Coconino Community College’s Stellar Newsletter — A quick word from the President

Coconino Community College’s Stellar Newsletter

Sharing the news throughout northern Arizona about what’s happening at your Community College.

Coconino Community College: Education that works for you.

A quick word from the President

We are starting the academic year at Coconino Community College with grateful hearts and with excitement for so many reasons. On that list are two developments I’d like to share.

First, a bittersweet moment as we bid farewell to longtime CCC employee, supporter and District Governing Board member Lloyd Hammonds, and enthusiastically welcome Joseph Smith, who will be stepping into Lloyd’s DGB seat for District 5.

Second, our new Vision, Mission, Values, and Guiding Principles designed to convey our passion for learning, focus our purpose, and strengthen the College, were approved by the District Governing Board on August 21, 2019. The new statements are a culmination of the many wonderful ideas and thoughtful input shared over the past year from our internal college community (including students, faculty, and staff), as well as many external friends of the college. This process has led to clear communication of who we are and how we will serve Coconino County going forward.

I invite you to come join us over the next year to meet Joseph, and as we develop our new strategic plan, “Coconino Community College: Strength in Numbers 2020-2025.” We are counting on you as you continue to support “your” Community College along the path to an even brighter future!

CCC is a great place to be. Onward! Náás! Adelante!

Colleen Smith

Smith replaces Hammonds on CCC

District Governing Board

Joseph “Joey” Smith will serve the Page, Tuba City, Fredonia areas of Coconino County

The Coconino Community College District Governing Board has a new member from the Page area.

During a small ceremony at the CCC campus in Page, Joseph “Joey” Smith was handed the duties of DGB member by his predecessor, Lloyd Hammonds.

“It’s an honor to serve the residents of northern Arizona as a District Governing Board member,” Smith said. “I look forward to helping strengthen the educational excellence CCC has long been known for.”

Smith, a member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation in Camp Verde, was born in Flagstaff and raised in Page. Smith began his college education in the community college system at Mesa Community College and received undergraduate degrees in psychology and criminal justice from Arizona State University. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Bronwyn Smith, who is a member of the Navajo Nation and grew up in Page. She works as a pharmacist at the hospital in Tuba City. Smith is a member of the management team at Antelope Point Marina in Page. Previously, he served on the CCC Foundation as a board member.

Coconino Community College District Governing Board Member Lloyd Hammonds (left) passed his job duties to Page resident Joseph Smith (right) during a small ceremony at CCC in Page.

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A tour of the CCC campuses

Coconino Community College has two campuses in Flagstaff and one in Page to serve students interested in transferring to university, job training, or lifelong learning.For more videos of students, programs and more at CCC, visit our YouTube channel.

Couple receives CCC’s

Distinguished Service Award for 2019

Gail Lowe (left) and Norm Lowe (right) receive the CCC Distinguished Service Award recognition from District Governing Board Chair Patricia Garcia.

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Norm and Gail Lowe recognized for longtime support of CCC mission

Flagstaff couple Gail and Norm Lowe have been selected as the 2019 recipients of the prestigious Distinguished Service Award at Coconino Community College.

The Lowes were selected for their outstanding contributions to the mission of CCC.

“Gail and Norm exemplify the term ‘CCC Champions,’” said President Colleen A. Smith, PhD. “They dedicate countless hours to helping take the message of the College to the four corners of Coconino County and beyond and to let people know that, they too, can benefit from their community college – whether they’re interested in transferring to a university, learning a new job skill, or expanding their horizons. I am truly grateful for their amazing service to the college and our students.”

CCC starts new Strategic Plan

Coconino Community College: Strength in Numbers 2020-2025

Coconino Community College is currently developing a new Strategic Plan for 2020-2025.

The CCC District Governing Board has approved new Vision, Mission, Values and Building Principles to use in the planning process for the new plan:

VISION

Shaping the future of Coconino County. Empowering Individuals. Inspiring Communities.

Education with Purpose!

MISSION

Coconino Community College is committed to providing accessible and affordable educational programs that prepare students for the future. Deeply engaged with the communities we serve, we promote student success through a welcoming and inclusive learning environment designed for innovative programming, career and workforce development, university transfer education, and continued life-long learning opportunities.

