“I completed this class as a successful writer,” Lauren Schwefel stated.
“I believe that our instructor, Dr. Rebecca Leichtfuss, provided us with quality writing tools so that we can achieve career success in the future,” Natalie Graff concluded.
Natalie Graff and Lauren Schwefel decided to share their
experience in the English Composition I course to let other students know about
what to expect. “When I enrolled in the
English Composition I course, I thought I already knew what we needed to know
about writing. Turns out I was wrong,” said Graff, who will be graduating from
the Accounting program in May, 2019.
Lauren Schwefel, a Nursing student, also found that she
would learn a lot from taking the English Composition I course. “Dr. Rebecca Leichtfuss taught our class and
emphasized to students the importance of learning the 4 C’s of Writing. We practiced the 4 C’s of writing of clarity,
conciseness, completeness, and correctness with every writing activity and
assignment. Every class period we
drafted, revised, edited and proofread our writing, which helped me construct
higher quality work,” shared Schwefel.
As the course continued, these students focused on learning
about different types of writing, including creating professional business
e-mails, completing communication case studies that required critical thinking,
analyzing research studies, writing a blog, and preparing a research
paper. “Initially I was not looking
forward to writing the research paper, but it became easier when our instructor
taught us how to follow the writing process, which included writing an
annotated bibliography, a plan and outline, and a rough draft,” recalled Graff.
Schwefel recalls that while writing the research paper she
learned the importance of organization, time management, and how to determine
credible sources. “When all was said and done, I could confidently write a
research paper that I initially had dreaded,” she said.
Overall, these students emphasized how the English
Composition I course taught them more about writing than they imagined.
Moraine Park Technical College
held its bi-annual Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Thursday,
December 13. The College had 23 students graduate from the program; 10 from the
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 13 from the welding
boot camp.
This program was
designed to combat the skilled worker shortage by offering a variety of boot
camp sessions. The boot camp sessions are free to participants, teach skills
that are unique to a particular pathway, and connect students with area
employers. The program also combines a 144-hour paid internship with
coursework, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem
Solving, and program-specific courses. Participating internship sites for this
session were Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Fives Giddings &
Lewis, Integrity Saw & Tool, Mayville Engineering Company, Metalcraft of
Mayville, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Wabash National, and Weasler
Engineering.
Since the induction of these
sessions in 2012, Moraine Park has had 298 students graduate from the welding
and CNC boot camp programs.
Those who
completed the most recent CNC boot camp include: Darlene Anderson of Fond du
Lac, Nicole Busack of West Bend, Robert
Fisher of North Fond du Lac, Ryan Gaus of Fond du Lac, Cory Herrmann of Fond du Lac, Kyle
Jenquine of Fond du Lac, Montgomery Kikkert of Fox Lake, Carissa Metz of
Waupun, Rick Rodriguez of Fond du Lac, and Alex Russart of Fond du Lac.
Those who
completed the welding boot camp include: Brennan Bryan of Fond du Lac, Nita
Cook of Beaver Dam, Jennifer Donahue of Beaver Dam, Jordan Finley of DeForest,
Dave Finn of Fond du Lac, Michelle Flanagan of Plymouth, Casey Hermann of Fond
du Lac, Frank Huber of Juneau, Amy Mann of Fond du Lac, Noah Prost of
Watertown, Cecilia Tovar of Beaver Dam, Jeremiah Vanderkin-Jus of Fond du Lac,
and Brian Wilcox of Fond du Lac.
The graduation
ceremony included speeches from students Busack and Mann.
Busack, a CNC
graduate, is grateful for the experience Moraine Park gave her through the boot
camp program.
“A lot of us have
worked dead end jobs, and didn’t know our hidden potential,” said Busack. “Thanks
to Moraine Park and our instructors, we all have a chance to find it. This has
opened so many doors for a lot of us.”
Busack served her
program internship at Signicast in Hartford and was hired full-time prior to
graduation.
Mann, a welding
graduate, came to Moraine Park in search of a career she could be passionate
about. She completed her internship at Mayille Engineering Company (MEC) and
was also hired on as a full-time employee prior to graduation.
