PTC's Diversity Committee wins $3800 grant

PTC's Diversity Committee received confirmation today from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Office of the Chancellor that the committee is the winner of a $3800 grant they applied for in Jan.

"This is excellent news for our committee!" says Penny Hudlow, Diversity Committee Co-Chair. "While we're proud of all that we have accomplished so far on such a small and tight budget, we are all so excited with all the possibilities this new money will bring," Hudlow says.

Diversity Committee members Joan Bloemendaal-Gruett, Nancy Mach and Marlene Mixa co-wrote the grant, and the committee plans to use it, in part, to sponsor and host a "career night" tailored toward people in the community who have never attended college before and are either unemployed or underemployed, as well as ethnic groups underrepresented in postsecondary education. The event will be held in early fall, and activities will include a motivational speaker, break-out sessions for career planning, financial aid information, how to prepare for the college assessment test, employment outlooks for PTC programs, plus the opportunity to meet PTC instructors and staff who are able to provide support services.

"The Diversity Committee has so many ideas for valuable programming, but without funding, it's difficult to implement such programming," explains Marlene Mixa, Diversity Committee member. "With this grant, we're looking forward to hosting this valuable community event this fall, plus offer more programming throughout the next academic year," Mixa adds.


Photo above: Thomasina Petrus, with the Mixed Blood Theatre Company, performs a scene from the play, Daughters of Africa, programming PTC's Diversity Committee was able to sponsor and bring to the PTC campus in Feb. 2011.

Get your copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0 -- free!

Tom Rath, author of StrengthsFinder and StrengthsFinder 2.0 asks, "Do you do what you do best every day?" Rath answers -- chances are, you don't. According to Rath, from the cradle to the cubicle, people devote more time to fixing shortcomings than to developing strengths.

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced StrengthsFinder in 2001, and today, StrengthsFinder 2.0: Now, Discover Your Strengths, is available. The book is intended to help people discover their top five talents, and with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, StrengthsFinder 2.0 is meant to change the way people look at themselves and the world.

Normally, the book sells for $24.95; however, it's available free to current and prospective students considering a career in healthcare, courtesy of PTC's Healthcare Alliance office/HOPES grant.

"There are many students who end up in programs and careers that are not ideal for them. Eventually, since the coursework and career may not be fulfilling, they are at risk for dropping out, or they just suffer in undesirable careers," says Stefanie Schroeder, Director of Strategic Initiatives at PTC. "We want students to use this valuable tool to identify their strengths at the start of their college careers and pursue programs and careers that are the best fit for them. That's why we've made this resource available, free of charge, to all current and prospective PTC students considering a career in healthcare," Schroeder explains.

What's more, is that StrengthsFinder 2.0, provides a free, one-to-one, online coaching session available for students to gain further insight into their results. Students will get a personalized Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide. For more information about getting your copy of the book, contact the Healthcare Alliance office by calling 320-629-4570 or e-mail fridstromk@pinetech.edu.

Practical nursing students, staff and faculty to host Sixth Annual Health Fair, April 18

Photo above: A PTC practical nursing student helps interpret an X-ray image at the Fifth Annual Health Fair in 2010.

Practical nursing students, staff and faculty members are in the midst of planning the Sixth Annual Health Fair for April 18, as part of the nursing department’s ongoing effort to inform, educate and empower the community to adapt healthier lifestyle behaviors. The fair, which will include information exhibits on a variety of health-related topics such as “Acupuncture,” “Blood Pressure and Heart Disease Risk,” “Breastfeeding,” “Diabetes,” “Emergency Preparedness,” “Family Planning and STDs,” “Homeopathy,” “Low Back Pain,” “Migraine Management,” and much more, is free and open to the public. The fair will run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pine Technical College.

“We hope this event will bring families together for health and safety information and resources in a fun atmosphere,” says Jody Perkel, nursing faculty member at PTC. “Our students work very hard on this project each year to bring the most relevant and timely health issues to the community. We are creating an environment that supports health,” Perkel adds.

26 health fair exhibits will be created and staffed by 80 second-year practical nursing students and a mix of nursing program faculty and staff members. Exhibits will be located throughout the halls of PTC and in classrooms 250 and 260. Last year’s fair drew more than 300 attendees, and this year’s event is predicted to draw upward of 350.

“In addition to the exhibits and information-rich event, free car seat safety checks will be offered in the parking lot,” Perkel says. “Altogether, it’s just a great event, whether or not you’re concerned about anything health-related. Even for those folks out there who are very health-conscious and may know all the health rules to live by – I bet that even they will learn something valuable from this fair. It’s just not to be missed!”


