NCTC sees zombie invasion for performances of “Night of the Living Dead”

For the month of October, NCTC is turning into NCTZ as zombies run rampant across the campus, turning the college into North Central Texas Zombies.

The NCTC Drama Department will present a production of “Night of the Living Dead” by Lori Allen Ohm, based on the original film by George Romero and John Russo.

In this cult classic, a satellite probe shot to Venus returns to Earth carrying a mysterious radiation that transforms the unburied dead into flesh-eating zombies. Seven people trapped in an isolated farmhouse, held hostage by the ravenous ghouls, begin to turn on each other as the dead encroach.

“The production is very true to the original spirit of the George Romero film,” NCTC Fine Arts chairman Thom Talbott said. “It is a great sociological example of what happens when you put seven strangers into a house and a bunch of zombies outside the house. What would you do? How would you survive? These are all questions that are asked when any kind of disaster comes our way. How strong is your will to survive?”

This production is the culmination of the work of two NCTC classes. ENGL 2341 (Vampire and Zombie Literature) students will be providing displays in the lobby of the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts, while students in DRAM 1323 (Basic Theater Production: Zombies) will be performing in the show.

Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 26; 6 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and midnight on Oct. 27; and 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Oct. 31. All performances will be held in the Outside Box Theater at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts with limited seating for each performance.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth (high school age and younger). NCTC students are admitted free with their student ID.

The 6 p.m. performance on Oct. 27 will be a Zombie Dinner performance. Tickets for that are $15 and include participation in a lecture by Dr. Kyle Bishop.

The box office opens Oct. 18 and will remain open each weekday from 1 to 6 p.m. Call 940-668-3355 to reserve tickets.

The NCTC Drama Department will also present Zombie Trick or Treat from 6 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31 in the lobby of the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts. Organizers state that some images may be too intense for younger fans, so parents are encouraged to plan accordingly.

ZOMBIE INVASION – NCTC Drama students, left to right, Nathan Harmon, Taylor Bozarth, Jeremy Bukaty and Kathryn McGinness fend off a zombie in “Night of the Living Dead.”

Sound of Music

If you missed the NCTC Drama Department’s presentation of “The Sound of Music” this month, I have one question for you. What were you thinking?

The von Trapp children sing for their father and the Baroness during “The Sound of Music at NCTC

The six performances at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts on the NCTC campus were simply amazing. Several of the performances sold out. Word began to spread around North Texas and more and more people started calling to reserve tickets. Most importantly, everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

Kudos to NCTC Fine Arts department chair Thom Talbott and to NCTC music instructor Shane Studdard, who served as the director of the show.

And what a cast! We have some very talented performers here in North Texas. Angela Doss as Maria and Hollis Parsons as Captain von Trapp were amazing, and of course, the children stole the show each night.

I issue a round of applause for everyone involved from the cast to the crew behind the scenes. It truly was a special two-week run. I can’t wait to see next summer’s musical, “Legally Blonde.”

Be sure and “like” NCTC Drama on Facebook so you can keep updated on future performances and auditions.

Our nursing students don’t monkey around

Nursing is an awesome profession. Nurses are the unsung heroes of the medical industry. They don’t always get the recognition they deserve, and certainly aren’t paid enough, but for most nurses that isn’t that big of a deal. They get into the profession because they want to help people.

NCTC nursing students took patients from Gainesville Health and Rehab to the Frank Buck Zoo Wednesday.

That helping spirit was on display this week as first-semester students in the North Central Texas College Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program took some patients from the Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center on a special field trip.

The ADN students do their clinicals at Gainesville Health and Rehab and they form a bond with the patients there. NCTC clinical instructor Nicole Goodman worked with the event coordinator at Gainesville Health and Rehab to plan the special day.

The nursing students, with the help of some volunteers, picked up the patients at the rehab center and transported them to the Frank Buck Zoo, where they enjoyed a warm afternoon of looking at all the animals and plants in the zoo.

