“Writing Stories From Life Experiences”

Joyce Boatright, a long time English instructor and published writer is coming to the Carver Center Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 to speak about writing stories from life experience.  The first hour 1-2pm  Ms. Boatright  will be speaking about  how students can start writing stories from their life experience and how to  encourage aging relatives to do the same.  Many of us WISH we had asked our grandparents now gone about so many things.  Ms. Boatright will be giving them a little writing assignment to get started and during the second hour they can work on it.  We will also use part of the second hour to introduce the many services and materials we have available at the LRC/Library and to introduce our next active learning event–a poetry writing contest with winners to be published in Carver’s own poetry newsletter, “Poet’s Place” just before the end of the semester .

Thank you so much for your support.  Contact Gayla Cloud or Tawana Burke at 281.618.5819

Dr. Joyce Boatright, a long-time English instructor and published writer is coming to the LSC-Carver Center on Wednesday, October 14 to speak about writing stories from life experience.

During the first hour (1 – 2 p.m.)  Ms. Boatright  will speak about  how students can start writing stories from their life experience and how to  encourage aging relatives to do the same.  Many of us WISH we had asked our grandparents, now gone, about so many things.  Ms. Boatright will be giving students who attend a little writing assignment to get started and during the second hour they develop it more.

Part of the second hour will also be used to introduce the many services and materials available at the Learning Resource Center/Library and to introduce the next active learning event, a poetry writing contest, with winners to be published in Carver’s own poetry newsletter, Poet’s Place, just before the end of the semester .

Contact Gayla Cloud or Tawana Burke at 281.618.5819

LSC-North Harris Summer Vacations

While some of us played at home this summer participating in “stay vacations,” quite a few of our LSC-North Harris family members were up and about gallivanting the globe.

Sherry Banks

I am attaching a picture from my stay in South Africa.  The photo is of a village we visited called Zola.  The attached photo is me with an elderly man and his sister-in-law who is caring for him.  His shanty is approximately 50 sq. ft.  We purchased food staples for three families that we visited that day and spent the equivalent of only $32!  This included at least a pound of meat, bread, vegetables, sugar, tea, etc.  It still amazes me!

Larry Brillhart

Rita D. Cinquemani

Rita Cinquemani and husband Paul on Catalina Island California summer 2009.

Gary Clark

Gary Clark visited Big Bend the past summer. If you would like to see some wonderful photos, go to flickr.com/photos/texasbirder and view the photos he took with his Leica Dlux-3 point-and-shoot camera.

Dorothy Dixon

My family travel to New York on July 7th and stayed until July 13th.  It was an AWESOME vacation because my birthday is July 10 and my husband’s birthday is July 8th.  My husband works for ABC and was able to get us special treatment (in the Good Morning America studio, VIP guests in Central Park, green room guest at GMA, etc.) on my actual birthday!!! Queen Latifah was performing that day in Central Park.  I even had my girls to write essays about their trip.

Milanie Hillburn

Gary Clark

Gary Clark visited Big Bend the past summer. If you would like to see some wonderful photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasbirder/ and view the photos he took with his Leica Dlux-3 point-and-shoot camera.

Tom Hobbs

For vacation my family went to Columbus Isle Club Med on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas and had a great time.  We will go again.  The water really is that color.

Karen Russom

Karen and her son visited China this summer. Here she is on the Great Wall.

Ursula Sohns

Here’s a picture of me enjoying some quality times with 2 of my sons.  We’re in the Bahamas at Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter.  Awesome!!!

C.C. Sutphen

My husband and I like to scuba dive whenever we can. Here is a view of our dive boat leaving the dock in Cozumel Mexico.

There is nothing like being under the water (with a supply of air…of course). It is truly an amazing experience seeing everything from seahorses to eagle rays.

LSC-North Harris’ Librarian Takes Dramatic Step into Role as Theatrical Costume Designer

LSC-North Harris government information/reference librarian, Virginia Rigby, puts the finishing touches on one of six poodle skirts she has sewn for the college’s July musical, “All Shook Up.” Additionally, Rigby constructed three other costumes including a 1950s wedding dress. Rigby has been volunteering her time sewing costumes for the college’s drama department since 2007. She began sewing costumes as a way to give something back to the campus that supported her through her recent battle with cancer.

