Transformations - Lone Star College

Transformations
An Update from Dr. Susan Karr, President
May 2013
Student Success & Engagement
2013 LSC-Tomball/University Park Commencement
In this Update
Student Success ...... P. 1
The Fellowship of the Woodlands was
packed with family, friends and guests
on May 11 as 217 (of the approximately 773) Lone Star College-Tomball and
University Park graduating students
received their diplomas and honors
at the combined 2013 LSC-Tomball/
University Park Commencement
ceremony. Bianca Rodriguez, LSCTomball Diversity Club president, led
the Pledge of Allegiance, and Courtney Stamper, LSC-Tomball alumnus,
abandoned his prepared keynote address and delivered a spontaneous,
heart-felt speech that exhorted students to believe in themselves and
be tenacious in the pursuit of their
dreams.
Star of the Month.... P. 2
Accolades ............. P. 4
Spotlights.............. P. 6
New Faces............ P. 6
Recent Events......... P. 7
Community
Partnerships ......... P. 7
Mission
Lone Star College System
provides comprehensive
educational opportunities
and programs to enrich lives.
GED Graduation
On May 23 at 6 p.m. in the Lone
Star College-Tomball Performing
Arts Center (PAC), more than 120
(of a graduating class of 482) graduates received their General Education Development (GED) diplomas.
Both student speaker Daniel Millar,
LSC-Tomball GED graduate and current Aurora Project college-readiness
participant, and guest speaker Linda
Good, Lone Star College System
Board of Trustees member, related
their personal stories, congratulated
the graduates on their accomplishments, and urged them to remember
that the day was not the end of the
journey but the beginning of a new
adventure. Linda Head, LSCS associate vice chancellor, workforce and
corporate partnerships, delivered the
program’s closing remarks.
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Star of the Month
Philip Guthrie—
A Matter of
Responsibility
Unlike many of his peers, Lone
Star College-Tomball student
Philip Guthrie has never really
been able to enjoy the luxury of
being irresponsible. The youngest of four siblings, Philip’s life
has been about helping—helping his mother around the house,
helping his three older sisters
when needed, and helping the
family thrive. From this experience grew a strong sense of
nurturing and an even stronger
sense of responsibility.
The moment Philip arrived at
LSC-Tomball, he knew he found
a home. “The thing I like most
[about LSC-Tomball] is how
friendly the people are… There’s
kind of a friendship here; everyone seems to know everyone—
students, faculty and staff,” Philip reflected.
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Honors Projects an Exercise in Critical Thinking
Each semester, ambitious students
have the opportunity to push a little harder and go that extra mile by
taking an honors course or completing a specialized honors project for
a non-honors course. On April 29,
the spring 2013 honors candidates
presented projects on a wide range
of topics to an audience comprised
of faculty advisors, family, friends
and LSC-Tomball employees. Each
presentation consisted of a complex
problem that required a high level
of critical thinking for its solution.
The following students delivered
presentations*:
Austin Baron
Candis Boodoo
Clara Carter
Lauren Chase
Edna Corona
Shelby-Kate Coster
Christine Coxon
Matthew Cunningham
Samuel Daudo
Dustin Derrick
Camila Escobar
Maggie Estrada
Victoria Fishel (two presentations)
Shalynne Foster
Megan Gallego
Lauren Galley
Megan Gallego presents the final summary of her
honors project.
Larry Gerhardt
Justine Gray
Kristina Havens
Chelsea Howard (two presentations)
Stacia Hunsaker
Robin Leatherwood
Amy Lundblad
Connor Lyons
Jordan McCourt
Miranda Parkin
Hunter Simonsen (three presentations)
Tyler Stacy
Chloe Stagner (two presentations)
Jorge Torres
Tony Emmett Williams, II
Nicolas Xiong
*Complete and accurate as of the writing of this issue.
Class of 2013 Associate Degree of Nursing
Pinning Ceremony
May 9 was an evening of bright
lights, bright scrubs, and bright
smiles at the Lone Star CollegeTomball Performing Arts Center
as 47 LSC-Tomball 2013 Associate
Degree of Nursing (ADN) graduates and their families assembled for
the ceremony to mark the closing
of one door and the opening of another. After fellow classmate Lana
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Comstock shared reflections on her journey to the evening, Nursing Program
Director Catherine Wampler and Nursing Lab Program Coordinator Patricia
Handley shared their parting wisdom. Associate professor Kimberly Rumsey
then recognized the award and tribute recipients.
