Randall Delaney

Happy New Year! As a great year begins, my time at Gateway has become busy and full of excitement. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I attended and covered the MLK celebration at the Madrigrano auditorium for Connect student newspaper. Not really knowing what to expect, I was pleased to say I was inspired and moved by the entire event! Listening to music and messages that represented MLK’s dream was amazing. It was also a huge reminder of how important Gateway is to the futures of so many lives. My year began at the Gateway Foundation Scholarship Awards, where I was honored with the General Business and Marketing scholarship. These two events have pushed me to strive for more.

I have been involved in many activities/events lately and have taken on a workload larger than ever. Our Kenosha BPA chapter has partnered with the Racine chapter and Sustainable Living Club to begin a Denim Drive and have barrels set out in the commons of all 3 campuses. The drive will continue until the end of February. The denim will be re-purposed as insulation in an effort to help the world become more sustainable.

Our chapter is also partnered with the Special Olympics and plan on helping them with two of their Polar Plunge events in the next month (the first being on February 9^th at the Brat Stop in Kenosha). I also plan on “taking the Plunge” if I can raise the $75 required to be “Freezin’ For A Reason.”

We are selling raffle tickets for our BPA chapter to raise club funds to help us with our trip to the State Leadership Conference/Competition in late February. It has been a lot of work to try to sell all 1,000 raffle tickets, but with a great group of members I have faith we will come close to our goal before our drawing on Jan. 31 at the Sustainable Living Center.

Our group of Global Scholars is getting closer to our trip to Germany and will be hosting an amazing Craft/Vendor fair this Sat. February 2^nd from 9am-2pm in the Racine Building on the Racine campus. We have booked a very large number of crafters/vendors and plan on a great turnout of eager shoppers as we continue to advertise as much as possible! The fair is free to attend. Please stop in to find great deals on many different unique and handmade items being sold to help us with our trip to study abroad.

I’m pleased to find out today what host family I will be staying with during my 16-day travel in March! To learn how you can study abroad and become a Global Scholar keep an eye out at: http://www.gtc.edu/international-education. Also, there’s an opportunity to become more aware of the environment and be recognized during graduation as a Green Scholar. Find out how to make this possible here: Gateway Green Scholar.

I’m also hoping for a great turnout for the “Be the Match^SM Bone Marrow Registry” on Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 11-7 p.m. in the Kenosha student commons. The event is sponsored by Gateway’s National Society of Leadership and Success. To help by donating your time or for more information, please contact NSLS Vice President Jamy Koepke at koepkej1@mail.gtc.edu. The bone marrow registry is as simple as filling out a health history form and having a cheek swabbed. If you’re a match you could save a life!!!

I had a great time writing about the new Veterans Club that will be meeting district-wide this Thursday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. I think the forming of this club is important for students at Gateway that are active military or vets. I also would like to say the BPA club and GAAP Accounting club are currently looking for new members and if interested please contact me at delaneyr6@mail.gtc.edu.

Finally, I’m sad my year as the Kenosha & District Star Ambassador is coming to an end, but I’m intrigued knowing a few deserving students will receive the opportunity I have had over the past year. I hope as many deserving students as possible are nominated before the Jan. 31^st deadline. I was nervous filming the promotional video, but felt I did fine with the help of videographer Jim Steinmetz. Check out the video here: 2013 Star Ambassador Nomination.

Enrolled in 18 credits, I thought I had “over-filled my plate.” However, staying focused and receiving reminders from others to take a step back sometimes, I’ve been able to manage everything. I’m grateful for all of the help from others during this time and look forward to a brilliant semester this spring! Let’s be realistic, inspired, and great!!!

As the holiday man on the street (see photo), I traveled to each Gateway campus to find out about students past experiences and future plans for the holidays. I also asked Christmas trivia questions while giving out prizes from Santa Claus, as I was dressed as an elf. Every story I heard from students I thought was worth sharing, so I’ve decided to post them here. To see the rest of the stories, look for the December edition of Connect on any Gateway campus.

The holiday story that reached my heart the most were memories from Elkhorn campus student Sharon Paull (see photo). She’s in the Horticulture program and plans to spend the holidays helping with a project at Gateway to help underprivileged children and families receive Christmas gifts where a tree is decorated with ornaments of names of children and their ages. And Gateway staff, students, and people from the community pick an ornament and buy a gift for them and then the Intro to Psychology class she’s in will gift wrap the presents and deliver them.