“All Shook Up,” inspired by a book of the same name written by Joe DiPietro and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley, is currently in production and continues with evening and matinee performances through July 12.Tickets are $15. For show times and ticket reservations, call 281.765.7963.Lone Star College-North Harris is located at 2700 W.W. Thorne Drive, one-half mile south of FM 1960 E, between Aldine-Westfield and Hardy Roads. For more information about the college, call 281.618.5400 or visit: NorthHarris.LoneStar.edu.

Background Story

Professor Virginia K. P. Rigby, oversees a collection of thousands of federal documents by day, and she dresses actors in Lone Star College-North Harris’ theatre productions by night.

“I began sewing costumes as a way to give back to the campus that supported me through my battle with cancer,” says Rigby, who finished her final course of chemotherapy in 2007. “What I didn’t expect was the feeling of accomplishment I received. I have a talent that was needed on our campus. It’s a way I can provide a service and, in a special way, can help these students be successful,” Rigby says. “It’s all about a desire to serve others.”

For the past seven years, Rigby has worked as a government/reference librarian, making information available to area businesses and government as well as matching materials to courses taught at the college as an additional resource.

She became involved with the theatre department two years ago, after Cash Carpenter, the director, sent out a request for a seamstress. Rigby, whose mother taught her to sew at the age of 12, says that sewing allows her to express a certain amount of creativity.

“Virginia takes on the most difficult and challenging pieces,” Carpenter said. “She has a wonderful talent and we are so fortunate she contributes her design and sewing abilities to our productions. In essence, she takes my vision and translates it into fabric for each costume, whether it’s Houdini’s bathing suit or capes for the three murderers in ‘Macbeth.’ I couldn’t ask for more from any colleague,” he added.

For the upcoming musical production, “All Shook Up,” based on a book written by Joe DiPietro and songs of Elvis Presley, Rigby has created six 1950s poodle skirts, a break-away costume that disappears before the audience’s eyes, a floozy’s costume, and an intricate 1950’s wedding dress.

“When the curtains go up, if what I do is good, you can’t see the costumes separate from the actors,” the librarian explains. “You see them as one…and if I’ve done my job, the costumes actually allow the actors to focus on creating their characters. I can see if my costumes give them the confidence they need to complete the character. These students work so very hard on every show and it’s energizing for me to see their positive attitudes, the joy they get from being in a production, and their belief they can go out and take on the world.”

The LSC-North Harris Theatre Department’s production of “All Shook Up” opened July 2 and continues with evening and matinee performances through July 12. Tickets are $15 and can be reserved by calling 281.765.7963.

Dan Mitsven, NHC Student Activities Program Manager

Dan has been with North Harris College since 2005. He was formerly with Spring Hill College in Alabama. Dan’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in International Management in Spanish from Simpson College in Iowa. He also has a Master’s Degree in Education from Iowa State University.

Originally from Iowa, Dan grew up in a family of five and is the middle child between two sisters. “I was always the peace maker,” says Dan.

Dan’s hobbies include fishing, SCUBA diving, sailing and “pretty much anything to do with water.” Dan has recently purchased a house in the Spring area, which now allows a much shorter commute to work than he was making from Cypress for the past year and a half.

As NHC student activities manager, Dan’s favorite part of the job is the fact that he gets to have a lot of fun with students in a supportive environment with great resources. He likes that his job on campus also allows him to have a balanced personal life. “My previous experiences as an activity director with small private four-year colleges was very different. I was virtually on call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.”

Dan would like to encourage all NHC employees to bring their families and neighbors out to NHC’s Fall Festival on Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. There will be games, costume contests, snacks and treats for everyone.

When asked the question…If you had an unlimited student activities budget, what would be on your wish list to do for NHC students?

Dan replied, “I think it would be wonderful to take a group of students to study abroad or to at least expose them to some international travel. I think it would really open their eyes to their own future possibilities.”

Faculty additions

With the start of the Fall 2007 semester, four new faculty members joined North Harris College. Interviews with Viseeta Brown, Katherine Caruso, David Davis, and Richard Owens illustrate the gifts they bring to our college.

Viseeta Brown who joins the HITT department is a Houston native and a graduate of Westbury High School and Texas Southern University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Care Administration from Capella University. Ms Brown has worked in health information since 1987; she joins NHC from a position as Coding Specialist at Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center. Professor Brown has been an adjunct faculty member at NHC for six years. She says “I chose to become a faculty member of North Harris because I liked the friendliness of the staff and the atmosphere of the college.”

