In celebration of Manufacturing Month-here’s an exciting opportunity to help start your career in manufacturing.

Moraine Park is helping combat the skilled worker shortage by providing skill development through the Manufacturing Skills Academy.

This program, also known as manufacturing boot camps, offers the opportunity to explore a unique career pathway. The manufacturing boot camp is a 3-month training program in either CNC Machining or welding. During the program, you are part of a paid internship with a local employer. This means you’ll be paid while you learn! At the end of the program, you’ll have a college certificate and, in most cases, the opportunity to turn your internship into a full-time career.

Your first step toward your new career begins at our information sessions this November– offered both in-person and online. Here, you’ll learn about each career, meet the instructors and get the next step enrollment information.

One more great feature, Moraine Park’s boot camp programs are tuition-free. The tuition and materials costs are covered completely by grants and community support.

No previous manufacturing experience is necessary and there are no income limitations.

So, what are you waiting for? Space in the program is limited- sign up for your information session today to get started!

Information sessions are on Nov. 9 at the Fond du Lac campus and Nov. 17 online. Registration is required and information can be found here.

More information on Moraine Park’s boot camps can be found here.

Nursing School can be challenging and overwhelming, but also rewarding and fulfilling. The pressures associated with class load, clinicals, exams, and job availability can make it easy to lose sight of the art of caring while learning the science of nursing.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Students was created to recognize and celebrate nursing students for the above-and-beyond care and compassion shown to patients and their families. The DAISY Foundation hopes that this program will inspire and motivate students to provide the best clinical skills possible and to impact patients and families with human spirit and kindness. 

Nominations for this award can come from any patient, staff nurse, fellow nursing students, faculty, or member of the community that the student has had a positive impact on.

The nomination period is now through December 1, 2021. The review committee will meet in mid-December and reveal the recipient at Moraine Park’s Pinning Ceremonies. The review committee has specific criteria for the selection committee that can be found on their website. The committee will include the following:

Kelly Shafaie (Representative from Dean’s office) 

Barb Brown (Alumni and retired faculty) 

Kelli De Ruyter (Partner facility, Cedar Community Advisory Member) 

Anne Lemke (Leadership at MPTC) 

Student life representatives will take turns on panel (Lisa Manuell, Sandy Botham for this academic year) 

Nominate here.

Any questions about the DAISY Award can be directed to the Student Nurses Association (SNA) advisors on each campus:

Beaver Dam- Grace Rommelfanger

Fond du Lac- Melissa Rodriguez  and Michelle Mengert 

West Bend- Karrie Bruegman-May

Mary Daley recently started as Moraine Park’s new Tutoring Services Specialist. Daley comes from K-12 education where she worked as a kindergarten teacher.  

“I wanted a change, but also wanted to stay in education,” Daley said. “I’m excited to help students in a new way at Moraine Park.” 

In her new role, Daley recruits peer tutors, professional tutors and tutor specialists, and matches them with students based on their programs and classes. 

“Some students need peer tutors, some need professional tutors and some need the Student Center–every student is unique and has different needs to be met,” Daley said. 

Daley looks forward to improving the tutoring program and introducing new ways for students to get help with their coursework. 

Contact Mary for any tutoring needs: 

mdaley1@morainepark.edu 

(920) 924-6488 

FDL Campus 

The Ell classes at the Beaver Dam Campus are up and running in person this semester. It is so nice to have the students back on campus! The evening class is very popular and there currently are 13 students attending on a regular basis. We have a very diverse population this semester. We have students ranging in ages from 18 to 74. The students all have Spanish as their first language, but represent many countries and cultures. We have students from Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Guatemala. It is quite interesting to talk about dialect differences, beautiful locations and specialty food from each country.

The majority of the students work all day and come to class at night. They are exhausted, but really motivated to learn English in order to get promotions at work and make life easier here in the United States The students work at a variety of different business such as local farms, a foundry and cheese factories. The teacher, Jennifer Lang, tries to connect the curriculum to their work and daily lives as much as possible in order to keep the classes relevant, instantly applicable, and engaging.

