Students in the FCC Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism Institute (HCTI) recently prepared 120 meals that were donated to healthcare workers and those in need.

As part of their capstone learning experience, HCTI students operate 200 Monroe, an FCC restaurant that offers gourmet meals to the public one night a week each semester. For the last week of dinner service this semester, students decided to donate the meals they prepared to healthcare workers at Frederick Health and to the Frederick Community Action Agency, which feeds those in need, to show their gratitude for the work the two organizations have done to help our community during the current pandemic.

Students prepared the four different entrees that were available throughout the semester – flank steak, shrimp crab cake, cheese and Swiss chard cannelloni, and roast chicken – as well as dessert and drinks.

The Frederick News-Post and WDVM interviewed students and HCTI Manager Elizabeth DeRose while they prepared the food.

DeRose told the Frederick News-Post, “With so much in the news about food insecurity and so many people being impacted by the COVID crisis, being out of work, and how hard our health care workers are working around the clock, we thought what a great way for the students to give back to the community using their talents and skills.”

To read the full Frederick News-Post article, click here.

To watch the WDVM story, click here.

A group of FCC students and employees recently made and donated protective masks for Citizens Nursing Home and Frederick Health, as part of an outreach organized by the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek.
 
The FCC volunteers included student Pam Rifenberg, vice president of the Student Government Association; and employees Whitney Jones, academic testing assistant; Elizabeth Newdom, adjunct English professor; Carla Milan, internship & apprenticeship coordinator; Cynthia Pace, coordinator for Emergency Management; Deborah Powell, executive director for the Office of Institutional Advancement and the FCC Foundation; and Anne Scholl-Fiedler, coordinator of Career Services.
 
 

The Hospitality, Culinary and Tourism Institute (HCTI) at FCC is working with a local composting company to reduce landfill waste. Through the new collaboration with Key City Compost, food waste from the culinary teaching and restaurant kitchens at the Monroe Center will be added to a composting system to create soil conditioner instead of being sent to a landfill.

As the HCTI students generate compostable waste, Key City will weigh every container collected in order to track the sustainability impact. 

“We have been exploring ways to incorporate environmental sustainability practices into our curriculum for the Hospitality, Culinary and Tourism Institute,” said Elizabeth DeRose, Institute Manager. “Food composting is a natural one for us given the food scraps and trim our program generates between our culinary lab courses and 200 Monroe Restaurant. We’re excited to do our part to reduce landfill waste.”
 

FCC students in the Culinary II course finished up their semester by cooking meals that were donated to the food bank at the Frederick Community Action Agency in downtown Frederick.

Each student prepared his or her own platter of food, which presented a composed dish of protein, starch, and vegetable ingredients with proper use of techniques, seasonings, and nutritional balance.

The project provided a unique learning opportunity for students while also supporting the needs of our community members.

“When my chef proposed it I thought it was such a creative idea,” said culinary student Julia Matifas. “Being able to take food that would have otherwise gone to waste and give it to those who need it the most is a really gratifying experience.”

Mary Evans, instructor for the course, said the project was a great lesson in food sustainability and giving back. It also taught students about large food production, providing nutritional balance, and the timing of cooking when preparing multiple dishes at once.

We are grateful to these students for using their culinary talents to give back to our community members in need.

“I learned how fun and easy it is to give back,” said Matifas. “The food bank is grateful for every donation, but a hot home cooked meal can truly mean the world.”

We thank Mary Evans and Carla Lemons, FCC Hospitality, Culinary, and Tourism Institute (HCTI) instructors, and Elizabeth DeRose, HCTI Program Manager, for making this project possible and teaching our students lessons that extend beyond the classroom.   ​
 

An award-winning filmmaker. An Appalachian Trail finisher. A cybersecurity expert. What do these people have in common? They will be visiting Frederick Community College (FCC) to speak with students and young adults as part of the Moving Mountains Speaker Series.