Katherine Caruso, the newest faculty member of the English department, completed her Ph.D. in World Literature at the University of Oklahoma in December 2006. An eight year resident of the Houston area, she has taught in a variety of settings—a college prep program at the Native American Health Science Center, Oklahoma City Community College, Louisiana Tech, Wharton College—and has even taught art to children. Professor Caruso said she heard that North Harris requires a lot from their students and has discovered that NHC “encourages people’s best.” For her first semester, she is teaching Comp & Rhetoric I and World Lit and finds it “energizing.”

David Davis joined the NHC history department during the summer semester. He received his PhD from Rice University in 2007 and has taught at the University of St. Thomas and Texas A&M. Although this is his first teaching experience at a community college, he was a community college student. His most intriguing job, however, has as a bellhop at a hotel in Biloxi, MS. Dr. Davis notes that, while the interactions with students have been as he expected, the high level of commitment to scholarship among his colleagues has been unexpected. Dr. Davis describes the NHC student body as “the face of America” and says that their energy “forces me to be honest to engage them.”

Dr. Richard Owens is not a newcomer to the North Harris College chemistry department. He has been a long-time adjunct faculty member and, most recently, has been the chemistry lab coordinator. Dr Owens has has a broad professional careet. He began as a high school teacher and then a summer job led him to a career exploring inventions and patents. He has owned his own company and worked for others as well. Dr Owens brings life experiences as well as a firm knowledge to chemistry to his students.

Staff Spotlight: Linda Genco

New President for PSSA 2007-2009 and division coordinator for NHC’s health and human services division.

Linda was originally hired in September 1992 to work for the North Harris Montgomery Community College District as an assistant for Dr. Joyce Boatright, who at that time was the vice chancellor for institutional advancement, which also included a fledgling NHMCCD Foundation. Over the nine years she was at the district office, she reported to a variety of other administrators including George Highland and Dr. Roy Lazenby.

In spring of 2001, she moved to the North Harris College main campus to work in the college’s nursing program offices. At one time her duties covered kinesiology, pharmacy tech, health information and technology, and professional office medical. Currently, Linda is a division coordinator for NHC’s health and human services division.

Linda was also part of the original steering committee that brought the new Profession and Support Staff Association (PSSA) to campus. She is excited about this new support group and looks forward to the broader personal and professional development opportunities that PSSA has to offer here on campus.

Linda’s hobbies include reading, piano, cooking and stitchery not to mention the fun of raising her 16-year-old son.

Staff Spotlight: Shalonda Fields

By Cece Sutphen

Shalonda has been with NHC since January 2007 and works in the college’s food services area. Most of us know her for the smiles and friendly face we see each morning when we go to Coffeeology 101 for that cup of starter fluid. According to Shalonda, the best thing about her job is the fact that she gets to interact with students, faculty, and staff on a daily basis. She truly becomes familiar with her repeat customers and cares about them.

On a personal note, Shalonda is a mother of five. Her oldest daughter, Carolyn Atkins in a student here currently studying hospitality management. And, her son, Xavier Flim, will start at North Harris College this fall. He plans on studying photography.

Before hiring on at NHC, Shalonda worked for Pilot Travel Center and Spring ISD.

Staff Spotlight: Alice Quiroga

Alice has been employed with North Harris Montgomery Community College District since November 1999, first starting in the NHMCCD’s chancellor’s office as an administrative assistant to the chancellor. In 2000, she took the position of administrative assistant on the NHC campus working for Dr. Darla Miller, vice president for the college’s student organizational and development office. Alice recently completed her associate’s degree and participated in NHC’s May 11, 2007 commencement ceremony. She plans to continue her studies toward a bachelor’s degree focusing on marketing. Alice was born in Refugio, Texas and currently lives in the Champions area with her husband Mike and her son Christian. Some of her outside interests include reading, photography and road trips.

“Working at NHC has opened unlimited windows of opportunities in life long learning for me. Everyday is challenging and eventful. On many occasions I use my bilingual skills to assist in the translation of brochures, incoming calls and wherever needed. I work closely with our budget and truly see that we are working hard to make the most with the current funds we are allocated.”

Staff Spotlight – Marilyn Dement

NHC’s newest Assistant Dean for Enrollment Services. Marilyn began her new role on April 1.