What makes the classes successful is that it is a balanced mix of fun and hard work. The students build an instant community and there is a strong sense of teamwork and comradery. Jennifer gives strong encouragement to the students and reminds them that they are all on a different path and to not make comparisons. She shares many of her embarrassing language learning stories to help put the students at ease and to laugh at their own mistakes. She likes to share the story of how she tried to order two pounds of soap instead of ham. Soap is jabón and ham is jamón-easily confused. As for the two pounds, well, she needs a little help with the metric system.

If you are ever on the Beaver Dam Campus on Tuesday or Thursday nights, stop by and say !Hola! If you are interested in registering for classes, please reach out to Tony Rodriguez at 920-887-4496 or 262-306-5302 arodriquez@morainepark.edu (Beaver Dam and West Bend) or Becky Melo 920-924-6339 rmeloenriquez@morainepark.edu (Fond du Lac).

Moraine Park’s Online Accounting program was ranked #11 in best online accounting programs in the nation by University HQ, a leading independent education organization providing students with resources to prepare them for their career and educational journeys. 

“Moraine Park’s ranking reflects our faculty, staff and management’s dedication to helping students master the skills necessary to reach their education and employment goals,” Joan Falter, Moraine Park Accounting Instructor, said. “The accounting team works with our advisory team to ensure that our program meets current needs. Online students have shared surprise in their ability to interact one-on-one with the accounting faculty.” 

The ranking is based on unbiased government reports that analyze admission, retention, graduate rates, diplomas awarded, programs offered, graduate salaries, loan default rates and the percentage of students receiving financial aid. 

“This ranking in addition to the fact that we don’t charge higher out-of-state tuition will continue to build our out-of-state student body,” Falter said. 

Moraine Park’s Online Accounting program was an early adopter of online learning and has been quick to increase synchronous online options. 

“Consistency among modalities and instructors ensures a cohesive learning experience throughout the program,” Julie Dilling, Moraine Park Accounting Instructor, said. “This minimizes students’ cognitive load because they know what to expect as far as cadence and requirements in each of the program courses.” 

Moraine Park provides many resources for students to aid in their successful learning outcomes such as academic advising, counseling, disability services, student life, employment services, tutoring and more, which are all available to online students. 

“In the future, we expect to build on past success,” Falter said. “We will continue implementing new modalities such as synchronous online classes in order to provide online learners with a remote ‘face-to-face’ option.” 

Moraine Park’s Online Accounting program was also ranked #4 in the nation by The Best Schools, an educational and professional resource for students. 

Congratulations to the 2021-22 Moraine Park Student Senate Officers.

Beaver Dam

Pictured left to right:

President: Jeffrey Bemis of Beaver Dam – Electrical Power Distribution

Secretary: Garrett Nesheim of Madison– Electrical Power Distribution

Vice President: Izak Gruber of Elmwood- Gas Utility

Fond du Lac

Pictured left to right:

President:  Eva Knappenberger of Oshkosh – Cosmetology

Vice President: Mina Vang-Xiong of Fond du Lac – Information Technology (Network and Technical Support Specialist)

Secretary:  Emily Vick of Beaver Dam – Criminal Justice

West Bend

Pictured left to right:

Vice President: Wesley Kane of Fond du Lac– HVAC

President: Aspyn Koslowski of West Bend – HVAC

Secretary: Haley Van Raden of West Bend– IT Web Design

สวัสดี : “S̄wạs̄dī” means “hello” in Thailand!

Meet our English student Suchanat Buckman, known by many as “Kate”.  She is from Roi Et, Thailand and has been living in Wisconsin for a little over 2 years.  In Thailand, Kate worked in jewelry design and designed both her and her husband’s wedding bands.  She is a very talented seamstress as well.  During the pandemic, she has been designing, creating, and selling beautiful fabric masks.  What an entrepreneur!  

