GCC

The following is a press release from Chantal Zambito, a resident of Elba and co-coach of Elba's FIRST Lego League (see Aug. 5 article):

Calling all NXT/RCX Robotic Clubs, Groups, Teams, and Enthusiasts!

If you are between the ages of 9 and 14, you are invited to come to Genesee Community College in Batavia to participate in a friendly maze race. Whether you are a novice or an experienced user of the NXT/RCX Robotic software, this is for you.

The event will take place on Thursday, March 17, 2011 in conjunction with Tech Wars. Registration will begin at 8:45 a.m. with the events from 9:30 – 12:30.

You may decide which level you would like to compete at, novice or advanced. The three teams with the fastest times making it in and out of a maze will receive a ribbon and certificate. The best time will be taken from the group’s three trips through the maze.

Novice groups will know the route of the maze prior to the competition. The advanced teams will navigate a route chosen at random. All routes will be on an 8’ X 4’ table.

A free style, noncompetitive exhibition will also be available for teams who would like to show off a creative robot.

Information on how to get a Robotics Club started at your school or in your community will be available at the event as well. Come and look at the 2010 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge Missions, projects and presentations from local teams.

For a map of the maze, registration form, or more information about the NXT Challenge at GCC contact Chantal Zambito at gcc.robotics2011@yahoo.com. For more information about Tech Wars go to www.techwarsgcc.org.

In an effort to raise awareness about the deadly effects of binge drinking, Genesee Community College has launched the Red Watch Band campaign in conjunction with GCASA.

The Red Watch Band (RWB) campaign began as an initiative at Stony Brook University and is now a national alcohol intervention campaign. Its mission is to provide campus community members with the knowledge, awareness and skills to prevent student toxic drinking deaths and to promote a student culture of kindness, responsibility, compassion, and respect.

In June 2008, a Stony Brook University faculty member lost her son to acute alcohol overdose while he was finishing his freshman year away at college. Upon hearing this news, President Shirley Strum Kenny commissioned an education-awareness campaign on preventing drinking deaths on college campuses.

Alcohol and other drug specialists and student leaders at Stony Brook developed a comprehensive bystander intervention program offered to all students.

Genesee Community College's office of Student Activities, as well as the Health and Physical Education department have joined with GCASA to launch the Red Watch Band program that will provide students with the tools necessary to make healthier, potentially lifesaving decisions when it comes to alcohol use.

A training day for interested students will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12 in room T102.

The primary component of the program is a four-hour training session in which participants learn how to recognize alcohol emergencies and respond effectively. The training program will consist of two and half hours of CPR/AED training and one and a half hours of Alcohol Emergencies taught by Alcohol and Other Drugs Specialists. Participants will receive a free lunch during the training.

"We really want to coordinate an effort to educate our students on the perils of excessive drinking," said Cliff Scutella, director of Student Activities. "We want to inform students on what to do if someone they know has an alcohol overdose. Having this alcohol intervention training could mean the difference in someone living or dying."

For further information about the RWB campaign visit <http://www.redwatchband.org> or contact GCC's Student Activities office at 343-0055, ext. 6261.

After a quiet fall theater season, the spring season at the Genesee Center for the Arts will feature plenty of live performances due, in part, to brand-new, state-of-the-art lighting and rigging upgrades in the Stuart Steiner Theatre.

The Center for the Arts, located on the Batavia Campus of Genesee Community College, has undergone improvements totaling over $200,000, not including the adjacent art gallery that is currently in the finishing stages of construction.

Ed Hallborg, the theater's technical director, said the upgrades improve lighting quality and controls to current technical standards, and they also made safety improvements for the rigging to support both light fixtures and stage curtains.

(A video of the "behind the scenes" workings of the new equipment can be viewed at www.youtube.com/SUNYGCC <http://www.youtube.com/SUNYGCC>  under the video "Making Theater Magic.")

The rigging improvements addressed new safety and building codes, while the lighting upgrade consist of a new dimming system and a new lighting console. A new sound recording system called ProTools allows for state-of-the-art recordings for not only theater performances, but for student classroom use.

