A publication for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Vol. 14 Issue 9September 2008
 

Headlines

College Graduates 184 During Summer Commencement

Wanda Greene

Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene speaks to A-B Tech graduates during the summer commencement ceremony Aug. 1.

William Taylor

Phi Theta Kappa member William Taylor received a Machining Technology associate degree and diploma during commencement ceremonies.

Mary Warren

Criminal Justice Graduate Mary Warren had a paper about her Service-Learning experience published in a North Carolina journal.

Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene told A-B Tech graduates they would find themselves well-prepared for their future careers during the summer commencement ceremony Aug. 1 in Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

"We've been fortunate to have graduates of A-B Tech in our workforce," Greene said. "You can look in any department and you will find an A-B Tech graduate, and we are so proud."

A-B Tech alumni work as paramedics, nurses, social workers, law enforcement officers, systems analysts, programmers and numerous other positions for Buncombe County government.

"Be prepared," Greene advised the graduates. "You need to work hard and be accountable for your actions. You may be amazed by others' journeys, and your journey may amaze others."

Amanda Crompton was one of the 184 students receiving a diploma or a degree. One of eight children, Crompton was the first in her family to finish high school and to enroll in college. "While I was only able to take one and sometimes two classes a semester at first, I quickly realized I not only enjoyed going to college, but how important it is," she said.

Crompton received A-B Tech Foundation scholarships to aid her education as a Veterinary Medical Technology student. "After working at various businesses, I knew I had to find a way to attend college," she said. "I have always dreamed of working with animals and I was so happy to learn that A-B Tech had the Veterinary Medical Technology program."

Mary Warren started at A-B Tech to earn her GED, which she received in 2006. She promptly enrolled in the Criminal Justice Technology program at the College and received her degree.

Warren took part in a Service-Learning project for her First-Year Seminar class when she started at A-B Tech. She was hesitant at first, worried about the time constraints. "I was reluctant about volunteering. I have a husband, children, and grandchildren to care for. I belong to a church. I had six courses with homework," Warren said. "My time was already filled to capacity, or so I thought."

Warren wrote a paper about her Service-Learning experience, which has been accepted for Explorations, the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina. Hers is the first community college submission included for publication and the first submission regarding Service-Learning.

A-B Tech President Betty Young presented the Staff Member of the Year Award to Michele Hathcock, Director of A-B Tech at the Mall/Recruitment and Student Activities. When the college opened a site at Asheville Mall two years ago, Hathcock became director of A-B Tech at the Mall in addition to her recruitment position.

There, she increased the number of courses taught from 50 the first year to 80 this past year. She also provided information to more than 1,000 visitors and handed out nearly 5,000 pieces of recruitment material.

In addition to being selected as Staff Member of the Year, she has been the winner of an Invitational Education Award and, in her role as chair of the Diversity Committee, an Excellence in Public Service Award.

Bethany Faber, an Instructional Designer, received the Continuing Education Instructor of the Year Award. Until recently, Faber was Continuing Education's coordinator of Computer Training and Applications Specialist, a position she held for four and a half years. She also served as a part-time instructor for two years.

The student who nominated Faber for the award described her as "always prepared, knowledgeable, kind and thoughtful." She goes on to say: "Bethany makes learning fun and rewarding. She can take difficult subjects and make them easy and useful."

Glenna Gunter, Secretary for the Allied Health and Public Service Division, received special recognition for the role she played in expanding opportunities available to students at A-B Tech. Gunter was also honored in 2007 as the College's Staff Member of the Year.

Before Gunter went to work at A-B Tech, she was a student in the Office Systems Technology program. After graduation, she became a secretary in the Nursing Department, and a year later, moved into a position as secretary for the entire Allied Health and Public Service Division.

Gunter wanted to continue her education but was not able to take traditional classes. So, she began looking at other options and discovered the Community College Alliance program at Franklin University in Columbus, OH.

Franklin offers an online Bachelor of Science degree through an educational partnership with more than 245 community and technical colleges in the United States. Overseen by Dr. Young when she worked at Franklin, the innovative program provides opportunities for students at two-year colleges to complete a bachelor's degree in a format that fits their career and lifestyle needs, without leaving their community.

