On Feb. 22, students will have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with their state representatives and senators during Missouri Community College Rally Day, an annual event held at the state capitol in Jefferson City.

“This year, MCCA’s Rally Day is more important than ever, as the state’s higher education budget could be reduced by as much as 12.5 percent,” wrote MCC Associate Vice Chancellor Tom Vansaghi in a district-wide email.

Rally Day will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a gathering where elected officials will speak about the importance of community colleges.  Participants will then divide into groups according to campus and visit their state representatives and senators.

MCC will provide transportation for students interested in participating.  Students must pre-register with their campus coordinator.  Contact information and guidelines can be found in the Rally Day email sent to all MCC students.

The deadline for registration is Feb. 10.

Shorelines editor Matt Porto preps for more submissions (David Hiestand/The Current).

by David Hiestand

“There is just something magical about seeing your work in print,” said Terri Lowry, faculty sponsor of Shorelines, Longview’s annual publication of student writing and artwork.

Shorelines pays students for exemplary work through its annual “Creativity Contest,” which features cash prizes for fiction, poetry and artwork.  The entry fee is $1 per submission, but Lowry says students do not have to enter the contest to benefit from publishing in Shorelines.

“Many publishers and literary magazines read college publications like Shorelines,” said Lowry.  From her experience as a novelist and poet, Lowry says that having published works to put in a portfolio or cover letter helps immensely when submitting to larger publications.

Shorelines student editor Matt Porto will oversee much of the production of this year’s issue.  Last year, Porto took second place in the poetry contest and worked as a reader for Shorelines.

“It’s a great confidence booster to write something and see it actually published,” said Porto.  “It opens up a lot of other possibilities because, once you see how easy it is to submit something, you realize that there are so many other places you can submit to with similar criteria– especially online.”

Someone who can personally attest to the possibilities that open up when one takes a proactive approach towards writing is internationally published sci-fi author and Longview history instructor Steven Murphy.

Murphy says that the Crystal M. Field award he received in 2007 for his student work with Shorelines, along with the short stories he published in prestigious magazines such as Interzone, greatly assisted him in landing a position as a history instructor– a position which provided him with the credentials to work as a historical research assistant for sci-fi author John Birmingham.

“There are lots of people who aspire to be writers but 99.9 percent never submit anything.  When you submit to a magazine like Shorelines, you move away from the wannabes and that much closer to publication,” Murphy said.

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The 2011-2012 edition of Shorelines will be available in the Longview library and spread around campus after the first week of May.  Although a digital release is unlikely for this edition, Lowry and Porto would like to integrate a website in the near future.  They say they envision a website that would regularly publish student art and writing, and also feature student film, music, and animation.

“A Shorelines website would further broaden the submission process and allow for greater creativity; there are almost an endless amount of mediums you can exhibit online,” said Porto.

To achieve this dream, Shorelines needs students with web design skills.  Lowry says any such students would be welcomed to the Shorelines team.

Students interested in submitting to Shorelines, or working on their website, can pick up a blue flyer with further information from Terri Lowry’s office at the LA in room 202W.

The deadline for submissions is March 15.

How safe do you feel on campus after that late-night class?

On the Metropolitan Community College campuses, security is a major concern.  With some common-sense caution and help from the MCCKC Police force, students don’t have to be afraid of the dark.

Capt. Chuck McMullin, commander of the Longview branch of the MCC Campus Police, says that safety at all of MCC’s campuses is taken very seriously. According to McMullin, officers are available 24/7. If there is not an officer physically on campus, one is on call.

Three to four officers are on duty at a time, McMullin said, and their primary focus is the protection of people and property. The officers also work on patrol functions, investigations, campus networking and traffic issues.

McMullin said that in his opinion, it is not more dangerous to take a night class than one during the day. He called the environment “very safe and friendly.” To help keep safe at night, McMullin recommends that students walk in pairs and park in well-lit areas if they are concerned about taking a night class.

Reporting suspicious activity to the campus police is very important, McMullin said, because there is no way that the officers will know about the activity unless students and teachers report what they see or hear. He said that anything that seems out of the ordinary can be reported to campus police dispatch, or by calling 911.

