DE QUEEN HOSPITAL UPDATE 05/22/19

Sevier County Judge Greg Ray and Sevier County RDA Chair Dr. Steve Cole met last Friday in Little Rock with the county's health care legal team to discuss next steps in building the new hospital in De Queen.

During the meeting, the group focused on completing the feasibility study for the new hospital by June 10th. That is the first step to be completed as this will show all of the county's stakeholders what the costs will look like to build and operate the new hospital. This step will also show the approximate cost of the bond issue that voters will need to approve to move forward with the project.

According to Dr. Cole, "The meeting at the Friday firm was extremely important as it now charts a clear course of action that will be based on sound financial data." Also in the meeting, Judge Ray and Dr. Cole received good news on the possiblity of a more friendly time frame in which to ask for two ballot questions to construct a new hospital for Sevier County. Judge Ray added, "Based on our meeting on Friday we, along with members of the Quorum Court can now see that our path to a new hospital can happen a little sooner than we originally thought, but we and county and RDA officials still have a lot of decisions to make...and we will base those on sound financial data and the advice of our legal team".

In the meantime, local officials are still working with the current receiver of the hospital Rachel Matheson to properly close the old De Queen Medical Center. "When hospitals close there are many protocols that people just never think to do, and we are all involved in making sure these things happen as it will impact the future of the new hospital, so we want to make sure we get that part right", according to Cole. While there are no set dates for any of these processes, there is progress being made each day towards having a new hospital in De Queen. "We know we must have a hospital in Sevier County and we are focused on that each day", added Judge Ray.

OTA Students Celebrate Occupational Therapy Month

(from left to right) Tarnesa Ramarine, Anna Gatliff, John Simmons, Denby Jester, and Loren Gills

April is Occupational Therapy Month, and on April 26, OTA students at the Ashdown campus celebrated the work OTA’s and OT’s do for people of all ages. Students in UA Cossatot’s OTA program made a special lunch to mark the occasion.
Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities. OTA’s and OT’s help people of all ages by promoting health, preventing injuries, and helping people adjust to disabilities and illnesses.
For two hundred years occupational therapy has been an official profession. In early April, UA Cossatot OTA instructors took eight OTA students to New Orleans, Louisiana for the national American Occupational Therapy Conference. At the conference, students were given a chance to attend workshops, seminars, educational sessions, and fun activities related to occupational therapy.
In April, OTA students also participated in a give back activity. The students created non-slip decorated socks. These socks were then given to residents at Pleasant Manor Nursing Home in Ashdown, Arkansas. The students also participated in Sevier County and Little River County health fairs where they presented information on occupational therapy and safety in the home to prevent health risks.
OTA students at UA Cossatot participate in many fundraisers and projects to raise money for educational and community service activities. They also raise money to offset costs for a review course to prepare for their national board exam.
To learn more about UA Cossatot’s OTA program or ways you can support the program, please e-mail OTA Program Director, Tamla Heminger at theminger@cccua.edu.

(from left to right) Tarnesa Ramarine, Anna Gatliff, John Simmons, Denby Jester, and Loren Gills

Sevier County Coalition To Host Lunch-and-Learn Events

The Sevier County Coalition’s Live Well Sevier County Committee has announced they will be hosting monthly Lunch-and-Learn events in conjunction with University of Arkansas Cossatot. The Coalition is comprised of businesses and local agencies represented by employees who work together to improve the overall quality of life for county residents through the use of local resources.

Co-chair of the Live Well Sevier County Committee, Cheryl Byrd, a Community Health Nurse Specialist with the Arkansas Department of Health, says “The public will be given opportunities to bring their lunch and learn about many aspects of wellness, including but not limited to physical, mental and financial wellness.” Kay Trotta, committee co-chair and LPN Instructor at UA Cossatot added, “The Lunch-and-Learn events are going to be a great resource for both professional development and personal enrichment.”

The first of the events is a free presentation, How Failing Made Us Successful: Tips and Tricks to Cope with the Rising Healthcare Costs, that will be presented on Thursday, June 20th at UA Cossatot’s De Queen Campus. The presentation will begin at 12:00 noon in the Weyerhaeuser room, located in the Skilled Trades Building, and will conclude at 12:40 p.m.

