December 15, 2014 | SharkAdmin [image 1]Two hundred and seventeen students submitted essays to the Degree Writing Contest this fall, the highest number ever to participate. In spring 2014, there were 61 students. “That’s more than 255 percent growth from last semester,” said Renata Serafin, director of NVC Public Relations. “We are grateful to all the faculty who promoted this initiative in their classrooms and some even offered extra credit,” she added. NVC Public Relations launched the Degree Writing Contest in spring 2011 as a way to promote degree completion, get students to commit to this goal and instill a sense of pride in an associate degree or certificate among students, employees and the community. “We had 79 employees who reviewed these essays, many of whom have been judges every time we have had the contest. They tell us how much they learn from the process,” said Renata. [image 2]New this semester was an electronic system that allowed students to submit essays online. It served as a depository for student information and essays and allowed judges to review the essays quickly and efficiently. “We are grateful to Jerry Schott from IT (now with St. Philip’s), Brandon Morris and several others in IT who made this possible,” Renata added. Another improvement this year was an enhanced matrix designed on the suggestion of Lydia Beaver of the NVC President’s office and Deb Rankin from the NVC Writing Across the Curriculum lab.” Two of the top finalists attended the Bragging Breakfast on Dec. 12 and briefly shared their stories with NVC employees. Each of the students who submitted an essay is receiving a mobile charger. The top prizes went to: Jason Garza earned first place and $500 Sarah Senger earned second place and $300 Tiffany Robles earned third place and $150 Thank you to NVC President Dr. Ric Baser and Lynne Dean, director of NVC Institutional Advancement, for contributing $950 from Alamo Colleges/NVC Fund towards the winning entries. Much appreciation goes out to NVC faculty and staff who reviewed the essays in the Degree Writing Contest. The support came from various areas of the college including English, Math, Sciences, Accounting, Government, Library, President’s Office, Workforce, Community Development, Grants, Recruitment, Graduation, Veterans Affairs, Teaching and Learning Facilitation, Public Relations and many other areas. To view the list, click this link: [file 1].
