Amarillo College students earned top honors at the Amarillo chapter of the American Advertising Federation’s 2025 Advertising Awards last month. “The Current,” AC’s student-run magazine, won Best of Show and a gold Addy award for its 2024 spring edition. “I was incredibly honored to receive this prestigious award from the AAF,” Hayden Splawn, a graphic design major and co-art director of the magazine, said. “For all the countless hours of work we put in on top of our regular classes, it really shows how much a student-run team can accomplish when they have their priorities straight.”

Texas Mutual Insurance Company is awarding a $100,000 grant to Amarillo College (AC) to continue funding AC’s Safety and Environmental Technology program, which provides workplace safety and health courses for community employers, employees and the general public.This is the 10th consecutive year that Texas Mutual, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, has given a grant to the college to support its risk management program. 

Amarillo College’s Kristin McDonald-Willey, who serves as AC’s Director of Admissions and Registrar, was selected to serve on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Coordinating Board Manual work group with other college and university Texas state reporting leaders.“It’s wonderful to work with people who truly want to improve and streamline the work we do as community colleges,” she said. “It is always nice to work with peers, and it’s good to know the state offers us all a chance to provide feedback.” 

Eleven Amarillo College dual credit students who currently attend AmTech Academy earned top honors at the SkillsUSA Machining Competition Feb. 14 in Levelland. The group earned top honors in CNC Lathe and CNC Programming, taking the first, second and third places in both categories. Together they earned first and third place in Axis CNC Mill and third place and two fifth places in CNC Mill. 

Amarillo College’s music faculty selected seven talented student musicians to perform in this year’s Student Honors Recital at AC. The recital, which is free, will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4 in the AC Concert Hall on the Washington Street Campus.“Family, teachers, friends and our community are all invited to come and support these students in an evening of great music making,” said Camille Day Nies, professor of music. “High school students considering majoring in music can come and learn about the excellent quality of music program found at Amarillo College.” 

Area high school students will experience what it is like to be an AC student during career exploration events at Amarillo College. AC will host different career exploration events during the next four months. Students should register for the free events that include the chance to talk to faculty, sit in a class, compete in contests, and/hear a special speaker. 

Students from across the region will gather at Amarillo College’s Innovation Outpost to take on challenges related to national security scenarios Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21. College and AmTech students with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will meet for the event that starts at 10 a.m. Thursday. Dr. Jamelle Conner, AC’s president, will officially welcome students, college, and high school staff and Pantex partners to the Pantex Challenge. 

The exploration of complex family dynamics and relationships is a thematic element in John Patrick Shanley’s Italian American Reconciliation.  This gritty, bittersweet romantic comedy will be brought to life Feb. 20-23 at Amarillo College.  “I saw this show at one of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festivals that we go to every year,” said Monty Downs, director, and AC theatre instructor. “I thought it was a lot of fun.  I then learned it was written by Shanley (Moonstruck and Doubt) and liked it even more.”  

Amarillo College’s Mark White, who serves as the executive vice president and general counsel, was elected to serve as the president of the Texas Association of Community College Attorneys (TACCA). TACCA is an organization for community college attorneys, both in-house and those serving their clients from law firms.

Amarillo College will host a meet and greet for Dr. Jamelle Conner, the new president of Amarillo College next week. Faculty, staff, students and community members are invited to the reception set for 11 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the College Union Building, Second Floor. “We want to take time to welcome Dr. Conner along with everyone who wants a chance to meet her,” said Jay Barrett, chairman of the Amarillo College Board of Regents. “This is a great chance to connect her with the Amarillo College community.” 

Amarillo College’s Career and Employment Services will host three industry-specific job fairs for students and employers in February. The fairs will begin with an Industry Career Fair from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17 at Amarillo College’s East Campus. The second, an Engineering Career and Transfer Fair, will be held from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Amarillo College’s Washington Street Campus, College Union Building, Oak Room. 

Amarillo College’s President Jamelle Conner along with faculty, staff and students will attend the Texas Association of Community College’s Community College Day Monday, Feb. 3 in Austin. The day-long event will include opportunities to directly engage with legislators who represent the Texas Panhandle; learn from higher education leaders and interact with state leadership while advocating for education at Amarillo College.

Amarillo College’s Innovation Outpost will offer entry-level and expert-level IT certification courses and exams beginning Feb. 3. “These programs are designed to help individuals earn CompTIA certifications quickly and affordably,” said Linda Muñoz, dean of Innovation Outpost operations and programming. “They are perfect for anyone eager to gain the skills and credentials needed to succeed in the fast-growing tech industry.”  

The Keep Us Live! series will continue with a Valentine treat “Jam with Love 2025” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 at the Concert Hall Theater on AC’s Washington Street Campus.The AC music faculty and students will assemble to share music of love that nurtures the Valentine spirit. “This is a chance for anyone who may be feeling cooped up by the mid-winter’s blustery conditions to get out and listen to some spirited strains of optimism, hope, and love,” said Dr. Bruce Lin, director of piano at AC. 

More than 500 Amarillo College dual-credit students have earned 15 hours and a cool new T-shirt highlighting their accomplishment. Dual-credit students earn high school and college credit in one course. “Dual credit courses provide high school students with the chance to enroll in college-level classes within a supportive environment. High school educators act as valuable mentors, guiding students through the various challenges associated with college coursework,” said Sandra González-Moore, Palo Duro High School college, career, military readiness coordinator. 

 Amarillo College is pleased to announce that a total of 980 full-time students attained academic excellence worthy of inclusion on the Fall 2024 Dean’s List. “I am grateful for our faculty and staff whose dedication to student success defines who we are as a college and is clearly evident in the 980 students who earned recognition on the Fall 2024 Dean’s List,” said Dr. Frank Sobey, vice president of academic affairs. 

Amarillo College Graduate Samuel Bauman started working at Amarillo Gear as a CNC machinist while he was a student at AC. The California native was living in Borger when he became aware of Amarillo College’s welding program. “I heard it was a great program, so I enrolled to learn more,” he said. “I enjoyed those classes, but when we did a CAD modeling assignment in our machining class, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

The Board of Regents on Tuesday selected Dr. Jamelle J. Conner as the first female president of Amarillo College.Conner, the vice president of student affairs at St. Petersburg College in Florida, was one of two finalists for the AC presidency. Her selection as the15th president of AC marks the culmination of a 17-month national search to replace Russell Lowery-Hart, who resigned from AC in September of 2023 to become chancellor at Austin Community College.

Esports Player Christopher Petty earned Amarillo College’s first national championship in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Esports Madden 25.  Petty, a biology major, has been playing Madden since he was six, and started playing competitively last year by watching YouTube and Twitch.

When Jesus Marquez was in middle school, he dreamed about being a secret agent, never imagining he would actually get to work at Pantex as part of Amarillo College’s STEM Scholars Program. Marquez, who completed an electrical-engineering internship last summer at Pantex, has been chosen to serve as the student speaker at AC’s Fall Commencement, which is at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13 at the Amarillo Civic Center.