Membership Committee - Next month is Oktoberfest – Bring a Guest month.Our President Gary has set a goal of taking our club to 75 members. During the month of October, we’ll have special Oktoberfest related giveaways. Each week, all members who bring a guest will get a gift. Members will also get one entry into an end of month drawing, for each guest they bring during October.
Community Service - We have a new recurring volunteer opportunity at the State Theatre. The 2nd Thursday of every month, our club will staff the State Theatre. We only need a minimum of 4 volunteers each month. The shift only lasts about 90-120 minutes. Please see Kyle Konas or Alex Zelinski to sign up!
What you missed
September 12th
Jim Bensley and Stephanie Prall from NMC International Services and Service Learning – Shared how NMC connects students to the world. Currently 17th in the nation among community colleges (out of 1,400) in regards to sending students abroad. 17 different countries, five or six trips a year. 80% of NMC international trips have a service learning or community service project. About 60 students annually are involved in academic international experiences. Since establishing our global studies opportunities, NMC has had over 350 students travel abroad and over 30 faculty and staff.
We saw photos and heard student stories of what was most impactful for them on their trips: examples such as homestays, presenting in Spanish before leaving the country, etc. The value of just sitting down with others across the globe builds a greater understanding of the world. NMC has built partnerships across the globe for these experiences, especially so in programmatically focused trips.
Support for these students comes through the Global Opportunities scholarships and IAF supports first generation students. Typically, these trips cost between $3,300-3,500. Global scholarships are granted at $1,000 and NMC asks students to pay part of the costs for their own personal investment in the experience.
NMC considers the success of program based on the success of their students. Jim shared an example of a nursing student getting a job at Munson specifically because she had a global experience. The Global Endorsement is also a distinctive for our students. NMC seeks opportunities to gain these credits domestically and internationally. This is where they asked our club to help them discover local international opportunities for their students. (Action item!)
NMC also currently has over 30 international students from 16 different countries that give our entire student body exposure to other cultures. The Dennos Museum Center brings the world to NMC and our greater community. The International Affairs Forum (IAF) has been an amazing asset for our students and our community.
