In Brief: May 2023

Six Collin College students have been named to the All-Texas Academic Team. Sponsored by the Texas Association of Community Colleges and The University of Texas system, the All-Texas Academic Team recognizes students based on academic achievement and school and community involvement. Award winners are nominated by Collin College and selected by Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), an international honor society for two-year colleges. The six Collin College students chosen for the All-Texas Academic Team are: Jonathan Hernandez of Melissa, attending the Frisco Campus; Jonah Weiler of Little Elm, attending the Frisco Campus; Rodrigue Kammagne Choula of McKinney, attending the McKinney Campus; Charlene Sunde of Prosper, attending the McKinney Campus; Gabriella Cisneros of Allen, attending the Plano Campus; and Yerassyl Dauletbak of Lewisville, attending the Plano Campus. Each student received an All-Texas Academic Team medallion for their selection, and the students were honored at the Collin College Board of Trustees meeting in May.

The Collin College Countywide Career Fair was held on April 20 at the Plano campus. This was the second year of the career fair, and it grew significantly. Participants included 243 students, 152 alumni and community members, and 140 companies.

Collin College students designed two mission patches as a part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), which will deliver a microgravity experiment designed at the Plano Campus to the International Space Station. A little over 240 students participated in competitions to choose two patch designs. Alayna Samnani, a dual credit student at The Colony High School, created the winning patch design among 102 participating dual credit students. Frisco Campus student Fernando Rodriguez’s patch design was chosen from 140 art class student submissions from across the district. The original launch date for the SSEP payload was June, but the timeline has been pushed back to December. The experiment will focus on the viability of soybeans as a possible food source and the creation of microplastics on long space voyages.

The NJCAA Board of Regents has approved Collin College to host the Division l Men’s Tennis Championship in 2024. The college hosted 26 teams for the 2023 championship tournament from May 15-29 at The Courts of McKinney due to construction at the Plano Campus.

In April, the Collin College Student Government Association attended the Texas Junior College Student Government Association (TJCSGA) state convention. Advisor Michael Gregorash won second place in the Joel Franke Memorial Advisor of the Year Award. Collin College was also elected to the State Treasurer position with Journey New as the college’s representative and the Region II President position with Simrah Sajjad as the representative. Stephen Rogers will be the TJCSGA Advisor Association President for 2023-2024. Congratulations to the students for their accomplishments, and thank you to the students and advisors Rogers, Gregorash, Andreshia Kelly, Cheri Root, Suzette Clement, and Laura Pierce, for all of their hard work.

Dr. Gwen Weatherford of Wylie Campus has been accepted into Harvard Business School for the Leadership and Management Certificate. The program focus will include coursework in “Power and Influence for Positive Impact,” “Negotiation Mastery,” and “Strategy Execution.”

The Collin Model UN team recently competed at the National Model UN Conference in New York City. The 12-student team represented the Republic of Lebanon and received the Honorable Mention Delegation Award as an overall rating, a distinction shared with other schools, including Syracuse University. The team earned three position paper awards for their research and writing work: 

• The International Atomic Energy Agency committee’s paper “Nuclear Waste Management and Strengthening Safeguards for the World’s Nuclear Facilities” – Aisha Budri and Zahra Ahmed 
• The Population and Development Committee's paper "Population, Food Security, Nutrition, and COVID-19 and Ensuring Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health-Care Services" –Anup Veeramraju and Caitlyn Yukna 
• The General Assembly Third committee’s paper “Healthy Ageing and Age-Friendly Sustainable Development and Safeguarding Human Rights of Persons Displaced by Climate Change” – Nicholas Escue

Alpha Mu Tau, Collin College’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter, recently traveled to Columbus, Ohio, for the Catalyst conference. The chapter was named third finalist, meaning the chapter is ranked fourth internationally. Alpha Mu Tau also earned Top 100 Chapter status, Distinguished Chapter, Distinguished College Project, and Distinguished Honors in Action Project. Yerassyl Dauletbak received the Coca-Cola Leader of Promise Scholarship award. Charlene Sunde was recognized as a Distinguished Officer, and Dauletbak the Distinguished Member. Dr. Jessica Hargis was honored with the Continued Excellence Award for Advisors.

The Celina Campus held its signature Carnival at Celina event on April 13. More than 100 students and staff attended the first-time event. 

The Celina Campus hosted the City of Celina Candidate Forum on April 24 in the Brenda Willard Goodell Library with more than 140 attendees.