"Although many of the upgrades were certainly needed, much of the new technology is behind the scenes," Hallborg said. "Regular patrons may not even notice the improved lighting and sound equipment, but the cast and crew who work behind the curtain or up in the control room, as well as Fine Arts students, will be grateful for the new, easy-to-use, modern technologies."

Genesee's modern facilities allow for increased hands-on experience for students in the Fine Arts curriculum, specifically Technical Theater majors. Demand is high for qualified, skilled and talented technical theater professionals in communities nationwide.

Genesee graduates are ready to work in professional and community theater facilities, as television crew, special events management, musical and opera companies, major touring productions and concerts, and in the travel/cruise entertainment industries.

Technical Theater career opportunities include: stagecraft technicians; theater electricians; lighting designers/technicians; stage director and managers; sound designers/technicians; and set designers/technicians.

Students also have great transfer options to further their education with institutions such as the University of Buffalo, Buffalo State College, Ithaca College and SUNY Brockport.

For further information please contact Edward Hallborg at 343-0055, ext. 6618 or <http://ERHallborg@genesee.edu>.

For photos and updates on the events at the Genesee Center for the Arts visit the Facebook page at <http://www.facebook.com/GCCTheater>.

The Spring 2011 schedule of performing arts events at Genesee Center for the Arts includes:

• "In the Blood" by Suzan-Lori Parks -- Feb. 3, 4, and 5
• Batavia-Bayou Cultural Connection with live music from Mumbo Jumbo and LeeRon Zydeco and the Hot Tamales -- Feb. 19
• Tony Brown and the Faithful -- Feb. 25
• AElinor Oratoria-Chorale Concert -- March 6
• Stone Row -- March 12
• "Nobody Likes Mordacious" Children's Theater by Jack Stokes -- March 23, 24 and 25
• "Blood Brothers" by Willy Russell -- April 7-10

Here's the Spring 2011 new Roz Steiner Art Gallery schedule (subject to change):

The new Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery opens this spring with a GCC Fine Arts Student Show. It is scheduled for March 1 through April 5, with an opening reception from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 3. The exhibit highlights current student artwork in GCC courses on drawing, painting, photography, 2D, 3D, and ceramics.

Community members and art enthusiasts should save the date for the Roz Steiner Art Gallery Grand Opening Reception, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 15. Complete details will be available soon!

The spring semester will round out with a GCC Digital Arts Student Show from May 11 through, with an opening reception from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 12.

The Genesee Center for the Arts at Genesee Community College has announced the calendar for live performances for its 19th season at the Stuart Steiner Theatre.

Live Performances in the Stuart Steiner Theatre:

The Forum Players start the spring season with the performance of In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, a modern interpretation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, "The Scarlett Letter." The Forum Player's production is set in a post Hurricane Katrina backdrop that follows the daily trials of Hester, an illiterate, single, homeless, African-American woman who must find a way to rise above her situation and care for her five children.

Performance dates are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. onThursday, Feb. 3-5. Ticket prices are: $8 adults; $5 seniors (55+) and students and GCC faculty/staff; $3 GCC students with GCC ID; and a $2 discount for GCC alumni with GCC alumni card.

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra returns to Genesee Community College with its 64th season with two performances at the Stuart Steiner Theatre.

"Love Notes" will be performed at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13, with special guest Michael Ludwig, violin.

"GSO on Broadway" will be at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 1, featuring the GSO 2011 String Workshop Orchestra.

Ticket prices are: $12 adults; $8 seniors (62+); $5 students (18 & under or GCC students with a valid ID); or $30 per family (parent plus children 12 & under) and are available at the following locations:

Hi-Tek Graphics in Oakfield; Bank of Castile in LeRoy; Roxy's Music Store; GO ART!; The Enchanted Florist; and the Box Office at Genesee Community College in Batavia. Tickets are also available at the door one hour prior to the performance at the Stuart Steiner Theatre.

