Teaching, Learning, &
Global Engagement
Weekly News & Updates
| |
January 18, 2024 | Volume 10 | Issue 19 | |
Five Things to Know about Jeffrey Sandstrom | |
|
By Jeff Sandstrom
Faculty, Electronics Engineering
I grew up in a little town called Gladstone, Michigan in 1977. I graduated with honors and went into the Air Force, in the electronics field. I chose Electronic Warfare, and it opened many doors for unique experiences and travel. The military aircraft I associated with ranged from jet fighter aircraft to the U2 reconnaissance aircraft. My security clearance allowed to be part of many cutting edge military systems and black projects, where I had significant influence with its development.
My hobbies included flying, SCUBA diving, home construction and electronic projects. I started my hobbies from my early teens and still enjoys most of my hobbies.
I also owned and operated several businesses such as, a sawmill, and CNC milling machines. With the sawmill, we produced approximately 8,000 board feet a day while also building pallets for various industries. I contracted with China factories to manufacture milling machines while we designed and assembled them in Canada and the USA.
I ultimately was introduced to DDCC and started to teach and enjoyed the job. Being here now for about two years, it has become a hobby job that I like to pursue and hopefully making a difference, using my life experiences teaching future technicians and engineers.
Five Things to Know
-
Travel: I've visited China, Australia, Japan, England, Germany, the USA from coast to coast including Hawaii and Alaska. Lived in Canada, and S. Korea but I would love to visit Greece and Spain. Maybe one day...
-
Music & Books: I'm a 70's and 80's music fan. I love digging into books made of paper. I'm not a fan of too much tech, even though it can be useful in proportion.
-
Food: I enjoy most cuisines, but will not eat seafood or wild meat.
-
Movies & Shows: The last movie I watched at a theater was the second Top Gun. I'm an advocate of flying and enjoy the hobby. I am a pilot and flew personal aircraft and piloted the F-4 Phantom jet. Quite an experience! I did also enjoy the NETFLIX series, "Designated Survivor".
-
Joyful Experience: I'm a hobby enthusiast. I enjoy doing the extreme hobbies such as SCUBA diving, martial arts, flying and home construction.
| | |
|
-
Remembering Dr. King’s Dreams: January 18 from 12:30-1:30 pm at Davie in Admin 110/111
-
Demystifying the Course Build Process Part 3, Aligning Assignments to Outcomes: January 18 from 1:00-2:30 pm on Zoom. Register through the Piedmont Hub
-
World Music Monday - Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti: January 22 from 10:00-11:00 am at Davie in Admin 110/111 and on Zoom (Fela Kuti has been named an influence by countless musicians including Beyoncé, Miles Davis, the Talking Heads, Paul McCartney, and many others!)
-
Culture Café - Open discussion: January 24 from 1:00-2:00 pm in Gee N139-142
| |
Access to Streaming Videos | |
|
By Jason Setzer
Davidson-Davie Community College Library provides access to many streaming films, including documentaries and feature films, to support your courses. Links to its streaming video databases are available on the library’s Streaming Video Resources webpage. Please contact the library for access to a film not currently available through its databases.
| |
A weekly column brought to you by International Education | |
|
|
“It Is a Small World Afterall”: Another Round of Evidence
By Sarah Wright
Most of my life, I have been interested–no–intrigued by all things African–first Kenya and then South Africa and other southern African countries. First it was culture, then it was history and politics, then it was art and food, and now, I would say that I am interested in all of it. As an undergraduate student at East Carolina, I had the opportunity to take a lot of classes about Africa–history, politics, art, and imperialism. Most of my classes and conversations about Africa were with one professor who played a pivotal role in my life and academics, Dr. Ken Wilburn.
Dr. Wilburn was a true Africanist, which is what I always thought I would be, but I would focus on sub-Saharan geopolitics. My life did not take that path, but I don’t regret it. I learned so many valuable morsels of knowledge, and I have been shaped by my time with Dr. Wilburn and all the things I have done since. But my appreciation for Dr. Wilburn has never waned. When I began my doctorate three years ago, I was assigned to make a video about my path to that point in my life. Dr. Wilburn made it into the video–the only professor or mentor to do so. And yet, I continued to move through life without reaching out to Dr. Wilburn. So many times, I thought of reaching out to Dr. Wilburn and telling him all the ways he impacted my life, but I didn’t. While I do not think he would remember me, I do think he would appreciate the sentiment. A few weeks ago, Dr. Aaron Prillaman, faculty coordinator for International Education and I were talking, and he asked me if I knew Ken Wilburn. I hesitated only because I had not mentioned him by name at any time other than in that very personal video that I had turned in as part of “my why I do what I do” assignment. Suddenly, I was afraid the video was floating around the internet, but it wasn’t–at least I don’t think so. However, it was an example of the smallness of the world. After my initial hesitation, I said: “Yes, I know him. He was my favorite professor, and he changed my life.” I knew that Aaron had studied for his masters in music at ECU, so I was not sure why he was asking about this infamous history professor. Our Dr. Prillaman played in a band with MY Dr. Wilburn. Of all the places in the world either of us could have ended up, we both ended up in the orbit with Dr. Wilburn and working here, in International Education at Davidson-Davie, with fond memories of Dr. Ken Wilburn.
Thinking about Aaron and Dr. Wilburn playing music in a band together makes me smile because Dr. Wilburn’s support changed my life, and I have often thought over my career, What would Dr. Wilburn do? And in the short time I have known Aaron, I have found myself asking the same thing–what would Aaron do? Dr. Wilburn’s wisdom has been a catalyst for my thirst for knowledge and my efforts to understand the past, the present, and the future and to help others do the same. And now, Aaron and I work together to make sure we help our students at Davidson-Davie grow and develop by supporting them the way we were supported.
Who is next? Who wants to write an article for the International Intrigue column? Let me know.
|  | |
The band @Risk: From left to right—Aaron Prillaman, Chris, Don, Ken Wilburn, Eddie
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Ken Wilburn
| | | |
Professional Learning Money for Faculty | |
|
By Gloria Johnson
The CTL is now accepting applications for individual or small group (2 to 5) professional learning funds for Spring 2024. There are two funding pools for Spring 2024: Perkins funds and our usual CTL funds. Please be sure to read the application details carefully so that you know which funding pool to select. These funds may be used for (but are not limited to) professional learning opportunities such as conferences (including travel), webinars, books, and professional learning courses.
For reasons of funding limitations, purchasing complexities, licensing, and equitable distribution, the CTL cannot provide professional learning funds to support the following:
- International Travel
- Software
- Professional Organization Membership Fees
Currently, there are $30,000 available in Perkins funding and $2,500 available in the CTL funding pool. This money is for DDCC (full- and part-time) faculty professional learning activities, so please apply and spend it!
You can read further details about funding requirements and apply today!
If you’re looking for professional learning opportunities, check out the National Higher Education Teaching Conference. This conference is sponsored by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). (Video Version)
The North Carolina Network for Excellence in Teaching (NC-NET) also has new offerings for Spring 2024. These NC-NET courses are offered at no cost to NCCCS faculty.
| |
Do You Have a Story to Share? | |
We want to promote faculty and staff stories! Here are some ideas: | |
Please contact Amy Holmes (amy_holmes@davidsondavie.edu) if you have ideas or referrals for stories. | |
Teaching, Learning, & Global Engagement is: | | | | |
