Spring 2013 Magazine Paolo Castelo’s Inspiring College Journey AgileGrad Helps Students Graduate Faster Expanding Undergraduate Research with $1.1 Million Grant Spring Classes Start Jan. 14 Apply now! Get Our Solutions at Your Convenience with Customized Training from North Hennepin Community College Improve quality, efficiency, and productivity Increase profitability Develop talent in hard-to-fill positions Reach strategic organizational goals Call 763-488-0475 to develop a custom training program for your organization. Professional Training and Development In This Issue 4 On My Way to Success: Paolo Castelo’s College Journey 7 11 Students Graduating... Faster Using AgileGrad Getting You Where You Want to Go on Campus Also: 12 2 Message from the President Harvesting Success in Unique Ways: Featuring Alumna April Rog 6 Connecting Community through Dave Kiser 8 World Class Talent at NHCC 10 Meghan Forestell Provides Service with a Smile 13 Sue Mach Helps Adults Master Technology 15 Alumna Kaitlyn Hennig Shares her Formula for Success 14 16 Top Ten Ways to Embrace Civility Expanding Undergraduate Research 18 Creating Access, Changing Lives: with $1.1 Million Grant from NHCC Foundation 2012 Annual Report Howard Hughes Medical Institute 26 A Clash of Swords on the NHCC Stage 28 Sean Davis Gives Sound Advice 29 Vice President of Finance and Facilities, Dan Hall page 34 30 Back to Basics Running Spring 2013 32 Restaurant Review: Sweet Basil Credit Classes Apply Now! Spring Classes begin January 14 NHCC Magazine is published twice a year and is distributed without charge to alumni, students, faculty, community members, and friends of North Hennepin Community College. Please direct any correspondence regarding this publication to: NHCC Communications Office A Message from the President 7411 85th Ave. North Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 763-488-0390 or 800-818-0395 [email protected] As I enter into my third year as president of North Hennepin President Community College, I have come to realize that NHCC is John O’Brien more than a world class institution of higher learning. We are a Vice President of Academic Affairs community dedicated to planting seeds. By challenging students Jane Reinke with new ideas and cultivating their intellectual curiosity, we are Vice President of Student Affairs Landon Pirius privileged to experience powerful growth all around us. Marketing & Communications Director Carmen Shields We are planting seeds – engaging students, changing lives. Writers Jenny Caudill, Paolo Castelo, Michelle Goode, Linda Leekley, Missy Lott, Janet McClelland With significant legislative cuts over the last decade, our students are relying on financial Graphic Designers Jenny Caudill, Janet McClelland aid and scholarships now more than ever, and students’ lives have gotten harder and more complicated. ey are working more hours to pay the bills. Mission Engaging Students, Changing Lives One way to help is by donating to our NHCC Foundation. If you are a community member North Hennepin Community College creates opportunities for students to reach their academic interested in supporting our students please consider a donation. I am asking for your support goals, succeed in their chosen professions, and make a difference in the world. because I believe access to affordable education is the key not only to our students’ future, but to our collective future as Minnesotans. If you have donated to the Foundation in the past, I Vision urge you to renew your commitment or consider taking your generosity further this year at Opportunity without limits, learning without end, and achievement beyond expectation www.nhcc.edu/donate. You can learn more about the Foundation’s work on page 18. As you give, I hope you remember that the seed you are planting amounts to far more than money. Students who receive scholarships tell me that along with the financial support, the personal vote of confidence means so much. And they are grateful that you believe in them. North Hennepin Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North e distance between words and action is not lost on our students. In fact, this difference Central Association of Colleges and Schools. makes all the difference. ank you for planting seeds with us. The College reserves the right to cancel, postpone, and reschedule course offerings. Lack of English skills should not be a barrier to admission and Sincerely, participation. Visit our website at www.nhcc.edu for the most current class schedule information. Dr. John O’Brien President, North Hennepin Community College Member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Equal Opportunity Educator and Employer. For disability accommodations, call 763-493-0555. Minnesota Relay users may call 1-800-627-3529. Invest in Your Future Join the 12,000+ students who chose to invest wisely in their future at North Hennepin Community College this year. Save $10,000 (or more) on an education that rivals that of other prestigious and much more expensive colleges and universities in the area. Our classes, certificates, and degrees are designed to transfer readily to most four-year baccalaureate programs and prepare you for the workforce. Make your story ... financially smart at North Hennepin CommunityCollege Apply online today at www.nhcc.edu or call to schedule a campus visit at 763-488-0390 Compare the cost of tuition and fees for just one year: NHCC .......................................................................................