CLC puts robots, welders in hands of high schoolers

Area high schoolers got their hands on robots for the first time, thanks to Central Lakes College.

The CLC Manufacturing Programs participated in a college fair and career exploration event at Technical High School in St. Cloud this week. 

Students in grades 8-11th from both high schools, Apollo and Tech, learned about careers in manufacturing while visiting the CLC booth. 

Robbie Lange, Robotics instructor, helped students operate a robot, while explaining how robots are used in industry. He also detailed how they themselves could get training to work in robotics and automation. 

Student Award Day pulls in plenty of winners

Students and staff at both the Staples and Brainerd campuses were honored this week at our Student Awards Day.

Staples

Student employee of the year: Brent Sterriker

Senate member of the year: Alex Began

Male student of the year: Josh Guyse

Female student of the year: Natalie Berens

Club of the year: Diesel Club

Outstanding advisor: Michael Sams

Outstanding faculty of the year: Sandy Porter

Outstanding Staff of the year: Gayle Wonders

CLC Department of the year: Photography Department

Administrator of the year: Kari Christiansen

CLC's DelRay Lecy inducted into Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame

Central Lakes College agricultural educator DelRay Lecy was recently inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame. 

He was given the honor at the 86th Minnesota FFA Convention Monday, April 27.

Lecy has been involved in agricultural education for more than 35 years. He started at CLC in 1974 teaching farm business management and farm operations and management. He also served as director of the Ag Center for three years and was associate dean of management education programs. After he retired from CLC in 2009, Lecy continued part-time as dean of technical programs at the Staples campus until 2013. He currently works on special projects in farm business management with CLC.

The former Staples resident said being inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame is “rather humbling.”

Learn about Costa Rica during at Cultural Thursday event

Come learn about Costa Rica, as experienced by Central Lakes College students and community members, during a Cultural Thursday event at noon Thursday, May 7 in the Chalberg Theatre, Brainerd campus. 

Three CLC student participants, Chelsea Kraemer, Linda Nichols and Cole Bobzien, will talk about the environment, the animal species, typical foods, musical instruments and the production of chocolate. 

At the presentation, view some exciting pictures shared among the whole group, and get a little taste of the interdisciplinary adventure organized by the CLC Global Studies Department and the International Education Committee.

The audience can ask the participants anything about the country after the presentation.

Want to go to Cuba? Here's your chance

Community members and students are invited to travel to Cuba with Central Lakes College.

Three CLC instructors will be leading a travel/study course to Cuba over Spring Break 2016 (March 4-12). 

Those interested in joining the adventure can sign up either as a community member or as a student. Students can register for the three-credit course during spring semester 2016. During the trip, learn more about Cuban history, arts, economics, landscape, people and language. 

CLC wins Minnesota Ignite Collaboration Award

Central Lakes College was awarded the Minnesota Ignite Collaboration Award.

The award was given out Friday at the D2L Ignite Regional Users Conference held in Minneapolis. This is the third conference held in the region and the first time CLC came home with the trophy.

Central Lakes College won for its collaborative work in developing a closed captioning process for the campus.

Lights, camera, action! Filmmaker’s Movie Festival coming up

Lights, camera, action! The third annual CLC Filmmaker’s Movie Festival will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 6 at Central Lakes College’s Chalberg Theatre, Brainerd campus.

The event celebrates the culmination of two years of move making by the Videography class of CLC.

Admission is free and there will be refreshments following the festival.

Brainerd welding students get first glimpse of a robotic welder

A Motoman Robotic Welder just arrived at the Central Lakes College Brainerd campus this week.

The robotic welder, which measures about 10 feet by 10 feet, offers a faster process in welding, said CLC welding instructor David Otto.

“It’s the direction the industry is going,” he said. 

The welding program at CLC started offering the Robotic Welding Certificate last year, and the new robotic welder will assist in advancing the course.

“It makes the students much more valuable in the workforce,” Otto said. “They can weld manually and now with robots.”

The robotic welder was previously at the CLC Staples campus, where it has been since it was first acquired through the Advanced Manufacturing Education (AME) Grant.

Nursing student awarded Ladies Auxiliary scholarship

Central Lakes College student Joshua Guyse was chosen as a recipient of a $1,000 Marcella Arnold Nursing Scholarship by the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Guyse, of Swanville, Minn., can use the scholarship for tuition, books, laboratory/similar fees, vocation or online courses.

CLC instructor Bruce Fuhrman named Outstanding Educator

Central Lakes College Photographic Imaging Technology instructor Bruce Fuhrman was one of 35 educators to be named 2015 Outstanding Educators by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees.

Fuhrman received the honor Wednesday at the MnSCU Board of Trustees 2015 Celebrating Excellence luncheon in St. Paul.

The award is an honor bestowed upon MnSCU faculty to acknowledge and reward exceptional individual professional accomplishment, and to encourage ongoing excellence.

The Outstanding Educator designation reflects the exceptional commitment that each of the nominees have demonstrated in teaching, in their continuous professional development, and in their service to students, the college, profession, and the MnSCU system.

Military and veteran graduates: Pick up your patriot cords

If you've served in the U.S. Armed Forces and are participating in the CLC commencement ceremony, be sure to pick up your red, white and blue patriot cord.

CLC, in coordination with the Veterans Resource Center, started a symbolic new initiative honoring the graduating military and veteran students. 

