Mina Vang-Xiong was married at 17 and graduated from Fond du Lac High School in 2005. She went on to pursue nursing at UW-Oshkosh, later becoming a certified ophthalmic assistant. After seven years and having three children, she felt a pull to spend more time with her family and in her community.

“I wanted to be able to spend more time with my children,” Vang-Xiong said. “In the medical field, I
knew I wouldn’t be able to live the life I wanted. Information Technology (IT) is something learnable and will allow me to be more flexible. I know that after I graduate, I’ll be able to work in any industry I want, and I am really excited about my future.”

Vang-Xiong enrolled in Moraine Park’s dual-degree IT program in spring 2020 and will graduate in 2022 with both IT Network Specialist and IT Technical Support Specialist associate degrees. After graduating, her future goals include getting a job at an IT company and working toward a bachelor’s degree.

By enrolling at Moraine Park, Vang-Xiong found not only more time to spend with her family, but also more time to engage with her communities. She is vice president of Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac Student Senate, president of the IT Club, a member of Phi Theta Kappa Academic Honor Society and had the opportunity to work with Moraine Park’s IT department as a technical support assistant.

“Being involved and volunteering is an emotional experience that allows me to be more aware of
the needs in my community,” Vang-Xiong said. “I believe when schools, parents and communities partner together, great things can happen in the lives of children and young adults.”

Outside of Moraine Park she volunteers at her children’s school events, engages with her local Hmong community and enjoys practicing her hobbies of fruit carving and baking. Recently, she was awarded a Bronze MPTC Student Impact Award for completing more than 25 hours of volunteer work.

“Stepping outside of my job and into volunteering has given me the chance to learn new professional skills while sharpening others including public speaking, managing teams, fundraising and coordinating events,” she said.

Vang-Xiong’s proudest moment was volunteering as a traditional Hmong dance instructor with the Fond du Lac Nkauj Hmoob Kaj Siab dance team to help younger generations learn more about
their culture, become more engaged in their community and build self-esteem.

“Career transitions are like onions,” Vang-Xiong said. “They are complex and there is usually more to them than what we see on the surface. This career switch has kept me on my toes, and this new chapter in life has created a network of new relationships, broader access to new information, career advice and community support.”

Read more stories like Mina’s in our Spring 2022 NEXT Magazine.

Moraine Park Information Technology student, Tim Reynolds of Van Dyne, has been named a 2022 Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar and will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the Coca-Cola Academic Team program by recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver, and 50 Bronze Scholars with nearly $200,000 in scholarships annually. Each scholar also receives a commemorative medallion.

“The Coca-Cola scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” Jane Hale Hopkins, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, said. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa to make it possible for more deserving students to achieve their educational goals and support tomorrow’s leaders of the global community.”

Students are nominated for the academic team by their college administrators. Selection is based on academic achievement, leadership, and engagement in college and community service.

“This scholarship is going to help pay for school, because I cannot afford it on my own,” Reynolds said. “I have been putting in a lot of hard work, and one of my biggest accomplishments is being part of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. I hope that I have inspired my peers to work hard and put their best foot forward.”

Coca-Cola Academic Team members will be recognized in both local and statewide ceremonies and will also be recognized internationally during Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention, PTK Catalyst, to be held in Denver, Colorado, April 7-9.

“We thank the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for recognizing these student leaders and for investing in their futures,” Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa, said. “Scholarships like these are integral to the success of these students in reaching their educational and career goals.”

Graduating students from Moraine Park Technical College’s Graphic Communications, Interactive Media Design, IT – Software Developer, and Web Development & Design and Mobile Applications Developer programs will be showcasing their talents at the College’s Portfolio Showcase on Wednesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. The event will be completely online.

The Portfolio Showcase is an annual event that highlights the work these students have completed in their respective programs while at Moraine Park. The event allows them to share their projects with prospective employers, the local community and Moraine Park students and staff.

