Organizers have planned several activities throughout November to commemorate Veterans Day and honor the service that veterans have done for our country.
The Central Park, Preston Ridge and Spring Creek campuses will again hold a donation drive for Blue Star Mothers. Donate at any Veterans Resource Center or Student Life Office at CPC, PRC or SCC.
Student Engagement, faculty and The Honors Institute will offer “Letter to Veterans” and “Flags in the Quad.” The “Letters to Veterans” program is designed to support deployed troops with encouragement. The college will have stationary and Honors Institute professors and students will be on hand to help. https://www.operationgratitude.com/writeletters/
Central Park Campus will host a barbecue with Judge Keith Self, starting at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 9.
Committees at Preston Ridge Campus and Spring Creek Campus decided that, in lieu of a large barbecue, smaller events in the campus Veterans Resource Centers could serve multiple purposes. There will be short presentations on career advising, completing baccalaureate degrees and advancing to graduate school.
The Preston Ridge Campus events to be held in the Veterans Resource Center, F141 include:
- Monday, Nov. 6, noon-1:30 p.m. – Lunch and Learn in the PRC Career Center. Firehouse Subs will be served.
- Tuesday, Nov. 7, 9-11 a.m. – Michael Murphy, Collin College and Columbia University graduate, speaking about degree completion, transfer and Ivy League school applications for veterans. Breakfast tacos, coffee and orange juice will be served.
- Wednesday, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m. – Lessons from the Front: Vietnam Veteran Bruce Sweatmon. Donuts and coffee will be served.
- Thursday, Nov. 9, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. – Commemorative barbecue and Wall of Honor presentation at Preston Ridge Campus. Barbecue will be served.
The Spring Creek Campus events to be held in the Veterans Resource Center, G200, include:
- Monday, Nov. 6, noon-1:30 p.m. – Lunch and Learn in the SCC Career Center. Firehouse Subs will be served.
- Tuesday, Nov. 7, 9-11 a.m. – Breakfast tacos, coffee and orange juice will be served.
- Wednesday, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m. – Donuts, pastries, muffins, fresh fruit and coffee from McAlisters Deli will be served.
- Thursday, Nov. 9, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. – Fuddruckers lunch will be served.
The college’s annual All Services Military Appreciation Ball is planned from 6:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11 in the Preston Ridge Campus Conference Center. Attendees will enjoy free dinner, a guest speaker and the opportunity to dance to live music. Formal attire is required (military dress, if appropriate; dark suits and formal gowns for all attendees). Advanced tickets are required.
In addition to the activities described above, Preston Ridge Campus has expanded on its veteran-centered exhibitions. A photo exhibition, Tango Bravo: A Veterans Photographic Exhibition, is on display in the campus library. This year, however, several faculty have also agreed to put together student projects in their classes to honor our nation’s service members. Once students complete the projects in class, another component of the assignment will be display on campus.
In addition to the work produced by the arts department, students will display research from economics classes that studied the cost of war, government class projects which researched laws that impact veterans, Spanish class displays on pathways to citizenship through military service and English class projects on a veteran-themed approach to teaching poetry. Speech classes will present on the Veterans Oral History Project with the National Archives. Biology and chemistry classes will display research projects on the impact of medicine on battlefield injuries and chemical warfare.
Submission by Meredith Martin, interim associate dean, Preston Ridge Campus