Moraine Park Technical College held its annual General Education Development (GED) and High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) graduation ceremony on May 26. There were 96 GED/HSED graduates for the 2021-22 school year.
Jebichi Yator of Fox Lake and Gretta Hanna of Columbus served as this year’s student speakers.
“I want to thank my teachers at Moraine Park for their support, patience and guidance,” Yator said. “Completing my GED and enrolling in Moraine Park’s Nursing program will change my life and my children’s lives, too. I can’t wait to start changing lives myself by becoming a nurse.”
The GED/HSED students had to pass all five subject portions of the nationally recognized GED tests: Reasoning through Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematical Reasoning and Civics. GED students must also complete Career Awareness training. Students obtaining an HSED are required to complete both Employability Skills and Health Literacy training.
“Congratulations to all of our 2022 GED/HSED graduates,” Pete Snyder, Moraine Park’s associate dean of adult education, said. “Our graduates worked full-time jobs, cared for children, and supported their parents–all while coming to school. These accomplishments are special, and they earned the right to be here tonight.”
For more information about Moraine Park’s GED/HSED classes, visit morainepark.edu/GED.
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.”
Heather Quickle will graduate from Moraine Park’s Nursing program this Spring, and she has already accepted a job and made the move to North Carolina.
Quickle started in Moraine Park’s Nursing Program in 2020 and just recently accepted a position at Atrium Wake-Forest Baptist-High Point Medical Center as an ICU Nurse.
“I have wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl,” Quickle said. “My husband and I started a family early and we decided I would stay home with them. I wouldn’t change my time at home with them for anything, but now that they are older, I decided to pursue the dream I have always had.”
She is originally from High Point, North Carolina, but has moved around with her husband who is in the Army.
“We decided to move back to North Carolina when I graduated so we could be close to family again,” Quickle said. “It has been 18 years since I lived near my family, and I knew that one day I would be able to come back.”
She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Academic Honors Society and will graduate from Moraine Park with high honors. In the fall 2021 semester, Quickle earned the President’s Award for reaching over 200 hours of service.
“I plan on getting my Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) certification in the next two years,” she said. “I’m deciding what to do after that. I tutored while I attended Moraine Park, and now I think that educating new and upcoming nurses might be in my future.”
The Moraine Park Foundation has received a $6,000 certified nursing assistant (CNA) scholarship gift from SSM Health. The scholarship is given on behalf of SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital, SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital and SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital. The donation will allow the Foundation to provide scholarships for students seeking to become CNAs.
“Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) represent an essential part of the patient-care team,” according to Nicole Gill, vice president – Patient Care Services & chief nursing officer, SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital and SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital. “In assisting the medical staff, CNAs not only provide physical care for patients but also emotional and spiritual support, truly making a difference in the lives of patients and families. SSM Health values the CNA profession and is honored to help support the career in our communities.”
The scholarship is one way that the SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac Region can meet a growing demand for CNAs.
“These clinicians play a vital role on our care delivery team working closely with patients to ensure their physical and emotional needs are met,” Tami Schattschneider, vice president Patient Care Services/chief nursing officer, SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital. “St. Agnes deeply appreciates the value that CNAs bring to the care we provide and is pleased to partner with The Moraine Park Foundation to provide financial support through scholarships for those who have chosen this noble career path.”
Moraine Park’s Nursing Assistant training prepares students for work as nursing assistants by teaching the foundations of how to communicate and interact with patients, family and co-workers, maintain and protect client rights, and record observations. Students also learn ethical and legal responsibilities of nursing assistants, how to provide safe care for a diverse population, assist clients with long-term, disabling conditions, and more. The program also prepares students to take the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry exam through a combination of more than 75 hours of classroom theory, laboratory work and clinical experience.
“SSM Health is a generous partner in providing scholarship funds that make education affordable for Moraine Park students,” Dana Bourland, director of college advancement at Moraine Park, said. “Their gift also ensures there is a pipeline of talented healthcare professionals to fill workforce needs in our local communities.”
Moraine Park Technical College will survey a random sampling of homes in the district starting April 8. The goal of the survey is to help the College obtain input on future business and industry needs within the district, and the growth and improvements that are required to help meet those needs.
The Moraine Park district includes Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Washington counties, and small portions of surrounding counties. The College, with campus locations in Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, and West Bend, plays a critical role in training more than 12,000 students each year for industry-critical jobs. Moraine Park students pursue degrees in many high-demand areas, including information technology, cybersecurity, accounting, nursing, respiratory therapy, advanced manufacturing, and website and graphic design.
“Our focus will always be on educating our students. However, we also need to develop a plan to update our programs and facilities to continue to fuel the growing business and industry sector,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president, said. “Our programs are dependent on our facilities to offer hands-on training and real-world learning opportunities. To help in our planning, we formed the Capital Expansion Visioning Team and developed a survey to gather the input from our communities; their feedback and support are vital to the success of this future planning.”
Those who are randomly selected should reply by April 25.
Final survey results will be reported at Moraine Park Technical College board meeting on May 18.