For more information on Portfolio Night event, visit morainepark.edu/portfolio-showcase.

“Service Above Self” is the motto of the Fond du Lac Morning Rotary Club.

Recently, the Rotary Club honored two Moraine Park Technical College student clubs – Criminal Justice Club and IT Club, for their outstanding service projects. Criminal Justice students presented examples of their service projects including Dream Big with Boys and Girls Clubs and IT students presented Tech Tyme at the FDL Senior Center. Each student group was awarded a $250 FDL Rotary grant to help continue their efforts. Congratulations!

We increasingly read about today’s newest technologies (Artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles). But living in Wisconsin, we often ask the following questions:

• What are these technologies?

• Isn’t this technology 5 years away?

• Aren’t the companies and industries using this technology just in New York, Chicago, or Silicon Valley?

• How can I get skills in Northeast Wisconsin to be involved with these technologies?

Oliver Buechse, co-Founder and Executive Director of Advancing AI Wisconsin, will present at Moraine Park Technical College on Tuesday, April 30th at 4:00pm.

Campus Location: 235 N National Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI. The event will be held in room A109 (Cafeteria). Get Campus and Visitor Information here.

Register for this free event at the NEW IT Alliance Events page. Refreshments will be provided.

Good Luck to Moraine Park Students participating in The Pitch entrepreneurship competition this Thursday, April 11 in Green Bay. 

The Pitch was created by the Fox Connection, a collaboration of the premier colleges and universities in northeast Wisconsin to enhance entrepreneurial education and opportunity for area students.

Students Shae Stangl, Kristen Westlake, and Patrick Rupprecht will be presenting their ‘pitch’ under team name Emergent Technologies.

For more information on the event, visit https://thepitchfoxcities.com/the-event/.

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu

(Kelly Shafaie AD-Nursing, Heddy Pahnke Admin Assistant-Nursing, Melissa Rodriguez, Grace Rommelfanger, Kristen Finnel Dean-Health, Mary Scheuermann, Cathy Bosch, Patrick McCain, Casey Truse, Karrie Bruegman-May, April Herrera, Kerry DeGroot)

Moraine Park’s Nursing program will be implementing a new computerized testing program titled ExamSoft this Fall 2018 semester.  All Nursing theory and skills courses will be utilizing this software for all tests/exams throughout the program.

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Moraine Park’s Interactive Media/Graphics Club in West Bend created a video for the American Bank in Beaver Dam.

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On May 1, 2018, Fond du Lac Boys and Girls Club kids in grades 5-11 were excited to meet and learn with Moraine Park IT Network Specialist student Phil Conley!

Phil was excited to showcase desktop computer building for Club kids.  He said, “it’s really fun to see the kids excited about building computers and how all the wires and cables work.  Hopefully I helped them learn and explore what a great career field IT can be!”

Fond du Lac Boys and Girls Club Director of Teen Services Dillon Wiese said, “Our teens had the fun opportunity to take apart and rebuild 2 computers with Mr. Phil from Moraine Park. What a fun, interactive learning experience for all those who participated!  Thank you Moraine Park for this great stretch of Dream Big presentations! They were enjoyed by all and I can’t say thank you enough for the opportunities you’ve provided our teens with. I’m hoping this is something we can attempt every school year! Your clubs were all tremendous and thank you again to the students and instructors for taking time out of their schedules to help educate our youth.”

The idea for “Dream Big and Have Fun” began with the Moraine Park Technical College District Student Government President/IT Club Vice President, Phil Conley.  Phil was passionate about helping kids after volunteering with the IT Club internet safety project at Boys and Girls Club last year.  He had an awesome brainstorm to reach out to all the Moraine Park Clubs through Student Senate and make a plan for each one to visit the Boys & Girls Club to share some learning and fun from their programs/careers.  Clubs will be featured all throughout the months of March and April.  This is a great opportunity for Moraine Park students to earn service learning hours and for Fond du Lac Boys and Girls Club members to get excited about future career choices!

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