“The boot camp
program taught me that if there’s something I really want to accomplish, I can
do it,” Mann said. “I am standing here today as a welder, a high school
graduate, and a newly hired employee of Mayville Engineering Company.”
Moraine Park’s
Skills Academy boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to grant
dollars from Wisconsin Fast Forward and financial support from area businesses
including Amerequip, Apache Stainless, Elkay Interior Systems, Fives, Integrity
Saw & Tool, Inc., John Deere Horicon Works, John Crane, Mayville
Engineering Company, Midstates Aluminum Corporation, Signicast, SJI/Busse, and
Wabash National.
“We are very
pleased to participate with Moraine Park’s CNC boot camp again this semester,”
Paul Reetz, owner of Ingetrity Saw & Tool, Inc. said. “We have been able to
gain quality employees who are advanced on the learning curve. The
program teaches them to become a valuable member of our company by the time they
become full-time employees at the end of the semester. It’s a rare
win-win-win situation for all involved in the partnership!”
In addition, welding training is also funded,
in part, through a GPR grant that incorporates both Adult Basic Education and
welding. The purpose of this training is to allow students seeking their High
School Equivalency Diploma (HSED), the opportunity to take the welding boot
camp in conjunction. This training opportunity is open to anyone interested in
pursuing their HSED.
Individuals interested
in learning more about the CNC and welding boot camp opportunities are
encouraged to attend a Boot Camp Test Drive event scheduled at Moraine Park’s
Fond du Lac campus on January 23 and 24. Registration is recommended.
Moraine Park Technical College will hold their spring 2019 New Student Welcome Day event on Wednesday, January 16 at all three of their campuses; Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, and West Bend.
The event will be
held open-house style at all three campuses from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. New students
who are beginning program classes in spring 2019 are encouraged to attend.
Participants will be offered personal guided tours to help locate classrooms, assistance
in finding the most convenient parking lot, printed course schedules, ID
photos, and the opportunity to purchase their textbooks. Registration is encouraged but
not required.
Moraine Park Technical College will be hosting a site review February 5 -7, 2019 for its continuing accreditation for the Nursing Associates degree program by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
The public is invited to meet the site visit team and share their comments about the program. The open forum meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m.at any of Moraine Park’s three main campuses, Beaver Dam, room K-201; Fond du Lac, room E-141; West Bend, room L-137.
Written comments are also welcome and should be received by January 31, 2019.
Tri-County Boys and Girls Club Teen Futures Coordinator, Carrie Govek said, “This was a wonderful experience for our teens! Besides finding out more on health and wellness careers, they learned about healthy drinks and how much sugar is in many of the drinks they love, like sports drinks and soda. They even got to have a fun Tic Tac Toe relay race! Our Club is really stressing healthy lifestyles with exercise and healthy eating, so this was a perfect learning opportunity! After the teen event was finished, the elementary kids even got to sample the delicious fruit infused water the students brought to share. Thank you MPTC!” Danielle and Debbie both told the teens about personal, family and friends health related journeys that inspired them to pursue a career in health and wellness and how the associate degree at MPTC is the perfect fit, where they are learning how to coach and teach healthy lifestyles and earning certifications all along the way to graduate with a career that has many job opportunities!
The Dream Big project started last year with Boys and Girls Club of Fond du Lac teens learning more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. This year, Dream Big is expanding throughout the MPTC district to include Boys and Girls Club of the Tri-County Area (Berlin, Green Lake County) and Boys and Girls Club of Washington County (West Bend). This is a great community partnership opportunity for Moraine Park students to showcase their careers and practice service learning and for Boys and Girls Club members to get excited about career choices!
For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.
Check out some of the creative color projects the cosmetology students worked on. Students take all they have learned about color over the past 16-weeks to come up with a finished manikin head. There are many factors that go into the final grade. Some scoring guides are that they have to use at least two different techniques (slicing, weaving, hand painting, fading of colors), creativity, incorporating methods for depositing and lightening hair and a finished style. This is a fun project but also important because it is 25% of their final grade for their Highlighting and corrective color class!
