Reminder:  The Weekend Memo is not an official news service of the College.  It is merely a means for the President (me) to share current happenings and things that may be of interest to students and friends.  Often written in the first person, it is a fun way to share news and events and perhaps alert folks to join in on other things happening around here. 

Congratulations to our newest Phi Theta Kappa inductees.  This ceremony continues to grow as more students realize the benefits of belonging to this international honors society. 

(Students are not standing in order listed below)
Amanda Shearmire; Casey Smith; Christina Strom; Clinton Cole;
David Clark; Dominique Forehand; Elizabeth Kirby; Esther Simmons;
Hongxia Chen; Jameelah Mitchell; Jennifer Segovia; JessicaShackelford;
Joel Messer; Kayla Potts; Kristen Hochard; Lane Kraft; Lindsey Barnes;
Megan Richardson; MelissaEickmann; Rahel Erko; Rebecca Kotwas;
Stacy Vars; Tessa Sterling; and Tyler Braddock.

Congratulations again to Mr. Ben Eckart, Mr. Derek Payne, and former INT instructor, Mr. Thad Russell for the hard work that has brought prestige and honor to MATC's Information and Network Technology program.  Please read the news release below and pass the word along.

MATC designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education (CAE2Y) Release date: May 21, 2013

The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have designated Manhattan Area Technical College a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education (CAE2Y). This designation covers academic years 2013 through 2015.

As stated in the notification letter, “[MATC’s] ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure. The President’s National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and the International Strategy for Cyberspace address the critical shortage of professionals with these skills and highlights the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace. Like all nations, the United States has a compelling interest in defending its vital national assets, as well as our core principles and values, and we are committed to defending against those who would attempt to impede our ability to do so. Education is the key to promoting these ideals.”

The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Program was launched in 2009 as a means of providing recognition to institutions that serve as models for two-year schools by providing innovative, comprehensive, multidisciplinary education and training in the Information Assurance/Cybersecurity field. Recognition of these efforts will help expand cyber education by encouraging additional two-year institutions to enter the IA education and training arena, supporting the intent of the federal government to expand cyber education throughout the nation.

Manhattan Area Technical College works to foster and create opportunities for interdisciplinary activities, continues to develop and support both credit and continuing education academic programs, and serves as a link between the academic and professional communities. MATC's team of educators in this field is extraordinarily innovative and dedicated to providing the best learning experience possible for students. Ben Eckart, instructor in MATC’s Information and Network Technology program remarks, “MATC’s being awarded CAE2Y is proof positive that the team in INT has been working hard to create a program that is nationally recognized for its quality of education and content. This is a true honor for us.”

The National Center of Academic Excellence designation attests to the quality of IA programs, and MATC is only 2-year College in Kansas that has been awarded this honor. Certificates of recognitions for this honor will be presented at the 17th Annual Conference of the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education in Mobile, Alabama, on 10 June 2013. For more information on the award and MATC’s cyber programs, contact Ben Eckart at beneckart@manhattantech.edu.



Spring 2013 Commencement and Pinning Ceremonies



Topeka, Kansas, May 7, 2013 – On May 9th a ceremony was held at the Kansas Capitol grounds, south lawn for the recipients of two Recycled Rides vehicles, one from Washburn Institute of Technology (WIT) and one from Manhattan Area Technical College (MATC).  The joint ceremony featured vehicles donated by American Family Ins. for MATC and local vehicle owners to Washburn Tech through the NABC’s Recycled Rides program.  The students from Washburn Tech Automotive Collision Repair program presented their vehicle to an area family in need.  MATC’s students have worked with the Wounded Warriors organization and delivered their vehicle to soldiers who received injuries at a forward operating base in Afghanistan while servicing our Country.  Governor Sam Brownback, along with representatives from both educational institutions spoke of the significance and the honor of being able to give back to their communities.

From Trysta Williams, HR Director:  For the Bergman Elementary Dolphins, today was a big day!  I want to share with you a little project that our Welding program and MATC has taken on. My kids, Noah and Gracie, go to Frank Bergman Elementary.  Every year at the beginning of the school year they take their picture in front of the school by the school mascot, Frankie the Dolphin.  Frankie was just a cement statue that is in front of the school.  Two years ago someone broke Frankie to pieces, he was replaced but unfortunately the second Frankie was also broken into pieces.  Gracie was in tears when she found the second Frankie broken. Both Noah and Gracie asked if the Welding program could make a stronger Frankie.  Jonathan Rowe, one of the Welding Technology students, volunteered to take on the project and has taken this task to heart.  He has gone well above and beyond any of our expectations.  Frankie the Dolphin is amazing! Jonathan, Wes Chambers and Dr. Rob presented Frankie to Bergman Elementary.  WIBW was there and it will be on the news tonight.  I can’t thank Jonathan, Wes, Linn Schroll (for painting Frankie), Marilyn Mahan, and Dr. Rob enough. The kids at Frank Bergman Elementary were thrilled when they saw their new mascot. 

