Oak Ridge Today

Roane State’s Anderson County Middle College students excited about graduation day

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Roane State Middle College students, from left, Miranda Vanover, Braelee Givens, and Emily Pooler will graduate from Roane State Community College before they graduate from high school. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Middle College students, from left, Miranda Vanover, Braelee Givens, and Emily Pooler will graduate from Roane State Community College before they graduate from high school. (Photo by Roane State)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

A group of bright high achievers from Anderson County will be wearing commencement’s traditional caps and gowns twice this spring.

Members of the first graduating class of Middle College students from Anderson County will receive associate degrees from Roane State Community College on May 6.

Then, they’ll be graduating from their respective high schools later that month.

Middle College is a two-year Roane State program where area high school sophomores with qualifying grades and test scores are invited as juniors to attend college in the mornings and return to their high schools in the afternoon.

Middle College gives participants a huge leg up in terms of college credits, and they’ll start the rest of their collegiate careers with two years of higher education classes under their belts. [Read more…]

Reception for Roane State Student Art Show is April 27

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Roane State Community College will host an April 27 reception as part of its annual Student Art Show in the O’Brien Art Gallery on the Roane County campus.

The reception and awards ceremony is Thursday, April 27, at 1 p.m. in the art gallery. The public is invited.

This annual event (April 12-27) is open to all Roane State student artists and is an opportunity for students to hone their skills and gain exhibition experience. This year’s juror is Brian Jobe.

For more information, please contact Stacy Jacobs at jacobssl@roanestate.edu, (865) 354-3000, ext. 4311; or Bryan Wilkerson at wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu, (865) 354-3000, ext. 4748.

This press release was submitted by Owen Driskill.

Roane State paramedic alumnus honored

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Rick Valentine, left, a 1990 graduate of Roane State's Paramedic Program and now director of the Sevier County Ambulance Service, along with Greg Miller, right, chief of the Gatlinburg Fire Department, were recently awarded the Tennessee Ambulance Service Association's President's Award. In middle is TASA President Andrew Reed. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

Rick Valentine, left, a 1990 graduate of Roane State’s Paramedic Program and now director of the Sevier County Ambulance Service, along with Greg Miller, right, chief of the Gatlinburg Fire Department, were recently awarded the Tennessee Ambulance Service Association’s President’s Award. In middle is TASA President Andrew Reed. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

Rick Valentine, a 1990 graduate of Roane State Community College’s Paramedic Program, has been awarded the Tennessee Ambulance Service Association’s President’s Award for Leadership.

After serving as deputy director of the Sevier County Ambulance Service for many years, Valentine was named the service director last year.

In a Facebook post, Valentine said he was “surprised, honored, and humbled” to receive the award during the association’s annual conference in Gatlinburg in February. [Read more…]

Roane State paramedic alumni promoted

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Nathan Sweet, left, director of the Anderson County EMS, and Danny McCreary, deputy director, are pictured with two other graduates of Roane State's Paramedic Program who were recently promoted to assistant supervisors, Carrissa Keathley, left, and Misti Smiddy. (Submitted photo)

Nathan Sweet, left, director of the Anderson County EMS, and Danny McCreary, deputy director, are pictured with two other graduates of Roane State’s Paramedic Program who were recently promoted to assistant supervisors, Carrissa Keathley, left, and Misti Smiddy. (Submitted photo)

 

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

CLINTON—Graduates of Roane State Community College’s paramedic program continue to receive promotions within area emergency medical services agencies, said David S. Blevins.

Blevins, director of EMS Education in the Allied Health Sciences Division of Roane State, said two paramedics, Carrissa Keathley and Misti Smiddy, have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant within the Anderson County EMS operation.