Meet Betty Zimdars and Sandy Pfund. They met each other in a GED orientation class in July 2017. Betty was sitting all alone at a table, not wanting to talk to anyone else and full of nervous energy. This situation was not to be a permanent one, as Sandy entered the scene. Sandy got to the orientation a little late and quickly sought out Betty. They soon became lifelong friends. Sandy very recently completed all the activities and tests to earn her HSED certificate. Betty is not far behind. And it all started with a pinky promise that the two women would meet this goal together.
I asked them
a few questions for this blog:
What made you become good friends?
“We made a
pinky promise to each other. We were in
this together. We would get our HSEDs
together.” There was accountability
between the two friends. The pinky
promise was the bond that propelled the friendship. Both women felt that neither would GED test
without the other.
What was your favorite part of the
GED process?
Sandy
answered right away that working with the Student Success Center staff was her
favorite aspect of the GED process. She
felt the staff was so kind and very motivating to the students.
Betty agreed
that the staff was super supportive. And
that the staff was helpful in responding to deadlines.
What was your least favorite part of
the GED process?
Sandy
answered that it was the time commitment, due to a hectic home schedule and a
tight deadline. She was at the Student
Success Center day and night. She was
not able to see her kids as much as she wanted to and ,additionally, her
husband travelled, making it all very challenging.
Betty didn’t
hesitate to give me her answer – — the
math! However, she then said to me, “Why
couldn’t you have been my teacher in high school?” Awwwwwwww!
Will you maintain your friendship after
Betty finishes her HSED?
“Absolutely,”
both women said.
What did you learn about life besides
learning about reading, writing, and math?
According to
Sandy, it was not until recently that she learned how important education
was. “This is a good lesson for my teen-aged
son,” she added. Sandy’s son has told
her, “Now you’re smarter than me, Mom!”
How’s that for making a mother’s day!
Betty piped
in, “You’re never too old to go for your dreams!”
What would be your advice to others
as they pursue their GED/HSED?
Sandy
answered that students should not get discouraged. “The biggest step is coming through the door
of the Student Success Center. The wonderful
staff help you take it from there.”
Betty nodded
and added that a little sacrifice is worth it.
“It all pays off in the end.”
And it all
started with a pinky promise to each other.
For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.
Blog written by Nancy Pusch, student success center instructor.
On Wednesday, December 5, MPTC Welding Instructor Aide Dan Eldridge, Welding Bootcamp Student Amy Mann, and EWD Business Rep Beau Gellings, visited teens in grades 5-12 and staff from the Boys and Girls Club of the Tri-County Area for a fun two hour interactive Dream Big event.
“MPTC visited our Club to talk about different educational options and career opportunities in welding and allowed us to get hands on experience with the virtual welding equipment! 15 teen Club members tried it out and asked lots of questions. Members earned scores for their welding performance based on 5 different measurements that make a good weld. There was some serious competition! It was a fun and educational evening that may have lit some sparks for our kids! Thank you MPTC!” – Carrie Govek, Tri-County BGC Teen Futures Coordinator
“I was wondering if the kids would understand what a great opportunity it would be to get introduced to a welding career by having fun on the virtual welder, just like a computer game! It’s very exciting for me to give back after all I have received through MPTC and the boot camp!” – Amy Mann, Moraine Park welding intern
“It was really great tonight for me to see our student become the teacher. I saw her giving the kids the exact same instructions we gave her when she was a beginning welder just 3 months ago. We are so proud of her!” – Dan Eldridge, welding instructor aide
Dan also told us that Amy just got offered at job at MEC, where she was serving her internship.
The Dream Big project started last year with Boys and Girls Club of Fond du Lac teens learning more about the over 100 careers available through MPTC. This year, Dream Big is expanding throughout the MPTC district to include Boys and Girls Club of the Tri-County Area (Berlin, Green Lake County) and Boys and Girls Club of Washington County (West Bend). This is a great community partnership opportunity for Moraine Park students to showcase their careers and practice service learning and for Boys and Girls Club members to get excited about career choices!
For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.
Moraine Park held a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course at Slinger High School this fall. This opportunity allowed for high school students to obtain both a certificate and college credit.
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