To help ensure that you are not an easy target for a crime, keep these simple suggestions in mind:

• Secure your belongings in your trunk instead of in plain sight in your car.
• If carrying a purse, keep it close to your body.
• If you think you are being followed, cross the street or change direction.
• Always notify campus police if you witness a crime or any sort of suspicious activity.

Are you truly ready to graduate? If you are like most students, your focus is on the current semester or even this immediate class, and graduation seems to be in the distant future. You might be surprised at how soon you should be thinking about your graduation.

“Each student should apply at least two semesters prior to their intended graduation date,” said Mary Buso, an advisor at Penn Valley.

“Preparation for graduation should begin day one in meeting with an advisor, and you should plan to meet with an advisor every semester,” said Jackie King, an academic advisor at MCC-Longview. “This is the best resource to ensure you’re on track for graduation and taking any prerequisite you might need to transfer to a four-year college.”

In order to communicate this to the students, MCC has placed posters throughout the different campuses indicating that students planning to graduate in May or July of 2012 should apply now. But some students still find the process difficult.

Sabrina Pacheco will graduate next semester from Penn Valley. Pacheco, whose pursuit of a two-year degree turned into four years with the birth of her two children, recently called her advisor’s office to see what she needed to do to apply for graduation.

Pacheco was told to come to the advisor’s office to start the application. She  bundled up her two children to make the 30-minute commute to the campus.

“She was gleaming with pride” as she entered the advisors office, said Pacheco’s husband, Nick. But when she got there, Pacheco was pointed to a computer to start the application and then told she would receive something in the mail.

“I was very upset and frustrated by the lack of involvement from the advisors,” Pacheco said. “I thought I did everything I could by calling first to inquire about the process, but come to find out I could have done the application on-line at home.

“It would have been nice to at least have one of the advisors either on the phone or in the office say a simple congratulations. I worked very hard to get here and I felt as though I’ve done it alone.”

Heather Stufflebean is a mom, too,  with a full-time job, and is only able to take one or two classes a semester. She anticipates graduating in 2014. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought. It still seems so far away,” Stufflebean said.

Like Pacheco, Stufflebean also isn’t sure what all is involved in applying to graduate. “I wouldn’t know where to begin,” she said.

Like many students who take most of their courses online, Stufflebean relies on Blackboard and MyMCCKC for most of her information, as it’s not convenient to travel to a campus during daytime hours, she said.

The one lesson both sutdents have learned about the graduation process? Take a pro-active approach and meet with an advisor.

Buso said most students also are concerned and surprised by how long it takes to receive their actual diploma certificate after graduation. Buso said students “don’t take into account that we have to account for the final grades from their instructors prior to submitting them.”

There are several tools and resources available to students to gather more information. King said www.mcckc.edu/graduation was the place to begin the actual application process. Buso pointed out that there is a section in the course catalog that explains about graduation and provides dates for cap-and-gown fairs.

Apply before these deadlines:

• November 15 – for fall (December) graduation
• April 15 – for spring (May) graduation
• July 15 – for summer (July) graduation

• Log onto myMCCKC.
• Click on Student Center Home.
• In the Academics section find the drop down box labeled “Other Academics, and select “Apply for Graduation”.

Many women today are taking multi-tasking to new heights as mother, wife, employee, and college student.

How do women find to time to effectively manage college with a multitude of other responsibilities? Three women, who are not only working college students but also mothers, offer some insight into how they juggle these various roles.

Anne Lewis, a 31-year-old mother with a 3-year-old son, is a returning student. Lewis attended college for a short time after high school but soon realized that she had no idea what field of work interested her and chose to put college on hold, she said. An interest in accounting persuaded her to return to school, and she earned an associate of arts at Metropolitan Community College and is now finishing up an accounting degree at Park University.

Jennifer Saunders, a 34-year-old mother of two girls, ages 11 and 13, is also a returning student after attempting college “for a short time.” Saunders, who is enrolled at MCC and Johnson County Community College, said she went back to school “to further my career and show my daughters commitment and desire of completion.”

