CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – What do you get when you mix zany personalities with wacky situations, a woman on a journey of self-discovery, and a trip to Niagara Falls? You get Wonder of the World of course! John Tyler Community College’s Theatre Workshop class brings this dark, absurdist comedy by David Lindsay-Abaire to the stage in December for three performances, and the community is invited to join the fun. The shows will take place inside Hamel Hall, room H109, at the Midlothian Campus, located at 800 Charter Colony Parkway, on December 6 at 7:00 p.m.; December 7 at 3:00 p.m.; and December 8 at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Wonder of the World, directed by Kerrigan Sullivan, associate professor of communication studies and theatre, and produced with permission from Dramatists Play Service, Inc., is recommended for mature audiences. For more information about these upcoming performances, contact Kerrigan Sullivan at ksullivan@jtcc.edu or 804-594-1498. For directions to the John Tyler Community College Midlothian Campus, visit www.jtcc.edu/locations.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

News Release Highlights

• Artists are invited to participate in this annual community festival
• Festival draws thousands each year
• Discount is offered through December 31, 2013

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – Calling all artists! Join John Tyler Community College as it unleashes its creative spirit during the annual Fool for Art Festival on April 26, 2014. The festival, held at the College’s Midlothian Campus, features a variety of art and craft vendors from around the state. If you are an artist who is interested in showing off your talents and joining the fun as a vendor, sign up now. Applications postmarked by December 31, 2013 will receive a discounted registration fee of $50. After December 31, 2013, the registration fee will be $75. Artists whose applications are received by March 1, 2014 will be included in an event program that is distributed in print and is posted to the Fool for Art web site.

Visit www.jtcc.edu/foolforart to download a vendor application. On that site, you will find additional information about the festival, which also features hands-on demonstrations, displays, free educational sessions, food, music and much more. Questions about Fool for Art may be directed to Lisa Kendrick, events coordinator, at foolforart@jtcc.edu or at 804-594-1527.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

By the Nursing Alumni Committee

The Alumni committee and Faculty of John Tyler Community College Nursing Program would like to strengthen our ties to our alumni. We hope to do so by improving communications and encouraging continued participation of our alumni in College events, especially those that involve our Nursing students. We have found that our Nursing students enjoy contact and even mentoring by our alumni. They are encouraged and inspired to learn of all the work and accomplishments of our graduates.

Please join us for an Alumni Reception and Pinning Ceremony on Monday, December 16, 2013.

Alumni Welcome Reception
4:45 – 5:30 p.m.
Nursing Education Center
1051 Johnston –Willis Drive

JTCC Nursing Pinning Ceremony
6:00 p.m.
Double Tree Hotel (formerly Holiday Inn Richmond- Koger South Conference Center)
1021 Koger Center Boulevard

RSVP to Sherri Deutsch-Atwell at sdeutsch-atwell@jtcc.edu

Our pinning ceremony has grown to be a dynamic event, which features guest and student speakers who are truly inspiring and amusing. Also during the ceremony, each graduate is awarded the JTCC Nursing pin by the College.

Because not all of our Nursing graduates received pins in the past and because the JTCC Nursing pin has changed in recent years, we have created a sterling silver alumni lapel pin. The alumni pin is a smaller version of our current Nursing pin. Alumni who have not yet received this pin will be awarded one, and all alumni who attend our pinning ceremonies will be recognized during the event. In addition, alumni will have reserved seating in the front of the room with the graduates and faculty.

We want to encourage you to come back and reconnect with the John Tyler Nursing Program. We are also interested in any ideas you may have on how we can enrich our program through alumni participation. The Nursing Alumni Committee looks forward to hearing from you.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – A sense of accomplishment and pride fills the art studio at John Tyler Community College, as students reflect on the projects they’ve just completed. While all class projects are important, this one is special to many of the student artists. That’s because the works they created are gifts for children a half a world away. They are for the Memory Project, an initiative that gives children from all over the world who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused or neglected a personal keepsake.

For the past several weeks, the students in Professor Colin Ferguson’s Painting III and Painting IV classes studied photographs of children from Nepal. Then, using the techniques they learned in class, they put their brushes to work and painstakingly painted portraits of each child. Shy smiles, mischievous grins, and faces full of hope emerged. “I think it’s wonderful that we paint portraits of kids from other cultures and give them as gifts,” says Bob Wynne, one of the student artists. “I think it’s just great that John Tyler does this.” Eleanor Rose, another artist, agrees. “I think it’s good for these children to have something of value. I hope it will help them realize they are valuable.”

