Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the CCV Burlington Staff!

(From left to right: CCV Staff members Aimee Loiter, Marianne DiMascio, Margaret Dorey, & Amy Stuart)

CCV Burlington in the news

CCV Burlington’s search for a new location in Chittenden County has been in the local news a bit lately. Check out the following stories and feel free to leave comments regarding this topic here.

CCV seeks Chittenden County site (from Burlington Free Press)

CCV Narrows Choices (from WCAX TV)

CCV students explore "Crazy"

To acknowledge National Disability Awareness month, on Friday, October 26th in CCV's famed LL-7 classroom, students from Glen Hueckel's Abnormal Psychology and Kate Maynard's Interpersonal and Small Group Communications classes watched "Crazy" a performance art piece created and performed by Gail Marlene Schwartz. A panel discussion followed with guests from Mental Health Education Initiative, Vermont Protection & Advocacy and a local psychotherapist. Students explored questions of stigma and meaning about anxiety and depression via the discussion and an interactive workshop which included a spectogram, poems and speaking body sculptures!

In response to "How did your understanding grow about mental illness?" CCV student Kaz explained "The feeling is expansiveness, wonderfully open with a comfort in the lack of clear answers." Stacy wrote "Mental illness is more common than I thought and it is ok to open up to others." Kellie concluded "It seems everybody is effected by depression somehow."

Thank you to Gail and CCV Coordinator of Academic Services Yasmine Zielser who planned the event, to Glen and Kate who found the very real connections between the program and their course content, to the amazing CCV students who took the material and shaped it with their own stories and finally to the producer, VSA Arts of Vermont and the funder, the Vermont Community Foundation.

Scholarship Opportunity

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation annually offers around 50 scholarships nationally for students transferring from a two-year program to a four-year program. The scholarships are worth up to $30,000 annually and selected recipients may receive up to three years of the scholarship. In order to be considered, all applicants must meet the minimum qualifications which are available here.

Applications for this scholarship can be downloaded here. Completed applications and questions regarding the scholarship should be submitted to Pam Chisholm, CCV’s Director of Financial Aid at the address below:

Pam Chisholm, Director of Financial Aid
Community College of Vermont, Waterbury
P.O. Box 120
Waterbury, VT 05676-0120

Hallway Gallery Committee needs members

Attendtion students! Consider joining CCV Burlington's Hallway Gallery Committee and help choose the Visiting Artists who display at the Burlington site. Email your name and phone number along with one paragraph explaining why you are interested in being on the committee to Karen Geiger at geigerk@ccv.edu. No formal art training or knowledge is required, just a desire to learn. And hey, isn’t that the reason we’re all here? Please submit by November 9th, 2007.

Want to suggest an artist for a Hallway Gallery exhibit (perhaps even yourself)? If so, click here for more information on CCV Burlington's Hallway Galleries.

A new ccv.edu

Today, CCV is very proud to launch our new website with a completely new look. We hope that all users will find it to be more attractive, informative, and easy-to-navigate. Check it out at http://www.ccv.edu/. If you'd like, submit your thoughts and feedback by posting a comment here or by emailing us at inquire@ccv.edu.

CCV Harvest for Hunger, fewer people hungry

At CCV Burlington's 8th Annual Salvation Army Friendly Kitchen dinner on Monday, October 15th, more than 75 people enjoyed baked Harrington Hams purchased by CCV staff. Side dishes ranged from baked beans and macaroni and cheese to garbanzo bean salads and carrot ginger soup!!! Desserts included 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies. With Kim Evans’ CCV and VTC Nutrition students, we had plenty of set up, service and clean up assistance! Kim Evans’ students also added extensively to the side dish pickings.

As usual, CCV Burlington student and guitar minstrel Sergio Torres created musical magic in the crowd. Numerous diners requested songs he knew and they lauded him with thanks and smiles throughout the evening.

I spoke with one man who asked me to give regards to Jason Conway, a friend of his from the Vietnam Vet Center!! Another diner mentioned how much he appreciates coming to the Friendly Kitchen because then he doesn’t have to eat alone.

Thank you to everyone who participated because you understand the value of community effort in meeting community needs. And, it really is ok to have dinner at the Friendly Kitchen at 64 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 864-6991. Please check it out next time you’re looking for a place to have a meal with people who also live in or near Burlington.

Peace, Amy

CCV Burlington Student is Nominated for VT Teddy Bear Award!

