Amarillo College Badger Buzz

I’m writing this article in early February on an international trip to Greece. I’m back in my AirBnb after spending the past 5 hours with one of my global worker friends. Get this – he is a white American who married a woman from Japan, and they are now working in a European culture with Muslim refugees who fled the Middle East several years ago…and I thought the U.S. was the melting pot! Talk about a convergence of nationalities, cultures, and worldviews. This week, I am thankful again for the gift of travel. It is a practice I need to continue to broaden my view of the world and provide a regulated dose of humility about the truth of how small I am and how so much of the world does not live or think like me.

There are so many benefits of mentoring. It’s a great way to invest in the next generation or in high-potential individuals. It’s impactful both to the mentor and the mentee in many ways. I've had several mentors in my life and have learned so much from each one. If you've ever thought of finding a mentor or perhaps even being a mentor for someone else, here are a few things to consider.

The Hereford Campus has seen many changes this year: leadership, a freshening of our building, and new course offerings.

As we are all aware, new leadership usually brings change, but these changes have allowed us to upgrade our campus to serve our growing student population in a better manner. In addition, the campus has a new service provider in the form of a Student Life Coordinator. This new role is focused on establishing and maintaining relationships with the student body and the AC and Hereford communities. The Hereford campus participates yearly in different events around the community and hosts a health fair each year. One of our favorite activities is the Annual Festival of Trees benefiting the Hereford Senior Citizens. This yearly fundraiser assists the center in funding their home-delivered meals and activities that help seniors in the community.

With Thanksgiving upon us, we all start to think about loved ones, holiday traditions, and of course...food, which I can imagine most people (myself included) are extremely excited and thankful for. Along the lines of that spirit of thankfulness, we encourage you to embrace gratitude this holiday season. Watch this video as Adam Gray and Will Ratliff share some ways to practice gratitude during the month of November.

For Native American Heritage Month, we invite you to learn about and celebrate the culture of the Ojibwe people, or as they are known to many, the Chippewa, a mispronunciation of Ojibwe. There are nearly 150 bands of Ojibwe in the northern part of the United States and Southern Canada. Some trademarks of the tribe you may be familiar with are birchbark canoes, dreamcatchers, elaborate beadwork, colorful celebrations filled with music/singing and dancing, quilts, copper mining, and maple syrup.

The AC Testing Center is a unit of the Amarillo College Student Affairs Division. The Testing Center supports instruction, academic planning, and the community by providing various testing services for prospective students, current students, and members of the community while adhering to the NCTA Professional Standards and Guidelines.