Daytona State College

Belmont Abbey College

McDonald heads to Wellesley: Judith McDonald, assistant professor of Education at Belmont Abbey College, has been named the Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction of EXPLO at Wellesley College.

McDonald will help supervise a staff of curriculum creators and teachers from Ivy League colleges.

The prestigious summer program for students from around the world is held annually on the campus of Wellesley College. EXPLO at Wellesley is for students entering grades 8-9. Since the summer of 1977, the program has drawn more than 50,000 promising students.

McDonald holds a bachelors degree in secondary education from West Virginia University, a masters degree in science education from UNC Charlotte and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from UNC Greensboro.

She has been teaching at the Abbey since 2007.

Literary conference: the English Department at Belmont Abbey College will sponsor the school’s first Literary Conference next month.

“Transformations in Literature” will be held June 22-24 in the Haid Theatre on campus. it is open to the public.

Author and professor Stanley Fish will give the keynote address, “What Are the Humanities Worth?,” June 24.

Fish is a professor of humanities and law at Florida International University in Miami and a dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also has taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins and Duke University.

Fish is the author of 13 books, including “how to Write a Sentence,” “Save the World on Your Own Time” and “the Fugitive in Flight.”

Cost for the conference is $100 for college and university faculty members, $80 students, $80 general admission. the banquet featuring Fish is an additional $30.

To register, visit bac.edu.

GED graduation: Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute held its annual Adult High School and GED graduation exercises May 10 at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center. some 318 students received their diplomas.

Honor graduates, who must score above 3,000 on GED tests or maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA in Adult High School courses, made up 20 percent of graduates.

Basic Skills instructor Shari Brown, the 2012 Toyota Family Literacy Teacher of the Year winner, was recognized.

Student speakers included Adult High School graduate Ana Fleming, a native of Guatemala who completed the GED course with her 18-year-old daughter, and Kathleen Harper, who received her GED after dropping out of high school in 1965.

Other student speakers were Amber McGuire, Gregory Lingerfelt Jr. and Kristy Taylor.

Summer camp: CCC&I will offer “Extreme Super Summer Camp” for children ages 5 and older this summer.

Sessions run 8 a.m. to noon weekdays, covering two different topics each. Students will be separated into different age groups to customize each session with appropriate activities.

Camp will be held June 18 through Aug. 3. Early drop-off times and late pick-up times are available.

Cost is $60 per session, including a snack.

To register, call 828-726-2242.

The schedule includes:

Power Cheer/Gymnastics: June 18-22

Steps ahead Fitness Basketball Camp/Kickin’ Martial Arts: June 25-29

You’ve Got Talent/Costumes and Props, Characters and Scripts: July 9-13

Aerodynamics/Pinewood Derby: July 16-20

Pottery/Art: July 23-27

mad Scientist/Dinosaur Discovery: July 30-Aug. 3

Kids in the Kitchen: the Continuing Education department at CCC&TI will offer “Kids in the Kitchen,” a series of courses on the basics of cooking and baking, this summer. Sessions are designed for ages 9 and older. the schedule includes:

Baking Magic: 1-4 p.m. June 25-29

Candies and Chocolates: 1-4 p.m. July 16-20

Pizza! Pizza!: 1-4 p.m. Aug. 6-10

For more information, call 828-726-2242.

Standout athletes: Baseball player Danny Fraga and volleyball player Kailey Russell were recently named Catawba Valley Community College Athletes of the month for April.

A native of Columbus, Fraga is a sophomore shortstop who has played in 30 games for the Bucs and helped lead the team to a No. 11 national ranking. He has 43 hits, 13 stolen bases and 15 RBI’s. Fraga is ranked 44th in the nation in hitting and 10th in the nation on base percentage.

A student in the college transfer program, he plans to attend a four-year university after graduating from CVCC. Fraga works with the CVCC baseball team teaching children’s baseball clinics and has received several baseball scholarship offers.

Russell is a freshman middle hitter for the Lady Bucs who is also from Columbus. the team’s most Valuable Player, she had a 24 percent hit efficiency rate, with 15 aces, 25 blocks and 128 kills.

Senior night: CVCC’s Admissions Office will hold a Senior Night at 6 p.m. May 22 in Room 582 of the Cuyler Dunbar Building. High school seniors interested in enrolling this fall and their parents and guardians are encouraged to attend. Participants will learn about the application process, transcripts, placement testing and how to access scholarships and financial aid.

For more information, visit cvcc.edu/Student_Services/Senior_Night.cfm or contact Laurie Wegner at 828-327-7000, ext. 4618.

