education leadership and education grants from CSA and FDL Area Foundation in bringing Miranda Paul to visit for Fair Trade Month! Each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom also received a copy of One Plastic Bag and were able to get their books autographed by Miranda!

See lots more amazing event photos here!

Moraine Park Technical College students and staff will host a Christmas in a Shoebox drive, collecting items for our local troops who are serving our country overseas and away from family during the holiday season.

Donations will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 8, and can be dropped off at room K-323 on the Beaver Dam campus, or with the Student Veteran Specialist in room C-003.3 at the Fond du Lac campus Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Moraine Park’s goal is to collect enough items to fill 200 postal service large flat rate boxes and have them in the hands of our troops stationed overseas by the holidays.

The packages will be assembled on Nov. 13 on the Beaver Dam campus, and students and staff will also have the opportunity to fill out note cards to send a personal message of encouragement, or holiday wishes.

Donations should be new and no larger than shoebox-sized. Some suggested items are personal hygiene products like deodorant, eye drops, Q-tips, and baby wipes, or snacks such as beef jerky, sunflowers seeds, nuts, granola bars, and flavored drink mixes. Additionally, miscellaneous items like current magazines, batteries, paperback books, and small travel games are great ways to let the service members know they’re remembered and help to bring some joy to their holiday season.

For questions on Christmas in a Shoebox,  contact Steve Pepper, student veterans specialist,  at spepper1@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3489.

Celebrate Fair Trade Month at Moraine Park- Tuesday, October 29!

• Global Fair Trade Market from 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.
• Local environmental sustainability organizations will be on site starting at 5 p.m.
• Keynote speaker, Miranda Paul, author of the inspirational story of the women of Gambia, “One Plastic Bag”, begins at 6 p.m.

More details can be found here, or by emailing alemke2@morainepark.edu.

With the support of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Regional People of Color, Fit Oshkosh, Wisconsin Public Television, Thelma Arts Center, and Moraine Park Technical College, the showing of “BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” was shown at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac on Wednesday, September 18. Casa Del Tequila provided dinner before the event and UW-Extension Youth Development Educators provided activities for children during the event.

“BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” is a must see two hour documentary that follows the lives of African American entrepreneurs in America over hundreds of years. It is an emotional story of discrimination and racial violence. Despite these barriers, the film also highlighted stories of courage, resilience, and success.

One such story is about Berry Gordy, Jr., the founder of Motown Records.  In 1957, already a successful songwriter, Gordy borrowed $800 from his family to start an R&B record company. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of America. Gordy had a unique gift for recognizing musical talent. Soul music artists under the Motown label include: Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. Motown was the most successful record label of soul music for its time. Gordy official retired from the entertainment industry on September 24, 2019

Another story is about Ursula Burns. Burns, the former CEO of Xerox, was the first African American woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Burns started her career at Xerox in 1980 as an intern. She held various positions there before serving as CEO from 2009 until 2016.  She led a workforce of over 140,000 employees. She went on to hold the position of chairman of the board at Xerox until 2017 and has held numerous other board positions, including one at Exxon Mobil. She is currently chairman and CEO of an Amsterdam-based telecommunications provider. 

Talented African American businessmen and women have been building successful companies in America for hundreds of years. Today, building upon their predecessors’ contributions, courage, sacrifices and willingness to help each other, we see African American managers and CEOs in most large corporations. To view “BOSS: The Black Experience in Business” check out the official website: https://to.pbs.org/2Tn9klg. The documentary can be rented or purchased on Amazon or iTunes.

In celebration of Fair trade Month and Global Climate Change Week, a community wide Empowering the Conversation event will be held in the Moraine Park Technical Fair Trade College Fond du Lac Campus Commons on October 29. A Global Market will be open starting at 11 am throughout the day and evening. At 5:00 pm displays by area environmental groups and sales by Fair Trade businesses as well as Fair Trade refreshments prepared by the MPTC culinary arts students will begin.

At 6:00 pm, Miranda Paul will be the featured speaker with ” “Think Globally, Act Locally: Two Stories, Two Heroes, Many Ways to Help,”
Miranda has been a teacher in Gambia as well as the owner of a Fair Trade store in Green Bay. Her presentation will focus on two of her books, “One Plastic Bag” and “I am Farmer.”   One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia tells the inspiring story of five women who creatively dealt with their village’s plastic trash problem. Despite limited resources and ridicule, Isatou and her friends persevered for more than a decade, eventually realizing economic empowerment through their recycled plastic purse project. 

I am Farmer, written in collaboration with Baptiste Paul, is the true story of how environmentalist Farmer Tantoh is transforming the landscape in his home country of Cameroon. When Tantoh Nforba was a child, his fellow students mocked him for his interest in gardening. Today he’s an environmental hero, and bringing clean water and bountiful gardens to the central African nation of Cameroon.

Several of Miranda’s books will be available for sale and autographs.  Displays and the Fair Trade sale will be open until 8:00 pm.

From September 12 – 23, 2019, Moraine Park hosted 14 students and 2 instructors from the Peter Behrens Schule in Darmstadt, Germany.

This was a wonderful cultural opportunity for German and Wisconsin students, staff and volunteers to learn and have fun together! German students were hosted by MPTC families or stayed at the VUE Campus apartments. The students and instructors experienced a whirlwind of WI culture including Lambeau Field Tour, Lake Winnebago Tour, Just Fare Market, Harley Museum, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Bucks, WI Badgers, farmers markets, WI Dells, Trek Bike races, Culvers, Friday fish fries, WI supper clubs and more! Students also attended MPTC classes related to their fields of study at both Fond du Lac and West Bend Campuses.

A big thank you to our Culinary Instructor James Simmers for hosting this awesome opportunity, and all of our volunteers, Rachel Tease, Eric Ludwig, Heidi Sternig, Kevin Rodriquez, David Mulder, Kevin Niedfeldt, Jill Stiemsma, Bobbi Fields, Tina Cordell, Lisa Dougherty, Jim Daniels, Melissa Schmidt and Chris Frederick; and also to Tinesha Smith at the VUE for helping make this a tremendous experience for all!