10-16-2022 EDU - Flipbook - Page 2
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 16, 2022
Salisbury University's popular Quidditch Club. Photo by Rachel Eure.
Clubs enhance college experience
There is more to college life than studying for exams
By Carol Sorgen, Contributing Writer
A
t Anne Arundel Community College
(AACC), a new scholarship program is
creating greater opportunities for underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to pursue degrees and future
careers in the advertising and public relations field.
Annapolis-based Crosby Marketing recognized
that the communications industry has struggled to
increase diversity. “They approached AACC to identify
strategies to prepare more professionals for success in
these fields,” says Janice Watley, director of the student
achievement and success program. “Crosby Marketing
and AACC worked together to develop this scholarship
program concept.”
Watley explains that eligible students will be
awarded a generous scholarship for up to two
years. Students will also receive mentoring and
support from industry professionals at Crosby, as
well as AACC faculty and staff. Students will also
be considered for a summer internship at Crosby
Marketing to gain added experience.
“AACC is committed to supporting and sustaining a diverse and inclusive educational environment,” says Watley. “Diversity is not merely
a goal but a value that is embedded throughout
AACC. This opportunity is a great match for our
institution.”
According to Vollie Melson, executive director of institutional advancement, the Crosby
Marketing Scholars Program is an example of
community business leaders making an investment in AACC students. “We are grateful for the
collaboration with Crosby Marketing to strengthen our community by further developing the
talented people and extending the reach of our
college to bring hope and opportunity to more
individuals,” says Melson.
“AACC is building upon our work with
regional business leaders to deliver solutions that
our community and our local economy need,”
Melson continues. “The Crosby Marketing
Scholars Program is an example of this effort.
Other schools in Maryland and across the country
are also recognizing that these types of opportunities can have a significant impact upon the quality
of life in our communities.”
Carroll Community College
Expanding Student Organizations
Carroll Community College’s student organizations are on the rebound from COVID, when
students had to meet virtually, and students are
excited about being able to once again participate
on campus. Carroll currently has 16 active clubs
and organizations and several more are looking
to start this fall, reports Jen Snyder, M.Ed., senior
director of student engagement.
“These student organizations bring a unique
facet of engagement to campus,” says Snyder.
“They bring together students with similar interests or hobbies and allow them to connect students, faculty and staff outside the classroom,”
she says, adding that clubs also create a sense of
belonging and a place for students to find a place
that they can call their own.
“Clubs host programs, events and trips that
are planned and executed by students for students,
so it gives them an opportunity to develop key
skills needed to succeed in their career after college like communication skills, leadership skills,
teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking,
equity and inclusion, and much more,” Snyder
continues. “They also learn tangible skills related
to marketing, events, budgeting and interpersonal
relationships.”
According to Snyder, some of the most popular and active groups on campus are the STEM
Club, Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), the
Indoor Soccer Club and the Student Veterans
Organization.
Some of Carroll’s newest student groups are
the Literary Arts Magazine, the Black Student
Union (BSU), and the Muslim Student Association
(MSA). The Literary Arts Magazine is a space for
students to express themselves creatively and
showcase works of writing and art, while the
Black Student Union’s multi-pronged mission is
to educate, cultivate, mentor and nurture students in Black/African-centered worldview and
Africana perspective, to promote ethical leadership and academic achievement, and to cultivate
civic responsibility and assist with recruiting and
retaining Black/African students at Carroll.
Similarly, the Muslim Student Association was
created by students to showcase diversity, increase
awareness and to promote interaction between
Muslim and non-Muslim students while serving
as a resource to the college community.
“These new identity-based groups provide a
much-needed community and pillar of support
for minority students on campus,” says Snyder.
“I’m so excited that the campus community consistently has opportunities throughout
the year to engage in activities on DEI (diversity,
equity, and inclusion),” adds Clyde Johnson, Jr.,
Carroll’s DEI executive director. These topics can
range from Implicit Bias to engaging in learning
and celebrating all the Cultural Heritage months
(Black History, Women’s History, Hispanic
Heritage, Native American, Disability Awareness
and more).
This year Johnson is especially looking forward to three special projects: Theatre for Social
Change, using the theatre to explore social issues,
diversity and self-identity in fun and safe ways
through theatrical exercise; Walk in their Shoes,
using the Virtual Reality lab in the college library
to allow people to experience other people’s lives;
and Courageous Conversations in the Art Gallery,
using art as a medium to facilitate sometimes
hard, painful, or otherwise awkward and difficult
conversations.
“The most import and rewarding part of my
job is sharing in building a community that is
open and accepting to all people, regardless of
gender identity, race, ability, age, religion politics, economic level, citizenship and more,” says
Johnson.
Quidditch Club Takes the Pitch at
Salisbury University
Alexandra Lipinski read the Harry Potter
books as a child growing up in White Haven,
Pennsylvania, but she wasn’t, in her words, a
“super fan.” But when she enrolled at Salisbury
University as a biology major last year, she was
introduced to quidditch, the once fictional sport
that’s appearing on college campuses nationwide.
“I went to a practice, and I haven’t looked back
since,” says Lipinski.
Quidditch first appeared in J.K. Rowling’s
debut novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Originally played by witches and wizards, today
Quidditch is a mixed-gender contact sport that
blends elements from rugby, dodgeball and tag.
College Quidditch was founded in 2005 at
Middlebury College by students Xander Manshel
and Alex Benepe, who were looking for a physically intense sport to play with their friends on
the weekend. There are now more than 200 active
teams in the U.S. More than half of these teams are
at the college level.
