Press Release 2012 :: UNM Gallup | The University of New Mexico

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: December 5, 2012

The UNM-Gallup Sustainability Committee and Battered Family Services have teamed together for a new and very important partnership regarding the recycling of used cell phones. Many people do not realize that cell phones, even when there is no service carrier, can be used for 911 emergency service calls. Discarded cell phones are also the source of toxic environmental pollution when thrown away. UNM-G, therefore, will be collecting used cell phones (with chargers when possible) and donating them to our local Battered Family Services to be distributed to those who need them.

Cell phones can be placed in the designated box at the UNM-G Information Desk located in Gurley Hall during campus working hours. Donated phones should be cleared of information including contacts, reminders, photos, etc. to protect donors’ privacy. All students, faculty, staff, and community members are encouraged to donate old cell phones towards this cause.

The UNM-Gallup Sustainability Committee researches and works to bring awareness to the campus of ways to protect and sustain the environment through the use of eco-friendly practices. They are currently preparing a list of the “10 top easiest ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint” and are always looking for ways to partner with local recycling efforts.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: September 20, 2012

This fall voters will have an opportunity to improve New Mexico’s higher education system and benefit nearly every public college and university across the state by supporting General Obligation Bond C. A “yes” vote on Bond C will fund capital improvements and renovations to our higher education system and will create an estimated 1,200 new jobs with no increase in property taxes.

Locally, the University of New Mexico-Gallup stands to gain $1 million for much-needed water and sewer upgrades for fire and safety needs.

“State GO Bonds are especially critical for McKinley County projects," said Wynn Goering, interim executive director of UNM-Gallup, "because we always receive a great deal more than we put in. They're by far the best way to meet our infrastructure needs."

UNM-Gallup is one among New Mexico’s many aging institutions of higher education with facilities that are badly in need of repair. In order to keep our institutions competitive and ensure that New Mexico has an educated workforce, major capital improvements and upgrades to existing facilities need to be made regularly.

Higher Education Bond C proposes a total of $119,400,000 for capital improvements and renovations that will include nearly every public college and university in the state.

A complete list of proposed projects statewide is included on a website – www.educationbondc.com.

General Obligation Bond C is funded with no new taxes. Campaign organizers say that voters would, instead, see a positive economic impact due to the addition of an estimated 1,200 jobs for architects, contractors and other workers to complete the capital improvements.

Proponents also say that by improving our higher education buildings, New Mexico provides a better learning environment for students and builds a more highly educated workforce.

“No matter where you live in New Mexico, there is a school and a community that will benefit from Bond C,” said former New Mexico Governors Garrey Carruthers and Toney Anaya, who are statewide honorary co-chairs of the 2012 General Obligation Bond for Education Campaign Committee. “These infrastructure improvements to our colleges and universities are critical to maintain a high standard of education and produce the skilled workforce that is essential in a competitive economy.”

Absentee voting begins Oct. 9, and lasts through Nov. 2. Early voting is scheduled from Oct. 20-Nov. 3, and polls are open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6.

For more information about Bond C, visit www.EducationBondC.org

Additionally, voters will also be deciding about Library Bond B, which if passed, will provide the UNM-Gallup Zollinger Library with $28,942 in funds for acquisitions. If all three ballots – which include a senior facilities ballot as well as the above two ballots –are approved by the voters in November 2012, the average cost to the owner of a property worth $100,000 over a 10-year period will be $8.04 per year. Of that $8.04 average cost per year, $6.88 is attributable to the higher education ballot, $0.59 to the senior facilities ballot, and $0.56 to the library acquisitions ballot.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: September 28, 2012

John Zimmerman came back to Gallup in August energized. The University of New Mexico-Gallup ceramics instructor had just spent a year at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft on sabbatical and was eager to engage the new students in his Ceramics I class in a way that would convey that energy.

The class, none of whom had ever worked with modeling clay, responded enthusiastically to Zimmerman’s “Landscape Project.” His goal of having the students work together on their first project for the class helped open them up and promoted interaction – a thing that is not always easy for the cultures that intersect at UNMG.