Presenter Jayme Mayo, Physician Assistant, is the in-house medical provider and wellness director at Nabholz Construction, where she has successfully led efforts over the past 12 years. Due to the Nabholz innovation, Jayme was featured in HBO’s documentary on obesity titled “Weight of the Nation” and with the CDC as a National Healthy Worksite Program Case Study and follow up video. Jayme has consulted with the Department of Defense, Former President Bill Clinton’s “Health Initiative” and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute along with numerous businesses across the country to help implement successful worksite wellness programs. Her most recent was Nabholz being named #25 in the 101 Healthiest Employers in the Country. She speaks regularly at regional, national and international conferences sharing the many successes of her program. Jayme is an 8-time triathlon and ultra-marathon finisher.

Mayo says, “As companies look for new and innovative ways to control the rising cost of healthcare, implementing a worksite wellness program is considered one strategy. In recent times, however, wellness programs have garnered a reputation of being both costly and ineffective. That theory has been put to rest. I look forward to sharing strategies to help employers, employees and their families cope with the rapidly increasing costs of medical care and health insurance.”

“I am excited that we can share this opportunity here in Sevier County, says Sarah Powell, committee co-chair and Rural Health Specialist with the Arkansas Department of Health. I’ve seen Mrs. Mayo speak.

She’s entertaining, inspirational and committed to helping people transform their lives through awareness, education, and motivation. This event is going to be relevant to both businesses wanting to develop or enhance their workplace wellness program and individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle,” says Powell.

For more on Lunch-and-Learn programs, visit the Sevier County Coalition website at www.seviercountycoalition.com or call UA Cossatot’s Continuing Education Services at (870) 584-4471.

Best Wishes from the Community and Volunteers for Layla and Family

You know you live in a great town when your neighbor makes a call and the yard fills up with volunteers! Thank you De Queen for helping a family load their belongings so they can move and receive the specialized treatment their daughter needs. Get well Layla, our hearts and our prayers are with you and your family.

Country Girls Cafe Trivia Question for Free Tickets on Ed 88 Facebook

Hey y'all! Exile is coming to the UA Cossatot Amphitheater in De Queen this Saturday night and Country Girls Cafe has some tickets to give away! Be the first person to post the correct answer to our question today and you will receive a pair of free tix! And our question is....Exile charted ten #1 singles on the country charts from 1983-1987. But their first big hit was a number one pop song for four weeks in the fall of 1978. What was the title of Exile's first big hit?

De Queen Elementary School Annual Spelling Bee Tuesday, May 21st (Live Video Stream)

Today at 1:30, De Queen Elementary School will have their annual spelling bee. Students from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades will be competing and Ed 88 will live stream the competition form the De Queen High School Auditorium on this Facebook page and on our web page ed88radio.com

Family Movie Nights at Herman Dierks Park in De Queen

WEEKLY UPDATE FROM STATE REP DEANN VAUGHT:

In Arkansas, 41% of the population live in rural counties. In contrast, only 14% of the United States population as a whole live in nonmetropolitan counties. Our state is a very rural one, so when we work to expand our economy we must always recognize the challenges that our rural communities face.

That is why many of us and many of your city and county leaders gathered at the Arkansas Rural Development Conference this week.

This conference is organized by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and is designed for anyone interested in improving the quality of life in Arkansas’ rural communities.

The objective of the annual event is to provide participants with the opportunity to gain a working knowledge about a variety of programs and services that are available to assist communities and their leaders with development, planning and revitalization efforts.

The House and Senate Committees for Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development convened at the conference this week to hear updates on the Big River Steel plant in Osceola and CZ-USA, a firearms manufacturer which recently chose Little Rock as its headquarters.

The House and Senate Committees on City, County, and Local Affairs also convened at the conference. Those committees were given a review of the programs and grants offered by the AEDC Division of Rural Services.

At the conference, Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented grants totaling $586,633.14 to 49 cities and counties throughout Arkansas. Rural Services grants fall into one of three programs: the Rural Community Grant Program, the County Fair Building Grant Program, and the Arkansas Unpaved Roads Grant Program. All require a 50 percent matching grant to be eligible for the programs.

The conference also presented information from several women and minority business owners who have benefitted from the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Division. This division promotes the growth of minority and women-owned businesses by providing them with real-world technical and professional assistance, certification, networking, capital and contracting opportunities while utilizing AEDC partners in state and federal government, higher education, lending institutions, and the private sector.

