Germanna Community College News Blog

Fall Commencement speaker Daniel Reichwein: never, ever give up

2015-12-18T02:10:00.000-05:00

Daniel Reichwein

Germanna Community College 2015 Fall Commencement alum speaker Daniel Reichwein is an example of courage and perseverance for all of us.

Reichwein, who has battled depression and PTSD, was living in a tent in a wooded area adjacent to the Fredericksburg Industrial Park when he enrolled at GCC in 2011.

In spite of the problems he faced, Reichwein excelled, graduating from Germanna a year later with a 3.94 GPA while working 32 hours a week. He transferred to William & Mary and earned his bachelor’s degree there last August. He’s currently a social worker with the Salvation Army in Fredericksburg, using his experiences to help others.

A total of 646 students were awarded 1,112 degrees and certificates Thursday night during commencement exercises at the Fredericksburg Expo Center.

The 32-year-old Thornburg resident’s never-give-up message is one that failure needn’t be the end—that it can drive one on to success.

“I was ready to change,” he said. “I had been homeless almost three years. I had to start doing things differently. I worked hard to do it and I received help from others.”

Daniel Reichwein speaks at Thursday's commencement

He said Micah Ministries, which works with the homeless in Fredericksburg, helped him get a part time job and suggested he enroll at GCC. One of Micah’s employees drove him to the college.

Another Micah employee, Dawn Witter, took him in.

“She opened her home to me,” Reichwein said. “I’m not sure I would’ve been able to finish my studies at Germanna if I’d lived out of a tent for two semesters.”

He called his three years of homelessness “a learning experience” and said much of what he learned came when he put aside his own concerns to help other homeless people.

“What’s made the biggest difference in my life is failure—three years of homelessness, dropping out of college without finishing and being discharged from the military basically for not showing up for work,” Reichwein told a crowd of 2,000 Thursday night at the Fredericksburg Expo Center.He was given an honorary discharge as an Army Reservist due to depression.

“Failure drives success,’ he said. "Failure strengthens us. I teaches us. It enables us to change.

Daniel Reichwein and Thursday's crowd

“From my failures, I gained strength, altruism, empathy for others. I learned to finish what I start. And I learned that past failures can lead to new successes.”

The second crucial component in changing his life was tenacity, he said.

“Nobody is going to give you anything in life. You need to earn what you receive, to continue to strive and never accept defeat. You’re better than your past failures and you’re more capable than you think.”

After graduating from William & Mary, he said, “I thought things would be easy.” But a job offer in Washington fell through and he nearly found himself homeless again.

“Things worked out and I was able to get a job as a social worker here in town with the Salvation Army. I’ve learned to relish the good moments while I pursue the longer term goals I have.”

“You’re better than your past failures,” he told the crowd Thursday night. “You’re more capable than others think. Know that you were meant to make a difference in this world, regardless of where you come from.”

Finally, he learned that satisfaction and a sense of completeness must be derived from within oneself.

“For years I chased externally derived fulfillment,” based on earning others’ praise [or the idea of becoming affluent]. This led me nowhere… It only led to being unhappy and depressed

“I’m in charge of my own dreams now,” he said. “And I’m just getting started. And so are you.”

Get ready for the new Germanna website!

2015-12-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

The Office of Marketing and Public Information will launch the newly redesigned Germanna website on Friday morning, Dec. 18th. This new design will be accompanied by a switch to a new content management system for the site. The nine-month redesign and migration project brought together content experts across the college in effort to improve the student experience online.

On the new home page, you’ll see minimalist, responsive design and navigation features such as new graphics, simplified menus, and new sliders highlighting Germanna services, announcements and upcoming events.

Marketing will swap out the Germanna website at 8 a.m. on Friday, December 18th. The website will be down for several hours during this process. In addition, the Google Search feature will not work completely for 24 to 48 hours after the site goes live. Google needs time to pass over our entire new website.

During the switch, services such as myGCC, Blackboard, Germanna Central, and Outlook 365 will remain available via the links below.

After the new site goes live, if you notice that something is missing please contact marketing@germanna.edu and we will find it for you and make it accessible to you. We hope you are excited by the new look and functionality of the Germanna website!

Resources:

myGCC (Blackboard, SIS, gmail, HRMS): https://gcc.my.vccs.edu/

Germanna Central: https://gcentral.germanna.edu/

Outlook Web Access: https://login.microsoftonline.com/

--CONTRIBUTED BY D. MIKE BREITENBACH

Germanna president nominated for literary prize

2015-11-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

Germanna Community College President David A. Sam has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize.

A number of nominees will be selected for publication in the annual collection titled, "The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses," and one will be chosen for the prize.

Sam was nominated for his poem, “Taconic Orogeny,” published this fall in the Vine Leaves Literary Journal.

Previous winners of the award, first given in 1976, include Joyce Carol Oates at an early stage in her writing career.

“I am pleased and honored that the editors thought highly of my poem,” Sam said.

Sam, the author of "Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves," a semi-autobiographical 2014 book of poems, was born and spent his early childhood in McKeesport, Pa., a coal and steel suburb of Pittsburgh. Later, his family relocated with his father’s factory to Belleville, Mich., a Detroit exurb. Much of his childhood was passed exploring railroad tracks, woods, lakes, and rural farm fields, and they were the source of much imagery in his poetry.

He's a grandchild of immigrants and a first-generation college student.

Profits from sales of "Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves" go to the Germanna Educational Foundation.

Sam is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University. He has taught creative writing, English literature, and composition at EMU, Marygrove College, Oakland Community College, and Pensacola State College.

Sam has written poetry for 40 years and has two published collections, the other being "Dark Land, White Light," published in 1971.

