Susan
Boyle was the story of inspiration last week, but this week I give
you...(drum-roll please).... our very own UW-Parkside students, faculty and staff!
Last Thursday night I attended the Communication Department's Spring
Celebration. It was a gathering of current Communication students, alumni
and professors. Students were inducted to the national Communication
honor society, Lambda Phi Eta and the seniors were recognized for their scholarship
and outreach work over this last year.
Most notably, Dr. JonathanShailor 's students work with those who have
experienced harsh economic and personal hardships was truly inspiring.
Through facilitating “The Theater of Empowerment,” their counsels discovered
the courage of overcoming current life challenges. The student's stories
were extremely poignant and it was obvious that the students learned valuable
life lessons from the individuals they worked with.
Inspired yet? Check this out:
I also learned about one of our Campus Ambassador’s (Camilla Simon) spring
break experiences in Mexico.
Professor Peggy James and her students were far from the beaches of Cancun and
giving back deep in the heart of Chiapas,
Mexico. Learn more about it here and there was an
extensive post-trip article in the Kenosha News!
Ready for more inspirational UW-P folks?
Next week everyone is invited to come to campus to see the great research,
creative endeavors and scholarship that our students and faculty members have
been a part of over the last year! These are excellent days to visit our
campus,especially for those students who may be considering on attending
UW-Parkside! Read more about it
here for the full schedule of events!
Finally this week we end with various end-of-year celebrations.
Thursday evening, Student Activities sponsors an invitation-only event, the
Leadership Banquet. This recognizes students who are involved on campus
and serve in various leadership positions. UW-P alum Luis Benevoglienti will be
the keynote speaker. On Friday, the
Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) sponsors yet another
invitation-only event, the TCB is a banquet. TCB honors high academic
achievers, student leaders and graduating seniors of color. This banquet
allows the opportunity for OMSA to thank the students for their many
contributions through their service to the University.
Bidding farewell to inspirational people...
This year's TCB banquet is extra special as we celebrate the contributions of Carmen Ireland and pay tribute to her as she leaves
UW-Parkside for her upcoming retirement. Talk about inspiration, Carmen
is a shining example! Carmen began
at UW-Parkside as an Admissions Counselor where she was a key player in
reaching out to first-generation college-bound students and doing whatever
it took in helping them along the college admission process. She
served as Advisor for UW-Parkside Latinos Unidos and developed the Latina
Mother-Daughter program to name a few of her accomplishments (there are
many!). Working alongside Carmen in
Admissions was not only a pleasure, but an honor. Carmen continued on her
career path and left Admissions to become an Advisor in the Office of
Multicultural Affairs. She went from getting students into college, to
helping them along the way to get to graduation day and even sending more off
to grad school! Carmen has been 2nd Madre' to many students here.
She's laughed with them (lots of laughing) and she's cried with them. She
never misses their graduations and in turn she's attended many of their
weddings. Retirement and Carmen are unusual to see in the same sentence
because they really do not seem go together. Even through Carmen is
retiring, there is no doubt she will still be assisting students somehow, and
in someway, in achieving their dreams of higher education. Carmen truly
lives this passion - it's who she is. Carmen, we will dearly miss you -
UW-Parkside will never be the same.
Last but not least, Marv our Information Specialist at our front desk will be retiring. Believe it or not, Marv has been "retired" from his years in Customer
Service at Case while he's worked for us for almost 10 years in Admissions
full time! Marv has welcomed thousands of students to UW-Parkside as
he arranged their admission counseling appointments, signed them up
for open houses, campus tours and warmly greeted them upon their
arrival to our office. Students (and parents) never forget Marv and
often come back to stop at his desk for chats. Marv has been the epitome of amazing student-service, going out of his way to make students comfortable and
informed. We wish Marv all the best as he rides of into the sunset either on his motorcycle (or his horse).