"Thanks largely to Glenna's efforts, A-B Tech joined the Alliance, and it gives me particular pleasure to recognize her this evening for recently completing her bachelor's degree," Young said.

Photo Gallery  List of Graduates  Academic Programs

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Technology Applications in Education Course Available to Faculty

David Smith, Distance Learning Director for A-B Tech, was the Managing Editor in developing the Technology Applications in Education course for the North Carolina Network for Excellence in Teaching (NC-NET).

The course was developed under the guidance of Bob Ervin, Vice President for Learning Technologies, Fayetteville Technical Community College through an NC-NET grant. Contributors to the project were Smith, NCCCS-Virtual Learning Community Managing Editor; Dr. Darryl McGraw, Chief Information Officer, Wake Technical Community College and Rita Roger, Division Director, College Transfer/Arts and Sciences, Roanoke-Chowan Community College.

The Technology Applications self-paced course was developed to introduce various technologies to instructors, demonstrate the benefits and provide a quick introduction to how the technology can be used in a course.

"Bob, Darryl and I were just sitting around thinking how we could provide additional support for faculty," Smith said. "We decided to provide a training course for people with no technical background. We used the most common technologies and made them easy to use courses."

The course provides a simple introduction to selected technologies that can enhance the educational environment. Technologies were selected on the basis of their practical applications and ease of use. Each technology is presented in a non-linear fashion allowing it to be mastered independently of the others.

Each technology has an introduction, objectives, acquisition information, requirements, benefits to students and instructors, educational applications, instructions, and best practices examples.

Technologies covered in the course are: Camtasia, SnagIt, Movie Maker, PowerPoint, RSS Feeds, Skype, SurveyMonkey, and Photo Story. The course is housed on the NC Net website and is available for all North Carolina Community College System faculty to access.

North Carolina Network for Excellence in Teaching (NC-NET)

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Madison Campus Home to Early College

Madison County Early College

Norris Gentry, principal of Madison County Early College, speaks to students in Lois Peterson's Career Management class. Madison County Schools have started a Learn and Earn program with A-B Tech. Thirty-eight high school students enrolled in the program, which allows them to earn a high school diploma and associate's degree in five years.

A-B Tech has entered into a partnership with Madison County Schools to create an Early College on the A-B Tech Madison Campus, enrolling 38 high school students who started classes Aug. 6.

The curriculum design will allow rising ninth-graders to earn a high school diploma and an associate's degree in five years as part of the Learn and Earn program.

The Early College is led by Principal Norris Gentry. He was the Vocational/Work Force Development director for Madison County Schools, and has also served as a classroom teacher, guidance counselor and principal in all but two of the public schools in Madison County. He received his master's and doctorate degrees from Western Carolina University.

Students at the school enjoy the unusual setting for classes. "There isn't any drama like in middle school. We all know everybody and we all get along," said student Sarah Durham. "It's a great opportunity to earn all these credits towards college." The downside, she said, was not having lockers.

Students ride the bus from Madison High School to the A-B Tech campus where they eat breakfast and take classes. There are four new modulars, but other facilities are needed.

Physical Education is taught in the Wellness Center at Madison County Schools central office and students return to the high school for lunch. "We are space-challenged here," Gentry said. "Madison County Schools and A-B Tech have been very cooperative. In my years of experience, this has been very good."

Several students in Early College are involved in extracurricular activities and athletics at Madison High School, which is different from Buncombe County Early College.

"It can be kind of hard sometimes when your friends are at the high school, but we can see them at lunch," said student Holly Cafaro.

"I think things have gone well. It's actually started smoother than many of us thought it would," Gentry said. "We've been able to take field trips. All staff is in place and all classes are up and running."

"Educationally, this is a movement toward what the future of public education is going to be," Norris said. "It expands the choices and opportunities for students and schools."

Madison County Public Schools

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Transitional Programs Spotlighted »

 

Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designers: Justin Page, April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu
Publication of the next issue is scheduled for October 1. Deadline for submissions is September 15.