The Open Petal | 1

Johnson County Community CollegeFebruary 2013

Free College Day

Meet trustee David Lindstrom

The

Open PetalOttawa offers

degrees at JCCC

2 | The Open Petal

The name of JCCC’s magazine – The Open Petal – refers to the open petal in JCCC’s

logo, symbolizing the college’s openness to new ideas. One of those new ideas

involves the college’s budgeting process, underway right now. Called Prioritizing the

Budget Strategically, the process allows the college to prioritize its programs so that resources

are allocated to areas that serve the college’s strategic priorities.

Our goal is to be good fiscal stewards while still achieving the college’s strategic goals. The

budget process keeps JCCC focused on its commitment to student success, innovation,

leadership and quality improvement, just like the people and programs profiled in this issue

of the magazine. The articles cover our new partnership with a four-year institution, how we

use our construction projects as teaching tools, the digital storytelling initiative, the college’s

“green” offices, its newest trustee, the president of the Student Senate and the upcoming Free

College Day, to name only a few. They reflect the variety of initiatives that make JCCC such a

vital force in the community and show how we strive to make good use of public funds. Your

support of the college is much appreciated and is never taken for granted.

I hope you enjoy this issue of The Open Petal.

Sincerely,

Joe Sopcich

Executive Vice President, Administrative Services

The

Open PetalNovember 2012

EditorDiane Carroll

Associate VP, Marketing CommunicationsJulie Haas

Senior Graphic DesignerRandy Breeden

PhotographerSusan McSpadden

WritersMelodee BlobaumAnne Christiansen-BullersTyler CundithJudi Reilly

Writer/EditorTim Curry

The Open Petal is published four times a year by Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210-1299. It is produced by Marketing Communications and the Office of Document Services. To find the magazine online, go to jccc.edu and search for “The Open Petal.” To subscribe or to offer a comment, call 913-469-8500, ext. 3886.

Stay in touch with JCCC by visiting jccc.edu, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCCC411 or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/JCCCtweet.

Or you can connect by visiting jccc.edu and clicking on “Connect with JCCC,” where you can also subscribe to JCCC Update, an email newsletter sent twice a month.

When planning your estate, please remember Johnson County Community College. For more information, call the JCCC Foundation at 913-469-3835.

The View From Here

The open petal is a symbol of JCCC’s openness to new concepts and ideas as it strives to serve each member of the community.

Joe Sopcich

The Open Petal | 3

8

24 26Features 4 Visit campus, take a class Free College Day set for April 20.

6 OttawaU at JCCC Pathway offers affordable degree.

7 Brown v. Board Plaintiff’s daughter to speak at college.

8 Innovation at work Construction of center is teaching tool.

10 Digital storytelling College participates in area-wide effort.

12 Offices go green More employees get involved.

14 Student Senate Meet President Bruna Iacuzzi.

18 New trustee David Lindstrom joins board.

In Every Issue

2 The View From Here

9 Center for Business and Technology

Here’s how to wade through the federal bid process.

21 Alumni/Foundation

Scholarship helps student move forward.

22 Campus Life

24 Sports

26 The Rear Window

On the CoverMore than 220 free class sessions will be available to the public on Free College Day. All you have to do is sign up and show up.

Photo by Susan McSpadden

C O N T E N T S

Free College Day features fun, free classes for allBy Diane Carroll

4 | The Open Petal

Doug Flick shares the basics of pastry cooking during a prior Free College Day.

A participant learns to improve her tennis serve.

Tyler Cundith teaches the proper form to putt during a golf class.

Lekha Sreedhar explains how to propagate a plant.

If your puppy nips your friend and you pick up the puppy and hold and stroke him, you’ve just told your puppy that nipping your friends is the right thing to do.

That’s one insight you might glean from Free College Day, which will be held Saturday, April 20. There are dozens more:

■ Ghost-hunting groups exist in Johnson County and regularly investigate reports of suspected hauntings.

■ Chocolate chip cookies can be yummy even when you make them gluten-free.

■ Refusing to drink alcohol during dinner was considered a sign of poor breeding for men during the Victorian/Edwardian period, when the PBS Masterpiece series Downton Abbey is set.

Classes on these topics and a wide range of others will be offered free to the public when Johnson County Community College hosts its third Free College Day this year. You can take as many classes as you wish; all you have to do is reserve a spot in advance.

“Free College Day is a great way for us to give back to the community, bring new people to campus and show off what we have,” said Julie Haas, associate vice president, marketing communications. “We hope a lot of people will come out and have an interesting, fun afternoon.”

The college offered its first Free College Day in 2009 as part of its 40th anniversary celebration. The event went over well, drawing more than 1,500 participants and numerous positive comments. When the college received the same kind of reception in 2011, organizers decided to offer it every two years.

This year, more than 100 faculty and staff have volunteered to teach a class, either on their academic interest or on a personal interest or hobby. More than 220 sessions of more than 150 different classes will be offered.

The classes will range from the arts to the sciences and beyond. You could check out photography or composting or growing plants or brewing beer. You also could sharpen your golf swing (or develop one) or get a start writing your memoir.

The classes will run for 45 minutes each, beginning at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The 15-minute breaks will give folks time to get to their next class or grab some refreshments, also free.

Gay Hintz, a supervisor in desktop publishing, will lead a class she calls, How to Be Your Dog’s Pack Leader. Through research and trial and error, she learned how to be the leader of her three dogs: Bandit, a Rottweiler/chow; Lacy, a golden retriever; and Cody, believed to be an English pointer. If you want to know what to do when your puppy nips your friend, attend her class. She also has advice for you if your dog pulls you while walking on a leash or exhibits signs of food and other kinds of aggression. Hintz will be sharing simple techniques you can use to become your dog’s pack leader and gain his trust and respect.

Sean Daley, an associate professor of anthropology, will

teach a class about paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, demons and angels, a class he regularly teaches at the college. His students occasionally go on field trips to investigate hotels and other buildings known for or suspected of paranormal activity. In November, using a thermal imaging camera, Daley and a student captured an image of an apparition at The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Ark., similar to a famous image taken there and aired in 2005 on the television show, Ghost Hunters. Daley also investigates suspected hauntings at private homes and businesses in Johnson County and elsewhere. Most of the time, he said, there is a plausible explanation for whatever is going on. However, he said, “then there are those situations that leave you scratching your head.” Interested? His Free College Day class will be called Introduction to Paranormal Research.

If you want to know what life really was like during the Victorian and Edwardian periods in England, attend Andrea Broomfield’s class called Porcelain Above, Crockery Below and Stoneware in Between: What Food Can Tell Us about Class Differences in the Time of Downton Abbey. Broomfield is an English professor who learned a lot about Victorian England while researching her book, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History. She hopes to help fans of the PBS series understand the importance of dining and cooking during that era when electricity was still rare and largely distrusted and servants did the work that the refrigerator, stove and furnace do for us today. She’ll also be talking about why dinner was a big deal then – and not for the reasons you might expect.

