Flour Bluff Junior High School students visit Del Mar College to learn how to make tortillas as part of Hispanic Heritage Month
11
October
2024
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00:32 AM
Europe/Amsterdam
Nearly 50 Spanish students hear presentation about taking Spanish classes in college and make Mexican food staple during cooking demonstration while on campus
Article by Richard Guerrero, Jr.
Mmmmm…the smell of fresh, homemade flour tortillas. Can you smell them? On Thursday, Oct. 10, 47 students in the Spanish 1 and 2 classes as well as the advanced class taught by Gabriela Palm at Flour Bluff Junior High School got a chance to learn how to make tortillas while visiting Del Mar College’s Heritage Campus to learn more about taking Spanish classes at the college level.
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Chef Maria Mata demonstrates how tortillas are made to Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes during a Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)
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A student in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes at Flour Bluff Junior High School selects a dough cake to be cooked on the griddle during the Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)
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Javier Morin, Del Mar College Professor of Spanish, gave a presentation to Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes on Oct. 10. The students visited Heritage Campus at Del Mar College to participate in a Tortilla-Making Workshop as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. (Photo: Del Mar College)
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Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes use a rolling pin to prepare the dough for the griddle. The students attended the Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)
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Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.
Latest DMC News
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In turn, Del Mar adapted the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board-funded Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program to expand accessibility beyond those students who originally qualified FAST to provide all regional high school students with partnering institutions tuition-free Dual Enrollment participation. 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He also covered several DMC initiatives targeting middle school-age students, specifically eighth graders and their parents, to encourage Dual Enrollment participation once they reach high school. “We’ll specifically target students in the lower 70 to 80 percent tier and give these middle schoolers the opportunity to explore possibilities by touring DMC’s programs to gain a better understanding about their own career interests,” he said. After Dr. Rivera’s remarks, students from Flour Bluff, London, Robstown, St. John Paul II and West Oso High Schools presented a panel discussion, providing education leaders with insight into why they’re taking Dual Enrollment courses from Del Mar College. All five panelists agreed that future high school students should learn about the program sooner and the opportunities available that give participants a head start, building a foundation toward their careers. Previously, Dr. Rivera shared data showing that among students who took DMC Dual Enrollment courses during high school, 42 percent completed a college award such as a certificate or associate degree within four years after their high school graduation. And, almost one-third of the College’s Dual Enrollment students earned a bachelor’s degree. “College degree completion rates among our Dual Enrollment students are well above those high school students who did not participate in our program,” he noted.
- DMC Board of Regents holding regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 12Article by DMC College Relations Office On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Del Mar College (DMC) Board of Regents will hold their regular monthly meeting beginning at 1 p.m. in Room 106 of the College’s Center for Economic Development at 3209 S. Staples (78411). Get online directions and map. The regular meeting also will be livestreamed. Community members may access the meeting by going to the online video link at www.delmar.edu/webcast/ by 12:55 p.m. A copy of the Agenda Notice and Board Packet is available online at www.delmar.edu/regents-and-community/board-of-regents/_resources/agendas/regular-agenda-packet-11-12-24.pdf. Meeting agendas and other resources are also available on the DMC Board of Regents web page at www.delmar.edu/regents-and-community/board-of-regents/index.html. The health and safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors are a priority for Del Mar College. To view the College’s COVID-19 guidelines, visit www.delmar.edu/rtc/index.html.
