Germanna Educational Foundation honors Bruce and Sandy Davis

The Germanna Community College Educational Foundation honored longtime supporters Bruce and Sandy Davis Friday night, unveiling a plaque naming the atrium of the Dickinson Building on the Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania for the couple.

Bruce and Sandy Davis

Bruce Davis is a former co-owner of Freeman Beverage who recently bought 18 Beltone Hearing Centers in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. He has also served as chief liaison to the president at Germanna.

GCC President David A. Sam praised the Davises for their generosity in giving back to the community, both in terms of  funds and time

After their hard work paid off in business success, he said. “they decided to invest in Germanna and our students.” 

Davis noted that the definition of “atrium” is any chamber that’s connected to other chambers or passageways and that “all kinds of students pass through here.”

Another definition, he said, is the upper chamber of the human heart.

Davis said that he and his wife, in their time in Fredericksburg since coming here in 1989, have tried to invest in the community not only here at GCC, but through the Germanna Historical Foundation and the Lions Club.

“It’s part of our heart,” he explained.

Davis said community colleges are making a difference today, “transforming lives in a way never seen before…

“It used to be that if you graduated from high school you did OK, but if you got a four- year degree you could do a lot better,” he said. “Now, companies don’t always want someone with a four-year degree. They often want someone with an associate’s degree they can train and immediately get into their workforce.”

Davis said Germanna “helps transform so many lives of young people who don’t necessarily always have the advantages some of us have. That’s why we’ve invested in the college and in other things as well.
“Because the heart pumps blood out into the body,” he said, “and the body’s the community.”

Getting to Know: Donna Alexander, Student Success Coach

 Germanna Community College has launched a Student Success Coach Program. The coaches stay with students all the way through their time at Germanna, giving them the help they need to succeed in college and in life.
We'll meet each of the coaches in a series of Q&A profiles--Student Success Coach Donna

Donna Alexander

Alexander works with students at GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

·     Where are you from?

I'm from London, Ontario Canada. I now live in Fredericksburg.

·     Where did you go to high school and college and what degrees do you have?

I went to high school in London, Ontario Canada and then attended two years at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, where I obtained a Medical Administration diploma.  In 2000 I married a Marine and moved to a place I had never even heard of, Beaufort, S.C.  I started working at The University of South Carolina as a program specialist with a trio program.  I started taking courses toward my Bachelor’s Degree.  After my husband retired, he started a second career in D.C. and we moved to Fredericksburg in 2004.  I started taking more courses at Germanna.  After 8 years of assisting students and encouraging them to obtain their education, I decided to resign my position to do the same.  I graduated in May 2014 with my B.S. in Business and Psychology from Liberty University.  I'm deciding on which program I will take toward my master’s.

·     How long have you worked at Germanna?

I worked here from 2004 to 2012 in Tutoring Services; I came back to work at GCC Locust Grove Campus Counseling from February to June, 2014.  I started back on September as a Student Success Coach.

·     What do you like about working at Germanna? About being a Student Success Coach?

I love that Germanna employees are so committed to the academic success of each and every student! It is wonderful to be part of an environment in which we are all working together with the same purpose.

Being a Student Success Coach allows me to spend much more time with students.  I had always felt when I was in tutoring, that sometimes it isn’t the material of the class the student struggles with.  I saw students struggling with confidence.  They didn’t have someone telling them they could do this.  They didn’t have someone cheering them on.  Now I get to actually do this with students, and I couldn’t be happier.

·     What’s the biggest challenge you face in your job?

So far, the only challenge has been getting students to make initial contact.  Once they do and I can explain what my role is in their academics, they are thrilled. 

·     What’s your advice for Germanna students?

Follow directions and go to all your classes.  For instance, if an instructor wants you to complete a paper in a certain style and length and gives you a due date,  give them what they ask for.  Most of all, take advantage of the free resources available when you need help.  You never have to go it alone at Germanna!

·     For students graduating from high school and thinking about college?

If you are thinking about college, go to Germanna first.  You'll not only save a considerable amount of money, but you will become part of a very comfortable environment with staff that are here to see you succeed!  It will make the transition to higher education much smoother.

·     For older students thinking about returning to college?

There is the feeling for older students that they are going to be the only one. Germanna has many mature students and that's why a community college is a great environment for a returning student.  As a mature student myself, I understand the rigors of balancing work, children and life.  Germanna has the resources available to help with that.

·     What misconception does the public have about community colleges and community college students?

