THE VOICE OF WILKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VOLUME 22. NUMBER 1
WILKESBORO. NORTH CAROLINA
SEPTEMBER 4, 1991!
^'WCC Is The Place To Be^^
President’s
Message
Dr. Jim Randolph, President
As we enter into another school year,
1 would like to welcome new and return
ing students to WCC. The faculty and
staff are delighted that you have chosen
Wilkes Community College. We are
always available to assist you in meeting
your educational and career goals.
I think you will find that WCC is a
pleasant place to learn. Our facilities are
appropriate, our equipment is modern
and our programs are current. Most
important, however, is the well trained
and dedicated faculty that await you.
They represent the very best in com
munity college education and will chal
lenge you to meet your goals.
I also want to challenge you to com
plete your program of study. Many
pressures may deter you, but persist
ence is the key. Statistics plainly show
that completers get better jobs, earn
more money and have a sense of per
sonal and professional accomplishment.
When you are tempted to leave your
studies for a temporary and less reward
ing job, just remember that the long
term goal of completion is worth your
best efforts.
We are delighted that you have
chosen Wilkes Community College!
— Dr. Jim Randolph
Criminal Justice
Instructor
Mike Archenbronn has recently
joined WCC as an instructor in the
Criminal Justice program under the
supervision of Bud Rhodes.
Recently married in April, Mike and
his wife reside in Wilkesboro and at
tend Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Orig
inally from Jacksonville, Florida, Mike
attended Florida Junior College where
he received his Associate in Arts degree,
from there he went on to Florida State
University where he received his B.S.
degree in Criminology and thereafter to
Wake Forest University where he re
ceived his law degree. Mike has worked
as a reserve police officer at the Jack
sonville Sheriffs Office as well as an
Assistant to the State Attorney in Jack
sonville. During this time, Mike was
referred to an ad about a teaching posi
tion here at WCC passed along to him
by his father-in-law and as a result is
now an instructor.
Effective Fall Quarter, the Criminal
Justice degree program will be placed
into the Business Department. For the
past several years, the program was the
only one without an instructional de
partment and was under Continuing
Education. In addition, Mike’s office
has now been moved to Room 144 of
Thompson Hall. According to Mike,
Dean Randall helped in bringing the
program back to the main curriculum.
Mike Archenbronn should prove to
be a vital asset to the Criminal Justice
program, as well as to Wilkes Commun
ity College as a whole.
It’s been five years since I’ve been in school.
One day I was thinking, what shall I do,
Going back to school sounds mighty fine.
For my education is on the line.
Years from now what do I see,
A waitress, that’s what Pll be.
I told myself no, you can do more.
That is what WCC is for.
Now I go to class, so much that I leam.
The teachers there are full of joy and concern.
I walk down the halls and as I pass,
I see classrooms full of students,
with many laughs.
Going back to school was no mistake,
It’s taught me a lot and made me feel great.
So come on, take my word.
For you probably have heard,
WCC is the place to be.
by April Mitchell
WbyAceWeAt
WILKES
COMMUNITY COLLEGE?
TECHNOLOGY
COMMUNHY
COMMITMENT
ACADEMICS
Good Reasons For You
To Be There Too!
Fall Quarter -1991
Freshman Registration - Sept. 4
Regtilar Registration - Sept. 5
1st Day of Classes - Sept. 9
French Lesson
Like many foreign-language teachers, I
stress the country’s culture and customs as
well as its language. Lost fall, I gave my
beginning-French class a test, which I ex
pected to take up the full period. To my
surprise, one student finished in only 20
minutes. When I asked him if the test was
too easy, he shrugged his shoulders and rep
lied, "Piece of quiche."
'’There Are A
Few Problems’’
For about fifteen hours, I sat in my
seat on the plane from Narita Airport in
Japan to Atlanta Airport. Because 1
couldn’t arrive in North Carolina direct
ly, 1 stayed overnight in Atlanta and
arrived at Wilkes Community College
the next day. It was a long trip.
"How did you choose Wilkes Com
munity College?” I am always asked this
question since I came to the United
States. I don’t know exactly why I chose
WCC because we don’t have very much
information about small colleges in
Japan. Therefore, I just read the college
or university’s guide book, considered
the TOEFL score, the number of stu
dents, and the tuition. The United
States has many colleges and univer
sities, so I decided on the state, North
Carolina, first because the climate is
similar to that of Japan. All I could fig
ure out about WCC was the address,
the telephone number, the tuition, and
the number of students. Now, 1 think
that it’s a miracle to be here, in a way.
