Laker Nation News

Lake Land College recognizes employees for years of service

Lake Land College recently honored individuals who have retired or reached five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 year anniversaries of service to the college at the Employee and Retiree Recognition Celebration. The college also inducted two individuals into the Retiree Wall of Fame.

“The longevity of the staff honored at the Employee Recognition celebration is a testament to the passion and dedication with which the Lake Land family members carry out their service to students. The excellence demonstrated by Lake Land staff is further reflected in the Wall of Fame inductees’ long-list of personal and professional accomplishments,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said.

Retirees recognized for their service to the college: Sharon Barger, custodian; Victor Breeze, custodian; Tom Caldwell, philosophy/English instructor; Tammy Cantwell, custodian; Margie Conour, custodian; Julie Corning, correctional office assistant; Jackie Jones, executive director for college advancement; Leonard Larson, correctional warehousing instructor; Margaret Merry-Niebrugge, dental hygiene instructor; Kenton Mershon, correctional remedial bridge instructor; Ted Miller, custodian; Bill Slankard, correctional construction occupations instructor; Tina Stovall, retired vice president for student services; Bill Warfel, systems programmer/network administrator.

Recognized for 30 years of service: Chris Kramer, director of auxiliary services.

Recognized for 25 years of service: Bryan Burrell, academic counselor; Kay Foreman, physical therapist assistant instructor, and Jon Van Dyke, dean of admissions services.

Recognized for 20 years of service: Kelly Allee, director of marketing and public relations; Jodi Birdwell, art instructor; Angela Davison, IT instructor/ program coordinator IT-programming; Becky Earp, administrative assistant for the vice president for academic services; Michelle Gill, accounting assistant II- account payable; Matt Greider, history instructor; Eric Hamilton, institutional equipment technician II, Jonathon Lebold, business instructor; Brian Lynch, economics instructor; Cathy Montgomery, administrative assistant to agriculture and technology; Robert Newell, English instructor, Shane Rogers, political science instructor, and Brenda Venatta, program analyst.

Recognized for 15 years of service: Sue Nugent, online support & instructional technology specialist; Tamara Pearcy, tutor; Randy Strohl, technical training specialist; Nicole Zeller, nursing instructor.

Recognized for 10 years of service: Judy Bennett, developmental reading and writing instructor/coordinator; Kathleen Daugherty, business instructor /program coordinator office professional medical; Lisa Dittamore, administrative assistant to allied health-dental; Amy Duckett, cosmetology instructor; John Gentry, power plant mechanic instructor/ coordinator; Matt Gillenwater, web programmer; Jennifer Melton, academic counselor; Chris Miller, financial aid representative; Jane Plummer, administrative assistant to the dean of admissions services, George Price, correctional custodial maintenance instructor; Jimme Shoot, groundskeeper; Sheila Wilson, allied health dental clinic instructor; Shelly ZuHone, academic services specialist for the dean of guided pathways.

Recognized for five years of service: Christa Borries, human service clinical supervisor; Braddi Browning, academic service specialist; Peggy Campbell, print shop technician assistant; Faith Donaldson, student services specialist III-admissions; Robert Eifert, associate dean of correctional programs; Andy Gaines, academic counselor/coordinator student accommodations; Harvey Groennert, associate dean of correctional programs; Jean Anne Grunloh, senior executive to the president; Malea Harney, associate dean of correctional programs, Elizabeth Harrington, associate to dean of corrections; Pam Hartke, admissions representatives; Bill Jackson, director of athletics/ head baseball coach; Jackie Joines, executive director for college advancement; Douglas Lauwers, custodian; Tony Logue, WIOA operations coordinator; Edward Malooley, commercial driver training instructor-marshall; Kristine Marler, cosmetology clinical instructor; Claire Miller, chemistry instructor; Alan Mortensen, associate dean of correctional programs; James Munger, IT instructor/program coordinator IT-web technology; Nic Nelson, director of fitness center/head softball coach; Amber Niebrugge, director TRIO student support services; Kevin Pierce, WIOA services representative; Woody Reinhart, ag power technology instructor; Bri Roberts, administrative assistant to field house operations; Gerry Schlechte, director of workforce investment; Zach Stuart, fitness center specialist; Aaron Tardy, audio visual technician; Catherine Tillman, library circulation assistant; Wayne White, bookstore computer services specialist; Michelle Zumbahlen, academic services specialist dual credit.

