Caring for Each Other

By Dr. Jennifer McConville, Associate Dean

 I had the privilege of helping with a fundraiser for one of our own this past week. Mo Khamouna, NCTA’s Library Specialist, has been with NCTA since 1996. Mo’s family experienced a house fire last December. As a member of our community, both Curtis and NCTA, we want to do all we can to help his family. 

I did not know what to expect, nor did I have any idea how many pancakes we would serve or how much money we would raise when we started setting up on Thursday night. I was beyond pleased at the end of the night to learn we raised more than $3,500 for the Khamouna family between the pancake feed and 50/50 raffle (Congratulations to Stacey McCall, our lucky winner!).

There are so many people to thank for this amazing event. First, we want to thank the area communities who came in full force and donated with open hearts. Thank you to NCTA’s Student Senate, teams, advisors, coaches, and staff who gave us the labor needed to set up, cook, and tear down. Thank you to our food service department for cooking the sausage in advance to save time. Thank you to the area businesses who donated the food and items needed to host the event, including First Central Bank, Western Nebraska Bank, Herman Law Office, Curtis Fire Department, Tyron Lenz Construction, and St. John’s Lutheran Church. Thank you to the Area Senior Citizen Center in Curtis, their board of directors, and director April Roberts for the use of the facilities and all the resources that came with that, including April’s help!

I also had the privilege of working side-by-side through the planning stages until the very end of the fundraiser with Emily Lenz. Emily was instrumental in planning, finding donations, and making the event happen. Also, thank you to Tyron and their family for everything you did to prepare us to serve pancakes!

While I was cleaning up with Sarah, a third-year student from Iowa, she commented to me, “I’ve noticed that about Curtis. They take care of their people.”

Thank you.

Our Students Show Up

I want to take a minute to focus on our students.

I often hear negative comments about today’s youth. Typically, such things as; they’re not as hardworking, not as devoted, not as involved as generations before. I hear in the community and on the news that this current generation of college students is lazy and unwilling to work. 

Maybe this is true somewhere else. I can only speak to my knowledge of the student on the NCTA campus. NCTA campus is full of dedicated students who are precisely the opposite of everything I referred to above.

I didn’t count to see how many students helped this past week with the fundraiser (I should have), but they have been involved every step of the way. They planned, advertised, set up, cooked, and cleaned up to make this happen. Not because they had to but because they wanted to.

I’m not talking about a small number of students. I know that 50 or more were involved throughout the process of making this fundraiser successful.

This level of commitment does not only happen during special events like the fundraiser. Our students show up. I see them on campus at sunrise and sunset doing chores and taking care of responsibilities. I visit with them about their volunteer hours and know they understand how important it is to be involved in their community. I often grab a student walking across campus or in the hall for help with a project or to carry something to another building. Our students show up.

At the end of the pancake feed, one NCTA student said, “Wow, we made a lot of money. What is this going to?”  She had no idea. But she was asked to help, and she showed up. 

NCTA Events:

Feb. 18-25: FFA Week 

Feb. 18-25: Nebraska Cattlemen’s Classic in Kearney

Feb. 19-23: Western Veterinary Conference

Feb. 22: Connect-the-Dots in Kearney

Feb. 23-24: NE Women in Ag Conference in Kearney

Mar. 6: Discovery Days Tour at NCTA

 Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and the success of student teams in competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.