From Kenya to Hutchinson, she’s going places.
Film director comes to Building 12 Page 4
Page 6 Naomi Waithira’s journey to be successful at playing women’s soccer
Known director Blair Hayes spoke to HutchCC students about the film industry. The student voice of Hutchinson Community College
September 13, 2019
www.hutchcollegian.com
Vol. 61 Issue 1
Happily welcome the new faculty
Photos by Kenneth Ryan/The Collegian Ben Williams is the new Department 2 Co-Chair.
Cynthia is the new Department 3 Co-Chair.
‘Rapp’ing to the beat of a new drum By Emily Branson
About Cynthia Rapp:
Staff Writer
What started as an interim job position has led to a new love of education for the new Department 3 Chair, Cynthia Rapp. After a 21-year stint as the Dean of Academic Affairs at Seward County Community College, Rapp moved to Hutchinson to be closer to her grandchildren. “In August of 2016, Dr. [Cindy] Hoss called me and said she had a late resignation from a department chair and wanted to know if I would fill in and be an interim for that year,” Rapp said. “School was getting ready to start and she didn’t have anybody for Department 2, so I said ‘sure.’ I came in just to fill that job until they could find somebody, and I’m still here.” While Rapp started working at HutchCC as a Department 2 co-chair, supervising industrial courses, she has recently taken on the head chair position for Department 3. “The biggest change
Position: Department 3 Chairperson High school: Hooker High School, Hooker, Okla. Undergraduate: Emporia State Graduate: Wichita State
is just the majority of the Department 2 programs were Associates of Applied Science, or certificate degrees,” Rapp said. “Those classes and programs focus on training and going right to work. That’s the biggest difference because, in Department 3, most of those students are going after a transfer degree. We’re more focused on those transfer courses. Along with the art and the music just for pleasure, we get some of those too, but most of it is focused on the transfer.” While Rapp was supervising Department 2, she said it was interesting to learn about all of the different programs, like truck driving, welding, and automotive, that came under her supervision. “Those areas are
Upcoming events
Sept. 14 — Women’s soccer vs. Hesston College 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Sept. 14 — Football at Fort Scott 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sept. 16 — Volleyball vs. Barton 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Sept. 20 — The Kickoff - Concert Jazz Band and Badinage at B.J. Warner Recital Hall 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Sept 21 — Reno County Heart Walk 9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
important to a college because they do a real benefit to the community,” Rapp said. “They help provide a lot of employment for industries and businesses in the area. Those are critical. We need those kinds of folks to do that kind of work. There’s going to be a need for that for a long time.” Rapp has spent her entire career in the education system and says that she loves the new challenges that each day brings to the table. She enjoys learning about all aspects of the education system. “The thing I can always say I love the most is that no two days are ever the same,” Rapp said. “I like the challenge of not really knowing and being able to do all kinds of different things. It just keeps it fun and exciting.”
‘Ben’ there, done that, time for a change By Jake Brown Staff Writer
Hutchinson Community College has a new Co-Chair in the department of Ag, Business, Computers and Technology, or Department 2. Though many might not have knowledge of who Ben Williams is, they might want to start, as he has made his way up to Department 2 CoChair in only his ninth year as a tenured employee at HutchCC. Williams grew up in Logansport, Indiana, a drive that is just less than 12 hours from Hutchinson. He began his academic career at Butler Community College where he got an Associate of Arts. He then made is way to Manhattan and attended Kansas State University, where he majored in Animal Science. He wasn’t done there as he then went on to the University of Nebraska and majored in Meat Science with a minor in Muscle Biology. When asked what got him interested in agricul-
The happenings around campus
About Ben Williams: Position: Department 2 Co-Chairperson Hometown: Logansport, Indiana Undergraduate: Butler CC, Kansas State Graduate: University of Nebraska
ture, he talked about how he grew up around livestock. As a kid and through high school, he would attend 4-H Club events, county and state fairs, while also being an avid Future Farmers of America member. He would show three types of animals primarily – sheep, pigs and cattle. These experiences, he said, gave him the opportunity to participate at a community college livestock team on a scholarship. From then he went into including time at HutchCC, and from there, into judging livestock at events, something he does to this day. Williams went from instructor to a department head. How does that work? The system of promotion for the job title is initially decided by peers. After he was voted in by peers as a candidate for hire, the final deci-
Blue Dragons weekend forecast
Friday —High: 85 Low: 68 Saturday—High: 91 Low: 71 Sunday —High: 93 Low: 72
sion came from one Carter File and Cindy Hoss, the President, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs at HutchCC. Williams described what was different about being a full-time instructor from a Co-Chair simply as dealing more directly with his co-workers, and providing them the resources that they need, instead of helping students directly with those same sort of things. When asked what made him want to be a department head instead of a full-time instructor he responded with the idea that he has the, “opportunity to lead and help serve in the department while still teaching.” Williams family consists of a wife of 11 years, Corineah, and two boys, aged 7 and 5.
Inside Scoop Opinion: Page 2 -Emily Fehrman breaks down her inevitable road rage every day to classes. Campus: Page 3 - Laci Sutton showcases the Honors Program Projects Sports: - Football team’s defense looking to improve