Category Archives: A&M

All Aboard for Prague!

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The Career Development Office has been given an opportunity to host a course, and guess what, it’s a study abroad leadership course to Prague, Czech Republic! It’s going to be focused on career development, your own career choices, and how those fit in the global workplace. Everyone who will take part in this amazing opportunity will travel to five industrial sites in Prague where everyone involved will talk with the leadership and human resources teams. Students will also be connecting with Prague college students who will be sharing how they get jobs there. Similarly, A&M students will share how they can get jobs in America. “I am hoping the students that go with us will return back for an internship or a study abroad course over there,” says Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development. She also “hopes it opens up the world a little bit more to students and lets them see how they fit into that global workplace with everything they’re learning right here at A&M-Texarkana.” So if you’re curious and interested in traveling to Prague, Czech Republic make sure to stop by our Career Development Office with any questions you may have.

Closed Mic; Open Hearts — Poetry in Performance

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The ENG450 Studies in Genre: Poetry cohort is hosting a spoken word event on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to attend a closed-mic poetry recitation that will take place in Eagle Hall from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

The event is sponsored by The Red River Innovation Lab for the Humanities and is organized by Dr. Jaime Cantrell, Assistant Professor of English at Texas A&M Texarkana.

Attendees can expect to hear passionate, inspiring, and thrilling renditions of poetry ranging from well-loved classics by Edgar Allan Poe and William Blake, as well as contemporary poets including Dudley Randall, Carol Ann Duffy, and Sharon Olds.

Dr. Jaime Cantrell

In addition to student performances, our Dean of the College Arts, Sciences, and Education, Dr. Del Doughty, has agreed to share a few of his favorite Shakespearean sonnets.

Ana Bourgeois, an undergraduate dual-majoring in English and History said, “Poetry has a long reach and this event is a unique showcase of that variety. My classmates and I have chosen surprising and powerful pieces that crack open the universality of sex, death, faith and in one case: a dang good book. Dr. Cantrell has used this class to explore the wide accessibility of meaning in poetry and I hope our performances reflect that.”

Click the Play button below to hear Dr. Cantrell’s message for Eagle Eye readers:

Training a Better Workforce

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Photo by Allison Hall

Looking for a way to start your career in the industrial workforce? You’re in the right place! On November 27, 2018, Texarkana College (TC) took a large step toward engaging the community in the workforce world of Texarkana. The local community college, using mostly in-house production, built a new industrial workforce building designed to nurture the future careers of high school students, and prospecting and employed industrial workers.

Photo by Allison Hall

They opened the building Tuesday at around noon under the title ‘Betty & Buddy Ledwell Workforce Training Center’ and TC has equipped the facility with loads of technical supplies to help train people who are looking for this type of career. A large portion of the community showed up to witness the unveiling and to show their support.

 

Photo by Allison Hall

This center is hoping to jump on the expected economic growth here in Texarkana. A growing workforce means a growing rate of employment and Texarkana College is predicting to certify more students in this type of program over the next few semesters than ever before. Maybe it’s’ for this reason that the center decided to use local stories to design the building that and Ledwell’s massive record for employment in this town. They have coated atrium entrance in the story of Mr. Buddy Ledwell, a local manufacturer, and the blueprints he created as a young man studying. They want to establish a good sense of work ethic in anyone who enters the doors and have their students leaving having a rich array of skills in their field.

Photo by Allison Hall

According to the above linked TC article, the program currently has more than 670 workforce students: near 100 of them being enrolled in Industrial Maintenance or Construction Technology. They are expecting growth in program participation, especially with the mention of classes being held during the day and evenings to provide a nice window for any situation, whether that person be employed or not.

Photo by Allison Hall

The goal is to promote enthusiasm and prosperity for this type of skill. An already certified welder, for example, might be more likely to gain a job than one who needs training. Our very own Dr. Cutrer is even working diligently to help these students prosper along their academic careers. Texas A&M – Texarkana and Texarkana College are working together to ensure that students who are attaining their two-year degree at TC, and wanting to further their education, can have a smooth transition to a four-year university, like TAMU-T.

