Attending the January ACT award ceremony in Las Vegas were Patty Porter, Sharon Wurm, Estela Gutierrez, Mari Jimenez-Ortiz and Jeannette Smith.
The Nevada ACT State Organization has recently presented its Nevada Career Preparedness Award to the Student Services Division at Truckee Meadows Community College.
“The award was based on TMCC’s outreach, partnerships and collaboration with the community, and student support services such as Success First, Career Center and Academic Advising,” said Estela Levario Gutierrez, Vice President of Student Services (VPSS).
She added that the College’s efforts to increase rates of students’ course completion and help them to be career-ready were also noted by the ACT.
Sharon Wurm, Director of Financial Aid and Student Success, agrees.
“This award demonstrates the strength of TMCC's teamwork in serving students and putting students at the forefront,” she said. “I'm so proud of all my colleagues at TMCC who work tirelessly day in and day out to ensure that students have the tools and resources to succeed. It's exciting for the College to be recognized for this hard work.”
TMCC staff accepted their award at the Nevada ACT State Organization Conference at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on Jan. 29. In addition to Gutierrez and Wurm, several representatives of TMCC’s Student Services Division attended the honorary ceremony – Patty Porter, Program Director of Access, Outreach and Recruitment; Mari Jimenez-Ortiz, GEAR UP Ambassador; and Jeannette Smith, Financial Aid Coordinator for Scholarships and Outreach.
“Our nomination will be forwarded to the national competition as well,” Levario Gutierrez said.
The fourth annual National Gala College and Career Readiness conference will take place during the month of June in Washington, D.C.
Student Services at TMCC is made up of the following departments:
- Academic Advisement
- Access, Outreach and Recruitment
- Admissions & Records
- Career Center
- Counseling and Career Services
- Disability Resources Center
- Financial Aid, Scholarships, Student Employment
- International Students
- New Student Services
- Re-Entry Center
- Student Government Association
- Testing Services
- Veterans Resource Center
- Veterans Upward Bound
- Welcome Center
"The recognition received by TMCC Student Services demonstrates the close collaboration the division has with valuable partners such as TMCC Academic Affairs, President's Office, and Finance and Administration in implementing student success programs cited in this award,” Porter said. “To support students it takes faculty, staff, student leaders and administrators to provide the wrap-around student support services and excellent instruction helping students achieve their goals."
About ACT
ACT is widely known as a college admissions examination used to test potential college students’ skills in mathematics, English, reading and science. It also includes a writing test. ACT scores are used by all four-year higher education institutions in the U.S., according to the FAQs on their website.
“Located in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, ACT State Organizations are groups that work collaboratively with ACT to help people achieve education and workplace success,” writes act.org. “The organizations bolster thought leadership by influencing education and workforce policy, and provide a forum for the exchange of quality education and workforce practices.”
The award is part of ACT’s College and Career Readiness Campaign.
“Since our founding, ACT has always been about college and career, so it’s a natural fit for us to be able to sponsor an event like this where we’re actually recognizing the good work of all the different systems across that continuum,” said Scott Montgomery, Vice President, Policy, Advocacy, and Government Relations at ACT.
For more information about the many student services available at TMCC, please visit the Vice President of Student Services website.