Finger Lakes Community College has begun offering free GED classes at the Seneca County Office Building at 1 DiPronio Drive in Waterloo.
FLCC’s program allows students to work at their own pace with an instructor to prepare for the four exams necessary to earn a high school equivalency diploma. Students take in-person assessments in math and reading to gauge their skill levels.
Students meet with their instructor in the Seneca County Division of Human Services office on the second floor.
Other community services will support the GED program: Literacy Volunteers of Seneca County is available to provide additional assistance, and the Seneca County Office Building is on the RTS bus route.
Details about FLCC’s GED and English as a Second Language programs are available at flcc.edu/abe, (585) 785-1431, or ged@flcc.edu. Those with questions can also call Seneca County at (315) 539-1904.
Classes are also offered in Ontario, Wayne, and Yates counties at FLCC locations, libraries and the Yates County Workforce Development office.
Hazel Arteaga-Martinez of Williamson and Kimberly Zenzen of Caledonia celebrate their induction into the honor society.
The Finger Lakes Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the honor society for two-year colleges, inducted 175 members over the course of the last year.
Phi Theta Kappa promotes scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship. FLCC’s chapter, Alpha Epsilon Chi, was chartered in 1981 and provides leadership, service and scholarship opportunities for members. Membership requires completion of 15 hours of associate degree coursework and a GPA of 3.0. Phi Theta Kappa members also serve as campus ambassadors.
Fairport: Connor Bashaw, Nathaniel Hartley, Joseph Indorato, Hannah Owens
Hilton: Drew Bateman
Honeoye Falls: Lucas Mendrick
Penfield: Christopher Zielinski
Rochester: Andrew Black, Luke Chalone, Joseph Fornieri,Tanner Frank, Brianna Jones, Damien McGonnell, Naomi Moore, Vanessa Torres
Rush: Tyler Young
NASSAU
Freeport: Sandra Sanchez
Long Beach: Kristen Valentino
NEW YORK CITY
Arverne: Ciji Stewart
Brooklyn: Dwane Dunbar
Flushing: Nicole Luk
Jamaica: Jasmine Taylor
New York: Kathryn Cole
Richmond Hill: Natalie Plaza
Saint Albans: Ugonta Abengowe
ONEIDA
Utica: Sara Dodge, Justin Jones
Gabriel DeSouza of Brazil poses with FLCC President Robert Nye at the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society induction ceremony.
ONONDAGA
Jordan: Jonas Pritchard
ONTARIO
Bloomfield: Sarah Barker, Gordon Kornbau
Canandaigua: Julia Coy, Gabriel De Souza, Culyn Debeer, Mackenzie Depew, Madison Depew, Shena Edington-Bright, Grecia Gamez, Van Hill, Liam Houle, John Kelley, Austin Kephart, John Lasky, Samuel Leblanc, Keith Letky, Grace Lucas, Kevin Mapstone, Julie McKee, Sydney Rosario, Michael Ruedy, Audria Rutkowski, Faith Searls, Lexus Shannon Hummer, Hunter Shuler, Molly Snyder, Rebecca Steinmetz, Stephanie Vitalone, Harland Wunrow
Clifton Springs: Carly Bennett, Victoria Haynes, Beryl Remacle-Grimm
Farmington: Angelina Allen, Philip Beaman, Clayton Belmont, Riley Cicero, Rylee Hardgrove, Christopher Kalen, Maureen Morley, Eldridge Mount, Spencer Reese, Nicholas Reifsnyder, Alana Shaw, Cole Smith, Elyse Triola
Victor: Matthew Brady, Morgan Collazo, Emily Davis, Alexa Henehan, Madison O’Donnell, Jackson Pealer, Jonathan Schultz, Johanna Swan, Roman Wright
ORANGE
New Windsor: Hulya Peker-Evren
FLCC President Robert Nye and Misty Hall of Shortsville at the Phi Theta Kappa honor society induction ceremony in May.
Newburgh: Desiree Henry
Port Jervis: Shmuel Elkeslasi
OSWEGO
Hannibal: Kaliess Evans
OTSEGO
West Exeter: Ryan Quinn
PUTNAM
Putnam Valley, Lisa Zegarelli
SARATOGA
Saratoga Springs Miranda Germain
SCHUYLER
Burdett: Jesse Perlmutter
SENECA
Interlaken: Kiersten Traver
Ovid: Kimberly McLaughlin, Ovid Rachel Natale
Romulus: Tabitha Wilson
Seneca Falls: Nicholas Jastrzab
Waterloo: Jacob Digiovanni, Allyson Dressing, Angela Hubbard
Seneca Waterloo Jose Rivera
ST. LAWRENCE
Winthrop: Justin Moore
STEUBEN
Canisteo: Lori Hoyt
Jasper: Samantha Taft
Savona: Christopher McNew
ULSTER
Modena: Renae Gregory
WAYNE
Clyde: Richard Ducayne, Corrine Spronz
Lyons: Faith Magwood, Casey Wood
Macedon: Brianna Whitcomb
Newark: Lorely Rivera Barreda
Ontario: Elena Disanto, Holly Fox
Palmyra: David Luke, Joshua Snyder
Sodus: Marilyn Bennett, Cody Freeman
Walworth: Logan Maioli, Jerry Lay, Leah Vaughn
Williamson: Hazel Arteaga-Martinez, Morgan Baumgartner, Elena Ramirez Rendon
WESTCHESTER
Cortlandt Manor: Thomas Wilson
Rye: Harold Torres Gonzalez
YATES
Dundee: Ingrid Semans
Penn Yan: Kerry Catlin, Jenelle Schroeder
Rushville: Evelyn Bergstresser
OUT OF STATE
Richard Zephyr, Naples, Fla.