He's also been published in Carbon Culture Review, The Crucible, The Flagler Review, The Write Place at the Write Time, The Summerset Review, The Birds We Pile Loosely, and Literature Today.

Sam lives in Culpeper with his wife, Linda.

From the Pushcart Press website:

Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in our annual collections. Each year most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series. Every volume contains an index of past selections, plus lists of outstanding presses with addresses.

The Pushcart Prize has been a labor of love and independent spirits since its founding. It is one of the last surviving literary co-ops from the 60's and 70's.

Happy 240th birthday, Marine Corps!

2015-11-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

On Nov. 10, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the creation of two battalions of Marines to serve on the frigates of the fledgling American Navy. This birthday is celebrated each year around the world at Marine Corps installations and anywhere Marines are serving with a cake-cutting ceremony on that date to honor the memory and sacrifice of generations of Marines who have served and continue to serve our nation.

Join the Veteran Affairs Center as Germanna Community College celebrates this 240^th birthday with a cake-cutting at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the second floor lobby of the Dickinson Building on the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

Germanna, VDOT partnering to improve Virginia's roads

2015-10-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Secretary of the Commonwealth Levar Stoney announced the establishment of the Virginia Education Center for Asphalt Technology (VECAT) during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 5 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.

Germanna's Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper
will be at the center of the new VECAT training program.

The statewide effort involves a partnership of The Virginia Asphalt Association, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Community College System, led by Germanna Community College's Center for Workforce in Culpeper.

“Whether you’re in Abingdon or Arlington, students will now have the ability to further their careers in one of Virginia’s key industries,” Stoney said. “The efforts of this partnership will send a signal to all our competitors that we know what it takes to continue building the new Virginia economy."

VDOT, the VAA and Germanna are partnering on changes to the asphalt-related materials certification classes, the initiation of an asphalt technologist apprenticeship program and eventually an asphalt technologist associate’s degree.

Germanna will offer training at its Joseph R. Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper beginning in 2017. Much of the training will be available via online classes, but students will be required to take part in labs on site. Several other VCCS schools will be involved in offering labs in order to make the training more accessible. The other VCCS sites have not been set yet.

VDOT's Charlie Kilpatrick with Germanna's Jeanne Wesley,

Martha Okeefe and Ben Sherman

The effort will be focused at Germanna with changes to the asphalt-related materials certification classes, the initiation of an asphalt technologist apprenticeship program and eventually asphalt technologist associate’s degree.

The asphalt business is a key industry in Virginia.

Virginia has the third largest state maintained highway system in the United States
The Commonwealth spends billions of dollars each year on its highways
Virginia’s asphalt industry has 50 different companies with more than 130 plants, employing over 10,000 people throughout the Commonwealth
The industry contributes nearly $2 billion to the Virginia economy each year

Germanna President David A. Sam, (center) at VECAT launch.

The partnership will support business growth and jobs creation, increased competitiveness for Virginia’s asphalt industry, continuing education for changing materials and practices and create a supply chain to replace retiring workers. This will be accomplished through entry level to advanced training, stackable credentials, an apprenticeship program and the development of a pathway to an associate degree.

Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick said: “each year VDOT invests over $500 million in asphalt paving through new construction and maintenance. With this large investment, it is imperative the individuals involved with the design, production, placement and acceptance of asphalt materials are effectively trained to perform the monumental task of constructing and maintaining Virginia’s roads.”

“New technologies, innovations in construction practices and changing materials usage are leading to increased sustainability and cost savings,” Richard Schreck, Executive Vice President of the Virginia Asphalt Association said. “But putting these innovations into practice requires the sort of focused training and education that VECAT will provide, deploying research, innovation and best practices to the benefit of taxpayers and the driving public.”

Amy Martin, National Director for the Asphalt Pavement Alliance, recognizes the pressing need for skilled labor in the road construction industry, both today and in the future. “With over 100,000 lane miles in the Commonwealth, having quality labor to support construction, maintenance and inspection of the roadway system is of vital importance. We hope this sets a precedent other states will follow.”

“Germanna is pleased to partner with the Virginia Asphalt Association in developing these vital certifications and apprenticeships,” GCC President David A. Sam said. “The Commonwealth needs people with the skills to pave, inspect and repair our roadways. And citizens of Virginia need well-paid jobs that make a difference. Our work together in developing these programs helps to close that skills gap and make for a better Virginia.”

Training will be available for:

Asphalt production facilities occupations: plant operators, plant technicians, laboratory technicians and asphalt mix designers
Asphalt placement site occupations: asphalt paving foreman, asphalt paving crew, asphalt paving superintendent, and density technician
Transportation agencies occupations: project manager, project engineer, project inspector, plant inspector, asphalt lab technician, asphalt mix designer/certifier
Consulting industry occupations: project engineer, project inspector, asphalt lab technician, and asphalt mix designer/certifier.

Germanna launching drone training for commercial applications

2015-10-12T11:12:00.000-04:00

Michael Zitz

Director of Media & Community Relations

Germanna Community College

540/846-5163

mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Ben Sherman

Business & Career Coordinator

Germanna Community College

540/937-2901 (office)

540/661-8291 (cell)

bsherman@germanna.edu

GERMANNA CENTER FOR WORKFORCE LAUNCHING COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS DRONE TRAINING AT GCC DANIEL TECH CENTER IN CULPEPER

Business drone use is a trend that isn’t likely to fade away. Current commercial uses for unmanned aerial vehicles include the monitoring of agricultural crops, photographing real estate and managing wildlife. Among those in the works are Amazon’s plans to use drones for deliveries. There has also been discussion of using solar-powered drones capable of remaining aloft indefinitely to beam WiFi signals to the ground to provide sparsely populated areas with Internet access.