Teen driving course: CVCC will offer its popular “Teens Behind the Wheel” program in three sessions this summer.

New drivers age 14 to 17 learn safe driving principles in the three-hour classroom section. They also practice the skills they learn in five hours of behind-the-wheel instruction on a controlled driving course.

One parent must attend and provide a car for the driving skills portion of the class.

Students will practice curve and ramp driving, distance judgment, parallel parking, effects of drugs on driving ability and safe passing techniques. the class also covers pre-trip vehicle inspection, safety belts and airbags, proper backing using mirrors, stopping distances, vehicle maneuvering techniques and visual scanning techniques.

Sessions will be held 9 a.m. to noon Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the following dates: June 21 and 23, July 12 and 14, July 26 and 28.

Cost is $70. Registration and pre-payment are required. For more information, contact Cheri Toney at 828-327-7037 or ctoney@cvcc.edu, or visit cvcc.edu/Summerscapes.

Basketball camp: CVCC will hold a hold a Youth Basketball Camp for boys and girls ages 6 to 14 from 8:30 a.m. to noon June 25-28. the camp will be held in the Tarlton Center (formerly the Multipurpose Complex) on the CVCC Main Campus in Hickory.

Men’s Head Basketball Coach Bryan Garmroth and assistant coach Julian Larry will teach with the assistance of members of the college’s Buccaneers team.

Cost is $65 per person, with a $35 deposit required by June 18. Children and grandchildren of CVCC employees can attend for $55. All participants will receive a T-shirt. Awards will be given based on camp competition.

To register, visit gocvcc.com/2012/05/08/cvcc-youth-basketball-camp-june-25-28/, or call Garmroth at 828-327-7000, ext. 4632.

Pinning ceremony: five students who are graduating with an associate degree in Electroneurodiagnostic Technology from Catawba Valley Community College were recently honored at a pinning ceremony.

Graduates are: Janie Swift, Lecole Smith, Michelle Childers, Ashley Hastings and Kristen McCombs.

Electroneurodiagnostic technologists record and study the electrical activity of the brain and nervous system. They are qualified to take the American Board of Registration of EEG and EP Technologists exam and work under the supervision of a neurologists or neurosurgeons or in hospitals. CVCC is one of only two community colleges in the state that offers this degree.

Osborne honored: Stephanie Tolliver Osborne recently received the R.J. Reynolds Excellence in Teaching Award from the North Carolina Community College System. she is the first Gaston College instructor to win the prestigious award.

Osborne is an English instructor and director of the Writing Center at Gaston College. she is known for learning about her students as people, for creating a productive and passionate classroom and for using virtual lectures for online students.

Osborne also serves as an academic advisor and gives professional development workshops on creating online learning communities.

She led the college’s creation of a Writing Center and a monthly student-led poetry reading called Poetry Viva Voce. she also initiated the process to publish a campus literary magazine called “Weavings & Unravelings: a Literary Review.”

Graduates honored: Gaston College recently recognized its 2012 March Graduates for Adult High School and GED. Adult High School graduates were:

Bessemer City: Jessica Lynn Turner

Belmont: Wyndi Elizebeth Robinson

Gastonia: Daniel Lindsey Fields, Carissa Ann Grimm, Andrew Scott Lewis, Dylan Grant Phifer, Clyde Edward Scaff, Shmese Fairun Stacy, Angelica Samone Turner, Brittany White

Lincolnton: Jamie Kristen Canipe, Megan Paige Hardison

Lowell: Raina Cayenne Sullivan

Maiden: Cassandra Fay Heafner

Mount Holly: Alyssa Michelle Sturgill

Stanley: Amanda Gresham

GED graduates were:

Alexis: Angela Renee Johnson

Belmont: Katherine Lee Elizabeth Waldron

Bessemer City: Courtney Shea Landers, Quintarro Roberts

Cherryville: Phillip Powell Crowthers (Honor Graduate), Sharon Gregory Wells

Cramerton: Gwendolyn Padgett Lingerfelt

Gastonia: Athena Marie Caneal, Alicen Anne Pool, Donna Snyder, Teresa Ann Whitney

Grover: Deanna Brooke Heath

Hendersonville: Veronica Hernandez

Iron Station: Charles Bingham, Billie Jo Williams

Lincolnton: Bethany Denever (Honor Graduate), Rhonda Hoffman, Gary Ray Nickens Jr.