Lake Land also inducted two retirees to the Wall of Fame. Located in the Robert K. Luther Student Center, the Wall of Fame recognizes certain retirees for their hard work and outstanding contributions to the college. The 2019 inductees honored were Larry Larvick, retired vice president for student services/dean of student development, and Rick Gresens, retired director of ISS/business instructor.

In addition to this year’s program, the annual Shine Award was presented to one employee. The Shine Award is designed to recognize college employees or teams who display the college’s values – communication, caring, innovation, excellence and team ship. To receive a Shine Award, employees must be nominated by a co-worker who must describe why the employee is deserving of the Shine Award. The Shine Selection Committee then reviews the applications and selects the winners to be honored.

This year’s recipient was Nic Nelson, director of the fitness center and the head softball coach. Additional Shine nominees were Audrey Huffmaster, marketing production specialist and Alan Mortensen, associate dean of correctional programs.

To learn more about Lake Land College, visit lakelandcollege.edu.

Summer is right around the corner. Make your child’s summer one to remember with some educational fun at Lake Land College’s Summer College for Youth program.

Summer College for Youth is now offered in Mattoon, Effingham and Teutopolis throughout the months of June, July and August.

Black Rocket courses include 3D game design, basic coding language, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Star Wars animation. In these classes, students will work in pairs or teams. All student-created projects will be available on a password-protected Black Rocket website for students to share with their family and friends.

The dates for Black Rocket courses are as follows:

• Make Your First 3D Video Game, June 3–6
• Battle Royale: Make Your First Fortnite Style Video Game, June 10–13
• Minecraft Animators, June 24–27
• ROBLOX Makers, July 8–11
• eSports Apprentice: YouTube Streamers and Gamers, July 15–18
• Minecraft Modders, July 22–25
• Code Explorers, July 29–Aug. 1
• Star Wars Stop Animation, July 29–Aug. 1 and Aug. 5–8

All Black Rocket courses will be held on campus in Mattoon, Webb Hall, room 109.

Sciensational Workshop courses range from planet exploration to body-extension robotics. The dates for Sciensational Workshop courses are as follows:

• Mission to Mars, June 3–6
• Harry Potter: Join Our Magical Mystery Tour, June 10–13
• Robotic Arm Science, June 24–27
• CSI – Crime Scene Investigation, July 8–11
• Can You Dig It? – Fossil Hunt, July 22–25

All Sciensational Workshop courses will be held at the Kluthe Center in Effingham, room 128.

Little House on the Prairie, based on the rugged world of Laura Ingalls Wilder, will be held June 24–27 in Mattoon and Effingham. During this course, students will learn how to make butter, bread and yarn dolls.

All children are invited to Camp Invention, a program offered through a partnership with the National Inventors Hall of Fame. This non-profit organization is dedicated to piquing curiosity and advancing the future of innovation and STEM. Program activities are led by experienced, local educators and inspired by the world-changing inventors that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Opportunities are available for students entering kindergarten through high school.

Camp Invention will be held at Lake Land College in Mattoon, June 17–20 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Camp Invention will take place at the Teutopolis Grade School, July 15–18 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

To register for Black Rocket, Sciensational, or Little House on the Prairie, visit lakelandcollege.edu/learn and select “Summer College for Youth.”

To register for Camp Invention, visit campinvention.org and click on “Register for Camp Invention!” in the top right corner.

For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support, at 217-234-5087 or jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.

Lake Land College presented Heartland Dental with the 2019 Business Partnership Award at the April board of trustees meeting. Craig Kabbes, executive vice president, technology and patient marketing at Heartland Dental, accepted the award.

