Month: January 2021

Student’s Path to Success Travels Through Adult Education

January 28, 2021 | Campus News

Returning to the classroom after several years can be a daunting task.
But when you are as determined as New Haven area woman Vanessa Monroy, the twists and turns along the way become manageable over time.

“It’s been a long journey,” said Monroy, a recent High School Equivalency (HSE) certificate recipient and an East Central College Adult Education & Literacy (AEL) student.

Her journey began years ago when she and her family lived in the Chicago, Ill., area. There, Monroy tried several times to attend class to build her skills.

“The teachers just sat us down with a book and everyone started at the same place. If we had a question, the teacher would say, ‘find the answer in the book,’ ” Monroy remembered.

At the time, she had been laid off from her job of nearly 10 years as a front office assistant for a web development company. Then, her husband got a job transfer to a company in St. Charles.

The couple bought a home near New Haven and their children began school. But Monroy wanted to show she could do more.

“I love being a mom and wife but needed more for myself,” she said.

Getting Started

Monroy was unsure if she wanted to start a new high school equivalency program because of her prior experience. However, she called the AEL office at ECC in Union and signed up for the orientation.

“From orientation to the classroom, everyone was engaging and helpful,” she said. “When I walked into the Washington classroom and saw my brother’s name on a graduation cap on the wall, I thought, ‘Okay. Maybe doing the program here was meant to be.’ ”

She didn’t feel as if she was in a race with anyone to finish and could learn at her own pace.

“I wasn’t expecting so much help,” Monroy added. “The one-on-one with Betsy (Williams) was a huge, big deal.”

Williams is the AEL instructor for the Washington daytime class. Monroy said that she appreciates the instructor for pushing her and reminding her of her goal.

“She took the extra time to make me feel positive and comfortable,” she commented. “Betsy is an awesome teacher.”

According to Williams, Monroy was ready to learn from Day 1.

“Vanessa came to my class with the desire and dedication,” Williams said. “She just needed direction and encouragement.

“Like most of my students, she had things outside of the classroom that required a lot of her attention, but she made school a priority. She definitely earned this,” she added.

Receives Certificates

As Monroy worked on HSE skills, she also completed two “Workplace Essentials” courses. She received certificates in customer service and digital literacy, which includes certification in Microsoft Word and Excel.

She remarks that the courses are useful for the workplace as well as in daily life, and Monroy can now enhance her resume with the certifications.

She also advises others who want to take classes and work toward earning their HSE certificate to not overthink it.

“We sometimes set ourselves up with our own obstacles,” Monroy said. “There are only positives that come from earning your High School Equivalency certificate.”

Mary Eagan, as transitions coordinator for the AEL program, is now working with Monroy in planning her next steps.

“Using a career cluster inventory, we were able to focus her attention on areas that align to her interests,” Eagan said. “She in now exploring opportunities that fit her as an individual.”

A career cluster is a group of careers that share common features. Those who like one job in a career cluster, are likely to enjoy jobs that are in the same cluster.

Monroy isn’t sure what she wants to do next, although she’s certain she wants to continue her education — and she knows there are many opportunities that she didn’t have without her HSE.

According to Monroy, she and her family have encountered many challenges since December 2019. She added that she has learned to work through those challenges and is making the most of life.

“I’m really grateful for Betsy and everyone with the Adult Education & Literacy program,” Monroy said. “The program they have is amazing.”

Monroy passed the High School Equivalency exam in December 2020.

“I can’t go backward now. I can only move forward.”

Board President Receives Leadership Award

January 25, 2021 | Campus News

East Central College Board of Trustee’s President Ann Hartley officially received an award last week recognizing her service to the College, and for embracing ECC’s mission.

Dr. Jon Bauer, ECC president, presented the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Trustee Leadership Award to Hartley. She was announced the winner of the award at the MCCA annual convention, held virtually, in November.

Hartley has served on the ECC Board of Trustees since 2012. She is actively engaged with the work of the college, and she serves as board liaison on the Strategic Planning and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Advisory committees.

In addition, Hartley has worked with the college president to develop a formal orientation process for new board members, and she has developed an evaluation instrument and process that enables the board to collectively participate in the annual evaluation of the president.

“Ann embraces the community college mission, understands the important role of the board in the effective governance of the college, and works devotedly as an ambassador of East Central,” said Dr. Bauer.

The other MCCA award winners who are associated with ECC are:

Dot Schowe, former director of public relations, Outstanding Alumni Award.
Stacy Bellville, executive administrative assistant for the office of academic affairs, Certified Staff Award.
Joshua Stroup, English instructor, Excellence in Teaching Award.
Jeff Parsons, adjunct history instructor, Adjunct Award.
Nancy Mitchell, Laura McDonald and Judy Bieker, nursing faculty, Mel Aytes Award.
Laura Deason, associate registrar, Senior Service Award.
Mercy Hospital, Distinguished Business Award.
State Sen. Dave Schatz, who represents the district where ECC is located, Distinguished Legislator Award.

