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Roane State radiology lab named in tribute, memory of donors

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The radiology lab in the Coffey/McNally Building on Roane State’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus now has an official name: the Mary Alice and Wallace Casnelli Radiology Lab. A plaque on the wall outside the lab bears the couple’s names and was recently dedicated. (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The radiology lab in the Coffey/McNally Building on Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus now has an official name: the Mary Alice and Wallace Casnelli Radiology Lab. A plaque on the wall outside the lab bears the couple’s names and was recently dedicated.

The Casnelli’s estate included a $250,000 endowment for the lab administered through a partnership of The Trust Company of Tennessee and Roane State Foundation, and it’s been “put to excellent use,” according to Dr. Julie Hall, director of the community college’s radiologic technology program.

The gift “made it possible for us to buy equipment for the lab that normally would be outside of our reach,” Hall said. It also will fund professional development options for radiologic technology staff, she said.

Each year, four students in the program are also awarded scholarships from the endowment.

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Roane State has training exercise Wednesday

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Roane State Community College will have a training exercise on its Oak Ridge Branch Campus on Wednesday.

Law enforcement and emergency vehicles may be on campus during this time, the college said Tuesday.

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Roane State to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Oak Ridge for students & employees

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Roane State Community College, in partnership with the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, is planning a two-part vaccination clinic at its Oak Ridge Branch Campus for Roane State students and employees, a press release said.

The first clinic is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Eastern time, and it will provide the first dose of the Moderna vaccine to participants. Appointments are available for students and college employees by visiting roanestate.edu/vaccine. R numbers will be required to sign up, the press release said. Students and employees from any campus location are eligible.

The clinics will be held in a drive-through format. Participants should follow signs posted on campus, and they can stay inside their vehicles the entire time. A short waiting period after receiving the shot will be required for safety. Vehicles will park in a designated area during this time.

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Roane State One Stop resumes in-person student services

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Part of the Oak Ridge branch campus of Roane State Community College is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College’s One Stop offices at the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses have now resumed in-person student services.

Success coaches were returning to all RSCC campuses this week on a mixed schedule, a press release said. When scheduling appointments with success coaches, students will be able to select from in-person and virtual meeting options.

One Stop staff at the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses moved to virtual operations earlier this year due to COVID-19 protocols. In-person One Stop services remained available at RSCC satellite campuses during this time, the press release said.

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Dr. Michelle Cash is Roane State Outstanding Alumni

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Michelle Cash

By Bob Fowler Roane State staff writer

“I always knew I wanted to teach,” says Dr. Michelle Cash, the winner of Roane State’s prestigious Outstanding Alumni Award for 2019. She was to be recognized on Monday, March 29, as part of the community college’s virtual TBR SOAR Award Celebration.

She serves as the RN-BSN Program Coordinator at King University’s Knoxville campus while also working as a staff nurse in Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center’s newborn nursery. She has also served as an adjunct OB clinical instructor for Roane State Community College.

Cash joins a distinguished group of Roane State alumni honored each year since 2004 for their accomplishments and their widely recognized leadership abilities.

“It’s a great honor to be selected,” the Kingston native said. “I’ve always treasured the education I received at Roane State.”

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Roane State student chronicles harrowing escape from captivity in new book

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Shown is the cover of the self-published book available on Amazon and written by Bella Hope Shiloh, the alias adopted by a Roane State Community College student. (Photo submitted by Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

As a child, she endured years of physical and sexual abuse by her father. At age 20, she married a man in a cult-like church who controlled her and removed her and their children from all society—except the church.

For years, they lived in an isolated shack with no electricity, no running water, no toilet, and no phone. Finally, she and her children broke free from the violence and mind control and began the challenging task of becoming familiar with what she calls “the real world.” That’s still an ongoing struggle, she says.

Call her Bella Hope Shiloh. That’s the alias this Roane State Community College student used to write an account of the nightmare she and her children experienced. Her self-published book is titled “Prisoners in the Shed,” and is available on Amazon.

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Roane State re-opening Expo Center in phases

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Roane State Community College prepares to re-open the Expo Center in Harriman. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College is re-opening its Expo Center in Harriman in phases.

