Introducing your Lake County staff
By Kelly Nekvinda, director, Columbia College of Missouri-Lake County
Two of our most dedicated staff members are moving into new positions at our Gurnee and Naval Station Great Lakes locations.
Vicki Nichols first began as a Student Support Assistant at our Lake County location. Her dedication and support of our students helped her move forward to an academic advisor position at the Lake County Location last year. As an advisor, she helped many students find their path in pursuit of their passion and interests. In addition to her advising duties, Vicki assisted in preparing the commencement ceremony for our graduates this past August. That event is highly successful due to Vicki’s dedication, diligent planning, and keen attention to detail. We are very fortunate to have Vicki undertake her duties with great enthusiasm and commitment.
In addition, Kelly Nekvinda is moving into the position of Director of the Gurnee and Naval Station Great Lakes locations. Kelly joined Columbia College as an Assistant Director. She has an impressive background in higher education and is a proud advocate of our military. During her time here, she has supported all our staff at Lake County. Events like Honors Night and the Commencement Ceremony wouldn’t have been possible without her. In addition to these accomplishments, Kelly successfully recruited our newest Academic Advisors Sonia Gomez and Michelle Cisneros. It is with her helping hand that Sonia and Michelle completed New Advisor Training. Moving forward, Kelly hopes to bring a new perspective and fresh approaches to the Gurnee and Naval Station Great Lakes Locations.
We are fortunate to have dedicated and exceptional staff members leading the way at our Gurnee and Naval Station Great Lakes Locations. Please help us all in congratulating Vicki and Kelly in their new roles when classes resume in the spring.
Apply for the CCAA Scholarship!
The Columbia College Alumni Association works to build affinity for the college and is dedicated to paying it forward. Now in its seventh year, the CCAA Scholars Program will present multiple $1,000 scholarships to outstanding Columbia College students for the 2020-21 academic year. Completed applications must be received by Friday, March 13. Learn more at https://my.ccis.edu/ccaa-scholars.
Six ways to show off your school spirit without painting your face
by Department of Marketing (go to top)
When you think about school spirit, what comes to mind? Do you picture a group of excited young people dressed in similar colors cheering on a sports team? A college pennant hanging on the wall? A school mascot, perhaps?
At Columbia College, we broaden what it means to have school spirit. Here, it’s all about taking pride in the fact you’re part of a nationwide learning community 20,000 students strong. It’s about stepping out and being bold on your journey toward knowledge. It’s about knowing you’ll soon be part of the 91,000-plus alumni around the globe who have benefited from a Columbia College education.
Most of our students are adults juggling school with work and family life. So while you’re always welcome, we don’t expect you to drop everything and show up at a sporting event at our main campus in Columbia, Missouri.
But there are plenty of other meaningful ways you can show off your school spirit. Here are a few:
- Share your lessons. Don’t be afraid to talk to co-workers about what you’re studying in class. You’re becoming an expert in your chosen field; let others benefit from your knowledge! Employers will likely take note when you apply your education to a project or problem.
- Be an inspiration to friends and the next generation. Talk to people outside of work about your college experiences, too. A friend might be secretly on the fence about finishing a degree. Encourage him or her to join the journey with you! If you have children, use your own educational path to emphasize the importance of lifelong learning.
- Speak up! Your unique life experiences and ideas benefit all of us, especially your classmates. Weigh in on your online discussion boards. Be part of the collective conversation in your classes. We need your perspective as we relate classroom lessons to current workplace trends and practices.
- Make new friends. Get to know your classmates, professors, advisor, location director and our staff. Higher education has always been about making connections with people who shape each other’s futures. Take advantage of these unique networking opportunities.
- Get social! Follow Columbia College on Facebook to virtually join in on the happenings of our main campus and at our locations nationwide. Check out our photos on Instagram, and get real-time information on Twitter. React, comment and share posts to be part of the social dialogue.
- Get inspired. If you ever think about giving up, take a look at our news blog, CC Connected archive. There, you’ll read inspiring stories about graduates who, just like you, took a less conventional route to college and have since used their education to make a difference in their lives and communities. You’ll learn about other students from around the country, as well as some of our amazing faculty and staff members.
Of course, showing off your Cougar spirit by sporting CC apparel is always a smart idea. You never know who might approach you and say, “Hey, I graduated from Columbia College, too!”
Handshake Features
by Grossnickle Career Services Center (go to top)
Handshake is Columbia College’s dynamic and innovative career management software that is available, free of charge, to all CC students and alumni. It’s a powerful system where students can find opportunities and research employers all over the country. But beyond a job search, Handshake possesses a number of valuable tools.