Enrollment for spring of 2019 is currently open for Texarkana College and Texas A&M – University. To learn more about these course and programs, visit or call Enrollment Services at TC to set up an appointment. You can also visit the TC website, www.texarkanacollege.edu, to discover more opportunities.

From Grand Opening to Really Open

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Texas A&M University – Texarkana students are excited about the Patterson Student Center. This new student center will be a great addition to student life, providing students opportunity to engage with others. The facility includes a full size basketball court, weight room, Starbucks café, multi-purpose classrooms, and offices for coaches and staff.

The grand opening for the student center was October 4th. Texas A&M Chancellor Sharp attended the event, speaking to an excited crowd. Sharp expressed great thanks to Cari Patterson, who made sure budget cuts, which would have postponed the addition of the new facility were not made to A&M – Texarkana after a visit with Governor Abbott.

However, the new student center was still not open for students’ use until now, while the university was still in the process of getting a permit to allow use of the new center.

The state-of-the-art facility will provide new opportunities for students.  Athletes are excited about the new weight room and fitness center, and other students are ready to use the full-size basketball court. While many are excited about the athletic equipment, some are excited about the comraderie provided by a Starbucks and a lounge area for students to get together. Having a Starbucks on campus will be convenient for students and staff in a morning rush and do not have time to stop for coffee.

The first big event held at the Patterson Student Center will be the Fall 2018 commencement ceremony, on December 14th.

The new student center is a symbol of growth for the University. The grand opening of the student center was a groundbreaking moment for the university. It is the first building dedicated strictly to student life on the campus. It will provide students a place to stay on campus but get away from the stress of school. Not only will it be good for students, the student will play a key role in recruiting future students when giving tours. This is just one step for A&M-Texarkana, as the campus continues to grow. The University is excited for now about the newest addition to campus. However, it is important to continue to develop the campus and look forward to future advancements.

Need Help With Your Resume?

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The Career Development office here on campus is truly an exciting educational office that educates and teaches students how to get a job. Not only after graduating from college, but through your whole work career. Career Development also teaches students how to conduct themselves around potential employers, professional development, and how to find jobs. So there are many benefits when getting help with your resume on campus. It is accessible to all students and the staff are always here for you. So are there any tips when it comes to creating your resume? Here’s what I found. “One size does not fit all,” Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development said. “What I mean is that one resume is not good for every job you apply to. Every resume needs to be fine-tuned and tweaked so that it shows relevance to the job that you are applying for, and that’s the one thing that’s sometimes difficult to think about is I need to tweak this resume each and every time.” Similarly, when it comes to students who have little to no work experience there’s a way to work things into your resume. “You have skills that you gained co-curricular, or volunteer out in your community so there are skills set that you’re learning,” Boitnott said. “Maybe you have a leadership role in a fraternity or sorority or student organization, those are good skills that transfer into the workplace. So we just look at what you have done maybe volunteering and not actual pay work.”

In addition to this, anytime a student can show that they’re not only going to school but also work and are active on campus are things employers look at. “They want to be sure that you are well rounded and not just a 4.0 academia and that you’re an excellent student,” Boitnott said. “That’s definitely positive but they also want to know maybe you don’t have much of a GPA but that you are very involved.” Equally important is that a student should at least keep their GPA at a 3.0 since although some of the industries that you go into aren’t going to put as much weight on your GPA , it’s a nice average to have.

Finally, The Career Development are able to help students a lot when it comes to the various workshops offered here on campus. “We will have opportunities where we will invite employers to come in and network with you to teach you how to talk to and approach them, and then when we have the career fairs you’re ready,” Boitnott said. “We’re gonna have a career closet that’ll teach you how to put together a professional interview wardrobe so that when you go to that interview you’re dressed in a way companies and businesses would expect you.” The Career Development staff also goes into classrooms to work with students more one on one to try to create awareness on campus of who they are, and they’re truly remarkable staff. “The Career Development Office at A&M-Texarkana staff wants you to be successful, and the staff wants to help you be successful,” Tina Boitnott said. “We’re not scary, and we’re not intimidating and you don’t know what you don’t know. So why not come in a safe place, learn and get educated on how to do this in a place where people care about you.”