$ 5,220 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.....................................$11,287 Rasmussen College .................................................................$17,085 Brown College ........................................................................$17,496 Minnesota School of Business/Globe College ......................$18,787 Augsburg College...................................................................$27,628 Minnesota College of Art & Design ......................................$29,700 2011-12 tuition and fees information from www.mnscu.edu. On My Way to Success Paolo Castelo’s College Journey My name is Paolo Castelo and I’m an international student currently attending North Hennepin Community College. This is my story… welve years ago, I formulated my institutions, and some even provided Furthermore, my aunt agreed to invest Tdream: To become an aerospace partial financial aid, but I was still in my future by funding my first two engineer and design all sorts of planes, unable to afford the balance. years at a community college. at sealed from commercial aircra to fierce fighter the deal. Aer securing my F-1 student jets. is career was not offered in my Bummed by the result, my advisor visa, I decided to move to Minnesota, South American home country of Peru, suggested I consider community since I had friends there who could help so I set out to study in the United States. colleges. He explained that they me with housing. Within two weeks, I are considerably more affordable got settled in, obtained international It took me a year to prepare. I worked (currently about $180 per credit student medical insurance, bought a with an EducationUSA advisor in the at NHCC, compared to the $500 cheap but decent laptop, and enrolled at city of Arequipa, Peru, took my SAT to $1,000 range at four-year North Hennepin Community College. and TOEFL tests, and applied at several universities), and that my courses universities in hopes of receiving a full could transfer toward a bachelor’s I was amazed by the entirely new scholarship. I was accepted by a few degree at four-year universities. experience. I found that everyone at the college – instructors, advisors, staff, and fellow students – was happy and willing to help me succeed. I also met a great new friend, Julie Bruns. Julie and her mother have since become my host family. Julie encouraged me to join Phi Theta Kappa, which turned out to be a huge part of my community college experience. Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest and largest international honor society for two-year colleges. I’ve had the opportunity to participate in the society’s annual convention in Seattle (organizing a flash mob there), and 4 North Hennepin Community College / Spring 2013 I was amazed by the entirely new experience. I found that everyone at the college – instructors, advisors, staff, and fellow students – was willing to help me succeed. Castelo as a child with his father at Rodríguez Ballón International Airport in Arequipa, Peru currently serve as president for the only my dream I was pursuing, but also NHCC chapter. These experiences theirs. I had come too far to give up. I taught me the importance of positive couldn’t let them, or myself, down! leadership and influence. I focused my attention on applying My first year at NHCC was great. for scholarships. Taking advantage I took a difficult course load, but of Phi eta Kappa’s member-exclusive maintained a 4.0 GPA. I secured a benefits, I applied at several four-year work-study position in the Records universities. I received a couple and Registration office to earn extra of offers, but accepted a $13,000 money, and received scholarships Phi eta Kappa transfer scholarship from the NHCC Foundation to at St. Mary’s University in Texas. help with tuition, books, and other expenses. Indeed, there were burdens, Soon I’ll be finishing my A.A. degree like not having a car, but the welcoming at NHCC, and then I’ll be starting atmosphere made things more pleasant. my bachelor’s degree in engineering, College could have been a lonely place and eventually a master’s degree for someone from a foreign country. in aerospace. In my second year, I started to worry With faith and courage, I am determined about what I was going to do next. I to make my dreams come true. at’s needed to figure out how I would pay what my family taught me and what I for college when I transfer. is anxiety, have learned at NHCC. coupled with my academic and work schedules, felt overwhelming.