Awards:
Academic Excellence—Alice Pavlak (4.0 GPA)
Clinical Practice Excellence—Nicole Graves
Clinical Practice Excellence (Transition Program)—Jasmine Courtney
Florence Nightingale—Vickie Carlyle
Spirit of Nursing—Holly Haynes and Kara Smith
Student Nursing Association (SNA) Officer Recognition:
Vickie Carlyle—SNA president and class officer
Christina Vance—class vice president
Bernadette Soule—SNA treasurer
Shari Camarata—class historian
Professor Leslie Grunden and associate professor Ivanola Ceasar presented the
pins to the graduates, Kimberly Rumsey led the Nightingale Pledge, professor
Tracie Wood led the ceremonial lighting of the lamps, and professor Jean Joublanc closed what was for all in attendance a memorable evening.
LSC-Tomball Students Sweep International Education
Conference Poster Contest
Lone Star College-Tomball students Ivan Mandijano,
Paul Bartly and Abby Trace took first, second and third
place honors (respectively) in the Lone Star College System International Education Conference poster contest.
The trio competed with students across the Lone Star
College System to design a poster around the “Global
Waterways” theme of the conference.
Ivan took first place with his design that featured the
Earth with water droplets surrounding it. He plans to
graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree
from LSC-Tomball and then work as a graphic designer.
Paul placed in second with his design of the Earth
splashing in a wave of water. He plans to graduate with
an Associate of Applied Science degree in Nursing and
work locally as an ER nurse.
Abby won third place with a design featuring water
scenes from nature. The “long-term” (on and off for the
past five years) LSC-Tomball painting student’s vocational aspirations include utilizing her artistic talents.
Top to bottom: Ivan
Mandijano, Paul Bartly
and Abby Trace.
All three students are in art professor Steffani Frideres’
linked Photoshop course at LSC-Tomball. Each received
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Student Excellence
Awards
Lone Star College-Tomball’s Office of Student Life presented its
2013 Student Excellence Awards
May 1 in the LSC-Tomball Performing Arts Center. The annual
event honors the achievements
of LSC-Tomball students in the
areas of academics, service, leadership and talent. Eighty-two students received awards this year:
Academic Awards:
Saadia Ahmed
Andrea Batchelor
Jennifer Beacraft
Tara Brightkrite
Mitchell Byrum
Manuel Campos
Tracey Cheiffetz
Chloe Clements
Shanna Dudley
Jephter Ekong
Abigail Ferguson
Grace Gonzalez
Joshua Hancock
Kristina Havens*
Angeline Holley
Robyn Leatherwood
Sterling Matteson-Saathoff
Dharmik Mehta
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Student Excellence Awards
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Amy Miller
Claudine Nassif
Jared Nelson
Caroline Nix
Walkyria Orellana
Mary Parker
Miranda Parkin
Carolyn Rhoades
Jennifer Sample
Daniel Simoni
Alexandra Smith
Rebecca Strong
Leadership Awards:
Asia Anderson
Jarrod Anderson
Chris Baker
Cloie Barcelona
Jennifer Beacraft
Shawn Berger
Brooke Bettis
Tara Brightkrite
Rhiannon Donaldson
Shanna Dudley
Madison Estes
Abigail Ferguson
Laura Goodall
Taiya Guillory
Carla Kinard
Dharmik Mehta
Stephen Netzley
Bianca Rodriguez
Lisa Torres*
Elizabeth Vazquez
Model UN:
Austin Baron
Mark Kinyanjui
Hunter Simonsen
All-USA/Coca-Cola Academic
Team:
Marilyn Comer
Jared Nelson
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a certificate of recognition and a gift certificate to Jerry’s Artarama (Houston).
“Each semester I try to get students involved in a real-life graphic project that
they have to complete, and this year the class was pleasantly surprised winning
all three of the awards. The entire class did a fantastic job with their projects,”
said Steffani.
Accolades
Lone Star College Voted Best of Northwest
Houston Community Newspapers (HCN) recently recognized LSC-Tomball as
a top-three finalist for Best Community College (LSC was ranked #1 with LSCTomball in 2nd place) and Lone Star College System as a top three finalist for
Best Workplace. The awards were based on reader votes from the Cypress Creek
Mirror, the Tomball Potpourri and the Magnolia Potpourri.
Cynthia Casparis Appointed to National Surgical
Technology and Surgical Assisting Board
The Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) has appointed Dr. Cynthia Casparis (Lone Star College-Tomball dean
of health, kinesiology, natural sciences and
technology) to serve on its board of directors
as a dean representative. The appointment was
based on her experience in allied health education program administration and her experience as dean of an institution sponsoring a
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs (CAAHEP)-accredited surgical technology program.