Heartland Dental is the nation’s largest dental support organization providing non-clinical administrative support services to 1,400 supported dentists in more than 900 dental offices across 37 states.

“Heartland Dental has been an invaluable industry partner and Laker Alumni supporter. Lake Land College looks forward to new collaborations on the horizon,” Lake Land College Board of Trustees Chair Dave Storm said.

Heartland Dental recently provided the Lake Land College Foundation with a generous gift of $850,000 worth of new dental units, chairs, advanced equipment and an enhancement lab for students.

“Due to the financial support of Heartland Dental, the college purchased computers and documentation software for every workstation in the clinic,” Division Chair Allied Health/Nursing Instructor Karla Hardiek said.

The enhancement lab allows students to work one-on-one with instructors for extra practice helping students increase confidence with lab equipment. After working one-on-one with an instructor, students have expressed more confidence in their skills during hygiene clinics.

Heartland Dental is dedicated to the continuing education of dental hygienists in the local community. In addition to being a clinical location for dental hygiene students, Heartland Dental also provides internship opportunities for the business division, professional development opportunities and mentoring opportunities through the Alumni Association, as well as consistently hiring Lake Land College graduates.

“We are honored by this nomination and greatly appreciate the relationship we have with Lake Land College and we look forward to continued partnership,” Patrick C. Bauer, president and CEO of Heartland Dental, said.

For more information about the Heartland Dental Dental Hygiene Lab and the dental hygiene program at Lake Land College, visit lakelandcollege.edu/dental-hygiene.

Potential students interested in pursuing a career in the medical field are welcome to explore career options at the Health CareeRX college fair on Monday, April 29 from 6:30-8 p.m. at Lake Land College, Neal Hall.

Area health care professionals from several colleges and businesses will discuss their health career programs and hiring practices. Tours of the Lake Land College nursing lab will also be provided.

Colleges currently scheduled to attend include Danville Area Community College, Eastern Illinois University, Eureka College, Indiana State University, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, Iowa Wesleyan, Lake Land College, Lakeview College of Nursing, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale – School of Medicine, University of Illinois Springfield, Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville – School of Pharmacy. More colleges and universities are anticipated to attend.

The college fair is coordinated through the Health CareeRX Club partnership. Health CareeRX is a student club organized for high school students interested in pursuing a career in health care, which is supported by the Area Health Education Centers organization, Carle Foundation Hospital, Sara Bush Lincoln Hospital, Eastern Illinois Education for Employment Systems, Eastern Illinois University, Lake Land College and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

All interested high school and college students, parents and general public are welcome to attend. Pizza and drinks will be provided.

For more information email CareeRX at healthcareerx@gmail.com.

The East Central Harmony Chorus, local chapter of Sweet Adelines International, is set to take the Lake Land College Theater stage Thursday, April 18 beginning at 7 p.m.

Barbershop harmony, a style of a cappella, will be showcasing a 20 minute program featuring a variety of songs. Following the performance, all audience members are encouraged to stay and learn a selected barbershop song and harmonize with the chorus.

“Each song will be a surprise to the audience. We are really looking forward to doing this show,” Becky McDuffee, musical director, said.

Sweet Adelines is an international organization of women singers dedicated to the education and performance of the barbershop harmony musical art form. As one of the largest singing organizations for women, Sweet Adelines is made up of more than 20,000 members that span five continents.

For more information contact McDuffee at 217-714-4520 or becky.mcduffee@gmail.com.

Area archaeologist Dr. B. Jacob Skousen is set to present A Walk Through the Pre-Columbian History of Southeastern Illinois on Thursday, April 25 from 7-9 p.m. at the Lake Land College Theater.

“We know relatively little about the distant past in southeastern Illinois. The limited available archaeological evidence indicates that this region was inhabited for the last 10,000 years and has a dynamic and complex history,” Skousen said.

Skousen will discuss the results of his current research at the Otter Pond site, located along the Embarras River which dates to roughly 1100 to 1500 C.E. This site was the largest town in the region and may have been built to mimic the city of Cahokia, located nearly 150 miles away.