After Jay Nadlman began having trouble eating foods with gluten and dairy products, he taught himself how to cook without those ingredients. He’s found a couple of ways to make what he calls chocolate chip cookies and he plans to bring samples for his class to try. Nadlman, an associate professor of legal studies, invites attendees to bring their questions and favorite gluten-free and dairy-free recipes to share. Look for his class, called Delicious Desserts – Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free.

Here are some of the other classes that will be offered:

Learning Strategies for College Success, Tornadoes in Kansas, Elementary Russian, HTML Basics: Raw Code Explained, Writing Your Own Book: By Kids, For Kids, Learn Electronics in 45 Minutes!

Here Comes the Sun: Solar for Small Business and Home Owners, Budgeting Basics, Quilting, Art Museum Activity, Car Care.

A Short Visit to Israel, Using LinkedIn for Job Searches, Hiring and Promoting Your Business, Dress for Success, Anyone Can Act and Women in Career Transitions: Your Best Next Steps.

The Open Petal | 5

Registration will begin Monday, March 11. A full listing of the classes, along with their times and locations, will be posted by mid-February at jccc.edu/freecollegeday. You can register online from that site or by calling the Continuing Education office at 913-469-2323. For additional information, contact Julie Haas, associate vice president, marketing communications, at jhaas@jccc.edu.

6 | The Open Petal

Students who graduate from Johnson County Community College now have a new option: completing a bachelor’s degree from Ottawa

University right here at JCCC. Besides the convenience of staying in familiar surroundings, those who choose to pursue a bachelor’s degree from Ottawa will enjoy a sizeable tuition break from Ottawa.

For now, the option is available only to students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in one of the following four programs: human services, health care management, business administration with a marketing concentration, and public administration with a management concentration. Eventually, Ottawa University leaders hope to add additional programs.

JCCC President Terry Calaway and Ottawa President Kevin Eichner signed an agreement in December that created a pathway called OttawaU at JCCC. Ottawa began offering courses at JCCC in January.

“We are delighted that Ottawa University is working with us to make continuing on to a bachelor’s degree a reality for so many of our students,” Calaway said.

Eichner said the partnership reflects Ottawa University’s mission of bringing meaningful education opportunities to adult learners.

“It’s an innovative approach to giving adult learners access to important, fulfilling education. And it reflects the respect we have for the education Johnson County Community College offers,” Eichner said.

Under the plan, a student would complete up to 80 credit

hours, including an associate’s degree, at JCCC. The student then would transfer to Ottawa to take an additional 48 credit hours of classes at the junior and senior levels.

Like other universities, Ottawa leaders have been investigating ways to make college more affordable, said Shane Smeed, Ottawa University’s vice president and chief operating officer for adult, professional and online studies.

“Our goal was to provide a four-year degree for under $20,000,” he said. “We thought the best way to accomplish this goal was to partner with JCCC to further support adult learners.”

Here’s how the money works: With JCCC’s tuition at $84 a credit hour for county residents, 80 credits would cost $6,720. To get the total under $20,000, Ottawa reduced its tuition rate to $275 a credit hour. With 48 credits costing $13,200, the total cost for the four-year degree would be $19,920.

“It’s a big-time break,” said Richard France, JCCC’s vice president of strategic initiatives and special assistant to the president. The total pricetag represents a savings of up to 40 percent for a bachelor’s degree, compared with tuition rates at many other universities, France and Smeed said.

OttawaU at JCCC also allows students to take the Ottawa University classes at an accelerated pace.

With some classes offered at night and with some courses incorporating online study, students will have the option of completing the Ottawa classes in a year’s time.

Ottawa has counselors on site at JCCC to help students plan their course of study. To learn more, visit www.ottawa.edu/jccc/ or call 913-266-8600.

JCCC and Ottawa team up to offer affordable degreesBy Diane Carroll

Ottawa University President Kevin Eichner (second from left) and JCCC President Terry Calaway (third from left) sign the agreement. Photo by Susan McSpadden

The Open Petal | 7

It’s not often that people have a chance to hear how the U.S. Constitution affected the personal path of a single American. Yet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Johnson

County Community College, audience members can hear how the 14th Amendment shaped the life of Cheryl Brown Henderson and countless others after her.

She will present The Judicial Past of Kansas – Giving Meaning to the 14th Amendment in Hudson Auditorium at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. The public is invited to attend, and admission is free.

The presentation is sponsored by the JCCC history department and the Kansas Studies Institute, which is based at JCCC.

The Kansas Studies Institute promotes the culture, history, economics and natural environment of Kansas.

Brown Henderson is one of three daughters of Oliver L. Brown, the lead plaintiff in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which legally ended de jure school segregation based on the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

That amendment, adopted in 1868, assured equal protection under the law. Until Brown vs. Board, states could impose segregation under the “separate yet equal” doctrine. The Supreme Court of 1954 ruled that such doctrine was in opposition to the 14th Amendment.

“While the case provided a legal framework for integrating public schools and inspired the modern civil rights movement, the struggle to achieve real integration, both in schools and in American society, is an ongoing effort,” said Jim Leiker, director, Kansas Studies Institute, and professor, history, at JCCC.

Brown Henderson explains why Kansas was the perfect battleground for the segregation fight.

“The free-state heritage, geographical location and post-Civil War composition of its population positioned Kansas to play a pivotal role in the major question of the meaning of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution,” she writes.

She’ll also speak about the history of the case itself in a daytime presentation the day before her evening speech. Brown v. Board of Education – Voices of the Legacy will be from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Craig Community Auditorium, General Education Building 233.

“Historic events occur almost daily and usually with a whimper, not a bang,” Brown Henderson shared. “This country is resplendent with ordinary people engaged in extraordinary work on behalf of their communities, states and sometimes, this nation.”

In 1988, Brown Henderson founded the Brown Foundation, which has provided more than 100 scholarships to minority students, curriculum on the Brown decision to schools and programs on diversity and educational issues.

She is also the owner of Brown & Associates, an educational consulting firm, where she uses her two decades of experience in education, business and civic leadership.

Henderson has been invited to the White House six times for receptions in honor of civil rights, labor and African-American history, among other topics.

Daughter of plaintiff in landmark case to address fight on segregationBy Anne Christiansen-Bullers

Cheryl Brown Henderson

Cheryl Brown Henderson will speak at JCCC on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

8 | The Open Petal

The new Hospitality and Culinary Academy under construction on the east side of the Johnson County Community College won’t just offer valuable learning opportunities for aspiring chefs.

It also will serve as a teaching tool for JCCC students learning the construction trades, thanks to an innovative partnership between the school’s Educational Technology Center and industrial technology department.

As the building is going up, videographers are catching key construction moments on camera, and the edited footage will be used when JCCC instructors are teaching those concepts in the classroom.