“This is quite an honor, and I am humbled by the appointment… It will be fun
and challenging. I believe it will also help us gain knowledge and tools to catapult our program to be one of the premier ‘surg tech’ programs,” said Cynthia.
Douglas Boyd Sabbatical—A Study of
Biodiversity Sustainability
Lone Star College-Tomball English professor Douglas Boyd returned from his sabbatical refreshed, revitalized and recommitted—chockfull of insights into
the poetry of nature, biodiversity and sustainability.
The premise of Douglas’ sabbatical was the importance of restoring biodiversity to public and private
spaces—not only for wildlife but for children as a
growing number of studies are establishing the ways
in which nature improves people’s health (physical,
mental and emotional)—and developing education
and awareness programs to achieve it. “My sabbatiContinued on Page 5
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cal offered me the chance to work toward these two goals—restoring habitat and
educating people about it—by giving me time to read more extensively about nature, complete projects that improved the campus for wildlife, think more deeply
about how to incorporate nature into my English courses [a literature course
focused on nature writing with service-learning and honors-credits opportunities], maintain current campus nature projects, and plan future projects,” Douglas said.
Melissa Studdard—New Book Examines
Facets of Creativity
Lone Star College-Tomball English professor Melissa
Studdard’s new book, “The Tiferet Talk Interviews”
(Tiferet Press), is a collection of 12 interviews from
her blog radio show for Tiferet Journal, “Tiferet Talk.”
The tome allows readers to explore the thoughts, musings and reflections of renowned minds from a variety
of fields—authors and poets, musicians and composers, filmmakers and marketers, businessmen and philanthropists, religious and spiritual leaders—on creativity, tolerance and the world we live in, as well as their
perspectives on genuineness, accessing creativity, and
balancing the conflicting facets of our lives. According to Melissa, “The collection illuminates how creativity fosters greater peace by contributing to personal
fulfillment, helping us access the truths of our lives and providing connection
with others.”
Nicole Finkbeiner—Completed Leadership North Houston
Nicole Finkbeiner, executive director of college relations, completed the final requirements of Leadership
North Houston (LNH) on May 17. The nine-month
program is a partnership between several local chambers of commerce and Lone Star College to develop
leaders within the Northwest Houston area. During
LNH, participants receive leadership coaching, visit
and learn about different community organizations
and programs, and complete a community service project. Along with her completion plaque and commendation from U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, Nicole’s
classmates also honored her with the “Most Enthusiastic Leader” award.
Staff Fellows Leadership Academy Graduation
On June 4, Lone Star College-Tomball Staff Fellows Leadership Academy graduates received their completion certificates, parting gifts and an honorary lunch
with their supervisors and mentors at the Beckendorf Conference Center to celebrate a year of leadership growth and learning—which the graduates will do
again next year as mentors for the 2013–2014 group. The mission of the LSC-
Student Excellence Awards
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Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship:
Rama Gerig
Jared Nelson
Service Awards:
Tara Brightkrite
Rhiannon Donaldson
Shanna Dudley*
Rachel Eckert
Abigail Ferguson
Willie Foote
Lauren Galley
Larry Gerhardt II
Inkling Awards:
Keonda Atkins
Chris Baker
Marilyn Comer
Blaine Derrick
Rachel Eckert
Madison Estes
Nicholas Morris
Shannon O’Quinn
Cristobal Piñón
Joanna Tine
Lone Star Leadership College:
Asia Anderson
Jacob Foster
Lauren Jeter
Lyn Mangold
Lisa Torres
Foundation Essay Winner:
Alexandra Smith
Scott Coleman Award:
Blaire Calabro
*Best of category—most representative of the qualities of excellence in that category (Academic,
Leadership and Service).
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New Faces
Harlan Williams
Online Instructional Designer II
Lone Star College-Online
Tomball Staff Fellows Program is to nurture a group of professional and support
staff members committed to being leaders among their peers and in the community inside and outside of the college.
Graduates (black shirts, middle row, left to right): Kayla Marshall, Robbie Richard
Rogers, Danielle Thornton, Jackie Shepherd. Bottom row, left to right: Natalie
Armantrout, Patty Wiggin, Amanda Driskill. Mentors (green shirts, upper row left to
right): Gail Jolley, Janet Moore, Bobbye Silva, Dr. Irene Briggs, Deena Donoho. Middle
row: Beth King. Bottom row: Ana Abshire.
