Professor to debut documentary about students helping Nicaragua community

Caption: Professor Ed Taylor, whose hand can be seen holding his camera on the far right, will premiere a documentary about TCC students in Nicaragua on Aug. 2. 

A 40-minute documentary that follows Dental Hygiene and Nursing students on their recent service learning trip to Nicaragua will premier next week. The premier showing of "TCC in Nicaragua....An Excellent Adventure" is 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2 in the Event Space in the Center for Creativity on TCC's Metro Campus.

If you are thinking about taking a class that requires a service learning component, thinking about ways to volunteer, or thinking about taking a study abroad class, this is a great opportunity to hear directly from students.

For more information about any of these subjects, visit http://www.tulsacc.edu/

Want to quickly figure your summer grade? Here's a website to help

After making a not-so-wonderful grade on my mid-term, I decided I needed to figure out what my current grade is in my summer class. I'm not a whiz at math, and so I googled to find a website that would figure my letter grade for me quickly. Sure, I could have done it myself if I wanted to invest some time, but I wanted to figure it out fast so math.com was my answer.
All you have to do is enter the number of points you received and the number of points possible. Then, the calculator figures the percentage. Obviously, you can see from that percentage if it is an A (90 & above), B (80 & above), C (70 & above), etc.

The website gives you a couple of different options of figuring your grade. I used the second one, BTW. Good luck with the rest of your semester!

Chronicle: Ex-offenders less likely to return to crime if educated

Why should we care about educating incarcerated offenders? Because one of these days they are going to be released, and research shows they are less likely to re-enter the prison system if they get an education. This article published today in The Chronicle of Higher Education explains: Ex-offenders prepare for work, and life, at community colleges.

Note: TCC has a Corrections Education Program in which incarcerated offenders can take TCC classes in their correctional facilities. Since many of them don't have money or families to pay for tuition, TCC has established the Second Chance Scholarship to provide funds so that they can take classes. Learn how you can help here: Give someone a second chance

Save time & money by taking TCC 1st Class (for free)

TCC students share information about TCC with first-time students last year at 1st Class.

Are you attending TCC for the first time this fall? Or would you like to get some personalized guidance in navigating through TCC? Then I suggest attending TCC's 1st Class. This is a non-credit class that takes an hour and a half, but it will save you many, many hours of frustration by introducing you to all things TCC. You'll learn how to get the most from your TCC advisor, important details about financial aid, how to enroll using TED, how to use the MyTCC Plan for Success and a lot more. Plus, you will get a planner to take with you that has all this information in it. The planner also has a "College Terminology" mini-dictionary, that explains things like "academic suspension," "credit hour" and "open-door institution."

For a complete schedule, visit http://www.tulsacc.edu/orientation. 

Stats:

• 94 percent of students who attended 1st Class in summer 2011 successfully completed the fall semester 2011
• 81 percent of students who attended 1st Class in summer 2011 enrolled in the spring semester 2012
• Students reported increased knowledge and understanding of TCC processes by attending 1st Class in summer 2011

You can be in pictures!

Hi, everyone. I will be out on campuses taking photos in the next few days. If you see two men and a woman roaming on campus with a ginormous camera, that's us! Come say "hi" and we might just take your photo and put it on the TCC website. :)

West Campus: June 7 (tomorrow)
Southeast Campus: June 11 (Monday)
Northeast Campus: June 12 (Tuesday)
Metro Campus: June 14 (Thursday)

And if you have a TCC T-shirt, wear it! I would love to get photos of students sporting some of the cute TCC shirts they have in the campus bookstores.

Speaking of Second Chances.........

Since joining the College in 2005, I've had the pleasure to hear some pretty famous people speak at TCC: Bill Nye The Science Guy, Gloria Steinem and Temple Grandin. And this summer the list grows with the addition of someone who is famous for being infamous: Frank Abagnale. The author of the best-selling book "Catch Me If You Can" will speak at a fundraiser dinner for TCC's  Corrections Education Program on July 25.

If you haven't read the book, maybe you saw the movie "Catch Me If You Can," which was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Anywho, if you've ever wanted to meet the man who successfully conned companies out of millions of dollars before his 19th birthday, this is your chance.

BTW, Abagnale paid for his crimes by serving time and working for the FBI.

http://www.tulsacc.edu/secondchance

TCC team runs in OKC Bombing Memorial Marathon

TCC team members hung their medal on the chair that bears Rigney's name at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, along with their team number tags.

Even after all these years, thinking about April 19, 1995 gives me chills. I recently heard that a group of TCC faculty and staff have been running in the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Marathon for the past three years to honor a TCC graduate who died in the tragedy: Trudy Rigney. To read more about this story, click here.