Author: NVC Public Relations

Impressive Results for Rock ‘n’ Roll Runners

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The Northwest Vista Cross Country team had a great showing at the Rock ‘n’ Roll race this past Sunday, Dec. 6.

In the 5K, Adam Soto lead the way for NVC, placing 5th overall & 2nd in his division, with an 18:56. Hector Sandoval was next with a time of 22:20 placing him 4th in his division & 13th overall male. Micah Florence wrapped up the 5K with 9th in his division & 43rd overall, with a time of 24:40. There were over 2,000 runners in the 5K.

In the Half Marathon, Aaron Beattie had a finishing time of 1:35:54. This placed him 25th out of 268 in his division & 247 out of over 12,000 for the race. Brandy Medina was next with a time of 1:48.54, placing her 35th in her division & 199th for overall women. Vienna Garcia also finished the race under 2 hours, helping pace her 14-year-old niece, in her first half marathon.

In the Marathon, former NVC Cross Country Coach Ashley McGee placed 47th overall in her division and 3rd overall women with a time of 3:11.56. Coach McGee coached two former NVC Cross Country runners to their first overall marathon finish. Karla Cortez ran a 3:30:07, placing her 1st in her division & 15th overall female. Rhea Migdalski was 2nd in her division & 25th overall female with a time of 3:36:55.

By NVC Cross Country Coach Staci Krueger

Rock N Roll Runners

Vista Cross Country Puts up Fast Results

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The Northwest Vista Cross Country team had an exceptional showing at the Friends of Government Canyon 8K/15K. This was a tough trail run with huge hills.

The 15K started first and the team was represented by David Antonio and Aaron Beatty, both 2nd-year runners. David came in first and 6th overall with a time of 1:15:42. This time was enough to place him first in his age group. Aaron was next, with an overall finish of 12th, but a first place finish for his age division. His overall time was 1:19:15.

The 8K started 15 minutes later. The team was represented by Vienna Garcia, Adam Soto, Vince DelPino – all 2nd-year runners and one freshman – Brandy Medina.

Adam was the overall winner, winning the race with a time of 35:19. Vince came in 4th overall and 1st in his age group, with a time of 37:20. Brandy was the first female to cross the finish line, winning the race with a time of 40:01. Vienna was the second female overall, but first in her age group, with a time of 40:34.

All the students ran a great race and have been working hard over the semester. The team is building up to its big race of the year – the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon and marathon on Dec. 6.

By NVC Cross Country Coach Staci Krueger

NVC Cross Country

Find Your Passion!

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College is a life changer. It’s a time where you figure yourself out, pursue your dreams, and make friends along the way. It can teach you more than what’s in the book, and it teaches you the life skills that you need to succeed.

Two years ago I took general classes, and simply got by in them. I didn’t put in much effort because I was just uninterested. I had no real goals. However, last year I decided to go see an academic advisor in the CCC building. If you are ever confused about whatCollege Campus you’re doing in school, visit them! After one visit, I changed my major and actually felt comfortable about my future. It’s amazing what a little soul searching, along with some advising can do.

I am now a Digital Media student, and I have been for about a year now. My life is completely different and continues to change daily. My grades for the last two semesters have been A’s. I’m focused, I’m interested, and I love my work. It still blows my mind how I enjoy homework.

I’m completely fascinated with where I’m going, and I see true growth in myself as a student. It’s affected me outside of class just as much as it has inside too, and this is the part that really gets me. Two years ago I felt lost and alone. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I had no confidence. Relationships suffered, as well as simple interactions with strangers. Finding something you love to do is the key to life’s success! You can’t just do the bare minimum. Get up, find what you like, do it with passion, and you’ll see a difference in every aspect of your life.

College is all about becoming all you can be, and recognizing the potential that was in you the whole time. You got the stuff, so make it happen!

By NVC Student Justin Raymond

NVC Campus Students

Making Sacrifices for a Degree

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Graduation HatsHave you ever tried to balance school and work? What sort of sacrifices have you had to make?

Here is my story…

I go to school part time, usually three classes a semester, year round. I live with my husband, who also goes to school. We have to work full time to pay for school and all of our other bills. I had to quit my previous job as a veterinary technician so that I can finish school. Now, I work at Domino’s making pizzas.

For me this has been a sacrifice. I used to work during the mornings, 7:30am until 5pm, and then I would go to school in the evenings. This worked for my first semester, but then the classes I needed started to get spread out. I would have a class at noon, a class at 3pm, a class at 8pm. The veterinary clinic paid me well, but couldn’t work with my school schedule any longer. I had to prioritize, so I quit my job.

I spent a month looking for another job and finally got hired by the great Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s has been wonderful, the work is easy, but the pay isn’t what I made at the veterinary clinic. They help me and work with my school schedule though. I can let them know the day before if I need more time to study, or need to switch my shifts with someone else.

As a college student I know that right now is the time where I must make sacrifices, because once I have my degree I will get the big bucks. I need to bide my time and work towards my goals. School is my highest priority, family is my second, work is my third.

For me this has been a huge transition.

By NVC Student Kiersten Tabish

Working Smarter as a Student

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NVC Student Mary Oakes
NVC Student Mary Oakes

Being a working student is one of the best choices I could have ever made. When I first went back to school it was a challenge to balance the two workloads but in time I became a master of multi-tasking. I changed the way I looked at homework. Now, not only am I learning skills for my chosen field but I actually get to put those skills to use immediately and hone them.

