Education

Coverage of schools from kindergarten through higher education, including trade and online classes.

Internships aim to keep young pros in Michigan

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March 25, 2010

The availability of internships has been shown to help states keep educated young people from fleeing for other places to live and work.The importance of Internships definitely is on the rise. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the percent of interns converted to full-time employment rose form 35.6 percent in 2001 to 50.5 percent in 2008.Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Lois Brinson-Ropes, the internship coordinator for the Student Employment Services, works with local employers to find the right young people for intern positions, which ideally bring an advantage when seeking full-time work.KVCC's Community Partners Internship Program has recently arranged for five winter semester placements. They are:-- David Curtis, a graphic-design major, Paw Paw Wine Distributors.-- Graphic-design/illustration student, Amy O'Donnell, Wraps & Signs By Trim It.-- Brittany Bauman, another graphic-design enrollee, The Strutt.-- Morgan Wellman as an administrative assistant, Abies Chiropractic Clinic.-- Chelsea Spencer, a business-administration major will do a marketing internship at Global Clinical Connections, which is located at M-TEC of KVCC and sponsored a graphic-design intern during the fall semester.The placements are funded for a three-year period by the KVCC Foundation. With $100,000, at least 55 students can be placed with enterprises interested in a grow-your-own-workforce alliance.The bulk of the grant funds is being used to pay up to 50 percent of the wages for each intern. The companies they work for pay the balance. The program runs through December of 2011.Salary terms are established on a case-by-case basis and agreed upon prior to the start of the internship. The pay can range from the minimum wage of $7.40 to $12 per hour.An internship usually lasts 15 weeks, but students can apply at any time and assignments are made year-round.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Lois E. Brinson-Ropes, KVCC

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$350,000 supports WMU’s study of greenhouse gas storage

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Economic Development

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March 18, 2010

A total of $350,000 in grants to Western Michigan University will further studies into greenhouse gas storage as the push for clean coal energy heats up.WMU researchers are looking for ways to further develop clean coal technology by capturing the greenhouse gases it creates and storing them deep under the earth.Success could mean economic development opportunities for the state, including the creation of high-tech jobs, more affordable energy costs for consumers and reduction of pollution from the gases.The research, which has been ongoing in some form at WMU for six years, recently got a boost of $350,000 from federal stimulus funds.Most of the money comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Illinois, which is studying four states for their suitability to store the greenhouse gas or CO2. Together, they contributed $306,000. The remaining $44,000 comes from the Department of Energy and Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc., a nonprofit member-owned utility in Cadillac and is being used for engineering design and cost estimates for the capture of 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per day from a proposed power plant in Rogers City, MI.In science-speak, what WMU is doing is carbon capture and geological carbon sequestration research. In layman's terms, they are looking at deep geological formations underground in Michigan to figure out if they could be used to store captured carbon gases.Dr.David A. Barnes, professor of geosciences at WMU, is the principal investigator on the two research projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."Fossil energy has been fundamentally responsible for development in modern industrialized societies, but the associated greenhouse gas emissions are seriously threatening our environment," Barnes says. "The capture and deep geological storage of greenhouse gas emissions provide a critical bridging technology as we move, as aggressively as possible, to renewable energy technologies."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: David A. Barnes

Local company’s parts help build soccer-playing robots

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Economic Development

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March 18, 2010

High school students around the world are building competition robots with parts provided by Parker Hannifen in Otsego.Parker Hannifin donated brass fittings and valves — a contribution valued at between $10,000 and $50,000 — in the kit of 577 items given to teams of robot builders as part of the competition, which combines science, technology and a sporting event. A variety of companies provided part for the kits used in US FIRST — United States Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - competitions worldwide.US FIRST was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology.As part of the FIRST Robotic Competition, teams of high school studentsreceive motors, batteries, a control system, a PC and a mix ofautomative components. No instructions on how to assemble a robot areincluded. Instead, teams work with mentors to build, design, programand test their robots over a six-week period. The goal of the competition is to put the latest technology in the hands of students, give them the opportunity to use the same tools as professional scientists and engineers and ultimately impart skills they could carry into the workplaceThe robot-building kits were distributed to more than 1,800 teams of high-school students in January. More than 45,000 students from 12 countries will design and build robots for regional competitions, which are now underway. The world championship is scheduled for April 15-17 in Atlanta. Participants are eligible to apply for nearly $12 million in scholarships offered by universities, colleges, and companies.This year's competition is called Breakaway and it calls for robots that can shoot soccer balls into a net, drive over a bump to round up soccer balls,and hang suspended from a tower. Robots that can hang from another robot earn extra points for their team.Paul R. Gudonis, of FIRST, praised Parker Hannifen for its contribution, saying the Fluid System Connectors Division has helped "to create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Paul R. Gudonis

Diploma in hand for first Kalamazoo Promise grad

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Economic Development

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March 11, 2010

The ambitious and unique Kalamazoo Promise, with its full-ride college scholarship offer to each of the city's high school graduates, has produced its first college graduate.Stacy Westhoff, a member of the 2006 class of Kalamazoo Central High School, made quick work of her college education, finishing in January, just three and 1/2 years after Kalamazoo Promise accepted its first public high school graduates.The program, which was launched in 2005 and enrolled its first students in 2006, is funded by anonymous donors who promise to provide a college education at state institutions to all graduates of Kalamazoo's public schools.The idea behind the promise is to spark economic development in the city by attracting residents who wish to send their children to school for next to nothing. The philosophy behind it also holds that more highly-educated citizens lead to good things for a community.Westhoff, for one, says she is already seeing positive changes that she believes could be connected to the Kalamazoo Promise. "More schools are being built. More neighborhoods. More development ... I could have gone to college without this, but for so many people this is the chance of a lifetime."The 22-year-old majored in philosophy with an concentration on professional and applied ethics. She minored in business.And, she's headed toward another life milestone in May, when she will marry.Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise's executive administrator, says seeing the first student cross the stage was a big deal, but May will bring many more reasons to be proud as 50 to 75 Kalamazoo Promise students are expected to don their caps and gowns.About a dozen students have already received two-year degrees or certificates, Jorth says. About 190 students from the city's high school graduating classes of 2006 remain currently enrolled, and in total 342 have used Kalamazoo Promise dollars to pay tuition. Kalamazoo Promise recipients have 10 years to complete their degree."We had no idea what our retention rate would be" Jorth says. "Of our first class we have an 80 percent retention rate. I'm not an expert on this, but I expect that number is quite high."Currently,about 1,000 students - from 2006 to the most recent high school graduating classes - are attending college on Kazoo Promise's dime.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise

Benton Harbor Arts District starts to jump

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Education

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March 11, 2010

About 75 people packed the Livery Thursday (March 4) for a town hall-style session to get ideas on rejuvenating the Benton Harbor Arts District, reports the Herald-Palladium. The event was hosted by New Territory Arts Association Executive Director Julie Katz and board President Herb Caldwell. The pair spent about two hours taking suggestions about things that people want to see happening in the Arts District.Excerpt:"We're bringing Art Hop back, because we've heard from the community, 'bring Art Hop back' - so I'll need a bus to get around to some of the locations," Katz said.Other suggestions focused on needs that are being overlooked, and finding spaces for them.Krasl Art Center Education Director Julia Gourley asked what could be done to house digital art and media, which is something that "I have people asking me every day," she said.To find out more suggestions read the whole story about revitalizing the Arts District.Source: Herald-Palladium Southwest Michigan