In Brief: July 2023

Dr. Millie Black, professor of Political Science at Wylie Campus, participated in a Texas Tribune panel discussing the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on June 27.

Student Lisa Dorman won gold in photography, and Winferd “Junior” Vermillion won bronze in collision repair technology at SkillsUSA Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, June 23-24. SkillsUSA is a national organization dedicated to developing the country’s workforce through personal, workplace, and technical skills. Its framework contributes to students being job-ready after graduation because participants have a better understanding of what employers look for in an employee. The two students attended the competition with their advisors, Lisa Means and Raven Hartkopf, after each earning first place finishes in the Texas competition in April. This is the first year current Collin College students have participated in SkillsUSA competitions.

Sherry Scamardo, program director of Scholars Active In Learning (SAIL), was featured in The EvoLLLution magazine. The article shared how the SAIL program impacts lifelong learners of all ages and the Collin College community. Click this link to read the article.

Gian Aryani, professor of Economics at Wylie Campus, gave a keynote professional development lunch presentation to Oracle, a Fortune 100 company, and Oracle clients on behalf of Collin Corporate College at the Star in Frisco. The presentation was titled "Economic Insights: Macroeconomic Trends Affecting SMEs." Aryani followed this up with a second Economic Insights presentation at the Star in Frisco in the afternoon to the clients of Oracle software resellers.

Collin College Continuing Education (CE) partnered with North Texas Automobile Dealers (NTXAD) to provide a stand-alone five-week automotive maintenance course to select students in their Fast Track Training program. The students were recent high school graduates with a strong interest in pursuing a career in the field. A similar program was offered in April 2023 with seven bilingual students at Storehouse Academy. Instructor James Yervasi provided training on inspection, tool safety, brake systems, career readiness, best practices, and more at the Technical campus. NTXAD held a small certificate ceremony for the nine graduates of the Fast Track program on June 29. Click here to view pictures. 

Waiata Jennings, a member of the Lady Cougars Basketball Team, had her jersey displayed in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Ring of Honor in recognition of her outstanding play in the 2022-2023 season. The jersey joined those of high school and college All-Americans from across the country as a way of “recognizing young women’s basketball players for their achievements in the sport,” according to a statement from the Hall of Fame. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Collin College hosted a presentation of Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants supporting career and technical education at the Technical Campus on July 7. Collin’s $332,365 grant will be used to purchase and install equipment to train students in HVAC. There will be 140 students in the initial cohort. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) uses JET grants to defray start-up costs of developing career and technical education. Collin College’s grant was part of $3.5 million in grants announced at the July 7 event.

Officer Surasak Yamfang, the first police officer hired by Collin College, has retired. Officer Yamfang served the district for almost 19 years and served in law enforcement for over 37 years. His retirement celebration was held at the Frisco Campus Conference Center, where many friends, family, colleagues, and past co-workers were in attendance.

A team of Respiratory Care students from Collin College took first place in the state Sputum Bowl competition at the Texas Society for Respiratory Care (TSRC) convention, July 7-8, in Waco. The Sputum Bowl is a quiz show-format respiratory care knowledge competition where two teams square off and try to get the correct answers off the fastest. Questions include science, math, and respiratory care content. The win qualifies them for the national Sputum Bowl competition. Pictured from the left are team members Kimball Wiser, Jason Shim, and Melissa Dee.

Respiratory Care students Kristen Streed and Jason Shim were awarded grants from the Respiratory Care Foundation of Texas during the TRSC convention. Streed was awarded the Bill Brown Grant of $3,000. Shim was awarded the Neil Allen Grant of $1,500. Streed also placed first in the student poster presentations. 

Collin College’s Respiratory Care program was awarded the CoARC Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award at the AARC Summer Forum on July 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Program Director Julie Boganwright and Clinical Coordinator Alysia Osorio received the award on behalf of the program. This is the 12th year in a row that the program has received the award.  

Collin College Law Enforcement Academy hosted an Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Solo Rapid Officer Deployment (SORD) Training the Trainer course certification at the Public Safety Training Center from July 17-21. The course is designed to provide solo officers, whether off-duty, in plain clothes, or uniformed, with the knowledge, physical skills, and mindset on how to isolate, distract, or neutralize an armed threat like an active shooter. The training included live fire training and force-on-force scenarios. The instructors who were certified are now equipped with the skills and knowledge to return to the agencies and communities they serve and train additional officers.

Health Professions Director Dr. Juli Westcott graduated from the Leadership McKinney Class of 2023 on May 18.

Doug Willis, dean for Student Engagement Services at Wylie Campus, graduated from leadership Wylie.

Susan Coker, a financial aid advisor at the McKinney Campus, has completed all 16 certifications from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). Each credential covers significant aspects of financial aid and requires a comprehensive test for each.

The Collin College Marketing program was a finalist for the 2023 DFW American Marketing Association Collegiate Excellence Award for its fast-track certificates in digital marketing and sales and marketing.

Executive Dean Karen Musa has been appointed to the National Council for Continuing Education and Training (NCCET) South Central Region as the region’s director.

Four Leading for Excellency Academy sessions were held in June with 87 attendees. For the fiscal year, 615 attendees have participated in more than 34 sessions.

Polysomnographic Technology Director Amber Allen was the only non-physician chair of a session at the Technologist Track at the SLEEP 2023 conference in Indianapolis. She also served as a speaker for this session. This national sleep medicine conference had more than 4,400 attendees, and Allen's session was one of the six sessions highlighted by sleep medicine vendor EnsoData in their monthly blog.

Dr. Nicolas Valcik, director of Effectiveness Analytics, was Invited to represent the United States in Judo Kata competition at the Pan-American games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in September 2023 after winning the nationals in Spokane, Washington last month. Along with a partner, Dr. Valcik won first place at Texas State Championships in Ju-No-Kata and Katame-No-Kate at Texas A&M University.

The Collin College Facilities and Construction Department recently completed an expansion of the Welding Technology area of the Technical Campus, raising the capacity by 25% by adding 15 welding stations and several grinding stations to a portion of the building that was previously covered storage. Collin College worked with RWB Consulting Engineers and McCarthy Construction to design and construct a louvered wall system integrated with the existing building façade, allowing for airflow while minimizing environmental factors. High Volume Low Speed (HVLS) fans were also added to help increase the area’s air movement and the student’s comfort level during warmer months.