In Brief: April 2024

Wylie student Ismael Raul Villa was recognized as NODA’s 2024 Region IV Outstanding Undergraduate Student at a Two-year Institution during the organization’s recent regional conference. NODA is the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education. The Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award is designed to give special recognition to students for their creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and outstanding abilities, “which are the backbone of any successful campus programs.” NODA Region IV comprises Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Winners from Region IV advance for consideration in NODA’s annual awards process.

The Book-in-Common program recently held its 2024 author events with Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez. Talty spoke about his book and the process of writing during events at the Frisco, McKinney, and Plano campuses. Students and members of the community attended the events.

Science Under the Stars drew about 1,600 people – mostly families with elementary and middle-school-aged children – to Plano Campus on March 22. The free first-year event included science presentations, hands-on activities, free food, giveaways, and a stage show to cap off the evening's event. Fourteen community partners, including the Perot Museum, Sci-Tech, Live Green Plano, Dallas Gem Society, and many others, also participated, raising awareness among attendees about fun science-related organizations in the area. Thank you to the faculty and staff from throughout the district who helped organize and participate in the event, with special acknowledgment to Plano Science Lab Manager Stacey Bilich, who first proposed and then spearheaded the effort.

Collin College Women’s Basketball players Waiata Jennings and Mackenzie Buss were named to National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Division I Women’s Basketball All-America teams for the second year in a row.

Instructional Designer Matthew Stilson presented "Avoiding the AI Aesthetic in AI-Generated Media" on March 26 at the 2024 Texas Digital Learning Association (TxDLA) conference in Galveston.

Tara Franklin, ACCESS Advisor for Dual Credit successfully defended her dissertation at Abilene Christian University to complete her Doctor of Education.

The Surgical Assisting department hosted the Veterinary Technology department for a live surgery class on the McKinney Campus, during which a dog was spayed. Organizers called it “a fantastic learning experience for all the students and a true team effort across campuses.”

The Partnering 4 Student Success Conference drew 191 registrants to the Plano Campus Living Legends Conference Center on April 5. The professional development conference focused on strategies for student success in first-year classes and included a resource and support fair with tables from eight support organizations at Collin. There were 30 concurrent sessions on topics relevant to teaching and student support, such as Purposeful AI: Building Student Awareness of Ethical and Practical AI Use in Writing Assignments, Consideration of Social and Emotional Dimensions in Teaching as Tools for the Academic Success of Students, and many others The keynote speaker was comedian KC Mack, with a 75-minute presentation on Bringing you out of the Burnout! The conference planning committee consists of faculty and staff representing all Collin campuses. Additional thanks go to conference services and catering for helping the event run smoothly and the eLC for providing professional recordings of the event for further professional development.

Associate Degree Nursing learners Bethany Soriano, Shawna Bacon, and Amy Mannon were recently accepted into the National Student Nurses Association Leadership Honor Society.

Dual Credit CNA student Isa (Isabella) Ramos from Princeton ISD competed in the State SkillsUSA competition in Corpus Christi in early April and placed third in the Nurse Aide category. She qualified for state competition during a regional competition earlier this year. Industry professionals create and judge the SkillsUSA Championships to ensure that students learn the real-world skills required in today's workforce. Competitors in the Nurse Aide category are evaluated on skills such as infection control, personal care, CPR, and measurement of vital signs. 

The Collin College nursing program has been allowed to extend the HCA Texas 2-Step Nursing Program partnership to the vocational nursing program as a trial for the Fall 2024 semester. A total of six spaces have been secured for students entering the vocational nursing program in the Fall of 2024. The current HCA Texas 2-Step program reserves up to 15 seats in the Associate Degree Nursing program, so learners already employed by HCA have a guaranteed seat if they meet the requirements for entering the program. Extending the Texas 2-Step Nursing Program to students who apply for the vocational nursing program will open further opportunities for HCA employees who need support to obtain a nursing license. Furthermore, the partnership will include the LVN-ADN Bridge program for graduates from the vocational nursing program. Students who graduate from the vocational nursing program and pass the nursing board exam (NCLEX-PN) will be guaranteed a space in the bridge program. 

Trauma Day on April 6 drew 103 volunteers who served as trauma and medical patients. EMS, Nursing, Sonography, and Respiratory Care students stated that they had some amazing experiences. Six residents from the Emergency Residency Program at UT Southwestern. The chief resident said this training was higher than anything he had ever experienced in medical school. This Trauma Day had an added wrinkle in that two therapy dogs from United K9 Academy participated to train in stressful, chaotic environments. One of the dogs is being groomed to be a diabetic alert companion for a Collin Nursing student. The student whose dog was being trained served as a patient, which allowed her to train our EMS students on the proper ways to interact when they encounter a service dog in the field. The trainer said he wanted to be part of Collin’s Trauma Days moving forward.

Thousands of students, faculty, and staff gathered at eclipse-viewing events throughout the district on April 8. Although clouds threatened to dampen everyone's spirits – and the eclipse-watchers themselves – the assembled crowds were treated to a spectacular light show when the eclipse reached totality. Thank you to all of the Thank you to the faculty and staff from throughout the district who helped organize the viewing parties.

On Saturday, April 6, 2024, 67 students, faculty, and staff participated in the McKinney Campus Jean's Creak Clean-up effort and removed 62 bags of trash, pallets, and other assorted materials from the creek behind the campus.

Over the past year, Collin College's Continuing Education Department worked with The Academy Education Program at The Storehouse of Collin County based in Plano to provide job skills training in English and Spanish to 48 clients, which The Storehouse calls "neighbors." The Academy Education Program was launched in August 2022 to provide neighbors with opportunities to develop language, job, and life skills. The neighbors completed: Basic Bookkeeping (Spanish), Beginning Automotive Repair Certificate (Spanish), and Accounting Clerk Certificate Series (English). The program is enrolling students in Department Budget Essentials and exploring ways to continue working with Collin College CE. The mission of The Storehouse is to "feed, clothe, and care as neighbors in one community." Representatives from The Storehouse recently sent a letter thanking Director of Continuing Education Programming Jeanne Johnson and Programming Manager Camale Allen for their work, stating, "You guys are great to work with and are helping to change lives!”

The Collin College Child Development Lab School celebrated "Week of the Young Child" on April 8-12. Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration promoted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The week emphasizes focusing on children and families, early childhood programs, and child advocacy. Lab school staff, teachers, and parent volunteers collaborated to provide hands-on activities that included: music, art, cooking, and a carnival pizza party. Research shows us more than ever the critical importance of the first five years for development and learning. The lab school thanks all the parents and their families for making it a successful week of celebration.

Collin College Theatre alum Sky Williams played the title role in “Artemisia” at Circle Theatre in Fort Worth. Johanna Nchekwube, another alum, played a leading role in the new play “This Time” at Undermain Theatre in Dallas. Rebecca (Becki) McDonald directed the Sum of Us New Play Festival at Bishop Arts Theatre Center in Dallas.

Plano Campus Reference Librarian Shannon Alexander’s presentation was accepted as part of The Educators Poster Session at the June 2024 American Library Association Annual Conference in San Diego, California. Her presentation is A Serious Dive into the Asynchronous Side of College Library Tutorials.  

In March, Reina Williams, executive library director for Plano Campus, attended the OCLC Global Council meeting in Dublin, Ohio, as a delegate of the Americas Regional Council (ARC). The meeting was a convening of library leaders from around the world representing the ARC, Europe, Middle East, and Africa Regional Council, and the Asia Pacific Regional Council to discuss matters important to libraries today, such as artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property, linked data, and providing library access to individuals in all parts of the world.