Taking the Cake: Student Team Wins Goodwin Decorating Contest

The winning cake, created by Goodwin students on team “Fast and Furious.”

Editor’s note: On Wednesday, March 27, Goodwin held a Spring-themed Cake-off decorating contest in the Community Room. Academic Advisor Paden Livingston planned the event and provided the following recap.

By Paden Livingston
Guest Blogger

The 2013 Spring Cake-Off frosted its way into Goodwin history on Wednesday, March 27. Boasting a high turnout, six different teams competed for decoration dominance.

Team Fast and Furious pose behind their winning entry.

The winners and Decorators Supreme for the next year is team Fast & Furious comprised of Kiewanna Gonsalves, Devonn Smith, Jeremiah Gilmore & Shelton Watkins. Their interpretation of “Spring Forward, Fall Back” left many in the audience WOWed with their intricate designs and use of an actual cooked meal as a decoration.

In the end, the Navigator staff team finished in a close 2^nd place with an elegant and quaint Riverside scene featuring a surprise appearance from our very own mascot ,Ebb, as he had gone fishin’.

It was a tough decision to make, which is why a special thanks is in order for to our guest judges Amariah Boland (Ms. Goodwin), Shane Davis (Mr. Goodwin), Dr. Angela Skyers, Marrie Ayub and Surbhi Patel.

Another thank you is extended to Vice President for Advancement Brooke Penders and Dean of Students Dr. Sandy Wirth for being our keynote speakers.

Academic Advisor Paden Livingston organized he competition.

Most importantly, a huge thank you goes out to all those who attended and to those who participated. We hope to see you all at the 2014 Goodwin Spring Cake-Off!

Career Services Success Stories: Julies Ortiz-Navedo

Working as a cashier for a big box retailer was never what Julies Ortiz-Navedo envisioned as a career. Like many students who find their way to Goodwin College, Julies was determined to find herself in a job where she felt challenged and engaged.

Julies Ortiz-Navedo found an asset in Career Services and had a job already lined up by the time she graduated from Goodwin.

With dedication to her goal and a helpful push from Goodwin College Career Services, Julies worked to achieve the career she has always desired and now works as a medical assistant for a pain management and physical therapy office in Hartford.

“Never give up and keep trying for what you want,” says Julies, of New Britain.

She started at Goodwin in 2009, earning a certificate in Medical Assisting. While taking classes, Julies worked in the College Bookstore, where she built a friendly rapport with much of the Goodwin community.

When she achieved her certificate, Julies sought the assistance of Career Services to help her with her résumé and interview skills. Like many job seekers, her search began with some frustration, but by further tweaking her résumé through the advice of Goodwin career counselors, new opportunities arose.

“Career Services was always on top of things,’ Julies says. “I felt that they really cared.”

She decided a certificate in Medical Assisting wasn’t enough and enrolled in the Associates program at Goodwin. Intrigued by her qualifications, employers invited her to interview for positions.

Yet with little interview experience, the process was daunting. Again, she went to Career Services, where counselors helped her develop the “soft skills” needed to perform well in an interview, as well as advice for helping Julies to develop her own questions for the people and businesses where she would be interviewing. In essence, she says, Career Services was with her “every step of the way.”

“They helped me to do everything,” says Julies. “I was really impressed by how much they really cared and how they would go out of their way to help me.”

In fact, Julies already had a job lined up by the time she graduated from Goodwin.

Julies has been working at a Hartford practice for over a year. Each day, she checks on patients, performs drug screenings, takes vitals, and helps prepare each client for their visits. She enjoys her job and encourages everyone to seek careers where they will be happy.

She has a few tips for students and graduates who are seeking employment. Julies says it is helpful to have questions prepared to ask and interviewer, and once the interview has concluded, always send a note thanking the interviewer for their time and consideration.

UConn Honors Goodwin College’s Scheinberg with Environmental Award

Goodwin College President Mark Scheinberg received an award for environmental leadership at UConn’s Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources on Monday, March 18. The award honored Scheinberg’s vision in transforming formerly polluted riverfront land into a thriving college campus, as well as his ongoing commitment to green development and environmental education.

The award follows another high-profile environmental recognition in 2012, when the college received a Merit Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Professor Michael R. Willig, Director of the University of Connecticut Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, congratulates Goodwin College President Mark Scheinberg on his Environmental Leadership Award.

President Scheinberg said the recognition was a testament to the power of partnerships to transform land and create sustainable development.

“We would not be here but for the support of the EPA, DEEP, regional development agencies, and the Town of East Hartford. For anyone who doubts that government officials can dream big, our campus stands as the counterpoint. To honor the faith of these individuals in our vision, we will continue on the path to sustainability,” Scheinberg said.

Goodwin is currently constructing three magnet schools designed with minimal environmental impact, including the use of LEED-comparable building standards, green roofs, and other innovations.

Another dimension of Goodwin’s environmental impact is the focus of its curriculum. Goodwin’s Connecticut River Academy Magnet High School teaches students from throughout the region about environmental stewardship through hands-on fieldwork. The college’s degree program in environmental studies prepares students for jobs in conservation, and the college often hosts environmental expos and conferences.

