MCC-Maple Woods Environmental Clubs makes a big impart, Earth Day and every day

MCC-Maple Woods has committed to becoming a “greener” campus for the past couple of years, and students are doing their part to help as well: a group of Earth-minded individuals founded the Environmental Club and have been working to educate and inform the masses every since.

Club members have been active in promoting a green lifestyle and informing the campus about environmental issues – everything from where our food comes from and how it is produced to planting native grasses and trees on the campus lawn. The club has even constructed a green house and built a solar heating unit out of aluminum cans to heat it.

Student representatives for the club hand out plants and tree samplings to other students to encourage them to get on the green bus as well, hoping to make an impact beyond the campus as students, staff and faculty apply the information to their own homes.

Student Awards presented at MCC-Blue River

Congratulations to the following students whom were honored at the MCC-Blue River Student Awards Ceremony:

Twenty MCC-Blue River students, all of whom maintained a grade point average of 3.9 or higher, graduate with Outstanding Academic Achievement awards this semester:

Darlene	Smith
Curtis	Vandevort
Reuben	Walcott

LIMITED TIME ONLY: Rachel Nelson exhibit at the MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center

In a limited two-week engagement, the MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center is proud to exhibit the artwork of Rachel Nelson, who just completed her masters in Art Therapy.

Nelson began her journey when major life transitions triggered her passion for art. When she began repetitively drawing flowers to relieve the pain and anxiety caused by ulcerative colitis, the artist emerged.

After completing the AA at MCC-Longview and earning a degree in Psychology at MU, she made a synchronistic discovery—Avila University offered a master’s program in Art Therapy and Counseling. To qualify for the program, she returned to MCC-Longview to complete

Softball Season ends for MCC-Maple Woods, with changes and challenges to look forward to next year

The second season for the Softball Monarchs has officially come to a close, with the women finishing 14-34, losing some tough games to the reigning regional champs from Crowder College but winning some games again tough regional opponents like Jefferson College, Johnson County Community College and Eastern Oklahoma College.

The young team is facing some pretty big changes for the upcoming year, losing nine sophomores who, along with head coach Kerry Casper, rebuilt the program from the ground up two years ago. In spite of the big changes, Casper said she is looking forward to an even more successful season next year, with a strong group of freshman coming in and three veteran players to provide leadership.

Owensville's Ryan Cooper commits to play baseball for Monarchs

The All-State senior from Owensville High School will bring a lot of athleticism and talent to the Monarchs next spring -  check him out here!

Employee Survey: MCC's Fitness and Recreation Centers

As part of MCC’s continued commitment to review programs and services, Vice Chancellor Tuesday Stanley has charged a committee, composed of staff, faculty, and administrators, to review MCC’s fitness and recreation centers.

A survey was recently distributed to students in order to obtain their input. At this time we would like to hear from MCC employees. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey that can be accessed from the link below. No personal information will be shared with anyone.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2GVWYF3

Thank you in advance for your participation and taking time to complete the survey.

- Mary Truex, Co-Chair

- Brian Bechtel, Co-Chair

Video: WooHoo Day @ MCC-Longview

It's the last day of class. It's a perfect time to celebrate.

MCC-Longview automotive students offer their expertise in high school competition

MCC-Longview graduates and students hit the Kansas Speedway last week to offer their expertise. Although they weren't working under hood of some high-speed racecar, they were on hand to help judge and officiate the Ford/AAA Auto Skills state competition.

The contest was held at the Kansas Speedway in KCK and invited some of the top auto students from Kansas and Missouri to compete for a spot in the national competition held in Detroit.

Twenty identical Ford Mustangs with 12 identical problems were unveiled at the start of the competition. The goal was to see how quickly the high school students could find each problem and fix it.

MCC-Longview students stood over each

VIDEO: One-on-One with MCC-Longview's guest theater director Ryan Morehead, PART 3

In this installment of our on-going series of interviews with guest director Ryan Morehead, Ryan explores how the Lakeside Summer Theatre Workshop will fit into MCC's mission of serving the community of Lee's Summit and the greater Kansas City area.

Be sure to check out the rest of the interviews with Morehead. For more information about the Lakeside Summer Theatre Workshop, call 816.604.2530 or 816.604.2338

MCC-Maple Woods students collecting donations for Harvesters

MCC-Maple Wood’s new student organization, the Student Leadership Council, is hosting a food drive for the needy families of Kansas City. Harvesters’ agencies provide assistance to nearly 60,000 people every week. Half of that number is children and elderly. If you would like to donate, there are 2 boxes located in the Student Center, one on the stairs leading to the Library, and one on the bottom floor of the Math-Science Building.

Penn Valley hosts reception for employees headed for military duty

MCC-Penn Valley recently hosted a deployment reception for the Veterans Success Center coordinator and an instructor. Well wishers came out to wish Andy Forrester and Mike Sweetland well as they prepare to leave next month for overseas deployment. Forrester's assignment is scheduled for six months and Sweetland's is scheduled to last 18 months.

Forrester thanks well wishers for their support.

Sweetland shares his commitment to serving our country with attendees.

KU participates in simulation training at HSI

The Health Science Institute at MCC-Penn Valley recently participated in an exciting collaborative agreement with the University of Kansas. As part of the agreement, students enrolled in the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesist (CRNA) program participate in simulation training in the Operating Room suite.