The public is welcome to attend the free event.

For more information contact Skousen at bskousen@illinois.edu.

Lake Land College is offering a Painting with Oils or Acrylics class at the Kluthe Center in Effingham. The six-session class will be on Wednesdays beginning April 24 through May and will meet from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The class will be taught by Vera Keplar who has a master’s degree in art from Eastern Illinois University and has taught art at K-12 and adult level for many years. In addition, Vera has been a judge for several art competitions.

Beginner and experienced artists are all welcome to attend. Students will paint on canvas using oil or acrylic paints and will be able to choose their own subject matter. Students will need to bring their own paint supplies. The supply list includes: basic colors of oil or acrylic tubes of paint, variety of sizes of oil or acrylic paint brushes and 16” x 20” minimum size canvas panels or stretch panels. The cost is $40 for the class.

To register, go to https://www.lakelandcollege.edu/learn. Drop date for a refund is five business days prior to the class. For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.

The Lake Land College Medical Assistant Program is expanding to the Kluthe Center in Effingham where classes will be available in a hybrid format.

A hybrid format class is designed with the typical busy student in mind as classes are offered online with labs held only one night each week.

“We are excited to offer hybrid classes at the Kluthe Center because approximately half of our current students are from the Effingham area,” said Medical Assistant Instructor Molly Yeske.

Medical Assistant is a special admission program that trains students in both administrative and clinical duties in health care settings. Administrative duties of the medical assistant may include assistance with office procedures, scheduling and billing and clinical duties may include patient care, phlebotomy and injections. The Medical Assistant program is available as a two-year associate in applied science degree or one-year certificate program.

Lake Land College is preparing students well with a near perfect employment rate upon graduation. Yeske stated, “Nearly 100 percent of Medical Assistant students at Lake Land College were employed within one month of graduation.”

For more information about the Medical Assistant program and registration for classes visit lakelandcollege.edu/high-demand-programs/medical-assistant or contact Yeske at 217-234-5055 or myeske@lakelandcolleg.edu.

Lake Land College instructor Marcy Satterwhite, Urbana, recently received the 2019 Teacher of the Year Award from the Eastern Illinois Business Education Association (EIBEA) during the organization’s spring meeting held on campus.

EIBEA represents and promotes business education throughout the eastern Illinois area. The main objective of EIBEA is to plan, develop and sustain programs for business education professionals and students through meetings, discussions and conferences.

Cindy Phipps, business instructor/program coordinator accounting, said in her nomination, “Marcy is always striving to stay current in her area, graphic design, as well as business education in general. She is very supportive of high school business education, recognizing how important getting a head start in high school is to the future of business education.”

Satterwhite, business instructor/program coordinator/desktop publishing/graphic design instructor, has devoted more than 20 years to EIBEA and has held the position of EIBEA president since 2013. Her commitment to business education is clear as she continuously contributes to opportunities for meetings and meaningful professional development activities for business educators in the eastern Illinois area.

Prior to serving as EIBEA president, Satterwhite served as EIBEA vice president and as an EIBEA representative to the Illinois Business Education Association (IBEA) board for several years. She is also one of the biggest promotors of the IBEA fall conference.

For more information about the Lake Land College Business Division, visit lakelandcollege.edu/academic-divisions/business-division.

Lake Land College Center for Business & Industry is offering a 50-hour Pharmacy Technician course on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning June 11, from 6-9:30 p.m. The course will prepare students to work as a pharmacy technician in a retail or other pharmacy setting and to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s PTCB exam.  

Through classroom lecture and hands-on labs, students will review dosage calculations, drug classifications, the “top 200 drugs”, I.V. flow rates, sterile compounding, dose conversions, aseptic technique, the handling of sterile products, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), dispensing of prescriptions, inventory control and billing and reimbursement.

Class will be held at Lake Land College, 5001 Lake Land Blvd. at the Northeast Building, room 113. The cost is $1,399. Textbooks are included.

Register at lakelandcollege.edu/learn.

For more information, contact Jackie Wake, professional development support, at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.