In all, 22 portraits were painted by Ferguson and his students, making it the College’s largest single submission to date. In mid-February, the portraits will be sent to the children featured in them. Until then, the paintings will be on display. From now until December 18, 2013, the portraits will be exhibited on the second floor of Hamel Hall at the College’s Midlothian Campus. The public is invited to stop by the campus, located at 800 Charter Colony Parkway, to view the artwork.

After that, the exhibit will be moved to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, located at 815 E. Grace Street in Richmond. “This year, when the opportunity presented itself to exhibit the portraits not only on the College campus but also at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Richmond’s gallery in January, we jumped at it,” says Ferguson, professor of art. “Having the students’ work hanging in a space that participates in Richmond’s First Fridays Art Walk is very exciting.” The John Tyler Memory Project portraits, along with some additional artwork from the student artists, will be on display at St. Paul’s from January 3 – 31, 2014. An opening reception will be held January 3 from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. as part of the First Fridays Art Walk.

This is the eighth year John Tyler Community College has participated in the Memory Project. In past semesters, Ferguson and his students have painted portraits of children from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Peru, Uganda, Myanmar, Haiti and Ecuador. The College’s participation in this project is supported by the John Tyler Community College Foundation. Photographs of the portraits may be found on the College’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/johntylercc. For more information about The Memory Project, visit www.thememoryproject.org. 

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – Four John Tyler Community College students were among 53 scholarship recipients honored during a recent luncheon hosted by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). During the event, the students, their families and representatives from Virginia’s community colleges heard from Dr. Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the VCCS. DuBois commended the scholars, saying, “These outstanding students are Virginia’s future leaders. They represent the potential in all of our youth and the difference that we each can make in the world.” John Adams, chairman of the Martin Agency and the luncheon’s keynote speaker, told the students their lives and careers will probably not work out as planned. That’s good news, he said, “because some of these things will turn out much better than you expect, and because life is an adventure and therefore much more interesting than if it were predictable.”

Two John Tyler Community College students, Matthew Wild and Tuyet-Nhi Dao, received the HCA Virginia Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Hospitals Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship. The Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship Program was established in 2006 through the generosity of private donors to the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. The scholarships recognize students from across the Commonwealth who have demonstrated academic excellence during high school as well as a commitment to developing their leadership skills. Each scholarship bears the name of one of many philanthropy leaders who supports Virginia’s Community Colleges. Wild lives in Midlothian and is studying Cisco networking as well as science at John Tyler. He says his goal is to use the knowledge he gains to start his own company, specializing in network solutions. Dao, who is from Richmond, is currently enrolled in a transfer degree program. Once she completes it, she plans to transfer to Old Dominion University to study international relations.

Matthew “Aaron” Rogerson and Lyndsay Welch were honored for receiving Richmond Region Commonwealth Legacy Scholarships, which are supported by the Moses D. Nunnally, Jr. Charitable Lead Unitrust. Rogerson, who lives in Moseley, says he will save money on his first two years of college at Tyler before transferring to a four-year institution. Welch, who lives in Powhatan, says she wants to make a difference in the lives of others, so she is working on a degree and certificate that will put her on the pathway to becoming a teacher.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – The public is invited to attend the upcoming meeting of the John Tyler Community College Board on Thursday, January 9, 2014, at 3:00 p.m.  The meeting will take place at the College’s Nursing Education Center, located at 1051 Johnston-Willis Drive. A sign-up sheet will be made available 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the meeting for those persons interested in addressing the board.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

By Heather Busch

John Tyler Community College will close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 20, 2013 for winter break.  The College will reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2014. 

Students who register for spring 2014 classes December 14-20, 2013 must pay their tuition and fees by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 20, 2013 to avoid being dropped from their classes for non-payment.  

Holiday Online Registration
Holiday Online Registration will begin Saturday, December 21, 2013 and will run through 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2014. During this time, there will be no in-person registration or Help Desk assistance offered, but students can sign up for spring classes using the Student Information Center in myTyler.  Students who take advantage of Holiday Online Registration may pay their tuition and fees online, or they may pay in person on when the College reopens.  Students who register through Holiday Online Registration must pay all their tuition and fees by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2014.  