College to Receive $3.4 Million Through Stimulus Package

January 25, 2021 | Campus News

East Central College will be allocated more than $3.4 million through a federal relief package approved by congress.

ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer said official word was given Jan. 15 that $3,471,107 will be provided to ECC through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act.

He noted that a minimum of $825,661 must be utilized for student aid, and up to $2,646,448 can be allocated institution wide.

“The allocation is a significant amount of revenue for ECC,” Dr. Bauer said. “Moreover, there are reports of the next stimulus that also includes funding for higher education.”

Dr. Bauer added that the CRRSA Act funds will be less restrictive than the CARES Act funds, and funds from the second stimulus package will be available until Sept. 30, 2022.

“Our general understanding is that the use of funds will be similar, but not quite as restrictive as CARES.”

“We have begun discussions about the best use of these funds as we move forward,” Dr. Bauer said. “We will continue to assess how we can improve our delivery of instruction and support services to students. As guidelines become available, this planning will be brought into sharper focus.”

The entire CRRSA package totaled $900 billion, with $81.8 billion allocated for education. Colleges and universities received $22.7 billion. That compares to $12.5 billion under CARES, and the legislation has a formula that is more beneficial to community colleges.

“I appreciate the work on both sides of the aisle to bring this package to fruition,” Dr. Bauer commented.

“I believe this is good public policy,” he said. “With input from those of us on the ground there was a collective decision on providing resources to serve people in an extraordinary time.

“We will use these resources—all of these resources—to benefit our students and stakeholders now and in the future.”

Donor Recognized at Taco Bell Field Naming Ceremony

January 20, 2021 | Campus News

East Central College alumnus John Moroney has an affinity for baseball.

His relationship with the sport has taken him to the mound of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, to throw out the first pitch in game No. 1 of the 2011 World Series.

A more painful experience, Moroney said, was the time he was in the stands while the Cardinals played the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., when he was struck by a Lance Berkman foul ball, sending him to the emergency room of a D.C. hospital.

But Moroney’s latest brush with America’s pastime is right here at ECC — the naming of the Falcons’ Baseball field “Taco Bell Field,” where the ECC team will begin play in the Spring of 2022.

Moroney is the president and owner of W & M Restaurants, Union, which owns Taco Bell restaurants in St. Clair, Union and Washington, and more than a dozen fast-food restaurants in the region.

Late last year, Moroney committed to donating $25,000 to the ECC Foundation, purchasing the naming rights of the baseball field.

John and his family, including wife, Jeannine, and son, Patrick, were on hand Friday, Jan. 15, for a “groundbreaking” ceremony recognizing his contribution to the college.

“I am so honored to be able to do this. It is exciting, and there is baseball tradition here, obviously,” Moroney said.

While Moroney attended ECC in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the college had a baseball team. ECC had a baseball squad take the field from 1975 to 2001.

During that stretch, Major League Baseball standout Tom “The Terminator” Henke, former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays; and Omir Santos, former catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians played for the ECC team.

The team set to begin play next year will be coached by Coach Brandon Rains.

“When I was here the baseball team was pretty good,” Moroney remembered. “We had some great players.”

“There is a lot of interest in baseball locally,” he added. “We have Little League teams in all of the towns in the areas — the people around this community are excited for ECC’s baseball team to take the field next year.”

When the Falcon Baseball team takes the field next year, Moroney said he will be there to watch the crew during its inaugural season.

“It will be so neat to be able to come and watch games,” he commented. “I think it is incredible that ECC has done this.”

ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer, who also is an avid baseball fan, said there were vital components that were necessary to reintroduce baseball at ECC.

“When we first talked about doing this, it was very critical that we had a few things in place,” he said.

“We knew the only way that this would work is if we had interest from local players, support of local coaches and support of local individuals and businesses,” Dr. Bauer added.

Moroney played a very important role in the plans for the return of baseball at the college, according to Dr. Bauer.

“To have John step up like this as an alum, individually, and as a business leader getting this off the ground was extremely important to the success of this program,” he further added.

Dr. Bauer noted that Coach Rains already has signed local players and he is working on signing more from the area.

“This is really just an exciting development for East Central College, and it could not be done without local support,” he said. “That’s what a community college is about and that’s what this day is about.”

To learn more about baseball at ECC or donate to the campaign, visit www.eastcentral.edu/baseball.

ECC Staff Conducts Wellness Checks on Students

January 13, 2021 | Campus News

Winter break typically is a time when college is not on the top of students’ minds.

But over the break, East Central College students were given a quick reminder of the college via wellbeing check phone calls from student services staff.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Robyn Walter said ECC staff reached out to current students to check in, adding that the calls were multi purposed with the goal of getting assistance to students in need.