How did I manage to do this? Moving away from jobs that had nothing to do with the career field I planned to be in after graduation, I began carving out a way to work in my field. It started with small jobs I did for free while working as a substitute teacher on a flexible schedule. Gradually, I developed a small portfolio of design and photography, establishing myself as a paid, budget friendly resource for fledgling entrepreneurs and families. I took on small design jobs for logos and business cards and began photographing portraits, ever growing my work load in this area. As my paid work load increased, I let go of the substitute teaching.

I also began optimizing my class efforts, often using client work as applicable homework. This often halves the time spent doing either and allows me more time for family. The added benefit has become being my own boss, setting my own hours and paycheck. It means by the time I do finish school, I will be a fully established independent photographic designer vs. looking around for a job.

By NVC Student Mary Oakes
To read more posts from Mary, here’s her blog

More Evening Classes Could Alleviate Parking

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NVC Parking Garage

If you have ever taken a class during the day you know that Vista has a huge problem. It is one that was supposed to be fixed by the parking garage, but wasn’t.

There are still students parking off campus and trudging all the way to their class, only to leave school during the evening to walk past parking lots, now barren of cars. Others literally stalk other students through the parking lot to squeeze into their parking place the moment they back out enough to do so. I usually arrive 30 minutes prior to class to hope and pray I find a spot in time for class. I will admit to slowly creeping behind another student, creating a line of cars behind me, just for a sacred parking place.

I hear students talking about creating a larger garage, more lots, etc. All of which are very expensive, and will also create a larger dilemma while they are being constructed.

Why have I not heard of transitioning some of the classes to the evening? That would solve the dilemma. Or maybe creating more online courses? That too would help. I think that if we did transition some of our classes to the evening, or even overnight those classes would still get filled. There are many students at Northwest Vista that go to school during the day that are able to go in the evening, myself included.

I know that I would love to attend all my classes later in the evening, but sadly the courses I need aren’t all offered later in the day. We have the necessary parking places for the college; we just don’t have the classes.

By NVC Student Kiersten Tabish

NVC Alumna Interviews Hillary Clinton

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NVC Aluma, Arantxa Loizaga, recently held an exclusive one-on-one interview with 2016 presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her campaign stop in San Antonio to launch ‘Latinos for Hillary.’

The interview, aired nationally on the Univision Network on Oct. 18, and covered issues such as female equality in America, Latinos in politics and what Clinton loves most about San Antonio.

Arantxa is the weekend co-anchor for “Noticero Univision” which airs nationally.  She is a 2007 graduate of Northwest Vista College who earned an Associate of Arts with a concentration in Communications.

Watch the video in Spanish here:

http://uvideos.com/shows/al-punto/univision-logra-acceso-exclusivo-a-la-campana-de-hillary-clinton

Or you can read a transcript of her exclusive interview with Hillary Clinton here in English:

http://www.univision.com/personas/hillary-clinton/transcript-arantxa-loizagas-interview-with-hillary-clinton-on-noticiero-univision

And Spanish:

http://www.univision.com/personas/hillary-clinton/transcripcion-entrevista-de-arantxa-loizaga-a-hillary-clinton-en-noticiero-univision

Hillary Clinton Interview

NVC Students Selected to Visit NASA this October

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Jonathan Mendoza, Jose Vazquez, and Jorge Vazquez Campero – all from Northwest Vista College – have been selected to travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center this spring to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars project (NCAS).

Picture from NASAJonathan, Jose and Jorge all have been selected as one of 160 community college students from across the U.S. to be part of NCAS.

The five-week scholars program culminates with a four-day on-site event at Johnson Space Center and offers students the opportunity to interact with NASA engineers and others as they learn more about careers in science and engineering. While on site, students form teams and establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. Each team is responsible for developing and testing a prototype rover, forming a company infrastructure, managing a budget, and developing communications and outreach.

The on-site experience includes a tour of facilities and briefings by NASA subject matter experts.

NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars is a project funded in part by the Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP, which is committed to the recruitment of underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to sustain a diverse workforce.

What Would You Tell Your 8th Grade Self?

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College can seem like a daunting place, but preparing yourself for it is half the battle. Here’s a video created by Digital Video & Cinema Production students to help students prepare for the road ahead.

They asked NVC students “What would you tell your 8th grade self,” and “What would you tell your 8th grade teacher?”

The project was the brainchild of NVC faculty member Richard Chamblin. He came up with the idea in support of the Pathways project, with the purpose of holding conversations with students to help them transition into high school and college.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4uwte635uY&w=560&h=315]

What Would you Tell your 8th Grade Self

NVC Male Students Get Valuable Advice

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The mission of the NVC Male Success Initiative program is to encourage leadership, character, and brotherhood among the male students at NVC.

 

The program focuses on several key character traits to include integrity, discipline, humility, confidence, respect and self-control. It is believed that instilling these traits and building on them makes a strong foundation for our male students’ success.

On May 8, MSI hosted a Leadership Luncheon for NVC male students. The luncheon consisted of male professionals that came to give advice on different topics such as balancing commitments, education after NVC, character and choosing the right career.

Participants expressed that they enjoyed the events and learned a lot from 18 plus male professionals and members of a similar male organization from Trinity University. The male professionals gave great advice to the students and they genuinely showed compassion for the success of the male students.

MSI will be recruiting new members in the fall and encourages faculty and staff to bring awareness of this program to male students who would like to enhance their leadership skills, become engaged with the campus and community and network with professionals.
To learn more about MSI, go here.
NVC Male Students