Midland College Softball vs. Howard College: Friday, March 30th)

By Forrest AllenAthletic Director

Just a reminder that tomorrow the MC softball team will square off against the Howard College Hawks at the Midland College softball field. Tomorrow's action will be a double-header beginning at 1:00 p.m. The first place Lady Chaps enter this weekend's series with a 31-7 record and 4-0 in conference while the third place Lady Hawks are 26-11 overall and 5-1 in the WJCAC. The weekend's games will feature some of the top offensive talent in the nation as well as two teams with a long history of fierce competition.

This season the Lady Chaps are batting .409 as a team with 57 home runs and 222 RBI while the Hawks are hitting .363 with 46 homers and 272 runs batted in. Offensively MC is led by Debra Lovell (.539 BA, 1.094 Slugging Percentage, 69 hits, 50 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples and 17 HRs) and Diana de la Paz (.508 BA, .802 Slugging Percentage, 64 hits, 42 runs scored, 19 doubles and six HRs).

Howard College is led by Jazzmin Arrant (.413 BA, .727 Slugging Percentage, 50 hits, 44 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples and nine HRs) and returning NJCAA All-American Olive Naotala (.408 BA, .933 Slugging Percentage, 49 hits, 48 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple and 18 HRs).

The two teams will also play a double-header on Saturday, March 31st @ 1:00 p.m. in Big Spring on the campus of Howard College.

Go Chaps!!

Sweet!

Hearing from Mike Makowsky, the faculty advisor for the International Student Club here, at Your College ... "The International Student Club Spring Dessert Fair is this Wednesday from 11:50 AM - 1:00 PM in the MHAB Atrium. Students will be serving desserts from their native countries to raise funds for the club field trip ... Come early if you can. The desserts won't last long!"

MC partners with Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for "Café y Pan Dulce"

Midland College and Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce present "Café y Pan Dulce" Wednesday, March 28, 8:00 a.m., Midland College/Scharbauer Student Center/Carrasco Room


Enjoy coffee and pastries while learning about Midland College’s community outreach event, “See MC/Sí, MC”


Wednesday, March 28, the public is invited to enjoy breakfast at Midland College (MC), compliments of the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (MHCC). Café y Pan Dulce is a monthly networking event sponsored by the MHCC. Rachel Stone, MHCC president/CEO states, “The main purpose of the Café y Pan Dulce events is to bring attention to our members. It gives them an opportunity to highlight their business to other members.”


Wednesday’s event will highlight MC’s community outreach event that will be held on Saturday, April 21, entitled “See MC/Sí, MC.” MC President Dr. Steve Thomas explains, “’See MC/Sí, MC’ is a major outreach effort for Midland College to recruit first-generation-to-college students. We are inviting the entire community to visit the campus on that day to find out more about college admissions, MC programs, financial aid and college life. In addition to departmental booths, campus tours and higher education information sessions, we will have children’s activities, live entertainment and free food. The Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been a wonderful partner in helping us plan the event and in supporting our efforts to recruit first-generation-to-college students. We are very appreciative of their efforts to help bring awareness to the business community through the Café y Pan Dulce event.”


At the Wednesday morning session, businesses and local news media will get an opportunity to preview the event and interview event organizers.


For more information, please contact Rebecca Bell, MC dean of community relations and special events, (432) 685-4556, rbell@midland.edu

Early College High School Week: MC and MISD — Partners for Academic Success

Midland organizations help to fund accelerated high school program on the MC campus

By Rebecca Bell
Dean of Community Relations and Special Events

In the fall of 2009, MC joined forces with the Midland Independent School District (MISD) in a bold venture based on the principle that academic rigor, combined with the opportunity to save time and money, is a powerful motivator for students to work hard and meet serious intellectual challenges. The result was the formation of Early College High School (ECHS) at Midland College. Students in the program attend high school and college classes on the MC campus. The rigorous program compresses the time it takes to complete a high school diploma and the first two years of college.

MC Vice President of Instruction Dr. Rex Peebles explains, “Early College High School is designed to give students who either might not go to college or might not have the ability to go to college the chance to do so. ECHS students give up most extracurricular activities and devote a lot of extra time to study in order to succeed. In the end, they can get a high school diploma and a college Associate’s degree when they leave; this is a pretty good opportunity for kids that never may have gone to college at all!”

Each fall since 2009, ECHS at MC has accepted approximately 85 students into the program, which begins at the ninth-grade year. For the past two years ECHS at MC has been rated as an exemplary campus by the Texas Education Agency! There is no cost to the students for college tuition, and the program’s success has prompted several individuals and organizations to help with tuition costs. Between April 2011 and January 2012, the Midland College Foundation has received over $250,000 in donations for ECHS tuition. Among those contributing $20,000 or more include Abell-Hanger Foundation, Inc., COG Operating LLC, Fasken Foundation, Scharbauer Foundation, Inc., The Rea Charitable Trust and Wayne and Jo Ann Moore Charitable Foundation.

The Abell-Hanger Foundation has been a major force behind the fundraising for ECHS at MC. At the January 17, 2012, MC Board of Trustees meeting, MC President Dr. Steve Thomas publicly thanked Abell-Hanger Foundation and its Executive Director David Smith for its $50,000 contribution and for helping to bring awareness of the program to the Midland community.

Smith notes, “The trustees of Abell-Hanger Foundation viewed this unique collaboration between MISD and Midland College as worthy of our funding support and assistance. With all the state reductions in funding, it is vital for the philanthropic and business communities to step up and ensure that this program is preserved. We applaud the courage of both institutions to maintain this new program in the face of economic changes. It is our hope that the community will rise up to provide the funding needed to continue this program.”