Moving Mountains is a free monthly speaker series for teens and young adults. Speakers, including local professionals and community members with a unique or interesting story, are selected to cover a wide array of topics, discuss their successes and challenges, and share important life and career lessons.

The series motto is, “Get the most out of life, so life can get the most out of you.”

The concept of Moving Mountains came from FCC Director for Special Projects Mike Pritchard, who realized the value in providing young people with an opportunity to hear from inspirational and successful community members. Part of this realization was based on an impactful experience he had as a teenager.

“When I was a teen, my parents took me to hear someone affiliated with Jacques Cousteau, who was, back in the day, one of the most famous underwater explorers,” said Pritchard. “I was riveted by this presentation and the photos and the film of this underwater world.”

The experience inspired Pritchard to become certified as a scuba diver when he was just 17 years old. When he began developing the Moving Mountains series, he envisioned it as a program that would provide similar opportunities for inspiration for young people in our community.

“That presentation really opened the door for me into this wonderful world, so I am really hoping that things like that will inspire teens if they hear a topic, or it just expands their world in a way that may not be expected,” he said.

The featured speakers encourage young people to set the bar high in all areas of life including career choices, finances, relationships, and more. Each talk includes a 30- to 40-minute presentation, followed by a question-and-answer period.

“We really want teens and young adults to make great decisions,” said Pritchard. “When I plan the speakers, I try to include a wide array of topics from science to technology to finances so that the series appeals to a wide range of teens and young adults.”

FCC works with Frederick County Public Schools in supporting and promoting the series, and partnerships with Frederick County Public Libraries and the YMCA of Frederick County help get the word out.

This marks the fourth year of the series, which continues to gain popularity among community members. Pritchard has received positive feedback from both the teens and the parents who attend. “We can all glean something from the speakers that inspires us, no matter our age,” said Pritchard.

Those who attend three of the six sessions in an academic year have the opportunity to earn a certificate of participation and leadership, which can be used in a number of ways. “The certificate shows they’ve taken the initiative to grow personally, and serves as one more tool that can be used when applying for the National Honor Society, on a job application, on a resume, or college application,” said Pritchard.

The series is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-registration is available here. Each session is held from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the JBK Theater, Visual & Performing Arts Center, at FCC.

During the semester, students in the FCC Foundations of Special Education course learn about inclusive education, developmental characteristics of exceptional students, and strategies for teaching and accommodating students. They apply that learning by writing lesson plans and hosting classes three times a semester with students in the SUCCESS program.

SUCCESS program students have come to FCC regularly for years, and 2017 was the first year that FCC students in the teaching program became involved and had the opportunity to lead classes.
The partnership provides FCC students with real-life teaching experience to enhance the lessons they learn in class, while also providing SUCCESS students the chance to interact with same-aged peers and become comfortable on the FCC campus.

For each visit, FCC students pick a topic that is seasonally relevant and create a lesson that teaches a new concept or skill in a context that is familiar to the SUCCESS students. The first session focused on marketing and sales at farmers’ markets, varieties of apples, and Newton’s law of gravity.

The new partnership has been well received by both FCC and SUCCESS students, including FCC student Alyssa Eby who said, "This was such an eye opening and educational experience for me in many aspects. It was so amazing to see FCC and the Arc come together and share a day of knowledge and fun. It also provided me an opportunity to see my lesson plan come to life and see just how much it can impact students' lives."

The program is supported by the Arc of Frederick County, which provides transportation and supervision for students in the SUCCESS program.

For many of us, owning a bicycle is something that we take for granted. It provides recreational enjoyment – something fun to do on a nice day. But for many people across the world, owning a bike can have a much bigger impact. For those with low financial resources or no access to transportation, having a bike gives them the ability to get to school or work, which might otherwise be impossible. For health care providers in developing countries, it’s an opportunity to help people living in remote locations that would be inaccessible without a bike.