Students can search for Spring 2014 courses using the College’s online searchable course schedule.

Registration for the Spring 2014 semester will resume as normal after the College re-opens on January 2, 2014.  Students are welcome to register online or in-person until the last day to add classes for the various sessions.  See the academic calendar for more information. 

Fall 2013 Grades
Students who attended Fall 2013 classes at John Tyler Community College and would like to check their grades should use the Student Information System in myTyler.  Please note that the College does not mail grades. 

By Holly Walker

The work of several JTCC art students will be part of Richmond’s art scene for the month of January. The artwork is being displayed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on E. Grace Street, which is part of Richmond’s First Fridays Art Walk. The exhibit, which runs January 3 – 31, features 22 portraits for the Memory Project.

The Memory Project is an initiative that gives children from all over the world who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused or neglected a personal keepsake. During the fall semester, the students in Professor Colin Ferguson’s Painting III and Painting IV classes studied photographs of children from Nepal. Then, using the techniques they learned in class, they put their brushes to work and painstakingly painted portraits of each child. Shy smiles, mischievous grins, and faces full of hope emerged. “I think it’s wonderful that we paint portraits of kids from other cultures and give them as gifts,” says Bob Wynne, one of the student artists. “I think it’s just great that John Tyler does this.” Eleanor Rose, another artist, agrees. “I think it’s good for these children to have something of value. I hope it will help them realize they are valuable.” In mid-February, the portraits will be sent to the children featured in them.

This is the eighth year John Tyler Community College has participated in the Memory Project. In past semesters, Ferguson and his students have painted portraits of children from Vietnam, Afghanistan, Peru, Uganda, Myanmar, Haiti and Ecuador. The College’s participation in this project is supported by the John Tyler Community College Foundation. Photographs of the portraits may be found on the College’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/johntylercc. For more information about The Memory Project, visit www.thememoryproject.org.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – John Tyler Community College honored more than 65 fall nursing graduate candidates on December 16, 2013, during a pinning ceremony held at the Double Tree by Hilton in Chesterfield County. Trula E. Minton, MS, RN, NEA-BC, who is the chief nursing officer at Chippenham Hospital, delivered the keynote address. Those in attendance also heard from Elizabeth Butler, one of the fall semester Nursing Program graduates.

The nursing graduate candidates are as follows (zip codes appear in parentheses):

Amber Angeles (23832)
Kara Atkinson (23113)
Karin Bailey (23002)
Natalie Beck (23838)
Catherine Biringer (23139)
Travis Blosser (23188)
Kerri Bramos (23235)
Cameron Brittig (23832)
Allison Brown (23831)
Elizabeth Butler (23233)
Rachel Carson (23234)
Katysson Carvalho (23235)
Rima Chater (23139)
Yesenia Cole (23801)
H. Sue Collins (23832)
Megan Creggar (23222)
Jill Croker (23229)
Nicole Damron (23112)
Christina Davis (23113)
Christine Dean (23114)
Kelsey Dixon (23114)
Laura N. Dunn (23225)
Heather Elliott (23139)
Adkemi Fakulujo (23227)
Tessa Ferguson (23832)
Charlotte Fleharty (23112)
Kim Garnett (23113)
Ashley Gleason (23114)
Stephanie Heist (45011)
Leyda Hernandez (23860)
Amanda Holloway (23113)
Casey Garrison Jensen (23002)
Stacey Jones (23112)
L. Chris Kegley (23059)
Anna Kelly (23229)
Laura Kelly (23229)
Michele Kenney (23112)
Anne Knight (23139)
Laura Manik (23059)
Bridgette McCarty (23120)
Susan McGee (23831)
Troilyn McKenzie (23231)
Kristen Meyers (23139)
Rita Mix (23225)
Allison Monroe (23112)
Lindsey Montesflores (23236)
Brandi Morris (23229)
Pauline Mroczka (23803)
T. Angeline Nguyen (23112)
Silke Osborne (23112)
Cindy Perkins (23027)
Cynthia Ranalli (23832)
Victoria Shelton Smith (23803)
Anne Somerville (23831)
Bernice Spichiger (23113)
Susan Staggs (23834)
Christina Stecky (23113)
Veronica Taylor (23223)
Lindsey Thore (23831)
Tricia Treanor (23120)
Lolita Turner-Smith (23231)
Rebecca Weis (23236)
Cindy West (23114)
Asia Williams (23075)
Troy Williamson (23831)
Tiffany Yonta (23114)

Pinning dates back to the 1880s. The pin, given to graduate candidates, symbolizes the school of nursing where the students earned their clinical experience, achieved academic credentials and began their socialization into the profession. The ceremony marks the completion of that rigorous training and is often viewed with the same importance as commencement.