It was so great to watch the nursing students interact with the patients. While pushing the patients’ wheelchair or bed, the nurses would take time to point to the animals, talk about what they were seeing, and even shaded the eyes of the patient so they could get a better look.

All of the patients seemed to have a great time. Many don’t get the chance to leave the rehab center too often, so this chance to experience nature and wildlife was welcomed. And I have to think that the chance to share it with the caring nursing students of NCTC made it more special.

After about an hour in the zoo, patients and nurses went into Leonard Park to enjoy a picnic lunch under the shade trees.

So hats off to these special, caring students in our nursing program. You made us proud today!

You can see more photos at the NCTC Facebook page by clicking HERE.

NCTC first-semester nursing students took some patients from Gainesville Health and Rehab on a special field trip to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville Wednesday.

NCTC nursing students and their patients from Gainesville Health and Rehab enjoyed a day at the Frank Buck Zoo.

Putting “student” in student athlete

The term “dumb jock” definitely does NOT apply to a group of North Central Texas College athletes.

Several NCTC athletes were recognized at Monday’s Board of Regents meeting for their accomplishments in the classroom.

Volleyball players Courtney Haney (Peaster, TX) and Michelle Blount (Copperas Cove, TX)  were both named Academic All-Conference this year. Both plan to continue their academic and athletic careers at Midwestern State University next fall.

Tennis players Pri Rijal (Nepal) and Mel Telfer (Australia) were also named Academic All-Conference this spring. Rijal will sign with The College of Coastal Georgia, while Telfer will sign with Alabama State University.

Baseball player Mike Chamberlain (Nacogdoches, TX) was honored for being named both Academic All-Conference and Academic All-American. He has already signed with Houston Baptist University.

Two softball players were not able to attend Monday’s meeting because they had games at Ranger College. Bailey Brantley (Arlington, TX) and Brittany Wilson (Azle, TX) have both been named Academic All-Conference. Brantley plans to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio, while Wilson will attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

To be eligible for All-Conference or All-American honors, an athlete has to be classified as a sophomore with outstanding scholastic marks over the previous three semesters.

The sophomores aren’t the only ones doing well in the classroom. A large number of freshmen athletes made either the Dean’s List or President’s List in the fall semester. In addition, softball player Jasmine Parker (Carrollton, TX) was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society in March.

NCTC campus a busy place some days

While walking around the North Central Texas College campus some days, have you noticed even more activity than on a normal school day? Well that’s because NCTC hosts many special events that draw thousands of elementary school, middle school and high school students to our campus each year.

Just in the past couple of months, NCTC has hosted several of these events. The FFA Area V Horse Judging competition last week brought over 400 students and teachers to the Gainesville campus including schools from Bowie, Aubrey, Plano, McKinney and many more. The First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts also annually hosts many high school and middle school One-Act Play competitions. Other district UIL academic meets are also held at NCTC at various times. Just look for all the yellow school buses in the parking lot on these days.

The college also hosts several big athletic events that bring people on campus. The first-ever Swinging For A Cure high school softball tournament was held at Darwin Field in February with 12 schools competing. Close to 200 softball players took part in this tournament, which raised money for breast cancer prevention. The annual Holiday Classic basketball tournament, held every December for the past 25 years in Lions Fieldhouse, features 16 high school teams from all over North Texas.

Then there is the always fun Farm Week, which is coming up in April and will bring approximately 700 fourth graders from the surrounding area to the Gainesville campus to learn more about agriculture.

The great thing is that many of these students that get the chance to come on our campus for these special activities will end up attending college here in the future. What a great opportunity for us to show off our campus and what we have to offer to these young people!

So next time you see a group of students on our campus, give them a wave, flash a smile and welcome them to NCTC. After all, hopefully they will be part of our NCTC family in the coming years.

The horse judging team from Plano West High School was among the many that attended an FFA competition at NCTC recently.

