Congratulations to Dr. Deanna Blackwell, director, TRIO Student Support Services, who received the Outstanding Commitment in Education award as part of the fifth annual Black History Month Celebration held yesterday. The event honored African Americans from across Illinois who are active leaders in their communities. It was held at the Illinois State Capitol Rotunda and hosted by the Illinois state treasurer. View WAND‘s coverage of the event.

Approximately 350 students from 21 area high schools competed in the 23rd annual regional Academic Challenge on Tuesday at LLCC. Students competed as individuals and as teams (of up to 14 students) testing in their choice of two of these subjects — biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics and physics. View the Academic Challenge regional winners.

During registration and lunch, LLCC hosted exhibits for students to learn about opportunities at the college. Also, thanks to support from the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE), a $1,600 LLCC Foundation scholarship was awarded at the event.

Michael J. Kaiser, VALIC senior financial advisor, will be on campus today, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the VP Conference Room. He will be on site for 30-minute account reviews to help employees understand options and new enrollments. To register go to my.VALIC.com/seminars and enter registration code 2206SPR11AA.

Michael J. Kaiser, VALIC senior financial advisor, will be on campus tomorrow, Feb. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the VP Conference Room. He will be on site for 30-minute account reviews to help employees understand options and new enrollments. To register go to my.VALIC.com/seminars and enter registration code 2206SPR11AA.

Homecoming week has begun! This year’s theme is “Mad About Plaid,” and three offices have decorated their doors for the Homecoming door decorating contest. We ask voters to consider the theme as the main criteria for selecting a winner, but to also consider overall appearance and use of red/blue as well.

Vote for your favorite! Voting will end Thursday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m.

Entries:

Admission, Registration, Records and Financial Aid

Foundation

Nursing

The idea around nursing’s decorated door was born from the concept of how basketball players (and athletes in general) are very much like nurses with regards to drive, discipline and teamwork. Once we did a little research on this concept, we learned that many nursing schools had basketball teams well into the 1970s. We took the opportunity to incorporate this fun fact on our door by including a photo of a basketball team of student nurses from Grace Hospital in Detroit, Mich. in 1924.

Look for an email today with a link to important employee training on harassment and discrimination prevention. This training program is administered online and contains new content not previously included in prior courses offered by LLCC. More details can be found in the memorandum emailed to faculty and staff yesterday.

Bistro Verde will be open during the spring 2019 semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning Tuesday, Feb. 5. It will operate through Thursday, March 7 and again from  Thursday, March 28 through Thursday, April 25 with a full-service dining experience. View the menu.

Reservations are strongly encouraged, and can be made by emailing bistroverde@llcc.edu, calling 786-2821 or stopping by the café during hours of business. Cash and debit or credit cards are accepted.

The café’s dining room is staffed by students from the Dining Room Operations class, and food is prepared by students in the Food Production IV class. Desserts are created by students enrolled in the Advanced Baking and Pastry and Restaurant Desserts classes, while bread is supplied by the Artisan Breads class. Students gain practical hands-on experience and learn about providing diners with high quality food and service to create a memorable dining occasion.

All new or current employees who have not completed Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) training are encouraged to sign up now for the next session on Feb. 8, 2019! Facilitators will be Nicole Ralph and Karen Sanders. Register by calling 524-6749 or emailing cctc@llcc.edu.

Dr. Deanna Blackwell, director, TRIO Student Support Services, was the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration Jan. 21 at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Ill. Her speech was entitled, “Why We Must Become Student-Ready.” She told the audience Dr. King’s legacy continues. “I think immediately to Dr. King’s vision of an inclusive social justice movement. Just as he believed that all persons had a right to decent work with a livable wage, I believe that education from K-12 to a bachelor’s degree should be accessible to all. It’s one reason why I am so proud to work at a community college. Because we strive to be inclusive and make higher education an attainable goal.” She also noted that it is time to debunk the commonly held view that college students are a privileged, pampered class. “In fact, they are among the hardest hit by real world problems such as unemployment/underemployment, securing basic needs such as health care, child care, housing, transportation and food. Increasingly, college students struggle with mental health conditions. Such issues can become obstacles for a student trying to start college, stay in college and complete her or his degree … When we make a way for students from all backgrounds, facing difficult circumstances to earn a college degree, we also make a way for the American Dream to persevere.”

David Jones, VALIC financial advisor, will be on campus tomorrow, Jan. 25 from noon to 3 p.m. in the VP Conference Room. He will be on site for 30-minute account reviews to help employees understand options and new enrollments. To register go to my.VALIC.com/seminars and enter registration code 6303SPR11AB.