NWC Intercultural Center to open this fall

Posted 4/16/15

The center, at 565 College Drive, is across Sixth Street from the west end of the NWC Orendorff Building. The house formerly was the home of the Copenhaver family.

The Intercultural Center is the brainchild of Harriet Bloom-Wilson, retired …

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NWC Intercultural Center to open this fall

Posted

After much anticipation, renovation of the house that will serve as Northwest College’s Intercultural Center is complete, and the center will begin operating this fall.

The center, at 565 College Drive, is across Sixth Street from the west end of the NWC Orendorff Building. The house formerly was the home of the Copenhaver family.

The Intercultural Center is the brainchild of Harriet Bloom-Wilson, retired director of NWC intercultural programs, aided by Shelby Wetzel, Northwest College Foundation director, and NWC grant writer Megan Wilson. They succeeded in securing a $131,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

When the grant was awarded in 2011, Bloom-Wilson said she envisioned the center being used as a place to host seminars, cultural presentations, speakers, book discussions, exhibits and displays.

Discussions and exhibits could be timed to coincide with Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month and Women’s History Month and other events, she said.

Emelee Volden, current NWC international program manager, shares that vision.

Volden said an advisory committee is brainstorming about possible programs for the center. In addition to planning programs for the events mentioned above, the committee is looking at holding other activities, such as film nights and an intercultural book club.

In addition, the center will provide housing for Natsuki Kobayashi, a Japanese language fellow for the 2015-16 school year.

“She will be team teaching in Milo (Asay’s) two Japanese language classes both semesters, and she’ll also be taking a few classes here,” Volden said.

Volden said the intercultural program provides many benefits for the college and its students. She noted that the program brings students from many countries together, broadening their horizons as well as those of traditional NWC students.

She added, “I speak highly of this when (recruiting) with students, agents and high schools,” she said. “NWC is in a remote environment, and this provides students an excellent opportunity to engage with campus activities and NWC students, both U.S. American and international.”

In turn, “this significantly helps with their language acquisition. This is not possible on campuses or in cities with large populations of students from one culture. It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s one of the reasons I love working here.”

Volden said several faculty members at the college intentionally integrate international and traditional students.

“We have a few communications professors that work with the ESL professor and they often join their classes to create a very dynamic learning atmosphere for U.S. American and international students.

Volden said the Intercultural Center will be furnished over the summer, and a grand opening will take place in August.

Amanda Enriquez, intercultural programs coordinator, provided a tour of the center earlier this month.

She said one of the biggest advantages the center will provide is the ability to extend some displays and presentations for several days or a few weeks. That wasn’t possible in a shared facility, she said.

Enriquez said the center also will provide temporary housing accommodations for a few international students when residence halls are closed, such as before the school year begins and during holiday breaks.

Wetzel outlined the funding for the center.

The house was purchased in 2011, with the $131,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant paying $53,000 of the $200,000 purchase price.

The grant also provided $32,000 of the $175,000 budgeted for renovations. The NWC Board of Trustees provided another $85,000 in major maintenance money, and the remainder was provided by private and public donations.

In addition, the grant contributed $46,000 toward endowment funds to help with programming costs at the center.

Thanks to private donations and public funding sources, endowment investments now have grown to $184,000 — nearly $84,000 more than the original budget of $105,000.

The money in the endowment will remain with the foundation, which will manage the investment and provide interest money for programming costs.

In all, private and public donations to the Intercultural Center project totaled $311,252, Wetzel said.

That money includes $92,000 from the state of Wyoming in matching money to help fund the endowment, she said.

The Native Ways Club at Northwest College is hosting a grand opening of the NWC Native Ways Center, located in Room 118 of the Orendorff Building, from 7-8 p.m. today (Thursday).

The club will provide all the materials for people to make their own dream catchers.

Emelee Volden, NWC director of intercultural programs, said the center will serve as a dedicated space for Native American students.

“It will provide study space and a computer lab as well as a lounge area, creating a ‘home away from home’ for these students,” she said.

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