VALUING PEOPLE: DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Coconino Community College recognizes and respects diversity and the value it brings to our communities. We appreciate and welcome cultures, identities, beliefs, experiences and all that makes us unique. CCC champions and takes action to build an inclusive work and learning environment. We are allies and advocates, navigating a respectful dialogue about our shared humanity.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

These principles guide the way we work and learn together at Coconino Community College through our commitment to:

· Put Students First

· Listen, Learn, and Collaborate

· Act and Respond with Integrity and Resilience

· Communicate with Honesty, Dignity, and Respect

· Demonstrate Exceptional Stewardship of Public Resources

· Continually Strive for Excellence as a Community of Learners

· Provide a Safe Environment that Reinforces Learning and Innovation

CCC students visit Biosphere 2

Students in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program at CCC expand their horizons

A savanna. A desert. A rainforest. An ocean. All within walking distance in the same building?

Five Coconino Community College students, part of an effort to attract minority students into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields, took a field trip to Biosphere 2 near Tucson this summer to get an up-close look into research being done on climate change, agriculture and more.

“It was interesting learning how people were stuck in there trying to create an environment to sustain a life on,” said student Kobe Wilson.

Wilson, who is Navajo, is enrolled in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program at CCC. The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Nevada Las Vegas a five-year $4.6 million LSAMP grant. With the grant, UNLV, in turn, is funding a project called the Southern Nevada Northern Arizona (SNNA) LSAMP, which is an alliance of UNLV, Northern Arizona University, College of Southern Nevada and CCC.

Five students in the CCC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program took a trip recently to Biosphere 2 to learn more about research opportunities available in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.

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Page CCC student receives five scholarships

Lacey Nez has sights set on working in the law enforcement field as a forensic psychologist

Page resident and CCC student Lacey Nez knew she wanted to go into a law enforcement career after a field trip to the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy in Phoenix.

“Growing up was a very tough environment for me,” she said, adding that her young life was “difficult.” At the academy, she listened to an officer explain the opportunities to becoming an officer and it became apparent she wanted to make a difference to people around her.

“It really changed the way I thought about law enforcement, because I met some really great people there,” Nez said.

A mother of three, Nez is well on her way to her goal of being a forensic psychologist, and she has five scholarships this year to help her reach her goal. She received the following: CCC District Governing Board Scholarship; Antelope Point Marina Scholarship, CCC Foundation Scholarship, SRP Navajo Scrubber Scholarship, and the Raymond Educational Foundation Scholarship.

Page resident Lacey Nez is a CCC2NAU student studying Administration of Justice.

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CCC student aims for structure firefighting career

Wildland firefighter Derek Sausman, with the help of Chance Couillard scholarship, studies at CCC

Derek Sausman, as a senior crew member wildland firefighter for the Flagstaff Fire Department, worked the lines during the Museum fire that burned just north of the city this summer. His crew fights fires all over the region during fire season.

With a little help from the Chance Couillard Scholarship, he’ll be attending classes this semester at Coconino Community College to attain a Fire Science Degree in the hope of working for a city fire department.

“It’s just one of those things I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid,” Sausman said. “I feel like it’s in my blood to do it.”

His aunt was a firefighter and paramedic, and she had a heavy influence on him. Additionally, his wife, Danielle, who is also a graduate of CCC, worked as a paramedic for Guardian Medical Transport and as a flight paramedic down in the Yuma area.

“Being able to give back to the community you live in is important,” Sausman said. “Flagstaff is my home, and anything I can do to give back, it’s something I’d like to do.”

Derek Sausman is working toward a Fire Science degree at Coconino Community College.

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CCC news around the county

U.S. Representative O’Halleran visits Page

U.S. Representative Tom O’Halleran, D-Flagstaff, center, discusses the fate of the Navajo Generating Station at Page City Hall in August, with Mayor Levi Tappan, right, and Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, left.

O’Halleran proposes bill to lessen blow of NGS closure; helps open Re-Employment Center

PAGE, Ariz. – U.S. Representative Tom O’Halleran spent the day in Page recently to discuss ramifications of the closure of the Navajo Generating Station, and to offer words of encouragement to residents during the opening of the Northern Arizona Regional Re-Employment Center.

At Page City Hall, with Mayor Levi Tappan and Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, O’Halleran proposed submitting a bill to Congress that would help lessen the blow of tax-revenue loss to the various taxing districts NGS supported, including Coconino County, the Page Unified School District and Coconino Community College.

Additionally, O’Halleran offered words of support to the 200 people who attended the opening of the Re-Employment Center at the SRP PERA Club. The center was envisioned with broad support of multiple agencies across the county to help Page area residents get training or find new jobs in the wake of the plant closure.