Northwest Vista Cross Country teams competed in their first race of the semester on Sept. 19, 2014.

The women and men competed in the UTSA Ricardo Romero 5k race.  The women were led by Karla Cortez with a time of 24:00 min, placing 45^th overall in the Non Div I ranking.  Cortez was followed by teammate Liz Emerson in 52^nd place, Toni Lindsay, Rachael Benito, and Daisy Rojas in 56^th, 57^th, and 60^th place, respectively.

The NVC men were led by Vince Del Piño running the 5k course in a time of 18:08 and earning 43^rd place.  Following Del Pino was Sergio Luera in 63^rd, Adam Soto, Jamaal Buchanan, Aaron Beattie, Robert Barrasa, Pete Valdez, Jonah Waschek, and James Thedford in 66^th ,68^{th ,}79th^, 80^th, 83^rd, 86^th and 89^th respectively.

The NVC Student Government Association meets every other Tuesday at 5 pm in Juniper Hall, room  106F.  The next meeting is tomorrow, Sept. 23.  Meetings are tentatively scheduled for:

• Sept. 23
• Oct. 7
• Oct. 21
• Nov. 4
• Nov. 18

Here’s the new Northwest Vista College Student Government Association officers for Fall 2014- Spring 2015:

President: Rachel Harlin; [email protected]

Vice President: John Overmeyer; [email protected]

Senator of Business & Treasury: Brandi Kemp; [email protected]

Senator of Student Activities: Adan Guadarrama; [email protected]

Senator of Public Relations: Maise Edwards; [email protected]

Senator of Curriculum & Instruction: Ashley Nicole Price; [email protected]

Senator of Campus Operations: Jorge Torres; [email protected]

Senator of Student Services: Vacant

Advisor: Craig Coroneos; [email protected]

Advisor: Gary Bowling; [email protected]

– Contributed by NVC Public Relations

When I first started attending Northwest Vista College as a student, my main goal was to get through my workload and making money. Isn’t that every student’s goal?

I thought to myself, how am I going to manage a job and a full school load. I had friends who worked and went to school, and they had a lot of difficulty trying to manage their schedule. I didn’t want to be that student who got all caught up in work and had no time to finish school, which is the most important thing right now. I thought it would be a miracle if I could find a job that worked with my schedule and also give me time to work on my homework and studying. That’s when I learned about the work study jobs that Northwest Vista offers to students.

A work study job is a part-time job that is offered within the departments at Northwest Vista College. In my opinion it was the greatest discovery ever because I get to go to school and conveniently walk to work after my classes. The departments work great with your school schedule and most importantly you are making money. Not to mention the great experience I gained from working here. When I first started working as a work study in the public relations department, I had no idea what public relations was. All I knew was that it dealt with relating to the public. I have experienced things that I never thought I would experience, such as working on media sites to promote the school and even working with TV stations for promotional purposes.

After working as a work study for two years, I have gained so much knowledge and skills that will follow me throughout my life. I have met so many people that I never thought I would interact with; and I also learned more about promotion than I ever thought I would. This wonderful experience has made a huge impact on me and has made me second think my major. I believe that students should take advantage of these work study opportunities. Who knows, maybe you might like the department you work in, and might want to change your major. Click here to see all the work study positions. Just select work study in the “Job Category.”

– NVC Student Tiffany Rico
Wildcat Mentor & Public Relations Work Study

The Wildcat Mentor program is a great experience that benefits all students, no matter what semester they are in. Whether you are a mentor or part of a mentor group, you will surely gain valuable knowledge that will follow you through your college years.

This is my first semester being a part of the mentor group, and I already have gained so much from it. We, mentors, have received the opportunity to have guest speakers from around the United States come and train us. Also not to mention the hours of training we have received from the best here at NVC.

This program targets students who might need a little more help than others, or even just encouragement. The mentors get assigned to a SDEV class, whichever class best works for your schedule, and we work with the teacher to help incoming students have the best college experience they could ever have. Out of all the students in the class, we mentors, select a smaller group of students that might need a little more help than others. We then meet with this group once a week and discuss various things, such as anything that they want to address, or even things such as resume building. The possibilities are endless, and that is why I love being a mentor, I get to plan out the meetings according to the group’s needs.

Being a mentor has many benefits. It’s a great experience that will look good on your resume. You are able to meet new people and develop friendships you never thought you would have. It also helps you be more confident in speaking in front of people.

There are also many benefits an incoming student can get by joining a mentor group. Mentors try to give as much encouragement as we possibly can because we understand students come from a variety of backgrounds and have many responsibilities in addition to school. It might also be hard as a new student to meet new people, and that’s what we are here for, to help you create friendships that will follow you through college. We are here to connect with the students, and guide them on the right track.

– Tiffany Rico
Wildcat Mentor

“So where are you going to school?” Do you get asked that question? Invariably I try to divert the attention from the fact that I’m attending a community college. It’s strange because it’s totally nonsensical to be embarrassed about going to a junior college once one thinks about it.