From Dr Joel: The biggest loser for the girls is Laura!  Laura lost 6.25% and wins $30!  The biggest loser for the guys and overall winner is Aaron!  Aaron lost 6.67% and wins $100!   Great job to our losers, I mean winners, or losers I guess.  It was a lot of fun.  So much fun, I have decided to save my weight loss until the next time we do the contest.   It was really close.  Some honorable mentions and absolutely no prize money goes to Laci with 4%, Donna with 4%, Dan with 4.6%, and Rob at 4%.  As a team we lost 72 pounds! 

May 1, 2013, Cisco Dream Team Named: A very warm thank you to all of the U.S. and Canada Networking Academy students who submitted applications for the Dream Team to support the Cisco Network Operations Center (NOC) and Help Desk at Cisco-Live in Orlando, Florida this June.   This is the third year students have been invited to assist Cisco engineers at one of the most important Cisco customer events of the year. Our students have demonstrated increasing value, providing excellent technical support to Cisco teams, and customer support to 17,000+ attendees. This year, the Dream Team is comprised of 10 academy students and 2 academy instructors. There will also be 30 local-area academy students helping to staff the set-up and tear-down of the NOC during the event.   Of the 60 applicants, Karron Swift was chosen as one of the elite ten.  Karron is from Manhattan Area Technical College in Manhattan, KS (instructor Ben Eckart). Karron is enrolled in CCNA 4, is pursuing an Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology, and has a goal of working in network security. He served in the U.S. Army, and was awarded an Army Achievement Medal while part of the Chemical Defense Program. He is a team leader for his class, has been inspired by technology since he was a child, and looks forward to working side-by-side with industry professionals.

During the year’s INT Capstone Project MATC had a visit from US Senator Moran’s office. Elizabeth Patton, the District Representative, was here representing Senator Moran. After the Senator heard about MATC's role as the lead two-year college Cyber Security institution he asked Elizabeth to read a letter of support to the students and guests.  Senator Moran's concern for the level of unpreparedness in dealing with cyber security attacks has become an important issue for his office.

Won't the Senator be surprised to discover that we received word yesterday that Manhattan area Technical College has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2-Year Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  This designation spans years 2013 through 2015 and can be renewed.  A quote from the National Security Agency CAE2Y Program Manager Ms. Jackson stated "MATC is an excellent example of a college that really worked hard on their applications process.  Your ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure.  The president's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, 14 February 2003 and the International Strategy for Cyberspace, May 2011, addresses the critical shortage of professionals with these skills and highlights the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America's cyberspace."   

Congratulations to our own Tracy Geisler for being elected President of the Association of Kansas Community College Office Professionals (AKCCOP) for this next year.  Of the 25 institutions in the system, her leadership ability and willingness to work hard for the organization have earned her this honor.

Any time, any place...From Frankie Avila:  Rain, Shine, Sleet, or April Snow refrigeration is needed. On April 23, 2013 the HVAC (Brrrrrrrrrrrr) class took a field trip to the Wal-Mart Supercenter to check out the refrigeration systems.  All of the equipment for the refrigeration and HVAC system is located on the roof.  April? Really?

Have a greatWeek.

Rob

Reminder: MATC Commencement: May 10th at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Nursing Pinning Ceremony is at 9:00 a.m.

Commencement (Graduation) 11:00 a.m. (Be there by 10:15 please)

Dental Hygiene Pinning Ceremony is at 1:30 p.m.

Graduates: Here are your traveling orders

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any

you'll want to go down.

In that case, of course,

you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there

in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen

and frequently do

to people as brainy

and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,

don't worry. Don't stew.

Just go right along.

You'll start happening too.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.

You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.

Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't

Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so

but, sadly, it's true

and Hang-ups

can happen to you.

You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then,

that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused

that you'll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or a No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

NO!

That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape

all that waiting and staying.

You'll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,

once more you'll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.

And the magical things you can do with that ball

will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, 

with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.

Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times

you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win

'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something

you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance

you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go

though the weather be foul

On you will go

though your enemies prowl

On you will go

though the Hakken-Kraks howl

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike

and I know you'll hike far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

Thank Dr Seuss.

We have built a Mobile Device Charging Station that resides in the Commons.  Using our wooden rolling kiosk, we added phone rechargers from many different cellular phone manufacturers and places to plug in laptops and other BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) while students (and staff) are on break or at lunch.

It is Office Professionals Week and I had the privilege of taking our Admin Specialists to lunch at Olive Garden.  I had to remember to use my best table manners and not tuck my napkin in under my chin.  These are all great ladies who keep the rest of us out of trouble on a daily basis.

Recently, our Information and Network Technology Instructor, Ben Eckart, was asked to nominate individuals to compete for the opportunity to be selected as members of the 10-member Cisco Live Dream Team for 2013. Karron Swift, a third-semester student, was nominated by Mr. Eckart and, after a rigorous review process, was selected by Cisco to be a member of the Cisco Live Dream Team. At the conference in Orlando, Florida, Karron will work alongside Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts (CCIEs), engineers, and the nine other team members, all of whom are students selected from the United States and Canada. During the conference Karron and the rest of the team will help set up the Networking Operating Center, maintain the physical network infrastructure, and respond to support needs. Opportunities like this are rare, but Karron’s selection continues to highlight the quality of the Information and Network Technology Program.