Christina Lenhauser, Haines City, Fla.
Caidin Taeschner, Port Republic, Md.
Asia Muselli, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Ashley Holbrook, Woodruff, S.C.
Ericka Moody, who grew up in Lyons, graduated on May 20 with a degree in hospitality and tourism management, specializing in the food and beverage area.
A 2021 graduate of Lyons Central School, she had an opportunity meet with college President Robert Nye, while participating in Dinner at Julia later that year.
Dinner at Julia is an opportunity for hospitality students to get real-world experience right on campus. The college converts a room in the Student Center to a restaurant open to the public several Fridays during the semester.
“After experiencing my work, and getting to learn about each other, Dr. Nye told me if I needed help getting on the right path in the hospitality world, to reach out,” Ericka began.
“March then came around, and I had been struggling to find my sense of place in the hospitality world, so I emailed him. I asked him simply just to be a person I could put as a reference on my resume. I asked to meet with him to prove how determined I was.”
Ericka and the president talked about her goal of working for a while at the Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center and eventually becoming an event producer.
“He wrote me a letter of recommendation, and graciously took it a step further and reached out to the hospitality manager on my behalf,” she said, adding that she was hired as a VIP concierge for the concert venue.
“My time at Finger Lakes was uplifting. I walked in only to gain a degree but walked out with new experiences, new memories, and new friends,” Ericka added. “My experience here was like a movie with twists, turns, loss, and gains and an ending with a warm feeling that life only gives to when you close a door and start walking to the next.
“My advice to incoming Laker is: Do not just come to campus, be a part of campus and its community. Join a sport, club, or even join in on weekly Laker activities. Walk away with an experience, not just a diploma.”
Alexa Henehan and Mark Worrell at SUNY Maritime in the Bronx.
Alexa Henehan of Victor, an environmental science major, was among 57 students from across the State University of New York selected to give an oral presentation at the SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference on April 14.
Alexa, a 2022 Victor High School graduate, was one of five community college students who gave oral presentations at the event at SUNY Maritime in the Bronx. She spoke on “The Effects of Glacier and Sea Ice Loss on Arctic Communities.”
Kellie Gauvin, FLCC professor of biology, works with two participants on a DNA activity at a past STEAM summer camp at the Geneva Campus Center.
Registration is now open for Finger Lakes Community College summer day camps for students who will enter grades 7 through 9 in the fall.
The lineup includes camps at the college’s campus centers in Newark and Victor, as well as a new camp at the FLCC Muller Field Station at the south end of Honeoye Lake.
The full-day STEAM camps provide activities in science, technology, engineering, art, and math with themes for each location. Camps run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for five days. The cost for each week is $200 and includes snacks and a T-shirt; students should bring their own lunches. Students may enroll in more than one camp. The schedule is as follows:
July 10-14, STEAM in Motion, Victor Campus Center, 200 Victor Heights Parkway, off Route 251.
July 17-21, STEAM in Our Community, Geneva Campus Center, 63 Pulteney St.
July 24-28, STEAM in Space, Newark Campus Center, 1100 Technology Parkway, off Route 88.
July 31-Aug. 4, STEAM in Nature, Muller Field Station 6455 County Road 36, Canadice
The registration deadline is June 23, at flcc.edu/STEAM. Registration is limited to 15 students per camp. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Email questions about the camps to steam.camp@flcc.edu.
The Finger Lakes Community College Foundation is accepting applications for scholarships for current and incoming students for the 2023-24 academic year.
The Foundation awarded more than 170 students a total of $176,000 in scholarships funded by local families, businesses, and organizations for the current academic year.
The Foundation manages more than 100 scholarship funds. Eligibility requirements vary and include criteria such as academic program, veteran status, first-generation college student, hometown location, demonstration of financial need, and successful essay completion. There is one application for all scholarships which filters and qualifies students based on their answers.
