Reynolds Opticianry Program celebrates 40th Anniversary

 

An enthusiastic crowd of students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests gathered on the Downtown Campus on Friday, April 11 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Opticianry Program at Reynolds Community College.

The first class of Opticianry students at Reynolds began their studies in September of 1974 when the college was located in the former Sydnor and Hundley building on West Grace Street between East First and East Second Street.  The program was housed in the building’s basement and the office was in an old stock room.  The only door was a rolling door and the office also boasted an old coal chute on the wall. In spite of its humble beginnings, the program graduated its first class of three students in June of 1976. 

The initial program was as a diploma program, but it was upgraded to an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program in the spring of 1977. This was critical as most states that had licensing only recognized graduates from AAS degree programs to sit for their licensing examinations. By 1980, the program received its first accreditation from the Commission on Opticianry Accreditation.

In 1981 when the Downtown Campus moved to its current location on Jackson Street a larger space allocated to the Opticianry Program allowed for surfacing, finishing, and dispensing labs, along with an on-campus eyeglass clinic dedicated to Joe Stewart, the program’s first director.  

The Opticianry program charted new territory in 2000 with the implementation of the online AAS Degree program. This program enabled students anywhere to take the program’s AAS degree via the Internet and remains the only opticianry degree program in the United States to offer the entire curriculum via distance learning. 

A total of 374 students have graduated from the program, and there have been awards along the way.  Reynolds Opticianry students have won the National Opticianry College Bowl, several students have received the NAO Beverly Myers Award for research paper submissions, grants for winning the Hoya E-Poster contests, scholarships from Transitions Optical and scholarships to attend national education conferences from the Contact Lens Society of America.  Students have also had papers published in professional journals and served as student representatives on the board of the Opticians Association of Virginia. 

The gathering on April 11 celebrated not just the 374 students who graduated from the program, but the remarkable and dedicated faculty and staff who worked to make the program a success and to build a strong foundation for continued growth of the Opticianry Program into the future.  Reynolds Community College….where outstanding opticians get started!

 

Student art work on display in the Gallery

At Reynolds Community College, each spring the walls of the Gallery in Georgiadis Hall on the Parham Road Campus become an art gallery for the Student Art Show, displaying many creative works in all shapes and sizes.

This year 68 individual works of art will be on display until April 24. Faculty, staff, students and the public are invited to stop by the Gallery to view the art whenever the Gallery is free of other activities. The artwork includes paintings, drawings, photographs, and digital art.

The art will be judged by an art instructor from another school, with the results announced at a public reception on Thursday, April 24. The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments, followed by the award presentations.

The April 24 program is free and the community is invited to join in the celebration of the artistic accomplishments of Reynolds students.  A number of pieces will be offered for sale during the event.  

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Reynolds Celebrates Women’s History Month

Reynolds Community College recently recognized Women’s History Month with a celebration entitled “Empowerment: Connecting the Past, Present and Future” in the Workforce Development Conference Center located on the Parham Road Campus.

 

The celebration, sponsored by the college’s Multicultural Enrichment Council, featured established women from our community sharing their paths to success and young women from Virginia Union University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond and Reynolds Community College talking about their future plans and goals.

The program featured a luncheon with keynote speaker Del. Jennifer McClellan, Virginia House of Delegates.  Other event speakers included Christy Coleman, President and CEO of the American Civil War Center at Tredegar, Allison Bogdanovic, Executive Director, Virginia Supportive Housing, Patience Salgado, Social Impact Artist and Kindness Worker, Paula Peters and Tracy Gilpin of Reynolds Community College, Wanda Hernandez of Virginia Commonwealth University, Wei Kang of the University of Richmond, and Jasmin McKay of Virginia Union University. Reba Hollingsworth of “CBS 6 This Morning” served as mistress of ceremonies for the fifth year.

“Helping to carry my parents’ legacy is making sure every child in Virginia, whether they grow up in Gilpin Court, or Galax or Fairfax County, that they have access to a high quality and free public education and they have the resources and the confidence so they can be whomever they want to be,” noted McClellan. “Somewhere out there is a little girl that is just a nerdy as me, just as curious as me, that maybe does not have the same resources I had. My job is to give it to her.”