Richard Maxwell, a CCV Burlington student, was selected to represent CCV in the Vermont Teddy Bear Student Citizen award sponsered by Vermont Campus Compact. VCC is an organization that helps colleges and universities throughout the state support service learning and civic engagement activities on each campus. Richard has spent time volunteering with the Winooski Community Justice Center, COTS and through his work at Home Depot. He is an amazing example of a student who really gives back to his community. Congratulations to Richard and best of luck in the statewide competition!

CCV Sponsors Living Goddess @ VT International Film Festival

CCV Burlington is proud to sponsor Ishbel Whitaker's documentary film "Living Goddess" as a part of the 2007 Vermont International Film Festival. The film will be shown at the Waterfront Theatre at Main Street Landing (1 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401) on Saturday, October 13 (7:15 PM) and Sunday, October 14 (12:30 PM). For more information on this film, click here. 

CCV graduate LOVES Smith College

Heather Johnson, CCV graduate June, 2007, shares her thoughts with friends,family and CCV students curious about life in college beyond CCV at her on-line journal:

http://smithie714.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/dedicated-post-to-my-fellow-ccvers/

Please check it out if you're considering transfer to another college or university after CCV. Peace to all CCV blog readers, Amy

Snow Geese

This weekend, although supposed to be summer-like, will still boast snow geese in Addison County. Thanks to one of my colleagues here at CCV, I found out about this trip.
They stop for a rest at Dead Creek and blanket the ground in white.

Check this site out for a first person description:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_4_68/ai_84971161

or this paper from the Massachusetts Audobon Society for a beautiful description:
http://www.massaudubon.org/PDF/sanctuaries/joppa/trips/DeadCreek2006.pdf

Check back here next week to see photos from my trip there - hopefully with geese included!

Be a couch potato!

I am notoriously bad at remembering (and celebrating) birthdays, holidays and theme months. The only reason my sister gets a birthday card is because we share the same birthday. Actually, I don’t always remember to send her a card.

So, this may sound hypocritical, but I would like to challenge all blog readers to honor a theme month. Wait, before you start reading the NEXT post, let me finish. This would require very little work on your part. You can actually accomplish it the next time you are staring at the shelf at your video/dvd store, or you are deciding which movies to add to your queue online.

October is Disability Awareness Month. There are scads of current (or recent) feature films that have characters with disabilities. Pop some corn, watch the film and talk amongst yourselves. Then come back here and submit a comment about the movie, your thoughts, etc.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Touch the Sound
Murderball
The Hours
Proof
Finding Nemo
Angels in America
A Beautiful Mind
Unknown White Male
Frida
Girl, Interrupted
Iris
My Left Foot

Many other suggestions can be found at http://www.disabilityfilms.co.uk/

Hallway Galleries: Px(c)

CCV is proud to showcase the Px(c) show in our Pearl Street Gallery. The work has been generously donated by the Kasini Gallery. Px (c) is the alter-corporate identity of Montreal artist Depelteau. He has shown in Montreal, Toronto, and Burlington, and his work has been used by the band Dook. He has been published in the Turkish 'zine PLASTIK SEHOR.

Px(c) first appeared in the 1999 painting "You never know when you’ll need Px(c)," as a car parts brand name. Px(c) has been known, over the years, to mimic advertising strategies to sell dysfunctional products and ideas to people. Its catalogue includes car parts, eyes, fingers, tongues, sunglasses, do-it-yourself art, concepts for gallery art, mouse traps, packages and some collages and prints. By presenting himself as the corporate entity, Px(c), the artist makes a cultural statement about the dominance of commercial culture in everyday life. His work is a hybrid of American and British Pop Art. Rendered in Px (c)'s unique pop art style, these works combine the humor of Albert Camus and the visual insight of Barbara Kruger. For more information on CCV's Hallway Galleries, click here.

Smith & Mount Holyoke Visit CCV

This week, representatives from Smith College and Mount Holyoke College will visit CCV Burlington to meet with students who are interested in Smith's Ada Comstock Scholars Program or Mtount Holyoke's Frances Perkins Program. The event will be held at CCV Burlington (119 Pearl Street) on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 12:00 PM. For more information, contact Mica DeAngelis at 865-4422.

Student Success Week

This week is Student Success Week at CCV Burlington! This week is a time when many students start to feel the pressure of impending midterm exams, papers, and other due dates. In order to help alleviate the stress of this busy time, students can stop by the lobby at 119 Pearl Street to pick up some great resources on student success skills like time management, stress relief, note taking, math study tips, and much, much more. We also have free snacks available! If you are having problems with your classes and need help, please stop by to pick up some resources, have a bite to eat and maybe even speak to an on-call academic advisor.