“I chose this topic because the landscape is the one thing that everyone shares,” Zimmerman said. “It’s something we all have in common.”

The collaborative sculptures started with the basics. Students learned the coil-built procedure to create the base structure. From there, they added on, creating interesting and sometimes fantastical interpretations of the local landscape. Bighorn sheep and fearsome snake heads, plants, geographical features such as waterfalls and caves, totemic figures and humans ascending a rough-hewn staircase, all figure into the sculptures and create a sometimes phantasmagoric aspect.

“They built the structures the same, textured to look like rock, and added individual elements to create a theme,” Zimmerman explained. “They tried to think of their projects in a holistic way, creating one big thing as opposed to several small things.”

Zimmerman is planning two more such collaborative projects: a seascape and a cityscape.

Many of UNM-Gallup’s students have never seen large bodies of water, so Zimmerman says he’s eager to see what they will come up with. In the seascape, they may imagine sea creatures they know through images, he says, but he is also encouraging them to think about water on the scale they are familiar with – be it a puddle or a well, or a windmill and a pond. He will encourage them to think in terms of their daily experience.

The cityscape will likewise provide some challenges for students who are mainly rural and whose experience of the wider world may be limited. Zimmerman also looks forward to seeing how they will try to translate what they know about urban life into ceramics.

Beyond breaking down social barriers, however, Zimmerman sees these projects as a way to help beginning students understand Contemporary Art. Many are familiar with traditional Indian art but it can take a class like Ceramics I to open them up to the expressive possibilities that lie with Contemporary Art.

“I’m a white guy from Ohio,” Zimmerman said. “I can’t teach Native American pottery, but I can help push the students beyond this one tradition. My job is twofold: to allow them to express their own culture, but not just to stop there. I can help them ask, ‘how do I express living within this culture but with a contemporary world view?’ How is this information relevant today? We see a duality in these pieces, for instance, in that they talk about the past and honor it, but also express a view that is about the present and the future.”

He credits fellow instructor Ken Roberts’ History of Art classes with opening the door to contemporary art for many of the students.

“Ken’s classes give them a huge spectrum. I can tell which students have taken these classes – their knowledge is larger.”

Zimmerman, who is also manager of the Ingham Chapman Gallery, says ultimately the goal of UNMG’s Fine Arts Department is to honor the local culture but also to provide students with an opening to see new horizons of artistic expression.

The results of the class’s first efforts, the Landscape Project, are on view in the display case in Gurley Hall.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: July 25, 2012

From left, College Store manager Rose Adakai, and staff Lin Comer, Jack Askin and Angie Hood.

Nearly a year after former Borders bookstore manager Rose Adakai took over the University of New Mexico-Gallup’s bookstore, the store is reporting a profit of $111,000. Adakai, who was appointed manager in September 2011, attributes the profit to improved inventory procedures and more attention to receiving and invoicing. Adakai was hired a few months after a 2011 audit of the store revealed a large loss.

“When I went through the software training, it took a lot of time to figure out how the system works, but from that training I was able to determine steps that weren’t being taken. We needed to do a better job with receiving and invoicing, making sure everyone knows how to do paperwork correctly,” she said. “Most of the loss was because of human error, and that was from lack of training for the staff. Now they know how the system works. That, combined with my background knowledge of running a bookstore, has helped turn things around.”

A representative from Nebraska Book Company, an enterprise that offers contract services for college bookstores nationwide, provided training.

This year, the store closed the last week of June – the end of the fiscal year – so the staff could perform a thorough inventory.

“Usually the inventory was done in a couple of days, but we inventoried every item. Formerly, the staff did bulk counts, but after running my own store, I have learned you need to scan each item. Books come from different vendors, and you have to look at each book in a stack to make sure which ones are used and which are new. It really pays to take the extra time,” Adakai said.

She also watches the purchasing and inventory carefully. Sales and promotions each month have helped reduce inventory, while purchases have been planned to coincide with vendor promotions.

“For instance, you buy for fall at the beginning of the year, and in fall for next spring. The National Association of College Stores and the Albuquerque campus bookstore help us out with vendors, notifying us of vendors who will give us discounts. The challenge is also finding the right merchandise for our students and other customers,” she said.