I'm not sure, but perhaps they think that community college is not as prestigious as a four-year institution, but with Germanna’s guaranteed transfer admission agreements, it makes sense to start here.  Here at Germanna the classes are smaller and much more affordable.  Also, the resources to help with the transition to college are more personal.

·     Are you married and do you have children?

I'm married to a retired Marine, Denny; and have a 12-year-old daughter, Olivia.  I also have four grown, inherited children (I hate to say step).

·     Fun fact about you?

I love trivia so much that I read trivia books and play Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit on my game system at home. 

·     What’s your favorite book?

"The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe"

·     Your favorite movie?

"Bridesmaids," "The Avengers," and "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

·     Your favorite TV show?

"Game of Thrones" and "Modern Family"

·     Your favorite sport and team?

Hockey of course! The Montreal Canadiens.

STEM careers not only for boys, Girl Scouts learn at GCC

Mirela Fetea, Ph.D., (right) answers questions from area Girl Scouts who participated in hands-on science workshops at Germanna Saturday.With her (background, l-r, are Trudy Witt, Ph.D. Prof. of Biology, GCC student Zilmara Montecinos Bonnet, Izabela Sikora, education technician wih the Tri-City Soil and Water Conservation Board, JoAnn Schrass, Ph. D., Biology professor.)

Fifty Girl Scouts from Fredericksburg and Stafford and Spotsylvania counties deconstructed electronic devices including computers, printers, smart phones and televisions and learned about physics and ecology during the first Girl Scout Science Day Saturday at Germanna Community College's Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania.

Isabella Grasso of Girl Scout Troop 5214 takes part in a "Deconstruction" workshop during Girl Scout Science Day at Germanna Community College's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania Saturday. participated in hands-on science workshops led by Germanna Community College faculty at the Fredericksburg Area Campus on Saturday, (Photos by Robert A. Martin)

During a panel discussion about women in science, Dr. Mirela Fetea, who teaches physics at Germanna, told the Girl Scouts not to worry about stereotyping that implies girls aren't suited to STEM careers.

"Just pursue your dreams," Fetea told the Girl Scouts. "If you want to stay home and raise your children, that's ok. But there's nothing wrong with chasing your dreams, whatever they are. Even if you are told you cannot do it. Show people you can."
Dr. Trudy Witt, who teaches biology at GCC, told the Girl Scouts not to be concerned about being pigeon-holed as a "nerd."
"I always remind people that nerds make more money," she said with a grin.
"It was pretty fun," 12-year-old Evelyn Pailthorpe of Stafford Troop 3546 said of the day.
"We're really excited about having the opportunity to get elementary school-aged girls thinking about careers in science," Witt said.

Germanna Biology Prof. Trudy Witt with local scouts
during Girl Scout Science Day at GCC.

Math in Action adds up for area teachers

Germanna's Center for Workforce and Community Education hosted its second annual "Math in Action: A Conference for Math Teachers by Math Teachers" in June at GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus.

The Virginia Department of Education’s Michael Bolling,
Director. The Office of Mathematics and Governor's
Schools, was the conference's keynote speaker.

The Germanna Center for Workforce had visited area school systems and asked how it could help with professional development. Math teachers wanted help dealing with the strict changes in math requirements. It partnered with area schools to bring in teachers who could share best practices with each other. 

The conference is designed for teachers interested in helping students achieve at the highest possible levels in math. Attendees heard the latest news about mathematics instruction from the Virginia Department of Education’s Michael Bolling, Director, The Office of Mathematics and Governor's Schools.

Teachers had the opportunity to participate in sessions focused on instructional strategies for the teaching of math. The break-out sessions were conducted by teachers sharing best practices, helping to build a network of support throughout the region

Silver Linings: Since she was a child, when GCC engineering Prof. Davyda Hammond has seen a need, she's found a way to fix things

Her mother passed away when she was 5.

She says her father couldn’t take care of her, so at age 12, she moved to Birmingham, Ala. to live with her grandmother, Sylvia Branch.

She wasn’t happy about the move, but what seemed to be a storm cloud had a silver lining.

 “It was my teachers in Alabama who really turned me on to math,” she says.



Germanna engineering Prof. Davyda Hammond and students
on green roof of GCC's Science & Engineering Building

“I wasn’t a good student in Detroit,” Germanna Community College Engineering Prof. Davyda Hammond says. “The primary reason was my home life. I lived with my aunt on the weekends and my father on weekdays. I was moving from one bed to another.”

 Her life had taken a turn for the better thanks to her grandmother. So it rankled her when, as a child, she would see shady mechanics take advantage of her grandmother, charging her a lot and refusing to explain what was wrong. “My grandmother always got the short end of the stick,” she says.