- Del Mar College Cyber Center cybersecurity internship initiative announced after landing $200K grant from U.S. Commerce Department’s NISTArticle by: Richard Guerrero, Jr. Del Mar College (DMC) is the only awardee in Texas that landed a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) this year. College administrators with the Workforce Development and Corporate Services Department, along with Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend, announced on Oct. 30 details about the $200,000 NIST grant that was awarded earlier in October. Overall, 15 grants totaling $3 million were awarded among 11 states. Darcy Shaw, DMC Cyber Center Program Manager, says, “The NIST grant is creating partnerships to promote cybersecurity education and workforce development because cybersecurity professionals are attaining their education, but they are not getting hired. There’s a very large need for cybersecurity professionals not just throughout the country but in our area and across Texas.” The funds the College received will support NIST’s Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Stimulate (RAMPS) initiative in South Texas. NIST seeks to build multistakeholder workforce partnerships among employers, schools and higher education institutions, and other community organizations through its Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Program through the funding awarding as part of the RAMPS initiative. The two key objectives of the DMC Cyber Center are: · Increase cybersecurity planning, awareness, and compliance · Add skills to cybersecurity students To that end, the DMC Cyber Center RAMPS initiative will utilize paid cybersecurity interns (students from DMC and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) to provide planning and training for business owners in the Coastal Bend starting in January. Small and mid-sized businesses are typically more vulnerable to cyber threats due to fewer resources, Shaw says. Shaw notes that the Cyber Center will host clinics for small and mid-sized businesses that utilize undergraduate students from the DMC Department of Computer Science, along with undergraduate and graduate students with TAMU-CC’s Computer Science and Networking and Information Security programs with the College of Engineering and Computer Science, to provide the following services: · Network mapping · Review and guidance with system security plans and recovery plans · Basic cyber hygiene awareness The College’s Cyber Center will manage South Texas’ initiative, which includes partnerships with Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend, the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center, QuickStart Business Services, DMC academic programs as well as TAMU-CC. Additionally, partnership also includes the City of Corpus Christi and the Corpus Christi B Corporation (Type B Board). Recently, the Corpus Christi City Council approved a $140,000 grant that also provides funding support for the Cyber Center. Ken Treviño, Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend CEO, says Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend is honored to partner with Del Mar College Cyber Center to open new doors for individuals pursuing cybersecurity careers. “By expanding access to critical training and connecting businesses with skilled professionals, we’re advancing workforce development across the Coastal Bend and supporting the security needs of industries vital to our region,” Treviño says. The DMC Cyber Center RAMPS initiative will allow the Cyber Center to serve Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Refugio, and San Patricio counties. Employees looking to expand their skills set will also have the opportunity to pursue “Grow Your Own” cybersecurity education and certification opportunities through the College’s Cisco Certification occupational track paid for by Skills for Small Business grant funds provided by the Texas Workforce Commission. “We’re uniquely positioned because of Del Mar College’s existing collaborative relationships with the business community (small and large), business resource partners, the City of Corpus Christi, Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend and University partners to foster and support cybersecurity students seeking entry into the workforce,” Shaw says. “Leveraging the Cyber Center’s role in assisting small and mid-sized businesses with cybersecurity planning, awareness and certification addresses the needs of students for applied experience and the needs of businesses for cybersecurity professionals.” NICE, previously known as the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education and overseen by NIST, funds Cyberseek, which is a tool designed for use by employers, educators and students to, provide data on the jobs outlook for the cybersecurity industry. According to Cyberseek analyzed data, only 83 cybersecurity workers were available for every 100 cybersecurity jobs demanded by U.S. employers between September 2023 and August 2024, and there were 457,433 openings that requested cybersecurity-related skills this year (2024). In Texas, the supply/demand ratio of available cybersecurity jobs relative to employer demand in a particular location is 85%, or 2% more than the national average (83%). The Lone Star State has nearly 37,000 job openings this year according to Cyberseek. “The need for a skilled cybersecurity workforce continues to grow,” says Shaw. “That’s our mission by offering the new Cyber Center here at Del Mar College: Addressing area employers’ needs while giving students pursuing the field the opportunity to find local employment as cybersecurity professionals.” Editor's Note: In the banner photo, Dr. David Ma (from left), Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Ken Treviño, Workforce Solutions Coastal Bend CEO; Dan Korus, Dean of Workforce Development and Corporate Services at Del Mar College (DMC), DMC Computer Science major Noah Cantu; and Darcy Shaw, Cyber Center Program Manager with the DMC Small Business Development Center, attended the Cyber Center announcement at the DMC Center for Economic Development on Oct. 30.
