Campus

MCC Improving Student Success with Navigators and One-Stop-Shop

As part of its re-accreditation process earlier in the year, MCC has begun the exciting journey of implementing its Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) which addresses the student onboarding process. MCC’s QEP efforts involve the creation of both “Success Navigators” and a one-stop-shop for new students called The LEGEND Center. PHOTO: MCC Success Navigators Tee Bowden, Jessica Hurley and Daniel Hatley Success Navigators Higher education research and best practices have shown that new students benefit greatly from the help of a dedicated staff member to guide them through the onboarding process. These “Success Navigators” are a vital component of MCC’s QEP, with students experiencing a seamless onboarding experience through focused assistance.

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MCC Completes Signage Project

Over the last five years, MCC has pursued significant facility improvements and reorganization to its campus, ushering in new greenhouses, an amphitheater and extensive rehabilitations of both Blair and Capel Halls. Because of these ongoing projects, campus directional signage became out-of-date, with paper signs filling in the gaps while areas underwent renovation. This fall, the college revealed fresh and accurate campus signage to help students and guests navigate the institution. The signage project started in summer 2023, lasting one year. The classroom buildings now feature prominent exterior signage, with other directional signs sprinkled throughout campus to help people plan their route. Interior signage is also complete with each classroom and

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Associate with bees, please.

Now that most of us have cleaned away the yellow tree pollen that plagues North Carolinians during the month of April each year, it seems to be a good time to learn about another kind of pollination which is happening all around us during the summer months, thanks to many busy insects and animals such as wasps, moths, butterflies, birds, bats and, yes, more than 3,500 species of bees. PHOTO: Nancy Ruppert, retired NC Apiary Inspector, shown outside at MCC’s Apiary teaching MCC students about bees. A quick review of pollination and its importance to plant reproduction: Pollen from a flower’s anthers (the male part of the plant) rubs or

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MCC Cuts Ribbon at Greenhouse Site

MCC recently celebrated the establishment of a new greenhouse complex with a ribbon cutting ceremony. College trustees, students, faculty and community members were on hand to commemorate the completion of the two-year project. The complex includes an environmentally-controlled A-frame greenhouse along with a ventilated cold-frame structure, housing several hydroponic systems, including a 650-gallon aquaponics demonstration unit. In 2020, MCC received $375,000 in funding support from the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive half of North Carolina’s funds from the master settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers. The funds are part of the foundation’s Community-Based Grants Initiative, targeting investments in the building blocks of economic growth: agriculture,

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MCC Unveils New Hi-Tech Zones for Students

The Library at Montgomery Community College is the site for two new technology-laden learning areas for students. The large I.D.E.A.S. (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Access, Services) Room is outfitted for collaboration and creativity with white board tables for group projects. A Clear Touch smart board with computer and camera is ideal for virtual meetings, presentations and other scenarios where students need reliable technology in a professional setting. Next door, the smaller Success Studio is a communications haven with high quality cameras, sophisticated lighting, multiple backgrounds and video conferencing apps such as Webex, Zoom, WhatsApp, Skype, Microsoft Teams and more. Students are using this location to conduct interviews, record presentations and practice

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MCC Celebrates Manufacturing Day

After a year off due to COVID, MCC was thrilled to welcome area companies back to campus to celebrate Manufacturing Day 2021. Six businesses and two providers were on hand to meet with hundreds of MCHS and MCC students to promote the exciting careers awaiting them right here in Montgomery County. Autumn Care of Biscoe, Carolina Aseptic, Jordan Lumber Company, McRae Industries, Mohawk Industries and Troy Lumber Company joined Apprenticeship Montgomery and NCWorks set up booths beneath a large white tent, meeting students MCHS juniors and seniors throughout the day on October 28th. Discussions focused on open positions, employee benefits, company culture, generous pay, flexible schedules and career growth. Freshmen

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MCC Seeing Growth in Sustainable Ag Program

In January of 2020 Montgomery Community College launched its Sustainable Agriculture program in the new Joseph Reese Blair Career and Technical Education Center, just two months prior to the College moving to fully-online instruction due to COVID-19. As with many programs housed in that facility, student experience was diminished due to the lack of hands-on activities. Today, the CTE Building, as it is known, is open and humming with student activity once again. The Sustainable Agriculture program is enjoying a rebirth of sorts, with new facilities, new activities and even a new instructor. Kim Morris Johnson, a Montgomery County native, is the current instructor for the program. Johnson has a

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With Renovations Complete, MCC Welcomes New Academic Program

Improvements to “Building 500” on the Montgomery Community College Campus are finished, heralding the arrival of the College’s newest academic program, a Public Safety Administration degree. Public safety administration is the study of disaster relief, response, preparedness and recovery. The Public Safety Administration program will be offered at the degree, diploma and certificate level. Department of Public Safety employees who complete initial and continuing education training at MCC (1,000 students annually) will earn college credit through the program. “This new program is truly flexible,” explains Andrew Gardener, Dean of the Department of Continuing Education at MCC. “Our Department of Public Safety students can earn a degree, and there is also

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MCC Forestry Program Gears Up for Growth

The Forestry Management Technology program at Montgomery Community College is expanding capacity with new facilities and capabilities. Just north of the forestry building on the west side of the MCC Campus sits a brand new equipment storage facility. The ten-bay, open-air shed measures a whopping 30 feet deep and 170 feet in length, secured by a well-lit gate and fence with security cameras and alarm. The facility is home to the College’s fire truck, tank sprayer, bulldozer, tractor, four-wheelers and other large equipment used in the day-to-day maintenance of the wooded campus. The MCC Forestry Program staff and students are responsible for the maintenance of all wooded areas of campus,

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An Accidental Beekeeper

In the summer of 2007, Shirley Harris noticed her cucumbers were growing really well. She and husband Tony had always grown some for eating and pickling, but this particular season the vines were producing more cucumbers of exceptional quality than ever before. “It had very little to do with our gardening capabilities,” Shirley now admits. “Our neighbor installed a new heating system, and a wooden box ended up in their side yard, and in the process, a swarm of honeybees moved in.” At the time, Tony and Shirley weren’t sure they wanted the bees around, so they called a local beekeeper who came to have a look. “The bees were

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