A Quidditch team has seven athletes who
play with brooms between their legs at all times.
Matches are played on a large oval field with three
ring-shaped goals of varying heights on each
side, between two opposing teams that include
one Seeker, one Keeper, two Beaters and three
Chasers. Each player has a specific task – the
Chasers, for example, try and keep possession of
the “Quaffle” and to score a goal by throwing it
through one of the opponent's three hoops.
Lipinski, who is currently vice president of
Salisbury’s Quidditch Club, was a high school
athlete but didn’t want the competitive pressure
of playing varsity sports in college. “I enjoy sports
and team activities, and this fills the bill,” she
says. “Once you get to college, you get to explore
new things and engage with a lot of people you
might not have had the opportunity to otherwise
meet. They’re not only good teammates but good
friends as well.”
Engaging student interests
Special opportunity programs attract and retain
The English Language Learning program at AACC gives high school students learning English as a second language
a chance to take community college courses for college credit.
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
T
he new English Language Learning
(ELL) program at Anne Arundel
Community College was developed to
give students learning English as a second language a chance to participate in
the Early College Access Program (ECAP) where
high school students have dual enrollment and can
take community college courses for college credit.
The first cohort of multilingual students just
finished the classes specifically designed for them,
since ECAP courses are chosen by the high school
and the college systems. “We selected two courses,”
says Owen Andrews, M.A., instructional specialist
of English Language Learning. “One is an English
Language Learning course, and one is a one-credit
College Preparation and Success course, and we
combined them.”
Both courses were taught by bilingual faculty,
and both courses mixed Spanish and English in
the way the faculty delivered the content and the
way that the students engaged with each other, in
the discussions and in their writing. “The intent
was to value students’ bilingualism as an asset and
to say that this is going to be a positive for you,”
says Andrews. “You're not measured by a lack of
English, but you're celebrated for being a bilingual
college student.”
This message did not only come from the two
professors who taught the courses, but it also came
from class guests; three out of the four were Latina
or Latino. Coming from the fields of education
technology, higher education, journalism and law,
all of them reinforced to the students that their
bilingualism was not only a personal and social
asset, but an academic and professional one as
well.
“The follow-up assignment was to write an
email to the class guest,” says Dana Marron, M.A.,
director, adult education and English language
learning, “to expand their professional network
and see themselves in community with these bilingual editors and authors.”
During the tour of the campus, they were able
to see the classrooms where they would be taking
classes, visit the library and tour the new Clauson
Center where building trades are taught. From a
cohort interested in a variety of possible careers,
their experience at AACC this summer was inspiring to both students and faculty.
Salisbury University (SU) has a new opportunity for students who might like to study abroad
but are not able due to financial reasons or because
of the curriculum requirements for their major.
Now that Salisbury is a member of the National
Student Exchange (NSE), students can experience
a new campus way of life and learning for the same
tuition they are currently paying at SU. This also
means that any financial aid they are receiving
stays in place at SU, and they can study for free in
another state.
“NSE is about providing access to high impact
field learning and experiential learning that is
affordable,” says Brian Stiegler, Ph.D., assistant
provost for international education. They are also
interested in providing access to these opportunities for all students, including first-generation
students and those receiving financial aid.
A student’s major can be a deciding factor as
to when they apply for the exchange. Majors such
as teaching or nursing, which have Maryland State
requirements to be met and licensing exams to be
taken, are advised to do an exchange in their freshman or sophomore years while they are still taking
their general education requirements.
Other majors have more flexibility and can
apply any time during their college career. The
first two students who have just gone off to
the University of Alaska in Anchorage and the
University of New Orleans are both seniors, one in
psychology and the other in interdisciplinary studies. This is an opportunity for them to do upper
division work at another university, experience life
in another part of the country and still be back in
the spring to graduate from SU.
Students apply by February when the draw for
spots at the participating schools starts. “If a student has always dreamed of going out west,” says
Stiegler, “it could be a good chance for them to try
this while they have an on-campus residence and
have student services at the host university that can
take care of them, while they try something new.”
Trying something new is exactly what they are
doing at Carroll Community College this year. The
Relaxation Station is a place where students can
come for some downtime between classes. While
students were taking classes from home during the
pandemic, they could turn off the video or go to
their room or other space if they needed time to
themselves. When they came back to campus there
was nowhere to go to de-stress.
“Students this year have been asking for a place
on campus where they can go just to get a little
bit of de-stressing, kind of quiet alone time,” says
April Herring, Ed.D., senior director of advising
and retention. CCC is not a residential campus, so
students are not able to just go back to their room.
They have a sometimes-long commute.
As a pilot program, a space was found in the
library to convert into the Relaxation Station.
“We'll have some things such as mindful coloring books, a yoga mat, some meditation apps and
some noise-canceling headphones,” says Herring.
“We're going to work with the students to find out
what they need and make it into their space.”
Already in place on campus is a care team that
helps students who are in crisis and/or connects
them to CCC’s counseling services. In addition,
there is a software on every computer on campus
called “Raise Your Hand” where students can say,
“I need help with financial aid, I need help with
food insecurity, I need help with an emotional
problem, or whatever,” and it gets routed to the
right person to respond to that student.
Also new this year is a student assistance
program through Behavioral Health Services in
Baltimore. Students can receive confidential counseling at no cost to the student. It is available 24/7
and after talking with an intake person, they are
matched with a counselor that matches their needs
and preferred modality.
Providing help for students emotional and
mental stresses is one way to help them succeed
in school. CCC is proactive in providing this
assistance.