Area high school students tour vet tech facility

Even in the midst of summer vacation, area high school students are thinking abut next year's inevitable college admissions craze, preparing by visiting schools, talking with admissions reps and ticking off standing in line at financial aid counters.

In order to help students navigate their college visit experiences, Maple Woods created Monarch Days, which give groups interested in a specific program, like education, veterinary technology or GIS, a chance to meet faculty, sit in on a class, and explore everything the program has to offer.

Recently, a group decided to tour the MCC-Maple Woods Vet Tech facility to get a feel for the program, the instructors and for campus life. After a rundown of admissions requirements and an overview of the programs, the students got a personal tour of the lab, classrooms and barn and met some of the staff they'll be working with if they decide to continue the program.

Congratulations, Scholar Bowl Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of MCC-Maple Woods' 2011 Scholar Bowl!

First Place: Park Hill South High School













Second Place: Liberty High School















Third Place: North Kansas City High School
















Fourth Place: Truman High School

MCC Receives $100,000 Grant

MCC has been awarded a $100,000 grant by the Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) to fund creation of the new Career and Postsecondary Transition Center.

The College Access Challenge Grant is part of MDHE’s effort to increase the number of Missouri students who view postsecondary education as an academically and financially viable option.

The Career and Postsecondary Transition Center is a new program of the Career Education Consortium, a collaborative partnership among six diverse local school districts – Center, Grandview, Hickman Mills, Independence, Lee’s Summit and Raytown – and MCC. The purpose of the Consortium, which is managed by MCC, is to promote

Scholar Bowl coming back to MCC-Maple Woods

The annual high school super-trivia contest will be back at MCC-Maple Woods on March 1, featuring the brain trusts of 15 local and area high school, from 12:30-3 p.m. in the Campus Center Arbor Room.

Think of it as Jeopardy, except without the buzzers and Alex Trebek's ageless haircut. Come and test your own knowledge during one of four rounds of academic action - you'll be amazed at how much you know - and even more amazed at how much you don't.

Sponsored by the Social Science division, the contest has been hosted at MCC-Maple Woods for the last decade for area schools as a way to showcase academic prowess.

This year's participants include:

Excelsior Springs High School
Fort Osage High School
Lawson High School
Liberty High School
Liberty North High School
North Kansas City High School
Oak Park High School
Park Hill High School
Park Hill South High School
Platte Co. R-III High School
Savannah High School
Smithville High School
St. Joseph Homeschool Scholars
Truman Senior High School
Winnetonka High School

2011 Lee's Summit Arts Challenge brings new artists into the spotlight at MCC-Longview

The 2011 Lee's Summit Fine Arts Challenge is off and artwork from some of the most talented high school students in the R-7 Schools District is on a full display in the MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center.

On Friday more than 100 people packed into the Cultural Arts Center gallery to be a part of the opening event and get a sneak peak at who is going to be the next great artist coming out of Lee's Summit.

"This is such a unique experience for some of these artists as it is the first time they are exposed to what it is like to have their pieces displayed in a gallery like ours," gallery curator Daniel Reneau said.

Although the exhibit's opening night was Friday, the exhibit itself will be open until Feb. 26.

Lee's Summit Arts Challenge

MCC-Longview Cultural Arts Center

Jan. 21- Feb. 26

The Gallery is open Noon-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

UPDATE: Check out the fun video from the event.

For more photos from this fantastic event, check out our Flickr page.

Careers Unlimited picks up sponsor, picks up speed

Students at last year's Careers Unlimited exploration and career fair saw hands-on careers through a whole new lens.

Next month, nearly 3,000 high school students will converge on the MCC-Business & Technology campus for the third annual Careers Unlimited exploration and career fair. And for the first time, the fair has a leading corporate sponsor: Cerner Corporation.

The event, which will be held on Wednesday, February 9, at the MCC Exhibit Hall, provides local high school youth an opportunity to explore various career fields in a tradeshow-like format. The event has been growing in popularity among students and employers since its inception in 2009.

"This is a chance for students to browse a lot of hands-on career options they may not have been aware of or to get more information about options they've already been considering," said Careers Unlimited coordinator Katie Cone. "In the last two years, we've found that it's also a good recruiting tool for MCC."
The students will be able to explore MCC's 80 career and technical degree and certificate programs which blend classroom instruction with hands-on skill development.

College nights in Cass County bring high school students one step closer to MCC

The Star Herald, Northwest Cass County’s newspaper, reported last week of the enthusiasm and support their community has regarding the steps MCC has taken to connect their local high schools with MCC resources. MCC courses are forming in Cass County and are scheduled to be available this spring.

College nights are scheduled next week to provide students from Belton High School, Raymore-Peculiar High School and Harrisonville High School with information about the financial aid process, the importance of seeking advice from counselors regarding degree plans, and other enrollment information.

To see the complete article in The Star Herald, click here.

HUGE thanks to our volunteers from MCC-Longview's Automotive Days

From the MCC-Longview Automotive Days crew, we want to thank all of our volunteers who helped on Tuesday and Wednesday as tour guides, session leaders and even helped serve lunch to 600 high school students.

Along with Longview's own staff and faculty who donned a bright orange shirt for two days, we also had volunteers from Blue River and the Business and Technology campuses and the district office pitch in to help out each day.

Without you all this event would not have been a success.

THANK YOU!

MCC-Longview's Automotive Days 2010

Despite economic worries, the automotive industry is still revving a full speed. At least that was the message the recruiters and industry experts at the 14th annual MCC-Longview Automotive Days were telling high school students.

Once again MCC-Longview opened the doors to its nationally lauded automotive program to give high school seniors, juniors and vocational/technical students a look at what opportunities lie ahead of them in the coming years in the automotive industry after high school.

MCC-Longview automotive Director Stan Abrahamson answered non-stop questions about Longview's automotive programs as close to 600 students filed through several demonstrations, round-table discussions and tours of the campus.



The two-day event also included a car show that brought some of the regions oldest and most interesting vehicles to the parking lot of the High Technology/Automotive building. The visiting students were then asked to vote for the best cars on display. The voting, according to some, was a bit more difficult than they had anticipated.



For a full gallery of all the photos from the events, be sure to hit up the MCC-Longview flickr page.

Or check out the video from the event:

July 21 Technology Teacher Career Night

There's a shortage of high school engineering and technology teachers in the Kansas City area—especially Project Lead the Way teachers. MCC-Business & Technology and the University of Central Missouri are hosting a Career Exploration Night on July 21, from 6 - 7 p.m. at BTC.

Two UCM courses will be offered at BTC this fall. CTE 1000, Introduction to Career & Technical Education, is scheduled on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Penny Tepesch will be the instructor. CTE 1300, Introduction to Engineering Design, will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

The Engineering & Technology Teacher Education program is all about educating the next generation of engineers and technologists. Many courses in MCC’s education curriculum fit in the program plan. Graduates will be certified to teach middle and high school Project Lead the Way courses anywhere in the U.S. (with teacher state certification). It’s an ideal program for a recent high school graduate or a person with industry experience or some college credit. To watch a short video and request more information, see TeachTechKC.com. To register for July 21 or a second event planned for Aug. 12, go to mcckc.edu/visitbtc.