She was 12 and her teachers in Alabama were telling her she should become a math teacher. She knew that math was important to engineering. And she says with a smile that she thought to herself back then, “Well, engineers, they learn about cars.”

By the time she was in college, she was doing her own 20-point checks on her car and her grandmother’s.  When she’d take either car to a dealership, she’d confidently and firmly say: “This is what’s wrong. Don’t tell me anything else is wrong with it.”

 As a child, she had seen a need and addressed that need. That’s what engineers do.

 So it should come as no surprise that she’s done the same as a faculty member at Germanna.

  Until now, Germanna’s Associate of Science degree in Engineering program focused on mechanical engineering and engineering science.

  Dr. Hammond said that one of the primary concerned voiced during last year’s Germanna Center for Workforce Advisory Board meeting, was a skills gap that existed when it came to filling electrical engineering jobs.

  Earlier this year she did some research and found that more job openings were listed for electrical engineers across Virginia than for mechanical engineers.

  Seeing a need, she pushed to add a concentration in electrical engineering at Germanna. And she succeeded.

  Dr. Hammond explains that because Germanna has guaranteed admission articulation agreements with both UVa. and Virginia Tech, “If you get at least a ‘B’ in all your engineering and science and math classes at GCC and an overall GPA of 3.2, you’re guaranteed admission into the schools of engineering at  UVa. and Virginia Tech. They get so many applications at Tech that automatically knowing you’re getting in is a real advantage.”

 Things are coming together nicely for the GCC engineering program, which has a beautiful, cutting edge new Science & Engineering Building at Germanna’s Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania.

Germanna's new Science & Engineering Building and Information Commons

She earned her bachelor’s degree at Auburn University, her master’s degree at the University of California-Irvine and her Ph.D. at the University of Alabama.

 Her grandmother passed away in 2009, but she lived to see Davyda get her PhD. “For a long time, she didn’t know what I was doing. I was the grandchild who knew how to fix things. A broken radio? ‘Fix this for me.’ The VCR? ‘Fix this for me.’ I was the fix-it child.”

 In a manner of speaking, she has her own “fix it children” now.

Dr. Hammond is the faculty advisor for GCC's Applied Engineering Club. In the spring of 2013, the club built a robot "with the Fukushuma power plant meltdown disaster in mind.” It has the ability to navigate into areas too dangerous and restricting to send personnel.  It uses two onboard cameras that allow both a forward-tilting view and a 310-degree pan and tilt view to “see.” It's able to manipulate instruments from 10 inches away with its probe, drop remote sensors and retrieve sensors. It’s compact, weighing about nine pounds with no dimension greater than 14.25 inches. Club members use an Xbox controller to operate it via a Wi-Fi connection with an indoor range of 230 feet and virtually unlimited range when connected over the Internet. It uses a laser guidance system and has a top speed of 1.56 miles per hour.

Germanna Applied Engineering Club's D.R.O.I.D. robot.

The club and D.R.O.I.D. made a strong showing at this Spring’s ASME Student Professional Development Conference at the University of Virginia, finishing second in student design for D.R.O.I.D., second in Web page design by Tristan Jones, second in Poster Presentation by Andrew Hallet and fourth for an oral presentation by Brian Keefer.

 A Germanna “MeCANical” engineering team led by  Dr. Hammond won the Engineering Ingenuity award during a recent contest sponsored by Stafford County Schools and 99.3 The Vibe. Ten teams collected thousands of cans of food for the Fredericksburg Food Bank, and then built structures at Spotsylvania Towne Center. The Germanna Engineering students came up with an American flag design. Now all the cans go to feed area families in need.

 "Silver Linings" design won an award and helped the hungry.

When the group had to submit a name for their structure, it didn’t know what it was going to build. So Prof. Hammond jotted down “Silver Linings.”   She says that popped into her head because being sent to live with her grandmother led to her becoming a PhD teaching engineering at Germanna and because of the silver colored trim of the cans of food donated for the project.

  Prof. Hammond is justifiably proud of her students.  

 “Engineering is a very difficult degree,” she says. “And if you’re not optimistic and lack confidence in yourself, it’s hard to deal with the stress.”

   Add to that, Prof. Hammond says, the fact that most Germanna engineering students have jobs while trying to master a difficult program, and it’s satisfying to see them succeed.” They’re very serious about their studies. They’re coming into class after a full day of work. Some have retail jobs, but with the knowledge they possess, they’re very close to what you need for a professional job.