Photographs taken at the ceremony may be downloaded from the College’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/johntylercc/sets/72157638794901496/.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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by Heather Busch

Want to improve your chances of job search success? Then you may want to check out one of the many On-Ramp Program workshops being offered this semester.

Topics include goal setting, resume tweaking, crafting your elevator speech, phone interviews, test-taking anxiety and more. 

Workshops are free and are open to all JTCC students.

See the complete list of workshops, including their locations and times.

Learn more about the College's On-Ramp Program, which is designed to help dislocated workers improve their chances of job-hunting success, at www.jtcc.edu/onramp.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – Applying for financial aid for college can be a complicated process. We’re here to help. On February 1, 2014, the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA), in conjunction with John Tyler Community College, will host a Super FAFSA Week event. The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in Bird Hall, rooms B124 and B126, at the College’s Chester Campus, located at 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway.

Super FAFSA Week, formerly known as Super Saturday, is one of VASFAA’s annual service projects, where individuals seeking funding for postsecondary education receive free, professional assistance in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is used by colleges, universities, and career-technical schools across the country to determine eligibility for student federal and state financial aid.

VASFAA is offering over 60 Super FAFSA Week events at high schools, colleges and community and civic centers across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Participating sites will have computers available for students and parents to apply for federal aid electronically, along with financial aid representatives to assist. John Tyler Community College will also offer a Financial Aid 101 presentation to provide an overview of federal and state resources and the financial aid application process. This event is open to students and parents of all grade levels, including returning college students, as well as older adults interested in furthering their educations.

Once students leave this event, they will have initiated the financial aid process for any college they are interested in attending. VASFAA understands that the financial aid process can be daunting, and we hope that by offering this opportunity to students and parents, we can help ease this process for hundreds of Virginia residents.

As an incentive for attending a Super FAFSA Week event, students will have a chance to win a $100 book scholarship. A book scholarship will be awarded to one student at each Super FAFSA Week site to be used at the winner’s college of choice during the 2014-15 academic year.

Super FAFSA Week is open to the public and is partly funded by the College Access Challenge Grant Program. For more information about Super FAFSA Week 2014, please visit www.vasfaa.com/super. To learn more about the Super FAFSA event at John Tyer, contact Ericka Aikens at eaikens@jtcc.edu or 804-768-6609.

VASFAA is an organization of individuals who administer financial aid programs or who are otherwise active in a financial aid-related profession. Its mission is to maintain an organization that promotes the professional growth and collaboration of its members in order to serve fairly the needs of students, families, and institutions in matters related to financial and informational resources that support students' postsecondary education goals. The organization is determined to help students pursue and attain their educational goals.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

by Ericka Aikens & Heather Busch

Need help navigating the financial aid process?

Super FAFSA Week is your chance to get free, professional assistance with completing the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) and figuring out how to pay for college.

Super FAFSA Week Event at Tyler
Saturday, February 1
John Tyler Community College – Chester Campus, Bird Hall
FAFSA Completion Assistance:  10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Financial Aid 101 Presentations:  11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Who should attend?
Parents, high school, college and adult students who plan to attend college during the 2014-2015 academic year.

What to bring?

• U.S. Department of Education Personal Identification Number (PIN) for you and your parent. Save time and apply for a PIN in advance at http://www.pin.ed.gov. You may also get one in real time when you fill out the online FAFSA.
• Social Security numbers for you and your parents/spouse
• Driver’s license (if available)
• 2013 Federal income records, including income tax return and W-2 forms (if 2013 are not available, you can bring most recent)
• 2013 Untaxed income records
• Family’s current bank statements, business and investment mortgage information, business and farm records, stock, bond, and other investment records
• Alien registration card (if you are not a U.S. citizen)

Questions?
Contact the John Tyler Community College Financial Aid Office at 804-706-5235 or financialaid@jtcc.edu.  Learn more about paying for Tyler at www.jtcc.edu/pay-for-tyler.