The greatest gift she ever received for Christmas was a pair of glasses. Paull says, “My stepfather brought home an aquarium with seaweed and little castles for my sisters and I for Christmas. He took me to the eye doctor when I was 13, I got eye glasses. And when I put them on the first thing I looked at was the aquarium and I saw every little piece of gravel, I saw every fish. Before that it was just kind of a blur, and okay well it’s an aquarium. It was my eyesight. I got my first pair of glasses and didn’t realize all those years I had trouble seeing.”

Paull says her favorite holiday memory was of her first Christmas when she was about 4 or 5 years old. “I didn’t know much about Christmas, and I got up one morning and the sun was streaming in and on the fake fireplace was a bunch of little tiny dime-store gifts,” she says. “It was a miracle, I woke up my mom and said something was happening, and she told me all about Christmas.” She says she looks forward to being with her children and grand-children over the holiday break and hopes Santa brings health to her daughter who is ill.

CNC students Carl Munger (photo leftside) and John Burnside (photo rigthside) were on their way to class on the Racine campus when I asked them about their holidays. Munger looks forward to spending time with his family and watching his son open gifts. He hopes Santa brings him a job this Christmas and says the best gift he ever received was, “my freedom.” Burnside looks forward to watching his two daughters open gifts and says his favorite childhood holiday memory was, “getting to open up one present on Christmas Eve.” The gift he would like this year is, “to continue on the right path; going to school, going to work, and taking care of my kids.” The best present Santa brought him was his first remote control race car when he was 9 years old, he says.

I found Automotive Technology student Miguel Maldonado (photo above) on the Elkhorn Campus and he says his favorite childhood holiday memory was when he was 10, “I got to see my dad overseas, he was in the Army.” He plans on graduating from Gateway in May and says his list for Santa this year is, “to get through the next year OK, with a career from Gateway.” His favorite holiday food is tamales. Maldonado says his favorite gift from Santa was an X-box when it first came out. He hopes to take in some sun rays down in Florida over the break. His favorite holiday tradition is Halloween.

Although the title may imply this, I don’t mean go the store and buy yourself a big screen TV or a new car. I’m talking about the gift of believing in yourself! I recently have been overwhelmed with , meeting many people that believe in me, and I’ve been spending many hours trying to figure out exactly why. And then it hit me like a bat hitting a baseball, more people believe in me as I continue to believe in myself more and more.

It’s very ironic because when I began at Gateway nearly 4 1/2 years ago I rarely even lifted my head when walking by people in the hallways it seems. As time has gone by, I feel more confident than ever. By believing in myself, life has become easier; even though I’m doing more than ever. I’ve also noticed that when I show this same belief in others, it gives them a bit of energy to do more. So as the semester comes to an end, ask yourself, “How much do I believe in me?” If you’re not sure then it’s time to take action by studying harder, helping others, and taking risks. If you’re not sure how to believe in yourself anymore than you do now; then start by helping family members, fellow students, and friends believe in themselves.

If you give it your all these last two weeks of the semester, be proud of yourself. And then take a breather and relax! Be grateful and happy these holidays!

Merry Christmas, my gift to all of you for your hard work, perseverance, and dedication is this photo of our cat Cookie and her 4 cute little kittens. Enjoy!

My cat Cookie and her 4 baby kittens

Also, those of you graduating at the summer/fall commencement this month, congratulations! It’s an amazing and powerful experience, so enjoy it!

As you can see by the title of this blog, the last month for me has been full of excitement at Gateway! I’ve been able to accomplish more tasks in the last month than I have in any other month that I can remember in my life. I’ve been inspired by many events I’ve covered for the November Connect, and also have learned how important working as team is in clubs such as the BPA, GAAP, and NSLS.

On top of that I’ve been able to nearly get hacked by a chain-saw at a haunted house with my mom, watch my daughter trick-or-treat with my family, meet the Milwaukee Bucks players at a luncheon in Milwaukee, and even see the President and Katy Perry with my niece. I think one of the most enjoyable memories of the past month was spending time with the German students as part of the Study Abroad program.

The International Biz Squad class that I’m in for the Study Abroad program has allowed me and 5 fellow classmates to work alongside German students on a business project for two Gateway students beginning a start-up business. We’ve also been able to spend time with the students from Germany outside of class. I enjoyed getting to know them better at a dinner hosted by Gateway’s Executive Vice President/Provost Zina Haywood at her home. I have to say Zina and her family put together a beautiful home-cooked meal for all of us. I look forward to seeing the students again when we head overseas in March.