Wanna Study Abroad? Here Are Some Things You Need To Know.

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Jennifer Felps, Director of International Studies. Photo by Cambresha Knight.

Do you want to travel to other countries, try new foods, and embrace the culture you are living in? Get ready for A&M-Texarkana offers a lifetime opportunity. Our university offers a variety of short term and long term for students looking to study abroad. For short-term programs, these components range from one week to three weeks however, for the long-term program, A&M partners with some study-abroad providers, such as (CIEE), who offer programs where A&M students can enroll as a full-time student and take classes abroad for a full semester. If there is an internship option in the student degree plan, the university will allow the student to pursue an internship study abroad. Within the study abroad preparation, the university will ensure that the internship options prepared is directly related to the student’s career field. For example, a Mass Communication student may be engaged in local news stations, local radio stations, or some type of company marketing. History student may work in an art gallery or as a tourist guide in a museum. “It is very important for our students here at A&M-Texarkana to be ready for the global society that they are going to enter, and we offer such opportunities here on campus,” says Jennifer Felps Director of International Studies. Ms. Felps also went on to say that “We have international faculty, international students, we celebrate international education week but for a student to actually receive academic credit and go abroad and experience that culture it can open their world.”

So what are the requirements to meet before studying abroad? What should a student do if they are interested in the campus study abroad program? “The program has to count towards a student’s degree plan and the student must have at least a 2.5 GPA,” Jennifer Felps said. Ms Felps continued by saying that “If a student is interested in going abroad, they should stop by the International Studies office. We can begin the process discussing what their major is, what their favorite location might be for them to study abroad, and then how we can find a program that would fit into their degree plan.”

International students from the Education University of Hong Kong. Photo by Jennifer Felps.

Felps also had a fun experience meeting international students from Hong Kong two summers ago at A&M-Texarkana. “We had a group of doctoral and master students come from the Education University of Hong Kong to A&M-Texarkana,” Felps smiled showing the photo that was taken that day. “This is a picture of our Hong Kong students at State Line. We did a cultural excursion with the students and also held an education workshop that was put on by our educational faculty here at A&M-Texarkana. All of these students were pursuing masters and doctorates in education and so they were able to come to A&M-Texarkana for a short-term program straight from Hong Kong. They visited UT Tyler and then our university to learn more about the educational aspect that we pursue here at A&M-Texarkana.”

So take a little courage, prepare yourself and go out there. “If you are fearsome or worried, come talk to me. I’ll put your mind at ease about things but just understand that you do not need to be scared to experience a new culture, the best way to break the walls around you is to be confident in the life you are trying to pursue” as Felps would say. Thank you for reading. Stay safe and have fun.

Are You TRIO Ready?

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Hello A&M students! I would like to inform you all of TRIO upcoming applications for next semester. TRIO is a grant program, that has been in place for four years, which helps students with academic and financial interests and is on their five-year grant cycle program. TRIO also organizes a variety of workshops for its members in a variety of ways, such as financial literacy, stress management, testing anxiety, workshops over transferring to graduate school, study abroad and many more. TRIO also offers services and benefits to low-income students, first-generation students, and students with documented disabilities. There are also academic coaching, online tutoring for TRIO members, a computer lab with free printing, and helpful staff. As you can see there are many benefits when it comes to being apart of TRIO, such as professional development and scholarship opportunities. “I would like students to know that TRIO works and we have lots of opportunities and services for our students to be successful in their academic career” says Brittany Barnett.

