2012

Published March 29, 2012 5:03 pm

SWCC’s 2012 Pay it Forward (PIF) Week will be held April 16-20, 2012. During PIF Week, SWCC students, faculty, and staff get involved in encouraging positive behaviors and service to the community. Specific details about activities for the week will be available on the SWCC website next week.

PIF Week started in 2009 with 10 students and has spread across campus and the community. There are little things you can do--hold the door for someone, thank a mentor, write a note of encouragement to someone with an illness, pay for the next person’s coffee at the drive-up, or help an elderly member of the community with yard work. It is easy to have a positive impact on the community.

Published March 21, 2012 3:17 pm

Joan Becker will be at Southwestern Community College’s Creston campus presenting “A Mother’s Story” on Thurs., March 29, 2012, from 1-3 p.m. in room 220 of the Instructional Center. Joan is the mother of Mark Becker, who was convicted in 2010 of the murder of Ed Thomas, a well-known football coach from Aplington-Parkersburg High School.

Joan and her husband, Dave, have been compelled to share their family's story about Mark and the experience their family has had coping with a child having paranoid schizophrenia. Their hope is that the open communication will help other families in some way.

Published March 21, 2012 3:00 pm

A workshop entitled “Stand out at a Job Fair,” will be offered at Southwestern Community College on Thurs., March 29, 2012, from noon until 2 p.m., in room 180 of the Instructional Center.

The first hour of the event will be spent watching a presentation focusing on the dos and don'ts of job fair participation, etiquette, and other job hunting tactics. From 1-2 p.m., the session will focus on role playing in job fair situations. The participants will receive instant feedback from employers on how they did with the role playing situations.

Published March 16, 2012 11:37 am

Southwestern Community College (SWCC) students Cody Bristow of Creston High School and Robby Campbell of Orient-Macksburg High School placed first on the hands-on portion of the 2012 DMACC/IADA High School Automotive Skills Contest on Friday, March 2, 2012 at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny. This competition recognizes some of the best high school auto technicians in the state.

The two SWCC students qualified for the statewide competition following a written exam administered in December 2011. The top scoring teams were then invited to Ankeny to participate in the hands-on competition.

Published March 13, 2012 11:47 am

Southwestern Community College's annual iHire Employment Fair is scheduled for Wed., April 4, 2012, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Student Center gymnasium on SWCC’s Creston campus.  More than 40 employers are expected, representing business and industry, education, and the military.

During the employment fair, individuals will have opportunities for one-on-one contact with human resources professionals, on-site interviews, career exploration, and possible employment offers.  The services of a sign language interpreter will be available at the fair courtesy of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Published March 9, 2012 5:19 pm

The Osceola high school carpentry class will be traveling to Joplin, MO, from March 11-17, 2012, to assist with rebuilding efforts following the Joplin tornados.  Charlie Mundy, SWCC carpentry instructor, organized the trips through the Fuller Center for Housing.  Fourteen students, two chaperones, and Mundy will be making the trip.  This story was recently featured on KCCI-TV, Des Moines. 

The president of the Fuller Center had heard about similar work the Osceola students completed for storm-ravaged homes in Louisiana a couple of years ago.  The Fuller Center is excited about the students’ skill sets and looking forward to putting them to work.  Many times volunteers travel to assist with projects such as this without any prior construction knowledge.  During their time in Joplin, the students will be working on miscellaneous construction projects including construction of bunk beds, tool storage units, and completing the stucco on the exterior of a house.  The group will be staying in a gymnasium at a local church in Joplin.

Published March 6, 2012 2:54 pm

Creston, IA—Southwestern Community College (SWCC) recently announced the addition of men’s and women’s track and field starting with the 2012-13 school year.

According to Dr. Matt Thompson, SWCC dean of students, the decision to add an intercollegiate sport was made after a lot of thought and consideration by the college’s administration.  SWCC has had men’s and women’s cross country programs in place since 2006.  The Spartans’ cross country teams, under the direction of Head Coach Bill Huntington and Assistant Coach Cari Stalker, have been national contenders throughout the years.  During the 2011 season, the women’s team was ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Published March 5, 2012 4:04 pm

CRESTON, IA, March 5, 2012—Five Southwestern Community College students placed at the Spring Business Professionals of America (BPA) Leadership Conference in Des Moines, February 26-27, qualifying them for BPA national competition, to be held during the 2012 National Leadership Conference, April 25-29, in Chicago, IL.

SWCC students qualifying for nationals included Nora Andrews, sophomore, office systems specialist major, from Benton; Jacqueline Castillo, sophomore, medical transcription major, from Lenox; Amber Graciano, sophomore, liberal arts major, from Lenox; Melissa Villarreal, sophomore, medical transcription major, from Lenox; and Carla Willis, sophomore, business administration major, from Creston.

Published February 27, 2012 1:21 pm

Be sure to check out the Art Quilt Display by the local Arts and Fibers Club in the Southwestern Community College LRC (library) in the Instructional Center on the SWCC Creston campus.  More than 30 quilt and craft items are on display throughout the library.  The items will be available for viewing at SWCC until Wednesday, February 29.  To view photos of all items in the show, please visit the "SWCC Library" page on Facebook.