Faulkner State Inducts more than 100 students into PTK Honor Society

Below are the Spring 2011 Inductees into Faulkner State Community College’s Pi Psi Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.  The College had 110 students inducted into the Society on Sunday, March 6 in the L. D. Owen Performing Arts Center.  The students and their families were invited to the Induction Ceremony and Reception.

Phi Theta Kappa is the only international honor society for two-year college students.  The purposes of the society are to promote scholarship, to develop character, and to cultivate fellowship among the students.  Students must have completed at least twelve semester hours of college credit and have a current Grade Point Average of 3.5 and a cumulative GPA of 3.0.  Members must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Letters to eligible members are mailed every September and January.  Inductions are held in the fall and spring semesters.  Members are recognized at graduation ceremonies by wearing the Phi Theta Kappa honor stole and tassel.

Spring 2011 Induction

Alvarez, Bryan

Anderson, Rachel

Beesley, Emily

Bixler, Kynsy

Blackburn, Mary

Bracy, Jasmine

Bromstad, Jessica

Buchanan, Elizabeth

Buckhault, Cheyanne

Bumpers, Amelia

Burke, Melinda

Byrne, Sean

Camurati, Rebecca

Carrell, Joy

Chandler, Elizabeth

Chatterton, Katie

Childs, JohnQuesha

Cliburn, Kristyn

Corl, Donald

Cosby, Ashli

Coulter, George

Crimmins, Greg

Currie, Sheena-Marie

D’Agati, Matthew

Davis, Michael

Day, Ashlee

Deese, Farrah

Divine, Erica

Dodich, Austin

Donaldson, Darnisha

Duncan, Tammy

Dunnam, Holly

Enfinger, Emily

Ethridge, Heather

Evans, Caleb

Fails, Kimberly

Fields, LeChandra

Folmer, Jennifer

Fralick, Michael

Gautney, Angela

Griffis, Amy

Grimes, Gregory

Grimes, Saige

Hall, Kristen

Hastings, Stefanie

Hayes, Jason

Hohlbein, Nina

Holcomb, Erika

Holden, Eric

Hollenkamp, Samantha

Huggins, Courtney

Huggins, Mallory

James, Jr., Derrick

Jaye, Eleanor

Jordan, Brittany

Kimbrough, Delvin

King, Alain

Klemish, Sarah

Knox, William

Ladnier, Sara

Lambard, Morgan

Lambert, Courtney

Lamby, Denise

Landwehr, Vivian

Legrone, Lacy

Lloyd, Zach

Long, Ashley

Martinez, Kirsten

McDonald, Amy

McNeer, Angela

Merchant, Shelby

Milton, Camilla

Milton, Haley

Myers, Andrea

Payne, Weston

Pepper, Amanda

Philpot, Marcus

Ponder, Jori

Rhodes, Savannah

Rieben, Lindsey

Robinson, Lydia

Rolin, Kimberly

Roney, Morgan

Scott, Samantha

Sears, Christopher

Shuttlesworth, Shelby

Smith, Michelle

Snyder, Shanon

Speights, Amber

Stabler, Jennifer

Stamper, Brian

Starnes, Rebecca

Steele, Matthew

Taylor, Ethan

Tunek, Gerson

Turner, Bredore

Waldren, Johnathon

Walters, Michelle

Watkins, Katye

Watts, Vanessa

Weatherford, Ryan

Weaver, Christina

White, Ashton

White, Marissa

Wilcox, Jodi

Williams, Bradley

Willingham, Michelle

Wilmeth, Joshua

Wilson, Sara

Winston, Princess

More than 1,400 students from 47 schools within the Southern regions of Alabama will participate in the 27th Annual Computer Science Fair sponsored by Faulkner State Community College.  The date for the Computer Fair will be Friday, March 25, at 9:00 am in the L. D. Owen Performing Arts Center on Faulkner State Community College’s Bay Minette campus.  Last year, there were more than 1,400 participants.

Students from 3^rd through 12^th grades will compete in 14 categories, which include Information Technology, Internet Web Page Authorship, Applications, Media, Hardware, Individual Programming, Video Production, Web Page Creation, Group Projects, and Team Programming.

