News

Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso Graduation evokes special memories not only for graduates but also for their families and friends. Anyone who can’t attend Del Mar College’s Registered Nurse (RN) Pinning Ceremony this Wednesday, Aug. 15, or the Summer Commencement Ceremony on Friday, Aug. 17, can still see these events through services provided by Del Mar TV. Del Mar TV will webcast live both the RN Pinning Ceremony from the Retama Room in the College’s East Campus Harvin Student Center and the Summer 2018 Commencement from Richardson Performance Hall. Both ceremonies start at 7 p.m. with the webcast opening 15 minutes before each event begins. To view the ceremonies online, go to www.delmar.edu/webcasts. Additionally, the Summer Commencement Ceremony will broadcast live on Channel 1301 on Spectrum, Channel 19 on Grande Cable and on Channel 99 with AT&T U-verse. Nearly 443 “prospective” graduates will receive a combined 576 associate degrees and certificates during Summer Commencement. C. Michelle Unda, who serves as the Senior Regional HR Public Affairs Representative for the Central West South Region of NuStar, will provide the keynote address. Those who miss the live webcasts can watch rebroadcasts of the ceremonies on Channel 1301 through Spectrum, Channel 19 through Grande Cable and on Channel 99 through AT&T U-verse as follows: Registered Nurse Pinning 9 p.m. on Aug. 23 and 30 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 3 p.m. on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4 Summer Commencement 10 p.m. on Aug. 24 and 31 8 p.m. on Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 3 p.m. on Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 DVDs of the recorded ceremonies can be pre-ordered by phone for $20 each by calling 361-698-1328. Visa and MasterCard payments are accepted. DVDs can be mailed for an additional $2 shipping and handling fee, or they can be picked up at the Business and Registration desk at the Del Mar College Center for Economic Development (3209 S. Staples) beginning Monday, August 27.  

Article by: Michael Bratten An industry-recognized credentialing course offered at Del Mar College (DMC) beginning Aug. 18 now costs just $25 for registration. The 70-hour course, NCCER Core Curriculum Credentials with OSHA 10 Credentials, is sanctioned by the National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.   Classes are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays from Aug. 18 to Oct. 6 at DMC’s West Campus, Old Brownsville and Airport roads. Those interested can register by phone at (361) 698-1328 or in person at the DMC Center for Economic Development, 3209 S. Staples St. The course covers topics such as safety, rigging, construction math and drawings and hands-on training. NCCER credentials are recognized in the private and government industrial sectors as the standard for the training, assessment, certification and career development of construction and maintenance craftspersons. Bechtel, Flint Hills Resources, Chemours and Valero are just a few of the local companies that recognize NCCER credentials. “With the industrial expansion happening in our area and a significant portion of the construction workforce retiring, this is an ideal time to earn credentials and make yourself marketable in construction trades,” Betz said.  

Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso Finishing studies, taking finals and anticipating walking the stage is on the minds of 443 prospective Del Mar College students who have applied for graduation this semester. The College will hold its Summer Commencement in Richardson Performance Hall next Friday, Aug. 17, beginning at 7 p.m. with approximately 265 graduates walking the stage. During the ceremony, the College will award 576 certificates and associate’s degrees combined to 443 prospective graduates. The Class of Summer 2018 commencement speaker is C. Michelle Unda, the Senior Regional HR Public Affairs Representative for the Central West South Region of NuStar. She is responsible for charitable contributions, sponsorships and partnerships and coordinates milestone celebrations and volunteer efforts both locally and regionally. Unda also works as a liaison between the media and NuStar Corporate Communications. Serving as campaign leader for NuStar’s Central West South Region United Way Pledge Campaign, Unda has continued the tradition of 100% employee participation since taking on the role in 2009. Prior to joining the NuStar team, she worked as the Director of Communications for the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. A South Texas native, Unda graduated from Del Mar College in 2003 with Associate in Arts degrees in liberal arts and journalism and then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2005. She completed her Master’s degree in organizational leadership in 2016 from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Unda also participated in Leadership Corpus Christi and is a member of Class XXXVI (2008). Unda’s current volunteer activities include serving as a member on Boards of Directors for the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend and the Coastal Bend Community Foundation, as a Trustee on the Del Mar College Foundation Board, as secretary of the Port Industries of Corpus Christi Public & Government Affairs Committee and on the St. Patrick Catholic Church RCIA team. Among other credits, Unda has served in various roles for the Leadership Corpus Christi Alumni Association, The Spirit Center, Corpus Christi Mayor’s PRIDE and Downtown Redevelopment initiatives, YWCA Corpus Christi and St. Patrick’s Church ACTS team. She also was a founding committee member for the reinvented Corpus Christi Under 40 Awards during her time at the Chamber and honored by the organization as a recipient both in 2010 and 2014, serving as an Event Co-Chair in 2011. In 2015, Unda was named the Del Mar College Foundation’s Distinguished Alumni. Unda and her husband, Raúl, are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary this month and have four spoiled dogs: Maggie, Mya, Dino and Susy. She enjoys reading, graphic design, hiking, trying new recipes and camping during her down time.  