Only about 25 percent of small businesses in the state are owned by women, while the number of minority-owned businesses is even lower at around 14.7 percent.

Workforce development is another focus of the conference. AEDC has the ability to assist new and existing industry with the growth of their workforce through training programs.One such program is the Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). The CRD is a portable credential that confirms to employers that an individual possesses basic workplace skills in reading for information, applied mathematics, and locating information. To date, the Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate program has qualified more than 59,000 high-skilled positions.

Rural communities are important to all of us as they are a primary source for food, energy, clean drinking water and accessible outdoor recreation. You can find out more on how we invest in these communities by visitingwww.arkansasedc.com

Summer Courses are Available at UA Cossatot

The spring 2019 semester at UA Cossatot has now closed, and summer classes are set to begin on June 3, 2019. UA Cossatot has many courses that are available for traditional and nontraditional students seeking to start, continue, or finish their education.

UA Cossatot’s summer classes can be taken in-class, online, during the day, during the evening, and at any of the four UA Cossatot campus locations to help accommodate students who may have demanding schedules or live and work in certain areas. The college also offers AV classes in which class can be taught at Ashdown, Nashville, and De Queen through an AV room at the same time with the same instructor. This type of teaching can help students save money and it makes classes more convenient and available.

UA Cossatot has four options for taking classes this summer. Students can choose to take 1) a 4-week course starting on June 3, 2) a 6-week class beginning on June 3, 3) a full 8-week summer term class beginning on June 3, or 4) a 4-week summer class starting on July 1. Classes beginning in June start on June 3 and classes beginning in July start on July 1. June 3 is the last day to register for courses starting on June 3, and June 28 is the last day to register for classes that begin on July 1.

The college will be offering business, history, math, English, Spanish, medical, criminal justice, education, management, physical education, and psychology classes this summer to name a few. Summer registration is now open and tuition at UA Cossatot this summer is $72 per hour.

Ashley Dougherty, Lynze Greathouse, and Mary Collom are three featured UA Cossatot instructors who will be teaching online classes this summer. Dougherty will be teaching Small Business Management,

Greathouse will be teaching College Algebra and Survey of Calculus, and Collom will be teaching Comp 1 and Comp 2.

Math instructor, Lynze Greathouse said, “Summer courses at UA Cossatot are a great opportunity for recent high school graduates, university students who are home for the summer, or anyone looking to pursue higher education. Our faculty are highly qualified and provide the same quality education that you would receive at a large university, but with smaller class sizes and more affordable costs.”

Fifty-one percent of UA Cossatot courses use open educational resources (OER) to teach, which means no cost for materials. The college is a member of the Open Textbook Network and strives to make classes more affordable to students. Some classes require textbooks, but UA Cossatot students only pay $30 per course for rentals. The college’s Educational Resource Center (ERC) handles all textbook and OER information. Students can check whether their class uses OER or requires a textbook at the ERC website www.youseemore.com/cccua.

To register for summer classes, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471, or come by and visit with them. Walk-Ins are always welcome. UA Cossatot campus hours will be open this summer from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 7:30 AM to 11:30 PM on Friday.

UA Cossatot DACA Students Can Now Receive In-State Tuition

On April 10, 2019, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed two bills in support of DACA immigrants. House Bill 1552 grants nursing licenses to DACA students and House Bill 1684 grants in-state college tuition to those with DACA and other immigrant visas. This is a state law that will become effective starting on July 1, 2019.

These law changes will give DACA students the chance to receive a more affordable education, and help fill job demand throughout Arkansas.

Under ACT 844 of the 2019 Arkansas General Assembly, a student may be classified in-state for purposes of tuition and fees if the student satisfies one of the following requirements:

(a) The student personally holds or is the child of a person who holds a Federal Form I-766 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-issued Employment Authorization Document, known popularly as a work permit;

(b) The student has verified that he or she is a resident legally present in Arkansas and has immigrated from the Republic of the Marshall Islands; or

(c)(i) The student's request for an exemption under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has been approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security. (ii) The student's exemption shall not be expired, or shall have been renewed.

In addition, the student must satisfy one (1) of the following requirements:

(a) Resided in this state for at least three (3) years at the time the student applies for admission to a state-supported institution of higher education; and

(b) Either: (i) Graduated from a public or private high school in this state; or (ii) Received a high school equivalency diploma in this state.