Students from twenty counties, which include both public and private schools, will be participating in the fair.  These counties include Mobile, Baldwin, Monroe, Escambia, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, and Conecuh, Barbour, Dale, Pike, Covington, and Houston counties.

Winners from the computer fair will have the opportunity to compete at the State Fair in April at Auburn University in Montgomery and will compete with the winners from seven other regions throughout the state.  Prizes and college scholarships will be awarded to competition winners.

The public is invited to attend, and there is no admission cost.  For more information contact Charles Lake at 251-580-2149 or via e-mail at clake@faulknerstate.edu.

Computer Fair 2010

Students will be out of school beginning Monday, November 22 for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Students will return to school the following Monday, November 29.  Faulkner State Community College will be open Monday, November 22 through Wednesday, November 24 for those needing assistance during the holiday week.  The College will be closed Thursday, November 25 through Friday, November 26 for the State Holiday.

Final exams for night and one-day-a-week classes will begin on Monday, November 29.  Final exams for all other courses (Full Term and Term II) will begin Tuesday, December 7.  All final exams will be completed by Monday, December 13.  All students will be out of school beginning Tuesday, December 14.

The College will be open during the holidays through Wednesday, December 22.  The College will be closed from Thursday, December 23 through Friday, December 31.  The College will reopen on Monday, January 3, 2011.

If you have any questions, please contact the Switchboard at 251-580-2100.

Happy Holidays!

The Faulkner State Inter-Club Council, which is comprised of delegates from each student organization and each athletic team, meet monthly to discuss upcoming events and success from past events.  On October 26, the ICC met and added several events and volunteer opportunities for students to their calendars for Fall 2010.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

• Inducted 65 new members at the semi-annual New Membership Induction Ceremony.  The ceremony took place on October 24 in the L.D. Owen Performing Arts Center.
• PTk is co-hosting a blood drive on October 27 in the Branch Building parking lot on the Bay Minette Campus.  The drive will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Anyone is invited to participate.

PTK Induction Ceremony

Student Nurses Association

• The SNA held a fundraiser banquet on Friday, October 22 in an effort to raise money for a Faulkner State nursing student who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  All together, the fundraiser brought in more than $1,000.  The will present the proceeds to the student after all donations are counted and totaled.
• The SNA will have a group of students participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on October 30 at Bienville Square in Mobile, Ala.  Go to the American Cancer Society’s website, and search “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” for more information.

Faulkner State College Bowl

• The College Bowl team hosted the Alabama College Bowl League Kick-Off Tournament on the Gulf Shores Campus.  Sixteen teams from four states showed up to participate in the tournament.  Overall, Faulkner State placed third.  The team is looking ahead at placing in the national championship in the spring.

Sun Chief Sound/Jazz Band

• The Faulkner State Sun Chief Sound performed four shows for the annual College and Career Day held on the Bay Minette Campus.  They entertained more than 1800 high school seniors.
• The Sun Chief Sound and Jazz Band performed in 92 Zew’s Catt’s Brown Bag Lunch special on October 13-15.  They performed at Bienville Square in Mobile, May Day Park in Daphne and the Windmill Market in Fairhope.
• The Jazz Band was featured on 92 Zew on October 26.  It was a live performance.

Sun Chief Sound performs at Career Day

Fusion

• Fusion, mentored by the First Assembly of God Church, has been meeting weekly with students.  At a recent event, they passed out more than 100 Bibles to students in need.
• The Fall Dance, which is hosted by the Student Government Association, is Thursday, October 28.  Fusion will house a coffee booth with freshly brewed Starbucks coffee for the event.

Pow Wow Leadership Society

• The Pow Wows recently participated in the annual College and Career Day on the Bay Minette Campus.  More than 1800 high school seniors came to campus to learn about collegiate and workforce opportunities.  The Pow Wows were in charge of providing campus tours to all of the high school seniors.  They also assisted in set up of vendor booths, collection of items to send back with the high school and several other responsibilities that were in much need of help.

Pow Wow Leading a Campus Tour into Sun Chief Hall

Athletics

• Men’s and Women’s Basketball kick off the season on November 2!
• The Faulkner State Cheerleaders hosted a stunt clinic on October 23.  Overall, 38 attendees came to the three hour clinic.
• The Cheerleaders will also head up the Battle of the Bay cheerleading competition on the Bay Minette Campus on November 6.  Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams will be competing from across the area.  Information regarding this competition on the Cheerleading page located under Athletics.