 

Golf season is over, but these fine young men had a good time playing out there in some pretty adverse conditions.  Thanks to the first MATC Golf Team for launching our Athletics Program off right. Represented here are (L to R): Scott Voos, Athletic Director; Travis Potter Manhattan, KS Heating & Air Conditioning; Brent Kolterman Kinsley, KS Heating & Air Conditioning; Wes Chambers Head Coach; Eric McDaneld Osborne, KS Electric Power Distribution; (Back Row): Craig Scofield Abilene, KS Heating & Air Conditioning; Shawn McCormick Riley, KS Information Network & Technology; Dylan Holle Hutchinson, KS Electric Power Distribution; Eric Brunner Assistant Golf Coach; Patrick Mader Overland Park, KS Welding; Mike Jones Manhattan, KS Business Administration.

  

Speaking of Bison, The Bison: American Icon opens June 6 through August 10, 2013 (closed June 9 through June 17.) Symphony in the Flint Hills, Inc. 331 Broadway, Cottonwood Falls, KS.  Few animals conjure the power and symbolic presence of the North American bison. Whether painted on a tepee or an artist's canvas, minted on a nickel, or seen grazing in Yellowstone National Park, the image of the bison stirs in us deep loyalties to the North

American landscape. Wild and fundamental, the bison is a familiar part of our shared heritage.  The Bison: American Icon, a new exhibition opening June 6, at the Symphony in the Flint Hills, Inc. explores the meaning and significance of this iconic creature from the Plains Indian culture of the 1800s through the commercial and national symbol of the present. Along the way, The Bison charts the dramatic changes that occurred to the creature and its habitat, and to the people who depended on it for their daily existence.

I had the pleasure of traveling to St Joseph, Missouri last week with our Electric Power instructors Brent

and Rex to tour the Altec Plant.  Altec makes Bucket Trucks and Digger Derrick Trucks for many industries.  All of the components, except the truck itself, are crafted at the factory through incredible processes including laser cutters, fiberglass spinning machines, etc.  I love going through these type of factories. We were honored to be escorted by Mr. Charlie Culp, their Director of Marketing who flew up from Alabama just to meet with us.  Meeting this group of folks and seeing the number of processes was truly worth the trip.

 

The evaluation team for our National Accreditation Agency Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) came to evaluate our Medical Lab technology program last week. Despite losing one team member to cancelled flight when the American Airlines servers went down, it was a sound and comprehensive visit.  Marcey Fickbohm and Barb Wenger did a terrific job writing the self-study that reflected a very high class program.  All of this bore fruit when the departing team left quite pleased with our program.  While no official reports are given right away, we feel confident that they were comfortable with our efforts.

Coach Bill Snyder responded to an invitation by ADN Instructor Dorothy Ascher to speak to our Nursing students about leadership last Tuesday.  Coach Snyder providing an entertaining, humorous, generation-appropriate approach to leadership, self-discipline, and care for others in about an hour, that seemed to fly by.  Having never met Mr. Snyder I was honored to be able to provide him with our MATC Nursing Coin as a token of our appreciation.

 

We had a good turnout of companies for our PTK Job Fair yesterday.  While I don't have a count, it always seemed busy and participants seemed engaged.  The following companies were present: Hi-Tech Interiors, AIB Intl., CivicPlus, NetworkPlus, KSU Employment Services, Burnett Automotive, Network Computer Solutions, Caterpillar Work Tools, Auth Florence Manufacturing,

Express Employment Professionals, Buckle, Security Solutions,
Gardner Energy, Midwest Energy, and Meadowlark Hills.  We appreciate the support of business and industry and hope to make this a regular affair.

I am told that the Tall Grass Brewery tour was a hit.  Eighteen folks, including employees and guests, toured the plant with owner Jeff Gill.  Folks don't often realize how critical the steps in producing consumable products are until they see all of the work that goes into cleanliness, temperatures, and material handling.  Jeff generously provided all of our folks with a Tall Grass Beer Glass which are normally sold to those who wish to taste test the products.  We appreciate Tall Grass' assistance and their friendship as we work together to build our Crafting Beer Brewing program also.

From Linn Schroll: Kansas City Automotive Professionals Association Night of Achievement awards for 3rd place – Sophia and 2nd place for Shane. Sophia got $250.00 and a sanding block set and Shane won $350.00 and a DA sander. I also had three other students and all of them received tools, we toured two body shops in KC, a fantastic Italian dinner and got to hear from professionals from the collision repair industry. 

Armed Forces Day and Military Appreciation Day Celebration is May 18, 2013 at Heritage Park from 10 am to 2 pm. Donations are welcome! They still need paper plates and chips. To donate or for more information, please contact Steve Pringle at 761-5740 or email him at  mastercutcare@earthlink.net.

Have a great weekend all.

Rob