Career and Educational background:

• Associate of Arts – Blinn Jr. College
• Bachelor of Applied Science – Applied Sociology – Southwest TX State University
• Master of Arts – Human Science (Sociology/Psychology) – Our Lady of the Lake
• First generation college student
• Hired in Admissions as front counter help 12 years ago
• Promoted to Graduation Coordinator in Admissions
• Received OLLU-MA degree while working in Admissions
• Worked as director of NHC Upward Bound (federally funded program designed to assist first generation low-income students with entrance and graduation from a post-secondary institute) program for past 7 ½ years
• Program increased from 1 grant and 50 students to 2 grants and 120 students and from serving 1 Aldine ISD high school (MacArthur) to 3 (Aldine, Carver, and Eisenhower)
• Fellow of NHMCCD The Academy Leadership Program
• Certified trainer for Payne Model – Bridges Out of Poverty
• Married for 22 years – husband Johnny is a special education teacher and teaches at Wilson Academy in Aldine ISD

My previous position as director of a program that assisted local high school students with the post-secondary admissions process, has prepared me for my current position with the challenges entering community college students face. I have a clearer understanding of the frustrations and miscommunications NHC students have as they first encounter the challenges of placement testing, registering, and financial aid. My goal is to provide excellent student service and accurate information to every entering student to make the admissions’ process less intimidating. The key to making the process less intimidating is to form relationships with incoming students and to share your knowledge of the process.

I believe every NHC student should be given the opportunity to improve their lives by acquiring an education with minimal obstructions in the admissions process. There is not a test that measures someone’s desire to persevere and to become a successful graduate. As educators, we should teach, not judge, students by the limited strengths they may or may not bring to the campus. Educators should not judge students of what they are capable of accomplishing inside the classroom just because a student is not familiar with the social norms associated with a college setting. By forming relationships, sharing knowledge, and teaching students the rules on how to become a successful student, we can ensure more students remain in college and become academically successful.

On an personal note, my husband Johnny and I are huge Houston Texans fans (despite not choosing Vince Young or Reggie Bush!) and we have been seasoned ticket holders since day one when the franchise open. My dream vacation would be to visit Tibet or Russia. I also love to shop, read, and go hiking.

Staff Spotlight

Kathy Bible
Specialist III and President of NHC’s Professional and Support Staff Association

Kathy started with North Harris College in 1992 as a part-time employee working at the continuing education front counter. Before being hired, she was working with NHC’s GED testing as a proctor, when the Gayle Noll, then dean of CE, asked if Kathy would like a full-time position.

Currently, Kathy lives with her six Dachshunds, who, according to her, are her children. For hobbies, she enjoys cross stitching and crossword puzzles. Kathy was born in Simmern, Germany and was self described Air Force brat. She attended Aldine High School and graduated in 1976. Kathy speaks German fluently and even spent a year after high school with her grandparents in Germany to learn the language first hand.

Professional and Support Staff Association

The purposes of the Professional and Support Staff Association are to foster and facilitate communication on issues deemed critical between the association’s members and the administration, to create a climate of issue resolution and trust, to advance the professional growth of its members, and to promote training and activities that provide a positive working environment beneficial to the college as a whole.

It also serves as a way to offer free expression and discussion of ideals, philosophies and the needs of all support staff on this campus and includes permanent part-time support staff.

Meetings are held approximately every two months and there are no dues.

PSSA’s current officers are:

Kathy Bible, President
Penny Grigsby, President Elect
Malinda Yanock, Secretary
Dulcie Mohammed, Treasurer
Dan Mitsven, Training and Activities Coordinator

Some of the recent projects undertaken by PSSA were the December nominations for the Professional and Support Staff Excellence Awards. The winners were Wilma Bloesch, Maryann Cardinal, Carol Kramer, Michele Manuel, and Tammy Young.

PSSA also maintains a Student Emergency Fund available to the faculty and creates several small fundraising events during the year to fill that fund such as last December’s basket raffle during the holiday faculty and staff luncheon. Support from that raffle earned $325 for the fund.

Professional and educational development is also a goal of PSSA. This past February, Dan Mitsven, PSSA’s training and activities coordinator, arranged a field trip to the Movie Tavern located on Richey Road to see the movie “Freedom Writers.” After the movie, Jack Hernandez, NHC professional and counselor, facilitated a discussion among the group about how the storyline connects with our work at the college and our student’s lives. PSSA is planning another event to take place in May or June.

For more information about NHC’s Professional and Support Staff Association, call Kathy Bible at 281.618.5630.

Currently PSSA’s Web site is still in the development phase, but may be visited by going to NHC’s Home Page, click Employees, click Committees and Orgs., and click Professional & Support Staff Association.