Two acts of musical talent and originality will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25. Tony Brown and the Faithful, with opening act Swati.

Tony Brown is a former member of Upstate NY's infamous Ozone, now touring with his band the Faithful -- a gathering of experienced, eclectic musicians hailing from around the globe. Brown's soulful, powerful voice, along with the acoustic world vibe that his band mates bring, creates a sound that mixes blues, folk and alternative rock.

Opening act Swati, a NYC native who began her musical career in the classical world, plays a 12-string guitar that has been fitted with eight. Ticket prices are: $12 adults; $10 seniors (55+); $5 students (18-) and GCC faculty/staff; $3 GCC students with GCC ID; and a $2 discount for GCC alumni with GCC alumni card.

A concert by the Genesee Chorale and Chorale Orchestra, "AElinor, the Oratorio," is also scheduled this spring at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 at the Stuart Steiner Theatre. Words and music by Ann Reid, and conducted by Ric Jones with the Genesee Chorale and the Chorale Orchestra.

This concert storyline takes place in 1147, AElinor, Countess of Poitou, Duchess of Aquitaine, and Queen of the Franks leads a band of women on the Second Crusade. In so doing, she learns about earthly love and her marriage to Louis VII, King of the Franks, is annulled. She runs off with Henry Plantagenet, a penniless lord. Six months later, the penniless lord becomes Henry II, King of England.

Developed in the Lehman Engel Workshop, Los Angeles, this project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Ticket prices are: $10 adults; $8 for seniors (62+) and students (18-); $5 GCC student with GCC ID; and $18 family (parent plus children under 17). Tickets are available at the Box Office at Genesee Community College, GO ART! in Batavia, and from all Chorale members.

The Fine and Performing Arts committee is pleased to have Stone Row returning to the Stuart Steiner Theatre for one performance at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 12. Stone Row is a fusion of Celtic, folk, country and rock that combines the local talent of four dynamically versatile musicians. Each band member brings a whole new spin with diversified attitudes and styles.

Ticket prices are: $10 adults; $8 seniors (55+); $5 students (18-) and GCC faculty/staff; $3 GCC students with GCC ID; and a $2 discount for GCC alumni with GCC alumni card.

The Genesee Center for the Arts continues its commitment to introducing performing art to children, families, and schools throughout the Western New York area with Nobody Likes Mordacious (And That's How He Likes It), a stage fantasy by veteran children's theatre playwright Jack Stokes.

The Forum Players and local grammar-school students present the audience with a girl who needs to rescue her parents from the stratagems of a very wicked fellow. On an epic quest laced with humor, she encounters genies, shadows, monsters, and pirates, and enlists the aid of a witch-fighting guide in order to restore her family.

Not everyone can be redeemed; sometimes evil is just plain evil; as always, bullies of any stripe must be confronted. These are just a few of the things Orafu learns on her quest. This show is appropriate for any audience, particularly elementary and junior-high students.

Performance dates are scheduled for Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24, by invitation only, and there will be one public performance at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 25. Ticket prices are: $8 adults; $5 seniors (55+), students, and GCC faculty/staff; and $3 GCC students with GCC ID.

The last live performance at the Stuart Steiner Theatre this spring is Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, performed by the Forum Players. Blood Brothers is one of the longest-running musicals in London theatre, with the 1988 West End production still running.

It is a musical that has a contemporary nature vs. nurture plot, revolving around fraternal twins who were separated at birth. The twins' different backgrounds take them to opposite ends of the social spectrum, leading up to a tragic ending.

Performance dates are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7 through Saturday, April 9. A matinee is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Ticket prices are: $8 adults; $5 seniors (55+), students, and GCC faculty/staff; $3 GCC students with GCC ID; and a $2 discount for GCC alumni with GCC Alumni card.

For more ticket information or reservations, contact the Genesee Center for the Arts Box Office at 585/343-6814 or by email at <http://boxoffice@genesee.edu>. All seating is general admission.