The store was renovated last year, prior to Adakai’s hiring, and more diverse merchandise was added, as was a snack bar/refreshment area. These changes, along with the improved business practices and better training, have resulted in a more contented staff who, Adakai reports, are proud that things have turned around, and reflect that in improved customer service.

“The staff likes the changes,” Adakai says. “Our customers – the students and the customers who come here to order books and audiotapes – see it. They say the store is nice, the atmosphere welcoming, and comment on how customer service-oriented the staff is. It’s great to hear it.”

Adakai has also introduced more books for a general audience, and is evaluating what sells well as more locals learn that the UNMG store has more than textbooks. Children’s books, she says, sell particularly well.

“A lot of people don’t have access to the Internet and want to come here and order books and audio tapes. I plan to add bargain books for the holiday season this year. All of this money goes toward making a profit,” she said.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: June 2, 2012

Leah Kayonnie receives a TRiO stole from TRiO Program Manager Jayme McMahon.

During recent commencement exercises for the University of New Mexico-Gallup, spectators strained to pick out their friends and relations from the sea of red gowns in the arena. That sea of red represented in toto the Class of 2012, but as with any graduating class, it was made up of individuals – each one with a story to tell. And for many of those, the story is about walking a road fraught with challenges, from the time they entered the front door of UNMG to the crowning moment when they received a diploma on the stage at Red Rock Park.

Some of the more touching stories of the Class of 2012 could be told by the 12 students who had draped around their necks a red and white stole awarded by the TRiO program. It’s the first time that participants in this federally funded outreach program for disadvantaged students have been distinguished thus for successfully completing their course work. Prior to the graduation ceremony with their classmates, they had their own ceremony in Gurley Hall where TRiO Program Manager Jayme McMahon and her staff handed out the stoles to students who were ready to graduate.

Although each TRiO student’s story is unique, there are startling similarities. A number have enrolled as older adults for a second try at college, having been too immature or too distracted after high school to succeed at their first attempt. Many have backgrounds that include problems such as domestic violence or substance abuse among family members. And almost all need help brushing up on their basic academic skills, such as reading, writing and math.

“Many students enter college with self-doubt; they doubt their intelligence, their confidence, and their ability to be successful,” McMahon said. “They doubt their choices, their path, their future plans. This doubt is very apparent when they make the decision to apply for the TRiO program, but once they complete their intake session and realize that this doubt is common – and normal – and that there is a support system in place to help them succeed with people who truly care about them and their success, we see a dramatic shift. “ TRiO provides a number of services for these students, including advisement regarding financial aid, academics, careers and transfer. Staff tutor students in English and math, and help improve computer skills. Further, TRiO provides loans of scientific calculators and laptops, and offers workshops and supplemental instruction.

Building strong, positive relationships among their peers is considered an important factor in how successful the students are, so TRiO also offers cultural enrichment activities and field trips. McMahon said the program takes transfer trips to Albuquerque, and also takes students to attend shows at Popejoy Hall, to attend the Gathering of Nations and to go to museums. For some, these trips are the first times they’ve ever attended a live event. The UNMG TRiO program also takes part of National TRiO day by taking students to Santa Fe to celebrate TRiO programs and advocate for funding. Students have the opportunity to meet with legislators and experience the political process; they also take part in professional development sessions with fellow TRiO students from around the state.

“We try to have a holistic approach when working with students,” she says. Certainly the student testimonials in support of TRiO give strong evidence that the program is working.

Valerie Yazzie, who recently graduated from UNM with an Associate of Science degree in Health Information Technology, is typical of older students who turn to TRiO to help them gain confidence in college.

“When I first enrolled, I didn’t know where I was going, what classes to take. My cousins, Wilma Lee and Gary Lee [also TRiO students and recent graduates], showed me the TRiO program. They signed me up, helped me schedule classes, and showed me the ropes on how college is,” Lee said. She found help with math and English as well as computers.

“I didn’t finish high school. I got a GED. Computers were foreign to me, and it had been 15 years since I got my GED,” she says.