The red, white and blue patriot cords are available to any graduating former or current active duty member, guard/reserve, or veteran student who would like to wear one during the commencement ceremony in May. These cords signify the esteem that CLC holds for our military and veteran community for their service and sacrifice. 

Students interested in allowing CLC to honor their service with a Military & Veteran Patriot Cord should contact Theresa Harsha: tharsha@clcmn.edu or 218-855-8279.

Nursing student gets surprised with scholarship

Central Lakes College Practical Nursing student Samantha Goldberg was awarded a $500 scholarship from the local Forty and Eight veterans organization.

Goldberg, from Pequot Lakes, was surprised with the award Wednesday during class at CLC when four Forty and Eight representatives presented her with the $500 check.

The scholarship is awarded to a RN or LPN nursing student each year. Students apply for the honor, and the Forty and Eight choose the winner.

This year, eight applied for the scholarship.

Workshop being held for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

The Central Lakes College Diversity Club is hosting an event in honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

The Diversity Club is bringing in Amanda Schwarfzkopf from the Brainerd Sexual Assault Services to speak on sexual harassment, consent and prevention at noon April 28 in room C236, Brainerd campus. 

The workshop is titled "Working Together for a Safer Campus."

Also joining in on the conversation will be Mary Sam, Director of Diversity & Tribal Relations; Dave Davis, director of Security & Law Enforcement Skills Coordinator; and Suzie Karsnia, counselor.

CLC Small Business Development Center client wins top award

Travis Kelley of Jen Tra Tools in Backus was recently named the U.S. Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Minnesota. Travis and his wife, Jennifer Kelley, developed the Cheatah door level system to assist contractors and homeowners with door installation. They started Jen Tra Tools to market the product, and are now working to expand their business nationally.

The Central Lakes College Small Business Development Center assisted Travis and Jennifer Kelley through their start-up, in obtaining early financing for their business, in participating in the Minnesota Cup competition and now is working to expand the company. The company also received assistance from the Cass County Economic Development Corporation, SCORE and Legal Corp programs.

Learn more about the company's product at www.jentratools.com.

For more information regarding the CLC Small Business Development Center contact 218-855-8145 or email director Greg Bergman at gbergman@clcmn.edu.

Videography students earn top spots in competitions

Several Central Lakes College Videography students placed in top spots in competitions last weekend.
At the SkillsUSA State Conference, two CLC teams took silver and bronze medals in the Digital Cinema Production category.
* Silver medalists were: David Rossow, of Sartell, and Kyle Yezek, of Brainerd.
* Bronze medalists were: Brandon Brown and Cody Roehl, both of Brainerd.
At the 2015 NATAS-Upper Midwest Regional Student Emmy Awards, CLC students won two Emmy awards out of the five total nominations.
Total, there were 260 entries from 40 different high schools and colleges in the region.
* Public Affairs/Community Service category: Bobbi Kruchten, of Brainerd, producer/director/writer for "Survivor.”
* News-General Assignment-Light News category: Brandon Brown, of Brainerd, Video Journalist; Riley Nelson, of Brainerd, reporter/writer; David Rossow, of Sartell, videographer.

Got the Ramen Noodle blues? iCare has a few ideas to revamp dinner

Ramen Noodles just may be the most popular go-to meal for college students. That's why the iCare hosted a Campus Community Connection event Wednesday, April 15 featuring (you guessed it) Ramen Noodles.

Each student got a free pack of Ramen and four recipe ideas for how to prepare it.

Below are those recipes, which staff combed the internet for. 

Future Campus Community Connection events (held every Wednesday in April from 12-1 p.m. 

April 22: Earth Day activities

April 29: Really cool car show.

Nursing students get a practice run in a simulation day

A career in nursing can be loud, fast-paced and down right chaotic.

To learn how to better handle the evolving field, some of the nursing students at Central Lakes College’s Brainerd campus ran through the LPN and RN Simulation Day. It’s an event held each semester that brings in actors (students or community members) to play the parts of patients, while faculty members evaluate how each nurse-in-training does with each “patient.”

A classroom on the second floor of CLC is set up like a real hospital wing, with five beds, a nurse station and medical supplies.

At last week’s event, there were five patients, each with a different story, and each with a unique challenge for nursing students to take care of.

Meet the patients:

* One person with congestive heart failure and trouble breathing.

* One person with alcohol withdrawal and pancreatitis.

* A 4-year-old child with a ruptured appendix that was taken out.

* A 17-year-old single mom, who just gave birth and is having troubles with breastfeeding.

* One person with a kidney infection, nausea and pain management issues.

Two students get top spots at Minnesota Skills USA Championship

Two Central Lakes College students placed in the top spots at the 48th annual Minnesota Skills USA Championship, held this past weekend in Bloomington, Minn. 

Seven students from the Diesel Technician Program represented CLC in both the college and high school divisions. They competed in hands-on trade, technical and leadership contests. The competition focuses on technical skill demonstration.

In the High School Diesel Division, CLC student Tommy Hoheisel, of Pierz, took first place and Rustle Warwas, of Eveleth, placed second. 

Both students are currently attending CLC in the PSEO program.

Hoheisel will go on to represent CLC and Minnesota at the national competition, which takes place in Kentucky June 22-26. He will compete against other finalists in his division from across the nation.

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.