Student Activities and SGA sponsor Juneteenth celebration

Galveston College recognized the oldest celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States with a Juneteenth luncheon on June 19 in the Cheney Student Center dining room.

The Galveston College Office of Student Activities and Student Government Association partnered with Mr. C’s Dugout to provide a soul-food lunch menu, including smothered pork chops, white rice, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, black-eyed peas and cornbread.

The SGA served up free peach cobbler and ice cream and shared a poster display with information on the history of Juneteenth in Galveston and in the USA.

Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the freedom of the slaves in the United States. The name Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth. The day is also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862. It went into effect on January 1, 1863. However, slaves were not set free in the Confederacy until the Union army was able to come in and take over. On June 18, 1865, the Union army arrived in Galveston, Texas. The next day, June 19, General Gordon Granger announced that the slaves in Texas were free by order of the president of the United States.

The former slaves in Galveston celebrated the day that they were set free. The first Juneteenth celebration took place the very next year. The annual celebration began to spread throughout Texas and surrounding states. In 1980 it became an official state holiday in Texas.

 

Above: Galveston College Nursing students enjoy soul food from Mr. C’s Dugout and peach cobbler and ice cream courtesy of the Student Activities office and Student Government Association during Galveston College’s Juneteenth celebration on June 19.

Galveston College Community Chorale spring concert is May 19

The Galveston College Community Chorale’s free spring concert, “Songs of Democracy,” is set for Sunday, May 19, at 7 p.m. at Moody Methodist Church, located at 53rd and Avenue U in Galveston, Texas.

In honor of Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day, the Galveston College Community Chorale will perform America’s favorite patriotic songs, including “America” and “God Bless America.”

Under the direction of Michael Gilbert, the concert will feature a presentation of the colors by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 880, a salute to the armed forces with recognition of those in each branch of service, and a special rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever” by world-renowned organist Ron Wyatt.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Massage Therapy program offers Swedish massages

The Galveston College Continuing Education Massage Therapy program will offer Swedish massages for $25 per one-hour session from May 6 to May 23 on the main campus of Galveston College, 4015 Avenue Q, Galveston, Texas.

Payment is required at the Business Services window on the second floor of Moody Hall prior to scheduling an appointment.

For information, please call Linda Jenko in the Continuing Education department at (409) 944-1344 or email [email protected].

Spring Fling

Galveston College will celebrate Spring Fling 2019 on Wednesday, April 3, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the Seibel Wing Lawn on the Galveston College main campus, 4015 Avenue Q.

There will be free popcorn, hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks and chips, as well as a variety of booths, games and DIY crafts.

In the event of rain, Spring Fling will take place in the Hermes Fitness Center Gym and under the Hermes carport.

Food for Thought Opening Day

Galveston College serves more than 200 at opening of Food for Thought market

Galveston College volunteers served more than 200 students at the opening of the Food for Thought mobile farmers market food distribution program Wednesday, March 20, on the college’s main campus at 4015 Avenue Q, Galveston.

Food for Thought is a partnership between Galveston College, the Galveston County Food Bank and the Houston Food Bank through the Food for Change food scholarship initiative.

The Food for Thought market gives students access to fresh produce, meats and other groceries on the Galveston College campus, enabling them to save money for other necessities and to maintain their focus on school.

“The food scholarship assists with lowering grocery expenses throughout the semester and allows students to stay fueled and healthy while pursuing their educational goals,” said Cynthia Parra, student activities coordinator and Food for Thought market coordinator at Galveston College.

The mobile market will be open on the first and third Wednesday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus and the second and fourth Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the college’s Charlie Thomas Family Applied Technology Center location at 7626 Broadway St.

Currently enrolled students can obtain client ID cards in the Galveston College Counseling and Advising Center on the first floor of Moody Hall on the main campus or the administration office at the Applied Technology Center and enroll online by visiting the Food for Change page on the Houston Food Bank website at https://www.tfaforms.com/4678096.

