TCC inviting all to community night on its Virginia Beach Campus on Nov. 15

Tidewater Community College will host a community night on its Virginia Beach Campus on Nov. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Festivities will take place all over campus that evening, including planetarium shows starting every half hour in the Science Building.

Here’s a sampling of the offerings, which begin at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted:

TCC Talks, a takeoff of “Ted Talks,” will feature topics that range from conflict resolution to marketing yourself to the art of persuasion. Talks will be held in the Pungo Building in rooms 125, 145 and 147. Art will be on display in the hallways and foyer.

Ethnic food, courtesy of the Foreign Language program, will be available for sampling.

The Virginia Beach Student Center will host a Middle Eastern dance performance in the cafeteria starting at 7 p.m.

Representatives from the college will be on hand inside the student center to answer questions about all academic programs and TCC’s Accelerated Degree option. Enrollment information will be available and staff from Career Services, the Intercultural Learning Center and Computers for Student Success will be in attendance.

The student center Room K-304 will host the film “Fail State,” which focuses on the for-profit college industry. A panel discussion led by business faculty will follow. Showings are at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Barnes & Noble will be open and feature giveaways.

The Maker Space will be open in the Advanced Technology Center. The space allows students and community members to bring their ideas to reality using electronics, 3D printers, laser cutters and power tools.

For additional information on the event, contact Professor Monica McFerrin at mmcferrin@tcc.edu.

Discover your inner scientist as TCC celebrates Women’s History Month

Tidewater Community College celebrates Women’s History Month with a keynote speech by a nationally recognized scientist, a women’s empowerment symposium and a luncheon geared toward female students returning to college.

All events are free and open to the public.

Ainissa G. Ramirez, who aims to awaken the inner scientist in everyone, will deliver an address on March 27 at 12:30 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Campus Student Center in room K-320.

A scientist herself, Ramirez co-authored “Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game,” which tackles topics that include why woodpeckers don’t get concussions to how improved helmets actually make the game more dangerous.

Ramirez graduated from Yale University and earned her doctorate at Stanford University.

TCC Women’s History Month Events
An assortment of free, public activities throughout March will be held at each of TCC’s campuses. Events are subject to change and are on a first-come-first-served basis.

Chesapeake Campus

Returning Women’s Luncheon

March 22, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Chesapeake Campus Student Center

Representatives from student support services and TCC’s Women’s Center will be on hand for networking. Regina Brayboy, executive director of Healthy Suffolk, will present the keynote address. RSVP at tccreturningwomenchesapeake.eventbrite.com.

Norfolk Campus

Why Does She Matter?

March 15, Noon – 2 p.m.

Norfolk Campus Student Center, 5th Floor

LaJuan Hines-Rome, founder and director of She’ Matters GIRLS, Inc., a Norfolk based nonprofit that connects females ages 6 to 22 with mentors, will speak.

Documentary Day – “Hidden Figures”

March 21, Noon – 2 p.m.

Norfolk Campus Student Center, Women’s Center (3rd Floor)

Learn about women’s contributions to NASA during a showing of “Hidden Figures.”

Portsmouth Campus

Vision Board Workshop

March 12, Noon – 1 p.m.

Portsmouth Campus Student Center, room E-126

Create and design your own vision board and explore techniques for successful goal setting.

Her Story Pop-up

March 13, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Portsmouth Campus, lobby of Building A

Challenge your knowledge of women’s contributions to culture and advancement and win prizes.

Women’s Empowerment Symposium

March 23, 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Portsmouth Campus Student Center

Following the national theme of Women’s History Month, “Nevertheless, She Persisted,” the symposium will include plenary sessions, a keynote luncheon and a girl power exhibition fair. Reserve your seat at tccwomensempowerment.eventbrite.com.

Women’s Empowerment Pledge

March 28, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Portsmouth Campus Student Center, Commons

Support women in their lives and pledge to be an agent of change on campus.

Virginia Beach Campus

Film – “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry”

March 12, 10 a.m.

Virginia Beach Student Center, Movie Lounge

Filmmaker Mary Dore chronicles the events of the feminist movement from 1966 to 1971.

Voter Registration Drive

March 15, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Virginia Beach Campus Student Center Café

Visual Arts Center

Her Story Pop-up

March 21, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Challenge your knowledge of women’s contributions to culture and advancement and win prizes.

See and hear the sounds of TCC’s Literary Festival from April 2-5

Celebrated performer Charlotte Blake Alston, internationally renowned for her oral storytelling ability that enhances traditional and contemporary stories from African and African-American cultural traditions, will be the keynote speaker for Tidewater Community College’s 17th annual Literary Festival that runs from April 2-5.

The master storyteller, narrator and librettist will deliver her animated presentation at 12:30 p.m., on April 2 at the Virginia Beach Student Center, room K-320.

“Discovering Identity” is the theme for the annual literary festival. All events are free and open to the public.