Spotlights
James Pelezo—Educating and Inspiring for 28 Years
Tuan-Anh Nguyen
Officer
Campus Police
For Lone Star College-Tomball chemistry professor
Dr. James “Jim” Pelezo, the classroom is for both education and inspiration. After 28 years of teaching (the
last 24 at LSC-Tomball), Jim discovered that teaching
style can be every bit as important as substance in students’ success.
The subject of chemistry varies little from semester to
semester, so for Jim the challenge is in varying his presentation. “It’s really not the material that’s the challenge, but the method of presentation that will motivate
students to extend themselves beyond the obvious.”
In addition to being an FAA-certified small plane flight instructor and building
scale-model galleon- and sailing-class ships, Jim’s greatest passion is his family—
his wife of 43 years, his three children and his two grandchildren.
Kenneth Randle—Computer Repair Extraordinaire
Vincent Carret
Manager
Food Services
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You don’t have to look any further than Kenneth Randle, Lone Star CollegeTomball Health Science Building OTS coordinator, to realize the wisdom of
following your passion.
As a child, Ken always tinkered with things—building models, taking things
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apart to see how they worked, making them better as
he reassembled them. It wasn’t long before his attention turned to computers.
Recent Events
After high school, Ken enlisted in the U.S. Navy,
earned a B.S. degree in mathematics from Prairie
View A&M University, was commissioned as an officer, was accepted into flight school, and became a P3
pilot. Once a civilian again, he followed his passion
for computers and came to LSCS, where he’s worked
for six years. He likes his job because he gets to do
for work what he does for fun. “Many of my friends
went on to the airlines and fly, but they don’t fly privately. I work on computers at home. It’s a perfect fit,” said Ken.
When not home tinkering, Ken can be found shooting hoops, racing his Nissan
350Z around the track, or knocking out a “quick” 60 miles on his bicycle.
Community Partnerships
Tomball Regional Health Foundation Gives
$379,188 to LSC-Tomball
Tomball Regional Health
Foundation (TRHF) recently committed to providing Lone Star CollegeTomball with $379,188 for
support of allied health
programs at the college.
The initial gift of $64,188
will be used to purchase
equipment to enhance
instruction in LSC-Tomball’s nursing and pharmacy technology programs.
By August 31, and for the next four years thereafter, the Foundation will provide
the funds to pay the salary for an Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) instructor.
“We are grateful to be able to provide this funding to Lone Star College-Tomball
for the equipment and faculty that they need to expand their nursing and pharmacy tech program,” said Jack Smith, chairman of the board of the Tomball Regional Health Foundation. TRHF’s vision is to become a catalyst for measurable
health and wellness improvements in Tomball and the surrounding communities.
“We sincerely thank Tomball Regional Health Foundation for their support.
Their donation will help us in our goal of providing exemplary education to our
students and qualified health care professionals to our community. TRHF has
always been a wonderful partner, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them in the future,” said Dr. Susan Karr, LSC-Tomball president.
Spring Concert Finale
The Lone Star College-Tomball
music department’s final concert
of the school year took place May
2 at 7:30 p.m. in the LSC-Tomball
Performing Arts Center. The evening opened with a performance
by the 2013 winner of LSC-Tomball’s High School Piano Contest,
Justin Lin. That was followed by
the LSC-Tomball choirs’ renditions of music from the films “The
Hunger Games” and “Les Misérables,” and a swinging selection
from the LSC-Tomball jazz ensemble. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria,” featuring
the combined performances of
the Lakewood United Methodist
Church Chancel Choir, Tomball
United Methodist Church Sanctuary Choir, and LSC-Tomball
Concert Choir, with instrumental
musical accompaniment provided
by the Cypress Symphony.
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Two-Year Scholarship in Honor of John Neubauer
In honor of retiring Tomball Independent School District (ISD) superintendent John Neubauer and his 46 years
of dedicated service to the district,
LSC-Tomball established a full twoyear tuition scholarship in his name.
Lone Star College-Tomball President
Dr. Susan Karr presented him with
the scholarship at his retirement reception, held on Wednesday, May 22 in
the John P. Neubauer Administration
Building.
Chris Grawl—
Co-Founder of the Billy
Pilgrim Traveling
Library
Chris Grawl, Lone Star CollegeTomball part-time librarian, recently co-founded the Billy Pilgrim Traveling Library (BPTL).
