News 2011

Accustomed to jamming in your garage? Harper College is looking to help local musicians get their music heard. The College this winter will offer a first-ever panel discussion on the modern commercial music business - a session aimed at helping musicians understand what it takes to hit it big and arming them with tips to help make it happen.

Last December, Brian Fields completed Harper College's month-long truck driving training program. In the year since, he has secured a top-paying specialty - he can now drive tanker trucks - and a game plan for someday owning his own line.

As part of their work to help the homeless this holiday season, two Harper College employees are seeking donations of canned food - and collars, dog beds and chew toys. The beneficiaries of the annual "Santa Claus for Paws" effort are the four-legged residents of Illinois animal shelters, and gifts like these help keep them going amid a continued down economy.

Losing your job is no laughing matter, but Marc Mulvey's take on post-pink slip life is intended to be. The Palatine resident, an alumnus of Harper College's "Career Stimulus" job-hunting and job-nabbing support program, will bring his standup comedy version of unemployment's ups and downs to the group's December meeting in an effort to create a little year-end cheer amid the serious reality of a downturned economy.

With an eye on local job growth, Harper College's Small Business Development Center has launched a new initiative aimed specifically at helping high-growth small businesses - offering guidance and resources for entrepreneurs whose ideas have the potential to take off, and pay off, quickly.

A sextet of instructors from Harper College's jazz studies department will offer a free public performance from 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, November 30 in the Performing Arts Center on the College's main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine.

A new Harper College partnership will allow students to start their education on Harper's campus and transfer seamlessly to complete a bachelor's degree at DePaul University.

Three Harper College fashion students scored first-place titles at the annual Fashion Group International Design Competition in Chicago this month, beating out competitors from four-year colleges and universities in three categories.

Harper College ceramics students and instructors will showcase hundreds of original, one-of-a-kind clay pieces this week at the semiannual Clay Guild sale.

Sergio Gonzalez attended his first Latino Summit at Harper College in 2002 - an experience he says transformed him from a high school freshman who wasn't sold on the idea of college to an inspired 15-year-old who knew with certainty that higher education had to be in his future. The Des Plaines resident will be back this year for the event's 10th anniversary, this time taking the stage himself as a successful college graduate with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering under his belt.

Harper College Police Chief Mike Alsup says he will use an appointment to a prestigious law enforcement group to speak out on violence against women. Alsup recently was appointed as chairman of the College and University Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Broadway hit RENT was written 20 years ago, tackling issues of injustice and intolerance in a nation gripped by the AIDS epidemic. Much has changed since then. But as Harper College prepares to stage the musical this month, Professor Laura Pulio-Colbert says it's also evident the message still needs to be heard.

Members of the Harper College's men's cross country team started their last meet of the season as contenders. They finished - for the first time ever - as national champions. The Hawks beat out 20 other schools Saturday morning to clinch the NJCAA title in Sprinfield, Mass.

Identical twin brothers Kenneth and Steven Ender were born rivals. Thanks to their professional titles, two college football teams also can get in on the action.

The employment of pharmacy technicians is expected to increase by more than 30 percent in the decade between 2008 and 2018, and Harper College this fall is offering a first-ever course aimed at giving local residents an edge in the industry and a leg up in the job market.

Patricia Hamlen spent four weeks in Brazil touring universities, talking with educators and students, participating in cultural events and dialoguing with local residents as one of 15 educator participants in a Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad program. Now back at Harper, she's eager to share the lessons she learned with her students.

Statistics show the price of college tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions rose by 30 percent between 1998 and 2008 - and it's still growing. Harper College will host a free seminar aimed at helping parents and grandparents financially prepare for higher education's impending cost.

Harper College will observe October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a host of free educational events, including presentations from women's support groups and local social service agencies and a display from The Clothesline Project - a worldwide effort that relies on shirts decorated by survivors and victims' loved ones to tell the story of abuse.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg was a college student when he launched the project that would make him a billionaire. Carl Mattes is confident the next great idea could come from someone even younger, and the Harper College small business specialist is poised to make it happen.

Dozens of employers will converge at Harper College on Friday, October 7 for the annual Fall Job Fair, with a goal of giving northwest suburban residents new opportunities to get hired.

Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon will visit Harper College to tour facilities and discuss the College's high school partnership program.

Harper College has been named a 2012 Military Friendly School, an honor lauding universities and colleges nationwide for their efforts to embrace America's veterans-turned-students.

When asked about what she did this summer, Harper College student Kristen O'Mara issues a disclaimer.

It has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster, from a love triangle and a jilted girlfriend to a murderous framing and courtroom drama.

Statistics suggest nearly 80 percent of school children are bullied, and about 1 in 5 kids admit to being a bully themselves.

It's been more than 150 years since the planet Neptune was discovered in 1846, but it only recently completed its first full post-discovery orbit around the sun.

Charlette Jauch launched her higher education journey at Harper College, working toward associate degrees in art and science before transferring to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.

Social media can be a magnificent asset - or a cumbersome and confusing tool. Harper College this month is offering two free seminars aimed at helping local residents better navigate Twitter, Facebook and other popular social networking sites in an era when the platforms are being used for everything from reconnecting with old friends to marketing businesses and getting hired

Lauren Raef and Paul Sandhu weren't sure they'd ever be here. The two had rocky starts to their college careers, but eventually found their way - with Raef knocking out a 4.0 semester GPA and Sandhu getting on the path to medical or pharmacy school.

Harper College forensics students will put their skills to work this week in a simulated methamphetamine lab bust aimed at giving them a hands-on look at a growing problem.

Harper College President Dr. Kenneth Ender will serve up steaks this week at a local restaurant - the result of a high-stakes bet that guaranteed a new scholarship fund for Harper Culinary and Hospitality students.

Harper College representatives will visit the Rolling Meadows Library on Wednesday, January 12 for a "College Night" aimed at offering tips on jumpstarting a new career or education.