Official SLCC Blog

  “We went in determined to do really well because our professors and advisors did so much to prepare us and to get us to this competition,” says business student Anthony Tai [Hillcrest High School]. He earned first place in the Business Analytics and Statistics category competition this past June in Chicago at the 2022 PBL (PHI BETA LAMBDA) National Leadership Conference.     Among the 17 SLCC students who attended, 16 placed in the top ten in a range of categories (see below), competing against students from two and four-year colleges nationwide. The competition identifies the best competitors in business, marketing, legal and technology fields.   “What makes winning so special to us is that we compete with Ivy League schools and other prestigious research universities,” says Daysi Hernandez, associate professor of business management. She traveled as an advisor with the students, all of whom are members in SLCC’s DECA-PBL club—a combination chapter of two national...

The excitement of students and the whirring of tools could be heard in the State Farm Conference Center in Atlanta, GA, during the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. For one week over the summer, the arena, which is the size of three football fields, was filled with over 12,000 people, including 11 students from Salt Lake Technical College or SLTC. Salt Lake Technical College encompasses short-term, low-cost technical programs at Salt Lake Community College. Having previously won at the state level, these SLTC students traveled with their SkillsUSA advisors to showcase their skills and knowledge at the National Leadership and Skills Conference. Over the weeklong competition, nearly 7,000 students tested their job-ready skills in 108 categories with individual and team events. Students gave hands-on demonstrations measured by industry standards, completed online tests, and were evaluated on their resumes and interview skills. Out of the 11 students that competed, 10...

Imagine: You register for a class to learn about a state’s rich history. Then, you and your classmates travel to and experience the state’s distinctive cuisine, vibrant music and ecological wonders—all while gaining credit at Salt Lake Community College. For the first time at SLCC, a group of students did just that; they traveled to Louisiana on July 10-17 for the domestic study trip portion of DSD 2900: A Taste of Louisiana . The domestic study designation (DSD 2900) was recently developed by Professor Jeff Zealley, who taught the course, and Engaged Learning Director Lucy Smith. The new designation offers experiential learning, the process of learning by doing while remaining interdisciplinary. Nearly all students who registered for A Taste of Louisiana hailed from different areas of study. Yet, they intended to apply what they learned in the class to their respective fields. Brisa Aguirre Jurado, who is studying animation at SLCC, registered for the class because she enjoys l...

Three national awards recognizing SLCC’s writing programs can be traced back to a simple finding that Professor Tiffany Rousculp relied on while developing a program that would shift the college’s writing culture: Writing is a vulnerable act. Writing is infused with emotion. This is true not just for students, but for everyone who writes at SLCC: faculty, staff and administrators. “People fear their own writing being judged, while they can also be judgmental of others’ writing that comes their way,” explains Rousculp, whose work and collaboration with others, including interviewing more than 80 students, staff, and faculty, resulted in SLCC’s Writing Across the College (WAC) program (founded in 2014). She set out to model a compassionate mindset when approaching another’s writing. As the director of the WAC program, she does this through faculty and staff workshops, one-on-one collaborations, and a plethora of resources . SLCC’s WAC grew from an intentional resolve to not follow a t...

Jennifer Ivette Alegría Ibanez Age : 39 From : Graneros, Sexta Region, Chile Major : Social Work. I feel a great calling to serve, motivate and empower others as well in our community. At this moment I am currently learning how to speak English as a second language in the wonderful program here at SLCC . Right to left: Jennifer's son, scanning the pages of a textbook; Jennifer, smiling and looking at her laptop; Jennifer's cousin, reading a book. Academic goals : I want to earn a doctorate or master’s in social work; my passion is in the specialty of social projects and investigations. Dream job : A social worker, where I can be part of changes in people's lives and in the community. Plan B : Generally, I have a plan B when I cannot control all the results; I don’t have a plan B when it comes to my studies because the results are totally dependent on me. Why Higher Education? I believe that higher education is an investment that produces great reward...

Emmanuel and his class celebrate after finishing the semester. The scientific method, cell structure, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, mitosis and meiosis, DNA structure. These are some of the complex topics taught in Professor Emmanuel Santa-Martinez’s biology classes; topics that are even tougher to grasp if you are an English learner. “I saw that Latinx students in the intro to biology courses were struggling to succeed, so I wondered what the result would be if we removed the language barrier,” said Emmanuel, who launched SLCC’s first dual-language biology class in Fall Semester 2021. More than 87% of the Latinx students passed with an A-, while in the previous all-English biology class, the Latinx students earned C-s. However, it wasn’t just the improved grades that Emmanuel noted. “In the classroom, there was a tremendous change in how students engage—students were more comfortable and conversational, and asked more questions.” He explained that the dual-language...

This  SLCC's Salt Lake Technical College staff and faculty meet with Skywest representatives to tour a new plane that SkyWest is donating to SLCC's Aviation Maintenance program for student learning.   This week, SkyWest Airlines donated a Bombardier CL-600-2B19 aircraft to Salt Lake Community College’s Aviation Maintenance program , complementing and increasing the size of the program’s aircraft fleet, all of which are used to train students for this high-demand industry.   “This will provide our students with hands-on maintenance training on a large category aircraft, allowing them to develop above entry-level skills throughout the industry,” says SLCC Aviation Professor Todd Baird.   “This is what our students will see in the industry—these same systems,” adds Matt Green, associate dean of SLCC’s Aviation and Transportation programs.   The plane is now the largest one in SLCC’s aircraft fleet. While it does not include the engines, it provides all the operati...

Julie Meldrum Preferred pronouns: She/her/hers Degree(s) earned and institutions: Bachelor’s degree in journalism and telecommunications from Arizona State University Years at SLCC: 5 Current position: Specialist III, Miller Library Department: Library Services What is a typical day or week like for you? I love working with students to find what they need to complete classroom assignments. Part of my job is working with faculty to make sure the materials they need are readily available at the library. What are the most challenging aspects of your job? Each semester I make it a point to let our students know about their library and what resources are available to them . Every semester is like a new beginning! What rewards come with your job? When I see a student grow in their experience here at SLCC and then graduate — no better reward! Who or what inspires you at work or in life and why? Before becoming a librarian, I worked in ...