The Genesee Center for the Arts Box Office accepts cash and checks only, credit cards are not accepted. For door-to-door directions, sent via email, visit http://www.genesee.edu/

Earlier this month, recruits at the Rural Police Training Academy at Genesee Community College took the plunge into the icy waters at Hamburg Beach on Lake Erie.

The current class in the 22nd Basic Course for Police participated in the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Polar Plunge on Dec. 4. All 24 recruits attended and 17 of them actually braved the 40 degree waters of Lake Erie for the cause.

They generated more than $1,000 in donations, coming in 24th place out of 89 competing teams in this annual event.

"This was a total volunteer event and I appreciate the hard work of this class for a great cause," said Douglas Brooks, director of GC's Rural Police Training Academy Brooks.

The event generates funds and raises awareness to benefit the Special Olympics, with similar events occurring throughout the year at locations across the country.

"It is a very unique way of not only raising funds for a great cause, but also building camaraderie among the recruits," Brooks said.

Genesee Community College along with the Genesee County Career Center will host a workshop titled "Adults in Career Transition: Are You a Purple Squirrel?" on Thursday, Dec. 2. It will be held at the Batavia Campus  from 5 to 7 p.m. in T119. This event is free and open to the public.

"Purple Squirrel" is a human resource term for the elusive candidate, with exactly the right qualifications and experience, to match an employer's need. The term is synonymous with "ideal candidate."

The Adults in Career Transition workshop will focus on introducing transition skills and career opportunities for adults returning to the workforce or attending college. Guest speakers include John McGowan, Career Services coordinator at Genesee Community College and Veronica Frost, senior employment and training counselor at the Genesee County Career Center.

"We want to encourage adults of all ages and skill sets to come to this workshop," McGowan said. "Employers are now looking for the ideal candidate and we want to inform adults transitioning back in to the workplace on how they can be that 'purple squirrel.'"

Interested participants should RSVP to the Adults in Career Transition workshop by calling the GCC Career Services Office at 345-6888, by e-mailing slburns@genesee.edu or registering online at <http://www.genesee.edu/career/events >.

Genesee Community College will present the third segment in the Wealth and Poverty Around the World cultural series on Thursday, Dec. 9.

Sonja Livingston, award-winning author of "Ghostbread," will discuss her memoir and highlight childhood poverty in Western New York.

The presentation and discussion will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in T102 at the Batavia campus. This event is free and open to the public. After the discussion, Sonja will be available to sign books (outside of T102) and the GCC Barnes and Noble bookstore will have her book available for purchase.

"Ghostbread" uses a poetic approach to chronicle a childhood stricken with poverty in Western New York. Ghostbread has won an AWP Book Award and it was named a book of the year by "ForeWord" magazine.

One of seven children brought up by a single mother, Livingston moved from an old farming town to an Indian reservation to a dead-end urban neighborhood. She and her siblings followed their nonconformist mother from one ramshackle house to another on the perpetual search for something better.

Along the way, the young Sonja observes the harsh realities her family encounters, as well as small moments of transcendent beauty that somehow keep them going. While struggling to make sense of her world, Livingston perceives the stresses and patterns that keep children--girls in particular--trapped in the cycle of poverty. (www.Sonjalivingston.com)

"Ghostbread" is being featured in Human Services Field Experience classes at Genesee, under the instruction of Connie Boyd.

"'Ghostbread' is an excellent memoir that provides Human Services students with a firsthand account of what it is like to grow up in poverty in our area," said Connie Boyd, director of Human Services at Genesee.

"After reading the poetic novel, students will be doing a reflective paper, and having the opportunity to speak with the author will help our students gain knowledge and understanding in the Human Services field."

Livingston has earned a NYFA Fellowship, an Iowa Award, and Pushcart Prize nomination for her nonfiction writing. Her work has appeared in several textbooks on writing, as well as many journals, including "The Iowa Review," "Spoon River Poetry Review," "Alaska Quarterly Review," "AGNI" and others.