Georgina Hunter, a 36-year-old with three children, ages 11, 12 and 15, is attending MCC and hopes to transfer to a four-year college and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Unlike Saunders and Lewis, Hunter did not go to college right out of high school, because she already had a data entry job and was earning a good income.

“I only really cared about working and making money,” Hunter said. “For the most part, I had no focus and hadn’t set out any goals for myself.”

While their reasons for going back to school vary, all three said they experience some high levels of stress. Lewis says she dedicates approximately 10-15 hours a week to her studies. Saunders estimates 15-20 hours a week, and Hunter about 20-30 hours a week. Each of these women said she has dropped a class due to the outside pressures of work and home life.

Lewis, who says she gives up two nights a week and her weekends to dedicate time to classroom work and homework, looks forward to the nights when she will be able to tuck her son into bed during the week. Hunter says she is not able to spend as much time with her family as she would like.

Saunders, unlike the other two, says she has experienced minimal impact on her family life, but she notes that this is only her first semester back at school and believes this may change as her course load increases.

“It can be done but there are sacrifices that need to be made,” Lewis said of going back to school. “I strongly encourage any working mom to go back and better themselves and their family’s future, but realize it is not easy.”

Lewis recommends working student-mothers to ask for help from family and friends because a support system is essential to making it work. Hunter agreed, but also encouraged women to give themselves a break.

“Lean on your support system, whether it is family or after-school programs at your children’s’ schools,” Hunter said. “Find a reliable person in each class that can take notes in case you have an emergency with your family that might cause you to miss a class.

“Don’t try to be Super Woman. Sometimes you might have to leave some chores unattended to focus on your studies,” Hunter said.

Saunders said, “Do you what you do best. Focus on what is important to you.”

Just like their families, employers might need to cope with the demands of the multi-tasking mom. Lewis advised supervisors to show some patience.

“Some students have difficult times with the balancing act,” Lewis said. “Employers should support higher education and be supportive of those employees who are making the sacrifice.”

Carson Conover joined a campus ministry when he was a student at the University of Central Missouri. Not only did Conover find a group of devoted Christian students like himself, he also found his calling.

“I wound up being a part of a campus ministry … where I was mentored in what it means to follow Jesus while in college,” Conover said. “My desire is to do for other students what was done for me.”

Conover is living out his passion now as the campus ministry/community groups pastor for LifeConnection Church in Independence. At MCC-Blue River he leads Campus Life Connections, a student organization whose goal is “to help students learn what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ in the 21st Century.”

Conover, a devout Christian since he was a teenager, leads numerous small bible study groups, or Community Groups, at Blue River. He said he doesn’t want students to feel like they don’t have a community while attending college. One goal at LifeConnections is to see that people aren’t feeling like they are walking through life alone, since God created people to live in partnership with one another.

“Our vision is to change the way people think about God,” said Conover, whose personal goal is to “reach out to and grow students, helping them to see what it looks like to follow Jesus as His disciples,” he said.

Cameron Porter, a sophomore at MCC-Longview who attends the Blue River Bible studies, said Campus Life Connections is a positive addition to the MCC community.

“Meeting up in groups with other people who believe what you believe in is encouraging, and builds unity between students,” Porter said. “I think it’s awesome what Conover does, and it would be cool to see that happening on other MCC campuses as well.”

Sam York, a student at Blue River, also sees Conover’s organization as a plus for the college.

“We need more things like that at all MCC schools,” said York, who said his class schedule prevents him from attending the group’s Bible studies. “I would love to see it grow more throughout the whole campus.”

The Metropolitan Chorale of Kansas City held its yearly Christmas performance on Dec. 10.  “This year’s program will have a unique sound of Christmas music than anything we’ve done before in the past,” said Blue River’s Campus Life and Leadership administration assistant Luann Heacock. Heacock has been a member of the Metropolitan Chorale since 2007 and it has been a wonderful experience, she said.

“I had been in choir before, and I thought I would join the Chorale as a one-credit-hour course,” said Heacock.