Photo above: A PTC practical nursing student takes Carleen Kendall's blood pressure at the Fifth Annual Health Fair in 2010. Kendall is a PTC faculty member in the nursing department.

PTC hosts 11th Annual Women in Technology event

Photo above: Sixth-grade girls gather around a SimMan (Simulation Manikin) for a hands-on workshop introducing them to healthcare careers.


Photo above: Kathy Wallace, Principal, Cuningham Group Architecture, presents and leads a workshop, "Green Architecture."

Pine Technical College is in the midst of hosting the Eleventh Annual Women in Technology (WIT) two-day event. Over the course of two days, PTC will host more than 260 sixth-grade girls from six area schools. The event began today and wraps tomorrow and is organized by PTC faculty and staff members. It features hands-on demonstrations, a tour of the college and guest presentations such as “Fun with Robotics,” “Making Silver Metal,” “The Energy Industry,” “Virtual Reality,” “What’s in My Lipstick?” and more.

“Research has shown girls at this age begin to formulate ideas regarding what careers they may see themselves pursuing in the future,” says PTC Dean of Student Affairs Nancy Mach. “We’ve designed this event to help young girls see and imagine themselves in roles where they are contributing to advanced, hi-tech industries. Many girls at this impressionable age are forming thoughts about what they want to do when they grow up, and this kind of field trip makes a lasting, positive impression,” Mach adds.

By the time WIT concludes on Mar. 9, nearly every sixth-grade girl from Braham, Grantsburg, Wisc., Mora, Pine City and Rush City will have experienced WIT. Sixth-grade girls from Braham Area Elementary School in Braham, C.E. Jacobson Elementary School in Rush City, Grantsburg Middle School in Grantsburg, Wisc., Pine City Elementary in Pine City, St. Mary’s School in Pine City and Trailview Elementary School in Mora are participating in this year’s WIT event.

“Every year, we look forward to sending our sixth-grade girls to this event,” says Wendy Wall, Counselor at Grantsburg Middle School. “They come back with such enthusiasm for careers in technology and science they may not have considered yet,” Wall adds.


Photo above: Representatives from AVEDA, Inc. present and lead a workshop, "What's in my Lipstick?"

PTC alumni give back, volunteer as literacy tutors

Two Pine Technical College alumni, Echo Yerke and Sarah Kepschull, currently are serving in the Minnesota Reading Corps, a statewide program with an ambitious goal of getting every Minnesota child to become a successful reader by the end of third grade. Yerke and Kepschull are serving for a full year as MRC literacy tutors, providing free in-school literacy tutoring to children ages three through third grade across Minnesota who are struggling to read.

“I love being a literacy tutor with the Minnesota Reading Corps. I’ve been fortunate to go to college and polish my reading, writing and speaking skill set, and now it’s time for me to contribute and give back,” says Yerke. “I’m just proud to be able to provide this service, and it’s so fulfilling to be working with children and families. It’s especially rewarding to see the kids’ excitement when they know they are really making progress,” Yerke adds.

Yerke earned a certificate from PTC’s legal secretary program in 1992 and also was recognized as Legal Secretary Student of the Year that same year. (The legal secretary program is no longer offered at PTC.) Today, Yerke lives in Rock Creek, Minn. and serves as a Minnesota Reading Corps tutor at Jacobson Elementary School in Rush City, Minn. Kepschull is currently working toward completing an A.A.S. degree in early childhood development and plans to transfer to a bachelor-degree-granting institution to earn a teaching degree; Kepschull currently is serving as a Minnesota Reading Corps tutor for preschool-age children at Hinckley Elementary School in Hinckley, Minn.

The Minnesota Reading Corps, one of the largest AmeriCorps programs in the country, places tutors in preschool and elementary schools to implement researched-based, early-literacy instruction efforts to help struggling readers. MRC research shows one of every four Minnesota third-graders does not read at grade level, and in response, the MRC is in the midst of an aggressive recruitment campaign to attract more than 800 tutors for the 2011-2012 school year, up from 670 this year.

Tutors work either full-time or part-time in locations around the state, including elementary schools, Head Start programs, community preschools, and Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) classrooms. The program matches trained AmeriCorps tutors and community volunteers with children from age 3 to grade 3 who are at risk for not reading at grade level. Since 2003, the program has worked with more than 25,000 children.