Category: Summer Programs

NVC Student Researcher Determines there are no Sasquatch on Campus

Posted on by NVC PR

Over the summer NVC student Allie Sanchez used camera “traps”—motion-sensor cameras affixed to trees—to conduct an exploratory study of campus wildlife. Having been bitten by the “research bug” last year while studying, presenting, and publishing on students’ knowledge of climate change research alongside other NVC students, Allie embarked on a student-faculty, extracurricular study of her own design.

Allie worked with Dr. Scott Walker in Geography and Environmental Sustainability to plan out where to place three camera traps around wooded parts of our campus and to map their locations using geospatial technology. For eight weeks Allie checked the cameras and retrieved the photos to determine what wildlife roams NVC day and night. She discovered raccoons, whitetail deer, opossum, skunk, a sounder of six feral hogs, coyote, grey fox, and a black-crested titmouse—a small bird common to this area. She was unable to “capture” any wildcat images.

Allie said “all this experience alone is worth more than a four-year degree.” When asked exactly what that means, she stated that she learned “not to be intimidated by something that seems monumental by taking a big project and breaking it down into smaller pieces.” She learned how to plan research, do a literature review, conduct statistical analyses, work with her research colleagues to write a peer-reviewed journal article, and present at a professional academic conference alongside graduate students and faculty from research-one universities—schools like the University of Texas-Austin and Louisiana State University.

She stated this work has boosted her self-confidence and she now finds herself doing some literature review work at UT Health San Antonio where she works as a full-time administrative assistant. Allie is moving on to Texas A&M-San Antonio this semester to pursue a BS in Biology with a concentration in Ecology.

Students interested in doing student-faculty research in Geography and Environmental Sustainability as an extracurricular activity, or for GEOG 2389-Academic Cooperative (independent study) elective credit, contact Dr. Scott Walker, [email protected]. Dr. Walker can also update students on the new BS in Environmental Science Field of Study coming in 2020 and discuss transferring to UTSA’s upcoming Environmental Studies BA degree.

 

NVC Students Present at Annual Geography Meeting

Posted on by NVC PR

Three Northwest Vista Geography and Environmental Sustainability students, along with NVC’s Dr. Scott Walker, presented at the 2018 Southwest Division of the American Association of Geographers annual meeting from Oct. 3-6, at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

“Established in 1949, SWAAG exists to further professional investigations in geography, to encourage the application of geographic findings in education, government, and business, and to improve and elevate the public image of geography.”

Students Farhana Khan and Allie Sanchez presented their research on Community College Student Climate Change Knowledge alongside professors and PhD students from large, state research universities from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Farhana Khan and Marcella Palaferri presented their research on the Taghia-Ahansal River Profile in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Their adventure science investigation was conducted during their Geography and Environmental Sustainability Fieldwork Project last summer in Morocco.

In addition to the students presenting, Scott Walker, professor of Geography and Environmental Sustainability presented his research on Marketable Skills and Geography Fieldwork in Higher Education.

Marcella, who will graduate in December, said, “the conference was such an awesome experience, it allowed us to present our research papers and was an excellent opportunity to learn from the other presenters.” Allie stated, “I still can’t believe how fast our time went by. I am so grateful to have been a part of this team and truly enjoyed our time together.”

Farhana, the lead author on both student papers said, “This event will indelibly be written in our memories as we further our education.”

Allie, who wants to go on to study wildlife management, and Scott are currently conceptualizing a new research project using digital camera traps and geographic information system (GIS) mapping to study urban mammals on the Northwest Vista College campus.

The NVC research team also had the opportunity to partake in some of Louisiana’s cultural geography with a side trip to the LSU Rural Life Museum. Northwest Vista College is affiliated with the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative that is supported by the National Science Foundation.

NVC Students Teach Kids About Nutrition and Exercise

Posted on by NVC Public Relations

Learning how to be healthy can start at an early age. Northwest Vista College students from Biology 1322 Nutrition and Diet recently visited children of the Guadalupe Community Center after school program to teach them about nutrition and physical activity.

The NVC students participated in a service learning project this semester that included several components to it, which included their final project yesterday at the Guadalupe Community Center.

The goal was to education children about nutrition in an effort to prevent childhood obesity and the development of chronic diseases linked to nutrition.

NVC Biology Instructor Jo Ann Gonzalez said the NVC students “did a wonderful job and the children loved them.”

The NVC class presented different subjects to the kids, such as:

  • Snack Attack group was all about comparing healthy and unhealthy snack options.  Kids were able to make their own snacks from what the team provided.
  • KillCalories taught kids how to read the Nutrition Facts panel of a food label and compare serving sizes and calories of different products. As a demo, kids served themselves cereal and then were shown how that compared to what the actual serving size is. Kids were also able to portion out their own snacks to-go.
  • Fitness Fun team was all about physical activity. They educated the kids about the benefits of physical fitness and had them do a relay that involved jumping rope, Hula hoops ,and bubbles.
  • The Sugar team educated the kids about sugar and fat in foods and the negative health effects on the body.  Their board showed how much sugar is in a variety of drinks and snacks.

The last NVC team actually cooked for the kids. They cooked and then displayed it on a table and educated the kids about the different foods groups and MyPlate, added Jo Ann. The kids were then able to build their meal which consisted of all the basic food groups.

Nutrition