There will also be a lot of exciting things in TRIO next semester. In February, TRIO will be inviting a renowned guest to speak at the Literacy Workshop. Her name is Ja’Net Adams. “She’s going to bring a lot of good information about financial literacy, and how she overcame hers in a short amount of time that she accrued in college,” Barnett said. “We hope to have her book that she has available and to have everyone meet her. All of our TRIO participants are invited to come, see and hear this wonderful lady that is going to help everyone overcome financial barriers.” Ja’Net Adams also owns a company called Debt Sucks University. Click here to check it out.

Do not forget everyone. Please mark your calendar for the next semester. It will be here before you know! “I’ve been here since May 16th of 2016. It’s been a really good experience,” Dustin Nix said. “Please come see us anytime, even if you’re not a TRIO student, we’re here to help.”

Photo taken by Cambresha Knight.

Lightly Fried Green Tomatoes

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The attention to film detail is ever-expanding, and the emphasis on societal traumas touched upon in film is larger now than it has ever been, particularly in terms of race and gender studies. Many films over the last few centuries host a variety of equivocal themes and questionable content, and even alarming, by today’s standards. To address such a field of study, Texas A&M University – Texarkana’s Dr. Drew Morton, alongside Rachel Stonecipher and Dr. Jaime Cantrell, hosted a screening of Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes (1991).

As it turns out, this film adaptation deviates far from its original, textual source. According to Dr. Cantrell, the lesbian relationship between Idgie and Ruth and the depth of the African-American characters drive the plot of the book. The film mostly utilizes the murder case. This analysis reveals the tendency of Hollywood to create false scenarios and make adaptations that appeal to its audiences mindset, rather than explicitly reveal contexts. For example, as both Rachel Stonecipher and Dr. Cantrell discussed, the film uses nuances, such as the kitchen food fight between Idgie and Ruth, to suggest a lesbian relationship. The book makes known that the girls have romantic feelings toward one another.

This restraint can also be seen in relation to the African-American characters of the film. The book creates more depth and pulls from historical occurrences to create a more realistic scenario for the people of Whistlestop. The film deems the characters as simple people devoted entirely to helping their white counterparts. Big George being whipped by Georgian KKK members and, instead of crying for his own life, insisting that Idgie return indoors for her protection shows this. In this way, the film creators have managed to create a perfect fantasy land for viewers. There is no tension between African-American and Caucasian people.

Photo by Allison Hall

In the same regard, the lesbian relationship between Ruth and Idgie is also accepted in the text. However, the film adopts a certain amount of ambiguity that allows the viewer to decide whether this relationship actually exists. If the viewer decides that Ruth and Idgie are just good friends, then there is nothing controversial present and the story becomes a less dense, more feel-good scenario.

The film is a great example of Hollywood symbolism and strategic ambiguity that offers different contexts to a variety of audiences. A viewer today might read the scenarios differently than someone watching it in 1991, just as a twenty-year old will see something different from what a fifty-year old might. In the end, the lecture was an attempt to strike up a conversation about these types of Hollywood effects and to provide a specific situation in which this happens.

For more information, contact Dr. Drew Morton at dmorton@tamut.edu, Dr. Jamie Cantrell at jcantrell@tamut.edu, or Rachel Stonecipher at rstonecipher@tamut.edu.  

GI-yeS!

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You’re an undergraduate history major with large amounts of data about crime statistics in various locations across the United States over time. To a criminology student, this might be a gold mine, full of relative research material for their next paper. For you, it’s just numbers. But Dr. Andrew McGregor says GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can change that.

Photo by Allison Hall

On Wednesday, November 14, Dr. McGregor, Dr. Drew Morton, and Dr. Doug Julien hosted a four-hour open house in the Red River Innovation Lab for Humanities to celebrate GIS day. He started with an overview of definitions and ended with a hands on session, showing students and professors ways to use the mapping software. The goal was to show how this technology is useful in all fields of study.