Philadelphia’s Alston often combines the sounds of traditional instruments, such as the djembe, mbira, shekere or the 21-stringed kora, with her own melodic voice to engage her audience. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian Institution, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Storytelling Festival and the National Black Storytelling Festival.

Others reading at the festival are:

Eric Hause

April 3 at 12:30 p.m., Norfolk Campus Student Center, 5th Floor

Norfolk’s own Hause has been an LGBTQ advocate since 1989. He has been involved with Hampton Roads Pride, Hampton Roads Business Outreach, the LGBT Life Center and Outer Banks Pridefest. He and husband Andrew Roberts publish Outwire757.com and Outlife757 magazine, Coastal Virginia’s LGBTQ media, as well as the Coastal Virginia Gay Wedding Showcase.

Kevin So

April 4 at 12:30 p.m., Chesapeake Campus Academic Building, Black Box Theatre

Dubbed the Chinese-American Bruce Springsteen, the singer has produced 13 independently released CDs, including “Leaving the Lights On,” which confronts identity, relationships, history, family and racism. So launched his career in the early ’90s when he appeared on Fox TV’s “Big Break.”

Drew Anderson

April 5 at 12:30 p.m., Portsmouth Campus Student Center, Multipurpose Room 128

The New Orleans-bred and Washington, D.C.-based hip-hop artist, slam poet, producer, screenwriter and veteran middle and high school teacher connects with audiences thanks to his knack for satire. Anderson published his first collection of poetry in 2001, “Droopy: Dat Boy’s A Fool,” through his company Broke Baller Enterprises.

TCC faculty members and students will also read from their original works on the following dates and times:

April 3

Chesapeake Campus Student Center, room 4311 – 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Norfolk Campus Student Center, 5^th floor – 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Portsmouth Campus Student Center – 12:30-1:30 p.m.

April 4

Virginia Beach Campus Student Center – 12:30-1:30 p.m.

For more information, call TCC’s Information Center at 757-822-1122. For maps and directions, visit www.tcc.edu/locations.

TCC to host Early Childhood Education & Recreation Career Fair on March 15

Tidewater Community College will host an Early Childhood Education and Recreation Career Fair and Hiring Event on March 15.

The event, which is open to the public, will be held at the Virginia Beach Campus Student Center in the gymnasium, K204, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Among the employers present for this networking opportunity are:

City of Suffolk Parks & Recreation
Continental Pools
Creative World School – River Walk
Kids Town Learning Center
Nauticus
Ocean Breeze Waterpark
Primrose School of Virginia Beach South
Simon Family Jewish Community Center
St. Andrew Preschool
St. Mary’s Home
Strelitz-Early Childhood Education Center
Virginia Beach Youth Opportunities Office
Wave Children’s Learning Center
YMCA of South Hampton Roads

Applicants should wear appropriate interview attire and bring multiple copies of their resumé.

RSVP is required by registering with TCC’s Career Success Network. Non-TCC students and alumni can register as guests.

For additional information, call 757-822-7228.

TCC’s Career Services Center has scheduled additional fairs this spring in the following areas:

Information Technology & Business, March 29
Customer Service & Hospitality, April 12
Maritime, Manufacturing, Industrial/Trades, April 24
Health Professions & Human Services, May 3

Find updates at tcc.edu/careerfairs.

Become a paramedic in months, not years, thanks to two TCC programs

If you’re already a certified emergency medical services provider and you’d like to advance to paramedic, Tidewater Community College can get you there quickly beginning in March.

Students who have achieved Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Intermediate certification can bridge to paramedic in just 20 weeks by completing TCC’s “Intermediate to Paramedic Boot Camp.”

Classes meet twice weekly at the Regional Health Professions Center on the Virginia Beach Campus with flip/flop options available to accommodate shift schedules.

To be accepted into the program, applicants must be Virginia-certified Intermediates and pass the entry capstone exam. A mandatory two-week review course in preparation for this exam comprises the first two weeks of boot camp. EMT-Intermediates certified within the last year do not need to complete the capstone exam.

Classes for boot camp begin March 20/21 and conclude Aug. 4/5.

“The boot camp program is our newest addition,” said Jason Ambrose, head of the EMT program at TCC. “This program was designed for the practicing Intermediate looking to bridge up quickly while still working.”

Current EMTs can also advance their careers via TCC’s Accelerated Paramedic program. Classes meet nearly every weekday for five months starting March 5.

“The Accelerated Paramedic program is ideal for those with some existing medical knowledge, such as independent duty corpsmen, looking to transition to a new career in the EMS or fire industries,” Ambrose said.

Four rounds of clinical rotations are part of both programs.

TCC will offer the national exam in the Regional Health Professions Center on Aug. 10.

Students can stack all their credits toward TCC’s Associate of Applied Science in Emergency Medical Services.

TCC offers the largest program in emergency medical services in the state. All of the college’s EMS programs are nationally accredited.

