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Who knew there was a deeper meaning?

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In my first college-level literature class, I was dumbfounded when the professor assigned a five-page paper on the symbolism in Dickens’ Great Expectations. Never before had I entertained the possibility that there was more than one way to “read” a work of fiction, so how was I supposed to write about my “interpretation” of it? I would have gladly traded my own wedding dress (it’s a Great Expectations thing) for a Reading and Writing Studio back then.

Fortunately for you, Macomb has two Reading and Writing Studios: J-305 on Center Campus and C-105 on South Campus. And their consultants can help you increase reading comprehension and confidence, organize and develop ideas, refine sentence and paragraph structure and, interpret assignment expectations.  Is there a hidden meaning there?

Both individual and group sessions are available and some services are also offered online. Go to Reading and Writing Studios to learn more.

I expect you will have a great experience, unlike Dickens’ Miss Havisham on her wedding day.

Take a breather and regroup for round two

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It’s almost spring break and you are probably more than ready for it!   But if a week off isn’t going to be enough to raise your spirits (or your grades), remember Macomb offers free resources to help you knock out the second half of the semester.

  • Learning Centers: Located in the South and Center Campus libraries offer tutoring in math, science, foreign language and more.
  • Reading and Writing Studios: Adjacent to the Learning Centers – its consultants can help you ace your reading and writing assignments.
  • Student Options for Success (SOS): Can connect you with a variety of community resources and assistance to help you financially.
  • Counseling and Academic Advising: They will keep you on track toward your degree or other educational goal.
  • Veteran and Military Services: An office dedicated to the needs of Macomb’s military population.
  • African American Male Excellence Society: Mentoring for African American male students. Contact: muwongec41@macomb.edu.

You can do it and we can help!

 

Beach reads are the best!

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I remember one summer reading John Dos Passos on the beach for a graduate-level English class, the words sinking as deeply into my brain as the sun into my skin. Ahhh.  What’s not to love about a sweet breeze of ideas on a sultry afternoon?  And there is no better time to plan for taking summer classes at Macomb than February.

This week, you can start checking for spring/summer sections on the My Macomb Self Service menu. Load one or two into your shopping cart after March 20, and be ready to register April 17-24.

And if you’re not sure about Dos Passos, rest assured your summer class(es) will be over in eight weeks or less, giving you plenty of time to catch up on some Guitar World or chick-lit down by the seashore.

Macomb faculty have stories to tell

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When I was in college, I couldn’t wait to get to some of my classes. I wanted to hear more about the digs my archaeology professor had been on in Europe and Africa, the stories my journalism professor reported on when she worked at the Free Press and the year my American literature professor spent in Paris, following in the footsteps of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

I hope it’s the same for you. Professors who infuse their teaching with their own passion for life make any subject interesting.  And I happen to know that there are more than a few here at Macomb who do that everyday.

Here’s your chance to read behind-the-scenes stories about the comparative religions instructor who studied in India, the MACA professor who won two ADDYs (and rides a Harley) and the humanities instructor who worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art while waiting tables in New York.

Meet our Faculty and discover what interesting experiences they are bringing to their classrooms. It may make you WANT to take that humanities course after all!

http://ourfaculty.macomb.edu

 

Nothing pretty about human trafficking

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More than 17,000 individuals are illegally trafficked into the U.S. each year, mostly women forced into the sex trade.   But there are untold numbers of Michigan teens also being swept into this modern-day form of slavery, with the Internet providing a huge assist.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center received 700 phone calls from Michigan in 2015, resulting in 152 cases against human traffickers.  That was the year Laura Swanson graduated from MSU and began working on her film, Break the Chain, chronicling human trafficking in Michigan.

Thanks to Student Life and Leadership, you have two chances to see the film this month and one chance to talk about it with Swanson, the film’s producer and director.  Either way, educating yourself about human trafficking is the best thing you can do to help stop it.

Tuesday, Jan. 24: Human Trafficking Awareness Event: Break the Chain film viewing, preceded by a discussion with its producer, Laura Swanson, noon to 2:30 p.m., Skylight Café, P-Building.

Wednesday, Jan. 25: Human Trafficking Awareness Event: Break the Chain film viewing, preceded by a speaker from The Alabaster Gift,  a local organization dedicated to helping victims of human trafficking, 11 a.m.to 2 p.m., K301, South Campus.

Attendance at either event can earn you credit toward a cultural competency credit through Macomb Multicultural International Initiatives: http://www.macomb.edu/future-students/campus-life/MMII/cultural-competency-certificate.html.

Only two more months till Spring Break!

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Hey Macomb students: welcome to the winter semester! Whether you’re new to our campuses or are returning for your second, third or whatever semester, we are so glad to have you here!

