College News

NORFOLK, NE – The Student Activities Council (SAC) at Northeast Community College knows how to throw a party and keep students entertained. The job of the members and their advisors is to ensure that students are kept busy outside the classroom while on campus through a host of events - whether it is at an athletic contest, bringing in a musician or comedian, through public service projects or spending the night watching a movie. ow, two members of the team have earned individual honors for their work while several SAC-sponsored projects and items from the past academic year have received recognition.

The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) named Carissa Kollath, director of student activities, as Midwest Region Advisor of the Year, and Victoria Gaona, Gibbon, SAC secretary, as Midwest Region Student Programmer of the Year at the association’s regional conference in Chicago recently. Both women now qualify for the same awards at the national level at APCA’s annual conference in Orlando.

This is the fifth consecutive year that Northeast Community College has won Midwest Student Programmer of the Year. In 2018, Tia Smith, Neligh, went on to earn the title of National Student Programmer of the Year.

The mission of the APCA is to promote campus engagement through quality educational experiences, affordable entertainment and community service initiatives through all levels of colleges and universities across the country. The association is divided into five regions across the country and includes both two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

At the regional conference in Chicago, Northeast was among 220 delegates from 49 four-year colleges, universities, and community colleges in attendance. Kollath and Gaona were joined by Erika Rupprecht, student activities coordinator, and eight members of the Northeast SAC and Student Leadership Association. Other students attending were Morgan Eickmeier, David City; Josh Escamilla, David City; Evelyn Frederick, Wagner, SD; Emily Hassler, Battle Creek; Andrew Smith, North Platte; Jonathan Trapp, Phillips; and Carlos Villarreal II, Rio Grande City, TX.

Also at the Chicago conference, Escamilla, Northeast SAC president, competed on-site in an
E-sports tournament throughout the conference and won 2^nd place in the Super Smash Bros. bracket.

Northeast also earned awards in several categories. SAC received awards in the t-shirt and novelty items on-site competition; SAC’s dry bags project took first place while its flip flops took second in the novelty category; the “Living My Best Life @ Northeast” tank top received second place while the ombre SAC team hoodies took third place in the t-shirt competition.  

 

                                                                              --###--

 

PHOTO IDs: Victoria Gaona (left) and Carissa Kollath.