The idea to use the building as a teaching tool got its start before construction began, when the academy was scheduled to be located near the Industrial Training Center on the southwest side of campus.

That would have put it just outside the window of Damon Feuerborn’s computer-aided drafting and design classes, and he had dreams of taking his classes outside for brief field trips to show the concepts he was teaching translated into real life.

But then it occurred to him that it might be possible to let the learning extend beyond the year of construction. So he approached the Educational Technology Center with an idea: Why not capture the construction on video clips that could be used for instruction in his classroom and others for years?

“It was a perfect fit with our mission to support instruction,” said Vincent Miller, director, educational technology.

Capturing a building’s construction progress isn’t a new concept at JCCC. The Ed Tech Center recorded the construction progress of the Regnier Center with a photo a day as it was built in 2006 and 2007. Plans were already in place to capture the hospitality building’s construction in a series of photos, one every minute,

shot from a fourth-floor office in the Classroom and Laboratory Building.

And using video to show students the real-life application of what they’re learning in class isn’t new, either. But Feuerborn, an associate professor of drafting, said similar videos produced by vendors can be pricy and don’t always show exactly what he wants his students to see.

“Sometimes I’ve been left wishing I could see more details,” he said.

He’d like to be able to show his students the blueprints of the building, and then let them see how the nomenclature on the print looks when it’s being constructed on the job site.

“I’ll be able to say, ‘This is the call-out for the steel,’ and they’ll be able to see how it’s attached,” he said.

The videos don’t have to be long – Feuerborn expects each will be around two minutes – but they’ll be detailed, with close-up looks at the nuts and bolts of the work.

As the project has progressed, other industrial tech instructors have come forward with suggestions for other instructional videos: electrical work and the heating and air-conditioning system, for example.

To get the project under way, Feuerborn and Miller worked with Rex Hayes, associate vice president, campus services and facilities planning, and with J.E. Dunn, the general contractor on the site, to get a timeline of when to take the videos.

With that information in hand, Bob Epp and Paul McCourt, senior analysts, educational technology, have been making regular trips to the construction site to shoot videos for use as teaching tools.

Some of the videos are already online. You can check them out at the college’s YouTube Channel.

By Melodee Blobaum

A video camera captures the nuts and bolts of how the center is being constructed. Photo by Susan McSpadden

Double recipe: Culinary center will teach JCCC students about cooking, construction

The Open Petal | 9

The federal government needs small businesses to bid on projects, but many owners avoid the process because they don’t know how to start. 

One new employee on the JCCC campus is trying to help business owners wade through the process – Jason Porch, subcenter director, Heartland Procurement Technical Assistance Center. Porch started his job in March 2012 after a stint at the Montana PTAC. His office is in Regnier Center 230, but his mission is area-wide. 

“Government contracting is – appropriately so – associated with a lot of paperwork. But there are a lot of things a business can do to get the ball rolling, such as certifications and registrations,” Porch said. “That can be a little daunting. ‘Where do I go? Where do I start?’ That’s where we can help.” 

For the last two years, the Kansas City area was devoid of a local connection to the services PTAC offers. When the Heartland PTAC office located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City closed its doors, businesses could only turn to the nearest offices in Joplin, Mo., and Wichita.

JCCC saw the opportunity to help the community fuel its economic engine by hosting the PTAC on campus, said Malinda Bryan-Smith, director, Kansas Small Business Development Center.

Business owners are always looking for additional sources of revenue to help maintain their business’s bottom line. With the assistance of the Heartland PTAC, these same business owners may find that a government contract is a viable option to do just that. 

Porch said he has averaged about 30 new business clients a month. Many have visited the federal, state and local procurement process before, but have yet to fully incorporate this market into their business. Other clients are business owners new to the government market. 

While Porch said he is willing to work with any business

owner, he suggests they attend a class he teaches each month titled Introduction to Government Contracting. The cost is $25, offered through JCCC’s Continuing Education branch. 

“The idea is to run you through the gamut of what would be involved with accessing the government market and to show you where to start,” Porch said. 

With that basic knowledge, owners may schedule time with Porch free of charge. Porch will assist clients in researching required registrations, filing forms or setting up a profile in a program called Bid Match, allowing a business owner to see what jobs are available. If an opportunity is found, Porch will also assist business owners in preparing a response to the solicitation. 

In addition to these services, business owners can work with Porch to research past procurement opportunities. From this research, a business owner can assess to some degree if the rates they offer to the private sector would be competitive in the public sector. 

Bryan-Smith said she’s glad the college and the community now have an on-site PTAC expert. 

“Government procurement is highly technical. There is almost an excruciating level of detail that you have to get down to in order to deal with the process … I tell people it’s almost like learning a foreign language,” she said. “It’s just something you have to learn by doing – then you’ll get the process down. That’s what Jason’s here to help you do.” 

Business owners interested in registering as a client with Heartland PTAC may do so online. For questions, contact Porch at 913-469-2313 or jporch1@jccc.edu.

Connect with CBTFor more stories and information about the Center for Business and Technology, visit www.centerforbusiness.org.

Center steers businesses through government bid process

By Anne Christiansen-Bullers

Jason Porch helps small businesses bid on federal projects. Photo by Susan McSpadden

Telling the story digitallyCollege takes part in area effort

10 | The Open Petal

Maria Brenny, a former multimedia designer for Hallmark, talks with student Aaron Cochran while visiting a class led by James Hopper, JCCC professor.

By Anne Christiansen-Bullers

The Open Petal | 11

By combining art, journalism and computer science, JCCC students may be the next generation of storytellers.

The idea of capturing the stories of others and preserving them for the future isn’t new. Since cavemen drew stick figures on rock walls, humans have been trying to share their stories with others.

What is new, however, is the technology used to create the stories. The caveman had the burnt end of a stick for his communication medium, but the 21st-century human can use all the latest technology. The result is digital storytelling, and the home for this new combination of art and science may very well be right here in Kansas City.

Johnson County Community College is working with educational, governmental and industry partners to help create a mecca for digital storytelling. With the help of Ron Green, a retired executive from Hallmark Cards, various departments within JCCC are helping create a nexus of storytelling tentatively titled the Heart of America Center for Digital Storytelling.

“The entertainment industry is changing, and there’s the definite possibility of making digital storytelling more commercially viable,” Green said during a recent visit to a JCCC classroom. “With Google offering high-speed [Internet], and with the amount of talent that we have in this area, we can be on the precipice of a new industry.”

JCCC has partnered with Metropolitan Community College, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Mid-America Regional Council to investigate the market, research job opportunities and plan a program that would train future employees of digital storytelling businesses.

Kelly Gernhart, assistant dean, computer science/information technology, said digital storytelling could be awash in possibilities – for journalists, artists, animators, Web designers and interactive media specialists.

All these programs are currently available at JCCC, but they are housed under different departments with different reporting structures. This project, he said, has been a way for the instructors in those departments to start working together.

