College News

Published August 30, 2012 2:06 pm

Melisa Crook of Creston has been named as SWCC's drill team coach. She will soon be announcing dates for a drill team informational meeting and tryouts.

Crook has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Simpson College in Indianola. She is currently enrolled in the master of arts in teaching program at Simpson.

She is a nationally certified C.L.O.G. instructor. She was employed as a dance instructor at Leslie’s Dance Emporium in Creston for the past 10 years. She was also employed by Creston Community Schools as a mentoring coordinator/at risk counselor for four years.

Watch for additional drill team information as it becomes available.

Published August 28, 2012 8:47 am

CRESTON—The Educational Talent Search (ETS) program at Southwestern Community College will begin recruiting sixth grade students for their pre-college program beginning in September.  Parents should watch for sign-up packets coming home with their sixth grade children, review and complete the application forms, and return the applications to the ETS office at Southwestern Community College.

ETS is a federally funded grant program designed to help students go to college.  ETS outreach advisors work in the schools helping sixth-12th grade students prepare for college.  

If parents are interested in enrolling their children for ETS, but do not receive a packet, they should call their school guidance counselor or contact the ETS office at 800.247.4023, ext. 392, or locally at 641.782.1392.

Middle schools and high schools in Area 14 participating in the ETS program include Bedford, Clarke, Corning, Creston, East Union, Lenox, Murray, Orient-Macksburg, and Villisca.  

TRIO Educational Talent Search is 100 percent federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education.  More than 800 students are served by Area 14’s ETS program.  The office is located on SWCC’s Creston campus.

Published August 24, 2012 5:20 pm

Get organized for the fall 2012 semester! 

Student planners are available at the SWCC Bookstore. 

Cost is $5 each.

Published August 23, 2012 10:02 am

Welcome to college!  We have a great year in store for you at SWCC!  Starting the first week, there are a lot of activities planned.

Sun., August 26

• 9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Student housing move-in. Please report in at the Spartan Suites lobby
• 5:30 p.m. - Pizza party in the Student Center, student housing activity

Mon., August 27

• 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Final career and technical education new student orientation
• 1-5 p.m. - Final arts and sciences new student orientation
• 7 p.m. - SWCC Movie Night at the Strand Theater, downtown Creston, free with SWCC student ID, movie is The Campaign

Tues., August 28

• 5:30 p.m. - Cookout for all SWCC students and employees, area in front of Allied Health & Science Center
• 6 p.m. - Grant Terry Outdoor Concert, area in front of Allied Health & Science Center

Wed., August 29

• FIRST DAY OF CLASSES
• 6:30 p.m. - SWCC Spartans home volleyball opener vs. Marshalltown, first 200 fans receive a FREE Spartan 300 T-shirt.  Meet the team and see the schedule at SWCC Spartans Volleyball.

As you learn your way around Creston, be sure to check out the SWCC Zone website.  There are a lot of Creston and Osceola businesses that give SWCC students discounts just for showing them your SWCC student ID.

Also, keep up on all SWCC events by bookmarking the college's Master Calendar. 

Published August 22, 2012 2:41 pm

Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, at 8:30 a.m., for their regular monthly board meeting.  Due to a light agenda, the meeting was held electronically.

In personnel, the board approved the resignation of nursing instructor Steve Orazem who has accepted a similar position at Des Moines Area Community College.  Orazem came to Southwestern in August 2011 from Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, where he was employed as manager of the oncology unit.

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Published August 14, 2012 9:33 am

Creston, IA—Southwestern Community College recently announced Beth Kulow of Creston as the first STEM hub manager for southwest Iowa. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  The state of Iowa has appropriated funding to establish regional STEM hubs across the state.

In May 2012, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, and University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen announced the selection of six regional network hubs to promote STEM education and economic development across Iowa.  According to the governor’s website, each STEM hub will work with business, education institutions, nonprofit groups and others in their region in a way that best fits local needs, interests, and resources.

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Published August 8, 2012 8:40 am

"Where are all the Skilled Workers?," a workshop to help your community shape tomorrow's workforce by solving problems today, will be held August 28, 2012, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Supertel, 800 Laurel St., in Creston.  The cost is $25 per person and includes lunch.

The workshop features speakers from a variety of backgrounds.  It is being offered as a collaborative effort between Southwestern Community College, Skilled Iowa, IowaWorks Southern Hills, Ready Resource, MATURA, and the Employers' Council of Iowa.

To register, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Published August 6, 2012 8:36 am

Southwestern Community College volleyball camps have wrapped up for summer 2012.  A high school team tournament volleyball camp, held on Friday, August 3, 2012, ended a series of volleyball camps held throughout the summer. According to camp director and SWCC Head Volleyball Coach Melissa Blessington, there were 10 high school teams in attendance on Friday. The SWCC admissions department served lunch to the participants.

Other camps held this summer included a high school individual camp with 24 participants and a middle school camp, where the SWCC volleyball coaches and players hosted approximately 45 participants.

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Published July 20, 2012 10:44 am

Approximately 70  new Southwestern Community College students were on campus Friday, July 20, 2012, for new student orientation.  Students learned about the SWCC campus, registered for classes, purchased books, and completed necessary requirements for registration.  New students who have not yet attended a new student orientation may register by completing the New Student Orientation Registration.

Classes begin at SWCC on August 29.  "Read More" for more photos.

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Published July 12, 2012 5:06 pm

Creston— The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors met on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at 5:30 p.m. for their regular board meeting.

A public hearing was held for the lease of land for a tower on the Creston campus.  During the public hearing, Ken Rech, SWCC board president from Red Oak, asked for any objections or petitions, but none were submitted or heard.  Later in the meeting, the land lease was approved with Electronic Engineering.  At the June board meeting, Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president of economic development, had explained to the board that the lease would need to be extended until September 30, 2012, due to a delay in getting equipment transferred from one tower to another.  Lesan said further details of this arrangement have been worked out and with the new terms, the lease will be extended at a rate of $500 per month through the end of the lease.  Lesan said if the tower is not removed by September 30, the rent will be increased to $1,000 for the month of October and $2,000 for the months of November and December.

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