Article by: Michael Bratten At a news conference today, Del Mar College (DMC) officials announced plans to go “over the edge” from the roof of a downtown Corpus Christi hotel in October to raise funds for student scholarships. This will be the second year the College has held the Over the Edge rappelling event, scheduled for Oct. 20 at the Holiday Inn Corpus Christi Downtown Marina. Last year, 27 people, including DMC President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Escamilla, rappelled 20 stories from the roof of the hotel, raising a net total of $45,586 for scholarships.   The DMC Foundation’s goal this year is to sign up 70 rappellers and raise $100,000. No climbing or rappelling experience is necessary – just the courage to go “over the edge” and a desire to raise donations for scholarships. To register, call 361-698-1317. “This is the only rappelling fundraiser in the Coastal Bend,” said Mary McQueen, executive director of Development with the DMC Foundation, who also rappelled last year. “Looking down on the bayfront from the top of this building and knowing you’re doing something different in your own hometown for your community is an amazing thing.” OTE Global is a special events company that stages the event for nonprofits around the world with organization leaders and community members raising donations in exchange for the experience of going “over the edge” and rappelling down a building. Today’s news conference included recognition of a $25,000 contribution from presenting sponsor Flint Hills Resources. Other sponsors are the H-E-B Tournament of Champions, AGCM Inc., Port Corpus Christi, NuStar Energy and Wienerschnitzel. Rappellers who participated in last year’s event were also on hand to demonstrate the helmets, harnesses and other gear required to rappel down the side of a building. The distance from the hotel roof to the street below is about 200 feet. Interested thrill seekers can sign up anytime between now and October to raise funds toward their rappelling opportunity. Participants will set up their own donation page where family, friends and colleagues can donate funds using social media. To learn more, visit www.delmar.edu/foundation or call the DMC Foundation at 361-698-1317.  

Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso Thinking about taking credit courses at Del Mar College this fall? Better make your mind up. Early registration opportunities run through Wednesday, Aug. 15, with payment due by 6:30 p.m. the same day. What happens if students don’t pay for early registration? Schedules are dropped from the system to open seats for the very final registration dates on Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 21 and 22. Final on-campus late registration is scheduled on Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 22, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Online registration is also available. Payment is due at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22. Register in the East Campus Harvin Student Center at Baldwin and Ayers or the West Campus Coleman Center at Old Brownsville and Airport Roads. Course offerings for the fall semester include 8-, 15- and 16-week sessions. Classes begin Monday, Aug. 27. Questions? Call 361-698-1290, 361-698-1741 or 1-800-652-3357 or email enroll@delmar.edu. You can also learn more about admissions, registration and other pertinent information at www.delmar.edu/registration.  

Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso Del Mar College District residents interested in running for one of three seats on the Board of Regents in the November 2018 general election must submit a completed application packet before 5 p.m. Monday, August 20. The Del Mar College District includes all the area in the Calallen, Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff, Tuloso-Midway and West Oso Independent School Districts. Packets can be submitted by mail (Del Mar College, Attn: Jessica A. Alaniz, 101 Baldwin Blvd., Corpus Christi, Texas 78404-3897) or in person (Room 105A, Heldenfels Administration Building, Del Mar College East Campus, Ayers Street). In the November 6 general election, district residents will elect Board representatives for College Districts 1 and 3 and one at-large position. The College District map, showing the boundaries for these board seats, along with a list of the voting precincts in each district is posted at: http://www.delmar.edu/regents-and-community/board-of-regents/board-meeting.html Regents elected in November will serve a six-year term which ends in 2024. The Del Mar College Board of Regents includes nine regents in a modified single-member district configuration. Five regents represent specific geographic districts while four serve at-large. For more information, contact Jessica Alaniz, Risk Management Office at jaalaniz@delmar.edu 361-698-2214 or Augie Rivera, General Counsel at ariverajr@delmar.edu 361-698-1098.  

Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso Summer fun is almost over and most students are getting ready to go back to school. This year, for most local school districts, the first day of school is Monday, Aug. 27. To help kindergarten through 12th-grade students be ready on their first day, Del Mar College’s (DMC) dual credit cosmetology class will provide free basic haircuts on a walk-in basis. Haircuts are available Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 8-10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 211 of the Flato Technologies Building on the College’s West Campus at Boaz Blvd. off Airport Road at Old Brownsville Road. (Indicated as “FT” on map: https://bit.ly/2Gni7Kf) For more information, contact DMC cosmetology instructor Lissa Gonzalez at 698-1782 or lgonzale43@delmar.edu. DMC stylists provided haircuts to nearly 200 students last year. Gonzalez said the yearly event not only offers a free service to area students, it provides dual credit cosmetology students with hands-on learning experiences. The Cosmetology Program is with the DMC Human Sciences and Education Department. Students receive training in all phases of cosmetology, and the program falls under curriculum guidelines of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.  

Article by: Jason Houlihan   On July 25, 15 campers in Del Mar College’s (DMC) Smart Girlz Summer Coding Camp demonstrated the skills they’ve learned to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones, and navigate them through various obstacles. The all-girl, week-long camp is designed to spark interest and increase the number of students who will pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies when they attend college. It’s the first year DMC has offered the camp.   According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020, there will be over 1.4 million jobs in computer science. But America’s colleges and universities are on track to produce less than a third of graduates qualified for those jobs, and a small fraction of that number are women. During the week-long camp, the campers learned from licensed pilots how to work as a team to program and code robots, get information on why STEM fields are key to the future and learn what it takes to operate drones. They got a hands-on introduction to innovative products like SmartGurlz – an award-winning robotic e-learning platform that introduces girls to the basics of computer programming, or coding. “Our summer coding camp not only provides awareness but also an opportunity to show these girls how to be successful at programing robots and how to operate a drone. We work hard to create a safe environment and support these girls to try new ways of thinking and to take risks,” explained Betz.  

Article by: Michael Bratten On July 17, 50 middle- and high school-age students demonstrated their summer projects as part of the Corpus Christi Prefreshman Engineering Program (CCPREP), the local program for the statewide TexPREP initiative that keeps students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics each summer. Among activities are robot races, where student teams have to program their custom-made robotic vehicles to navigate a race course; strength tests for plastic straw bridges built by students to demonstrate their understanding of engineering principles; and a display of architectural model communities designed by campers under the mentorship of members of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.   The annual summer camp is free to all participants and made possible by funding from Flint Hills Resources, the title sponsor, with additional support from Del Mar College, the Del Mar College Foundation, Coastal Bend Community Foundation, Texas Department of Transportation, American Institute of Architects Corpus Christi Chapter, CITGO, University of Texas at San Antonio and LULAC/Talent Search program. Del Mar College is the local site for TexPREP and offers the program to talented middle- to high school-age students who want to get a head start or continue studies in science and mathematics. The curriculum emphasizes study and research work in mathematics, computer science and engineering with an overall objective of increasing the number of students who will pursue STEM studies when they attend college.