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 Hocking College Graduates Class of 2014
Hocking College welcomed approximately 1,000 graduates to the ranks of alumni at three ceremonies on Friday, May 9, 2014 at 7 p.m. and Saturday May 10, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Hocking College Student Center Multiplex in Nelsonville, Ohio. Three students served as the honorable commencement speakers, beginning with Tabitha Cox at Friday evening's ceremony. "I'm here to tell you today that absolutely nothing is impossible," Cox encouraged fellow graduates. She overcame medical illnesses, abuse and bankruptcy to graduate top of her class and continue into the world as a nurse and a helping hand in the medical field. She inspired the audience to become motivated, caring and hardworking individuals in the world. In her address to the Hocking College Class of 2014 at the Saturday morning ceremony, Emily Main, Landscape Management graduate, reminded graduates that taking the hard road will lead you through the best experiences. Main took time pursing her many passions and facing difficult decisions that led her to her destined path as a leader for Campus Crusade for Christ. "Everyone's roads are different, but I guarantee we all have a choice between a hard one and an easy one. My hope is that you choose the hard one...it will always be worth it in the end," Main commented. Closing the commencement ceremonies on Saturday afternoon, Denise Frasure shared her personal struggle with drug addiction and the impact it had on her life. She left the audience with inspirational words expressing her great optimism as she enters the community to help and encourage individuals facing the struggles she once understood. Student award recipients included Julia Decker, Michelle Herris, Kaitlyn Mohler and Shelbi Wilson for Excellence in Student Employment; Jeffrey Adams, Andrew Blosser, Tonya DeGraw and Emily Main for the Richard Elston Award; Tabitha Cox, Katelynn Dearth, Mary Sanders and Rachel Shurgin for the Student Life Award; and Jamie Ellen Frolicher, Kiara Ivory, Rachel Kiger, Angela Perrigo and Marie Silva for the "We are One Hocking" Award. Graduates of the School of Allied Health and School of Nursing received diplomas at the 7 p.m. ceremony. Graduates of the School of Natural Resources and School of Public Safety Services graduated at the 10:30 a.m. ceremony. The 2:30 p.m. ceremony graduated students from the McClenaghan Center for Hospitality Training; School of Arts, Business and Information Technology; and the School of Engineering Technologies. Take a look at the photos of the 2014 Hocking College Commencement on the college Flick page. |
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Last Chance to Complete CCFSSE Survey
Thank you to the 70 who have completed the CCFSSE! As for the other 135, you still have a chance. The Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) is coming to a close on May 14th.
The Center recommends a completion rate of 40 percent. Hocking College completion rate is 34 percent. Please consider completing the survey if you were selected.
CCSSE and CCFSSE results will be used to promote institutional improvement and it is vital that our faculty have a voice in these efforts. We should receive the survey results by the end of July or beginning of August.
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Peace Officer Class Graduates with High Marks
On May 9th, 26 Peace Officer Basic recruits successfully completed 634 hours of training as part of basic academy 14-003.
The academy was comprised of 13 candidates from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources who are being hired as Wildlife Officers and 13 second-year Police Science students looking to launch their career in the law enforcement profession.
All of the recruits excelled in this very demanding academic and physical skills training program. The class trained aggressively for 15 weeks to meet the Ohio Peace Officer physical conditioning requirement of the Cooper Institute 50th percentile. In fact, all recruits tested above the 70th percentile, with Dustin Young reaching the 96th percentile.
The recruits received training from a variety of law enforcement professionals covering 13 required units consisting of hundreds of Student Performance Objectives. These units of instruction ranged from firearms and emergency driving to laws of arrest, search and seizure and incident management, just to name a few. They were tested weekly on material taught in preparation for their State Certification Examination on June 4, 2014. Their dedication to learning was reflected in their weekly academic achievements. The class average is 85 percent with the class Valedictorian, Kyle Queer achieving a 96 percent.
We are very proud of these young men and women who endured the past five months of training and succeeded in their educational goals.
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ESL Class Visits Pre-Kindergarten
Carla Ryan-Hirst's Pronounciation students recently visited the Nelsonville Pre-Kindergarten class. Ryan-Hirst said she has taken ESL students there for about three years, but this year did the same activity in each mini-group shared some of the resulting photos.  
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 Hocking College Offers Volunteer Firefighter Course
Hocking College School of Public Safety Services will offer a Volunteer Firefighter Basic 36-Hour course evenings and weekends during summer semester 2014.
The course is designed to meet and exceed the certification established in the Ohio Revised Code for volunteer firefighters and a portion of the training and educational standards identified in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1001: Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications.
Students interested in attending the course must be at least 18 years of age, and no longer in high school. Additionally, students are required to attend all sessions of the course and pass all written and practical examinations. Protective clothing that meets the NFPA standards is required.