A drone in flight during a demonstration outside
Germanna's Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper.

According to Fortune magazine, by July of 2015, there were over 500 businesses in the U.S. cleared by the FAA to operate drones for commercial purposes.

An industry study recently predicted that by the year 2025, the commercial use of drones could add $82 billion and 100,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.

Locally, Germanna Community College will begin using drone flyovers to help Cedar Mountain Stone monitor progress at its Mitchells Quarry. The first flyover, on a date yet to be determined in late October, will take place during a blast at the quarry.

According to Ben Sherman, a Germanna Center for Workforce Business & Career Coordinator based at the GCC Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper, the drones will be doing aerial photography for photogrammetry and using two-dimensional photos to make a 3D point cloud to model progress at the quarry. The goal will be to determine the amount of stone removed. This will allow Cedar Mountain Corporation to more closely monitor the amount of material being extracted from and ultimately sold by the quarry.

This will be part of a new Germanna Community College Center for Workforce program at the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper focusing on drone training for commercial applications.

Students will learn how to maintain drones and how the actual programming works—how to download information and process it, as well as the necessary flying skills, Sherman said.

The FAA is expected to require increasing levels of training and certification for those who fly drones for commercial use to earn certification, due to safety concerns.

Germanna had already been providing classes primarily for drone hobbyists, including basic flight training and even teaching middle school children to build their own drones using a 3D printer.

“Now we’re going into business and construction applications,” Sherman said.

He said Germanna’s Center for Workforce is prepared to help local businesses navigate evolving federal and state drone regulations.

###

GCC accepting applications for All-USA Academic Team

2015-10-12T00:12:00.000-04:00

Dear Students,

Germanna Community College is seeking outstanding student leaders from our college to apply for the All-USA Community College Academic Team and the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Programs sponsored by USA TODAY, Follett Higher Education Group, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, AACC and Phi Theta Kappa. Recipients will be awarded nearly $400,000 in scholarships, will be featured in USA TODAY, and will be recognized at AACC’s Convention in Chicago, IL in April. We have the opportunity to nominate up to two students per campus to participate in this competition, and our college has the opportunity to receive national press recognition should one of our nominees be identified as a scholar.
In addition to recognition by USA TODAY, Follett, and Coca-Cola, nominees to these programs are recognized in All-State Academic Team programs held in 38 states. All-State Team programs may offer students academic scholarships, stipends, newspaper coverage, medallions and/or certificates. By nominating students to the All-USA Community College Academic Team national program, we are able to provide additional scholarship opportunities for nominees to which they would otherwise not have access.
At this time, we are seeking qualified applications. In selecting nominees to represent our institution, we ask you to consider the eligibility criteria to determine if you might be a good fit for the scholarship. The scholarships look to award students with outstanding academic rigor and grade point averages; participation in honors programs; awards, honors, and recognition for academic achievement, and service to the college and community.
In addition, the focal point of the application is the essay. This should center around one endeavor undertaken by the student that utilized their community college education to improve their respective community or college. Judges look for innovative, creative, original and lasting achievements or undertakings.
For more information about the scholarships available, or to apply, please visit https://www.ptk.org/Scholarships/BachelorsDegreeScholarships/All-USACommunityCollegeAcademicTeam.aspx.
Preliminary applications (with at least the first 6 tabs completed) must be submitted no later than Monday, November 2, 2015. After all applications have been received, applicants selected as one of the four Germanna nominees will be notified.
Completed final applications (all tabs completed including Essays and Recommender Assessments) by the selected nominees must be completed and submitted to PTK by Monday November 30, 2015.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Morris
rmorris@germanna.edu

GCC Lyceum Series brings "The Hunting Ground," campus sexual abuse discussion, to Sealy Auditorium

2015-09-11T15:24:00.000-04:00

Germanna Community College will host one of three free screenings of “The Hunting Ground” at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16 in Sealy Auditorium on the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania. The GCC Lyceum Series event is open to the public.

The documentary delves into the problem of sexual assault at colleges and universities.

There will also be a panel discussion about preventing campus sexual assault and dealing with incidents correctly.

Filmmakers concluded that some institutions try to persuade victims not to go to off-campus authorities in order to protect the schools’ name.

Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering say they hope the film will "ignite conversation, raise awareness, and drive change."

University of Mary Washington psychology Prof. Christopher Kilmartin will be part of the panel at the Germanna event. He is the author of “The Masculine Self.” He also co-authored “Men’s Violence Against Women: Theory, Research, and Activism” and “Sexual Assault in Context: Teaching College Men about Gender.”

.From 16 to 20 percent of undergraduate women are sexually assaulted in college.
88 percent of women raped on campus do not report.
In 2012, 45 percent of colleges reported zero sexual assaults.
Only 2 to 8 percent of sexual assault claims are found to be false.
Less than 8 percent of men in college commit more than 90 percent of sexual assaults.

Local screenings, all open to the public, free:

Tuesday, Sept. 15 --7 p.m. in the University of Mary Washington Information and Technology Convergence Center Digital Auditorium 1301 College Ave.

Wednesday, Sept. 16 --12:30 p.m. in Germanna’s Sealy Auditorium at 10000 Germanna Point Dr., off U.S. 17 near Cosner’s Corner in Spotsylvania County.

Saturday, Sept. 19--9:30 a.m. at Paragon Village, 1251 Towne Centre Blvd. in Spotsylvania.

National Sexual Assault Hotline: (800) 656-HOPE (4673) or at http://ohl.rainn.org/online

New Career and Transfer Center making sure students on right path

2015-08-24T22:37:00.002-04:00

The counselors in Germanna’s new Career and Transfer Center have a question for GCC students:

“Do you know what you want to study and do you know where you want to transfer?”