She holds a master's degree in education from SUNY Brockport and a master of fine arts degree from the University of New Orleans. She also teaches in UCLA Extension's Creative Writing Program. Livingston is an elementary school counselor in Rochester, where she lives with her husband, artist Jim Mott.

For further information, please contact Nina Mortellaro at Genesee Community College at 343-0055, ext. 6228 or nimortellaro@genesee.edu.

On Thursday evening, the Christian Students United group of GCC teamed up with Care-A-Van Ministries on their monthly visit to the GCC dorms. The students with Care-A-Van volunteers knocked on all 95 dorm rooms to offer treats, prayer, encouragement and an invitation to share of the group's activities that take place on campus. The Care-A-Van volunteers are made up of many indivduals from many local churches. It was an awesome evening. Many of the rooms asked for prayer.  The students look forward to the monthly visits and especially the treats and prayers that are offered.

A roomful of girls had a spider in their bathroom that they needed killed, here is Joe from the GCC soccer team  who is member of the Christian Students United group coming to the rescue.

All the volunteers gathered  on the Care-A-van bus for closing prayer when done.

Paul Ohlson, Founder of Care-A-Van prays for the students and gives thanks to the Lord for another great night out with the ministry.

With the wealth of growing international programs at Genesee Community College, a Study Abroad Open House for interested students is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 18.

The Open House will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union (S104), with 30-minute information sessions about each trip. Faculty representatives will be available to provide information on each program as well as registration materials.

A general information session will take place from 12:30-2:00 p.m. for students interested in learning about all of the study abroad/away opportunities.

Genesee now offers seven study abroad/away programs for students. All led by Genesee faculty, programs include Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, The Netherlands, Ireland, Croatia, Australia, and New York City study away.

In addition, information regarding potential summer internships in Toronto and Brazil will be available.

"This is the perfect opportunity for any student interested in a study abroad program to come and talk to the faculty about their specific program," Robert Frail, International Programs specialist at Genesee said. "We have such a variety of programs, that any student will be able to find a study abroad/study away program that will suit his or her interest."

For further information please contact Robert Frail, International Programs specialist at 585-343-0055, ext. 6456 or rjfrail@genesee.edu.

Finding a government job in this tough economy may be a little easier with the help of the Genesee Community College Career Services Center. It will host a Government Job Search workshop from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 11 in B307.

It is sponsored by the GCC Career Services Center and Wellness Center and is free and open to the public.

Attendees will learn how to: conduct a focused federal job search; read and understand the GS (general schedule); decipher the verbiage included in job postings and what to look for when evaluating job announcements.

In addition, the workshop will cover the importance of aligning skills with the KSA (knowledge, skills and abilities) and the federal resume, plus free resources that are available to assist in the federal job search, beginning with www.usajobs.gov <http://www.usajobs.gov>, and information on federal internships that can lead to a permanent career with the federal government.

Guest presenter for the workshop is Sharitta Gross, a program coordinator in the Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is also an adjunct professor at Monroe Community College, teaching remedial English, and has coordinated and facilitated career development workshops within the Rochester community.

She is a Certified Federal Career Counselor (CFCC) and Certified Job Search Trainer (CFJST). Over the past two years she developed a cross-campus initiative to educate RIT students and alumni, as well as faculty/staff on the federal job process. Along these same lines, she coordinates RIT's annual Federal and Public Service Career Fair and other on-campus federal sector employer related events.

"This workshop should be very informative to students and community members who are seeking a government job," said John McGowan, director of the Career Services Center at Genesee.

"Federal government jobs can be fairly complicated to acquire, but have many benefits to them. This workshop will hopefully take the uncertainty out of applying for and attaining a government job."

All community members are encouraged to attend this job-search event including current students, or soon-to-be college graduates, community members in a career transition, or seeking a career change, veterans seeking to leverage their military experience by obtaining a federal job and/or recently unemployed members of the community.

To register: stop by the Career Services Office at Batavia Main Campus: B201, call 345-6888, email: slburns@genesee.edu or register on-line: www.genesee.edu/career/events.