Two students recognized in Phi Theta Kappa's All-Minnesota Academic Team

Two Central Lakes College students were recognized for being part of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s All-Minnesota Academic Team.

The recognition program was held Friday at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.

* Michael Talbert, a PSEO student from Pierz Healy High School, will graduate from high school and complete his Associate of Arts degree from CLC this spring.

Talbert was also named the 2015 Coca-Cola Community College Gold Scholar.

He is vice president of the CLC Phi Theta Kappa chapter and is involved in chapter projects. Talbert has been on the Dean’s List and the President’s List, and has served as a peer tutor in several chemistry courses.

*Lindsay Zitzloff, from Montrose, Minn, is earning here Associates of Arts and a Criminal Justice Certificate at CLC.

Zitzloff is president of the CLC Phi Theta Kappa chapter, and is a member of TRIO Student Support Services and the Veteran’s Club.

She has been a mathematics tutor and has been placed on the President’s List.

Search and rescue training brings in helicopter, emergency vehicles

Did you notice the helicopter and other emergency vehicles swarming the CLC Brainerd campus this past weekend? It was part of a Wilderness Search and Rescue class held by CLC’s State Fire/EMS School.

The full-scale training operation class focused on search and rescue techniques, and offered hands-on training for about 75 law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and area scouts.

Emergency responders first trained in the classroom setting, focusing on three fields: Search/rescue, EMS, and incident command. Then they get some in the field experience in the afternoon, conducting two scenarios along the college’s riverbank and wooded area.

The Salvation Army was on-site to offer food to participants, who came from across the state, along with the surrounding counties of Crow Wing, Cass, Morrison, Todd and Wadena.

Eric Makowski Budrow, FIRE/EMS instructor, coordinated the training.

Check out the video the Brainerd Dispatch took of the event:

http://www.brainerddispatch.com/video/4167813345001

And watch Lakeland news tonight for a full story!

Staples students chat with potential employers in annual Interview Day

Nearing graduation, Central Lakes College student Jared Koponen will soon need a job.

Thanks to a program at the college, Koponen, along with 50 of his fellow classmates, got the chance to sit down with a handful of potential future employers for a one-on-one interview.

It’s called Interview Day, and the Heavy Equipment Operation & Maintenance Program at CLC’s Staples campus has been hosting it since 2007.

Here’s how it works: Contractors from across the state and region convene on the Staples Heavy Equipment Operations campus for one day. Each student gets six or seven 20-minute interviews with different companies.

“(Contractors) need employees. They know they’ll get good students here who could go work for anybody,” said John Maleski, Heavy Equipment instructor.

Several career fields hiring CLC students

Several career fields are hiring Central Lakes College students after graduation, and they’re actively recruiting them now.

At the Brainerd Community Job Fair Wednesday at CLC, dozens of area companies got a chance to chat with students and community members looking for a career or part-time work.

“(Manufacturing) students will have jobs before they graduate,” said Greta Smith, human resources representative with Brunswick, a manufacturing company located in New York Mills.

There’s a huge demand for manufacturing and production employees at the company.

That’s not unique to Brunswick, though. The need for manufacturing workers is skyrocketing across the region, she said.

“It’s all about creating awareness,” Smith said. “There are more openings than people.”

And the starting pay is above average, said Lynda Everson, human resources representative with Brunswick.

Feeling a bit...anxious? Instructor offers tips on overcoming test anxiety

Exam. Test. Final.

Anyway you say it, the fear is the same. First, the heart beats faster. Next, the stomach is in knots.

It’s pretty common for students to get anxious before a test, said CLC psychology instructor Alita Reque-Peterson. But what’s less common is physical illness and severe emotional stress that can be debilitating.

Still, every year, students experience just that.

“That fear can be so encompassing, it causes you to choke or freeze,” she said. “If you can get your mind to calm down, then you can relax and zone in, and you can focus on what you have prepared for.”

To help create that bridge from anxiety to relief, Reque-Peterson led a student workshop on Tuesday at Central Lakes College’s Brainerd and Staples campuses.

“Preparation is the biggest source of anxiety typically,” she said.

The first signs of anxiety come when a student begins studying.

Anxiety isn’t a bad thing, though.

“Stress can push us and motivate us to prepare,” she said. “But it’s devastating when it overcomes someone.”

So Reque-Peterson offered students these tips:

Experience a new county, culture right here at CLC

Take a step into a new country and experience the culture during the Celebration of Nations at Central Lakes College’s Brainerd Campus.

It’s the third year, the Celebration of Nations will take place on Friday, April 24 on the Brainerd campus.

The event will start at 5:45 p.m. and end with a fireworks finale at 9:30 p.m.

Guests will get a one-stop travel experience, with a variety of multicultural performances and activities from around the world. This year’s performances include: the Scandinavian Skal Klubben Spelmanslag, the Pachanga Society with Latin Music, West African drumming and dancing by Tiyumba and the Ha Family Entertainment with the Lion Dance.

Guests can also tour the gym and participate in a multitude of displays and activities from Africa, South East Asia, Europe and the Ojibwe heritage.

Check out an authentic African Hut for storytelling and drumming, or stop by the Asian rest house for Origami, or visit the Italian art museum to create an artistic masterpiece.

Prairie Bay will sell ethnic cuisine featuring food from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas that guests can enjoy while sitting in an Italian café, a Japanese style Kotatsu or at a bonfire.

Tickets are available at the door: $10 for adults, $5 for students and free to children 12 years of age or under.
For more information, contact Lori-Beth Larsen at 218-855-8237 or llarsen@clcmn.edu or Alita Reque-Peterson: apeterson@clcmn.edu

Hijab Tube performance will offer "eye-opening perspective"

The Office of Diversity & Tribal Relations is bringing another Mixed Blood Performance to Central Lakes College at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21 in the Dryden Theater.

This hour-long event is free and open to all faculty, staff and students. The performance is titled "Hijab Tube” and it’s a production of Minneapolis’ Mixed Blood Theatre.

The performance explores American-Muslim identity and offers a uniquely entertaining and eye-opening perspective on Islam in 21st century America. The story centers on 20-year-old Rubiya, a second-generation American-Muslim. Prompted by a college class discussion, Rubiya is considering wearing the hijab (the traditional head covering of Muslim women) and takes her questions about it to YouTube. The range and variety of responses she receives offer illuminating perspectives on the great diversity of Islam in contemporary America.

Hijab Tube was written by Seema Sueko on commission from Mixed Blood and premiered in 2009. Aailyah Habeeb leads the cast of three. William Partlan directs the production.