David Block has worn many hats here at Moraine Park.  He began working at MPTC in 2011 as an ELL instructor at the Dodge County Jail.  He has taught ELL at the Rosendale Dairy and on the Beaver Dam campus, and he served as the ELL Program Specialist in Fond du Lac.  He is currently our wonderful full-time ELL instructor at the Fond du Lac campus and we are sad to see him retire from his position at the end of the Fall 2021 semester.

When David was younger, he never thought that he would be an English teacher.  According to David, “English was not my favorite subject in school.”  This all changed when he relocated with his family to Peru to do mission work.  There, he served as an administrator and an instructor for a religious organization.  The focus of the mission work was on earthquake relief after an 8.1 Richter scale earthquake caused significant damage to the country in 2007.  He and his young family lived there for 15 years.  His experience moving to Peru with his family has given him great perspective on all the challenges that his students face when moving to a new country.  He appreciates how brave our ELL students are to take on such a big change and to “start a new life where the language and the culture are totally different.”  David “is glad to be a part of their process [to help them] to better integrate into their new ‘home.”’

One of the things that David enjoys most about his job is getting to know his students and learning about their cultures and individual stories. He appreciates being able to connect with so many students from different countries and cultures and to foster friendships amongst his students through English classes.  David has found joy and gratification in “helping students take next steps towards achieving their dreams [and] watching as they stretch their wings and fly.”  And his students are very grateful for the time and support that David has given to them. We asked his students to describe David, and here are some of the words that they used: warm, patient, tolerant, responsible, awesome, and excellent. He must be an excellent language instructor to have taught his students such dynamic vocabulary!

David has been a wonderful leader and mentor to our team of instructors in the Adult Ed. department.  He has been an invaluable asset to Moraine Park Technical College, to his many wonderful students, and to the greater Fond du Lac Community.   We wish him the best in his retirement and throughout the next chapter of his life.

Many students come to the Student Success Center at MPTC to get help with their course work, but sometimes our programs partner and instructors will go to the students. Two examples are found in the Medical Assistant and Auto programs. Past partnerships have included working with Culinary Arts, CNC, Welding, and CNA classes.

Bob Mengert has assisted in the Auto courses for several years, and is right in the classroom to help students understand the math and reading skills needed to succeed in those programs. Similarly, Jeani Slaymaker works with students in the Medical Assistant program.

Bob holds classes for any auto students who need skill-building, primarily in math and reading skills, and will tailor the lessons to specific needs for that program. He doesn’t just teach general math lessons, but math skills needed when working in the field of Auto Mechanics. Bob also assists in the labs, where instructors in the program make good use of and appreciate his help!

Jeani does similar work with students in the Medical Assistant program, teaching necessary reading and math skills needed for Pharmacology, Human Body, and other courses. She has created hands-on review materials to make the lessons come alive for students, including the “human game board” and Kahoots quizzes. She also meets virtually with students to review instructor lectures and help with students’ notes and comprehension.

Many students have benefited from Jeani’s help. According to MA instructors, Brianna Matheson and Erika Herriges, Jeani “…is an asset to the program.” She “… cares deeply for the students, utilizes creative study techniques.” Brianna adds, “Students who work with Jeani tend to achieve higher test scores and retain knowledge longer than students who don’t.”

The Student Success Center instructors strive to assist students in their college courses. Whether you come to us, or we come to you, our aim is the same – your success!

Project management skills are sought after and across the globe, an increasing gap between employers’ need for skilled project management workers and the availability of professionals to fill those roles. The Project Management Institute (PMI) forecasts that by 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles. A project management skillset pays off. PMI’s research of wages in the United States in 2017 for workers with a project management skillset reported premium wages and those who obtained certification through PMI reporting earnings 20 percent higher (PMI, 2017).

Chuck Breithaupt is an IT Project Manager at Moraine Park Technical College. He is a member of the PMI and holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. He shared his thoughts on the importance of the project management skillset and the Project Coordinator Certificate that is offered at MPTC.  “MPTC’s objective is to provide you with foundational education and practical skills for your profession; consider this training a step in a journey to career success. Additional training for certifications and accreditations like the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) awarded by the PMI can be the difference between getting a job, succeeding in a job, and advancing in your career. The project management courses at MPTC go beyond mere practical exercises; they also provide the theory to achieve professional accreditation to start a fulfilling career”.

