Hello Moraine Park friends!

Has school been stressing you out? Yea, me too!

When I am stressed, I tend to shut down and find comfort food. Everyone deals with times of stress differently, but I wanted to share some options that have worked for me recently.

• Take a bath with Epsom salt. Don’t have a bathtub? You can sprinkle Epsom salt in the bottom of your shower- it will create a soothing steam!
• Go for a walk. Increasing your endorphins may help you feel less tense and increase your mood overall.
• Play or spend time with your pet. My dog bring my life joy!
• Take a break from what your doing. We all have busy lives and long to-do lists but stepping away for a moment to refuel can be beneficial.
• Make cookies or your treat of choice. Yes, I make cookies when I am stressed. 🙂 The process of making them, and the satisfaction of enjoying one, makes it a great (and delicious) stress relief for me.
• Reach out to family or friends. Let the ones you love help you!

Have a great semester MPTC- hope to see you on campus this semester!

Congratulations to Barbara Turner, of Beaver Dam, on earning the first Emerging Leader award from the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce. This award recognizes a high school or post-secondary student in Beaver Dam who demonstrates strong character, leadership, and community service.
FYI- She served over 200 hours at the Chamber- helping the Executive Directory tremendously during COVID-19!! Barbara was also recognized virtually by Congressman Glenn Grothman.

“Whether at the College or the Chamber, Barbara consistently demonstrates that she is a committed, dependable, hard-working individual with a high degree of integrity. She brings a positive attitude and a natural curiosity to plan, learn and do – no matter what the task or project. She has a tenacious gift to persevere and a real desire to make a difference in this community. Barbara has a proven track record for success and has demonstrated her commitment to lifelong learning and volunteerism,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president, said.

Here are the comments shared by the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce at the virtual annual meeting:

“Tracy Probst, Executive Director for the Beaver Dam Chamber, started just as COVID-19 was hitting Wisconsin and the safer at home order went into place. The board soon realized we would not be able to have the regular events that help fund the operations of the chamber and unfortunately had to lay off the Chamber assistant indefinitely.

Through a conversation Tracy had with Mary Vogl Rauscher, an instructor at Moraine Park, Barbara Turner, stepped forward and offered to help over the summer. Barbara spent over 200 hours at the Chamber, helping Tracy update records in the database and cover when she needed to be out of the office.

Barbara is currently a full-time student in the Leadership Development program at Moraine Park Technical College. She has received an associate degree in supervisory management and is currently pursuing a second degree in business analytics. Barbara is very involved in her school and community and served as the 2019-20 MPTC District Student Ambassador for the Wisconsin Technical College. As MPTC’s ambassador, she was actively highlighting technical college education through public awareness efforts and legislative advocacy – instilling pride in technical education among students, graduates, and the community.

Barbara is also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Academic Honor Society, the MPTC student government, and serves as President of the student chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Barbara Turner moved to Beaver Dam from Israel, where she served in the Israeli Army.

She completed 224 hours of service learning from the Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce this summer and has earned the prestigious MPTC President’s Award for Community Impact. It is our understanding that this might be the record in volunteer hours at MPTC.

Barb has inspired our Chamber Board to create the Emerging Leader award, which will recognize high-school or post-secondary students for their volunteer work and leadership at work, school, or a non-profit organization in Beaver Dam.”

We are proud of you, Barbara! Keep up the good work!

Moraine Park Technical College named over 1,000 students to the Dean’s List for the fall 2020 semester.

To qualify for this distinction, a student must be enrolled in at least six undergraduate-level course credits, earn a minimum grade point average of 3.5, not have a failing or incomplete grade for the semester, and be in good academic standing.

You can view the list here!

Congratulations to all our fall 2020 Dean’s list students- this is a huge accomplishment!

Who does not like easy food? During quarantine I did a lot of cooking! But what is better than making that meal in 5-10 minutes? I fell in love with my slow cooker this summer. I made everything I could think of from chicken tacos, BBQ chicken sandwiches, chicken teriyaki, beef roast, and even cinnamon rolls! However, I also found easy recipes to follow that take no longer than 10 minutes. I have them listed and linked below!

Bowtie and broccoli

Zesty Italian Wrap

Breakfast Parfaits

Pizzadillias

Overnight oats

Buffalo chicken wraps

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

Moraine Park Technical College’s Gas Utility Students led the Operation Christmas Child shoebox project at the Beaver Dam campus this November. 

