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.

Community Impact is a strategic priority at MPTC. Connecting the college and community for the goals of fostering collaboration and connectivity among business, alumni and community partners, increases the visibility of the college impact to the communities we serve.  Moraine Park students and employees are also helping fulfill community needs, sharing their time and talent, connecting and volunteering to help and improve the communities where we live, work and go to school.

In the summer of 2018, MPTC started posting and tracking service learning and volunteer opportunities online for students and staff. To date, we are so proud to report over 11,000 hours of community service have been tracked with a total economic impact of close to $286,000 throughout the MPTC district of Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Dodge and Washington Counties. Way to go MPTC!

Here is a little breakdown of the service hours so far:

• 250+ students and staff have participated

• 360+ community partners have been served

• As of Spring Semester 2021, 135 students have earned Community Impact Awards

• As of April 2021, 15 employees have earned Community Engagement Awards

Please join in celebrating this important milestone of our college commitment to making an impact on our communities. Together we are truly making a difference!

On May 16, Moraine Park Technical College nursing students assisted St. Agnes Hospital with their tornado evacuation drill. The 14 first- year nursing students helped by acting as patients for the staff to evacuate from various inpatient units across the hospital. Through this experience, the students were able to represent Moraine Park in the community and provide feedback during a debriefing reviewing the policies and procedures for hospital evacuation situations. They will also be able to apply the knowledge they gained to their third-semester mental health course when they further discuss emergency situations!

For more information Moraine Park Technical College, visit morainepark.edu.

As the holiday season approaches, Moraine Park Technical College is offering a simple way to give back and show support for the men and women who are serving our country overseas.

In order to make their time a little more enjoyable away from home this holiday season, students and staff from Moraine Park’s Beaver Dam campus are conducting a “Christmas in a Shoebox” drive again with donations being accepted until Friday Nov. 3.   Continue reading

Would you like to impact your community?

Do you need service hours to fulfill a requirement?

How about improving your resume?

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 service learning and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment.

The Service Learning Award is an Moraine Park recognition program designed to acknowledge students who are committed to serving their community.

Students who complete 50 to 100 hours of service learning during their time at Moraine Park will receive this award. All students who log their hours and share a reflection will receive an Moraine Park Service Learning Silver Award for 50 hours of service or a Gold Award for 100 hours of service. Continue reading

Well, that went well!

With the holiday season approaching, Moraine Park wanted to give back and show support for the men and women who are serving our country overseas.

In order to make their time a little more enjoyable away from home this holiday season, students and staff from Moraine Park’s Beaver Dam campus conducted a “Christmas in a Shoebox” drive (all donations – deodorant, eye drops, candy, snacks, books, movies, etc. – had to be small enough to fit inside a shoebox). The drive was organized by the Beaver Dam Student Senate, and roughly 100 different students helped at various points of the project.

In previous years, our record for overall donations was 35 boxes. This year, we aimed higher – hoping to gather enough for 50 boxes of donated items.

Turns out, we ended up with Continue reading

Looking to gain experience, have fun, boost your resume, and stand out from the competition? Get involved with Experience-Based Learning! You may ask, what is Experience-Based Learning? Well, Experience-Based Learning provides opportunities to students to get involved through Community Service, Service Learning, and International Education.

Still confused?

Well, my name is Corey Foster and I’m here to help as the new Experiential Learning Intern. Continue reading

Q:  What is the definition of a satellite?

A:  Satellites help scientists study Earth and space.

Q:  What kind of information can satellites provide?

A:  Satellites looking toward Earth provide information about clouds, oceans, land and ice. They also measure gases in the atmosphere, such as ozone and carbon dioxide, and the amount of energy that Earth absorbs and emits. And satellites monitor wildfires, volcanoes and their smoke.

Q:  How does this information help the world? Continue reading