Project management skills are needed in all industries. Manufacturing, construction, Information Technology, Financial and Insurance services are among the industries seeking those with project management skills. Chuck weighed in on his career in Information Technology. “If your chosen profession is Information Technology, project management training helps you function as a project team member or in the project manager’s role. It is common for an IT specialist to perform as a technology resource, business analyst and project manager in many organizations”.

The Project Coordinator Certificate at Moraine Park Technical College prepares students for entry-level positions that require project management skills, and introduces skill-sets for project management professionals.  Students who complete the certificate are eligible to write PMI’s CAPM certification exam. All courses in the certificate directly transfer to the Business Management, Business Analyst, Leadership and Organizational Development, and Administrative Coordinator Associate Degrees.

If you are interested in learning more about the Project Coordinator Certificate, visit our Admissions page online by visiting https://www.morainepark.edu/admissions/new-student/how-to-apply-for-admissions/

References

PMI (2017). Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027. https://www.pmi.org/learning/careers/job-growth

Veteran’s Day was a very special experience for twenty-one Veterans residing at the St. Francis Home campus in Fond du Lac this year.

Steve Pepper, Moraine Park’s Student Veteran Specialist, and one of the Student Veteran’s Club advisors arranged and participated in a Zoom video call with the veterans and several students and staff from Moraine Park. Nathan Evrad, one of Moraine Park’s academic advisors, even created personalized video greetings thanking the Veterans for their service.  He stated, “As a fellow military veteran, I want to thank you for your service and let you know that you are not forgotten.” During the call, the veterans reminisced about basic training, their jobs while serving, flying overseas for duty, and even pesky chiggers.

Due to COVID restriction, some residents had not seen each other in a while, so it was great to see some veterans talk among themselves during the call. Before the event, donations of chocolates, snacks, puzzles, and other goodies were collected. Staff at St. Francis home filled patriotic bags that morning and handed them out after the call.

Which included a surprise of a specially designed “I Served” pin and Moraine Park’s military challenge coin.

Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator, had this to say about the event: Thank you so much for this wonderful extra special effort! My Dad loved his “interview” with Steve Pepper… and the goodie bags, especially the black licorice.

“When it was over, Steve remarked, “What a great day, and thanked all of the staff at the St. Francis Home who made this Day possible. Hopefully, things will get back to normal next year, and the college will be able to visit with the veterans in person.””

For additional information regarding veterans’ events and benefits, please contact Steve Pepper at 920-924-3489 or spepper1@morainepark.edu

The MPTC Teaching Fellows program, currently running its fourth cohort, invites faculty members to study the science behind teaching and learning in order to offer the best instruction possible to their students. Faculty apply for a place in each year’s group and commit to meeting monthly with their peers to share what they know, learn from each other, and discuss research on topics like how the human brain processes knowledge, why some students don’t like school, and how making room for failure in the classroom leads to deeper learning.

Faculty observe each other’s classes and complete a research project of their own. Bobbi Mand, Basic Education Instructor and current Teaching Fellow, reflects on the value of visiting colleagues’ classrooms. “I was impressed with the level of student engagement in the class! Students were listening intently to the lecture, participating in group discussions, and collaborating to gather information to present medical conditions to the class. I learned new teaching strategies that I can implement in the Student Success Center.” This type of collaborative learning and growth among faculty is central to the year-long experience.
The research project encourages each Fellow to apply the ideas being shared in their monthly meetings in their classrooms. Each participant selects a high impact learning concept to put into practice in their classrooms and then measures the effect it has on their students. Past research projects have focused on differentiating assessments (offering a variety of ways for students to show their learning), incorporating metacognitive strategies into the curriculum, and supporting mental health in the classroom. This year’s research projects have been chosen and are already positively impacting MPTC students.