Super FAFSA Week is sponsored by the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and funded in part by the College Access Challenge Grant Program.  Learn more at www.vasfaa.org/super.

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by Heather Busch

It’s easy to apply for one of the John Tyler Community College Foundation’s more than 100 scholarships for current and prospective John Tyler students. Scholarships are designed to help pay for tuition, books and fees.

The deadline for submitting a 2014–2015 scholarship application is April 1, 2014.  The deadline for the JTCC International Studies Scholarship for summer study abroad is
March 15, 2014.

To qualify:

• Submit a completed scholarship application package prior to the appropriate deadline.
• Possess a 2.5 minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA).
• Be enrolled or plan to enroll in a certificate and/or degree program at JTCC for the 2014–2015 academic year.
• Have in-state tuition status.
• Have a completed, current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at JTCC on or before the scholarship deadline.

All scholarship recipients are required to attend the Scholarship Celebration event in August.

For a list of scholarships and an application, please visit www.jtcc.edu/scholarships.

Questions? Call 804-594-1476, or e-mail foundation@jtcc.edu.
 

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By Holly Walker

In the era between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, the Rosenwald rural school building program provided critical education opportunities to African Americans in the South. Through this initiative 364 Rosenwald Schools were built in Virginia, but it is estimated that only about 10 percent of them remain standing today.

On February 22, 2014, John Tyler Community College (JTCC) in partnership with Preservation Virginia will host a Saving Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools, a networking and planning meeting designed to bring together Rosenwald School alumni and their descendants, students, community members, historical groups, researchers, preservationists and anyone interested in discussing ways to preserve these sites.

Saving Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on February 22 in the Nicholas Center at John Tyler Community College’s Chester Campus. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required.  For additional information about the event or to register for it, contact Dr. Alyce Miller, associate professor of history at John Tyler, at amiller@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5254 or Mr. Justin Sarafin, director of preservation initiatives and engagement at Preservation Virginia, at jsarafin@preservationvirginia.org or 804-648-1889 ext. 317.

In addition to the Rosenwald Schools summit, John Tyler Community College will hold a number of other activities throughout February in honor of Black History Month.

Monday, February 3
2:00 p.m.
Lecture – Tuskegee Airmen Presented by Howard Baugh, Howard Baugh Petersburg Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Tuesday, February 4
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Documentary Film – Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Wednesday, February 5
9:30 a.m.
Lecture – Dismembering Slavery: Corpse Desecration as a Way of Enforcing Mastery
Presented by Mr. David Roettger, JTCC History Instructor
Chester Campus,Bird Hall, room B124 (Note: This is a room change)

Wednesday, February 5
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Documentary Film – White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Thursday, February 6
1:00 p.m.
Lecture – The Legislation of Discrimination: Racialized Laws in Seventeenth Century Virginia
Presented by Mr. James Tolj, JTCC History Instructor
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Monday, February 10
12:30 p.m.
Lecture – Program of Action: The Rev. L. Francis Griffin and the Struggle for Racial Equality in Farmville, 1963
Presented by Dr. Brian J. Daugherity, VCU History Department and Mr. Brian Lee, Ph.D. student at UNC-Greensboro
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Wednesday, February 12
12:00 p.m.
Read-in
Led by Author Charles Carroll Lee and Thomasine Hill
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Wednesday, February 12
2:00 p.m.
Lecture – The Virginia Slave Name Database
Presented by Dr. Lauranett Lee, Curator of African American History, Virginia Historical Society
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Thursday, February 13
12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Celebration of Soul Food
In addition to great food, members of Second Union Rosenwald School, Inc. will join us for a presentation and roundtable discussion on Rosenwald Schools in Goochland and an effort to preserve Second Union.
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center
Celebration of Soul Food is open to JTCC students, faculty and staff. E-mail your reservation to Amanda Carpenter-Horning at acarpenter@jtcc.edu.

Friday, February 14
11:00 a.m.
Lecture – Virginia’s Pupil Placement Board and the Practical Applications of Massive Resistance, 1956-1966
Presented by Dr. Katie Eskridge, Germanna Community College Assistant Professor of History and JTCC Adjunct Instructor
Chester Campus, Bird Hall, room B124

All Black History Month activities, with the exception of Celebration of Soul Food, are free and open to the community.