NCTC Honors Program hosts Leadership Conference

CORINTH – Students, educators and administrators came together recently for a leadership conference hosted by the North Central Texas College Honors Program.

The 2012 Conference on American Leadership was held Saturday, March 24 at Oakmont Country Club in Corinth.

The conference allowed participants to experience a focused, thoughtful discussion on issues including education, leadership and the public good.

Featured speakers included Dr. Valerie Paton, Dr. Christopher Phillips and Adam Braun.

Paton is the Vice Provost for Planning and Assessment at Texas Tech University, where she also serves as Interim Dean (University College). She is a leader in higher education and uses her expertise and experiences to develop policies that create the right conditions for students. Much of Paton’s research has focused on the unique experiences of rural students as they transition into higher education.

Phillips is the author of several books including Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosphy and Constitution Café. He is the founder of the Democracy Café and Socrates Café dialogue groups that allow participants to approach others with greater openness and less fear.

“It’s a grass-roots democracy,” Phillips told Time magazine. “It’s only in a group setting that people can hash out their ideas about how we should act not just as an individual but as a society.”

During the Saturday conference, Phillips led participants through their own Socrates Café session on leadership.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE – Adam Braun was one of the featured speakers and award winners at the Conference on American Leadership Saturday in Corinth. Braun founded Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organization that has opened more than 50 schools around the world.

Braun is the founder and executive director of Pencils of Promise, a nonprofit organization that has opened more than 50 schools around the world and delivered over 1.5 million educational hours in just over three years.

Pencils of Promise was founded with just $25 and a birthday party in October 2008 using what Braun describes as a “for purpose” approach to blending nonprofit idealism with for-profit business principles.

Each of the three speakers were given special awards for their contributions. Phillips and Braun were both given the Distinguished American Leadership Award, while Paton was presented with the Texas Luminary Award.

Several educators received a North Texan Award for positively contributing to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and surrounding areas through their dedication to improving North Texas communities and schools.

North Texan Award winners including Suzie Bacchus of Saint Jo ISD, Michelle Benjamin of Little Elm ISD, Cody Bounds of Lindsay ISD, Carol Cook of Lindsay ISD, Charles Cooper of NCTC and Northwest ISD, Heather Cooper of Lewisville ISD, James Hathcock of NCTC, Donna Hooper of NCTC, Jack O’Connor of NCTC, Lena Stiggers of Denton ISD and Kent Vawter of Pilot Point ISD.

Several NCTC students were also honored with awards for their participation in a student essay competition. Students were invited to submit a three-page essay that offered detailed, thoughtful, organized and researched arguments related to the conference theme of education and/or leadership.

Winners included: Valerie Turner (first place) of Flower Mound, Jonathan Persaud (second place) of Lewisville, Jesus Moreno (honorable mention) of Denton, Angela McClain (honorable mention) of Nocona and Arianna Hawkins (honorable mention) of Ponder.

The Honors Program at NCTC provides an inspiring academic environment for intellectually curious and qualified students that prepares them for advanced studies at major four-year institutions. Academic rigor and innovation, dedicated and highly-skilled faculty mentors, as well as enhanced leadership and professional development opportunities are essential components of the program.

For more information on the NCTC Honors Program, contact coordinator Dr. Rochelle Gregory at (940) 498-7297 or by email at rgregory@nctc.edu.

Graham Scholarship Luncheon

By DARIN ALLRED

Graham High School hosted a luncheon for scholarship donors today in the GHS Library.

The event was meant to provide information for donors who will be awarding scholarships to Graham High School graduating seniors in May.

Donors were treated to a great lunch prepared by the Culinary Arts class at GHS. I have to say, whichever student or students that made the chocolate cake definitely has a bright culinary future. Yum Yum!!!!

The administration, teachers and counselors of Graham High School were so friendly, as were the students who served the meal.

North Central Texas College is proud to be a educational partner with the Graham Independent School District and the citizens of Graham. It was great to see so many people come together today to support educational opportunties in their community.