Another successful Around the World Through Books program

Dr. Christopher Thomas, Reynolds history professor, led a discussion on what it means to be a resistor and what it means to be a collaborator recently at the Around the World through Books program at Reynolds.

 

Using the context of women in the French resistance movement described in the book A Train in Winter, by Caroline Moorehead, Dr. Thomas invoked a solemn thoughtfulness among the audience as he described the death camp where 230 women were deported, the hierarchy of prisoners, and the underground activities that brought about their arrests. 



Cornelia Warmenhoeven (L)

But it was special guest Cornelia Warmenhoeven who captivated the listeners' feelings. Mrs. Warmenhoeven, now 89 and living in Midlothian, explained with quiet but intense simplicity the  duty and danger she felt as a young resistance worker in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. She told of saving men and boys who were hunted by the Nazis, of carrying them on her bicycle to places where they could hide in safety, and of escorting Allied soldiers through dark, patrolled fields at night to waiting rescuers. She told of her grief when things went wrong, and of her great relief when word came that an escaped soldier had gotten away safely.

World War II and German concentration camps may be relegated to history, but the ethical issues of compassion, compliance, and complicity will always be worth considering.

 Around the World through Books is sponsored by the Multicultural Enrichment Council.

Reynolds Celebrates 10th Annual Science Night

This year’s Science Night at Reynolds Community College entitled, “Back to Basics”, featured discussions on weird physics, autistic worms and glowing mice. The 10th anniversary celebration of Science Night took place on Wednesday, March 26 in the Massey Library Technology Center’s Lipman Auditorium, Parham Road Campus.

The program included the presentations: “Serendipity – The Case for Being at the Right Place at the Right Time” by Chemistry Professor Dr. Ann Sullivan, “Weird Physics” by Physics Professor Dr. John Ochab and “Autistic Worms and Glowing Mice: The Use of Model Organisms in Science” by Biology Professor Dr. Jerrod Hunter.

“Scientists are individuals who believe in a method of discovery that has led to exciting and great advances in medicine, electronics and many other fields,” noted Sullivan about her presentation. “However, there are many examples throughout history where an important discovery was not the actual vision of the research. Serendipity is the accidental discovery that results when minds are prepared to see beyond what is there.”

Thanks to Sullivan’s presentation, guests of Science Night were able find out why silly putty, microwave ovens and penicillin have a lot in common.

"There are many strange physical phenomena that nature presents to us,” explained Ochab. “Some phenomena appear simple in character, so we try to understand the basic mechanics involved.” Ochab also gave examples of such phenomena in the fields of mechanics, fluids, electrodynamics, and quantum mechanics.

“Scientists can be very bad at making the important work they do accessible to the community, and this is very true when it comes to explaining why we do things the way that we did them,” says Hunter.

During his presentation Hunter talked about why we care about fruit fly genetics, yeast chromosomes and the nematode C. elegans as well as why we study yeast to understand Down syndrome.

Science Night is always a popular event at the college, but this year rooms were packed to capacity. The event still maintained its informal that allowed the audience to get to know Reynolds Science faculty.

If you missed the event be sure to attend Science Night next spring!

Mobile Library Scavenger Hunt @ Reynolds: “Have fun, learn a lot!”

Reynolds Library has a new option for the one-shot, library instruction session: the Library Scavenger Hunt. In this collaborative learning model, teams of students actively learn to use the library by performing tasks and answering questions. Students utilize the library’s iPads to photograph their answers and post them to the library’s Pinterest page. Tasks vary from “How much does it cost to print?” to “Find an article about Tesla Motors in Academic Search Complete.” When finished, students present their team’s photos and answers to the class, while the librarian facilitates and “judges” the answers. Prizes are awarded (everyone wins a small prize) and the class cheers for every team! 