Executive Dean Brenda Carter led the April 20 session of Leadership Celina. Information on healthcare programs and Collin College educational opportunities were provided to the participants. Dustin  Anthamatten, MBA, MA, CPA, FACHE, vice president of operations, corporate, for Methodist Health System, discussed the new Celina Methodist Hospital. Araceli Solis, associate dean of Health Sciences and Emergency Services, provided an overview of Collin’s allied health programs. Licensed Vocational Nursing Professor Kevin Southerland provided an overview of the LVN program. Certified Nursing Assistant Professor Jennifer Davis provided an overview of the CNA program and CNA dual credit. Eric Haas, biology lab instructor, and Beth Smith, chemistry lab instructor, gave a tour of their labs and demonstrated what students would encounter in their respective classes.

Professor Dawn Headrick was awarded the 2023 George G Burton MD Student Educational Research Scholarship. She will receive the award at the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) Summer Forum Event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in July. Headrick is finishing her MSRC (Master of Science in Respiratory Care) at Texas State University.

Katherine Rios, Tim Accountius, and Steve Tillman, members of the college’s procurement staff, recently passed the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) exam. The Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) and Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) certification programs are the most highly regarded and well-respected certifications among procurement professionals and their employers in the public sector. Both programs are governed and administered by the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC), an independent entity.

Syed Raza, professor of Business Administration at the Plano Campus, was awarded his Doctor of Business Administration from Northcentral University.

The Human Resources & Organizational Management program experienced a 68% growth over the prior academic year and will have at least 14 completers in its first batch of graduates. Thank you and congratulations to Professor Julia Williams, Associate Dean Hughes, and Dean Meredith Wang for this growth.

Celina ISD Certified Nursing Assistant dual credit students helped plan and implement a prom for senior citizens at Tribute Senior Living in Prosper as a Service Learning project. Students developed the theme for the "Fabulous 50s Formal" event, planned the decor, purchased the supplies, and arrived early to decorate. Students assisted residents with getting dressed, painting nails, helping the seniors to the event space, and dancing the afternoon away. Staff and residents at the senior home deemed the event a success and look forward to hosting the event again next year. Thank you to the students and their Health Professions instructor Jennifer Davis for all their work in providing a fun evening for everyone involved.

Collin College’s Collision Technology program was featured in the April 2023 edition of Texas Automotive to discuss the paintless dent repair and other pull technologies donated by KECO Industries.

Emergency Medical Services Instructor Stephanie Bouillion was recognized as the first female firefighter in Texas to receive all the certifications necessary to be eligible to deploy with a Texas Federal Emergency Management Agency U. S. Army Reserve Team.

Sarah Densmore, executive assistant to Dr. Bill King, was named an Outstanding Master’s Student at Texas A&M University by Gamma Sigma Delta, the International Honor Society of Agriculture, and was honored at an award ceremony in April. Densmore is pursuing a Master of Wildlife Science.

Gen Northup completed the “Women Who Mean Business” executive leadership program at the University of Texas. Only 40 women across the state were selected to participate in this six-month program.

Basic Peace Officer Course program graduate Officer Brady Brewer of the Denison Police Department won every award possible in the most recent Collin College Law Enforcement Academy cohort: Class Leader, Most Physically Fit, Top Shooter, and Valedictorian. This was the first time a single cadet has earned all of those awards in the BPOC program.

Director of Effectiveness Analytics Dr. Nicolas Valcik, recently wrote one article and co-authored another chapter with Ted Benavides in the new book, “Local Government Management,” part of the American Society for Public Administration Series, published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis, New York, New York. The chapter titles were “Strategic Planning” and “Epilogue.” The book was co-edited by Benevides, executive in residence/senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Dallas School of Social Sciences, Public Affairs Program.

Collin College’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program celebrated student accomplishments at the bi-annual Celebration of Achievement on May 12. During the ceremony, students shared their struggles and successes along their journey to acquire English and adapt to a new culture. Twenty-three ESL students will be leaving the program to use their English skills for their career paths or matriculate into their degree programs.

Plano Campus Student Engagement Services Associate Dean Caryn Hawkins pitched the ceremonial first pitch at the Frisco Rough Riders opening baseball weekend, representing Collin's Academic Planning Coach Program.

Vocational Nursing Director, Jane Lopes, will be an invited speaker at the upcoming Texas Association of Vocational Nurse Educators (TAVNE) Conference.

Professor of History Dr. Matthew Hamilton was elected to the board of directors for the Collin County History Museum.

Suad Bejtović, a photography instructor with Collin College Continuing Education, had a solo photo art show titled “On the Rocks,” at The Cove gallery in McKinney, May 18-20.