GIS is a type of mapping systems that uses GPS signaling to help you plot specific coordination. Sounds ancient. But actually, it’s all digital now and it can get complicated. However, Dr. McGregor kept it simple, explaining how GIS can help people of all disciplines map data over both time and space. Mapping is no longer thought of as only useful to Geography professionals. Humanities academics have potential here. Dr. Morton, head of the Red River Innovation Lab, was also present and showed a very interesting piece from the online Journal [In]Transition. It was a video made to show the current geography of locations used in older Western films. With this type of use, GIS can reveal interesting things about the developing and changing technique and design of filmmakers. It’s a way for easy comparison.

You, as a history major, can use this technology to take that data about crime trends, map them, and compare them to other mapped data regarding things such as economy, redlining, slavery and more to discover that American crime trends are in fact a result of historical events across the nation. Admittedly, this example is self-explanatory, but it’s an easy way to develop a clear picture about the functions of these systems. It’s also a topic repeatedly addresses during the event.

Photo by Allison Hall

An interesting point brought up is the fact that maps only show data. They don’t necessarily make any arguments. That’s up to the viewer. The purpose of GIS mapping is for the user to devise and develop a question, argument or idea and present it in a way that is practical and stimulating in a visual way. The map is for you to make a point with in a way that’s different from a research paper or a graph.

This is a way for different disciplines to network among one another. This is not a one person job nor does it create a singular study. You need researchers to gather data, interpreters for that data, coders, mappers and so on. This gives fields such as history a reason to work together both within and outside of their field.

Photo by Allison Hall

Dr. Doug Julien, not having the statistics and code driven background needed for certain aspects of GIS mapping from scratch, introduced a user-friendly website, EJScreen. This website presents already gathered data in map form for people to reference. It presents an opportunity to clarify and verify previous thoughts as well as a way to formulate new questions based on such data. In other words, it is a lead in to formulate questions that you might build your own map to answer. He uses this to track both historical and modern-day racism and the evidence found in current living conditions. He is able to show how things such as redlining has put minority citizens in an almost permanent area in locations within Texarkana.

Aside from Dr. Julien’s introduction into EJScreen, Dr. MgGregor offered other online mapping tools where you can apply your own data to create your own very specific maps, such as ESRI Story Maps, Google Earth Pro., Google My Maps, and Carto. He took us through each of these sites, some offering different features than others, but all seeming very easy to navigate in an organized way. They all offer a visual option for large amounts of data that might not make sense mentally in the same way.

To find out more about Geographic Information Systems, you can contact Dr. McGregor at amcgregor@tamut.edu.

When Life Gets Tough

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Have you ever found yourself looking at your life or the situations you are in and just wonder: How did I even get here? Life as a young adult in college has a major tendency to get complicated. Even that sentence is probably a huge understatement! It seems even when one problem clears up, another appears. However, remember that every student experiences this, without exception. Below you’ll find some simple mental fixes to help you get through the day.

Take a deep breath! I have found that once I feel just slightly overwhelmed it is all downhill from there. I sometimes feel like completing everything in front of me is going to be impossible or fear that I won’t be able to get it all done, but when I just take a deep breath I calm down enough to move on to the next step.

Slow down! You know that old saying, slow and steady wins the race? It most definitely applies to college life. For me, working two jobs, taking a full load of classes, navigating a healthy relationship, as well as all the extraneous parts of life makes me feel like I just have to get done with everything as fast as possible. In turn, I only feel even more behind, so I take a deep breath and then slow down. Slowing down more often than not looks like dealing only with what is directly in front of me. Everything else I just put out of my mind until I’ve accomplished what’s necessary for the day I’m immersed in.

Next, be grateful. To be honest, this is most often the most difficult part of being a college student. My husband is out of school and I see how much freedom he has with his time and how little stress he carries around and I find myself very jealous of his situation. But then I remember how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned both from my classes and my life experience during this phrase of life. I remember how few people are given the opportunity to pursue a college career and how people fought for the right for all people to be able to attend college. That perspective truly humbles me so gratitude can find its way in.

So no matter where you are in this college life or what you’re facing this semester, I hope these steps help. I hope you know you’re not alone. Most of all, I hope you’re encouraged to continue working towards graduation day and completion of your degree!