We will be selling different food items during International Week on Monday, Nov. 12 through Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at select campuses to raise money for our Global Scholar trip to Germany (see photo below). We will also be hosting a Vendor/Craft Fair on the Racine Campus on Feb. 2^nd from 9-2p.m. to raise money for the trip. Anyone interested in reserving a space or for more information, please contact Jill Buchmann at buchmannj@gtc.edu.

The Health Care Career Fair held at Gateway’s Madrigrano Auditorium was an awesome event to report on. I was able to see the auditorium filled with current students and Gateway graduates as they spoke with different employers from colleges, hospitals, and companies about jobs that are available. I interviewed a few students and others about the importance of the fair, and they all were glad to be there.

Another event I covered recently was the Artist in Residence event on Nov. 7^th at the recently remodeled Pike Creek Horticulture Center at the Kenosha campus. This was one of my favorite events I’ve covered for Connect student newspaper to date. I was able to speak and work with great floral artist Dan Kotecki, floral instructors Jane Edwards and Mike Lewis, and students from Gateway’s Floral Design I and III courses. I didn’t plan on staying for the entire three hour event, but I was able to participate in the demonstration and ended up staying for four hours. I was able to conduct interviews, create a beautiful holiday centerpiece (see photo below), help clean up the room, and learn more about Gateway’s SAIFD floral club and the AIFD. It’s amazing how great the floral design business has developed over time and how it’s opened up doors for many inspiring Gateway students.

I have had a great time continuing towards my goals with my SNT group members in the NSLS, as well as encouraging them to stay focused and positive even when times become stressful. We’ve been able to hear from speakers such as actress/singer Hilary Duff about leadership and success, and I look forward to improving my leadership skills at the Leadership Training Day later this month.

The BPA Club in Kenosha, which I’m proudly the Vice President of, has finally began to take off due to President Mark Short, Advisor Manoj Babu, and a great group of motivated members. We will be helping out at the Holiday House in the near future and will be preparing to compete at a statewide competition, which will be held in Green Bay next semester. I would like to say thank you to BPA Secretary Annie Fahy for creating a bulletin for the club for the month of November (see photo below).

Kenosha BPA Club’s November Bulletin Post by Annie Fahy

I’m excited and look forward to “ringing the bell” for the Salvation Army as our inspired GAAP Club will be donating our time to help out the community next month.

If anyone in any type of Business/IT related program at Gateway is interested in joining either the BPA Club in Kenosha or the district-wide GAAP Accounting Club, please email President Mark Short at shortm2@mail.gtc.edu. Come join us at our next BPA Club meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 14^th at 3 p.m. in the Bioscience building on the Kenosha campus, or our next GAAP Club meeting in Racine, Elkhorn, or Kenosha on Wednesday, Nov. 28^th at 4 p.m.

I would like to say thank you to all the members of the USG for their great efforts to help the Gateway community in many ways, and I look forward to attending the next meeting on Dec. 14^th at noon. Please attend the meeting with me or contact USG at usg@gtc.edu for more information. All students are encouraged to attend any USG meeting.

This semester has been full of inspiration and opportunities. As freezing temperatures threaten at night, my gardening adventure is soon to be dormant. However, as one good thing has come to a temporary end, many opportunities have been presented, and I will be taking advantage of them. Never being involved in an official club in my life, I hope to be a member of three clubs by the end of next week. These are the NSLS (National Society of Leadership and Success), GAAP (Gateway Association of Accounting Professionals), and the BPA (Business Professionals of America).

All three of these clubs are different but should help me to socialize better in a face-to-face and a group setting scenario. As a member of each club, I will gain more leadership skills, work as a team to help the community, and meet some new people with some of the same interests as me.

Anyone in the Accounting program may join the GAAP, which has been able to successfully join all three campuses together via video-conference. The first meeting has passed but it’s not too late to join. The next meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, Oct. 10^th at 4 p.m. on each campus. For more information contact GAAP President Mark Short at shortm2@mail.gtc.edu.

Although you have to be invited to join the NSLS, if you maintain good grades, you’ll most likely receive a letter down the road asking you to join (if you haven’t already). My advice is to join; this is an opportunity to take advantage of. So far, the NSLS has met twice and the first speaker, Vernice “Flygirl” Armour left me with great inspiration and motivation to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself.

Also, I have had the opportunity to meet with a SNT (Success Networking Team) to discuss a goal we each set, and we all hold each other to the goal. My goal is to create a foundation to help qualifying NSLS members pay for the club’s membership fees. I hope to do this since some potential members may not have the financial resources to join, but have the will to accept their invitation to join.