Orientation for the class will be held on May 20, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in the Hocking College Fire Training Center, Public Safety Services Building, Room 111, and the class schedule will be provided at that time. For registration information, please contact Larry Hatem at 740.753.6486 / hateml@hocking.edu or Betty Dalton at 740.753.6451 / daltonb9@hocking.edu.
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 Production Crew on Campus to Film Pizza Competition
Last week, a production company was visited campus to film a segment for Pizza Kings. Pizza Kings is a new Food/Travel TV show starring John Gutekanst of Avalanche Pizza in Athens and his best friend and fellow pizzeria owner Bruno DiFabio.
The two are traveling the world, foraging for ingredients and exotic foods to use in their pizza competitions, and cooking pizzas in the most ingenious ways they can imagine. The pizzas they create on the show are judged by guest celebrities and local food experts.
The crew shot footage at JB King's farm, then moved to the McClenaghan School of Hospitality and filmed as Chef Alfonso Contrisciani discussed cuts of meat and made his famous pork sausage. Then, the entire production moved to the demo kitchen where the chefs used Hocking College culinary students as their "hands" during the pizza cook-off. Gutekanst and DeFabio were not allowed to do any of the work themselves, but had to direct students to do everything.
Chef Alfonso was the celebrity judge for the competition. Stay tuned for information on when and where this show will air.
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 Reminder: Complete the Health & Wellness Survey
Interested in a walking club? Staff-only fitness room? Classes on healthy eating? To increase opportunities for employee health and wellness, a new Hocking Health and Wellness Committee has been formed. The committee is interested in learning about what type of healthy activities you'd like to see on campus. Please take a moment and complete the Wellness Survey so that the committee can determine your interest in programming and other opportunities for wellness.
Wellness Survey
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Verbatim Summer Schedule
Verbatim will be produced monthly over the summer and will resume its weekly schedule at the start of autumn semester. In the meantime, please continue to send article ideas to verbatim@hocking.edu. Have a great summer!
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Forestry Students in ODNR Video
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) video below was shot while Forestry students were participating in the reforestation and pesticides class out at Cantwell Cliffs, looking at the hemlock woolly adelgid covered in the video. Our students can be seen in the background.
In the words of Kim Mullens, Associate Dean of Natural Resources, "To me this is what makes Hocking College different - our kids are there with professionals in the field, learning and DOING!"
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 Hinton Promotes Alternative Energy Program at Boy Scout Event
Saturday, May 3, Neil Hinton, Dean, School of Engineering Technology, spent the day at at the Ross County Thunderbase 2014 Boy Scout event. Thunderbase is a weekend long scouting adventure, bringing Boy Scout programs and activities to one location.
Hinton spent the day with Susan Shearer from Stark State Technical College. Shearer is the Director of the Fuel Cell and Alternative Energy Technology program at Stark State and is the chair of the Great Lakes Fuel Cell Education Partnership of which Hocking College is a member.
Hinton got a chance to interact with 700 boy scouts, their leaders and parents and talk about Fuel Cell technology. He also got to pitch the college's Advanced Energy program and said, "I believe it was a great event to put us forward in this arena." See more about Thunderbase and pictures from the event here.
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Nelsonville Clean Up Day Scheduled
The City of Nelsonville will hold a city-wide clean-up day on Saturday, May 17, 2014, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
There will be dumpsters available in the Rocky Brands back lot by the Hocking River. Anything but tires can be disposed of during this event. Pick-up service is available. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 740.753.4346 or submit a pick up request online at NelsonvilleChamber.com.
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 Athens County Relay for Life Gearing Up
The 2014 Athens County Relay for Life will take place June 21 - 22 from 3 p.m. to 9 a.m. Hocking College nursing instructor and breast cancer survivor Bev Kubachka, last year's event chair, is co-chair this year.
According to Kubachka, if anyone would like to start a team, they can go to RelayForLife.org/Athens, and follow the prompts to form a team.
If someone wants to support a team, but not start one, they can support "Student Nurses for a Cure." Go to the same website and join the team or just make a donation. The student nurses team has Anthony Thomas almond and caramel candy bars for sale in the nursing lunch room. Kubachka also has information about luminaries if anyone would like to purchase one.
Another way to support Relay for Life is by attending the event. Activities during the event include auctions, music throughout the evening, an opening ceremony with a survivor lap, a dinner for cancer survivors & caregivers, inflatables for children as well as other games, an ice cream eating contest and corn hole tournaments.
At dusk, a very moving luminary ceremony is held. This includes lighting of the luminary bags that are purchased by people in honor of a person battling cancer or in memory of someone who died. Luminaries cost $10. A complete schedule of events will be posted on the website closer to the event.