For more information about JTCC’s Black History Month events, contact Dr. Alyce Miller at amiller@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5254.

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CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – Light and shadow play across the canvas, bringing rich colors and bold textures to life. A woman sits quietly, gazing into the distance. Her thoughts are unknown. This is Tory painted by Alexander William Huneke, and it is the winning artwork in the annual John Tyler Community College Foundation Art Award contest. This is the second time Huneke’s work has received this honor. In 2013, his entry, After Picasso, “Woman with Pears” (sans Pears), became the first 3-D sculpture to win the Foundation Art Award.

When describing his 2014 entry, Huneke says he was inspired to paint his friend Tori because of her sense of style. “When I saw her jacket that was rimmed with ostrich feathers, it beckoned to me,” says Huneke. “Though I did ask Tori to take a number of poses that I had sketched out, it was when she was at rest while I was adjusting my camera that I had a gestalt moment and found the pose. The painting took about a month to complete, and I regard it as being among the best of the work I have produced.  I am honored that the John Tyler Foundation has decided to recognize me for the second year in a row.”

The announcement of the 2014 Foundation Art Award winner came as Huneke was finishing up his classes at John Tyler. At the end of the Fall 2013 semester, he was awarded an Associate of Applied Arts Degree in Visual Arts and a Certificate of Fine Arts. He is now continuing his education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Over the years, Huneke has received numerous recognitions for his talent, including the 2004 High School Arts Award presented by the Greater Reston Arts Center and a scholarship awarded by the League of Reston Artists. Both were received when Huneke was a senior in high school.

“Alexander Huneke has done it again,” says Beverley Dew, executive director of the John Tyler Community College Foundation. “In the history of this prestigious competition, we have not had a back-to-back winner.  Alex’s provocative oil on canvas, entitled Tory, captures his special gift as a portraitist.  John Tyler Community College’s art program, under the leadership of Colin Ferguson, is distinguished for its extremely refined curriculum.  The Foundation Award competition showcases the exceptional faculty and student talent in John Tyler’s well-respected art program.”

The John Tyler Community College Foundation Art Award was first started in 1995 to showcase the artistic abilities of John Tyler’s students while providing donors with a unique gift from the College. Once the winning entry is chosen, an image of it is converted into a poster. The poster is used extensively in friends-raising and fundraising efforts on behalf of the Foundation and the College. The award winner receives $250, a framed and matted copy of the poster, and additional posters for his portfolio.

The following students were finalists for the 2014 Foundation Art Award (zip codes follow each name):  Huneke (23221); Annabel Goodridge (23113); Deug M. Kang (23831); Tiffany Jenna Farley (23834); Harvey Max Jones (23235); Deanna Mutz (23112); Robert Wynne (23236); Terry Lynn Smith (23834);  Donya Heide (23112) and Sean Shipman (23114).

The John Tyler Community College Foundation relies on the generosity of the community to continue its work in securing the future of the College, its students, its faculty and its staff.  Since most of the College’s graduates live and work in the area, gifts to the Foundation are an investment in the future of the community.  Through donations, grants and endowments, the Foundation is able to provide scholarships for students, to fund academic programs and capital projects, to renovate and modernize classrooms and laboratories, and to encourage the professional development of John Tyler Community College’s faculty and staff.  This work ensures the College continues its pledge of providing academic excellence while expanding the services it offers to fulfill escalating workforce requirements. 

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – In the era between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, the Rosenwald rural school building program provided critical educational opportunities to African Americans in the South. Through this initiative, pioneered by Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, more than 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were built, including 364 in Virginia. It is estimated that only about 10 percent of these schools remain standing, and in 2013, Preservation Virginia included the Rosenwald Schools on its annual Most Endangered Historical Sites list.

On February 22, 2014, John Tyler Community College (JTCC) in partnership with Preservation Virginia will host a networking and planning meeting on Saving Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools. The goal of this event is to bring together Rosenwald School alumni and their descendants, students, community members, historical groups, researchers, and preservationists to discuss current efforts to save these sites and to help inform the planning of a statewide initiative that will identify the types of resources needed for surveying and preserving Rosenwald Schools in Virginia. Anyone with ties to the Rosenwald Schools and those interested in learning about these preservation efforts are invited to participate in the discussion. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required. Saving Virginia’s Rosenwald Schools will be held from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on February 22 in the Nicholas Center at John Tyler Community College’s Chester Campus located at 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway. For additional information about the event or to register, contact Dr. Alyce Miller, associate professor of history at John Tyler, at amiller@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5254 or Mr. Justin Sarafin, director of preservation initiatives and engagement at Preservation Virginia, at jsarafin@preservationvirginia.org or 804-648-1889 ext. 317.

