Volume 38- Issue 4 Page 3
SG A President At Ashe Campus Wins Prestigious Award
Byt Jim 'Thompson Campus, in her letter of recommendation, she
wrote, “The Ashe Campus is a small campus with
only approximately 500 students and an even
smaller budget, but with Michael's leadership
Editor of the Jefferson Post
Article used coutaise of the Jefferson Post
Michael Graybeal, president of the Student
Government Association at the Ashe Campus
of Wilkes Community College, is the winner
of the Western Division Daryl Mitchell Award.
Graybeal is also sports editor of the Jefferson
Post.
Graybeal received the award on Saturday evening
at the spring conference of the North Carolina
Comprehensive Community College Student
Government Association (N4CSGA), held in
Durham. This is the first time a student at the
Ashe Campus has won the prestigious award.
In making the presentation, Tom Jaynes of
Durham Tech, senior advisor to the N4CSGA,
listed some of Graybeal s accomplishment as
SGA president, starting with just two members
of the group and helping it grow to over 20 active
participants. He also played a major role in getting
30 children adopted at the college as part of the
county’s Childrens Christmas Program, assisted
with two successful blood drives, among many
other activities. Jaynes saluted him as a person
“whose leadership is based on treating others as
he wants to be treated himself”
Graybeal was nominated for the honor by Sherry
Thompson, counselor associate at the Ashe
our campus has had an amazing year! We had
our first ever fell festival. The students brought
their children and fiimily members; the campus
was turned into a hall of fun! Though there
wasn't money for professional clowns, catering,
or entertainment; Michael recruited students
that developed games, debuted as clowns, and
provided wonderful refreshments. It was an
amazing night for all our students and their
families and it was deemed the most successful
event that our director had seen at our campus in
10 years."
Daryl Mitchell played a significant role in the
success of the N4CSG A during his tenure as
president. This award is given in his honor to a
student who demonstrates the leadership qualities
upon which the organization is founded. The
students honored with this award demonstrate
the six pillars of character: trustworthiness,
respect, responsibility, feimess, caring, and
citizenship. 'Those honored use the six pillars
of character to serve their community and local
community college. One student from each
division is selected as an “Outstanding Student.”
The award is presented annually to three students.
The N4CSGA spring conference took place
March 28-30 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in
Durham.
Right Tom Jaynes of Durham Tech, senior advisor to the N4CSGA and left Michael Graybeal SGA
president on the Ashe Campus. Along with attending class at the Ashe Campus Michael is the sports
witerfor the Jefferson Post. Michael has sucessfully turned the SGA at Ashe Campus in to a great
organazation.
Photo by Jim Thompson of the Jefferson Post
Bringing Critical Thinking to the Forefront of Wilkes Community College
By: Melissa McGuire and Lynne Ham
Chances are you've seen them in every classroom.
'Iliose red and white posters, one with a wheel
displaying the eight elements of thought, the
other with a list and explanations of the nine
standards of thinking. Together, the posters
provide the concepts and tools necessary for
critical thinking. If you haven’t yet taken an
ACA (Success and Study Skills) class, or instead
took ACA 111, you may be puzzled by what
these concepts mean and why teachers are now
incorporating them into their classrooms. What
you may not understand is critical thinking plays
a vital role not only in our education, but also in
our professional and personal lives.
According to Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda
Elder who authored the Miniature Guide to
Critical Thinking, a pamphlet given to every
student who takes ACA 115, “a critical thinker
takes questions and problems, states them clearly
and precisely; gathers relevant information;
comes to conclusions and solutions that are well-
reasoned; thinks open-mindedly recognizing
their assumptions, implications and practical
consequences; and can communicate effectively
with other people to figure out the solutions to
complex problems." This idea is important as
students progress through their studies with
the ability to critically think through their
assignments as well as reflect upon and apply
what they have learned. Such thinking helps
students to master their subjects by retaining
more information and concepts with accuracy and
precision.
To enhance the quality of education provided to
Wlkes Community College students, in 2006
the Quality Enhancement Program (QEP),
comprised of WCC faculty and staff, decided
to implement ACA 115 into its curriculum.
According to Jan Huggins, QEP Director and
Lead Instructor, at the time they made the
decision, four-year universities were already
leaning more towards students possessing critical
thinking skills. Employees were also asking for
students who could reason through problems
and situations by thinking critically. These skills
allow students who become employees to provide
the best quality of work, which helps businesses
thrive. In 2006, the College started integrating
ACA 115 into a few programs of study, such
as Accounting and Nursing. In subsequent
semesters, more programs of studies were added.
Beginning in &1I of2008, ACA 111 will be
completely phased out with ACA 115 taking its
place.
Similar to ACA 111, ACA 115 supplies students
with proper study skills as well as an orientation
to WCC. However, according to Huggins, what
makes ACA 115 unique is that students leam the
language of critical thinking skills so that it will
not be a foreign language to them as they continue
in their studies and later acquire jobs. In ACA
115, students are taught what the difference of
an assumption and an inference is, how to see
situations through the point of view of others,
and how to pursue the best information by asking
open ended questions instead of closed questions.
A byproduct of the dass is that students also
leam how to work in teams through group
activities during class time, a skill that employers
desire in their employees. Another aspect that
sets ACA 115 apart from ACA 111 is more class
time (two weekly contact hours in ACA 115
versus one weekly contact hour in ACA 111)
which means virtually no homework, since most
assignments are completed in class.
The reason why critical thinking skills taught
in ACA 115 is important to us as students is
because of the world we now live in. We are
living in a global business world—that is our
reality. The United States will need to invest
more substantially in education than ever before
in order to remain competitive. Students need
more intensive math and science skills, effective
speaking and writing communication skills,
critical thinking skills, analytic reasoning skills,
and the ability to solve problems in order to
compete with other industrial powers around
the globe. An employee who can effectively
communicate in the workplace will be more
confident and have better job success. Employers
are seeking employees who have critical
thinking skills to hire for their more diverse
workplace. Learning critical thinking skills enable
students to speak and write with much more
clarity and precision using relevant information
to afHrm their point of views or to solve their
complex problems.
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College Calendar
May 9, I rid.i)- I.a.si 1 ),i)’ of ( I ,issc> Spring Si'iiicsici
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June 30 - Jill}'4 Summer Bre.ik
July 7, Monday ('lasses Resume
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