Kate recently started a job working at Goodwill Industries pricing clothing.  Her coworkers and managers love her friendly and positive attitude.  In April, she was awarded with Employee of The Month.  Way to go Kate!

Kate  is an ELL student here at Moraine Park.  She has been taking classes here since May of 2019.  Kate also participated in computer classes in our Student Success Center (SSC) with Shannon Huberty.  Using the skills and language learned from these classes, we were able to help Kate apply and interview for her job.  

If you are interested in classes, please reach out to Tony Rodriguez at 920-887-4496 or 262-306-5302 arodriquez@morainepark.edu (West Bend and Beaver Dam) or Becky Melo 920-924-6339 rmeloenriquez@morainepark.edu (Fond du Lac).

STORY FEATURED IN THE SPRING/SUMMER 2021 NEXT MAGAZINE

Kelly Hagner, of Fond du Lac, has always desired to care for others and make a difference in the world. This is what drove her to pursue a nursing degree at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC).

“When I first came to the College in 2005, there was a waitlist for nursing,” she said. “I knew MPTC was going to be a vital steppingstone for me, and I wanted to take advantage of my time at the College. So, I enrolled in the Supervisory Management program, and then the Nursing program when a spot opened.”

Hagner graduated from the Supervisory Management and Nursing associate degree programs in 2009.

“After my graduation, the economy was not great, and I had difficulty finding a job as a registered nurse (RN) in a medical clinic setting,” she said. “I took a job as an RN in one of Agnesian HealthCare’s nursing homes, which was another choice that proved to be a valuable career step.”

A few years later, Hagner accepted a position as an RN at the Agnesian Cancer Center.

“I love my work at the Cancer Center,” Hagner said. “Both the patients and people I work with are uplifting and bring me so much joy. They make me want to be better and do better.”

Hagner became settled in her career but had aspirations for higher education. She decided to make a goal to earn a master’s degree in nursing (MSN) and become a nurse practitioner (NP) before the age of 40.

“I knew I wanted to continue my education, but it was also scary in so many ways,” she said. “I have a family with young children and didn’t think I would have the time. However, after some encouragement from friends and peers, I decided to have a conversation with the admissions department at Marian University.”

During that time, she also got an email from her employer that detailed both a tuition discount program with Marian and a tuition reimbursement employee benefit.

“I took that as a sign from God and began my next educational journey,” she said.

Hagner graduated with her MSN last May and is living out her career dreams as an NP with the Medical Oncology team at the Agnesian Cancer Center.

“I am so grateful to Moraine Park,” she said. “They offered me the opportunity to stay local, have a family, and live life to the fullest— all while getting an education. The College opened my eyes to both the educational and career opportunities right here in my community, and I’m honored to have Moraine Park as part of my journey.”

Did you know MPTC has transfer agreements with nearly 50 different colleges/universities and in more than 100 program areas?

This means, you can earn your associate degree at Moraine Park for a fraction of the cost and then transfer your credits to earn a bachelor’s degree or beyond!

View our transfer agreements by program or college at morainepark.edu/transfer.

What is STEM in early childhood education?

Students learned how to plan activities in science, technology, engineering and math appropriate for young children. We want young children develop a sound base of skills and love for science, technology, math and engineering. This starts well before elementary school with our educated child care teachers conducting intentional learning activities such as these.

These are some pics of the classroom activities we are doing at MPTC to learn about STEM.

What do students think about this new class?

“STEM was my favorite early childhood class so far! – I loved the STEM class. I enjoyed searching for activities that could be incorporated into the daily routine with children. I also learned that STEM doesn’t have to be difficult. Good teachers are already doing it without realizing it! I love the “Hands on- Minds on questions.” – Tammie

https://www.morainepark.edu/academics/programs/early-childhood-education/