In addition to the Rosenwald Schools summit, John Tyler Community College will hold a number of other activities throughout February in honor of Black History Month. These activities are free and open to the community.

Monday, February 3
2:00 p.m.
Lecture – Tuskegee Airmen Presented by Howard Baugh, Howard Baugh Petersburg Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Tuesday, February 4
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Documentary Film – Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Wednesday, February 5
9:30 a.m.
Lecture – Dismembering Slavery: Corpse Desecration as a Way of Enforcing Mastery
Presented by Mr. David Roettger, JTCC History Instructor
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Wednesday, February 5
6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Documentary Film – White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Thursday, February 6
1:00 p.m.
Lecture – The Legislation of Discrimination: Racialized Laws in Seventeenth Century Virginia
Presented by Mr. James Tolj, JTCC History Instructor
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Monday, February 10
12:30 p.m.
Lecture – Program of Action: The Rev. L. Francis Griffin and the Struggle for Racial Equality in Farmville, 1963
Presented by Dr. Brian J. Daugherity, VCU History Department and Mr. Brian Lee, Ph.D. student at UNC-Greensboro
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Wednesday, February 12
12:00 p.m.
Read-in
Led by Author Charles Carroll Lee and Thomasine Hill
Chester Campus, Nicholas Center, room N102

Wednesday, February 12
2:00 p.m.
Lecture – The Virginia Slave Name Database
Presented by Dr. Lauranett Lee, Curator of African American History, Virginia Historical Society
Midlothian Campus, Hamel Hall, room H109

Friday, February 14
11:00 a.m.
Lecture – Virginia’s Pupil Placement Board and the Practical Applications of Massive Resistance, 1956-1966
Presented by Dr. Katie Eskridge, Germanna Community College Assistant Professor of History and JTCC Adjunct Instructor
Chester Campus, Bird Hall, room B124

For more information about JTCC’s Black History Month events, contact Dr. Alyce Miller at amiller@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5254.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – John Tyler Community College needs your help. The College, in its ongoing commitment to meet the workforce needs of the community, is considering launching two new programs – one in cyber security and one in paramedic care. In order to begin new programs, approval must occur at local and state levels, and documented evidence highlighting student and employer demand within the John Tyler service region must be provided. To do this, the College is asking the community to participate in two brief surveys. The information gathered from these surveys will help John Tyler Community College determine whether to go forward with plans to start these new programs.

Cyber Security Program
John Tyler Community College is examining the need to offer cyber security as a certificate and/or an associate degree program. The College currently offers several certificates and degrees in information technology fields; however, national and regional data show the need for a specific program, or programs, in cyber security. The field of information technology is constantly changing, but not all of the changes are positive. Reports of hackings and data thefts raise concerns about the security of the information shared electronically by individuals, businesses and governments.  Dr. Mark Cohen, professor and chair of JTCC’s Department of Information Technology, says it is because of these concerns that JTCC’s IT Advisory Board has strongly recommended the College start a cyber security program. “A program like this should allow our students to remain competitive in the job market while at the same time opening up new doors to additional jobs in cyber security and possibly forensics,” says Dr. Cohen.

To participate in the cyber security program needs survey, go to www.jtcc.edu/programsurvey no later than March 1, 2014. If you have questions about the proposed cyber security program or other information technology programs at John Tyler, contact Dr. Cohen at mcohen@jtcc.edu.

Paramedic Program
John Tyler Community College also is examining the need to offer a paramedic associate degree program. The College currently offers a certificate in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at the Intermediate level; however, national and regional data show the need to add a paramedic associate degree. According to Daniel Linkins, assistant professor and chair of JTCC’s Department of Emergency Medical Services, although Virginia has decided to continue the Intermediate certification, changes in the National EMS Education Standards have eliminated Intermediate from the national curriculum. “We seek to serve our community by producing high-quality, field-ready providers at the highest certification level obtainable, while still offering students the option to progress in their careers incrementally through the EMT, Advanced EMT, Intermediate EMT, and Paramedic levels,” says Linkins. “The development of a paramedic program will offer paramedics a college degree, with a transfer option to earn a bachelor’s degree for possible management positions.”  Linkins says students who obtain national certification (no longer available at the Intermediate level) will have the ability to work in Virginia or transfer to other states, an option that is particularly important for military veterans and their families, who may be moved to different locations around the country.