Every year since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. To date, more than 178 million children in more than 150 countries have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. 

The 2020-21 class of gas utility students are Mike Breitzke of Lomira, Grant Burbach of Oakfield, Eli Davidson of Baraboo, Luke Halbach of New Holstein, Payton Kollmann of Fond du Lac, Kobe Krebs of Berlin, Cole McKay of West Bend, Mauston Reilly of Berlin, and Ryan Sellnow of Watertown. To date, they have filled over 50 shoeboxes.

“Our students have received great support from the College and community,” Steve Logan, Moraine Park gas utility instructor, said. “A gentlemen they met at the store even donated $20 when he learned about the project and their efforts. Both this project and that kind gentleman have provided a great learning opportunity, which I believe will stay with these students long after they have moved on from Moraine Park.”    Donations that cannot go in a shoebox will be given to Community Care Inc. in Beaver Dam, a preschool and childcare facility for Dodge County families in crisis.

morainepark.edu 

Trust me, WSG is not as scary as it sounds! The basic rundown of the Wisconsin Student Government is as follows:

• All 16 of the Technical colleges meet once a month. Typically these meetings are in person; however, we are currently meeting virtually.
• Each college has two representatives, the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, who are elected by their college’s student government.
• The Governor is the only one allowed to vote on behalf of their college. They make decisions on topics such as budget, speakers, previous meeting minutes, adjuring for lunch, etc.
• The WSG also has a leadership team that consists of a president, vice-president, secretary, and parliamentarian. These positions are open to any student within the WTCS.

The meetings are very informative, allow the colleges to bounce ideas off each other, and opens up doors to crucial connections.

MPTC students: If you have not considered attending one of the WSG meetings, I highly recommend doing so!

Potential/future students: Participation in the WSG is just one way that MPTC offers opportunities to grow and connect.

Visit https://www.morainepark.edu/experience-mptc/student-life/ to learn more.

Grab your friends, family, and animals WE ARE GOING ON A HIKE! What better way to enjoy much-needed family time or alone time than taking a walk with the beautiful landscapes of Wisconsin following you? Do not worry, I have done the research for the best places to go in fall around all three of the campuses. However, if you have the time to drive all the way up to Devils Lake, which is hands down my favorite hiking spot. I would also recommend going to Lion’s Den Nature Preserve or Harrington Beach State Park! Pike Lake State Park is another popular one. 

Washington County 

• Ridge run park 
• Parnell tower 
• Friends of lac Laurence conservatory  

Dodge County 

• Ledge park 
• Harnischfeger park 
• Horicon Marsh 

Fond du Lac County 

• Hobbs woods 
• Kiekhaefer park 
• Lakeside park 

-Haley VanRaden, Moraine Park District Student Ambassador

Here is why I think voting is important:

It may not seem like it, but government and policy impacts how we live our lives each and every day. I strongly believe that voting is the cornerstone of a positive society and a strong democracy. If we choose not to vote, we’re putting our lives in the hands of people we may or may not support and the policies that they create. These exact people write policies that will affect every facet of our lives like healthcare, social security, climate change, housing, poverty, student debt, and many more.

So in order to create and uphold a strong democracy, we need to choose the right people to solve problems such as these. And students such as ourselves are the most important in the election process. Our Wisconsin Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes recently said that if every student in Wisconsin voted this November, we would make up the second largest city in our state! That makes a HUGE impact on our election process.

It has even been proven that the lowest turnout rates in past elections have been younger voters and students. According to the Campus Vote Project, “Young adults (ages 18-29) made up about 21% of the voting eligible population in 2014, but voter turnout for this demographic has reached record lows in recent years.” Community college and tech college students matter even more because we share a close relation to the communities in which we go to school, live and work. 7.1 million students go to tech or community colleges across the U.S. With such a large student representation, we can make our voices be heard this election and help politicians create policies that help us all directly – like federal financial aid, student debt forgiveness, more funding for our school programs, and more jobs within our communities.

So get out there on November 3rd and let your voice be heard! Let’s preserve our democracy for generations to come.

WI Online Registration Deadline: October 14, 2020

Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Learn more at:       myvote.wi.gov

Cortland Henning, MPTC 2020-21 Newman Civic Fellow