But from the moment she walked into the door, help was waiting. Lenette Sheyka, the administrative assistant, greeted her and made her feel welcome. Other staff engaged her not just as advisors and tutors but in a way that made her feel part of the TRiO family by talking to her, calling her, emailing and making sure her needs were met.

“I had a lot of doubts,” Lee recalls. “Every semester, I would think, I can’t do it. But then I would find the motivation to try harder.”

The support of her TRiO cohort was of immense importance to her success, says Lee.

“When you get there, you’re all in the same classes, or maybe we all have the same teacher even if it’s at a different time. We brain storm back and forth with the tutor,” Lee said, explaining that studying with her peers not only gave her confidence but helped her assimilate the material she was exposed to in class.

Leah Kayonnie, who earned her Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts in Fall 2011 and is going on for a Bachelor’s degree in Business at Extended University, found TRiO more helpful in advising her on transferability issues.

“I really didn’t need tutoring, but I noticed some of the TRiO students and I wanted to be part of it. I asked one, and they told me about it. I decided to apply, I qualified, and was glad to be in,” she says.

“It was a great way to meet new people,” Kayonnie said. “If I needed help, I could go to Jayme or to another staff member. They told me about college and scholarships, how to look for them, step by step. They gave me insight into different universities and different programs, helping me figure out what I wanted to do. It was a really excellent program and helped steer me in the right direction.”

TRiO, which was started in the 1960’s, has been a UNMG fixture for more than a decade. Currently, it serves 160 students each year, and there is always a waiting list.

“We serve first generation college students,” McMahon said. “They often do not have a great support system. We try to help them achieve balance between their personal obligations and family and school.”

Data consistently prove that TRiO helps UNMG students stay in school and to transfer into baccalaureate programs.

“In addition to the many services we provide students, we also strive to help build confidence and empower students so they know it is possible to overcome barriers,” McMahon said, adding “it is possible to change the course of one’s life and one’s future. We begin to see a sense of resiliency emerge from our students, and they begin to accept that they no longer have to be victims of circumstance. They have the power to create change.”

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: April 20, 2012

The University of New Mexico-Gallup Community Education schedule of non-credit classes has been announced for Summer 2012.

For more information: Call 863-7738 or 863-7743.

The schedule is as follows:

Computers - Ages 7 and up. Learn the basics of computers, keyboarding skills, Microsoft programs and creating a PowerPoint.
Monday–Thursday, June 11–14, 9 a.m. –noon, Roosevelt Elementary RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Bugs and Frogs - Ages 5 and up. Follow Mother Nature and spring into action! Study and create art for indoor and outdoor use. Make bug jars, magnifying glasses, flower pots, frog games, bug catchers and much more fun.
Monday – Thursday, June 11–14, noon–3 p.m., Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Cooking for Kids - Ages 5 and up. Kids learn how to make fun and interesting breakfast and lunches for themselves.
Monday-Thursday, June 11– 14, 9 a.m. – noon, Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Nancy Bruker, instructor.

Painting for Kids - Ages 5 and up. Dip your brush into paint and let the creativity begin. Work with a variety of paint, watercolors, acrylic and even spray paint. Learn to mix paint to make new colors. Paint on a variety of surfaces, such as paper, canvas, glass and fabric.
Monday-Thursday, July 11-14, noon– 3 p.m., Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Nancy Bruker, instructor.

Ceramics - Ages 5 and up
Create your master piece, choose ceramic piece and choose design and colors. Material and tools will be supplied.
Monday–Thursday, June 18–21, noon–3 p.m., Roosevelt Elementary RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Arts and Crafts for Kids - Ages 5 and up
Do you like to make things with your hands? Then this class is for you. You’ll spend time making magnets, origami, robots and lots of other fun crafts.
Monday–Thursday, June 18–21, 9 a.m.–noon. Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Nancy Bruker, instructor.

Science Projects - Ages 5 and up
Students will learn a variety of fun and interesting science facts including volcanoes, tornados and many more.
Monday-Thursday, June 18–21, noon–3 p.m, Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Nancy Bruker, instructor.