Students also can locate unrestricted Food for Change markets by using the Houston Food Bank Mobile App. Food for Change markets are labeled to help clients identify all markets available to all Food for Change recipients.

The next distributions at Galveston College are set for Thursday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Applied Technology Center and April 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus.

For more information and to volunteer, contact Cynthia Parra in the Office of Student Activities at [email protected] or (409) 944-1234.

 

Above: Ron Crumedy (right), acting vice president for student services, weighs produce at the opening of the Food for Thought mobile farmers market March 20 at Galveston College. The college served more than 200 students the first day of the program. The next distributions are set for Thursday, March 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Charlie Thomas Family Applied Technology Center and Wednesday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus. See full article below and click here for more photo highlights from opening day.

Galveston College Transfer Signing at UHD

Galveston College, UHD sign articulation agreement

The University of Houston-Downtown and Galveston College have pledged their support to students earning their associate degrees and ultimately Finishing UHD Strong.

Dr. W. Myles Shelton, Galveston College president, and Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, UHD president, put their pens to paper on March 19 to sign an articulation agreement focused on student success. This pact commits both institutions to creating seamless pathways for Galveston College students seeking to transfer to UHD; providing resources such as degree maps and cooperative advising; offering joint admissions, and data sharing.

The signing was conducted at UHD. Arriving with Dr. Shelton was Dr. Cissy Mathews, vice president of instruction at Galveston College. In addition to President Muñoz, UHD representatives included Dr. Eric Carl Link, senior vice president for academic and student affairs and provost; Daniel Villanueva, assistant vice president for enrollment services and registrar; and Dr. Faiza Khoja, associate vice president for academic affairs.

“This signing is a first step. Both UHD and Galveston College will work together to support students and ensure they complete their degrees on time and without excess debt or credit hours,” Dr. Muñoz said.

“I look forward to working with UHD on this great partnership and helping our students succeed,” Dr. Shelton responded.

This agreement will support seamless transfers from Galveston College to UHD, as well as reverse transfers (transferring university credits back to a community college to earn associate degrees).

It also promotes data sharing between the institutions to provide students with information regarding transfer processes, financial aid, degree programs and degree completion.

And, to further ease the transition from an associate-degree program to bachelor’s track, both UHD and Galveston College will partner on joint admissions allowing students to co-enroll at both institutions. Likewise, students will benefit from cooperative advising in which students can receive specific guidance using degree maps to effectively direct them toward the right courses for selected degree programs.

The UHD-Galveston College partnership supports Houston Guided Pathways to Success (Houston GPS) initiative and fulfills the goals of the 60x30TX plan of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, whose overall goal is to have at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 complete a technical certificate or degree by 2030.

Led by the University of Houston, Houston GPS includes Houston and Gulf Coast area institutions working together to create an integrated system of cohesive, interdependent strategies designed to increase and accelerate student completion and a smooth two-year to four-year college transfer process while improving educational quality for Houston-area students, ultimately saving students time and money.

 

Above: Dr. W. Myles Shelton (right), Galveston College president, and Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, University of Houston-Downtown president, sign an articulation agreement March 19, along with (back row from left) Daniel Villanueva, assistant vice president for enrollment services and registrar at UHD; Dr. Faiza Khoja, associate vice president for academic affairs at UHD; Dr. Eric Carl Link, senior vice president for academic and student affairs and provost at UHD; and Dr. Cissy Mathews, vice president of instruction at Galveston College. Courtesy UHD

Exhibition to feature recent works of ceramics artist Jeff Forster

Galveston College will feature an exhibition of recent ceramic art by visiting artist Jeff Forster Wednesday, March 6, through April 4 in the third floor gallery of the Fine Arts building at Galveston College, 4015 Avenue Q, Galveston, Texas. The gallery is open during regular college hours.