“Digital storytelling involves a breadth of skills,” Gernhart

said. “You have to have someone build a website that houses the stories. You have to have someone create strong, compelling content for that website. Then you need marketing to promote the site.”

The videos created by digital storytelling experts could be created for the entertainment industry – a sort of Hollywood of the Midwest – or for the news industry. Or perhaps Kansas City could become the No. 1 producer of “how-to” videos and tutorials, or training films for business and industry.

A KC Accelerator Grant is helping get the project off the ground. Developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration, it is part of a region-wide grant that, among other goals, seeks to create opportunities for commercialization of new products and services.

James Hopper, professor/chair, Web applications, invited Green into his class to share the concept of digital storytelling with his Web design class. The students created a website template for the Heart of America Center for Digital Storytelling as part of a class project.

“Our idea is that one student won’t be chosen to design the site. Instead, Ron and his team can pick and choose what they want to use from everyone’s version of the page,” Hopper said. “The center will have a start on its website, and the students will have an excellent addition to their portfolio.”

Additionally, several Hallmark digital media experts have advised students at key points in the project thus far. They provided valuable feedback for the students in Web architecture, site navigation and user-oriented design.

Other instructors have met and discussed changes in curriculum to reflect shared projects, Gernhart said. Administrators from two-year schools also have met with representatives from four-year schools and developed a “2+2” transfer agreement that would culminate in a bachelor’s degree in digital storytelling. Gernhart said the schools are “close to getting approval,” but the exact launch date of a digital storytelling program is tough to predict.

“This is such a diverse field,” he said. “We need to have a certain amount of flexibility … but the future of education should be involved in digital storytelling.”

Hallmark designers Michael Ong (from left), Sara Holly and Ron Green collaborate at JCCC. Photos by Susan McSpadden

12 | The Open Petal

Green buildings are eye-catching. College-wide initiatives to save energy and nonrenewable resources are helping Johnson County Community

College’s bottom line. And efforts to make it as easy to recycle as to toss something in the trash are keeping recyclable materials out of the landfill.

But two new efforts at JCCC have brought sustainability into its offices, with individual workers making sustainability the standard way of doing business at JCCC.

The first initiative is the e3 (Ecology, Efficiency and Education) Sustainable Office Challenge. The other is a change in how trash and recycling are collected from offices.

Offices participating in the e3 Challenge are given a 63-item checklist of steps they could take to be more Earth-friendly, ranging from turning off lights and replacing space heaters with electronic foot warmers to setting copy machines to two-sided printing and eliminating printing entirely by using the college’s intranet to share documents.

Once they’ve reviewed the checklist, the employees meet with sustainability project manager Michael Rea or senior sustainability analyst Ryan Wing to see how they can integrate items from the checklist into their daily work.

e3 offices get credit for what they’re already doing and set goals for sustainable practices that they can add.

Participating offices receive a handsome plaque with a sunflower design, adding beaded petals to the sign as they accomplish more goals.

So far, 20 offices with a combined total of 350 workers have signed up to be part of the e3 Challenge.

The initiative’s biggest benefit has been raising awareness about sustainability, Rea said. As workers look at the list, they discover that they can check off many of the practices already.

“A lot of times people don’t look at what they’re doing as being sustainable,” Rea said. “That gets that good forward movement going.”

JCCC’s Web Publishing office, which currently has more petals than any of the other participating offices, got its momentum going early.

“The sweet deal was that the ladies all jumped in; we were all gung ho,” said Nancy Conrod, web publishing technician and leader of the e3 effort. “I couldn’t do it alone.”

Adding petals to the plaque as they grew more and more sustainable added to the momentum.

“It’s just kind of a win-win. We get the plaque, but we’re also giving back to the school because of saving on paper, saving on electricity.”

As office staffs meet more green goals, they receive more beaded petals. Photos by Susan McSpadden

Office staffs take personal interest in sustainabilityBy Melodee Blobaum

The Open Petal | 13

Rea said that the most common practices that are adopted by offices are putting frequently used forms online instead of printing them, setting electronic equipment to enter sleep mode when it’s not in use and then turning the equipment off at night, and removing one bulb from three-bulb light fixtures.

The last item alone can add up to big cost savings: Rea estimated that removing that third bulb can result in a $5 per year energy savings. Multiplied by the number of bulbs in the typical office, the savings are significant.

Rea gathered many of the items on the checklist from checklists used by other colleges and universities, and adapted them to meet JCCC needs.

He’s also added some items, most notably composting. Food waste can be taken to a compost collection area near the Office and Classroom Building. From there, it goes to the solar composter near the campus farm, and the resulting mix is used to enrich the farm soil.

Conrod said her office composts coffee filters and coffee grounds as well as other food waste, and recruited the Publications office across the hall to do the same.

“I love that,” she said. “I love the idea of not wasting food.”

The second initiative involves changes to how trash and

recycling is collected at the office level.

A trash audit conducted this spring showed that 61 percent of the materials in office trash cans could have been recycled. Because Rea knows that the easier it is to recycle, the more likely people are to do it, he brought recycling straight to employees’ desks.

Every worker received a small bin to attach to the side of their trash can. The bin became the trash receptacle, with the larger trash can designated for recycling.

In addition, employees were asked to empty the small bin each day into a centrally located trash receptacle, and to empty the larger recycling container into a larger centrally located recycling container. The trash and recycling is gathered from that location by housekeeping each night, reducing the number of trash cans custodians must empty and their saving time as well as reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills.

Other organizations that have adopted the practice have increased recycling rates by as much as 30 percent.

Any increase in recycling has an additional benefit for the college’s students. The money the college earns from recycling goes to the JCCC Foundation to support scholarships.

The Web Publishing office also composts coffee grounds. Nancy Conrad (left) and Marilyn Gairns have gone green.

Bruna Iacuzzi, Student Senate president, prepares for a meeting.

14 | The Open Petal

Photo by Susan McSpadden

The Open Petal | 15

Italy is her home, food is her passion and students her focusBy Melodee Blobaum

When Bruna Iacuzzi took a test to discover her strengths, the top five characteristics were leadership, command, competition, focus and achiever.

So it’s no surprise that the 20-year-old Italian is leading the Johnson County Community College Student Senate this year.

And the combination of her strengths and experience likely will serve her well as she pursues her dream of returning to Sardinia, the island off the coast of Italy where she grew up, to grow tourism and open the first of a string of restaurants.

Iacuzzi arrived at JCCC via tiny Brookville, Kan., a town of fewer than 300 people just west of Salina, where she’d spent a year as a high school exchange student.

It was a far cry from her expectation of spending the exchange year on one of the coasts, in California or Florida. But she quickly adapted to life on a farm.

“It was great,” she said. “I had a good time and played basketball there.”

Rather than return to Italy for her senior year in high school – Italian teens have five years of high school – Iacuzzi decided to graduate from Ell-Saline High School and start college in Kansas.