Northwest Vista is an excellent school, but I still have this ingrained feeling that a community college is somehow inferior to a four-year college. One can’t rate a school on what degree the institution offers, but on the quality of the education. NVC has that quality especially in the Digital Video and Cinema Production program.

One aspect of the DVCP program that displays its quality is the chance to work in the industry before even graduating. It’s required to complete an internship as part of the degree plan, and there are great opportunities out there.

I’m doing my internship at FOX 29 in San Antonio, and I’m learning how a TV station operates on a day-to-day basis. One of my friends is designing advertising and editing video for a company that does projects for an oil corporation – you’ll probably be seeing his work on beer koozies soon. Another friend is making video promos for a company that records extreme sports events!

These are all opportunities that students from NVC are getting right now. So where do I go to school? At a community college you’ve probably heard of – Northwest Vista College.

By NVC Student Peter Northrop

Have you seen the 1,815 ft. CN Tower in Toronto or the Empire State Building? What about the Golden Gate Bridge or Itaipu Dam straddling Brazil and Paraguay? Have you ever walked upon the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works or visited the Panama Canal?

These are considered to be marvels of our modern world. Glorious as these structures may be, they pale in the light of one of the newest marvels: the Prickly Pear Garage. You may scoff, but have you used it?

The newest addition to the NVC campus is a marvel because it is now possible to find parking at 9 am! What once was a fable or a half-hour headache is now a pleasant experience. No longer is the act of following students to their cars a necessity. Gone are the days of arriving the night before to set up a tent and reserve your parking spot, and no more shall your BMW bake in the harsh Texas sun. The Prickly Pear Parking Garage has arrived!

It’s time to make the pilgrimage to the new wonder of the modern world, and have no fear; it’s free! At least it’s free until it is completely finished in October. So if you are still having trouble finding parking then make your way to the Prickly Pear, and if you park easily every day then recognize the reason why, and – you know it – make your way to the Prickly Pear and see the marvel.

By NVC Student Peter Northrop

It feels like just recently I was an NVC student awaiting Graduation…Well, technically that’s true! Saturday was commencement and now I can say that I am an NVC Graduate!

The ceremony was splendid! After putting my gown on and that infamous graduation cap that just wasn’t made for people but still brought me a smile, it was time to sign-in. There were so many familiar faces at the tables. I saw my graduation advisor, CaTS, Access, Advising, Testing…basically everyone who has made a difference to not only my success at NVC but to the entire student population!

The fantastic ushers knew exactly where to guide me and I sat next to two wonderful graduates who shared their excitement and nerves at walking across the stage. This is when the question came up that started a movement – “What are we supposed to do on stage? Shake hands? Is there a specific way to do this?”

From my experience with the Alamo Colleges Student Leadership Institute, I shared what I learned: “First, there’s the shakin’ their hand. Then you take the diploma cover. Then you wave!”

As I repeated this over and over, it became this “Shakin’, Takin’, Wavin’” catch-phrase, which started to get the interest of other graduates. Basically, it became a movement – admittedly, a very tiny one – but one that helped others get the confidence they needed to walk the stage. And that brings me a smile knowing I helped in a small way.

So then it was time to walk that stage! I started to feel a bit nervous. I shook hands with our fantastic college president, Dr. Claunch, and received a beautiful hug! Carrying my diploma cover, I stopped at the end of the stage and gave a big wave to where my family was. Then…I tried not to trip going down that steeply inclined ramp while laughing with happiness at graduating the whole way down.

Dr. Claunch congratulated our hard work and told us that the time had come to move our tassels from the right side of our caps to the left. We graduated!!

After the ceremony, I was like a fluttering bird trying to say ‘hi’ and ‘thank you’ to everyone who was part of making the night wonderful. I would like to say thank you to everyone who was there at graduation as well as everyone on campus during my attendance at NVC. You all have really helped create opportunities for success and I am grateful that each of you took the time and care to help me on my journey at NVC.

My family has been my support all through college and my life so it meant very much to me that they were there to see me walk the stage. They were so excited and told me congratulations over and over again. This was an incredible and memorable graduation, indeed!

By NVC Alumni Kimberly Redgate

Another semester is wrapping up, and Northwest Vista College has shown again that the students contribute to the San Antonio community and positively affect it more than most people know.

[youtube http://youtube.com/w/?v=bD-T4B1ofNY&feature=youtu.be]

 A team of students from the Digital Video and Cinema Production program produced a video for Communities in Schools to raise support and awareness for what CIS does in San Antonio’s schools.

The video was shown to approximately five hundred attendees at CIS’ donor luncheon on April 29. Leaders in education and business made up the enthusiastic audience, and the standing ovation at the end of the viewing showed how touched audience was by the difference CIS is making in the lives of the students they help.

This is just one example of many of how NVC students help the San Antonio community. Whatever the subject of study, we all have the opportunity to contribute to the lives of the people around us. The diverse fields of study available at NVC point to the wide variety of areas in which we do and will continue to build up our community. Go NVC!

By NVC Student Peter Northrop