By Bethany Sanderson/reporter
Students lined the walls in nearly all the workshops during the NW Campus Student Success Conference Sept. 14-15.
After watching enrollments rise, administrators raised the registration limit for students to attend these workshops from 700 to 1,000, said Dr. Gary Goodwin, NW vice president of continuing education services.
Topics ranged from Top 12 Secrets for Student Success presented by Dr. Joe Rode, NW student development services vice president, to Rex Kwon Do, a self-defense class by Pat Moore, the title a play on the movie Napoleon Dynamite.
A committee of volunteers including administrators, faculty, staff and students plan the conference each year.
“Several universities across the nation were offering Student Success Conferences as a part of their student success initiatives,” said committee member Pete Portillo.
NW President Elva LeBlanc liked the idea and formed the first committee in 2006. NW held its first conference in fall 2007.
Rode said the conference’s success comes from the planning done by a committee of around 30.
“The nice thing about this conference is that it is a committee,” he said. “They sit and they ask students for input.”
Rode said the American Association of Community Colleges has pointed out the importance of the first few weeks of school for student success.
“It is very important to expose students during those first few weeks to all the resources, all the different programs that are available,” he said.
The committee wanted to get students headed toward success. Rode said.
“The conference thinking is ‘Let’s whet appetites across all the disciplines and show them really what’s here,’” he said.
The conference planners offered sessions aimed on qualities needed for success in college and in life.
NW student Judy Landers, 49, attended ABCs of Math presented by Vilma Manteiga, Rolando Flores and Kristie Johnson of the NW math department.
“I struggle with algebra,” she said. ”The instructors [presenters] were very informative, and I went home and put the skills into use.”
Student Edwin Jimenez, 18, said he attended the Rex Kwon Do workshop because he was eager to try something new.
“They were impressive. They were adventurous,” he said. “It was fun to be here.”