The Henry/Stafford East Tennessee Agricultural Exposition Center is located on the Roane County campus in Harriman.

Beginning Wednesday, March 17, public riding will be offered by reservation only at the outdoor arena, a press release said.

Beginning Thursday, April 1, events will be permitted to resume at all Expo Center facilities, both indoor and outdoor.

The most up-to-date bookings will be posted on the online event calendar at roanestate.edu/expo.

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Roane State partners with Y-12 to host second annual Cybersecurity Summer Camp

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Following a successful first year, Roane State Community College and Y-12 National Security Complex are announcing the second Cybersecurity Summer Camp. (Photo submitted by Roane State)

Submitted

Following a successful first year, Roane State Community College and Y-12 National Security Complex are announcing the second Cybersecurity Summer Camp.

Two sessions will be held this year, one in mid-June for high-school-aged students and another in July for middle-school-aged students. Registration will be available beginning on Monday, March 22.

Roane State partnered with Y-12 in this effort to inspire future workers and help them develop talents that can be used to protect the nation’s most valuable information, a press release said.

During the camp, students learn about digital forensics, IP (Internet protocol) scanning, data reconnaissance, and many other topics—all key components of Y-12’s cybersecurity program, the press release said.

Here are the 2021 camp dates:

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Reconnect student balances work, family, learning as she seeks degree at Roane State

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Erin Valdez

By Bob Fowler Roane State staff writer

Erin “Tisha” Valdez, a school bus driver in Oak Ridge, enjoys one Roane State professor’s class so much she asked her employer for two afternoons off each week so she could attend.

The company, First Student, was short on drivers but agreed, enabling Valdez to take Dr. Isabel Benitez-Ramirez’s Anatomy and Physiology II class this semester. “She is amazing,” Valdez said of Benitez-Ramirez.

Sticking with Benitez-Ramirez after taking the initial Anatomy and Physiology class with her “is very important to me,” said Valdez. “I love her teaching style.”

“Since the beginning of her time as my student, she has shown great interest in learning,” Benitez-Ramirez said of Valdez. “She always participates in classes and even helps some of her classmates to understand the material. She is one of the best students in my classes.”

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Roane State helps with experiment to provide high-speed Internet access to rural communities

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Roane State Community College played a crucial role in an experiment to get high-speed Internet to rural communities currently lacking what’s become an essential component of modern life. (Photo by Yvette Gooden/University of Tennessee)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State Community College played a crucial role in an experiment to get high-speed Internet to rural communities currently lacking what’s become an essential component of modern life.

It’s an effort to bridge the digital divide in Roane County, where about 30 percent of households lack access to robust, affordable broadband internet.

That includes some 6,000 students who must have internet access for online learning.

Internet access “is paramount in current situations such as COVID-19 and the remote learning requirements it presents,” said Egon Hillermann. He’s the director of ROANEnet, an organization that advocates for improving high-speed internet access.

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Bienvenue named first executive director of Oak Ridge Institute

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Joan Bienvenue

Joan Bienvenue has been selected as the first executive director of the Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee.

“The institute was established last year to align the expertise and infrastructure of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the university in support of world-leading research and talent development,” UT said in an announcement to students, faculty, and staff on Tuesday.

As director, Bienvenue will also serve as a vice provost. She will begin her new position on March 8.

She will develop a strategy for establishing new interdisciplinary graduate research in emerging fields, build programs using UT and ORNL’s capabilities, and lead recruitment of faculty, staff, and students, the announcement said.

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ORISE report shows overall number of nuclear engineering degrees increases to highest level since 2016

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The number of nuclear engineering degrees awarded in 2019 were at the highest level since 2016, driven primarily by a significant increase in the number of master’s degrees awarded, a press release said.

In addition, the number of doctorate degrees awarded in 2019 were the second highest level recorded since 1966.

This is according to a study conducted by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education that surveyed 34 U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs. The report, “Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2019 Data,” included degrees granted between September 1, 2018, and August 31, 2019, and enrollments for fall 2019.

The number of bachelor’s degrees remained about the same, while the number of master’s degrees increased after a two-year slump, the press release said.

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