All of these features are available for free on Handshake. To get started, go to ccis.joinhandshake.com and fill out a profile.
Once you’re logged in, explore the “Events” tab. Here you will a number of valuable hiring and career events happening throughout the country. A number of these events are virtual and they can range from grad school and job fairs, workshops on writing a federal resume, to company-sponsored events to talk about their positions. These events are usually free-of-charge and can be an excellent way for students to network with opportunities throughout the country.
Secondly, find the “Resources” tab (located under the “Career Center” pulldown menu). Here we offer a number of articles and guides for our students and alumni. It includes resume templates, cover letter guides, information on starting a LinkedIn Profile, job search and graduate school information and much, much more. The Resource Library is easy to use and gives you a wealth of information on your fingertips.
Finally, Handshake has implemented a new feature called “Q&A”. In this section, students can ask career-related questions like “How can I become a Financial Planner?” or “What are typically interview questions at Google?” Often, these questions get answered by industry professionals, other students or recruiters. This can provide very valuable inside information for breaking in to your profession directly from people in the know.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, contact careerservices@ccis.edu.
NAR Partners with Columbia College to Expand Educational Opportunities for Realtors®
by Sam Fleury (go to top)
On November 6, the National Association of REALTORS® announced a new exclusive partnership with Columbia College to offer expanded access to academic programs to association members.
With the agreement, Columbia College will become the exclusive higher-education partner for more than 1.3 million NAR members, providing opportunities for them to complete a variety of associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, including real estate-specific offerings anticipated in late spring 2020.
Columbia College also plans to develop and offer a Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in real estate, based on the award-winning Master of Real Estate degree curriculum developed by the association for its members through REALTOR® University. NAR Members that enroll in the NAR Academy at Columbia College can receive $100 per eligible course in financial support from the Center for Specialized REALTOR® Education (CSRE). The CSRE is a NAR wholly owned subsidiary that creates and facilitates educational programs in real estate, working to elevate professional standards through designations, certifications and degrees in real estate.
REALTOR® University was conceived and launched in 2012 to provide members a new opportunity to grow through academic achievement. This agreement represents a sustainable expansion of that vision. In addition to an MBA with an emphasis in Real Estate, Columbia College will develop degree completion programs for NAR members, bachelor’s and associate’s degree programs and college-level real estate certificate programs in 2020.
The NAR Academy at Columbia College marks the successful realization of the Realtor University vision. With the graduation of all active Masters in Real Estate program students, and with the sharing of the curriculum with Columbia College, Realtor University will officially discontinue its master’s program, and provide opportunity for interested members to enroll in Columbia College as a member benefit.
“We believe this new partnership between NAR and Columbia College will truly be a game changer, not only for our institution but for the association’s members around the country,” said Columbia College President Dr. Scott Dalrymple. “As far as we know, this is the largest exclusive educational partnership in the United States.”
REALTOR® University alumni will become members of the Columbia College Alumni Association; with all of its privileges and benefits. These alumni will also become the founding members of an NAR scholar’s society.
Columbia College was deemed the ideal institution to serve NAR with its legacy of academic excellence, global reach and robust online programs.
For more information about the NAR Academy at Columbia College, visit nar.ccis.edu. For more information on the member benefit details see https://www.nar.realtor/nar-academy.
The National Association of REALTORS® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Academic Search Ultimate Trial
By Stafford Library (go to top)
Columbia College’s Stafford Library has begun a trial of EBSCO’s Academic Search Ultimate. This database contains more full-text content than the current Academic Search Complete database. Academic Search Ultimate trial may be accessed from our A-Z Databases page.
Academic Search Ultimate offers access to resources cited in key subject indexes. The combination of academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos meets the needs of scholars in virtually every discipline ranging from astronomy, anthropology, biomedicine, engineering, health, law and literacy to mathematics, pharmacology, women’s studies, zoology and more. Full text is provided for over 10,000 peer-reviewed journals. Academic Search Ultimate can be found on the library’s website or by visiting http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.ccis.edu/, selecting “EBSCOhost Databases”, and then “Academic Search Ultimate.”
Content includes:
- 5,479 active, full-text, non-open access journals and magazines
- 4,792 active, full-text, peer-reviewed, non-open access journals
- 2,767 active, full-text, peer-reviewed, non-open access journals with no embargo
- 3,108 active, full-text, non-open access journals indexed in Web of Science or Scopus
Please take the opportunity to review the database, and share your thoughts about Academic Search Ultimate by completing this survey. Your feedback will help us evaluate whether to add this database to Stafford Library’s collection of electronic resources.
