Jess Canada, GFC MSU networking student, competing in the Netriders International Finale on November 30, 2012.  Of 944 college students from the USA & Canada who entered round one, 94 advanced to the final round, and Jess finished 16th out of 94 final competitors.

NetRiders - Stretching Students' Knowledge  
Submitted by Bruce R. Gottwig, Microcomputer & Network Support Program Director  

The NetRiders skills competition is an international contest for students in the Cisco Networking Academy program. The post-secondary version is held every two years open to any current networking student. The competition consists of three separate rounds where students complete two skills assessments. One is an online examination and the second, a virtual online hands-on test. Each round is timed and students must earn a minimum required score in order to move on to the next round. 

Five GFC MSU students were allowed to move on to round two: Brandon Gabelt,Jess Canada, Joshua Walters, Orie Fischer, and Tom McCracken. Jess earned the highest score in Montana for Round 1. Round two competition was similar; however, only one student was allowed to move on to round three. 

Jess represented GFC in Round 3 competition, a live event held on November 30, 2012 with all of the competitors for the North America Theater, United States and Canada. A total of 94 competitors met on WebEx and completed assessments similar to rounds one and two. 

When it was over, our GFC MSU student Jess Canada was sixteenth (16) out of ninety-four (94) competitors. We would like to congratulate all of those from GFC who competed in the 2012 NetRiders Skill Competition. This was an extremely challenging competition stretching students' knowledge of networking.

Both Billings and Butte had a competitor in the competition and did very well also. The competitor from Billings was ranked in the top ten. Well done Montana! 

Julie Rummel & Kathy Meier are PURE GOLD!

Great Falls College MSU is proud to announce our latest Pure Gold recipients, Julie Rummel and Kathy Meier. They were recognized by MSU President Cruzado for their contributions to Montana State University.   

   

Julie Rummel was nominated by Mary Kay Bonilla on behalf of the student veterans at Great Falls College MSU. Julie is a financial aid specialist and veteran's coordinator who was nominated out of gratitude for going over and above her job duties to make our veteran students feel appreciated and important. Julie has improved the service to veterans on campus by developing materials and tools to explain opportunities for vets on campus. She was instrumental in the development of our veteran's welcome room, has been actively involved in veteran's events in the community. She has also served on panels and state wide discussion groups with our U.S. senators regarding VA education benefits. 

 

 

Kathy Meier's nomination was submitted by student Jaime Henriquez. As the Director of Disability Services, Kathy ensures that students with disabilities are provided the reasonable accommodations they are entitled to reach their performance potential. In his submission Jaime stated: "I want to nominate Kathy Meier for Pure Gold because she helps students with special needs. She does the best to keep disabled students happy and also help with their needs."

  

Modules units being transported to Canada. Similar to the units ADF and Yates will be assembling.

 Welding Program Expansion 

Great Falls College MSU has expanded their Welding Technology program to address the workforce needs of ADF Group, Inc. and Yates Construction. Meeting the "just in time" training needs of industry is a large part of comprehensive two-year college mission and Great Falls College MSU is pleased to have the expertise and capabilities to address the needs of these companies. However, the true reward seeing people receive skills necessary for obtaining high-demand, high-wage jobs.

 

"This is a great opportunity not only for Great Falls, but for Montana," stated Eric Bliss, Vice President of General Distributing. "Growing up in Montana I've always heard the state's greatest export is our youth. These businesses are bringing a new industry sector into our economy and with that an opportunity to retain our youth, educate them, and employ them right here in MT. We need to market the Great Falls College MSU locally, regionally, and nationally to draw students into the area so we can fill the employment needs of both our existing and new businesses and to attract more businesses with a strong labor force into our area."

 

The first part of the expansion plan is to add a spring semester welding cohort of 20 students starting on January 9^th. The students who start in January will complete the program by July 2013. Registration is now open. For more information contact the Great Falls College admissions office at 406-771-4300.