Summer and fall enrollment at UA Cossatot is now available. In-state tuition at UA Cossatot costs $85.00 per credit hour, and if you live in UA Cossatot’s school district, which is Sevier, Howard, and Little River County, tuition cost per hour is $72.00. These prices for tuition are available for Arkansas residents and will be equally accessible for DACA students starting July 1, 2019.

UA Cossatot’s Chancellor, Dr. Steve Cole said, “We have been working on this tuition situation for almost ten years. Being the only Hispanic Serving Institution in Arkansas meant that a higher percentage of our students were negatively affected by high tuition rates. The state now allowing DACA students to pay in state tuition is a game changer for many families in our service area. I am especially proud that UA Cossatot students were the ones testifying for this change at the Capitol this year.”

Zulually Guerrero Mejia is a UA Cossatot alumni and has experienced difficulty in becoming a nurse in Arkansas. She was able to take nursing courses, but since she is a DACA student and not an Arkansas resident, she was unable to become a licensed nurse in the state.

Mejia was inspired to pursue a career in the medical field after spending much of her young life in and out of Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She shared her story at the state capital along with other DACA students, and said that the bill passing would allow her to work doing what she wants to do in the state she has always called home. With her testimony and cause to make a difference, and with the help of others in similar situations, she helped get this bill passed. Along with this issue, the dilemma of not being able to pay in-state tuition was also changed and signed by the governor on the same day.

UA Cossatot’s Student Success Center Coordinator, Erika Buenrrostro said, “Zulually is an exemplary leader and an outstanding student. What impresses me the most about her is her willingness to help those who are following in her footsteps. Her story helped change the history of Dreamers in Arkansas, and her courage to help others truly amazes me! She will be remembered always.”

Last year, UA Cossatot joined the Holistic Student Support Institute. The institute’s goal is to support every student in achieving their academic goals by overcoming educational barriers. Many students face obstacles that prevent them from graduating. To help students reach their career goals, UA Cossatot works with each student to assist them with a personal plan and strategy to achieve their desired degree or certificate.

For first-time students who would like to enroll in classes at UA Cossatot for the summer or fall, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471, and walk-ins are always welcome.

To learn more about the Center for Student Success and how UA Cossatot can help students overcome academic barriers and basic needs while going to college, please e-mail Erika Buenrrostro at ebuenrrostro@cccua.edu.

De Queen Police Department

National Enforcement Mobilization Alert. The click it or ticket national seat belt enforcement mobilization is May 20th - June 2, 2019. In 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,995 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts. Seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to save your life in a crash. Yet many still don't buckle up. Worse still, not wearing a seat belt is a habit that will pass on to impressionable youth, who in turn will think it's safe not to buckle up. The Click It or Ticket campaign focuses on safety education, strong laws and law enforcement officers saving lives.

Deadline to Apply for PTA Program

The deadline to apply for this year’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UA Cossatot is May 30, 2019. As UA Cossatot’s inaugural class of physical therapist assistant students plan to graduate this August, the college is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of the PTA program which will matriculate in August. Students who are interested in applying for the program can submit applications beginning December 1 of every year, with the deadline to apply being May 30. The PTA program takes one year to complete and is limited to sixteen students. 

Before one can apply, students must take the required PTA pre-requisites. PTA pre-requisites are listed on the UA Cossatot PTA website and consist of twenty-nine credit hours. All pre-requisite course work must be completed with a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 for A&P I and A&P II. 

The admissions procedure for the PTA Program is based on a point system. Those with a high percentage on the point system will be selected for an interview. Following the interview process, the top 16 students will be accepted into the PTA Program and begin PTA coursework in the fall. 

The PTA Program faculty at UA Cossatot provides multiple avenues for learning including interactive lecture, hands-on skills practice, and rotation through clinical affiliations. UA Cossatot PTA student and President of the Student Physical Therapist Assistant Club, Jeanne Spain said, “I feel our instructors have been great at adapting to each of our individual learning styles. I tend to be a very hands-on learner, while some of my peers are more auditory and visual learners. It has been very beneficial to have them take note and adapt their teaching to our specific learning styles.” Advisory Council member and Clinical Instructor for UA 

Cossatot, Rosalyn Henry, PT, DPT said, “I have had the privilege of being able to see how well UA Cossatot’s PTA students are prepared for clinical affiliations. The creation of UA Cossatot’s PTA program is backed by dedicated directors, advisors, and students, who work tirelessly to ensure the program is top notch and the students who go out into the community are well educated and prepared for the field of physical therapy.” 

