Remember to check InsideRanken every Monday. This newsletter can only be as successful as you make

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1 The Ranken File Student Newsletter February 16, 2009 Remember to check InsideRanken every Monday. This newsletter can only be as successful as you make it! If you have news, comments, feedback or if you are interested in contributing a story, please contact Angie Riehn in the Marketing office at (314) or ariehn@ranken.edu.» Campus News & Updates Ranken Hosts SkillsUSA Competition You may have noticed that campus was busier last Friday as Ranken hosted the SkillsUSA district championships. Ranken students competed with about 150 other local high school and college students in technical fields such as: Architectural Drafting, Automated Manufacturing, Automotive Refinishing, Automotive Service, Carpentry, CNC Milling, CNC Turning, Collision Repair, HVAC, Precision Machining, Residential Wiring and Technical Drafting. Winners from the district event will go on to compete in the Missouri state finals, to be held at Linn State Technical College, April 2-4, Several Ranken students have placed highly at the state level in past years, and in 2007 Ranken students took first place in the nation in the Automated Manufacturing Technology competition. Vice President for Education, John Wood, said that Ranken hosts SkillsUSA events because We want to show support by participating in the district competitions, and demonstrate our respect for the quality of the vocational programs in local high schools. We also enjoy putting our students up against the best of the best. The following schools participated in the competition:» Ranken Technical College» Lewis & Clark Career Center» Four Rivers Career Center» Clyde C. Miller High School» South County Technical High School» North County Technical High School» East Central College Photo: An automotive contestant works to complete the hands-on portion of the event. Dates to Remember: February * American Heart Month * Black History Month 2/16 President s Day - All School Holiday 2/17 Student Ambassador meeting 2/18 SGA Meeting 2/28 National TRiO Day 3/8 Spring Open House 3/11 Shadow-a-Tech 3/12 Spring Job Fair

2 ommunity» Work Ethic» Scholarship» Leadership C» Ranken Students Head to State Competition Below is a list of Ranken students who placed in their contests during the SkillsUSA East District event. The first place finishers will have the opportunity to move on to the Missouri state finals to be held at Linn State Technical College on April 2-4, Photo: Ranken students who placed in the Collision Repair contest. L-R: Cody Pryzgoda; Travis Unerstall; Brad Foiles and John Wood, Vice President for Education. Contest First Place Second Place Third Place Automated Manufacturing Team #4: Charlie Meier, Danny Farrington and Nathaniel Smith Team #6: Andy Jensen, Ross Graves and Jordan Bertels Automotive Refinishing Chris Sladek Matt Borgmeyer Justin Vogt Automotive Service Derek Kleidon Dane Fletcher Nick Smith Team from East Central College Carpentry Jake Lintezenich Tim Zapor Jean Fancote CNC Milling Jaryd Patton Cody Mueller CNC Turning Andy Mayer Collision Repair Cody Pryzgoda Travis Unerstall Brad Foiles HVAC Corey Valleroy Precision Machining Mike Ehrentrom Mike Tieber Contestant from East Central College» 2

