In Brief: July/August 2024

Student Alexandria Melendez won gold in graphic communications, and Nicole Bellin won silver in photography at SkillsUSA Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, June 23-29. 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 Erin Clark. Other students who participated in the SkillsUSA Nationals were Neven Campos, automotive service technology; Joshua Meza, automotive refinishing; Tristan Lance, Logan Mattson, and Christian Pierce, welding fabrication (team event). Professors Raven Hartkopf, Colby Craddock, and James Yervasi attended as their advisors.

Collision Technology student Joshua Meza was featured in an article on autobodynews.com for his performance at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in late June. Meza and Collision Technology professor Raven Hartkopf were quoted in the story regarding SkillsUSA and Meza’s Top 10 finish in the national competition. You can read the article here.

Alexandria Melendez, the winner of the gold medal in Graphic Communications, was mentioned along with other medalists in an article on Printing Impressions, an online blog for the printing industry. You can read the article here.

Collision Technology professor Raven Hartkopf was featured in a story on Repairer Driven News, a website curated by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists. The story, "Texas surveys find disconnect between 'technician shortage' and education pipeline," is available here.

Professor of History Dr. Ryan Pettengill's research proposal was accepted and was awarded the Richard Strassberg Travel Grant through Cornell University's Kheel Center for Labor Management Documentation and Archives.

The National League for Nursing (NLN) awarded the Collin College Nursing Department as an NLN Center of Excellence for the 2024 term under the "Creating Environments that Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development" designation. Collin College has been continuously recognized as an NLN Center of Excellence since 2011. It is only one of four schools in Texas and the only community college in Texas to receive this designation. Earning this designation for the fourth straight time is a testament to the talented nursing team at Collin College and all their hard work.

The Welding program at the Technical Campus was recently awarded a $460,000 National Science Foundation Grant titled “Enhancing Robotic Welding Education for Technicians.” The three-year grant starts on Sept. 1. Thank you to co-principal investigators Landon LaRocque and Cesar Lopez-Maldonado for the work leading up to this award and the impact that their future work will have on training at Collin College and throughout the United States. The resources developed will be shared with other institutions to augment their training capacities.

McKinney Campus Dean of Academic Affairs and Workforce Programs, Dr. Michelle Buggs, has been accepted into the 2024-25 class of Leadership McKinney.  

Associate Degree Nursing Director Amy Wilson was asked by the Texas Healthcare Workforce Task Force to present at the Capital at their July 22 monthly meeting on concept-based curriculum in nursing. The task force was established by Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to address healthcare workforce shortages in Texas.

Collin’s Polysomnographic Technology program’s Continuing Education outreach to China was featured in a sidebar on page 29 of the May/June 2024 issue of Sleep World Magazine. You can see the article here: www.calameo.com/sleeplabmagazine/read/006372046a07032a575fe.

Two students, Chloe Murillos and Justin Barrall, have been chosen to represent Texas at the American Association Respiratory Care Summer Forum House of Delegates.

Craig Leverette, vice president of P-12 Partnerships and Districtwide Scheduling, was part of a panel for all participants at the Ad Astra Texas Summit.

Dr. Nicolas Valcik, director of Effectiveness Analytics, qualified for the USA Judo National Team for the World Championship.

Stephen Pereria, dual credit student from McKinney North High School, competed in the phlebotomy category of the HOSA-Future Health Professionals (formerly Health Occupations Students of America) at the regional, state, and international levels, achieving first place in all three competitions. During international competition, Stephen demonstrated outstanding professionalism and communication skills that set him apart from his competitors. He plans to attend medical school to become a surgeon while gaining clinical experience by working part-time as a Certified Phlebotomist during their undergraduate studies. Stephen will attend UT Dallas on a full scholarship from the Terry Foundation, majoring in healthcare studies.

Collin’s Child Development Lab preschool class has been recognized for participating in Digital Days Camp in June. Texas Woman’s University graduate students enrolled in the course Brain-Based Learning led science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities on Zoom while the preschool children followed their instructions with the support of their teachers. Dr. Lisenbee, one of the organizers, sent a message of appreciation to preschool teachers Ashley Acosta and Susy Mathews, stating in part: “My graduate students were so impressed with the teacher and student relationships, attention, and participation observed during your participation over Zoom. I am sure that attests to the influence of amazing educators like both of you!” 

Karina Taylor, professor of Veterinary Technology at Wylie Campus, has been accepted to the inaugural class of the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators (AVTE) Fellows. An acceptance letter to the AVTE Fellows program noted that induction is “a testament to your unwavering commitment to excellence and the profound impact of your contributions to veterinary education.”

The Plano and Wylie campuses recently held their first-ever College For Kids programs. Students from sixth through eighth grades selected a variety of classes and observed college life for two weeks. Thank you to everyone who helped make these camps a success.

Plano Campus Reference Librarian Shannon Alexander made a presentation at the 2024 American Library Association Annual Conference in San Diego, California, on June 29. Her poster presentation was titled “A Serious Dive into the Asynchronous Side of College Library Tutorials.”

Coordinator of Districtwide Scheduling Brent Hamilton graduated with his master’s degree in Business Analytics from Texas A&M University-Commerce on Aug. 9.

Traci Ramsey, dean of Student and Enrollment Services at McKinney Campus, successfully completed the Doctor of Education program and defended her dissertation earlier this month at Abilene Christian University.

Polysomnographic Technology Director Amber Allen spoke at a sleep medicine conference hosted by the Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association (CNMIA) via video link on June 30. Her presentation was on the importance of polysomnography education and credentialing. CNMIA has more than 25,000 member-hospitals in China. The conference had more than 400 in-person attendees and 2,000-plus attendees online.

Nursing professors Lindsey Brown and Leslie Payne received their Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) certifications this summer. 

After winning the National Sputum Bowl championship in November of last year, a group of second-year students were awarded a special prize by Aerogen, the competition’s vendor sponsor. Jason Shim, Arian Saber, and Kimball Wiser were flown to Galway, Ireland, for a tour of the Aerogen headquarters in late July. The trio graduated from Collin College’s Respiratory Care program in May 2024. The Sputum Bowl is a quiz show-format respiratory care knowledge competition held at state and national conventions. Collin College has won state and national competitions multiple times.

Kieran King, a Collin College Dance program graduate, was accepted into the Limon Dance Company in New York City last year. He credits Collin College in his bio on the dance company’s website. Founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of American Modern dance since its inception and is considered one of the world’s greatest dance companies. King studied under Dance Discipline Lead Meghan Cardwell-Wilson and Professor Tiffanee Arnold as a student 2015-2017. “He was a delightful student then, and he was just as delightful when he stopped by the dance studio last academic year to visit us,” Cardwell-Wilson said. “This is just about the biggest success story that we could imagine!” 

Sgt. Harlan Thompson traveled Brownsville with a team from the Texas State Guard to provide needed healthcare support for community members in the Rio Grande Valley.  As part of the visit, he presented Air Force Junior ROTC color guard members with challenge coins and words of wisdom.