Jewelry Making - Ages 5 and up
Craft one-of-a-kind pieces and wear your own jewelry. Learn how to bead necklaces, earrings, bracelets and design your own jewelry box.
Monday–Thursday, June 25-28, 9 a.m.–noon, Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Pirates – Facts, Legends & Crafts - Ages 5 and up
Ahoy, Mates! Design your own pirate coin, flag, compass and your very own pirate chess. Final day of class, students will come dressed as pirates and go on an actual treasure hunt.
Monday–Thursday, June 25–28, noon–3 p.m., Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Lisa Blanco, instructor.

Castles & Knights - Ages 5 and up
Step back into the days of dragons, castles and knights. Create your own castle, shield and medieval food. Also get information and cool facts.
Monday–Thursday, July 9–12, 9 a.m.–noon, Roosevelt Elementary RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Lisa Blanco, instructor.

Xbox & Wii Games - Ages 5 and up
Get your feet in motion and have fun burning off calories. Compete with peers in sporting, adventure and dancing. Bring bottle water for an afternoon of fun.
Monday–Thursday, July 9–12, noon–3 p.m. Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Lisa Blanco, instructor.

Viva Mexico - Ages 5 and up
Explore the fascinating culture of Mexico. Make projects, piñatas, placemats, ojos, ponchos, and sombreros.
Monday-Thursday, July 16–19, 9 a.m.–noon, Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Lisa Blanco, instructor.

Wild Wild West - Ages 5 and up
Saddle up and head out on the dusty trails of the Wild West. Make your own covered wagon, pan for gold, and cook a cowboy meal, as well as make cow chip cookies. Look forward to seeing you there, partner!
Monday–Thursday, July 16–19. noon-3 p.m. Roosevelt Elementary RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Lisa Blanco, instructor.

Burning/Wood burning - Ages 7 and up. Learn how to use a wood burner, create patterns and pictures on wood while using your creativity and/or designing pictures using carbon paper.
Monday–Thursday, July 23–26, 9 a.m.–noon, Roosevelt Elementary School RM 12, 400 E. Logan. Fee: $25. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Basic Artistic Pencil Drawing Ages 5 & UP
Develop skills to draw what you see with a pencil and paper to create a “work of art”.
Monday–Thursday, July 23–26, 9 a.m.–noon. Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25, Felix Diaz, instructor.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: March 1, 2012

The Adult Basic Education program at the University of New Mexico-Gallup is well known at its North Campus location at 425 N. 7th St. Less well known is the fact that some ABE activities have been taking place upstairs in Gurley Hall at the Gallup campus for many years. But that is about to change.

“Closing the ABE location at the Gallup campus has been under discussion for a long time,” said Laura Jijon, interim manager of ABE. Final approval for the move was given last week.

The primary reason, says Jijon, is that the North Campus location offers a centralized, more compact environment that helps students stay focused and thus improves their chances for success.

“One of the biggest issues is that our students need structure and self-discipline,” Jijon said. “At the Gallup campus, there are a lot of distractions, and students can become engaged in other things in a way that doesn’t happen at the North campus. We have classrooms, so it’s not an open space. The way the campus is set up offers more of a sense of community and belonging for ABE students. The fact that a lot of them don’t feel they belong anywhere has helped them develop a sense of ownership in the North Side facility. It's a home away from home for many of them.”

Another reason for the move is that having staff all in one building will help them work together as a collaborative team, said Jijon.

Further, the staff will be able to broaden the schedule of offerings to make the best use of the three classrooms and computer lab. Most of the activity in GED and ESL classes currently takes place in the morning; Jijon would like to see the facilities occupied in the afternoon as well. To that end, she says afternoons might be devoted to skills review students – students who score too low on COMPASS to get into for-credit classes on the Gallup campus, but who don’t need the GED prep that ABE offers because they already have a high school diploma. These students are referred to ABE by advisors as not being ready for college, yet perhaps needing tutoring and computer work. Jijon thinks having the skills review program centered on the North Campus will allow the college to provide more structure for these students.

Finally, ABE staff at the North Campus have developed a keen interest in getting more involved with the North Side community.