In addition to the exhibit, the college will host a workshop with Forster from 1-4 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, in the Ceramics Studio (Fine Arts-353). There also will be a closing reception that evening from 6-8 p.m. in the gallery. The public is invited.

Currently the ceramics chair at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Forster has participated in exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His work has won awards in a number of these exhibitions, including a Juror’s Choice Award in “Ceramic Object/Conceptual Material” and the Luis Jimenez Award for first place in the “Sculpture on Campus Exhibition” at Southern Illinois University. Additionally, Forster was awarded the Helen Drutt Studio Fellowship in conjunction with his residency at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Besides teaching and maintaining an active studio practice, Forster currently sits on the Artist in Residence Committee at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and the Artist Advisory Committee for Fresh Arts. From 2011 to 2013 he served on the board of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts as the On‐Site Conference Liaison for the 47th annual conference in Houston.

Forster received a Bachelor of Arts in art education from Saint John’s University in 1998 and a Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University in 2007.

For information on the workshop and exhibition, contact Amanda Barry Jones at [email protected].

Rachel Pearson

Galveston Reads author visit to feature Dr. Rachel Pearson

Dr. Rachel Pearson, author of 2019 Galveston Reads book choice, “No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine,” will be the featured speaker at the 2019 Galveston Reads author visit Monday, March 18, at 7 p.m. in the Abe and Annie Seibel Wing on the Galveston College campus, 4015 Avenue Q, Galveston, Texas.
Dr. Pearson is a physician and medical humanities researcher whose writing has appeared in Scientific American, Texas Monthly, the Guardian, The Daily Beast and elsewhere.
As described by the publisher, W.W. Norton and Company, “No Apparent Distress” is a “brutally frank memoir about doctors and patients in a healthcare system that puts the poor at risk.” According to Norton:
“In medical charts, the term ‘N.A.D.’ (No Apparent Distress) is used for patients who appear stable. The phrase also aptly describes America’s medical system when it comes to treating the underprivileged. Medical students learn on the bodies of the poor—and the poor suffer from their mistakes. Pearson confronted these harsh realities when she started medical school in Galveston, Texas.
“Pearson, herself from a working-class background, remains haunted by the suicide of a close friend, experiences firsthand the heartbreak of her own errors in a patient’s care, and witnesses the ruinous effects of a hurricane on a Texas town’s medical system. In a free clinic where the motto is ‘All Are Welcome Here,’ she learns how to practice medicine with love and tenacity amidst the raging injustices of a system that favors the rich and the white.
“‘No Apparent Distress’ is at once an indictment of American health care and a deeply moving tale of one doctor’s coming-of-age.”
Dr. Pearson will speak, field questions and sign copies of her book, which will be on sale at the event.
Galveston College Cosmetology

Cosmetology program sets spring Client Days

Are you ready to freshen up your spring look?

The Galveston College Cosmetology department will open for services on Fridays in February from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All services are offered at the Charlie Thomas Family Applied Technology Center, 7626 Broadway, Galveston.

The pricing schedule is as follows:

  • manicures – $10
  • shampoo and blowout – $10
  • shampoo and iron work (curling iron or flat iron) – $10
  • haircuts – $10

Cosmetology will host facial spa nights by appointment on Wednesdays and Thursdays after 6 p.m., beginning Feb. 27. Cost is $10.

Call (409) 944-1406 to book an appointment.

Students enjoy the campus and community Involvement Fair Jan. 29 in the Mary Moody Northen Center Atrium.

Students enjoy spring 2019 Involvement Fair

As part of the spring 2019 Week of Welcome (WOW!), the Galveston College Office of Student Activities and Student Government Association sponsored a campus and community Involvement Fair Jan. 29 in the Mary Moody Northen Center Atrium.

Student clubs, departments, programs and community organizations hosted informational tables, which were designed to encourage student involvement and engagement on campus and in the community.

For more photo highlights, click here.