To participate in the paramedic program needs survey, go to www.jtcc.edu/programsurvey no later than March 1, 2014. If you have questions about the proposed paramedic program or JTCC’s current EMS program, contact Daniel Linkins at dlinkins@jtcc.edu.

Results from these two surveys will help John Tyler Community College determine the need for cyber security and paramedic programs. If evidence is sufficient and program proposals are approved, JTCC hopes to begin offering courses for both of these programs during the 2014-2015 academic year.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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by Heather Busch

Pile your plate high with soul food on February 13, 2014 from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. in the Nicholas Center during a Celebration of Soul Food, a Black History Month event at Tyler. In addition to great food, members of Second Union Rosenwald School, Inc. will join us for a presentation and roundtable discussion on Rosenwald Schools in Goochland County and an effort to preserve Second Union.

Only JTCC students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.  E-mail your reservation to Amanda Carpenter-Horning at acarpenter@jtcc.edu.

Black History Month at Tyler features films, lectures, a read-in and more.  For more information, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johntylercc or contact Dr. Alyce Miller at amiller@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5254.

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by Heather Busch

Hey, JTCC: Richmond’s famed Boka Tako truck will be on campus selling tacos and more, starting Tuesday, February 11!

Tuesdays at Chester 
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The truck will be parked in the driveway that runs between Moyar Hall and Godwin Hall.

Wednesdays at Midlothian
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The truck will be parked in the traffic circle between Eliades Hall and Hamel Hall.

The truck will be at JTCC weather permitting. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johntylercc for reminders, weather updates and locations.

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CHESTER and MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – The written word holds the power to inspire, illicit emotion and convey ideas. Its many forms – from poetry, short stories and nonfiction to manuscripts, novels and blogs – prove its adaptability. All of this and more will be celebrated during John Tyler Community College’s 19th Annual Literary Festival from February 25 – March 5, 2014. The festival features special guest Roy Kesey, an award-winning author and translator whose latest book is the short story collection Any Deadly Thing. Kesey’s other books include Pacazo, All Over, Nothing in the World, and two historical guidebooks. His short stories, essays, translations and poems have appeared in more than a hundred magazines and anthologies, including Best American Short Stories and New Sudden Fiction. In addition to participating in a reading and book signing event that will be open to the community, Kesey will lead writing workshops designed specifically for John Tyler students. In addition to Kesey, Irish playwright John Joyce will join the College’s Literary Festival with a staged reading of his work Finnegan’s Awake. Joyce is the grandnephew of author James Joyce.

The Literary Festival features several events that are free and open to the public, including:

Roy Kesey Reception, Reading and Book Signing
Tuesday, February 25
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Midlothian Campus
Hamel Hall, room H109

Student and Faculty Readings
Thursday, February 27
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Chester Campus
Bird Hall, room B124

Theatre Presentation of Finnegan’s Awake
Thursday, February 27
A staged reading of an original work by John Joyce, a relative of James Joyce
7:00 p.m.
Midlothian Campus
Hamel Hall, room H109

Student and Faculty Readings
Tuesday, March 4
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Midlothian Campus
Hamel Hall, room H109

Student Speech Contest
Wednesday, March 5
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Chester Campus
Bird Hall, room B124

For more information about the John Tyler Literary Festival, contact Jeff Landon at jlandon@jtcc.edu or 804-594-1473.

John Tyler Community College is a two-year, public institution of higher education and is the fifth largest of the 23 community colleges in Virginia. With campuses in Chester and Midlothian and off-campus classrooms throughout the area, John Tyler offers quality and economical opportunities for students who want to earn a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year college or university, train for the workforce, or switch careers. The College, which served more than 14,000 students during the 2012-13 academic year, offers 17 associate degrees, seven certificates, and 34 career studies certificates. The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,200 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance. The College also is committed to sustainability. In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for Hamel Hall on its Midlothian Campus, becoming the first in the Virginia Community College System to receive such recognition. John Tyler Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.