“There is the Senior Center, the schools, the Boys and Girls Club, and a community garden is in the planning stages – students are interested in participating in these projects for a sense of ownership and pride in the local community,” Jijon said. “They would like to improve the neighborhood, as a long-term goal.”

Jijon said that the move would most likely be made in June, when there are no classes so that staff would be in place by mid-July, when the third session of ABE begins. The program hopes to hold a celebratory open house to welcome students and the community and introduce the center more formally to the neighborhood.

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: February 16, 2012

Sophena Bebo has had her share of hard times, but over the last two years, she’s become cautiously optimistic that things may have turned around. Among other signs that life may be on the upswing: the University of New Mexico-Gallup student was recently notified that she was chosen by the Soroptimist Club to receive a $1000 scholarship as a result of an essay she wrote about overcoming a lifetime of difficulties.

Bebo, a student in the college’s TRiO program and the single mother of five children, took several stabs at getting an education over the last decade. For one reason or another she was unable to enroll at UNMG and as the years went by, she began to feel she was too old for school in her mid-30s and thus was reluctant to try again.

“Fear played a big part in keeping me from enrolling,” she said.

Finally in 2010, she got her courage up and she took a leap and enrolled in for the spring semester.

Bebo had previously attempted to study nursing as a reaction to the birth of her fifth child, who was born with a heart defect. In time, however, she realized she was not cut out for nursing, and this time around, decided she’d pursue studies in pre-elementary education.

“I always wanted to help children,” she says, adding that she has worked as a substitute teacher and done volunteer work in schools.

By the Fall of 2011, she was working on bringing up her skills through TRiO, a federally funded student support program that helps many of UNM-Gallup’s succeed at college. Bebo worried about her grades, but by semester’s end, found to her delight that she had passed her classes. This semester, she is feeling a bit more encouraged that she can and will do well.

The struggles that Bebo relates are not unique; many UNMG students have had similar experiences. She has had to contend with domestic violence and alcoholism, as well as overcoming a difficult home life as an adopted child. Although she got through high school successfully, she made some choices she now regrets, including partying and choosing the wrong partners. But it was writing about that life that helped win her the scholarship that now will boost her effort to be a successful student and eventually, a self-supporting citizen.

“What I wrote was meant to help other women going through domestic violence and difficult life situations, and overcoming,” she says.

These days, she is enlisting her eldest child to help look after the young ones while she is studying and going to class. The Pell Grant helps pay tuition and some living expenses, but she is aware that she must maintain her grades at a 2.0 to hold onto the grant and her dreams.

“I would like for other women to know that UNMG is here for the taking, but you have to put in the work,” Bebo says. She also adds, for those now caught up in the spiral of domestic violence and alcoholism, “The choices we make are important. You put yourself in your own situations. Being here has helped me keep my life going in a good direction, even though I did what so many young people are doing now. I didn’t know how make the most of my opportunities. But in time, I knew I wanted something better for me and my children. I want to do better for them.”

UNM-GALLUP NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: January 9, 2012

The University of New Mexico-Gallup Community Education schedule of non-credit classes has been announced for Spring 2012.

The schedule is as follows:

Traditional English Grammar – What you wanted to know but didn’t ask. Topics include: Why is English like that? Phrases and clauses. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Exceptions and irregulars. When is a verb not a verb? The art of making pictures from sentences.

Wednesdays, Jan. 25-April 25. No class on March 14. 6-8 p.m. Lions Hall 103. Fee: $65. Michael J. “Mike” Volz, instructor.

Basic Conversational Chinese. Learn Mandarin, and you will be able to communicate with nearly 20 percent of the world’s population – 1.1 billion people. In this conversational Chinese class, students will learn to speak basic conversational Chinese Mandarin including tones, basic vocabulary, basic sentence structure, greetings, getting around, eating and drinking, entertainment and shopping.

Mondays, Feb. 6-Feb. 27, 6:40-7:20 p.m, Lions Hall 100. No fee. Dr. Yi-Wen Huang, instructor.