Cheerleading Stunt Clinic

Student Government Association

• SGA, along with the support from H2O, provided a scary movie night to students.  With a large screen and projector, the movie was viewed on the lawn.  Students brought picnic blankets and folding chairs to enjoy the film.  The movie showed was “Dead Silence.”
• On Wednesday, October 27, groups of students, faculty and staff joined together to form a human chain on the front lawn of the Bay Minette campus.  The chain was an effort to spread awareness of breast cancer.
• SGA is hosting a Fall Dance on Thursday, October 28 on the Bay Minette Campus.  Costumes are encouraged.
• Big Man On Campus, which is an event for the male students, will be November 4 at 7 p.m.  This will be the second year Faulkner State has named a “Big Man on Campus.”
• Intramurals are in full swing as Master of the Paddle (ping-pong) continues on the second Monday of each month.  Intramural Volleyball is rounding up the season.

Human Chain supporting Breast Cancer Awareness

Travis Frey, a native of Robertsdale, Ala., never had his golf clubs far away as he was growing up.  Intrigued by the sport as a whole, by the lush green grass, the smooth swing of the club, the sun glaring off of the small white ball as it swiftly makes it’s way to the next flag, hopefully anyway; Travis was in love.

His father at his side, Travis rarely wasted a moment to spend time on the green in Travis’ younger years.  It was not long after that he was one of the star players on the high school’s golf team.  Travis was good; he was really good.

When thinking about success, not many people know what career path to enter or even what field to continue their education in.  Travis knew from day one.  He may not have known the exact career he would advance in, but he always knew the golf course was and would be his passion.

“My very first job was working as a ‘cart kid’ at the Woodlands Golf Course in Gulf Shores, Ala.  Working at a golf course where I got a chance to somewhat interact with the members, was a real treat,” Travis said.  “While working there, I realized I wanted to work on a golf course as a career.”

To him, the answer came in the guide of Faulkner State Community College’s Golf Course and Turf Management program under the instruction of Mr. Kent Schwartz.

Frey with former colleagues

“Mr. Schwartz was a great instructor; he took the time and patience with us so we could learn each area of the golf course in great detail,” Travis said.

Spending two years learning about different grasses and plants, what makes them grow and how to keep the course finely manicured, Travis readily excelled through the program.

“Going into the [Golf Course and Turf Management] program, I already had some idea about different styles of golf course turf grasses. However, the program also focused on horticulture, which gave me knowledge on woody plants, and woody plant placement around different golf courses,” Travis said.

After graduating with an Associate in Applied Science degree in 2006, Travis immediately put his knowledge to the test as he entered the workforce.

“My first job in the field was for Pinnacle Entertainment, where I worked golf course construction for a Tom Fozio golf course in Lake Charles, La.,” Travis said.

Through experiences in several jobs after college, Travis learned very quickly that he never could predict what the next day would bring on the green.

“The biggest highlight for me so far in my career was getting to meet Arnold Palmer when I worked at Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, Ala.,” Travis said.  “The second biggest highlight was working under Gary Players’ former golf course architect when I was an Assistant Superintendent at LongLeaf Pines Golf Course in Spanish Fort, Ala.”

Currently, Travis resides in Tuscaloosa, Ala. as a golf course Superintendent for the Capstone Club of Alabama.  His responsibilities include making sure the work is carried out in an orderly fashion, which includes pending projects to be completed, fertilization or spraying of the course and inspecting the grounds to ensure the golfers will have enjoyable time.

Frey at the Capstone Club

“Nothing means more to the golfer than a well kept golf course and a friendly staff to assist where needed,” Travis said.  “I know that first hand.”

When Travis is away from the office, he still can’t stay off a golf course.

“I like to travel to other golf courses,” Travis said.  “I get to play a different course for one; and secondly, I get to see what other superintendents are doing to their golf courses.”

Travis continues to seek new ventures and opportunities in the field of golf, but he knows his field of choice is exactly where he is supposed to be.  From a small child learning golf basics, to the man in charge of the field, Travis had but one thing to say:  “This is an industry where you can never stop learning.”

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