She considered the University of Kansas and Kansas State University before deciding on JCCC.

“People were helpful, and JCCC had a good hospitality program,” she said.

That was important for a young foodie whose family is involved in food and wine, and whose career goal was cemented during a visit to Felidia in New York City.

“Everything was perfect,” she said. “I wanted to provide people with the same experience.”

Felidia owner Lidia Bastianich also operates Lidia’s Kansas City, and Iacuzzi, who received her food and beverage management certificate from JCCC in May 2012, did an eight-month internship in the kitchen there. She’s currently working in the front of the house as a hostess.

But simply going to class and learning the ins and outs of hospitality management wasn’t enough for Iacuzzi, who completed an associate of food and beverage degree in December and expects to receive an associate of arts in liberal

arts in May. Once she’d completed her first year at JCCC, she decided to get involved in clubs and organizations: the International Club, the Academic Excellence Team, the Hospitality Club and the Culinary Knowledge Bowl Team.

She’s still a member of the Academic Excellence Team and is vice president for Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for students attending two-year colleges.

She also signed up for the Cavalier Leadership Development program, a semester-long program offered through Student Activities that focuses on practical, real-world topics related to leadership.

That training helped Iacuzzi learn how to relate with all kinds of people – a skill that she said will come in handy for someone who wants to own her own restaurants and spend time in front of the house meeting customers.

In 2011-2012, she ran for a post as a senator in the Student Senate, and in spring 2012, she ran to be vice president of the Student Senate. She stepped up to be the group’s president when the student elected for that post was unable to fulfill her duties.

Her main goal as president is to keep students informed about what’s happening at JCCC and to make them aware of services available to them. Once a month, the Student Senate leaders set up a table in the Carlsen Center lobby to chat with students and learn what they’re concerned about.

She also runs the Student Senate meetings, held weekly on Mondays. The Senate handles requests for funding from student groups and can provide as much as $9,000 for a group to travel to an event or undertake a new project.

Through her involvement, Iacuzzi herself has become more informed, and has met people who share her passions.

“This gives you an opportunity to experience things you wouldn’t otherwise,” she said.

When Iacuzzi graduates, she plans to transfer to the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg for a bachelor’s degree in restaurant administration.

From there, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in hospitality management. She has her eye on the University of Hawaii, in part to see how that island state approaches tourism with an eye toward how what she learns could be applied in Sardinia.

Studying the

‘Immortal’

16 | The Open Petal

Son of Henrietta Lacks shares views

on what happened to his mother

By Anne Christiansen-Bullers

The Open Petal | 17

Bridging the gap between science and humanity is the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the 2012-2013 Common Read selection at Johnson

County Community College.

To celebrate the subject of the book, Henrietta Lacks, her son, David “Sonny” Lacks, will visit JCCC in an Actor’s Studio-like conversation at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in Polsky Theatre in the Carlsen Center. The public is invited to attend.

The event is a capstone to months of reading, writing, studying and discussing Henrietta Lacks, a poor tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her knowledge to become the originator of the famous HeLa cells.

Scientists had been searching for a way to grow human cells in a laboratory setting but before 1950 there had been little success in finding that “immortal” strain of cells that would continue to grow without its human host. However, in 1951, while undergoing treatment for cervical cancer, Henrietta Lacks unknowingly “donated” cells – both cancerous and cancer-free cells – that had an amazing propensity for growth.

The cells were known as the HeLa strain, so named after the first two letters of Lacks’ first and last name.

The cells’ ability to reproduce made them instrumental in medical research, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization and more, yet the woman behind these cells was all but forgotten until first-time author Rebecca Skloot discovered Lacks’ name and history.

She found the Lacks family, spent years gaining their trust and chronicled their struggle to understand Lacks’ scientific infamy. Especially compelling was the fact that few in the Lacks family could afford medical insurance, despite the fact that their mother’s cells were critical to the medical industry.

In his appearance, Sonny Lacks will share what it meant to find out – decades after the fact – that his mother’s cells were being used in laboratories around the world, bought and sold by the billions. His visit puts a personal face on big issues such as the dark history of experimentation on African-Americans, the birth of bioethics and the legal battles over informed consent.

Lorie Paldino, adjunct instructor, English, and chair of the JCCC Common Read program, said she thought Sonny Lacks’ visit was the perfect way to personalize those issues.

“It’s a great way of getting the family’s perspective and an excellent way for a member of the family to benefit from his mother’s story,” she said.

As the Common Read, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was assigned to Composition I students at JCCC. But, given the nature of this year’s selection, classes in other disciplines chose to read the book as well.

Paldino said students in the dental hygiene and practical nursing programs also read it, and Composition I teachers led the book discussions.

Paldino said those students asked different questions than the ones in her composition classes, ones that delved deeper into patient care and ethical concerns in health care.

“The different questions added to both groups’ understanding of the book, which is ideal for all Common Read books to do,” she said.

The JCCC Common Read program is in its fourth year. Common read programs have grown in popularity in communities across the nation. Colleges and universities have used such programs to infuse fresh academic and social experiences, promote critical thinking and reflection, and bolster reading beyond the classroom.

Sonny’s appearance is also part of the college’s Scholar-in-Residence program, designed to bring visiting scholars to students, faculty and the public. It is co-sponsored by the English and Journalism division.

In preparation for the Scholar-in-Residence visit, numerous events were scheduled in the fall of 2012. Paul Decelles, professor, science, presented The Biology of HeLa Cells, and Deb Williams, associate professor, science, presented Ethical Issues in Human Subject Research.

Williams and LuAnne Wolfgram, professor/chair, biotechnology, were part of a panel discussion open to students entitled HeLa’s Implications.

The film From Separate to Equal: The Creation of the Truman Medical Center fueled discussion about how the health care establishment treated the black population of the U.S. in the 20th century.

The film is the work of Kevin Willmott, associate professor, film and media studies at the University of Kansas.

David Lacks

18 | The Open Petal

David Lindstrom’s first connection with the college occurred in 1978 when he visited students at JCCC while he was a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Photo by Susan McSpadden

The Open Petal | 19

David Lindstrom could have retired from public service. After 10 years as a member of the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners, he could

have said goodbye to the spotlight.

Instead, Lindstrom applied to fill a vacant seat on the Johnson County Community College board of trustees. (Don Weiss, a trustee since 2007, announced his resignation in October 2012.)

Lindstrom was selected from a pool of 25 applicants to complete the term, which expires June 30, 2015.

Lindstrom is well known to long-time followers of the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played as a defensive end from 1977 to 1985, and to those in county political circles, where in addition to the county commission he has served on the Overland Park Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Shawnee Mission Medical Center Foundation and the Kansas Arts Commission.

Despite his commitments, he found time for The Open Petal so readers could learn about JCCC’s newest trustee.

Q: Why did you decide to apply for the vacant seat on the board of trustees? You were so close to having free time, and now you’re back in the fray.