Intermediate Computer Class. Do your friends and relatives consider you ancient history because computers just don’t like you? Join us for peaceful exploration of computers at your own pace. Topics include: computer vocabulary, operation of programs, using e-mail, internet aid for on-line research and creating your own documents.

Mondays, Feb. 6-March 26, 6-8 p.m., Lions Hall Computer Lab 114. Fee: $50. Bud Tack, instructor. Enrollment limited to 15 students.

Introduction to Basic Microsoft® Office Suite (2010): Word, Access, Excel and PowerPoint. Looking to enhance your skills in Microsoft® Office Suite (2010): Word Access, Excel and PowerPoint? This course will introduce students, working professionals and job seekers to beginner-level and some intermediate hands-on training in the Microsoft® Office Suite (2010) software application.

What you will learn:

Introduction to practical application usage
Creating, saving, modifying and printing any 2010 Office file
How to use keyboard shortcuts and commands
How to make basic presentations in PowerPoint by adding pictures, music and sound, and different introduction slide techniques
How to add tables from existing Word documents to Excel, plus how to use formalas to automatically calculate various scenarios, and how to use Excel to enhance projects by adding pie, bar and graph charts
Using Access to formulate a database by using the Wizard templates, including keeping track and generating reports based on general search criteria
How to create a customer and inventory database log

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Feb. 7 to March 29, 6-8 p.m., Lions Hall Computer Lab. Fee: $75. Bud Tack, instructor. Enrollment limited to 15 students.

Glass and Seed Beading. This class will teach you how to make earrings, key chains and necklaces. You will also learn how to make a Native-style yarn hair tie. Bring any small, empty, clean jar or vase for your own personal candle. Supply list given at registration.

Tuesdays, Feb. 7-Feb. 28, 6-8 p.m., Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Marie Platero, instructor.

Holiday Gift Basket and Bow Making. Learn how to put beautiful gift baskets together for all occasions and how to top them off with big, beautiful bows. Supply list available at registration.

Mondays, March 5 & 12, 6-8 p.m, Lions Hall 103. Fee: $25. Ara Green, instructor.

Scrapbooking. It’s time to put all your memories into your own personalized album. Bring your special pictures and other memorable items to create pages of your history with all your special moments. Please bring your pictures and feel free to bring personal acid-free albums or other supplies. Paper albums will be provided along with acid-free pens, stickers and cutouts.

Tuesdays, Feb. 7-Feb. 28, 6-8 p.m., Roosevelt Elementary School Room 12, 400 E. Logan, Gallup. Fee: $35. Esther Sanchez, instructor.

Where Is the Picture? This course is geared toward general photography techniques, information and understanding your pictures. Students should bring hard copy images of their pictures, as well as writable C’s and notebooks. Week 1: Course overview, including process of a picture, discussion of various formats, composition and editing.
Week 2: History of photography, including rules and ethics, and types of photography: portraits, weddings, lands capes, pets and animals, flowers and others.
Week 3: Lighting and composing
Week 4: Lenses and composing
Week 5: Editing your picture.
Week 6: Editing continued.
Week 7: Reading from Bernstein’s Books – Portraits
Week 8: Critiquing your pictures for display, including proper matting and backing.

Tuesdays, April 3-May 22, 6-8 p.m., Lions Hall Computer Lab. Fee: $50. Mark Goldstein, instructor.

Cutting Cabs from Rough for Jewelry. Become acquainted with the tools of lapidary.

Learn about the following:

Types of rough rock (life after turquoise)
Design using templates to freeform
Which shapes and sizes are best suited to various types of jewelry
Cut and police like the pros

Stones supplied. Mondays, March 19-May 7, 6-8 p.m., Lions Hall 103. Fee: $50. Mark Goldstein, instructor.

Candle Making. Make and decorate scented candles for mood improvement. Bring any small, empty, clear jar or vase to hold your candle. Supply fee $15, due first day of class.

For more information on any of the above courses or to register, please contact 505.863.7738 for Denise Silva or 505.863.7743 for Louise Lopez.

Thursdays, March 22-April 19, 6-7:30 p.m., Lions Hall 103. Fee: $35. Nancy Bruker, instructor.

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