For more than 10 years, Shane Sellers, assistant professor of art at FCC, has been teaming up with the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek to get unused or outgrown bikes out of our garages and into the hands of people who desperately need them through Bikes for the World. This organization works to improve access to affordable transportation and promote sustainable development abroad through donating containers of second-hand bicycles and bicycle parts to select organizations throughout the Global South, particularly in Africa, Central America, and the South Pacific. Based in Arlington, VA, Sellers first read about Bikes for the World in a magazine article.

As someone who has always been interested in sustainability and promoting the use of bikes for commuting, Shane immediately wanted to get involved with this effort. He contacted the national office and was later matched up with the rotary
club that was already working locally to help the organization.

Since then, Shane has helped the club collect bikes and has been instrumental in getting many people from the FCC community involved. Over the years, he has teamed up with former FCC faculty member Charlie Cottingham, who is now retired, and numerous students to seek bikes to be donated and prepare them to be shipped. It’s hard to quantify the impact those bikes are making on the people who receive them, but it means a significant improvement in their quality of life.
We thank Shane for his commitment to this worthy cause and we are grateful he has led so many others on our campus to get involved. His work reminds us that local action can make a global impact.
Shane collects bikes throughout the year. If you have one you would like to donate, you can contact him at [email protected].

We are frequently inspired by the many ways our students make an impact in our community. One project we are especially proud of is our Waterway Cleanup Service Project.

As part of this annual project, FCC students team up with students from Hood College to clean up a portion of Rock Creek running through Willowdale Park in Frederick. In 2017, the group worked together to pull more than 1,000 pounds of debris from in and around the creek. The City of Frederick supported the project by providing trash bags and gloves and hauling the debris away for proper disposal. 

For the last four years, leaders with the FCC Honors Student Association (HSA) have co-sponsored this service project. In addition to helping our community, this service project also lets students know about the honors pathway from FCC to our four-year partner colleges, including Hood.

We thank Honors Coordinator Bruce Thompson for organizing this event with his Hood counterparts. We are fortunate that this partnership has beautified our area over the last few years.

In September 2017, the FCC Center for Student Engagement led a service trip to Fox Haven Farm. Located in central Maryland, Fox Haven is an entirely organic farm and serves as a retreat, training ground, and area of learning for the community. The farm practices sustainable farming and aims to produce healthy food while regenerating healthy ecosystems.

A group of 11 FCC staff and students from the FCC Leadership Legacy program traveled to Fox Haven and helped the farm by getting soil ready for the fall, harvesting herbs and beans, and flipping compost. While they were there, FCC students also made scarecrows for the City of Frederick’s Halloween event.

FCC continues to develop a valued partnership with Monocacy Middle School. FCC faculty members and staff volunteer their time as part of a mentoring partnership with sixth-grade students at Monocacy.

Mentors meet one-on-one with their mentees at the middle school every other week. They are available to help with homework, encourage the students, discuss career and future plans, and play games. The 2018-19 school year will mark the third year of this partnership.

The mentoring program concludes at the end of each school year with a reception for the students at FCC, followed by a campus tour. During the tour, students learn about programs and services at FCC by visiting the Learning Commons, the Digital Media Studio, the Visual & Performing Arts Center, the Athletics Center, and more. Some students have also had the opportunity to interact with computerized mannequins in the Nursing Simulation Lab and sit in on a student improvisational comedy class in the Studio Theater.

FCC is thankful for the generous participation of its employees who are willing to donate their time to this program and serve as role models to their mentees.

A group of administrators teamed with the Frederick City Parks and Recreation Department to beautify Willowdale Park along Rock Creek near Route 40 in Frederick. The group spent an afternoon picking up trash along the creek.

Our community is a vital part of who we are, and giving back to the community is just as vital. In an effort to help keep Frederick clean and beautiful, a group of FCC administrators from the Administrative Staff Association (ASA) teamed up with the Frederick City Parks and Recreation Department to beautify Willowdale Park along Rock Creek near Route 40.

The group of approximately 40 FCC staff members spent an afternoon picking up trash along the creek. The Parks & Rec Department provided trash bags and gloves for the clean-up and also hauled away the trash that was collected.

This community service event was part of an annual professional development day for ASA.