Our assignment in writing class was
to describe a romantic setting. As
volunteers read their efforts aloud, I
heard many common details - crackling
fires, dimmed lights or soft music. Only
one woman had visualized an unconven
tional scene. It began: "The house is
quiet; the children are not at home.”
’’Student From
India”
In general, we Japanese study English
for six years in junior high school and
high school because English is a require
ment. However, most students cannot
speak English and listen to English, but
writing skills (especially grammar) and
reading skills are necessary to pass most
examinations in school. In fact, I
couldn’t speak English and understand
well what native speakers said even after
graduating from high school; therefore,
I entered Temple University in Tokyo,
Japan, whose main campus is in Phila
delphia and studied practical English as
a second language. At Temple Univer
sity, Japan, all teachers are native speak
ers, iout 95% of the students are Japa
nese so we usually don’t speak in
English. So my speaking skills still were
n’t getting any better. Then I thought
that it would be good for me to study
abroad. Now, ten of my Japanese
friends also study in the United States.
I am very happy that 1 am here
because people are very kind and
Wilkes County is a nice place to live. I
think that I made a proper choice. How
ever, I have a few problems. One is to
sleep on the bed because I am not used
to sleeping on the bed. Whenever I am
sleeping on the bed, I am afraid of falling
off the bed. In Japan, I always sleep on
the floor which is not made of wood,
but straw. It’s cool in the summer and
warm in the winter so it’s comfortable
for me. Usually when we get up, we
store all bed clothes in a closet.
The other problem is that I cannot get
fresh raw fish here. Maybe it’s because
Wilkes County is near the mountains,
not the sea. My home town is near the
sea and it takes about 7 minutes by bicy
cle. Sometimes my father goes fishing
and cuts the fish to remove the bones
and scales from the fish. As soon as he
finishes cutting the fish, we eat the raw
fish with soy sauce and wasabi, a Japa
nese horseradish. I love the raw fish
such as tuna and gray mullet, a sea
urchin, and salmon raw. I’m sick for
these foods and I also like pinto beans
and green beans because they are com
mon foods in Japan.
One day, being asked what I ate for
breakfast, I answered that 1 ate pinto
beans for my breakfast, so the people
laughed but I didn’t know what was so
funny. Later I understood that Ameri
can people usually eat pinto beans for
lunch or dinner.
Sometimes it is hard for me to under
stand how people behave or what they
think because of different customs, cul
tures, and social circumstances. In addi
tion, I still have a language problem;
however, I will try to understand and I
hope that you have enjoyed reading this
article. — Ikufeo Nitta
Neelam Atit
India, it is often said, is not a country
but a continent. From north to south
and east to west, the people are differ
ent. The languages are different, the cus
toms are different, the country is differ
ent. There are few countries on earth
with the enormous variety that India has
to offer.
India is the home of one of the
world’s "great” civilizations - its social
structure as it exists today can be traced
back thousands of years.
India is second only to China in hav
ing the world’s largest population. In
1961, it had 439 million and by 1981
the figure had increased to 687 million
and now is estimated to be over 800
million.
India’s major religion, Hinduism, is
practiced by approximately 80% of the
population, over 500 million people.
There is no "Indian” language. In all
there are 14 major languages in India
and probably over 200 minor languages
and dialects. The most important Indian
language is Hindi, although it is only
spoken by about 20% of the popula
tion. Hindi, the national language of
India, is the predominant language in
the north and also related to other
northern languages such as Gujarati
(3%), Urou (4%), Punjabi (2%), Ben
gali (5%), and so forth.
Now that I have told you about my
country, le^ me tell you a few things
about myself. My name is Neelam Atit. I
have enjoyed living here for the last six
years. I’ve been attending WCC for two
years. I had planned to go to a four year
college, but my parents and grandpar
ents arranged my marriage. In India, we
have arranged marriage customs. My
parents chose my husband for me. I
didn’t like the idea either, but after I met
my husband, 1 knew they had chosen
the right one. I met Dev (my husband)
in June 1989 and we got engaged on July
10, 1989. I came back here and started
college. We stayed apart for one year
and six months, then I went back to
India in December of 1990 and got mar
ried on January 21. 1 am very happy
with my marriage. My husband is the
world’s greatest person.
I came back here in April to finish
college. I’m leaving to go back to India
in September 1991. I’m going to miss all
my friends and teachers. I want to thank
a very special friend who taught me how
to say "van.” I love all of you. Take care!
— Neelam Atit
i
■ a. .
Neelam*s Wedding Picture