And in case you didn’t know or forgot, Macomb offers you a variety of free resources to help you succeed:

Stay tuned to this blog for more news you can use. And if none of this has chased away your Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) blues, just remember spring break is just two months away. I’m thinking Cancun or Cabo, how about you?

sun

London is calling

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Looking for something a little more sophisticated for your next spring break? From what I’ve seen, London is lovely in March.

There’s Big Ben, Tower of London and Westminster and St. Paul’s cathedrals. There are pubs and parks and Abbey Road, where you will find the most famous zebra crossing in the world.  There is even a nighttime Jack the Ripper tour that will shame your local haunted house.  And as a special treat for all you English majors, Charles Dickens’ house is right around the corner from your hotel.

The trip is led by Phil Barrons, retired humanities professor, and a payment plan is now available through the Cashier’s Office. Contact pbarrons@yahoo.com for more information.

And take it from me, Portobello Road, with its brightly-hued shops and the world’s largest antiques market, is not to be missed.

Digital defenders are the new superheroes

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It’s cloaked in the name Information Technology – Networking Specialist Program, but its no secret that it could make you in more demand than a superhero.

Macomb’s Information Technology – Networking Specialist Program (Cybersecurity) Program can build upon the programming or gaming skills you already have.  You will learn how to defend an organization from hackers, computer viruses or cyber attacks, while preparing to become one of the most sought-after experts in information technology.

“With a background in military security, I knew cybersecurity was, without question, the way to go,” says Don DeVolder, an Army veteran currently interning as a systems coordinator with the Department of Defense and preparing to transfer to Eastern Michigan University. “The classroom and online/hybrid courses at Macomb have been a perfect fit for me to not only learn, but to quickly apply those skills elsewhere.”

In addition to Eastern and Walsh College, a Department of Homeland Security-designated Center of Academic Excellence, credits earned in the program also transfer to many other colleges and universities in Michigan.

Take the first step to becoming a digital defender – go to http://www.macomb.edu/future-students/choose-program/information-technology-networking-specialist-network-security-professonial/index.html now!

Happy Fall Semester!

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Consider all the reasons you have to smile as you head back to campus:

Welcome Back events: Aug. 22-23, with free food, giveaways, vendors and the chance to win a Kindle or Amazon Fire TV Stick, South K Building Patio and the Center P Building Quad, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Libraries: Resources for all your research needs, helpful librarians and The Mug for COFFEE!

Reading and Writing Studios: Consult with these pros and watch the words flow.

Learning Centers: These tutors have been known to reduce stress and promote healthy attitudes.

The Hub and Skylight Café: Let’s do lunch!


Student clubs and activities to keep things interesting: Pokemon Go anyone?

Mama Mia! at the Macomb Center Oct. 11 -13: Ticket discounts for Macomb students!

Fall leaves, apple cider, warm donuts and Halloween. It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

You made it to Thanksgiving break – Nov. 22-26!

Bringing hope and education to Kenyan schoolchildren

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I am always in awe of Rochelle Zaranek, Macomb social work professor, for her tireless efforts on behalf of the disadvantaged. This time, she and two of her former students are spending the next few weeks studying Swahili and packing their suitcases with 900 backpacks and assorted school supplies before heading to Kenya at the end of July.

This brave trio needed six vaccinations and a stash of motion sickness pills before heading to a country where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line and clean drinking water is nearly nonexistent. “But this is something I have always wanted to do,” says the always humble Zaranek. “I know it will be a culturally enriching and beautiful experience.”

Accompanying their former professor on the trip, which is organized by Kensington Community Church, are Ethan Paschall, a doctoral student in psychology at Eastern Michigan University, and Kristine Mannino, a graduate of New York’s LIM (fashion) College and a Big Apple fashionista, no less. With their valuable cargo, much of it donated by Macomb faculty and students, they will visit three schools/orphanages supported by the Pokot Outreach Ministries (POM) that are caring for some 800 children in Kenya’s Pokot region, many of whom have lost one or both parents to disease or violence.

“Their only hope of ever getting out of poverty is through education,” relates Zaranek, who I have had the honor of accompanying on one of the many local service learning projects she takes her students on. “I will be working with social workers to assess the students’ educational needs and when we return, I will be applying for a (Macomb faculty) grant to provide ongoing support.”

Among other things, Zaranek hopes to introduce a peer-to-peer project in which her social work students regularly engage in communications with the six social workers responsible for the three schools/orphanages, located in an arid region of Kenya where drought and famine are commonplace and main roads are rugged at best.

“These social workers don’t have access to many resources,” offers Zaranek, “and my students want to get involved. They want to help.”