Marie Hawley and Sheryl Williamson want to make sure students are on the right path--that there are as few missteps as possible. Missteps can be costly both in terms of time and money, they say, slowing students on their way to degrees and costing thousands of dollars in extra tuition and lost earnings.

Career Counselor Hawley says of the new Center:

“This is an opportunity for students to really put together their career interests, things they’d like to study and make sure the pieces fit together to transfer for a bachelor’s degree.”

Hawley said that when it comes to certain programs at universities where Germanna has a guaranteed transfer agreement, “we have to inform [students] that you cannot just do general studies and transfer--you need a degree focus.”

For example, she said, Germanna may have a guaranteed transfer agreement with a university, but not guaranteed entry into its business school without certain prerequisites.

Transfer Counselor Sheryl Williamson said: “We try to encourage students to look ahead. … What sometimes happens is that student graduates with that mentality transfer, they are then faced with taking additional math classes.”

“Or not admitted to the program,” Hawley said. “But if you prepare properly, you can align yourself.”

“If you start at a four-year school, you have to declare a major by your junior year,” Williamson pointed out, adding that Germanna students should be thinking about that major before they transfer.

“The sooner you know where you want to go and what you want to do, the sooner you can match up your course work so it transfers more seamlessly,” Hawley said.

The Career and Transfer Center also offers assessments through the Virginia Education Wizard, counseling and information sessions and workshops in resume writing and mock job interviews. It also brings representatives from over 40 colleges and universities on campus as part of an annual College Fair. This year’s event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Daniel Center in Culpeper and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

The Center also offers resources “to help identify career paths students may not even know exist,” Hawley said.

It also helps connect students and employers for internships.

Williamson and Hawley have over 50 years of combined experience in education.

The Career and Transfer Center is located in room 228 of the Dickinson Building at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

The Center phone number is 540/834-1841.

Email addresses for the Center:

Career Counselor Marie Hawley mhawley@germanna.edu

Transfer Counselor Sheryl Williamson swilliamson@germanna.edu

Sabrina Dunaway sdunaway@germanna.edu

Career and Transfer Center's Sheryl Williamson and Marie Hawley

Germanna announces faculty Learning Environment Award winners

2015-08-20T21:19:00.001-04:00

Germanna Community College has announced its Spring 2015 faculty Learning Environment Award winners.

The awards recognize extraordinary and exemplary contributions to the learning environment by fulltime teaching faculty in one or more of the following areas: Teaching, Scholarly and Creative Engagement, Institutional Responsibility, and Service to the college or the community.

Winners of Learning Environment Awards for Spring 2015

Vanessa Sekinger

Kelley Lloyd

April Morgan

Leigh Hancock

Patricia Parker

Mike Read

Carolyn Pevey

Carrie Lowry

Brenda Robinson

Jean Lauzon

Eric Vanover

David Marsich

Brent Wilson

Wen Maier

Angela Sheaffer

Camille Mustachio

Jerry Miller

Diane Merkel

Brenda Dixon

Marie Messier

Jamie Lennahan

John Stroffolino

Gayle Wolfe

Monique Lewis

Kellie Bradshaw

Gretchen Warren

Julie Fasano

Jessica Matheson

Maury Wrightson

Shawn Shields-Maxwell

Germanna helping vets through mentorships and credit for life experience

2015-08-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

Bill Anderson

GRANT HELPING GERMANNA HELP VET STUDENTS THROUGH MENTORSHIPS AND EVALUATING LIFE EXPERIENCE TO BE TURNED INTO COLLEGE CREDIT

Germanna Community College is one of five Virginia Community College System schools at which veteran students will benefit from a U.S. Department of Labor grant.

Click here to listen as Allie Dudley, Bill Anderson and Nicole Geisenhof talk about veterans and Germanna.

GCC has received $150,000 earmarked to provide veterans with community college credits for past military service and training and to establish a mentoring program for vets that will help pair them up with business leaders in the area.

Bob Dixon, who heads the veterans program at Germanna, said the move answers the question, “When am I gonna get more credit for all this good stuff I did in the service?”

He said said the grant has allowed Germanna to hire two part time employees to assist in this effort.

“These people will provide increased capacity to serve our veteran students,” Dixon said. “I’m excited about the mentoring in particular.”

He said this is a pilot program, but he hopes it becomes “a sustained effort.”

Virginia’s veteran population is growing. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the commonwealth will be home to nearly 850,000 veterans by the year 2017.

Dixon says over 500 Germanna students have declared themselves as veterans as G.I. Bill users and that “the actual number is always higher than that.” He said the number is growing steadily from semester to semester.

Allie Dudley

Allie Dudley, GCC's Advanced Standing Counselor, will help veteran students get the academic credits earned through experience, and William T. Anderson, veterans mentor supervisor, will enlist

“I’m excited about the mentoring piece in particular,” Dixon said. “Our plan is to help student vets early in their academic careers to engage people in the community who will remove barriers and give real world advice on what to study and how to break into careers.”

William T. Anderson, a retired Marine Corps colonel, will work for Dr. Sarah Somerville, head of counseling at the Locust Grove Campus, but will be based in Dickinson Building room 108A at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania. He will also work with Marie Hawley of the GCC new Career & Transfer Center.

Anderson spent 33 years with the Marine Corps and Department of Defense as a lawyer and 18 years working for NATO in Europe. Since 2010, he has been an adjunct faculty member at the Command and Staff College Distance Education Program of the Marine Corps University.

Students in the program will meet with their mentors twice a month and attend related events and social gatherings. The program runs for one academic year, from August to May. Students may withdraw from the program at anytime.