These graduate students are registered nurses pursuing a masters program.  They participate in trainings at the HSI twice a week.  The trainings are also an opportunity for the instructor to simulate a variety of situations these students might be faced with in an OR setting. 

Engineering final serves up a good lesson at MCC-Longview

Can you serve a tennis ball perfectly? It is a task that is impossible by itself, but Nicole Pflumm's engineering class was tasked with designing, fabricating and assembling a device that would do just that.

Nicole Pflum’s Engineering 113 class held the design competition at Summit Park tennis courts.

The goal of the design was to make a tennis ball launcher that served as a human would, close to the net and near the back corner of the court. The team projects ranged from bungee cords to pressure driven propulsion.

During their project students have a chance to learn team work and design skills for engineering applications.

Recycling by the numbers

A single sheet of paper recycled off of your desk might not seem like a big deal, but when you add up all of the individual sheets of paper, newspapers, coke cans and other recycled materials the numbers REALLY begin to add up.

According to the final tally of recycled materials MCC recycled more than 83 tons of trash in 2010 - roughly 167,390 lbs.

That is a lot of recycled materials!

In January 2011, MCC recycled 5.50 tons of trash and in February recycled 4.79 tons.

Leading the charge in 2011 with recycling has been Penn Valley with 4,610 lbs. of recycled trash in 2011. Longview is not far behind with 3,880 lbs. of recycled trash in 2011.

Keep up the good work MCC and Recycle!

New summer hours at MCC-Longview

Students: Be on the look out for the new summer hours cropping up around campus at some of your favorite spots.

The Library, bookstore and Learning Center all will change their hours for the summer.

The Learning Center:

Tutoring hours for the Learning Assistance Center for summer school will be Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

For intersession classes, ten week classes, and any other classes that do not follow the traditional eight week summer schedule, tutoring is available by appointment. Students should call the Learning Center, 604-2205, for an appointment.

The Library:

May 16 through May 20Normal hours Monday through Wednesday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 19: 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Friday, May 20: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Two week May intersession (May 23 through June 3):Monday through Thursdays: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Fridays: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Summer term (June 6 through July 29):Monday through Thursdays: 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Fridays: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Be sure to double check the new hours before heading out.

Run and fun at MCC-Blue River's "Run thru the River" 5K run, walk or jog

“Run thru the River” does not in fact require participants to run through water! Entrants will enjoy a run, jog or walk through our picturesque MCC-Blue River campus. “Run thru the River” is a June 18 run-for-fun event where serious competitors are also welcome. All those who sign up by the June 3 deadline will receive a t-shirt for completing the run and can participate in a gift card raffle. In addition, medallions will be awarded to the top male and female finishers in seven age groups.

By participating in the “Run thru the River” 5k run, walk

Slideshow: MCC-Maple Woods Student Art & Essay Showcase

Personalize your own slideshow design

MCC-Blue River instructors contribute at 53rd Annual Missouri Conference on History

Instructors Antonio Holland (l), Sharon Hunter (cntr), and Joseph Volpe (r)

This April Kansas City's Country Club Plaza provided the backdrop for the 53^rd Annual Missouri Conference on History, a statewide meeting hosted by The State Historical Society of Missouri and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of History. Outside of the lecture chambers, local university publishers touted their wares to prospective history writers, and colorful enthusiasts, such as a group of Civil War re-enactors who will recreate the Battle of Lexington this summer, represented their upcoming celebrations of history. Three of MCC-Blue River’s instructors joined other well-known experts from throughout the Midwest to discuss Missouri's history, culture and politics.

Instructors Antonio Holland (instructor of history), Sharon Hunter (English), and Joseph Volpe (political science) participated in the conference over a span of two days, attending a large number of panel discussions, listening to

Bob Rennison to speak at MCC-MW commencement

Bob Rennison, MCC-Maple Woods alumnus and Director of Broadcasting for the Missouri Mavericks hockey team, will speak at the campus' spring commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 19 at MCC-BTC.

Rennison is a graduate of MCC-Maple Woods and also met his wife, Abbie, on campus. Living in Independence since 1981, Bob has worked in sports all over the Kansas City metro area, including play-by-play announcer for the Topeka Tarantulas (CHL), Topeka ScareCrows (CHL), Wichita Thunder (CHL), Kansas City Knights (ABA) and Kansas City Attack (NISL).

MCC-Maple Woods Vet Tech a Dream Factory for Renee DuRee

For Renee DuRee, a typical morning in the veterinary technology building at MCC-Maple Woods means more than studying and preparing for approaching finals. The lab, the staff, the animals all combined to give the Dream Factory, Inc., recipient a preview of what she hopes will someday be her career - or, according to Renee, the "Best. Day. Ever."

Renee has been diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, which causes problems with the hip bones in young children. She has already had surgery and extensive therapy, and is on the mend, looking forward to running and playing with her friends. In spite of limited movement, 9-year-old Renee was a hit in Vet Tech building, exploring the classrooms, lab, surgery room, animal kennels and barn. She is looking forward to returning to MCC-Maple Woods over the summer to watch a surgery and again in the fall to experience working with different kinds of animals.

For more information about Renee DuRee, visit her journal!