Ben McKenzie, Associate Dean of Health and Teaching Fellows facilitator, highlights the value of the program: “Faculty members get to share their experiences, both high and lows. As educators, they have found both enjoyment and success and have a desire to continually improve the experience for themselves, their students, and other educators. Teaching Fellows provides an opportunity to take your guard down, define areas of strength and explore areas where one would like to improve.”

This year’s cohort recently explored the role authenticity plays in student engagement and success by individually assembling a doorbell circuits under the direction of one of MPTC’s nursing assistant faculty. Gus Boyle-Gustavus, Electricity Instructor, Teaching Fellow, and faculty member who could have more authentically guided learners through the activity reflects on the goals of the activity, shares that, “We attempted to bring to light that if one is not educated on the subject matter they are instructing, the students will not trust, respect, or follow the instructor’s lead. When the students realized Jodie [the nursing assistant faculty] was not authentically providing clear and knowledgeable instruction, they either stopped working on the activity or took initiative to figure it out on their own. Some students were elated when they figured it out on their own, but others were frustrated that they couldn’t get their doorbells working. Teachers don’t need to have all the answers; we do need to exude competence in the subjects we are instructing.”

Teaching Fellows is just one of many efforts supported by the college to ensure that when students choose Moraine Park, they’re choosing an educational institution as outstanding and innovative as they are. As Jim Eden, Vice President of Academic Affairs explains, “Teaching Fellows is a great opportunity for faculty to share and enhance their teaching skills. We live in a very dynamic environment and it is crucial faculty continue to evolve their teaching skills and delivery methodologies to meet a very diverse student population. I am very proud of all the work Teaching Fellows are doing.”

morainepark.edu

Moraine Park Technical College earned fourth place in Humana, Inc.’s Go365 National Step Challenge. Go365 is Humana’s health and wellness rewards program focused onimproving the fitness of employees from companies across the country. Moraine Park has been utilizing the Go365 wellness platform for three years as an employee benefits tool.

“We implemented Go365 in 2016,” Lori Schrage, benefits coordinator at Moraine Park said. “The tool not only encourages employees to be more active, it also provides rewards for doing so.”

The National Step Challenge is a competition in which employer groups with two or more Go365 members compete for the highest team average step count. All winning teams receive a donation to their local member food bank of Feeding America® in their name. 

As a result of Moraine Park’s efforts, they placed fourth earning 10,000 meals, which will benefit individuals in eastern Wisconsin and the MPTC district, through Feeding America.

The Challenge featured 2,939 competing organizations that collectively logged 10.6 B steps earning one million donated meals. 

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

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.

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, and Moraine Park Technical College and Marian University teamed up once again to sponsor a veteran’s suicide awareness event, dubbed 22 No More. A 2.2-mile trek to help raise awareness of the many veterans’ lives lost too soon due to suicide.

Over 125 people participated in this year’s annual event, intended to raise awareness of the alarming suicide rate among veterans and, form a strong community around those who have served or currently serving. Although 2.2 miles may not seem like a significant distance, the number was chosen to identify the 20-22 veteran suicides or, one every 80 minutes which occur every day, and, ensure everyone who attended would be able to take part in the event.

Participants received a free 22 No More water bottle or small nylon sport-pack courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs and everyone was encouraged to honor a service member by carrying a photo of them during the walk. There was also an opportunity for the community to meet with area veteran resource providers, the National Guard, and ROTC service members.

The event began promptly at 10:00 a.m. with a flag presentation by Marian University’s ROTC followed by the 2.2-mile walk around the Fond du Lac Soccer Complex. Participants also got the marathon treatment courtesy of MPTC’s Health and Wellbeing Committee who provided water and bananas along the way and, the walk ended with a free from Yummy Bones Barbeque sponsored by Moraine Park’s Student Veterans and Civil Engineering Technology Clubs.  Plans are in the works to conduct the 22 No More walk again next year, and we are always looking for new ways to raise awareness and increase participation. If you would like more information or may be interested in assisting next year, please contact Steve Pepper, Moraine Park’s Student Veteran Specialist at 920-924-3489 or spepper1@morainepark.edu .

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.”

Interested in learning more about our boot camp opportunities, visit
https://www.morainepark.edu/services/business-and-industry/bootcamp/ .