Anderson is an expert and published author on the Marine Corps in World War I.

Dudley, Germanna’s Advanced Standing Counselor, will be able to help more veterans thanks to the grant.

She’s a U.S. Army spouse who has worked at an American military installation in Italy advising vets and their families.

She said military experience, other past work experience and certifications can translate into college credit. Combined with College Level Examination Program credit and the option of taking courses online, vets should find the idea of going back to school less daunting.

To learn more, contact Anderson at wanderson@germanna.edu or 540/891-3023 and Allie Dudley at adudley@germanna.edu or 540/834-1057.

Fall payment deadline for pre-registered students extended until July 31

2015-07-08T19:54:00.000-04:00

The College has extended the fall tuition payment deadline for pre-registered students in 15W, 12W, 8W1, and 4W1 sessions until Friday, July 31, 2015 due to delays in financial aid processing.
This affects those who have preregistered since April 13 but have not paid. Students who have not paid tuition, enrolled in anautomatic payment plan or have anticipated financial aid and scholarships less than the balance due, will be dropped from their courses at midnight July 31.

Students may pay online or in person.

All new students registering after July 31 should plan to pay at the time of registration.

To check the status of your student account, contact the 24/7 Financial Aid & Student Accounts Center at mysupport.germanna.edu or 1/855-874-6681.

On-Time Registration goes into effect this fall

2015-06-10T11:31:00.002-04:00

Starting with the fall 2015 semester, all students enrolling at Germanna will be required to register by 11:59 p.m. the day before the session begins to meet the On-Time Registration requirement.

Learn more here.

GCC College Board to discuss State Board tuition increase Friday

2015-06-03T11:57:00.003-04:00

The Germanna Community College College Board will meet at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 5 in Conference Room 100 at the Locust Grove Campus to discuss action recently taken by the State Board regarding tuition and fees.

To be discussed: whether to accept a State Board offer of a one dollar tuition differential increase per credit hour.

A signup sheet for public comment will be available 30 minutes prior to the meeting.

New Business Administration transfer agreement evidence of special relationship between Germanna, University of Mary Washington

2015-06-02T14:50:00.000-04:00

The presidents of the University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College signed a direct transfer agreement for Business Administration students Tuesday in a ceremony at UMW.

Dr. Lynne Richardson, dean of the College of Business at UMW, said: "This agreement says ... students who go to Germanna and want to study business will be able to transfer a little bit easier."

Germanna President David A. Sam took the opportunity to praise UMW President Rick Hurley, who will retire in June of 2016, for working to establish what he called “a model for relationships between universities and community colleges” that he believes will continue after both men are gone.

GCC's Dr. David Sam (right) praises UWM's Rick Hurley today.

“It's a pleasure to work with him,” Dr. Sam said. “We've had lunches pretty regularly in which we talked about the problems and opportunities ... How can we help students at Germanna not have what's called a ‘transfer bump?' How can we smooth things and make transfers more seamless? How can we work together to enable more students to graduate? How can we reach more first generation college students? And what can we do to support economic development and community development, some things together and some things separately? The bonus is we became friends and there's a trust that extends to the provost at UMW and our chief academic officer. We hope the people who follow Rick and myself carry on this model relationship.”

Hurley said: “I've enjoyed the partnership and the friendship. It's all about serving the community and the needs of our students.”

Students who graduate from Germanna with the AA&S degree in Business Administration, General Studies or Liberal Arts with at least a 3.0 grade point average on all college work, including courses taken at colleges other than GCC, and have completed the specific business course prerequisites with a 2.5 GPA in those five courses are guaranteed admission to the BS in Business Administration Program at UMW

GCC students who enroll in UMW’s bachelor of science in Business Administration program will be considered on the same basis as its own junior year students for admission to competitive programs, as well as for registration, financial aid, scholarships and student housing.

Germanna students who don’t meet all of the terms of the agreement may nonetheless be competitive applicants and are encouraged to apply through the regular transfer admissions process.

UMW will guarantee the acceptance of 63 transferable credits (courses for transfer must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher. Completion of the approved associate degree through dual enrollment will not preclude the student from eligibility. In addition, credit for courses completed through International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Cambridge, CLEP, and armed services experience will be accepted

Prof. Rich Gossweiler appreciation: 'How do you measure the lump in a student's throat?'

2015-05-18T20:33:00.002-04:00

When Cory MacLauchlin began teaching at Germanna Community College, Prof. Rich Gossweiler told him his goal should be simple:

“‘How do you measure the lump in a student's throat?” Gossweiler asked him. “If we don’t make the students feel something, then we miss the point.”

“To me, that’s his legacy,” said MacLauchlin.

Judy Napier and Margaret Gossweiler
at celebration of Prof.Rich Gossweiler's life

Gossweiler passed away on April 10 after 45 years of teaching in the Virginia Community College system, most of them at Germanna.

He had retired from teaching full time, but couldn’t stay away from GCC , its students and faculty and continued to teach part time.

He was at GCC’s Locust Grove Campus that day when he began to feel ill and went outside to rest on a bench. He collapsed moments later. Germanna nursing professors who had come to love Gossweiler worked heroically to keep him alive till an ambulance arrived. He passed away that evening, with family --and Germanna faculty and staff who considered him family-- at his side. He was 74.

“Rich Gossweiler was not only a great teacher of students, but someone who played a critical role in mentoring faculty and staff,” Germanna President David A. Sam said at a celebration of his life at GCC’s Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper on May 6.

.At a retirement event, Gossweiler had urged faculty members to continue to “challenge the students … make them go further than they expected.”

Gossweiler also asked them to remember that “students are your friends."

