CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up to date on campus activities and information.

Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form by 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 8 for a Wednesday, April 13 publication.

Lemery Judges App Challenge

Steve Lemery, assistant professor of computer science and mathematics, served as a judge for this year’s U.S. Congressional App Challenge, in which high school students designed and created smart phone apps. This year’s 5th District winner was the “VR Atom History Explorer” submitted by a team from Franklin County High School. Steve was impressed by their app’s use of a 3-D interface using a low-cost “Google Cardboard” device. Their winning app will be on display in the U.S. Capitol for the year.

As stated by the office of Congressman Robert Hurt, “The Congressional App Challenge was designed to engage student creativity and encourage their participation in STEM education fields.”

Annual Engagement Showcase Awards

On Tuesday, March 29, students from Averett University, Danville Community College and Piedmont Community College presented their community engagement work at the Second Annual Student Engagement Showcase.

Students and faculty members from service-learning courses and community volunteer projects demonstrated their work through visuals and storytelling. The program also included the Engage awards, presented to a student leader and a faculty leader from each school, as well as an overall community leader award.

Damion Bishoff won the 2016 Student Leader Award and Dr. Michelle Liu was honored with the 2016 Faculty Leader Award. The Community Leader Award was presented to the Danville Life Saving Crew by Dr. Susan Huckstep’s Advanced Public Relations class, which has provided PR assistance to the organization this semester.

Congratulations to all of the award winners!

Student Accolades

The Student Life Department has been recognizing students who go the extra mile in whatever they are doing on campus since the fall of 2014. Each week during Student Life staff meetings, staff members nominate students whose dedication to the university they want to recognize. Students are notified about the nomination and their chance to win a $50 Visa gift card. At the end of the semester, all the names of those who were nominated are put into a bowl and the name of one lucky student is selected. This is the department’s way of letting students know their efforts and hard work is appreciated.

This week they would like to recognize CJ Filipskowski, Brandon Lumas, Philip Owens, Ryne Gammon, Darren Maracin, Virginia Wilson, Taylor Booze, Trevor West and Melissa Sanchez.

SAAC Trying to “deFEET” Cancer

This week, our Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) is holding two events to try and raise money to support former Cougar Nick Brown, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Tomorrow, April 7, at about 11:30 a.m. members of SAAC will be “raiding” faculty and staff offices to collect money. The office that raises the most money will win a happy hour at 2 Witches Brewery.

Then on Saturday, April 9, from 12-6 p.m. SAAC will host a “deFEET Cancer” running event. The event is a relay marathon in which teams of 10 run and get pledges for their team to raise money. It is not too late to turn in packets for a team. If you have further questions contact SAAC president Samantha Chandler by cell at (828) 284-1853.

All proceeds from the two events will go to Nick. Please help SAAC in their support of Nick and in their fight against cancer.

Community Emergency Response Training

Next month, a free, six-day course in community emergency response training (CERT) will be offered to Averett faculty and staff. The training will be offered from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. May 11-13 and 16-18. Participants must be able to attend all days. To sign up for the training, contact Kathie Tune by Friday, May 6.

Averett currently has about 20 CERT trained faculty/staff, and we would love for that number to grow. For a list of those who have already completed the course and could answer questions, please log into the intranet and look for Emergency Management under the groups/committees tab.

What is CERT?

CERT is a FEMA course that educates individuals about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Using training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT volunteers can assist others in their community following a disaster when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT volunteers are also encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking an active role in emergency preparedness projects.

Sign Up for Day to Engage!

Day to Engage, which is coming up in just a few days, is on Monday, April 11. There are two projects for which you can volunteer:

1. Make a T-Shirt Blanket

We still need to make six T-shirt blankets for Haven, our local domestic violence shelter. This project will be on campus in the multipurpose room from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Can’t volunteer? You can still donate T-shirts!

2. Play to Engage

Play to Engage is a fun play day for children from local afterschool programs. This project will be at the Carrington Pavilion from 3:30-6 pm. We especially need volunteers to help with the check-in and snack tables.

If you are interested in volunteering during Day to Engage, just visit engage.averett.edu to sign up on Get Connected! This is a great opportunity to take advantage of your Engaged Employer service leave!

If you have any questions, please contact Rachel Covington. Check out the flyer for more information.

France Today: An Example of Diversity

Averett’s Fulbright FLTA Jawad Essarki will give a lecture on Monday, April 11 at 3:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room of the Student Center. All members of the Averett community are welcome, and refreshments will be served! For more information about his lecture, click here.

Celebrating Diversity

An Averett student has designed a T-shirt that celebrates the global Averett family! ‪This 50/50 cotton poly blend T-shirt is soft, comfortable, unique and fun! The design is representative of the international community at Averett. Languages on the back read “One Family” in: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Korean, German, Swahili, Finnish, and Arabic. These shirts are on sale for a limited time – sales end Tuesday, April 12. To order yours today, click here.

Autism Awareness 5K

April is Autism Awareness Month, and the Autism Awareness 5K is coming up on Saturday, April 23 at Angler’s Park. Please participate in this event to show our community how passionate we are about this issue.

For more details about the race, click here. To sign up for Team Averett, click on the teams tab and scroll down (teams are listed in alphabetical order). Feel free to contact Jill Hamlin should you have any questions or concerns. Early registration, which costs $25, ends Sunday, April 17.

New EMT Initiative

The Emergency Management Team (EMT) at Averett is asking all faculty and staff to stop by the Security Office on the Main Campus to have your photo ID updated and a new ID card printed. Jamie Walker, Director of Security, has designated Thursdays from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. as the time he will be in the security office to take photos and issue new IDs. If you need to set up another time, you can email Jamie or call him at 434-791-5874.

Keeping Well Program Series

Next Tuesday, April 12, the Keeping Well Program Series will host Dr. John Nelson when he talks about “The Effects of Tobacco Use: Up Close and Personal.” The program will be held at Ballou Recreation Center from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. It is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. For more details, check out this flyer.