Complete to Compete awardees from Reno High School: Blanca Garcia (left), Family Graduation Advocate and Stephanie Lerude (right), College and Career Advisor.
Archives LibGuide Featured on Global Site
Truckee Meadows Community College has an archivist: Library Technician Cameron Carr. He launched the online part of the TMCC archives in the 2014-15 academic year, and adds to its content continually.
TMCC’s Archives LibGuide is featured as a "Springy Pick" on the worldwide Springshare website as a well-designed guide that exemplifies best practices in content structure.
“I was excited to find out that we were featured and I said ‘Hey, that’s pretty neat.’” Carr said. “Our page visit count for the Archives LibGuide has definitely seen a bump in views at more than 570 so far this year.”
The archives are presented on the Elizabeth Sturm Library website as a LibGuide on the Library Resources Guide menu tab. It is a free resource of TMCC history and culture for all of the College’s students and staff.
Springshare is a global cloud-based content management system resource for college and public libraries, and provides services such as software programs to host research guides like LibGuides or handle room-scheduling services for library patrons.
“Other schools that visit our site can get ideas for unique topics they could use for LibGuides,” Carr said. “It also shows staff and students more of the services the TMCC Library offers.”
The TMCC featured LibGuide can be seen on Springshare.
Complete to Compete Counselor Highlights
During Fall Semester TMCC’s Financial Aid, Scholarships and Student Employment Office held a “Complete to Compete” contest for Washoe County School District (WCSD) counselors.
The contest’s objective was for high schools to increase their completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms above last year’s total, said Jeannette Smith, Coordinator of Scholarships and Outreach.
Reno High School seniors completed FAFSA applications at 43 percent more than last year. College and Career Advisor Stephanie Lerude and Blanca Garcia, Family Graduation Advocate were honored on Feb. 2 with the Complete to Compete prize of a gift basket.
They hold two nights of FAFSA workshops, one each in October and November. TMCC representatives are on hand. Students sit at workstations in the Reno High library computer lab and are introduced to the federal form.
“We encourage families to attend,” Garcia said. “If they can’t come to the workshop or don’t feel comfortable attending, they can make an appointment with me and I walk them through it one-to-one.”
One part of the form that may at times be confusing is the Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID)—a new requirement during the past two years.
“It’s a security measure to create a user name and password instead of just a PIN,” Garcia added. “It can seem like an intimidating process and I answer any questions they have.”
Lerude agreed.
“Blanca is bilingual—Blanca has been so helpful to families, navigating the intricacies of the personal financial fields on the form,” Lerude said.
Applicants either start the application at the first workshop, or simply get the feel for the application and then complete it at home or come back for the second workshop.
Diversity Contest 2016 Winners
The Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability Office at TMCC together with the TMCC Foundation sponsored the official first annual TMCC Student Diversity Contest during Fall Semester. Essay writing has been held in the past, but this is the first year it has been a formally organized contest.
Students enrolled in six credits or more could enter their original compositions about cultural diversity. Entries were judged on originality, ideas and effectiveness, style and structure, clarity and impact. They were scored independently by TMCC Diversity and Campus Climate Committee members. Cash prizes are funded by the TMCC Foundation, and to be used toward class fees.
In addition to essay, other accepted formats included short story, narrative, dialogue, poem, visual art and video. “Is cultural diversity a challenge or an opportunity,” was the creative prompt for the first annual contest.
The Diversity Committee judged 24 entries. Winners were announced on Jan. 31 by the Equity and Inclusion Office:
- 1st Place: Brandon Canty
- 2nd Place: Jenny Carr
- 3rd Place: Kristen Lindstrom
Winning entries can be viewed on the Diversity Contest page.
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