Scholarship donors were treated to lunch in the Graham High School Library.

Let’s get this show on the road

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players,” said William Shakespeare. But what do these words mean? Well, the students from the Acting II class at the North Central Texas College Corinth campus will be bringing these words to life in an exciting and humorous mash-up of several plays by Shakespeare in All the World’s A Stage, a one-act play by Mary W. Schaller.

This play is a great introduction to Shakespeare for middle and high school students. The performance will run approximately 30 minutes and is intended for middle and high school students studying Drama, Theatre, English or the Humanities.

The tale centers on a modern theatre student (Kirsten Reding of Aubrey) who leads the cast and audience through scenes from Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, and Hamlet. The cast features Jalizza Camacho, Indica Langford and Leslie Wick, all of Denton; and Rebekah Moss of Lewisville, Ellen Eddleman of Southlake, and David Cedar and Omari McKinley of Flower Mound. NCTC Adjunct Instructor of Drama Julie Brinker is the director.

The play will tour on Tuesdays and Thursdays in April and early May and can be booked for performances between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. This project has been underwritten by NCTC and is free to area schools. For more information or to book a performance, contact Julie Brinker at jbrinker@nctc.edu or 940-380-1033.

Work Backwards to Finish Ahead: 4 Tips to Knock-out the Rest of the Semester

By: Cheryl Croall, M.S.

Communications Instructor

 

Returning to class after spring break may leave you wondering how you’re going to recover from your sunburn and from mid-semester burnout. Apply some aloe to your sunburn and follow the 4 tips below to knock-out the rest of your semester by working backwards to finish ahead of the class!

 

On Your Mark, Get Set, CALENDAR

• Whether you use your smart phone, a free online site like cozi.com, a freebie pocket calendar or a print-out, get-out your calendar and use it!  Start by collecting all of your syllabi and reviewing your remaining assignments.  Choose a different color to designate each class and enter/write every remaining assignment for the year on your calendar.

 

Work it Backwards

• Next, take each assignment one-by-one and create a step-by-step plan to for assignment success!  For example, an essay may take 1 hour of research and prep 4 days before assignment is due, 1 hour of writing 3 days before, 30 minutes of editing 2 days before, and final editing/revisions the day before.  An exam may take 20 minutes of prep a week for 3 weeks prior to the text, and then 20 minutes per day the week prior, and finally – 3 out of 5 days for 45 minutes the week of the test.
• Calendar each step for assignment success.

 

Get Real 

• Get real with yourself in creating your calendar.  If you’ve consistently procrastinated until the very last minute for every exam, quiz, paper, and speech until now, it’s unlikely you’ll begin a month ahead of an assignment now.  Take small steps to improve your preparation time and set realistic goals that you’ll be able to make stick. Commit to your preparation time just like you would an appointment with a person.   

 

It’s Dynamic

• Your calendar is just that; yours.  It should be a dynamic document, not a rulebook.  Make adjustments as needed.  If you miss a planned preparation day, don’t sweat it and pick-it-up the next day!  Inventor Thomas Edison said, “I’ve not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

 

Cheryl Croall is an instructor at North Central Texas College and the University of Phoenix, and is the founder of The Giving Party, a non-profit organization that provides parents-in-need with birthday parties for children and child healthcare training.  Croall may be contacted at ccroall@nctc.edu.

 

We don’t horse around

Four members of the North Central Texas College horse show team recently competed at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s regional competition. Regional qualifiers included  Kinzee Shull of Colorado, Lisa Roberts of Kaufman, Melissa Williams of Illinois and Isabell Silverstolpe of Sweden. Coaches included Bill Kaven and Curt Donley. Roberts advanced to the national semifinals in reining. The semifinals will be held March 23-24 in Findlay, Ohio. NCTC hosted the regional competition March 4 with eight schools from Texas and Oklahoma competing.

Regional qualifiers