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stentorian vol. XXXI, issue 3 the north Carolina school of science and mathematics june2011 stentorian@ncssm.edu SLI departures lead to changes in Student Life By Ade Ilesanmi Emmie Corl and Fran Pe ters, SLIs on 1st and Ground Royall, respectively, will be filling some new shoes on campus next year. Roughly a week after Spring Break, they were both offered the respon sibilities of filling two pending vacancies on the Residential Life Department staff next aca demic year. While Corl waited about a week before she ac cepted the offer, Peters accept-' ed almost immediately. “I know Fran has really wanted this job for a while,” said Corl. Corl and Peters will be replacing SLIs Leah Dula (Ground Reynolds) and David Ritchie (2nd Hill North), who will be leaving NCSSM after this year. Consequently, the two Royall SLIs will be assum ing more of Dula and Ritchie’s responsibilities aside from in structing SLI 01 classes. Along with Dula and Ritchie, also leaving this year are SLIs David Buff (2nd East), Ariel Car penter (1C2C1D), and Katy Greene (2nd Beall). Their positions are cur rently being filled through the nor mal SLI hiring process. Corl, who had not planned on taking this respon sibility when she initially became an SLI, will be the new MPC advisor and SL201 co- Photo courtesy of NCSSM Emmie Corl, 1st Royall SLI, ordinator, two of new MPC advisor, SLIOI Dula’s current re- instructor and SL201 sponsibilities. Pe- Coordinator ters will be over seeing roommate pairings and other housing-related issues. Both women will also be in charge of opening and closing all buildings. These tasks will be completed on top of all the standard SLI responsibilities. with the exeeption that Resi dential Life SLIs are not a part of thp weekly duty schedule to work at the various on- campus lob bies and SLI offices. In the past, all SLIs used to have to ful fill the roles of Residential Life Instruc tors; however, several years ago, the job posts were consolidated to establish consistency. Because of the added duties their new roles entail, Corl and Peters had to exhibit certain qualities that supplement those required of all other SLIs. “One needs to have a pas sion for the students and edu cating them, as well as a pas sion for student life,” said Corl. Corl does not know if tak ing this job will influence her plans enough to make her piu- sue a teaching career. She says that she wants to approach this class as more of a discussion- oriented learning experience for both the students and the teaeher. Because of the nature of the elass, she under stands that courtesy of NCSSM there are Enan Peters, Ground Royall SLI some dicey nnd new SLIOI instructor areas in the curriculum, but she’s interested to see how things will unfold. Corl believes that Peters, who began working at NCSSM in July of 2009 and who has been interested in this job for some time, will most likely continue to pursue the teaching profession, provided her career as a Residential Life Instructor is successful. Corl, who began working at NCSSM in September of 2009, wants to see how her first year goes before deter mining whether she will contin ue instructing Residential Life classes. Corl will teach five SLIOI classes next fall, while Peters will teach seven. The Resi dential Life Department is headed by Mike Newbauer (1st Hunt). All oth er SLIs are part of the Student Services Department, headed by Kevin Cromwell. Melissa Thibault begins as DEEP vice cbancellor By David Ojo The Distance Education and Extended Programs (DEEP) Division provides statewide outreach to improve mathematics and science education for students and teachers, utilizing innovative technology and methods. Broadcasting from four NCSSM studios located in the ETC, teachers interact with distant sites utilizing learning management systems, integrated virtual seminar tools, and video streaming. I sat down with the new Vice Chancellor of Distance Education and Extended Programs, Melissa Thibault. A Philadelphia native, Thibault attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She has spent the last 13 years working in the North Carolina School System before becoming the new DEEP Vice Chancellor at the start of 2011. DO: Most students find it difficult the first few weeks at NCSSM. As a Staff Member, would you say that you it took you a while to adjust or was it a smooth transition for you? MT: 1 am very challenged. I feel like the pace is tremendous. There are so many different things going on like activities, programs and initiatives; it’s difficult to find how to spend your time. I guess students undergo the same thing. Photo courtesy of North Carolina Virtual Public School Melissa Thibault began as Vice Chancellor of DEEP in January It doesn’t take much to be overextended and so you have to learn to understand how the place works. DO: What is your impression of Science & Math so far? MT: I guess my impression so far is that previously, I didn’t understand the scope of the program. I didn’t understand the academic rigor. The scope is much broader than I ever would have guessed. [We have] classes like medicinal chemistry and ecocriticism that are so innovative and will help kids who we’ll need to solve problems for the futoe. We’re teaching students how to lead. A lot of place offer hard courses but there’s something more systemic about this place. We teach skills not in the curriculum. DO: Many students don’t know much about the DEEP program. Could you enlighten us as to what are the typical operations carried out in DEEP? MT: In addition to working with students through Interactive Video Conferencing and online courses, we also work with teachers and help them to better teach their subject area. Our teachers observe and critique other teachers. We have a really powerful coaching model to train teachers. We also do course enrichments by bringing NCSSM students to present lessons to younger students across the state through activities like simple circuits. It’s great for the school and the kids. DO: Should we be expecting any new changes in the DEEP Program? MT: We are undertaking a strategic planning activity in DEEP. Dming that process, we will work with external stakeholders, such as the superintendent or local business leaders. We will work with them to see what they hope NCSSM can do for them, and then we’ll work with leaders at NCSSM to see what we can do to meet that need. One of the big problems, we want to address head on is that NCSSM is a bit of a well kept secret. Many people don’t realize our impact and so I think that it’s very important that people find out about us so they can be better involved. DO: What is your favorite thing about NCSSM from what you’ve seen so far? MT: That’s easy. It’s the people. My colleagues, the faculty, everybody has such a positive energy around the work they do. The students realize what an opportunity this is and that this place flows with positive energy. I came away from my interviews thinking, “That was fun!” Everyone has the same goal to improve education and to serve the students here. We all have the same agendas, which isn’t always the case in many schools. After the interview, I gave Thibault a small NCSSM trivia quiz. Thibault received a perfect 4 out of 4 on the quiz. Thibault is excited to be here and ready to serve NCSSM and the students of North Carolina.
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June 1, 2011, edition 1
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