A: I was encouraged by people whose opinion I value greatly to apply for the position. And I considered it a high compliment that they would even consider me for the vacancy. I heard about Don [Weiss] leaving, and of course it was publicized in the papers. After that, it became a very real option, and I was lucky to be considered.

Q: When was your last county commission meeting?

A: Jan. 10, 2013.

Q: And yet your first board of trustees meeting was Dec. 6, 2012. You didn’t get any time off at all. Why jump right back into public service?

A: When I told everyone I was not seeking re-election to the board of county commissioners, I made it very clear that we weren’t leaving the community. This has grown to be our home, and we would find other opportunities to give back to our community. I told them, ‘It may take months or years, but we’ll find that opportunity.’ It turned out not to take that long.

Q: But why you? Why do you think you should serve?

A: Someone has to do it, right? And my understanding is that people who are grateful for what they have should give back to the community. I’ve been very blessed. What kid from Boston would say, ‘I live in northeast Kansas, and I

love it here’? We’ve built relationships here, in a place that has a great quality of life, cost of living, an excellent climate – I love all four seasons – and all of the things that make a community a great place to live.

Q: What was your very first encounter with Johnson County Community College?

A: In 1978, when I first started with the Chiefs, the team asked me to visit the college. I threw the ball around with the students – right there at the corner of College and Quivira – and signed autographs.

Q: How has your interaction with JCCC grown since then?

A: I have great regard for JCCC. All the things that make Johnson County great are epitomized in JCCC …

I took a public speaking class here a few years ago; my wife has taken classes here; and my daughter, Halee, graduated in 2002. She really enjoyed her time here.

And it was just a few weeks ago that I was a guest lecturer in a government class. I’ve also been a member of the [JCCC] Foundation board [of directors from 2001-2008].

Q: So do you feel you know JCCC?

A: I know some aspects, but there’s always more to learn. I’ll listen … and ask a lot of questions.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your time as a trustee?

A: No. 1, I think we need to meet the economic challenges of providing services while facing an unpredictable financial future. That’s the economics of any institution – to deliver on our promises, and in this case, it’s that learning is the first priority – while managing resources. I’m going to do everything to make sure that is possible.

No. 2, hiring a new college president – a new CEO of the organization – is of paramount importance.

No. 3 is trying to keep the balance between the first and the second. I want to help maintain excellence at JCCC while continuing to watch the pennies for the people who trust me to do so.

Q: Do you plan to run for the trustee position when it is up for re-election in 2015?

A: That’s the plan. I did the same thing with the county commissioners – being appointed in 2003 and then winning the election in 2004 – and that’s what I intend to do here. Of course, plans can always change, but I value continuity on a board, and it’s my intent to stay.

Passion to serveDavid Lindstrom looks forward to term as trusteeBy Anne Christiansen-Bullers

20 | The Open Petal

Do you know what ships’ passengers ate while traveling across the Atlantic more than 100 years ago? Some maritime historians in London now do,

all thanks to JCCC’s Andrea Broomfield.

Broomfield, professor, English, recently presented her research regarding the culinary offerings aboard historic ocean liners at the King’s Seminars at King’s College in London.

She was invited through a rather circuitous route. Broomfield applied for a grant to attend a conference in England about maritime history, but she was politely rejected for the grant because the organizers felt she already knew too much about the topic.

“I didn’t think I knew too much about the topic,” she said. “I actually thought I would have learned a lot. I mean, I was so ignorant (about maritime history) that I didn’t even know what to type into Google when I felt it essential to locate maritime history organizations.”

One of the conference organizers forwarded Broomfield’s application to an official at King’s College and suggested that he get ahold of this land-locked American woman. She had some interesting research.

The British Commission for Maritime History, which organizes the King’s Seminars, issued an invitation, and Broomfield accepted. The audience was able to learn more about her new research specialty, and she was able to make connections to maritime historians, experts and enthusiasts.

Those experts will be invaluable, Broomfield said, as she finishes her book on shipboard dining at the height of transatlantic travel.

Much of the research she presented in the hour-long talk came from her work in the summer of 2012. Broomfield won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study the waterfront of Brooklyn. The seminar Along the Shore:

Changing and Preserving the Landmarks of Brooklyn’s Industrial Waterfront gave Broomfield a chance to see where some of the ships she’s studied were actually built.

To tour the area “really helps you understand what a landmark it is, and the complications that come with industrial preservation (of historic sites),” she said.

She also had the chance after the NEH seminar to peruse the archives of the Brooklyn Historical Society, the New York Historical Society and the South Street Seaport Museum.

While researching, she found correspondence from shipping magnate Edward Knight Collins explaining the importance of improving the dining experience aboard ships to enhance customer satisfaction.

Collins hoped to compete with the European industry giant Cunard with his own American-made company. Broomfield had postulated that Collins wanted his business to focus on food, and now she had definite proof, written in his own hand. It was a researcher’s dream, she said.

“I believed that he saw food as a strategic factor, but it was just a hunch,” she said.

Most food on ships at the time before refrigeration was salted, pickled or dried, Broomfield explained. It was easy to transport, but it didn’t taste very good. Soon ships began to incorporate “ice rooms” and in-ship barnyards to allow for fresh food to be served.

Bigger boats (with fewer incidences of seasickness) also helped switch the focus of ships’ food from sustenance to taste. After all, if one wasn’t able to keep food down, taste didn’t matter much. But once passage became more enjoyable, so too, did the passengers’ attitude toward food.

Broomfield plans on using her contacts made in New York and London to fuel her appetite for completing her book.

London callingProfessor shares culinary history across the Atlantic

By Anne Christiansen-Bullers

English Professor Andrea Broomfield shares her research in London. Photo by Susan McSpadden

The Open Petal | 21

Cameron Chapman had everything he needed to be a successful student – a passion for learning and a drive to succeed. The only thing missing was the

means to pay for it. Now, with a little help from his friends and the JCCC Foundation, Chapman is finding it easier to pursue his academic dreams.

Chapman, a student at Johnson County Community College since 2010, was considering taking a semester off due to lack of funds to pay his tuition.

“I was really enjoying school and was pretty set in my routine,” Chapman said. “I wanted to continue, but I didn’t have the money for tuition. I really didn’t think I would qualify for any scholarships or more financial aid.”

Fortunately for him, he was wrong. His friends encouraged him to fill out the paperwork to apply for financial assistance.

“I filled out all the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) forms,” he said. “It took some time but it was really easy.”

Chapman learned that he had been awarded the Balance Innovations Scholarship from the JCCC Foundation. The scholarship is awarded to students actively working on an associate’s degree in computer science or computer information systems (CIS).

“I was thrilled to receive the scholarship,” Chapman said. “The Balance Innovations Scholarship funds are going to allow me to stay in school without the pressure and stress of me wondering how I will be able to pay for it.”