Prof. Rich Gossweiler and Prof. Don Frank
at retirement event

“When we go through town, we always run into our students. The wonderful thing about community colleges is you see the results—you see [former] students. You make friends,” he said.

Many are passionate about teaching. Gossweiler’s feelings went beyond that. He couldn’t contain the joy the profession brought him--and it was infectious.

“When he wasn’t smiling, he was roaring with laughter,” Sam said.

“He helped instill in me the passion I have today,” said Dr. Patti Lisk, dean of nursing at Germanna.

At the celebration of the late professor's life, a former student said, “As long as he taught, there’s a piece of Rich Gossweiler in every one of us.”

In a sense, we were all Rich Gossweiler’s students.

He left so many of us with lumps in our throats.

Great Expectations: 'If they can make it big, so can you'

2015-05-17T15:29:00.000-04:00

Germanna Community College recognizes the strides being made by Great Expectations program students students during a GE Milestones:

Recognizing and Celebrating Student Successes ceremony.Wednesday night.

Great Expectations prepares foster care youth aging out of the system for the transition to college in part through mentoring.
“Germanna is a place where you can begin to live out a part of your dreams," GE Program Coordinator Jennifer Lawrence for the students . "Antwone Fisher, a former foster youth, said to himself, 'if they can make it big, so can I.' So, I want you to know as I have shared with you all over and over again. . . I am proud of you for all that you have overcome and if they can make it big, so can you.”

Antwan Perry addresses Germanna Great Expectations students.

Figuring out how to cool coffee down fast is, well, cool

2015-05-05T23:31:00.004-04:00

Prof. Mirela Fetea’s Physics 242 class was working on a “How to Cool Down Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate” project Tuesday at Germanna Community College’s Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

“There’s a lot of physics in something as simple as making a cup of coffee,” Fetea said. “We all have burned our tongues trying to sip coffee when it’s too hot--waiting to take that first sip can seem like it takes forever.”

She challenged students to apply some of the basic concepts and principles studied this semester in the physics class--heat radiation and absorption, conduction and convection, insulation, etc, to figure out what succession of steps would cool down the liquid the most in three minutes:

Quickly pouring the creamer and sugar in, or pouring them in right before you drink, stirring or shaking the cup, blowing on it.

Fetea explained the winning strategy, which involved continuous movement of an aluminum foil tray full of hot water around a table in the physics lab:

"By moving the tray around they tried to maximize the loss of heat via conduction - transfer of energy by the movement of particles that are in direct contact with each other. The larger the temperature difference between the objects, the quicker the heat transfer is. As soon as the temperature of the table surface increased, they moved the tray to another spot, having a slightly lower temperature--room temperature--and therefore speeding up the heat transfer."

The results:

First place: Nathan Helmly, Ethan Martin, Joseph Medawar, and Vincent Eastman.

Sexond place tie: A team of Ali Hayder, Gabriel Simmons, Michael Hales, and Nathan Richters and a team consisting of Daniel Carder, Kristy D'Alessandro, Donnie Lewis, and Justin Wray.

Third place: Nicholas Short, David Brown, Jake Polend and Matt Perry

Nathan Richters waves a styrofoam cup while team members Gabriel Simmons,
Michael Hales and Ali Hayder blow air onto a tray of hot water
to cool down a hot liquid during a Germanna Community College physics class.
Six teams of four students had three minutes to apply some of the concepts
and principles studied in their University Physics II class.
(Photo by Robert A. Martin)

Germanna bans vaping on campus

2015-03-20T20:48:00.000-04:00

GERMANNA BANS VAPING ON CAMPUS

If you’ve got ‘em, don’t vape ‘em.

Germanna Community College has banned “vaping” on campus.

During a meeting at the college's Stafford Automotive Center, GCC’s Local College Board voted Thursday evening to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in campus buildings and within 25 feet of entrances and exits.

Germanna President David A. Sam noted that many believe use of e-cigarettes to be healthier than tobacco, but there’s debate about whether it’s safe. Some say it's helped them quit smoking tobacco.

Dr. Jeanne Wesley, GCC’s Vice President for Workforce, told the board that there have been complaints about students vaping.

She didn’t speculate about safety, but said: “I can tell you one thing. They stink.”

A heating element powered by a battery allows e-cigarettes to atomize a flavored liquid solution that often includes nicotine, creating aerosol instead of smoke.
According to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, 587 U.S. campuses banned vaping as of Jan. 1.

Only e-cigarettes that are marketed for therapeutic purposes are regulated by the FDA. The agency has proposed a rule that would extend its authority to cover e-cigarettes. Congressional Republicans oppose the change.

The new Germanna ban also includes clove and herbal cigarettes. A ban on tobacco smoking at GCC had already been in effect.

Germanna Educational Foundation honors Bruce and Sandy Davis

2015-03-14T14:02:00.001-04:00

The Germanna Community College Educational Foundation honored longtime supporters Bruce and Sandy Davis Friday night, unveiling a plaque naming the atrium of the Dickinson Building on the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania for the couple.

Bruce and Sandy Davis

Bruce Davis is a former co-owner of Freeman Beverage who recently bought 18 Beltone Hearing Centers in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. He has also served as chief liaison to the president at Germanna.

GCC President David A. Sam praised the Davises for their generosity in giving back to the community, both in terms of funds and time

After their hard work paid off in business success, he said. “they decided to invest in Germanna and our students.”

Davis noted that the definition of “atrium” is any chamber that’s connected to other chambers or passageways and that “all kinds of students pass through here.”

Another definition, he said, is the upper chamber of the human heart.

Davis said that he and his wife, in their time in Fredericksburg since coming here in 1989, have tried to invest in the community not only here at GCC, but through the Germanna Historical Foundation and the Lions Club.

