Faculty and staff gather for Spring Convocation
By: Vanessa Torres
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tag: Archived
College President
‘Delighted’ for Spring Semester
;
presentations highlight ASL, Travis EC, Wellness
Faculty and staff of San Antonio College convened Tuesday
in the McAllister Auditorium to kick off the start of a new semester. This college-wide meeting, held at the
beginning of each semester, serves as a fresh reminder for employees of the
college’s mission: “to educate a deserving public.”
President Dr. Robert Zeigler welcomed the
group back to campus saying, “I am delighted to start a new semester.” As
master of ceremonies, Dr. Zeigler then gave the rundown of the agenda and
quickly handed the spotlight and the microphone to the American Sign Language (ASL) student interpreters who presented a brief performance
about the department. The
presentation, originally designed and written for the Alamo College Donors
Thank You Luncheon, was presented in sign language with voice over audio.It
highlighted the ASL program saying, “It [the ASL interpreter training
program] is rated “Exemplary” by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.”
The presentation stated that the average
hourly wage earned for graduates of the program is between $19 and $25.
Ray
Hernandez, Director of the Dual Credit Program took to
the podium to recap the success of SAC’s partnership with Travis Early College
High School. The first graduating class from Travis Early College
HS was in May 2012; some 86 students graduated with an associate degree or certificate.
Guest speaker Nancy Vargas (a senior at
Travis), wowed the crowd with her personal testimony about attending college
while still in high school. She started at Travis in the fall of 2009 when she was 14 years old,
and the students in her SAC class would ask for her help on assignments.
While most of her friends are
about to graduate high school she will graduate from SAC with an associate degree before she obtains her high school
diploma. To the sound of roaring applause from the audience, she announced that
she was recently interviewed by Yale University.
In his presentation Chris Dillon,
SAC Wellness Coordinator, outlined the college’s new Employee Wellness Program.
Benefits-eligible employees will be chosen to participate in health-related workshops, fitness training,
personal goal setting, and the opportunity for group work out sessions. The
pilot will launch this semester and last through May 10. For more information
or to nominate someone or self-nominate, contact Dillon at cdillon@alamo.edu.
Dr. Zeigler gave a State of the College
Address titled “Excellence, Tradition, Opportunity.”
“In the face of change, we continue to be true
to our history, our mission and ourselves,” he said. “SAC is in the business of educating the whole
person and helping people grow.”
At the
end of the morning’s session Dr. Zeigler took questions from the audience, ranging
from guns on campus to concerns about the flu epidemic.
In
response to a question about admission standards, he shared his personal story
of when he was in high school. “I was written off as not college-ready. I was
lousy in math. Coming to SAC directly from the Navy, I was put in developmental
math. SAC saved me.”
--SAC--
PHOTO: ASL students made a presentation at the Spring Convocation on stage at McAllister Auditorium.
Leonard Ziegler/SAC