3 ommunity» Work Ethic» Scholarship» Leadership» Hands-on» Philan- JM&A Creates Satellite Office at Ranken You may have noticed something different about one of the classrooms located on the bottom floor of the Cook building. Part of the room that was temporarily used as the CST lab during its renovation has now been turned into a call center for the JM&A Group. JM&A Group, based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., is one of the largest independent providers of finance and insurance products in the automotive industry. The group of four companies provides services to over 2,800 automotive dealerships and retail Photo: Ranken students work in the new JM&A call center located on the bottom floor of the Cook building. automotive outlets, representing virtually all manufacturer makes and models. JM&A s local call center is located in Earth City and, along with associates in Florida, they answer over a million calls a year. The idea to set up a satellite call center at Ranken came when they realized that more than 35 Ranken students were driving to Earth City every day to work. Ranken agreed to lease space to JM&A for their call center and also offers one credit hour to automotive and collision students who complete 40 or more hours per semester working in the call center. Its a win-win situation, said Tim Basset, call center Manager. We have access Photo L-R: Chris Kolkmeier, Manager; Dan Krupinski, Senior Claims Analyst; Tim Basset, Manager and Scott Cathey, Supervisor. to well-trained employees that have basic automotive knowledge, and Ranken students have a great job opportunity that is right on campus. It s a great partnership. Call center employees take calls from service advisors, technicians and consumers concerning automobile warranties. The associates are responsible for looking up the vehicle warranty information and processing the claim if it s something that is covered. It s so much more convenient, said John Hunn, a call center employee and Ranken student. Instead of spending time driving, I am able to get four more hours of work in per week. JM Family Enterprises, Inc. has been a long-time supporter of the College and recently set up an endowment fund in the amount of $250,000, which will help provide scholarships to students in the automotive programs Do You Have A Favorite Teacher At Ranken? Do you know of a teacher at Ranken who goes above and beyond for his/her students? Nominate them to be highlighted in the student newsletter! Send your nomination to ariehn@ranken.edu. Include their name, program and a brief statement about why you are nominating them. If your story is selected, both you and your instructor will be included in the student and employee newsletters.» 3

4 ommunity» Work Ethic» Scholarship» Leadership» C Experience The» Results Are In!! Thank you to everyone who took the first student survey that was posted in the first newsletter as well as on InsideRanken. The results of the survey about music and movies are below. Keep watching the Ranken File and InsideRanken for new surveys!» Did you make a New Year s Resolution? If so, what was it? Get out of debt (2) Exercise more (3) Do better in school (2)» 4

5 ommunity» Work Ethic» Scholarship» Leadership»» Movie Picks In Theaters Coming Soon The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Fantasy) (Brad Pit and Cate Blanchett) He s Just Not That Into You (Romantic Comedy) (Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Ginnifer Goodwin and Drew Barrymore) Friday the 13th (Thriller) (Jared Padalecki) Confessions of a Shopaholic (Comedy) (Isla Fisher) Slumdog Millionaire (Comedy Drama) (Dev Patel)» City Calendar Watchmen (Mystery Adventure) Duplicity (Comedy, Romance, Thriller) (Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Rick Worthy) I love you, man (Comedy) (Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly Knowing (Action, Thriller) (Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury) 12 Rounds (Action, Crime, Thriller) John Cena, Steve Harris, Ashley Scott, Aidan Gillen, Brian White, Gonzalo Menendez 3/6/09 3/27/09 1/31- Missouri Botanical Garden Celebrates 150th 3/15 Anniversary in 2009: Henry s Garden Missouri Botanical Gardens 2/17 Avenged Sevenfold & Buckcherry The Family Arena, St. Charles, 7:30 p.m. 2/19 T.I and Ludacris Chaifetz Area (Saint Louis University), 7:30 p.m. 2/20 Smucker s Stars On Ice Featuring Olympic Silver Medalist, Sasha Cohen Scottrade Center, 7:30 p.m. 2/20 Sweet Charity, Wine and Chocolate tasting event to benefit Make-A-Wish Morton s Steakhouse, 6:00-7:30 p.m. 2/21 Monster Jam Edward Jones Dome, 7:00 p.m. 2/22 Eighth Annual Celebrate the World: An International Festival Maryland Heights Centre, 12:00-5:00 p.m. FREE event. See and understand cultures from around the world. Includes music, food, dance and art. 2/6- Soulard Mardi Gras in St. Louis 2/24 Historic Soulard Neighborhood Website: 3/ Missouri Valley Conference Men s 3/8 Basketball Tournament Scottrade Center Cost: $ all session; $28.00 individual game Tickets: (314) or (314) Website: Ten teams compete for the league s tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the league celebrates its 19th straight tournament in the Gateway City.» 5