“It’s part of our heart,” he explained.

Davis said community colleges are making a difference today, “transforming lives in a way never seen before…

“It used to be that if you graduated from high school you did OK, but if you got a four- year degree you could do a lot better,” he said. “Now, companies don’t always want someone with a four-year degree. They often want someone with an associate’s degree they can train and immediately get into their workforce.”

Davis said Germanna “helps transform so many lives of young people who don’t necessarily always have the advantages some of us have. That’s why we’ve invested in the college and in other things as well.
“Because the heart pumps blood out into the body,” he said, “and the body’s the community.”

Student Success Day features Habitat for Humanity build, talent show, drone build and demonstration and free automobile inspections

2015-03-09T18:06:00.002-04:00

Don't miss the following events and workshops on Student Success Day, Wednesday, March 11, at all Germanna Community College locations.

Students and parents are asked to join Habitat for Humanity in a build going on all day at GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

There will also be a student talent show at 6 p.m. in Sealy Auditorium on the Fredericksburg Campus.

Not mentioned below is the fact that GCC students at the College's Automotive Center at 42 Blackjack Rd. in Stafford is doing FREE general auto inspections which they have valued at $125. Faculty, students and community members are encouraged to sign up for free inspections with Matt Fitzgerald by email at: mfitzgerald@germanna.edu.

FREDERICKSBURG AREA CAMPUS IN SPOTSYLVANIA

Block A: 9:00-10:15AM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Morning Zumba!	Sharonda Johnson	SP1 Room 103
Mindfulness: Yoga for the Academic Brain	Danielle Harkins	SP1 Room 301
Fitness Challenge	Gold’s Gym	SP1 Room 317
What is Prezi Anyway?	Taylor Landrie	SP1 Room 215
Library Services	Tamara Remhof	SP2 Room 233
Using your iPhone and Android Apps	Jennifer St. John	SP2 Room 131
Tips for Success in Your Science Classes	Jessica Matheson	SP3 Room 319
STEM Panel	Denise Guest	SP1 Room 211/212

Block B: 10:30-11:45AM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Meditation	Carolyn Pevey	SP1 Room 326
Nature Walk	Anita Sutton	Outside
Morning Zumba!	Sharonda Johnson	SP1 Room 103
Dating 101	Preston Simms	SP1 Room 310
Fitness Challenge	Gold’s Gym	SP1 Room 317
EQ: Emotional Intelligence	Carolyn Bynum	SP1 Room 215
Google Your Way to Success	Jen Mlyneic	SP2 Room 233
Demystifying MLA & APA Citations	Jessica Perez	SP1 Room 301

Block C: 2:00-3:15PM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Job Coaching Workshop	Career Services	SP1 Room 301
Anti-Drunk Driving	Laurel Happe	SP1 Room 103
Fitness Challenge	Gold’s Gym	SP1 Room 317
Dating 101	Preston Simms	SP1 Room 310
Free Rice – Play a Game and Feed the World!	Ann Lyons	SP1 Room 215
Arts & Crafts	Jessica Green	SP1 Room 326
Drones 101	Engineering Club	SP3 Room 123
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Voting (And More!)	Jamie Lennahan	SP1 Room 211

Block D: 3:30-4:45PM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Mock Interviews	Career Services	SP1 Room 301
iGrad: Money, Finances & Credit	Becky Morris	SP1 Room 2330
Fitness Challenge	Gold’s Gym	SP1 Room 317
Stereotyping in the 21^st Century?!	Antwan Perry	SP2 Room 131
Self-Defense Basics	Laurel Happe	SP1 Room 103
3-D Printing: From CAD to CAM	Engineering Club	SP3 Room 123

Event Details

Check-in

SP1 2^nd Floor Lobby - All-day
Sign in to receive Session Schedule, receive raffle ticket and enter drawing (one drawing for each prize)

Lunch

SP1 Room 213 – Lunch Staging Area
Room 211/212 – Dining Area, with TED Talk
Sign in to receive free lunch, dine while watching an inspirational TED Talk

Habitat for Humanity Build Project

9AM-5PM
Outside (Alternate Location: SP3 room 123)
Students may sign up in advance via student email, or may show up to participate; Habitat staff will direct student volunteers in the construction of a shed to be used in upcoming home build project.

Student Art Show

SP1 Rooms 123 & 124
Students from Art and Graphic Communications classes will be displaying their work.

Talent Showcase

6-8PM
SP2 134 (Sealy Auditorium)
Students are invited to support their peers in the R.I.O.T. Club’s Talent Showcase!

Deconstruction Night

6-8PM
SP3 Room 123
Students, parents, and families are welcome to participate in “Deconstruction Night,” an opportunity to explore electronics and gadgets by deconstructing them.

STAFFORD COUNTY CENTER

Room	Block A 9:00am – 10:15am	Block B 10:30am – 11:45am	LUNCH!! 12:00pm – 1:45pm	Block C 2:00pm – 3:15pm	Block D 3:30pm – 4:45pm	Evening Event 6:00pm – 9:00pm
114	Library Services	College Transition Ali Heiber		Water Conservation Izabela Sikora
102		TESTING IN ROOM 102		Latitude Yoga	Latitude Yoga	Movie
103	Vision Casting Matthew Fitzgerald	Vision Casting Matthew Fitzgerald	TED Talk	Vision Casting Matthew Fitzgerald	Vision Casting Matthew Fitzgerald
101	Fitness & Nutrition American Made Fighter	Fitness & Nutrition American Made Fighter	TED Talk	Germanna’s Wheel of Fortune Kim Viarella		Movie

8:30am – 9:00am ---- Breakfast in Reception area. Overflow in Room 102

9:00am – 10:15am --- Block A

10:30am – 11:45am – Block B

12:00pm – 1:45pm – Lunch available in Reception area – sign in and raffle tickets (will draw after the event), Ted Talk in Rooms 101 and 103 /Transition Rm 102

2:00pm – 3:15pm ---- Block C

3:30pm – 4:45pm ---- Block D

5:00pm – 5:45pm ---- prep for movie

6:00pm – 9:00pm ---- Family Movie Night!!