Kubachka says the Relay event is a great way to give back and would love to have a Hocking College team. Anyone with questions can contact Kubachka at kubachkab@hocking.edu, by telephone at the college on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 740.753.6373 or home at 740.696.1148.
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 Alumni Spotlight
Hocking Grad Shares Inspirational Story
Albert Sims, 2013 Hocking graduate, inspires past, present and future Hocking students and faculty through his inspirational story.
During Sims' time at Hocking, he became a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and established himself as a student well respected by both his classmates and instructors. He graduated with an associate's degree in Addiction Counseling, utilizing his first-hand experience and strong connection to the field. Sims was chosen to speak at the 2013 Hocking College Commencement Ceremony, where he moved the audience with his tragic story and motivating words.
Sims started in Fresno, California in an urban society where he was hit with the reality of being a minority pressured into a threatening life of difficult decisions. He grew up following the unfair expectations of others and spending a large portion of his life in juvenile halls and prisons. Sims eventually made the decision to move to Ohio where he met his greatest motivator, Hocking alumna and now wife, Autumn. Attending Hocking allowed him to live the life he had always deserved and enabled him the opportunity to succeed.
Sims is now a pastor, a father of five children, and flourishing Hocking graduate. He encourages everyone around him "to live a life of meaning, to live a life of commitment and have a life which all can be proud."
Read more about his story in his graduation speech.
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 Horror Film Produced Locally, Using Local Actors and Hocking College Students
A return to classic horror is set to terrorize southeast Ohio when the locally produced and directed film, "When Night Comes," premieres at Movies 10 in Nelsonville May 21.
The film features a cast of southeast Ohio actors, in addition to being filmed and edited by Hocking College Broadcast Production and Engineering students.
The film will run in a limited release at the U.S. Rt. 33 theater southeast of Nelsonville, with the premiere at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 21.
"I felt it was time to resurrect the classic horror film," said director and executive producer Glenn Martin. "It was also important for me to be able to produce it in my hometown area in Athens County."
Martin co-produced the film with local accountant Alex Couladis, who also plays a role in the film as a grizzled detective on the hunt for a serial killer.
Martin described the idea for "When Night Comes," as a resurrection of classic horror, citing John Carpenter's original "Halloween" as an influence, being a movie that's high on suspense and the creep-factor without being very gory or bloody, at least not by today's standards.
Couladis said shooting the film was great fun and praised the enthusiasm of the Hocking College students who participated.
Read more about the movie in the Athens News article. Those interested in purchasing tickets can do so by visiting http://moviesten.com.
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Medicaid Expands to Serve More; Enrollment Clinic Slated for May 20
Be aware that because of the Medicaid expansion that went into effect on January 1, more low-income people are now eligible for free medical services.
Now, those between the ages of 19 and 64 with an annual household income at or below 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level may qualify. Anyone earning near this amount is encouraged to apply. Previously, Medicaid eligibility was limited to pregnant women, families with children, senior citizens and those with disabilities who met income guidelines.
Applying for benefits can be done online at benefits.ohio.gov. Paper applications are also available from the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. For more information, call ACJFS at 740.797.2523 or the area's Healthcare Navigator at 740.593.0828.
If you know any students that may qualify, encourage them to sign up for the free Medicaid Enrollment Clinic on Tuesday, May 20 at The Work Station in The Plains.
The Work Station, located at 70 N. Plains Road, Suite C, will host the clinic from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. with the help of certified insurance application counselors and Affordable Care Act navigators from Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Counselors and navigators will sit with applicants individually to help them complete the process either by paper or online.
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Mission
Hocking College provides a unique, innovative, and quality education in a supportive experience- based learning environment, preparing students for employment and transfer education opportunities, while teaching the value of lifelong learning, promoting diversity and developing citizens who are engaged in their local and global communities.
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Thanks for Graduation Assistance
Thank you to all of you who came to support our graduates, set-up the Multiplex, prepared the grounds, ran sound and cameras, provided security, lined-up students, took orders for the DVDs and thoughtfully organized the event.
A special thanks to the Housekeeping, Grounds and Maintenance crews. Each of these departments spent a tremendous amount of time and effort making the campus beautiful for graduation.
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Perry County Students Make Donation to Cancer Alliance
Kudos to Speech Class students at the Perry Campus who collected extra change during spring semester for a donation to the Perry County Cancer Alliance.
Surprisingly, a little bit of change each week added up to a nice donation. The donation was made in the name of Kandes Hensley, the mother of student Vikki Waymire. Cancer Alliance representative Dan Saunders was grateful for the donation and will put it to work assisting cancer patients in Perry County.
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