The BPTL travels around Houston on weekends with a collection
of books, music, videos and other
resources, lending its items out
in accordance with its membership plans at high-traffic, truckfriendly locales like museums,
coffee shops and supermarkets
as opportunities allow. It is also
available to other organizations
(including public libraries, artists
and local businesses) to utilize
however needed. Though only
operational for three months,
the BPTL has already attracted
more than 100 members and
continues to evolve. “With each
person who sets foot inside, the
BPTL grows—not just in terms
of membership, but in how best
to serve as a purveyor of culture
to the community,” said Chris.
The scholarship will cover the tuition
expenses for a student to attend LSC-Tomball for two years. “John Neubauer
has given so much to our community through his service to Tomball ISD. His
passion and service to the students are a true testament to his dedication to education,” said Dr. Karr.
Dual Credit Symposium
On April 20, approximately 35 high
school faculty from around Lone Star
College-Tomball’s service area came
together with LSC-Tomball faculty in
the Beckendorf Conference Center for
an in-depth discussion of instructional
needs and dual credit course content.
Dr. Lisa Morales, dean, academic initiatives and partnerships, opened the
session with a warm welcome and
mention of preparations for the 20132014 academic year. She underscored
LSC-Tomball’s commitment to instructional quality and invited dual credit faculty to further utilize college resources. The primary mission of the afternoon,
however, was extended discipline-specific discussions among colleagues across
the educational spectrum. Divided into round tables based on their course subjects, high school and college faculty quickly became deeply engaged in dialogue
focused on how dual credit faculty can meet both high school and college demands within the substance of their courses.
Tomball Scholarship Foundation Recipients
The Tomball Scholarship Foundation awarded 12 scholarships to seniors planning to attend college within the Lone Star College System. The Tomball Scholarship Foundation raises money to award scholarships to graduating seniors; 100
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percent of all donations
are applied to tuition
costs. Tomball Scholarship Foundation President John Neubauer
presented the awards to
(pictured right, first row,
from left) Kelsey Wallace, Sadie Afroj and
Aniska Jett, flanked by
LSC-Tomball President
Dr. Susan Karr; (second
row) Kelsey Zalesak,
Miranda Hignite and Evan Bradley; (back row) Caitlyn Moye, Sierra Harbour,
Angela Spratford, Emma Martinez and Manuel Mendez. Not photographed:
Ciara Powers.
Tom Bui—Dragon Boat Racer
Lone Star College-Tomball PC Technician IV Tuong “Tom” Bui was a
member of the winning dragon boat
racing team (Hybrid Dragons) in
the community division of the 13th
Annual Houston Dragon Boat Festival, held May 4 at Allen’s Landing
in downtown Houston. It was the
team’s first competition win—and
Tom’s first race.
Star of the Month
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It didn’t take long before everyone knew Philip, too. During
his two years at LSC-Tomball,
Philip worked in the Student
Life, ROaDI, TRiO and Records
& Transcripts offices, helping
those in need, demonstrating
his responsibility, and earning
the respect of everyone he has
worked with and for.
Upon completion of his Associate of Arts degree, Philip is thinking about a Bachelor of Science
degree in human or information
services—something that will
further his desire to help others.
But whatever path he ends up
taking, Philip will forever embody his favorite quote, two lines
of a speech given by President
John Kennedy at a Washington,
D.C., prayer breakfast, “Do not
pray for easy lives. Pray to be
stronger men.”
New Faces
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Local ISD Scholarships
The Lone Star College System Board of Trustees approved scholarships covering
tuition and fees up to a total of $1,000 for up to two graduating students (one
male and one female) from high schools within its service area. In the case of
LSC-Tomball, the following schools and students received scholarships for the
2013–2014 academic year (fall 2013 through spring and summer 2014):
Alpha Academy—Jacob Thomas Jenkins, Bree Ann Burger
Concordia Lutheran High School—Blake Bogs, Irene Featherston
Cypress Christian School—Gustavo Valero, Juliana York
Magnolia High School—Alex Morin, Amanda Sprague
Magnolia West High School—Ernesto Vazquez, Lauren Roetzler
Rosehill Christian School—Breck Allen Powers, Edward William Greenfield
Tomball High School—Joseph Klodginski, Emily Kelly
Tomball Memorial High School—Madison Bauman
Waller High School—Kevin Barillas, Dalia Vazquez
Jacquelyn Shepherd
Administrative Assistant I
Vice President of Instruction
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Upcoming Events
Independence Day
July 4
Summer Session II Begins
July 11
The Music Man
July 11 – 13 at 7:30 p.m.
July 14 at 2 p.m.
Performing Arts Center
To see the most current events, visit LoneStar.edu/Calendars
30555 Tomball Pkwy.
Tomball, TX 77375
Phone (281) 351-3300
LoneStar.edu/Tomball