“They are great paramedics and strong additions to the supervisory team of Anderson County EMS,” said Director Nathan Sweet, who is also a graduate of Roane State’s paramedic program. [Read more…]

Immigrant, refugee rights to be discussed in RSCC-ORICL lecture Thursday

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Kasar Abdulla

Kasar Abdulla

 

Kasar Abdulla, a Muslim refugee from Kurdistan of Iraq and director of advocacy and education at the Nashville nonprofit Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, will speak at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Oak Ridge Branch Campus of Roane State Community College.

Abdulla will tell her story and discuss immigrant and refugee rights in the first talk of 2017 in the RSCC-Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or ORICL, Lecture Series. Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be delivered in the City Room (A-111) of the Coffey-McNally Building.

Abdulla has received awards and recognition on television and in publications for her community activism in Nashville. In 2013, President Barack Obama named her a “Champion of Change” for her work on immigrant integration in Tennessee. [Read more…]

Roane State’s Stephens honored for poetry

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DeAnna Stephens

DeAnna Stephens

While she loves writing poetry, the challenging act of “paring and refining” her efforts is as enjoyable and intellectually challenging, Roane State Community College assistant professor of English DeAnna Stephens said.

Stephens’ poem, “Bundt Season,” was recently a finalist in the prestigious Lascaux Review. That literary journal provides a showcase for emerging and established writers and artists whose talents have lingering impacts.

Her poem “deals with the rituals surrounding death, and the complex ties we maintain with family,” said Stephens, who said she wrote her first poem when she was 13.

“I am drawn to poetry…because it connects the individual experience to the universal in a way that is different from other genres,” she said. [Read more…]

Tennessee higher education leaders met to help transfer students succeed

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Public and private university officials, whose work serves as a key to the success of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiative, met in February to collect more tools for growing the number of college-educated Tennesseans.

More than 130 transfer counselors, registrars, and advising directors from Tennessee’s public and private colleges and universities met in Murfreesboro on February 22-23 for the 2017 Tennessee Transfer Summit.

Attendees heard from transfer expert Janet Marling. Marling is vice president for student affairs at the University of North Georgia and executive director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. She gave the keynote address on resolving obstacles to transfer student success.

India Lane, University of Tennessee associate vice president for academic affairs and student success, said collaboration is key for successful college transfers. [Read more…]

Health care employers invited to participate in Roane State job fair

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Employers are invited to participate in a March 29 job fair at Roane State Community College for students who are pursuing careers in health care and plan to graduate this year.

The fair is planned for Wednesday, March 29, from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. Setup begins at 11 a.m. in the Coffey-McNally building.

Employers are asked to register by March 24. There is no registration fee. To register, visit www.roanestate.edu/jobfair. Limited space is still available. [Read more…]

Regional symposium for community college leaders, educators

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The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship, the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, and the Appalachian Regional Commission will co-sponsor a regional symposium for community college leaders and educators in Appalachia who are interested in enhancing economic growth in their areas.

The summit, “Leveraging Assets in Your Local Community to Promote Economic Development,” will be held March 30-31 at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville.

The keynote speaker for the event is Randy Boyd, former Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College, and Anthony Wise, president of Pellissippi State Community College, are among those scheduled to present at the symposium. [Read more…]

Seminar on how to do business with the government

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free seminar on how to do business with the government.

The seminar is from 9 a.m. to noon April 4 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or send an email to jbangs@tsbdc.org.

Free seminar on government contracting, GSA schedule

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free seminar on how to get on the GSA Schedule to do business with the government.

The seminar is from 1-4 p.m. April 4 at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or send an email to jbangs@tsbdc.org.

Hackworth, of Oliver Springs, named head softball coach at Roane State

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Jessie Hackworth

Jessie Hackworth

 

Jessica Hackworth has been named Roane State Community College’s head softball coach.

She had served as the interim coach. Hackworth succeeds Sue Niemi, who has taken a student services position at the college.

Hackworth, who is from Oliver Springs, was a Roane State assistant coach for five years. In addition to coaching duties, she organized remodeling of the softball locker room, ran fall tournaments, and worked closely with players to ensure their academic success. Roane State softball players have received numerous conference honors for their academic performance. [Read more…]