The JCCC Foundation offers a variety of scholarships. Some of them are funded by donors and awarded based on the donor’s requirements. Students enrolled in certain academic programs at JCCC may also be eligible to apply for department scholarships. For more information about scholarships, visit http://www.jccc.edu/financialaid/scholarships/.

Besides being a full-time student, Chapman is a husband, father and full-time employee at Garmin International, Inc., in Olathe. He usually gets up at 5:30 a.m. and doesn’t return home until 9:30 p.m.

“This type of schedule makes it hard on my family, but we all know that this is an investment for our future,” he said.

Chapman made the dean’s honor roll in spring 2012. And he recently was recognized as an Outstanding Employee of Garmin International for his work in developing a department-specific Web application. The application now is used extensively within his department and is being introduced in other areas throughout the company, he said.

“I think this Garmin award helps demonstrate my passion for software development as well as an ability to apply what I am learning at JCCC into the workplace for the benefit of my company,” he said.

Chapman hopes to complete his associate’s degree at JCCC by the end of 2013. He hasn’t decided yet if he will try to get a job then or pursue a four-year degree.

Chapman has some advice for people who think they cannot afford to attend college.

“Fill out every form and every application that is available to you. You have to burn some calories to fill out all of the paperwork but it is not that difficult. If you qualify, you might as well take advantage of scholarships and aid. It is definitely worth it.”

Connect with alumni/foundationFor more alumni stories and to find out about events sponsored by the JCCC Foundation, visit jccc.edu/foundation.

Computer science student learns value of filling out formsBy Anne Hunt

A scholarship is helping Cameron Chapman pay for his education. Photo by Susan McSpadden

C A M P U S L I F EDatebookFeb. 13, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of lead plaintiff in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, will speak on The Judicial Past of Kansas – Giving Meaning to the 14th Amendment, Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Free.

Feb. 15, 7 p.m. Friday, Polsky Series features Dan Heims, president of Terra Nova Nurseries, who will speak on Perennials from Around the World, Polsky Theatre. Free.

Feb. 21, 11 a.m.Thursday, David “Sonny” Lacks will discuss a book about his mother called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. While his mother was undergoing treatment for cervical cancer, her cells were taken without her knowledge for scientific research. The book is the 2012-2013 selection for the JCCC Common Read Program. Polsky Theatre. Free.

Feb. 22, 1:30 p.m. Friday, Naturalization Ceremony conferring U.S. citizenship on foreign citizens, Polsky Theatre. Open to the public. Free.

Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3, Academic Theatre, reasons to be pretty, Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m., Bodker Black Box Theatre. Free.

March 6, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Academic Concert, Engaging Arrangments, Polsky Theatre. Free.

March 7, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, JCCC Chamber Choir and MadRegalia Concert, Polsky Theatre. Free.

March 15-17, Academic Theatre, The Fisherman and the Goldfish, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, noon and 3 p.m., Sunday 2 and 4 p.m., Bodker Black Box Theatre. Free.

Shirley MacLaine8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23Yardley Hall

Arlo Guthrie7 p.m. Sunday, March 24Yardley Hall

Garrison Keillor7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27Yardley Hall

On stage

For tickets and information about these and other events sponsored by the Performing Arts Series, visit jccc.edu/TheSeries or call the JCCC Box Office at 913-469-4445.

Brad Kahlhamer Eagle Fest USA, 2005 Oil on canvas 108 x 144”

At the NermanThese works are part of the permanent collection at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. For more information, visit nermanmuseum.org

22 | The Open Petal

Dana Schutz Surgery, 2004 Oil on canvas 75 x 91”

Executive VP retiresMarilyn Rhinehart’s last day at the college was the last day of last year. Before she left, she said she knew she would really miss her colleagues because she was a big believer in “relationship leadership.”

Unbridled passionA program at JCCC inspired Jorden Henderson to pursue her interest in horses. Now she has a bachelor’s degree in equine science and a minor in therapeutic horsemanship.

Soaring sky highAt 23, Joel Cox is one of the youngest airship or blimp pilots in U.S. history. And what was one of the first steps that helped him get there? Taking College Now classes while a student at Blue Valley High School.

Fire science alumnusShawn Bayouth recently was promoted to fire chief for the city of Ames, Iowa. He holds a doctorate degree, a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree. He also has an associate’s degree from JCCC. “I owe a large part of my career ac-complishments to the solid foundation that my JCCC degree provided,” he said.

Ancient ItalyHistory Professor Michael Hembree participated in a summer institute in Italy last June called The Legacy of Ancient Italy: The Etruscan and Early Roman City. He’s been incorporat-ing what he learned into the courses that he teaches.

Online ExclusivesJCCC touches people in many ways. To find out how the college played a role for these folks, go to jccc.edu, type in the search words highlighted below and click the top link.

New buildingA worker welds support beams to the structure for the new culinary academy on the eastern side of campus just south of the Regnier Center. The free-standing facility will accommodate the 700 students enrolled in the college’s nationally recognized hospitality management program and provide space for noncredit classes and community activities. The academy is expected to be open in time for the fall semester.

The Open Petal | 23

Photo by Susan McSpadden

24 | The Open Petal

Men’s and women’s cross country, golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and women’s basketball all appeared at least once in their respective sports national coaches poll. Entering the 2012-2013 school year, Johnson County teams had compiled 10 national championships, 121 Region VI titles and 156 Kansas Jayhawk Conference trophies. Those numbers increased to 122 region and 157 conference championships during the fall.

Cross CountryThe women’s cross country and track program captured its first Region VI triple crown in 2011-2012, winning titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. This academic year, the cross country team cleared the first hurdle in a quest for a second triple crown by winning the Region VI Cross Country Championships, hosted by JCCC. The Lady Cavaliers edged Allen Community College by three points to claim first place. The JCCC men finished fourth overall.

“We knew all year that this was basically a match race between us and Allen, but we expected to win,” JCCC head coach Mike Bloemker said. “Allen’s coach likes for his teams to run aggressively in championship meets. All that week I told our team they needed to keep their composure and run as a team. Everything unfolded how I anticipated.”

Three Lady Cavaliers finished among the top 15 finishers and that earned them All-Region VI honors. Jessica Thomas led the way placing sixth with a time of 19:38.1. Also in the top 15 were Emily DeLong at 10th place (19:51.8) and Michala Ruder at 14th (19:57.3).  

The JCCC men had just one runner earn All-Region VI. Kidus Bekele crossed the finish line in 15th place with a time of 26:18.4. That effort ranks as the second fastest in team history for JCCC’s new 8k course. JCCC’s next four finishers placed within five spots of each other, finishing 29th, 30th, 31st and 33rd.

GolfThe Cavaliers golf team, ranked 15th in the country, is off to the best start in team history, winning all three fall conference tournaments, and are in the driver’s seat in their quest for the program’s second Kansas Jayhawk Conference championship. Even more impressive is all five starters for the team are in contention for all-conference honors, and three different players won medalist honors in a tournament.

