Quick Takes December 2019

South Texas College has announced the recipients of its Making a Difference in Student Success and Retention (MADISSAR) grants at a special checking signing ceremony Dec. 2. Juan Carlos Rodriguez was awarded for his proposal titled Early College Supplemental Instruction Program, which utilizes peer-assisted study sessions. Olivia De La Rosa was awarded for her proposal titled Student Success Assistant for Continuing, Professional & Workforce Education, which will provide counseling and case management services to non-credit students enrolled in Continuing Education Career Training Programs and High School Equivalency Programs resulting in increased program completion and job placement rates.

Students compete in National Youth Cyber Defense Competition

Students gathered at South Texas College on Dec. 6 to participate in the nation's largest cyber defense competition that puts high school and middle school students in charge of securing virtual networks. Through the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, the students were placed in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company and through a series of online competition rounds, were given a set of virtual operating systems and tasked with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services. The top teams in the nation earn all-expenses-paid trips to Maryland for the National Finals Competition in the spring where they can earn national recognition and scholarship money.

‘End of an era’

South Texas College staff, administrators, and faculty gathered for a reception honoring Dr. Margaretha E. Bischoff, Dean for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who announced her retirement Dec. 4. Joining STC in 1999, Dr. Bischoff was a part of a wave of faculty that year that saw more than 100 hired in order to keep up with student demand. Beginning her tenure as a faculty member in Psychology, Dr. Bischoff was then promoted to assistant dean, department chair, and finally dean of the liberal arts division in 2004.

STC receives $5K grant from BBVA for robotics training

South Texas College received $5,000 in funding from the BBVA Foundation Community Giving Program on Dec. 9. The grant from BBVA will help STC’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing’s (IAM) Industrial Automation and Robotics Training Program to offset tuition and fees for up to 12 new and incumbent workers. The award period is from Nov. 4, 2019 to Nov. 4, 2020. Participants will also receive an industry-recognized credential from Festo Didactic.