Scholarship awards range from $250 to one year of tuition, currently $5,112. One award is larger: the Farash First in Family scholarship covers full tuition, fees, residence hall lodging, and books to one student per year. This special scholarship requires a student to live in Ontario or Monroe counties, be a first-generation college student, demonstrate financial need, and respond to essay questions.
All incoming students should fill out the scholarship application by April 30 to determine eligibility. Students who apply to FLCC by March 1 and submit a high school transcript will also be considered for an early admissions scholarship.
The application is available atflcc.edu/scholarships and closes on April 30. To apply, students must have completed the FLCC admissions application and received an FLCC email address. Students will be notified during the summer if they have been selected to receive a scholarship.
Christine Parker, associate professor of biology, leads a class in the holography lab on the main campus. Photo by Rikki Van Camp
Christine Parker, associate professor of biology, discussed her use of mixed reality to teach anatomy and physiology on Finger Lakes News Radio on Nov. 22 with host Paul Szmal.
Mixed reality is the use of headsets to superimpose an image onto someone’s field of view. Students in Parker’s classes can see and hear the room and those around them. They also see holograms of the body or individual organs in a foundational class for nursing, kinesiology and other classes.
The professor explained how she learned about the technology developed by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic and piloted its use locally. FLCC is the only community college in the country working with Case Western Reserve University on the technology. Listen to the interview below.
Two representatives of Finger Lakes Community College will present their research on the cultivation of mushroom sugars this week at an international conference in Spain.
Professor James Hewlett
James Hewlett, professor of biology, and Jessica Halliley, an instructional specialist, were invited to share their work at the 8th International Conference on Bio-based and Biodegradable Polymers, or BIOPOL 2022, in Alicante, Spain, which runs from Nov. 14-16.
Hewlett and Halliley have been working with students since early 2021 on a research and development project for a Henrietta-based company, Empire Medicinals, which grows gourmet mushrooms under the brand Leep Foods.
John Foust, chair of the environmental conservation and horticulture department, talks to visitors at a previous open house. Photo by Rikki Van Camp
About 40 professors typically take part in open houses at FLCC so prospective students can meet the people who will teach them, and in some cases, become their advisor.
What percentage of courses in a program are offered online, face-to-face, or only in one modality or another?
How much time – per day – should be reserved for homework and coursework?
What kind of everyday work does the program require? Reading, essays, lectures, presentations, workbooks, productions, field journals?
Richard Walsh, who coordinates the sports studies program, speaks to a prospective student and parent. Photo by Rikki Van Camp
Richard Walsh, assistant professor of business and coordinator of the sports studies program, suggests students think about end goals.
“Go to every table. Ask what job skills are needed. Ask how many graduates have job offers before they graduate, or shortly after graduating.”
Another question he recommends: “Are there additional courses they could add to a program to boost hiring chances?”
Find out if a program requires an internship and whether a program or class offers opportunities for on-the-job experiences early in their studies.
With so many faculty in one area, he recommends finding out what their expectations might be. “What goals do you, as the instructor, have for this class? What’s your idea of being a successful student in your class?”
John Foust, chair of the environmental conservation and horticulture department, encourages students to share a little about themselves so faculty can provide the most relevant advice. Do they plan to transfer? Are they transferring credits into FLCC? Do they have military service?
“I would suggest that students visit all the tables and keep an open mind. My advice would be to find something that makes sense to them as a vocation but also find something they’re truly passionate about,” he said, adding a few questions he recommends:
What is it like to be working as a professional in the field?
Christine Parker, associate professor of biology, leads a class in the holography lab on the main campus. Photo by Rikki Van Camp
FLCC uses both virtual reality and mixed reality in educational programming. The technologies are similar with a few key differences.
Mixedreality
In 2018, the College began using three-dimensional holography to enhance the teaching of human anatomy and physiology, a required class for several programs: nursing, kinesiology and human performance, health care studies, physical education and exercise science, and nutrition and dietetics.
Under the guidance of Christine Parker, associate professor in biology, students wear Microsoft HoloLens visors in labs. The headset uses the HoloAnatomy Software Suite developed by Case Western Reserve University in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic. This software enables students to view highly detailed, three-dimensional images of human organs individually and as part of body systems.
Holograms give the viewer a three-dimensional image while allowing them to see the rest of the room.
The university’s software allows the HoloLens to project a holographic image that everyone wearing the visors – students and their instructor – can see. The instructor can rotate the image, zoom in on a particular section or zoom out to show the class how structures function and interconnect.
In the labs, students work collaboratively in groups and view the same holographic image. Christine moves about the room, joining each group and pointing out features. Students can still see each other and the rest of the room behind the image.
They cannot manipulate the image though they can walk closer to it and even poke their heads inside to get an internal view of a particular structure. This is helpful, for example, to understand how the flow of blood proceeds through the human heart and then out to the general circulation. This three-dimensional approach helps students visualize key physical relationships between body structures.Continue reading “Mixed reality vs. virtual reality: What’s the difference?”