The Physical Therapist Assistant program is located on UA Cossatot’s Ashdown campus. To apply for the program before May 30, please select the online application link at www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education. For questions regarding the application process, please e-mail PTA Program Director Jennifer Sanderson at jsanderson@cccua.edu or Director of Clinical Education, Heather Orr at hnorr@cccua.edu. 

To learn more about course requirements and how one can get started as a PTA student at UA Cossatot, please visit www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education to schedule an advising appointment with one of our academic advisors. 

Candidate for Accreditation Status 

Effective May 2, 2018, UA Cossatot has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 870-584-1497 or email jsanderson@cccua.edu. 

Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation and may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. 

IMPLICATIONS OF AUGUST GRADUATION 

The developing physical therapist assistant program at UA Cossatot is planning for a charter class graduation in August 2019. Initial accreditation decisions are acted upon at the next regularly scheduled Fall Meeting of the Commission following the on-site visit, which must occur during the penultimate term when the charter class is enrolled. CAPTE will not make exceptions to its Rules to accommodate graduation dates that precede regularly scheduled CAPTE meeting dates, e.g., graduation in the summer. A summer graduation does not allow the initial accreditation decision to occur prior to the graduation date. The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) sets the dates for licensing exams. The first sitting for which students with an August graduation date would be in January. Therefore, the timing of the planned graduation date increases the likelihood of a significant financial disadvantage for students due to an approximate six-month delay in possible employment as a physical therapist assistant. Jennifer Sanderson, PTA Program Director Kim Dickerson, Medical Education Division Chair 

Contingency Plan 

Should the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UAC fail to receive accreditation, our institution will work diligently with students on a student-by-student basis. The Program Director will meet with each student and discuss options that best fit the student’s situation. We will first inform all students that UA Cossatot (UAC) will file an appeal for reconsideration of the CAPTE adverse decision. Next, we will work closely with the program at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado (106 miles) to filter students to their program, if possible. The Program Director will also discuss the options of transferring to another institution, changing degree plans to OTA within the same institution, or graduating with a Certificate in Health Professions or Associate in General Studies.

Continuing Education and Workforce Development Classes at UA Cossatot

Check out what Continuing Education has to offer this summer. Classes for small business, personal enrichment and professional development. 

https://www.cccua.edu/Content/Uploads/cccua/files/ContinuingEd/Summer%202019.pdf

SEVIER COUNTY HOSPITAL AND HIGH SPEED INTERNET DISCUSSED AT WEDNESDAY MEETING OF THE SEVIER COUNTY RURAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

The Sevier County RDA met Wednesday, MAY 15th at noon in the Tres Agaves Board Room at UA Cossatot in DeQueen. The members of the board discussed and approved the minutes from their February 5th meeting and the financial report submitted by Treasurer Crystal Rankin. Chair Dr. Steve Cole led a brief discussion and provided an update on the progress of the hospital in DeQueen. Cole indicated that the license was being secured to guarantee local ownership of the hospital and he let the board know that there will be a published Pro Forma coming out within the next two months and the hospital project timeline should be finalized this Friday.

The RDA welcomed Bill Hegmann and Lane Powers from Southwest Arkansas Telephone Cooperative (http://www.swat.coop/) to discuss the possibility of applying for a multi-million dollar USDA grant to provide high-speed internet to Sevier County. While the grant will be very difficult to obtain, the RDA voted to engage a company to write and submit the grant. This push for high-speed internet addresses one of RDA's five points of their strategic plan. Chair Cole said, "Sevier County residents and businesses deserve easy access to high speed internet and we thought that at least trying to obtain a grant like this is a great place to start."

Members of the RDA board are Dr. Steve Cole, Crystal Rankin, Gary Golden, Dick Tallman, and Ray Wilson and work within the mission of the group, which is to engage in all related activities which have as their objective the long-range economic development of Sevier County.

SWAT High Speed Internet
Now Gig Certified!