   “They’re highly motivated, but at the same time, they know how to have fun,” she says. “They don’t let the stress of the program cause them to give up. They’re very supportive of one another. Engineering is a competitive environment, but it’s not that way here. We want to see everyone do well and get good grades that will allow them to transfer and finish their bachelor’s degrees.”

  

Don't fall behind. Germanna Tutoring Services will help you race ahead.

Many new Germanna students are getting a jump start on their college education by enrolling in classes this summer. It’s important to be aware of the abundance of free academic support services available. Since most summer classes proceed at an accelerated pace, students should seek tutoring assistance through our Tutoring Services at the first sign that they need additional instructional assistance.

Students can schedule appointments for individual tutoring appointments by calling or visiting the Locust Grove or Fredericksburg Tutoring Centers or by submitting an appointment request directly from the Tutoring website. Students at the Daniel and Stafford Centers may call our offices to schedule tutoring sessions via Blackboard Collaborate. Walk-in assistance is also available in our Writing and Math Center at the Fredericksburg and Locust Grove campuses. Please refer to the Tutoring Services Web page for specific hours.

If students are unable to visit the Locust Grove or Fredericksburg Tutoring Centers, they may be interested in participating in online tutoring sessions through Smarthinking. Enrolled students have already been pre-registered for Smarthinking, so they may participate in “live” tutoring sessions or submit their writing assignments for review to the essay center.

As students prepare for placement tests, write research papers, or complete homework assignments, please let them know that there are many helpful handouts available to them from the Tutoring Centers or from the tutoring website. Students can also access over 4,000 Khan Academy videos from the tutoring Web page in subjects ranging from algebra and statistics to economics and physics.

Fredericksburg Area Campus Tutoring Center (540) 891-3017

Locust Grove Campus Tutoring Center  (540) 423-9148

Tutoring appointments may be made here.

--Ann S. Lyons

Coordinator of Tutoring Services

 

NIH internship brings Germanna student a step closer to childhood dream

 Germanna Community College student Ulisses Santamaria, the son of immigrants from El Salvador, has always wanted to be a doctor—so much so that as a child he became his own first patient.

Ulisses Santamaria to research how the retina processes images

  “I’ve always had a thing for medicine,” he says. “Even as a kid, if I was kind of my own doctor. If I had cuts or bruises, I’d fix them myself. I was pulling my own teeth out when they were ready. I pulled out the last [baby tooth] when I was 9 years old.

 “I wanted to be a clinical surgeon. But I’ve always thought it was interesting what goes into the research that goes into developing tools used in surgery.”

 He has worked as a volunteer at the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, mostly in the emergency room.

Now the 18-year-old Spotsylvania County native has become one of the early success stories for Germanna Community College’s new Experiential Learning internship program. Through the program Ulisses has landed an internship at the National Institute for Health.

 He will be mentored by Dr. Alon Poleg-Polsky in research involving the structure and function of the retina at the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke in Bethesda. The work will involve investigation into how the retina performs preliminary image processing and transmits visual information to the brain.

His father immigrated from El Salvador in 1989 to escape a civil war there.  His mother followed a year later.

“For my mom, it was a better opportunity to work over here and send money back home,” he said. “At the same time,there was a war going on in El Salvador.  Instead of going into the civil war, they told him it would be better to come to the United States to avoid that.”

  Ulisses is the first member of his immediate family to go to college. His father works as a home renovator.

  Ulisses is the first member of his immediate family to go to college.

He credits Gary Brightbill, an 8^th grade science teacher at Battlefield Middle School who was honored as one of Spotsylvania County’s best teachers for 2013, for piquing his interest in science. “He set off the spark,” Ulisses says. Faculty members at Germanna have fanned that spark into a flame, he says.

“I always planned to come to Germanna from the moment I began my freshman year at Courtland. “It’s less expensive than four-year schools and I’ve had good teachers here.  Dr. Trudy Witt, for biology, is one of my favorites.  Prof. Mike Shirazi in math—that man is great. And [Prof. Shawn Shields-Maxwell] is a pretty awesome chemistry teacher.”

Prof. Trudy Witt

 Prof. Witt said: "Ulisses is an excellent student ...  His love of life and enthusiasm for science is contagious. He was a pleasure to have in class."

Cheri Ober, Germanna’s internship program coordinator, says Ulissis has been working his way through college by delivering pizzas. This summer the paid NIH internship will give him the chance to earn money doing work related to his career goal for the first time, she says.

To learn more about Germanna’s internship program, email Ober at cober@germanna.edu or go to http://www.germanna.edu/Students/Experiential_Learning_Center/for_students/