The Virginia Department of Health funds EMS scholarships that can cover 100 percent of the cost for qualified applicants. For information, visit http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/education-certification/ems-scholarship/.

For information about EMS programs at TCC, call 757-822-7335.

MLK Scholarship winner all about giving back to his campus and community

Johvanny Torres makes it his mission to help, whether getting a stranded motorist on the road, explaining a computer error message to a struggling student or coming to the rescue of an entire apartment building of displaced residents after a catastrophe.

The Tidewater Community College student isn’t looking for payment or even thanks. He’s simply honoring the father he lost at the age of 13 by making the world around him a better place day by day.

Torres, 34, is the recipient of the college’s 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which will be awarded on Feb. 23 at a half-day conference titled “TCC 360: A Dialogue on Black Life and Legacies.”

The former Marine dates his community service efforts back to his childhood in north Philadelphia when something as simple as picking up trash made an impact. At TCC, he took a semester off when residents at Wayfair Apartments in Virginia Beach had their leases terminated abruptly after Hurricane Matthew damage and ensuing asbestos removal.

Torres fought for tenant rights with city officials and connected as many residents as he could with resources to help them with moving, food and furniture.

More recently, he helped with an initiative on the Virginia Beach Campus. As president of Computers for Student Success, he was the inspiration behind the idea to provide single mothers and military moms with Chromebooks before the holidays.

The idea was born after Torres experienced the challenges of single parenthood firsthand, caring for his 2-year-old son, Kavon. The night before a pre-calculus test, Kavon was sick, something Torres hadn’t faced before.

“I wasn’t ready for it,” he admitted. “He wanted me to hold him all night. I was supposed to be studying and getting ready for a test.”

That’s when he realized how often single moms go it alone. On Dec. 16, Computers for Student Success handed out 55 Chromebooks in gift boxes.

Torres is working toward his Associate of Applied Science in Information Systems Technology. He plans to transfer to Old Dominion University to pursue a degree in computer engineering after he graduates from TCC in spring 2019.

He is also active with TCC’s Veteran Mentoring Program and Student Government Association. Typically, though, most of Torres’ service is on the fly. In helping a student who had come by campus to pick up her refurbished computer, Torres walked her to her car, which didn’t start. He took a peek under the hood, drove to a nearby auto supply store to get the parts and fixed it himself.

Torres’ admiration for King dates back to his middle school days when he wrote an essay on the Civil Rights advocate.

“He had a way of using words to get people’s attention,” Torres said. “If he didn’t have your attention, he would show you. He was a man of action.”

The TCC scholarship recognizes a student who exemplifies the teachings and example of King.

When Torres receives his scholarship later this month, four of his nieces and two nephews will be in attendance. “Whenever something happens to me, a milestone, I want them to be there,” he said. “I want them to see all you can achieve.”

From here, they didn’t just get degrees. They also got married

What started as a chance meeting at a bench on the Virginia Beach Campus blossomed into a May wedding for two Tidewater Community College graduates now living happily ever after in Australia.

Logan Meredith and Brody Jose are spending their first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife five years after chatting outside the Blackwater Building prior to their shared class with Professor Christy Hewett.

“Aren’t you in my pre-calculus class?” are the first words Meredith asked somewhat awkwardly of her future hubby.

When Brody confirmed he was, Meredith recognized his Australian accent immediately. That impressed him and set off a conversation. Soon enough, Cupid struck.

“There’s not a passing day that I don’t think about that moment,” Meredith said from her new home in Wollongong, a coastal city just south of Sydney. “We both felt the same about each other every step of the way.”

The 2012 Salem High School grad decided on TCC to allow herself to complete her general education requirements while figuring out a career path. With an eye on transferring to VCU, Meredith earned her Associate of Science in Business Administration in May 2015.

“What I love about TCC is that for me it was a graceful transition in college, and I was able to take classes without having to worry about what I wanted to do in life,” said Meredith, who finished her bachelor’s in international management at VCU last May. “By the time I went to VCU, I was older and more mature and could carefully pick my concentration. With the partnerships that TCC has with other universities, I’m surprised more students don’t choose TCC.”

The Navy brought Jose’s family to Norfolk and he enrolled in TCC to prepare for a future in law enforcement. While he credits Meredith the most for making his time at the college so special, he also fell in love with the college’s criminal justice program.

“The thing I was most impressed with and still talk about now was the quality of the professors,” said Jose, who graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice. “I had Professor Noor Razzaq for a couple of classes, and it became abundantly clear that he has a passion for teaching. I have never taken so much away from a class before.”

Jose is preparing to join the New South Wales Police Force. Meredith, adjusting to the transition of living 10,000 miles away from home, hopes to eventually own a nail salon.

The couple, who also share a commitment to the beach, swing dancing and walks together, married May 27, 2017 in Richmond.

“TCC is the place where I met my wife,” Jose said. “So it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

As for Valentine’s Day, “No special plans,” Meredith said. “We celebrate our love all year long.”