Walter explained that the ECC employees contacted students to ask about their overall wellness, if they needed financial assistance or if they had health concerns.

“The focus is to connect with our students and help identify potential health, wellbeing, financial, or other personal or school related concerns so that we can link them now to campus or community resources before classes begin,” she said.

The spring semester is slated to begin Tuesday, Jan. 19.

During the conversation with students, they were informed of the ECC Food Bank form, ECC counseling services, bookstore information and financial assistance contact information.

According to Dr. Parvi Govindaswamy, the plan to contact students over break began during a discussion among members of the Civic and Community Engagement Coalition.

“One of our goals at ECC is to make sure we understand the issues students in our community may face,” said Dr. Govindaswamy.

Resources

Listed below are resources for ECC students:

An ECC Food Bank request form can be found at www.eastcentral.edu/current/. Click the “Food Pantry” tab under Support Services.
For ECC Counseling visit www.eastcentral.edu/counseling/.
To contact the bookstore, call 636-584-6737.
For information on financial aid email finaid@eastcentral.edu.

Adult Education Instructor Encourages Students to Persevere

January 12, 2021 | Campus News

In order to improve over time, we all share the need to move forward even when it’s difficult.

That’s according to Kathy Amsinger, an adult education instructor, who teaches her students to persevere and persist in order to reach their goals.

Amsinger teaches with the Adult Education & Literacy (AEL) program, offered through East Central College, at the Rolla and St. James class locations. She has been the instructor at these sites for over six years, and prior to that taught at Linn and Cuba.

Each student who attends AEL classes receives an individualized lesson plan.

Amsinger added that 90-95 percent of the students need help with math. She helps them “fill in the holes” of what they’ve missed.

Amsinger said she loves watching the transition that takes place in her student’s attitudes and beliefs. The tools that she gives them to build skills in math carry over to the other subjects as well.

She stresses that critical thinking and seeking out detail are essential to success in all areas, and that due to modern day technology, we tend to scan for information more than look for details.

“The good news is, you can learn,” Amsinger said.

With her years of experience, her view is that it may be scary for some adult learners to begin this journey, wondering if they’ll succeed or if they’ll face disappointment. Amsinger once had an instructor tell her, “it’s about 10 percent academics and 90 percent working on how they perceive themselves.”

Part of her mission is to encourage students to learn how to motivate themselves with positive self-talk.

She has been faced with helping students that were ready to take the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) and didn’t believe in themselves, as well as students who were not yet ready to test and thought they could pass.

To each group, she teaches the same concept.

“How we deal with ups and downs determines our success,” Amsinger said. “It takes hard work and sweat equity; pushing through days when you want to give up.”

While many students face obstacles, Amsinger lets her students know that an excuse can turn into a habit, and that she will help them develop effective routines.

“It’s exciting to help them in this journey,” she added. “It’s all about their success —That’s why I keep doing it.”

She has witnessed many changes in the program, including the objectives the students are supposed to meet, and explains that changes have been good for the most part.

Amsinger promotes ECC and its quest to award a Transition Scholarship for a free three credit hour course to graduates of the AEL program.

“They invest in our students. Yay, East Central!” Amsinger tells her students.

Her goal is to prepare each of her students to pass the HiSET and earn their High School Equivalency certificate, then see them move on to more achievements. She inspires in her students a willingness to work hard, continue to grow and remain teachable.

“We are all the same. We are all a work in progress.”

Enrollment Open for English Language Classes

January 5, 2021 | Campus News

Area residents seeking English language skills can enroll now through East Central College’s Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) program.

The English Language Acquisition (English as a Second Language) classes provide students with a working knowledge of English in preparation for citizenship tests, the workplace, additional education, and daily living.

The experienced instructors who teach English language classes provide students with reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, according to Alice Whalen, director of the AEL program.

“We know there are groups of community members in the Franklin and Phelps county areas who need to enhance their English language skills.” She said.

“Students are also looking to improve their English language skills for travel, social or employment purposes.”

Whalen noted that the students studying English will also participate in cultural and social activities in the community. Students take the class with a range of experience; some students need help preparing to enter college.

The classes are available during the day in Union, Rolla and Washington. Evening classes are held in Union and Rolla.

To find the times and locations of classes, as well as other services offered through the AEL program, visit www.eastcentral.edu/ael.

For more information about AEL, call 636-584-6533 or 844-ECC-4AEL (844-322-4235), or email ael@eastcentral.edu.

Fast-Track Programs

According to Whalen, students enrolled in English language classes could be eligible for recently announced workforce programs.

That includes Certified Nursing Assistant and Introduction to Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), which both will be taught at the ECC Union campus; and Maintenance Assistants (MA) certificate program courses that will be taught at the Rolla North site.

The Fast-Track classes begin in January 2021, so students must enroll quickly to complete the required AEL orientation prior to classes beginning. Local job centers will provide financial assistance for eligible students.