Coconino Community College’s Stellar Newsletter
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Sharing the news throughout northern Arizona about what’s happening at your Community College.
Coconino Community College: Education that works for you.
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A quick word from the President
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I started off the year reaffirming Coconino Community College’s commitment to always “do better” for our students and our communities.
Here are just a few highlights from 2019!
Coconino Community College:
- Is now debt free. A bond approved 20 years ago for the construction of facilities has been paid off.
- Continues to grow noncredit programs, including Hospitality and Service training, Certified Maintenance Technician training, the Summer Learning Series for lifelong learners, and free for the community presentations.
- Now offers Early Childhood Education in support of Achieve60AZ.
- Has created a cross-country sports program through the generosity of donors.
- Has new Vision, Mission, Values and Guiding Principles to convey passion for learning, commitment to student success and strengthen the college.
- Is now a Veterans Supportive Campus.
- Is committed to diversity with the adoption of a Diversity and Inclusion Statement.
Although the District Governing Board, faculty and staff at CCC have accomplished a great deal during the year, we will continue to do better. In the year ahead, our students and communities can look forward to the newly remodeled Construction Technology Management shop at the Fourth Street Campus (made possible with a $1 million grant from the Del E. Webb Foundation) and the development of new programs through a concerted fundraising effort across the county.
As we wrap up our current strategic plan, I would like to offer a deep “thank you” to the members of our District Governing Board and our faculty and staff. Our accomplishments supporting student success and engaging with our communities are truly amazing. As this year winds to a close, all of us here at CCC are excited about the coming year, filled with new faces that shine bright with possibilities of the future. We are in the process of creating a new Strategic Plan so that we can continue to serve Coconino County and “do better.”
CCC is a great place to be. Onward! Náás! Adelante!
Colleen Smith
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CCC hosts Social Powwow during
Native American Heritage Month
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Brilliant colors glided and bounced to drumbeat and song.
Coconino Community College hosted its first-ever Social Powwow on Nov. 14 at the Lone Tree Campus as part of Native American Heritage Month. More than 200 people – from Arizona and neighboring states – attended the event with students and staff.
“The theme of the powwow was ‘Education 2 Leadership,’” said Derik Yellowhair, CCC Student Life Coordinator and master of ceremonies for the event. “We wanted to bring community together to encourage education among youth and that education can lead them to leadership.”
For the event, Yellowhair said that members of the CCC Native American Student Association collected school supplies for area schools, including STAR, Kinsey, Leupp and Puente de Hozho elementary schools. During the event, there were dancing demonstrations and competitions and even a version of musical chairs “powwow-style,” Yellowhair said.
And the success of the event could lead to another powwow at CCC in the future.
“A lot of people enjoyed it, and a lot of the drum groups and dancers asked us to bring it back next year,” Yellowhair added.
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Coconino Community College, located in beautiful northern Arizona, offers a variety of pathways for students – whether they be interested in furthering their education at a university, in joining the workforce quickly, or in continuing their lifelong learning. For more videos of students, programs and more at CCC, visit our YouTube channel.
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CCC Series: Meet the Board
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Community service key to CCC District Governing Board Member Dr. Marie Peoples
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One of her proudest accomplishments was receiving her GED as a single mother. She has since gone to earn a doctorate in Public Health Epidemiology.
Coconino Community College District Governing Board Member Dr. Marie Peoples has been on the board since 2015. Her day job is Deputy Coconino County Manager, where she’s charged with leading justice and human service related departments and county-wide initiatives. Before that, she was the Chief Health Officer for the Coconino County Public Health Services District.
“I love community colleges because they are a place for people of all backgrounds, educational levels, and provide learning opportunities for people of all socio-economic status,” People said.
Community service is her passion, and her previous commitments include serving on a K-12 vocational school board. She is also a staff member at the University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies and a member of the Northern Arizona University Institutional Review Board.
“I fully believe in the need to be a part of community and to bring a voice that may not otherwise be heard,” Peoples said. “My passion lies in making sure students – specifically, historically marginalized students – are represented.”
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Attracting high school students to policing, emergency services
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Area high school students spend two days learning about public service careers
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“We are all super passionate about what we do,” said Katie Brandis, Communications Manager at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility in Flagstaff. And, even though the work is stressful, she added, it is also very rewarding and dispatchers often make a difference between life and death.
Twelve students from area high schools spent the day on Nov. 14 at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility learning about the careers in policing and emergency services available in Flagstaff and in the county. The event, the second installment of a two-day series, was organized by the Coconino County Arizona @ Work Business Service team. Coconino Community College is a member, in part, for the work the college does in the community to help with workforce development so that public-service agencies can fill positions.
“We hope to see these students graduate CCC and the (police) academy and maybe even NAU,” said Brent Neilson, Superintendent for the Coconino Association for Vocations, Industry and Technology (CAVIAT) Education District, another member of the team. “Our goal is to paint the picture for students what lies ahead in their law enforcement training, educational pathway.”
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Katie Brandis, Communications Manager at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility in Flagstaff, shows Flagstaff-area high school students how the Dispatch Center works.
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CCC veteran making her own path
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CCC student Nelda Achee returns to school after a 21-year career with the U.S. Coast Guard
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Coconino Community College student Nelda Achee, mother of three children, grandmother of seven, served in the U.S. Coast Guard for 21 years, retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. She was a machinery tech and worked on airplanes, boats, ships and machines of all sorts.
She was in charge of large projects and was well respected, but back at home on the Navajo Nation, nobody would hire her. They would say to her “You have too much experience,” or “Why don’t you stay home?”
“I got turned down, it seemed, every other week,” Achee said, adding that her last unit worked out of New Orleans during the big oil spill. Her job was to get Coast Guard ships affected by the oil back out on the water. She could fix any problem.
So, Achee decided to use her access to the G.I. Bill to go back to school and study business.
“It’s open to everybody,” Achee said. “There’s nobody to tell me, ‘Hey, you can’t do that.’ That’s how I see it.”
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U.S. Coast Guard veteran Nelda Achee is studying Business at CCC.
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CCC news around the county
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Our ED Talk Series is free and open to the public. For videos and fliers on past ED Talks, visit here.
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Join Coconino Community College for an inspiring ED Talk in December. The talks are part of CCC’s ongoing effort to assist community members interested in continued learning.
Dec. 9 ED Talk: “Holiday Health: Cultivate Wholeness Through Self-Care,” by Kate Carey, owner-artist at A Blissful Life. Begins at 6 p.m., at the Fourth Street Innovation Center, 3000 N. Fourth St.
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Upcoming ED Talk at CCC in Page
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Join Coconino Community College for an inspiring ED Talk in December. The talks are part of CCC’s ongoing effort to assist community members interested in continued learning.
Dec. 4 ED Talk: “Trekking the Rainbow Trail,” by George Hardeen. Begins at 6:30 p.m., at CCC in Page, 475 S. Lake Powell Drive.
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Last Lunar Legacy Lecture at CCC Dec. 11
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All Lunar Legacy fans, participants and sponsors are invited to join in the Lunar Legacy Series Celebration, the last event in this free 18-month long series, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, beginning at 6 p.m. Join us as we listen to a synopsis of Flagstaff’s Lunar Legacy and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing and later Apollo missions. Kevin Schindler, Lowell Observatory historian, will lead us in an out of this world recap. Refreshments, giveaways and moon-themed music will follow the presentation. Free parking is provided at CCC’s Lone Tree Campus.
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Maintenance Tech program kicks off in January
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Coconino Community College made the news in the last month. Read or see more about it by clicking the headline!
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