Selfies for credit? This is real learning! The Library Scavenger Hunt covers 4 of the 6 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) standards for information literacy. Many students have never used an iPad and the scavenger hunt provides a playful, low-pressure learning environment. The Library Scavenger Hunt has replaced library orientation sessions in some English, Information Technology and Student Development classes. According to one student, “Every class should do the scavenger hunt.”

The Scavenger Hunt has proved itself to be a strong learning experience. Students actively discover and solve problems, while creating relationships with other students and with the library. The more tech-savvy students team with the less confident ones, benefitting both. This enjoyable, yet educational activity creates a positive association with the library and with Reynolds as a whole. Students say “I feel more comfortable with the library, more confident” and “I had fun and I learned a lot.”

 

Want to see more? Find photos from the Library Scavenger Hunt on Reynolds Library’s Pinterest page.

Phi Theta Kappa inducts 103 Reynolds students

Reynolds Community College’s chapters of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society held their annual spring induction ceremony on Saturday, February 22, 2014 in the Lipman Auditorium of the Massey Library Technology Center at the Parham Road Campus. Students who have completed 12 transferable credit hours and have a 3.3 cumulative GPA at the college are invited to join PTK every fall and spring semester.

Alpha Iota Beta Chapter President Tiffany Plumber opened the festivities and Reynolds President Gary Rhodes welcomed the audience. 103 new members were inducted, many of whom participated in the ceremony.

Dr. Corné Bekker, Regent University professor, delivered a motivational speech as the keynote speaker, addressing whether leaders are born or made.

“It has been shown that leaders are neither born nor made,” Bekker explained to the inductees. “Leadership is evolved. It is when someone looks at a follower and sees what no one else can see. Leadership is about motivating people to do the right thing, at the right time for the right reasons.”

In closing Bekker challenged the students, “You have been created by an almighty God to go forth and change this world. Look deep within yourself for that something that only you can bring to this world and if you rise up and are willing to take the charge to go forth and change the world, then the sky is the limit.”

Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service programming. Reynolds has two chapters at the college. The Alpha Iota Beta chapter represents members enrolled in programs at the Parham Road Campus and the Alpha Gamma Omicron chapter represents members enrolled in programs at the Goochland and Downtown campuses. Reynolds has inducted 4,707 members since 1982.

For more information on PTK, visit – www.reynolds.edu/studentlife.

Navy Veteran Offers Copious Amounts of Praise for Reynolds Community College

Before she became a student, Tiwana Simon was a sailor. She spent six years in the Navy circumnavigating the globe. With the exception of the Indian Ocean, she has traversed every sea and walked on just about every continent.

“My favorite places were Africa, São Tomé, and Japan – Japan because it was so peaceful. I went to Hiroshima – the site where the bombs were dropped – on a tour.”

Born in Georgetown, Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Simon is a second-year student at Reynolds. She says the college’s “Military Friendly” designation is especially appealing to her.

“As soon as I told everybody that I was a veteran, they knew where to point me and in what direction. They were very, very helpful because they know I’m an older student.”

Wherever she goes, Simon can’t stop bragging about Reynolds’ Parham Road campus which she says reminds her of a four-year university.

“It’s larger, it’s not all in one building; I get to move around…I can hang out on the grass. There are so many clubs. I’m a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and a student ambassador. Reynolds also employed me with work-study so I work in the Student Success Center which is very helpful.”

The biggest reason Simon is so smitten with Reynolds is cost-savings. Like so many other students, she’s on a budget and Reynolds delivers value in spades.

“I love Reynolds for the affordability because I get the same quality education that I’d get at a four-year university except cheaper. And I love Reynolds because I can get a career started here when I graduate.”

 Simon says she’ll always recommend Reynolds to any student, whether they’re a veteran or not, because of its affordability.

“I also noticed that a lot of the adjunct professors (here) also teach at four-year universities so you’re getting the same education but more one-on-one time with smaller classrooms.”

 Simon plans to transfer to ODU later this year and eventually earn her bachelor’s. After that, she’s looking forward to serving her country again – this time, as a teacher.

Craig Butterworth
Virginia Community College System