The leader of the team is returning All-American Mario Funcic. He leads with a stroke average of 74.5 and has the lowest individual round, firing a second round of 68 on his way to a victory at the first conference tournament of the season. Freshman Gage Scheer and Alex Forristal are the other two individual tournament winners last fall.

TennisThe JCCC women’s and men’s tennis teams, led by 34-year veteran coach Glen Moser, annually are in the hunt for a top 10 national finish, and the fall rankings released by the ITA show that Moser’s squads should again meet those expectations. The women’s team earned a No. 6 ranking, while the men were given the eighth spot.

Also this fall, two members of the women’s team made history. Shannon Beckett and Erica Castillo Lopez recorded a thrilling come-from-behind win over Cowley College to place third at the ITA Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala. They became the highest finishing team in this championship in JCCC women’s tennis history. Beckett also made history in singles play. She recorded the highest finish by a JCCC competitor, placing fourth overall.

SoccerThe women’s and men’s soccer teams began their seasons among the top ranked teams nationally. While both fell just shy of retuning to their national tournament, it was a memorable 2012 campaign.

The Lady Cavaliers finished 13-8-1, reached the region semifinals and had five players named all-conference. Freshman Christianna Tran led the team in scoring with 53 points, and

By Tyler Cundith

The Johnson County Community College intercollegiate athletics department is regarded throughout the region

and country as a first-class program. JCCC teams regularly appear in the national rankings, so it was no surprise that

nine of the 10 teams that competed during the fall semester were ranked nationally.

S P O R T S

Teams rack up national rankings during fall play

was twice named the KJCCC Player of the Week. She also was the NJCAA National Player of the Week one time.

On the men’s side, the Cavaliers reached the region title game for the first time since 2007 and finished 11-8-0 overall. They too had five individuals earn all-conference, and head coach Fatai Ayoade reached a milestone, becoming the all-time wins leader in team history. He has 159 victories over 13 seasons, three more than the previous leader.

VolleyballThe JCCC volleyball team was a top-20 team all season long and finished the year ranked 12th with a 28-6 record. The Lady Cavaliers were also solid against other nationally ranked teams during the season, finishing 10-4. However, Johnson County saw its string of seven straight trips to the NJCAA D-II Tournament snapped as the Lady Cavaliers lost 3-0 to Cowley College in the Region VI Championship.

BasketballJCCC women’s basketball coach Ben Conrad has led his team to three straight 30-plus win seasons, accomplished by just one other coach in Kansas Jayhawk Conference history. As the 2012-13 season neared the halfway mark, it appeared Conrad’s string would reach four straight. His Lady Cavaliers are 11-1 and ranked fifth in the country.

The Lady Cavaliers are getting it done with selfless play on the offensive end and relentless pressure on defense. A total of seven players score on average seven or more points per game, including four in double figures. Johnson County also possesses one of the country’s top defenses, holding opponents to only 39.2 points per game.

While the men’s basketball team has not appeared in this year’s national poll to date, the program is one of the best in Division II. JCCC won national championships in 2001 and 2009, and the team has reached the Region Championship Game 13 straight years. The Cavaliers are 5-7 on the season.

The spring season looks bright for Johnson County athletic teams as well. In addition to the nationally ranked tennis teams and golf team, both the baseball and softball teams are coming off 40-plus win seasons and will be contenders for their respective conference and region titles. The indoor and outdoor women’s track team will be looking to repeat its conference and region triple crown, and the men’s team will be vying to defend its indoor and outdoor conference championships.

Shannon BeckettShannon Beckett and her partner Erika Castillo Lopez recorded the highest finish by a JCCC doubles team at the ITA Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala., earlier this fall.

Christianna TranFreshman forward Christianna Tran was the leading scorer for the women’s soccer team last fall with 53 points. She was also the team leader in goals scored with 22.

DaShawn HardenSophomore guard DaShawn Harden scored 13 points and had seven steals in an 80-39 win over Fort Scott on Dec. 11. She is one of four Lady Cavaliers averaging double figures in scoring.

Mario FuncicAn All-American last year, Mario Funcic is off to a tremendous start to his sophomore season. He had one victory and four Top 10 finishes in the fall season, and leads the team with a stroke average of 74.5.

Women’s cross countryThe women’s cross country team raced to a team victory at the NJCAA Region VI Championship Oct. 27 at JCCC. This is the second straight year the Lady Cavaliers finished as the region’s top team.

Kidus BekeleSophomore Kidus Bekele ran the second fastest 8k time on JCCC’s cross country course to lead JCCC to a fourth-place team finish at the NJCAA Region VI Championship Oct. 27.

The Open Petal | 25

Kidus Bekele

Mario Funcic

DaShawn Harden

Christianna Tran

Shannon Beckett

T H E R E A R W I N D O W

Photos by Susan McSpadden

Worth a look backFall paraded by with classes and baseball practices and nursing students preparing for an examination

for a national license. Country singer Sara Evans packed Yardley Hall. Art enthusiasts stopped by the

Nerman for noon discussions. And educators talked about improving social skills for young people

with autism. In the midst of it all, students found solitary spots to study and recharge.

26 | The Open Petal

Tim Hoare, professor, humanities, leads a Noon at the Nerman program on Dec. 7. The art is American Infamy by Roger Shimomura.

President Terry Calaway thanks country music star Sara Evans for visiting JCCC on Nov. 30. Evans performed for the President’s Choice concert in Yardley Hall. The show was a benefit for the JCCC President’s Scholarship.

The Open Petal | 27

For more photos, visit www.facebook.com/JCCC411. Or connect with Facebook by going to the

college home page at jccc.edu and clicking on “Connect with JCCC.”

Freshman catcher John Fairchild hones his batting skills during baseball team practice. The team gathers daily in the Fieldhouse during the off season.

Jamey Martinez of Overland Park enjoys a scenic spot in the Regnier Center Nov. 16 to study for his Personal Communications class.

Scott Bellini, director of a research clinic at Indiana University, gives the keynote presentation Nov. 30 at an autism conference in the Regnier Center.

Chilly tempera-tures on Nov. 27 bring out the winter hats!

Nursing students pose after getting their head shots taken Nov. 10 for the National Council Licensure Examination application.

Campus Connections’ annual caroling.

Adam Hiatt keeps track of his patient’s vitals while Crystal Henley keeps the patient’s breathing going during a simulation exercise in a MICT IV class.

www.jccc.edu/TheSeries | 913-469-4445Performing Arts SeriesJohnson County Community College | NO ONLINE FEES | FREE PARKING

7 p.m., Sun., March 3Yardley Hall

California Guitar Trio and Montreal Guitar Trio

12345 COLLEGE BLVDOVERLAND PARK KS 66210-1299

NONPROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDJohnson County

Community College

Six virtuoso guitarists from four countries — Japan, Canada, Belgium and the United States — fuse more than 40 years of combined performing experience into one unique six-by-6-string “phenomensemble.”