Optional Workshops Further Students’ Education

With students spending alot of time on campus due to the pandemic and sports and other activities cancelled there have been limited things to fill their free time in the evenings. Additionally, the mandatory extra evening of shop time from fall semester is not being held spring semester.

But, optional workshops are now available on a voluntary basis, providing a remedy for this.

Being offered are workshops by Bob Reid, an associate principal at Spiezle Architectural Group, the architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning firm that designed Williamson’s master plan, and two by John DiNome, chairman of the board of the Travis Manion Foundation, an organization that empowers veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. They strive to unite and strengthen communities by training, developing, and highlighting the role models that lead them and inspire them to pass on their values to the next generation. Their motto is, “If not me, then who.”

Reid’s talks are: “Williamson’s Master Plan Process: Your Input, and How it Informed the Student Activity Center Design,” “Student Projects Related to the SAC/Leaving Your Mark,” Better Connections Between Construction and Design Professions,” and “Asking the Right Questions and Listening for the Answer: How This Will Help You in Your Career.”

DiNome is speaking on “The United States Congress: How Did We Get Here?” and “Where Do Our Laws Come From?”

In addition to the extra learning aspect of the workshops, faculty have encouraged students to attend by offering extra credit assignments based on what they learned in the workshops.

Michelle Williams, Ed.D., vice president of academic affairs/CAO, said “We are excited that we can offer professional development workshops to our students during the evening hours this semester. While the sessions are filled with valuable information that students can use both now and in their careers in the future, the topics and presenters are also very dynamic and engaging. These sessions not only give the students the opportunity to gain real-world, eye-opening knowledge, but also to broaden their perspectives and professional networks.”