Since early February, eleven simulation babies were born at the Beaver Dam simulation center. The first five were high-risk pregnancies, training 4th-semester nursing students on how to manage pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes during labor and delivery. The remaining six were normal pregnancies that helped train 2nd-semester nursing students on the basics of labor and delivery with a healthy mom and baby. These simulations were also facilitated at the West Bend simulation center for nursing students, delivering six simulation babies. Students from both Beaver Dam and Fond du Lac attended the simulations in Beaver Dam to reinforce theory content in Complex Health Alterations 2 and Nursing Health Promotions.
Faculty used the Sim Mom mannequin and other models to teach assessment and intervention skills like determining cervical dilation and completing fundal massage.
Some of the feedback students give about how simulation helps their learning includes helping put all the pieces together, being a low-stress environment to learn and feel safe to make mistakes, as well as being able to conceptualize information that they previously were confused about. Hands-on learning really makes a difference in their nursing education.
Moraine Park Technical College has distributed over $8,000 in its third round Non-Traditional Occupations (NTO) grants. Last spring, the College started this initiative to benefit high school classrooms and encourage students to explore non-traditional career options. Non-traditional occupations are defined as careers that currently employ 25% or less of one gender.
High schools within Moraine Park’s district are eligible to participate in the grant program. Currently, partnerships are being formed to help influence the NTO exploration of skilled trade, health care, and early childhood occupations.
“It’s important to us that we introduce high school students to careers early on,” Ruback said. “There is such a high need for skilled workers, and our goal is to help fill the gaps in our local industries. Students who have the opportunity to take college credit classes in high school benefit in many ways; it’s more cost-effective, and they help develop life skills to be more self-sufficient and well-rounded adults.”
The fall 2021 grant cycle awarded West Bend District High Schools with funding used to purchase a shaken baby simulator, welding materials and nursing assistant materials; Waupun High School with medical and anatomy equipment; Fond du Lac High School with equipment for criminal justice and automotive training; Slinger High School with nursing assistant equipment, North Fond du Lac with a shaken baby simulator; and, Campbellsport High School with nursing assistant equipment.
“This has been such a powerful opportunity for us because we can help benefit the career path of our students before they are in college,” Ruback said. “The NTO grant money is awarded directly into the teacher’s classrooms and provides reimbursement toward the purchase of materials, supplies, textbooks, software applications, or equipment to enhance the dual credit learning environments.”
Moraine Park’s district schools interested in exploring dual credit options should connect with the K-12 Department at k12@morainepark.edu.
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.
We encourage students to participate in our community impact awards program where students can track their service-learning or volunteer hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours,Gold Award for 100 hours, and President’s Award for 200 hours!
In the 2021 fall semester, despite all the Covid-19 challenges, 15 students earned awards and logged over 1,600 hours of service! Congratulations to our Fall, 2021 award winners!
Presidents Award
For Fall, 2021, three students earned the President’s Award for over 200 hours of service each in their time at MPTC! The three students are Corey Koch – Administrative Professional, Heather Quickle – Nursing, and Julianna Stuht – Paramedic. MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald celebrated with and congratulated each student, stating: “I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments of Julianna, Corey and Heather. Each has their own unique story and came to Moraine Park Technical College to explore and create new career opportunities. In addition to their work and college obligations, their volunteer efforts exemplify the college values of continuous improvement, collaboration, and impactful learning. I can’t wait to see what their futures hold for them!”
President’s Award winner Corey Koch said: “I spent my volunteer internship hours working on the new database/donor tracking system for the FDL Area Women’s Fund. I was excited to learn and plan how a good database could help bolster the Women’s Fund mission and goals. I helped with each Women’s Fund fundraising event, and put all previous and new donors into the database. I also worked on creating a guidebook for the software. I hope this book can be utilized by the next incoming person who will handle software management. I learned more about working independently and on a team. My Women’s Fund experiences were eye-opening and great practice for my future career.”
President’s Award winner Julianna Stuht said: “Volunteering as an AEMT/firefighter for my community gives me the opportunity to meet the citizens that reside in my service area, as well as further my skills as a healthcare provider. I am so excited to continue learning through this volunteer opportunity.”
Gold Award
Completing 100-199 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
Stuht, Julianna – Paramedic
Silver Award
Completing 50-99 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
Riemersma, Allison – Nursing
Beeks, Tonia – Medical Assistant
Manke, Zoe – Medical Assistant
Stuht, Julianna – Paramedic
Bronze Award
Completing 25-49 hours of service-learning or volunteering.
MPTC is a recipient of a $2,500 grant from the Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund to help support our Fond du Lac County female students experiencing financial emergencies. MPTC was one of 15 area local nonprofits to receive grant funding.
“I am grateful for the Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund’s generosity to award MPTC funding to help our Fond du Lac area female students who experience financial hardships. These dollars make an impact and help keep these students enrolled in school during times of need,” said Jackie Morgan, student community, equity and engagement specialist.
A recent Women’s Fund grant recipient wrote:
“I am so honored to be a recipient of your generous donation. I am in my last semester of the nursing program and will be graduating in December, 2021. I am planning on specializing as a lactation nurse. When I received the unexpected bill, I wasn’t sure how I could pay for it without sacrificing study time to work extra shifts. Thank you for lifting this financial burden off and enabling me to keep focused on my studies. Hopefully, one day, I’ll be able to give back to the student emergency fund and help someone just like you had helped me.”
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