It was a wonderful day in the sun as the College kicked off Welcome Week with its annual barbeque in the quad of both the Utica and Rome campuses.

This annual event, which kicks off the week’s festivities, was sponsored by the Student Congress with a goal of making stu-dents feel at home and helping students make connects with other at MVCC.

“This event provides students with an opportunity to get a bite to eat while allowing them to get accustomed to the campus,” said Sandy Cum-mings, Coordinator of Student Ac-tivities. “They get to meet new people and they have a chance to run into their instructors and get to know them outside of class.”

This year’s barbeque served grilled chicken, hamburgers, lemonade, watermelon, and large chocolate chip cookies to well over 200 students. Serving up the food to the students were officers from the Student Congress along with the person-nel from the president’s office and the vice presidents’ offices.

In conjunction with the barbeque to enhance the Welcome Week festivities, the Healthy Lifestyles Committee hosted a

“Meet and Greet” ice cream social afterwards entitled Creating Caring Connections. They handed out henna tattoos during this event, and from 2-6 p.m. students had an opportunity to enjoy the “Drop Zone Stunt Jump” in the main quad. Hundreds of stu-dents jumped from the 12-foot and 20-foot platforms into large airbags, such as those used for stunts in the movies.

Week of August 31 , 2015

1 Communitas

Welcome Week kicks off with BBQ

MVCC’S CANCER SOCIETY ‘SELFIE’ - The College community gathered for a “selfie” as part of the Welcome Week festivities to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. Students, faculty, staff, and the general public took park in helping to raise nearly $200.

Coincidental Correspondence

Tuesday. September 8, at 1 p.m.in IT 225 and the Juergensen Gallery

Works by Christi H

arringtonand Christine M

iller

Collaborative works in relief sculpture,

drawing, photography

Communitas2

The Center for Corporate and Commu-nity Education at MVCC is helping to pre-pare the students of the future by offering SAT and ACT review classes this fall. These preparation course are designed to help students achieve their highest potential on these important tests.

MVCC offers a full range of preparatory courses that include:

SAT Quick Prep: This class will help students sharpen their skills and test readiness in just two sessions and get real SAT practice, question analysis, an-swering tactics, and study plans for math, reading, vocabulary, written expression, and essay writing. The class will be of-fered Saturday, Sept. 19-26, 9-11:30 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday, Nov. 3-5, 6-8:30 p.m. on the Utica Campus, and Tuesday, Sept. 15-22, 6-8:30 p.m. on the Rome Campus. The cost is $49.

SAT Review Class: This class will help students look at how to approach each section of the test, to understand what is

being asked, and how to answer correctly with confidence. This course addresses all sections of the test including read-ing comprehension, vocabulary, math, and essay writing. Included is the book, “10 Real SATs.” The class takes place Monday and Wednesday, Sept. 14-23, 6-8:30 p.m, on the Utica Campus. The cost is $79.

SAT Workshops: These workshops in reading and writing, math, and vocabulary offers as intensive one-night sessions. The reading and writing workshop takes

place Monday, Sept. 28; the intensive math workshop takes place Tuesday, Sept. 29; and the vocabulary workshop takes place Wednesday, Sept. 30. All workshops will run from 6-8:30 p.m. on the Utica Campus. The cost is $29.

ACT Review Class: This class pro-vides a close look at the ACT exam, with activities that include test-taking practice, review, forming solution strategies, and preparation. Three sections of the exam will be addressed: reading, mathematics, and English, including instruction in the optional essay writing section. Classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday, Oct. 20-22, from 6-8:30 p.m. on the Utica Campus. The cost is $49.

MVCC will also be offering a number of online test prep classes for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, and LSAT. Visit mvcc.edu/cced or call 792-5300 for more informa-tion.

Enrollment for these classes is limited and will be taken on a first come basis.

MVCC helps students prepare for enterance exams

MVCC is taking further steps toward equality and access for all by creating several gender neutral restrooms on the Utica and Rome campuses. Working collaboratively with the LGBTQ Committee, the Facilities Department will add several gender neutral restrooms to public campus areas.

They include:Utica Campus:• Jorgensen Center first floor• Academic Building second floor• ACC first floor• Payne Hall third floor• All residence hall buildingsThe Rome Campus will have bath-

rooms designated as gender neutral as the new construction is able to provide them.

All gender neutral facilities will be noted with new signage and each of these is a single stall accommodation.

These new restrooms are meant to create a more inclu-sive and unbiased environment for our students and em-ployees, allowing MVCC community members the freedom to use the restroom without having to identify as a specific gender and without fear of harassment. These restrooms are open to ALL members of our campus community and are not restricted for use of certain individuals.

There are also single stall restrooms on the campus that are identified as handicapped accessible. While these are open for anyone’s use as well, we do ask, to the extent possible, that they be left available for our folks who do need them specifically.

MOHA WK V ALLEY COM MUNITY CO LLEGEMVCC

RESTROOM

This Rest Room is Gender Neutral, Accessible,

and Available to All

MVCC opens several gender neutral restrooms

The aircraft maintenance program at Mohawk Valley Com-munity College continues to be extremely successful as 19 students completed the 1,905 hours of training to qualify for graduation on Monday, August 24, in the MVCC Aviation Han-gar located at the Griffiss International Airport in Rome.

MVCC’s Airframe and Powerplant Technology Program has one of the highest completion rates for academic programs for any of the regional colleges.

The program accepts only 25 students for each cohort with the next one starting the last week of August. There are still seats available for anyone interested in becoming an aircraft mechanic in the January class.

This most recent group of graduates featured two former members of the U.S. military along with one graduate who decided to change careers upon reaching middle-age. Four of the graduates came to MVCC from Questar III BOCES in Castleton, N.Y., while the others came from Holland Patent, Old Forge, Utica and Rome.

Another graduate realized the American Dream as he came to the United State as a refugee from Belarus, Russia. Vadim Potapchuk graduated as valedictorian of the class.

This year’s graduates are Harold S. Cadrette from Rome, Dane W. Daiker from Old Forge, Anthony C. Gracie from Rome, Lucas C. Jones from Constableville, Robert Kuiken from Hol-land Patent, Ruben V. Martinez from Utica, Vadim Potapchuk from Utica, John P. Servadio from Utica, Isaiah C. Rios from Whitesboro, along with Evan C. Olsen, Steven F. Ortloff, Marc A. Robistow, Moshe E. Rubin, Jack K. Smith, Brigit F. Swanson, Jonathan E. DelGreco, Miguel R. Feliciano, Timothy J. Free-mantle, and Bailey A. Gatus.

Airframe and Powerplant program celebrates recent graduates as they take off