Maiden: Jodi Dase Bryant, Rebecca Sherwood McVickers

Mount Holly: Dawn Boyd, Jennifer Shannon bright, Brittany Rae Bumgardner, Kayla Renee Mullins (Honor Graduate), John Stokes

Vale: Lance Willis Santos

Summer Camp: Gaston College recently announced a variety of summer camps for middle and high school students in Gaston and Lincoln counties. Open to students in grades 6-12, the camps explore different career paths and the educational requirements necessary to obtain a specific career. the schedule includes:

Camp Discover: Highly interactive, hands-on summer camp for middle school students who want to explore career opportunities and training at Gaston College. past participants have visited college radio station WSGE 91.7 FM, studied emerging technologies, completed an art project, analyzed mock crime scenes and observed firefighter training. this year’s camp will include several new offerings as well. Dates are 8:30-11:45 a.m. July 30-Aug. 2. Cost is $40. Contact Beth Hollars at 704-922-6250 or hollers.beth@gaston.edu.

Health Career Education: Reaching Out to Excellence Students: High school sophomores, juniors and seniors can learn about nearly 10 different healthcare careers through local professionals such as dentists and chiropractors. Students gain hands-on experiences such as learning to bandage wounds, drawing blood and spending a day at a local hospital. Tentative dates are July 16-19. Cost is $25. Contact Betty Jones at 704-922-6465 or jones.betty@gaston.edu.

Health Sciences Boot Camp: At-risk middle school students can attend this free camp that explores healthcare professions such as microbiology and physiology. Students will visit campus labs, hospitals and a four-year university to broaden their experiences. Dates are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 11-14 on the Dallas Campus and June 18-21 on the Lincoln Campus. Contact Betty Jones at 704-922-6465 or jones.betty@gaston.edu.

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Professor honored: Lenoir-Rhyne University Professor of Biology Dale Burnside was recently named in “the Best 300 Professors” published by the Princeton Review.

The Massachusetts-based education services company profiles outstanding professors at 122 colleges in the latest book. Burnside was the only professor in North Carolina included.

The Princeton Review partnered with RateMyProfessors.com, a college professor ratings site, to develop the roster. Professors ranked among the best constitute less than .02 percent of the roughly 1.8 million post-secondary teachers working at colleges and universities across the country.

“Stories and examples help students to understand concepts,” Burnside said in a release. “Biology is fascinating. my mind gets wrapped up with it.”

Burnside began teaching in 1964 at Aiken High School in Cincinnati. He joined the Lenoir-Rhyne faculty in 1974.

“the Best 300 Professors” also includes profiles of the colleges at which one or more of the book’s top-notch professors teach. the school profiles give students considering attending these colleges information on admissions, tuition, SAT/ACT score ranges of admitted students and other useful data.

Spain tour: Professor Eric Schramm and his wife, Christine, recently led nine Lenoir-Rhyne University students on a tour of Spain. the group visited Madrid, Seville and Cordoba as part of the Broyhill Leadership Institute. the program focused on Spain’s multicultural past and present, with special emphasis on Roman and Arabic influences.

Kids in College: Applications are being accepted for Kids in College, the Lenoir-Rhyne University summer enrichment program for students who have completed kindergarten through grade 6.

The program will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Students will utilize critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.

The program is open to teacher-recommended students who are academically gifted.

Kids in College will be held 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 25-29 in the Rhyne Building on campus. Lunch will be provided.

Cost is $325 per week.

Parents are required to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. May 24 in the Belk Centrum on campus.

For more information or to register, visit edu.lr.edu/kidsincollege or contact Jayme Linton, program director, at 828-267-3442 or jayme.linton@lr.edu.

Pottery exhibit: Courtney Long, Professional Crafts Coordinator at Western Piedmont Community College, will display her work at the woodworking and pottery show, “2 Ways With Wood, 2 Ways With Clay.” the exhibit runs through May 24 at Kala Gallery in downtown Morganton.

College collaborates: Western Piedmont Community College and the N.C. School for the Deaf recently collaborated to offer an American Sign Language class on both campuses. Students from the School for the Deaf assist with the class.

Summer camp: Western Piedmont Community College will offer two summer camps for students ages 14-18 at the Foothills Higher Education Center.

“Digital Animation Camp” will be held noon to 5 p.m. June 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29. Topics include Photoshop basics, introduction of Maya, polygon modeling, freehand modeling, lights, textures and rendering, and animation basics. Cost is $75. Registration deadline is June 1.

“Sim and Game Camp: will meet noon to 5 p.m. July 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 and 30. Topics include introduction to two-dimension and three-dimension game graphics, level building and an introduction to scripting in Unity, and C# scripting game play. Cost is $75. Registration deadline is June 29.

To enroll, visit wpcc.edu/continuing_ed.php?cat=382

Compiled by Leigh Pressley