Finally, a BPA club looks to be forming fast at Gateway and I will be joining this club due to curiosity and the possibility of competing in different subjects at a state and national level representing Gateway. The club’s first meeting is set for this Tuesday, Oct. 9^th at 3 p.m. in the Bioscience Building on the Kenosha campus. For more information contact Mark Short at shortm2@mail.gtc.edu or BPA advisor Manoj Babu at babum@gtc.edu.

Even though, this all seemed nerve wrecking and overwhelming at first thought, I’ve been able to embrace it and have stayed in control of any fears. I’m ready for some new beginnings and I hope all Gateway students join one of the many clubs Gateway offers.

This summer I took it upon myself to begin a hobby great for the environment and my family. I began a little later than most, but I began my 60 square foot garden. I was given a gift card for Stein’s for being a Green Scholar and put it to good use. I bought a plant starter kit for a few dollars, a few bags of dirt, a variety of seeds, a flower pot, and a grape vine.

Already early June, I got to work preparing the garden by planting more than enough corn, cucumber, pea, tomato, and watermelon seeds in my starter kit on a table in the backyard (see pic below). I didn’t have great expectations but enough passion that I was dedicated to produce something. I watered the plants every day and within days I had my first plants sprouting up .

Planter kit I used to begin growing vegetables.

After a couple of weeks I had to get the actual garden ready to transplant the plants into. I prepared a garden bed that was 10’ x 6’ using nothing but a garden spade to dig up stubborn grass and dirt. I added a black dirt/compost mixture on the top of the old dirt and then measured the area and made rows of mounds so the plants would have good drainage. I also transplanted my grape vine and later my flowers next to the garden bed.

I had more than enough plants for transplanting so I actually had to eliminate many plants, sadly. I did more and more research to help me decide what plants I was going to plant where. I planted them, watered them daily, gave them plant food twice a month, and added compost to the dirt weekly. To my excitement, my plants began growing towards the sky! I then built a trellis out of materials lying around the house to support the cucumbers (see pic below), and used my daughter’s broken gates for the peas to climb onto.

Cucumber vines growing up the trellis.

I’ve attempted to do my own pruning and tampering and for the most part have had nothing but success. My passion for this kind of work began when I covered my first story for Connect last year. I interviewed Horticulture student, Charis Mitchell, and her passion for urban farming planted a seed inside of me that has helped me accomplish great things this summer. Along with a new hobby and passion, I definitely feel closer to Earth and the environment (see pic below).

Me proudly standing next to my garden.

Everything about creating this garden has been awesome. It’s like watching your children grow up (but extremely fast). I’ve been able to go outside and eat some fresh peas (see first pic), watch my tomatoes grow over 6 ft. tall, see my watermelon vines take over my yard (see third pic), watch corn on the cob appear (see second pic), and attempt to keep up with my cucumbers as they try to climb like Jack’s bean stalk into the clouds.

Peas growing inside pods

Corn on the cob

Watermelon vines

As the Kenosha Star Ambassador I was kindly asked to speak at Gateway’s Welcome Night to help the transition for students entering or returning to college. It was great to see many students show up on the evening of August 28th at the Madrigrano Auditorium in Kenosha. It was an honor to address students on different ways to be successful during their college experience.

Many activities and food were set up for students throughout the campus. Gift cards were given to lucky students and many booths were set up in the commons/cafeteria for students to learn and ask questions. Members of Gateway’s United Student Government and I took groups of students for a tour of the campus showing them places such as the student book store, student services, the library, and the computer lab. Unfortunately, our group wasn’t able to finish our tour in time because so much great information was being given to us.

Next, the students were able to choose from a number of workshops. These consisted of many different learning activities that helped answer more questions that almost all students seem to have. By attending the event the students were then entered into another drawing and two of them will win a $500 Gateway Scholarship.

I think it’s amazing how far Gateway goes to help students. It was great for me to learn things, from faculty and staff, which I didn’t even know about Gateway! Although it was a long night, I’m sure these students will have a jump start on things when they begin school soon. The only problem I found throughout the night was…I wish I would have attended an event like this before I started college!

On Tuesday, May 15^th I woke and got dressed to go to the rehearsal of one of the greatest events of my life. That day I knew I was going to make my family proud when I became a college graduate. I went to the rehearsal at 1 p.m. to test the microphones, since I was to speak at the Adult High School Graduation Ceremony and later the College Commencement. I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. I felt great and more confident than ever. I was given the honor to speak at my graduation, which was a dream of mine.