The Goodwin College River Campus: A Brownfields Success Story

In 2005, Goodwin College announced dramatic plans to build a riverfront campus along Riverside Drive in East Hartford, Connecticut.  Since, with the help of the EPA and other agencies, Goodwin has successfully created a new campus community with educational, economic, and environmental benefits for the region and beyond.

After extensive testing, remediation, and the demolition of over 30 above-ground oil tanks and other defunct industrial installations, the project redeveloped formerly unusable, industrial zoned, tax delinquent, foreclosed, blighted and environmentally challenged land, while retaining the natural appeal and opening public access to very large tracts of riverfront.

In December 2008, the college opened the 109,000 square-foot flagship academic center equipped to employ over 500 and serve over 3,000 students. A year later, it rolled out its environmental studies degree program, in which students took an active part in the continuing environmental testing of adjacent land, as well as taking advantage of access to the river and undeveloped flood plains for study of river ecology.

In 2010, the Connecticut River Academy, an environmentally-themed magnet high school, also opened at the River Campus in a temporary “incubator” space. Goodwin broke ground on a permanent home for the school at the River Campus in January 2012.

The redevelopment of the site would not have been possible without the support of the EPA and other agencies, including the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA). Financing for the project (over $40 Million for the first building) included $600,000 in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency for brownfield remediation, $2.25 million in state bond funds through the Department of Economic and Community Development, and private financing secured by the college.

The River Campus has quickly grown into a cultural and educational hub for the region.  More than 10,000 people commute to the campus each week, in turn providing customers to local restaurants, stores, and various other businesses. Moreover, the College has formed partnerships with many of our community organizations and businesses, including providing free meeting space for civic groups.

Environmentally-Friendly Features of the River Campus

•             Car charging stations for hybrid vehicles

•             Bicycle racks to encourage low emission travel

•             Water-free urinals in every men’s room

•             Occupy sensors in every room that shuts off lights automatically

•             Light detectors that sense natural light and balances accordingly

•             Automatic timers that shut off lights when building is unoccupied

•             Film on windows that block harmful ultraviolet light

•             System-controlled emission and temperature gauges

•             LEED-comparable construction on all new buildings (not certified, but equivalent)

•             “Green roof” for the pending CT River Academy (basically a rooftop greenhouse)

•             All planned buildings will be constructed to the same standards

Celebrating Jamaican Culture – A Student’s Perspective

Editor’s note: On Thursday, Feb. 28, English Professor Randy Laist brought his English class to the College’s celebration of Jamaican Independence, the last event during Goodwin’s month-long observation of Black History Month. Dr. Laist challenged his students to write about the experience. The following entry was chosen for the E-News Blog. The writer, Tyesha Page, is a student at the Connecticut River Academy and takes Dr. Laist’s English 300 course at Goodwin.

 

By Tyesha Page

Food, fun, and fellowship were on display in the Goodwin College Community Room. Thursday February 28^th marked the College’s celebration of Jamaican Independence. The event was developed with the idea of exposing others to a new culture. According to Nicole Miller, the assistant creator of the event, the occasion gives the opportunity to “learn about someone else’s history because you have to understand where people who don’t look like you come from.”

The Community Room was filled with every aspect of Jamaica. From the green, yellow, and black balloons on the tables, to the aroma of the appetizing food in the air, to the island music humming in the background, one could fully feel and embrace the Jamaican culture.

The freshness of the celebration ushered in many curious students walking by the event on Thursday. They came in for the food and fun, but stayed for the opportunity to learn something new about a culture they knew nothing about. One student, Raelene Saglio, felt the event was “cool because I’ve never been exposed to the Jamaican culture, so it’s cool that they are doing this.” From the scene in the Community Room, it looked as if people were really enjoying themselves and learning a lot about the Jamaican culture from the chatter echoing from their tables.

Students and staff sampled a variety of Jamaican cuisine during the celebration of Jamaican independence, including jerk chicken and beef patties. Photo by Laura Scerrato, a student in Prof. Randy Laist’s English 300 course.

Pepper’s Jamaican Bakery and Jerk Restaurant and the Sunsplash Bar and Grill catered the event, providing the authenticity of delicious Jamaican cuisine. Food is very important in the Jamaican culture and having the jerk chicken, beef patties, curry chicken, and many more dishes allowed for participants to get a taste of Jamaica. Dr. Laist, a professor at Goodwin, believed it was a “great opportunity to have tasty food, listen to good music, and learn about Jamaican food. Though I wish the jerk chicken was spicier.”

The DJ at the Jamaican Independence Day Celebration brought back memories to fellow Jamaicans with the old school music and created yet another learning opportunity for event attenders. He kicked off the celebration with the 1966 version of the Jamaican national anthem, ended with Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” and played traditional island music like “Bam Bam” by Chaka Deemus throughout the celebration. The music gave people an ear to Jamaica.

According to Nicole Miller, “Everybody has felt like an other.” The event gave people the chance to learn about their history and about the history of people other than themselves.