SWAT TV - Digital IPTV

Healthy Eating June 4th UAC Weyerhauser Room

Sevier County Farmers Market

Sevier County Farmers Market
Herman Dierks Park Pavilion
604 East Hayes Avenue
De Queen, Arkansas

We are open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7-11 am or later, until our customers quit coming or sold out.

Where the food is fresh and friendships flourish!

SEVIER COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP STEAK DINNER MAY 20TH

EAT, DRINK and BE MEMBERS!  

SEVIER COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION 

2019 MEMBERSHIIP STEAK DINNER 

Come Join Us For a Gathering of Neighbors… and the Sevier County Cattlemen’s Association Membership Drive 

MONDAY MAY 20, 2019 

7:00-8:30 pm 

At the Adams Building CCCUA De Queen Campus 183 College Drive 

Guest Speakers: 

Arkansas State Representative District 4 

DeAnn Vaught 

And 

Broken L Veterinary Services, PLLC 

Dr. Chelsea Bland Smith, DVM. Owner 

Do you raise Cattle? Do you support or are you involved in: 

   Do you eat Beef?   Local youth?  Arkansas Agriculture? 

If you said yes to any of these questions, you will benefit by joining the 

SEVIER COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION 

If you are a current member or agree to pay membership dues, you are invited to join us. 

Please call (870)584-3013 and RSVP by May 10, 2019 

Annual Dues begin at $50/year 

Dennis Pruitt the Speaker Tuesday at De Queen Lions Club Meeting

Dennis Pruitt of Code Enforcement in De Queen was today’s speaker at De Queen Lions Club. Pruitt has new ideas to take to the city council to help clean up De Queen and make a good impression to visitors.

UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference

UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference 
On Friday, April 12, 2019, UA Cossatot’s Student Services department attended the Every Student Counts Conference in Russellville, Arkansas. The conference was hosted by Arkansas Tech, with support from NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) to provide a one day conference for employees who work in higher education. This conference gave Student Services the chance to brainstorm and think of creative ways to reach every current and potential student at UA Cossatot.
The conference focused on promising practices in the areas of student success, persistence, retention, and first-generation student excellence. The department split into different sessions giving them the chance to absorb as much as possible at the conference and then discuss everything as a group when it ended. 
Presentations that were presented at the conference included Why Making Emotional Connections in Student Affairs Matters, Developing A New Model for Student Mental Health, and Understanding College Websites for Generation Z to name a few. Other topics at the conference dealt with understanding students in today’s world, and realizing the high number of factors and obstacles that students face when trying to attend college.
The Student Services department at UA Cossatot provides many helpful services to students at the college. The department staff members work in admissions and recruiting, they collect and enter student data, they help assist with campus events, and they advise students on academics. They also work with the Center for Student Success and other departments at UA Cossatot to help students achieve their educational goals. The Student Services department includes Director of Student Services, Suzanne Ward; Student Services Administrative Specialist, Gina Goss; Nashville Advisors, Rachel Barfield and Addison Hill; Ashdown Advisors, Sheila McCandless and Holly Norman; and De Queen Advisors, Jocelin Galvez and Lizz Garza.
Holly Norman started working in Student Services in April. Holly Norman said, “I’m so proud and thrilled to be a part of UA Cossatot’s Student Services department! I started working in my new role here at UA Cossatot just two days before the conference, and I had acquired only a glimpse of my new role. Jumping in and attending the conference with others from the department on day three really helped speed up the process of creating those work relationships, learning from others’ experiences, and grasping more of Student Services’ role and duties here at UA Cossatot.”
Student Services is a department at UA Cossatot where current and future students can seek help. To ask questions or learn about how you can get started at UA Cossatot, please e-mail studentservices@cccua.edu or call 800-844-4471.

Photo: (from left to right) first row: Rachel Barfield, Lizz Garza, and Addison Hill; second row: Jocelin Galvez, Gina Goss, Suzanne Ward, and Holly Norman; not pictured: Sheila McCandless

De Queen Graduate Malik Beasley signing with UCA Track Team

Tuesday, May 14th at 1:30 pm, De Queen High School senior Malik Beasley will sign a letter of intent to become a part of the University of Central Arkansas track team. The signing will take place at DHS and Ed 88 will be there to live stream the event on this Facebook page, and on our new website:
https://www.ed88radio.com/