 

Knowing these companies require certified welders, the College has applied to become an American Welding Society accredited test facility. This would be the first of its kind in Montana. Currently, to become a certified welder, test candidates must travel to one of the surrounding states. Realizing the trans-border needs of ADF, the College is also working with Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) to align the welding technology program with the CWB's trans-border welder training course and offer their trans-border testing program and welding supervisor course.

 

The College is currently working with local companies to plan ways to add more welding booths, equipment, electrical and ventilation systems to the existing Industrial Trades building. By August 2013, the College is planning intake 3 additional cohorts (60 students) into the welding program.

 

The College is also prepared to address the customized training needs for the companies as they are identified. Workplace safety, working at heights and climb safety, and quality assurance and control have already been acknowledged as potential training topics. Great Falls College MSU will continue to meet the training needs of other welding, fabrication businesses and area farmers and ranchers.

  

Ugly Bathroom Makeover

Bevin Chippewa, carpentry student, and Pat Schoenen, Carpentry Program Directorcontributed six hours of work on the ugly bathroom makeover. Since most Great Falls College MSU's  building projects involve new construction this was great opportunity for Bevin to work on a remodeling. 

  

Bevin "did a great job," Schoenen said. "He volunteered his time outside of class on the project. Every little bit of experience makes him that much better of a carpenter. He jumped at the chance to learn more."  Jim and Laura Bason's were not only one who benefited from the Ugly Bathroom Makeover. 

Story covered in the Great Falls Tribune on 11/17/12.

Graphic Design - Menu Competion Winners!

Submitted by Rhonda Kueffler,  Web Design & Graphic Design Program Director

The results are in! Below are the winners of the Bookstore Café Menu. THANK YOU all for your time, support and feedback to the students.     

Faculty and  Staff Achievement 

Five members of the College's faculty have recently earned degrees. Jocelyn Juelfs earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree with a Dental Hygiene major from MSU Billings; Brad Bechard earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Montana; Kathryn Peterson earned a Master's in Health Information Management degree from The College Saint Scholastica; and Julie Myers and Teri Dwyer both earned a Master of Arts in Fine Arts degree from the University of Montana.

Fine Amnesty Canned Art Food Drive

Weaver Library & eLearning Invite you to Participate in the Fine Amnesty Canned Art Food Drive! Bring in canned food items, help us build our holiday 'canstruction' scene in the Library and eliminate your library fines!  Watch our scene 'canstruct' as we work to eliminate hunger!One can=$1 of library fines or processing fees! Or, donate just because!  Canned food items may be dropped off at the Weaver Library or eLearning until Thursday, December 13, 2012.  All donated items will be given to the Great Falls College MSU Food Pantry. Thank you for your generosity this holiday season!

Instructors Mastering D2L Course

I am pleased to announce the following instructors have successfully completed the Mastering D2L Course for Fall 2012:  Kate Peterson, Kim Woloszyn, Marilyn Besich, Mandy Wright, Carmen Perry, Gail Staples, and Jocelyn Juelfs

The Mastering D2L course dives deeper into the instructional design process and how D2L supports online design. The participants were introduced to the Instructional Design Wizard (IDW) and were successful in aligning course competencies with activities and assessments in their courses. These instructors are also now more familiar with the expectations of Universal Design and ways in which to better organize and maintain their online learning environment. Finally, they reviewed Bloom's Taxonomy and discussed how to improve instruction using higher order thinking skills and apply them in the IDW. Please congratulate them on a job very well done.

Blankets and Books

Project Homeless will be having a blanket and children's book drive. Gather your new or gently used blankets and/or children's books in support of Project Homeless Connect. Donation collection will begin when classes start in January. Please contact Mandy Wright (Learning Center) or Laura Wight (Library) with questions. Project Homeless Connect is being sponsored by the dental hygiene students and is scheduled for January 26th. 

SMART Notebook Training