9:00pm – clean up.

LOCUST GROVE CAMPUS

Block A: 9:00-10:15AM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Google Your Way to Student Success	Chris Kaszuba	Room 210
Stereotyping in the 21^st Century	Antwan Perry	Room 302
Making the best of Android and iPhone apps (Interactive Video)	Jennifer St. John	TBD

Block B: 10:30-11:45AM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Nature Walk	Dr. Michael Read	Outside * Meet in cafeteria
Anti-Drunk Driving: Fatal Vision Goggles	Laurel Happe	Room 302
Career Services: Job Coaching Workshop	Michelle Beverage	Room 305
iGrad: Money, Finances, and Credit	Becky Morris	Room 210
Germanna’s Trivia/Wheel of Fortune	Kim Viarella	Room 502

Block C: 2:00-3:15PM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
Tackle the TEAS	Jen Dodge/Liz Hunziker	Room 302
Afternoon Yoga	Debbie Bennett	TBD
Library Services	Matthew Pierce	Library

Block D: 3:30-4:45PM

Session Title	Facilitator	Location
EQ: Emotional Intelligence	Carolyn Bynum	Room 210
Stereotyping for the 21^st Century (Interactive Video)	Antwan Perry	305

Event Details

Check-in

LGC Lobby - All-day
Sign in to receive Session Schedule, receive raffle ticket and enter drawing (one drawing for each prize)

Nursing Transfer Fair –

1 pm – 4 pm – Hall 200

Resource Table – Hall 200

Lunch

Dr. Patti Lisk Welcome

Student Lounge/Dining Area to include TED Talk

Family Movie Night: Guardians of the Galaxy 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Dogwood Village of Orange County awards scholarship to Danielle Wallace

2015-02-06T19:34:00.001-05:00

Dogwood Village of Orange County has awarded a major scholarship to Germanna Community College nursing student Danielle Wallace.

Wallace is a 2013 Orange County High School graduate.

Vernon M. Baker, administrator of Dogwood Village Health
and Rehabilitation and Senior Living, Germanna student
Danielle Wallace and GCC Dean of Nursing Patti Lisk

She works at DVOC as a certified nurse’s aide and is studying at Germanna toward her associate’s degree and her registered nurse’s license. Her ultimate goal is earning a master’s of science in nursing degree and working in a hospital.

The new scholarship was established by the Dogwood Village of Orange County Foundation to promote the nursing profession.

Scholarships are awarded for up to $3,000 per year towards the initial licensure and associate’s degree in nursing, either as an LPN or RN, including the transition from LPN to RN.

Once awarded, the scholarship automatically renews as long as the student remains in good standing in the program. Once the licensure is received, the recipient agrees to work for DVOC in at least a regular part-time position for two years. DVOC also has a traditional reimbursement program that will help towards advanced degrees if recipients are interested once they receive the initial license.

“Dogwood Village of Orange County’s generous and forward-thinking scholarship program will help keep local residents healthy for decades to come,” Germanna President David A. Sam said. “As more and more of us retire and need for health care increases, there will be more and more competition for good nurses. Dogwood Village understands that, as do we.”

Germanna Dean of Nursing Patti Lisk said Wallace is an outstanding student whose intelligence, commitment to patients and upbeat personality will make her a great nurse.

G.E. Gallas talks about the poet William Blake on Feb. 4

2015-02-02T14:56:00.001-05:00

Writer and illustrator G.E. Gallas will share work related to William Blake, the English poet, at 11 a.m. Feb. 4 in Sealy Auditorium on Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania.

Get an early start on college with Dual Enrollment

2015-01-26T20:14:00.001-05:00

Attention High School Students

Get an Early Start on Your College Education with Dual Enrollment.
Through your school's partnership with Germanna Community College, current high school students have opportunities to take college courses while in high school. Learn more at an upcoming Dual Enrollment Information Session:

Through Dual Enrollment courses, students gain exposure to college academics, learn from instructors with credentials to teach at the college level, and have access to GCC Resources that facilitate student success. Students earn college credit (most of which transfer to 4 year-colleges and universities) while fulfilling high school graduation requirements!

For more information, please visit the Germanna Community College
http://www.germanna.edu/dual-enrollment/

We're so close! Help Germanna win big! Vote daily.

2015-01-21T22:35:00.002-05:00

Germanna Community College is competing against colleges across America in a Stanley Security contest for the $100,000 grand prize in the second tier, for schools with 8,000 to 19,000 students. Germanna moved up to third in the voting in its category Thursday night, Jan. 29.

Prize money may be used for consultation, products or services from Stanley Security.

Grant funds would provide computer software and equipment to be used for video surveillance and monitoring, mass notification and emergency communications, and other critical law enforcement activities, according to Germanna Campus Police Chief Craig Branch.

Voting is limited to one per person per day.

Voting is open until Feb. 13, with winners to be announced on March 3.
Supporters may return to www.stanleysaferschools.com to vote every day.
To vote Via TEXT: Type "germanna" to 334455.
To vote Via TWITTER: Tweet using both #STANLEYSecurity and #germanna. You can vote once per day per twitter handle. Your Twitter account must be public for the vote to count.