The greatness began a couple of weeks before this though, when I went out West with my two uncles to look for inspiration. I found great inspiration driving through the Rocky Mountains, visiting Crater Lake, and writing my speech for graduation while a huge pelican swooped over my head. I found out my Great-uncle Garland graduated college after the age of 70, and I couldn’t have asked for more inspiration than that.

At 3:45 p.m. I showed up at UW-Parkside with my cap and gown on and ready to speak at the Adult High School Graduation when I found out I wasn’t to wear my cap and gown. Oops! I quickly had a wardrobe change and then walked with President Albrecht and the Board of Directors to the stage to address the graduates. I had a wonderful time and was received well by the crowd. I knew I would be ready to give my speech to my fellow graduates later on that night.

So, at 6:15 p.m. (I was supposed to be there at 6 p.m. Oops again!) I arrived back at UW-Parkside and waited with hundreds of graduates in a hot and steamy hallway. I was able to chat with a few of them and then we all marched to the auditorium together. Before I knew it, it was time for me to enter the stage and speak. I was a little nervous but quickly turned the nerves into motivation. I spoke to the crowd from my heart and was even able to watch my dad lift my daughter in the air when I mentioned her name. It was truly a great moment. I returned to my seat after speaking and then waited as it was time for me to become a Gateway graduate. I waited and finally had my name called and felt blessed and accomplished as I walked proudly across the stage. After all I’ve been through in my life; it was truly amazing what I accomplished.

As the District Ambassador of Gateway, I was honored to represent our college as 1 of 16 technical colleges state-wide in Madison on April 18^th and 19^th. I wasn’t sure what to expect as my nominator, Kristin Gunia, and I drove to our state’s capital. Already being honored as the Kenosha Star Ambassador, becoming the District Ambassador brought me to a totally unfamiliar place. When we arrived at the Sheraton Hotel, where the two days of events were to take place, I quickly realized I entered the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at.

After sleeping in peace, even though I did very well miss my daughter, I woke up and was presented with a wonderful breakfast. And then one of the greatest days of my life began. First, I began meeting my 15 fellow ambassadors with ice breakers from the help of Student Life Coordinator Julie Morgan. I continued to become familiar with them through team building exercises with the help of guest presenter Jeff Messer. All 16 of us were able to work as a team to complete different tasks while learning leadership skills as well.

We then learned about public speaking skills and advocacy from Paul Gabriel from the WTCS District Boards Association. Mr. Gabriel gave us wonderful and inspirational advice that would come to use later on in the day. After a delicious lunch we then were able to learn about the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) and its history from Willa Panzer. Then each one of us gave a two minute speech, advocating for each one of our districts. As I thought it would be nerve-wrecking as many others did too, we all seemed to have done a great job representing our districts respectfully without any problems.

Now it was time to rehearse and get dressed for the main event, the Banquet sponsored by R.W. Baird & Co. After we all had a taste of what the big night would feel like, we all seemed to be a little relieved realizing there wasn’t much pressure to just tell our “story.” I got dressed up very nicely and played some music in my room to loosen up a bit. I felt honored to have Gateway Vice President Zina Haywood and Gateway Student Activities Coordinator Trina Barry both there as part of the event and to support me. Even though my family wasn’t able to attend the event, I did have Gateway Dean of Enrollment Services Stacy Riley attend the banquet and show great support as well.

The event was highlighted with speeches of each of us telling our story, and motivating messages from WTCS President Dan Clancy and R.W. Baird’s Keith Kolb. It was great to watch 15 other technical college students that have similar stories of adversity, speak with passion about how their technical college helped change their lives forever. We all received scholarships, to our surprise, and then a special award with our names engraved on them. The award was extremely heavy, and my daughter couldn’t even pick it up when I got home to show her what Dada was given, which made me proud to have such a prestigious award!

The next morning we ate breakfast, and then each of us had the honor to be filmed while speaking about what technical college means to us. We also spoke with each other and WTCS’s Sara Mackey about our new roles as district ambassadors. We all were able to discuss our thoughts and feelings on different factors and possible ways to improve the WTCS in the future. Then it was time leave to go back to Kenosha which I had mixed emotions about. The greatest thing I took away from the State Ambassador Event was learning great leadership skills, and also gaining 15 inspiring friends that I will stay in touch with while we represent the entire state of Wisconsin as a whole. I can’t think of many life changing experiences that rank above this one in my 24 years of life!