Heacock isn’t the only one who joined for the school credit and music experience. One-third of the Metropolitan Chorale consists of MCC students, while the other two-thirds are community volunteers.

The first half of the Dec. 10 performance featured pieces from Benjamin Britain’s cantata, while the second half will consist of regular holiday frivolities. The Stone Church right by the Independence Square hosted the Metropolitan Chorale.

“It’s a really pretty place with stained-glass windows and is made up of stone of course,” said music director Rebecca Johnson. “Last year we held our Christmas event at First Baptist Church, but we try to change venues every year.”

Johnson’s goal for these performances is to make less-well-known music more accessible to the non-musician, she said. In fall 2010, they performed Mozart’s “Requiem” and gave the audience a preview of information so that they could personally pick up on the notes to listen for throughout the show. Combining education with entertainment, Johnson hopes she achieved the same for this Christmas 2011 event.

Metropolitan Community College will soon make going to class more convenient for Cass County students.

Starting in February, MCC will offer classes in Cass County at the Belton High School Freshman Center.  Enrollment is already under way for the seven classes that will be offered there this spring.

All classes will be held in the evening from 6-9:30 p.m., one night a week for 12 weeks. Students enrolled there will be able to earn an associate of arts degree after completing a total of 62 credit hours.

The Belton location will mean a shorter commute for Cass County students who want to take a class on campus. Longview, the closest campus in the MCC system to Cass County, can be a good 20-mile drive for many students from there.

Cass County students are looking forward to the savings in money and time.

Ashli Clark, a first year student who lives in Peculiar, said that she “uses $30 in gas a week” traveling to and from Longview. Toni Smalls, a student and a resident of Raymore, said, “I spend a gallon of gas driving to campus and from campus.”

Sarah Reed, a second-year student and a part time resident of Peculiar, likes the idea of spending less time on the road.

“I spend somewhere around an hour and a half in my car, going to and from school,” she said.

After nearly 20 years of singing and dancing, the Mighty Voices of Longview have gone silent.

The show choir is no longer being offered at MCC-Longview after director Cathy Hardy-Parcell, music department coordinator at Longview, said that “due to her own health issues” she would not be able to keep it going.  Longview still has a chancel choir, which is a strictly singing group with no choreography.

“A lot of students attended and enjoyed being a part of the Mighty Voices,” Hardy-Parcell said.

The Mighty Voices started in 1991-92 with eight students and ended last spring with 36-40 students involved. Choir members met for 55 minutes three times a week and learned 20 to 30 songs along with choreography to be performed at one show. Their final show, held last April at the Cultural Arts Center, included many well-known Disney songs from “Beauty and The Beast,” “Aladdin’” and other movies.

John Parcell, Cathy Hardy-Parcell’s husband and an instrumental music instructor at Longview, said “it was astonishing for them to memorize so much.”   He found that the “movement along with the singing helped in the memorization.”

The Mighty Voices’ end comes just as the popular TV show  “Glee” has increased the popularity of show choirs. MCC student Laura O’Donnell, a “Glee,” fan herself, said that a show choir/glee club “would really bring students together.”  O’Donnell said she would attend show choir concerts because “I’ve always been big into musicals and things like that.”

Before the summer of 2011, students at MCC–Blue River had to walk around campus to find information about financial aid, enrollment and much more. Offices were spread all around campus.

Scott Patterson, Public Information officer at Blue River said the new Student Development Center on campus makes it easier for students.

“Sometimes students will have a question about a grant or financial aid and now all of our advisors are all in one place including academic advisors,” said Patterson.

The Center opened at Blue River in the summer of 2011.

“Students can receive academic advising, financial aid counseling, register for courses, pay fees and even get career counseling there,” he said.

Putting all of the information and offices in one place makes it easier on the students with their busy schedules. Patterson also noted there are new self-service computers for students to help them do their account management online with experienced staff there to help.

“They put in a neon sign that says student development center that is kind of eye catching, all of the desk and furniture are brand new and the furniture looks like something out of a space aged show,” he said.
MCC – Blue River’s Student Development Center is a one stop shop where students can get plenty of information and assistance – all under one roof.