We love your MCU spirit! In This Issue: Winter 2012 Edition

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1 Winter 2012 Edition Thank you to all that participated in our first ever face-to-face cohort t-shirt contest over the past few months! In This Issue: Cohort T-shirt Contest New Employees Alumni Nominees MCU Tutorials New Cohort Photos Need Extra Classes? Upcoming Cohort Locations Online Learning Connection The Career Zone Student Testimony 400th Cohort Veterans Day Tribute The Chronicle is always available online at It is published every two months. Each cohort group was given an Advantage t-shirt as an appreciation gift. Groups were given the task of getting together as a cohort to take a picture in their shirts, and submitting it for the contest. We had Fulton 2F two ways to win. One way was to be chosen by MCU employees & the other way by getting the most likes on facebook. The first place winners received their choice of dinner on the town or a catered meal for the entire cohort group plus, and, of course, bragging rights. The second place winners received dessert for their cohort group. Mayfield 5P was our facebook contest winner with 634 likes! Mayfield 4P came in second with 519 likes. Wow! For the employee vote, first place went to Fulton 2F and second place went to Louisville 17. We had so many great entries! We love your MCU spirit! Mayfield 5P

2 GET TO KNOW OUR NEW EMPLOYEES!! Top to bottom, left to right: Melody Meade, Robin Dawson, Ashley Bazzell, Laia Imhoff, Melissa Clark, Paula Clendenen and Tiffany Rudesill so nice and it s a great place to work! Paula Clendenen, Mid-Continent s new Executive Director of Financial Aid, lives in Carterville, Illinois. She was previously the Associate Director of Financial Aid at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she worked for over 29 years. Paula has one daughter, married with two children, that she loves spending time with. Her granddaughter is 12 and her grandson is eight. Paula said, I am the oldest of seven children and the only one who graduated high school and went to college; acquiring an associate degree, a bachelor degree and a master s degree. Family and God are a high priority in my life and are very important to me. Ashley Bazzell, Advantage s new Advising Assistant, graduated from Christian Fellowship High School in Benton, KY in 99 and graduated with her BS in Advertising/Marketing from Murray State in While in college, Ashley met her future husband, Nathanael, and they have been married 10 happy years. Some of you may have had her husband, Professor Bazzell, as your history professor. She loves animals and has two Chihuahuas, two cats, one ferret and six chickens. She enjoys traveling with her sister as well as spending time with her family. Ashley said, I am glad to be at Mid-Continent. I love this place. The people are Tiffany Rudesill, Financial Aid Administrative Assistant, was raised in Sharpe, Kentucky (Marshall County) but currently lives in Boaz with her husband of five years, Matt, and her six month old son, Lathan. Matt owns his own business, Rudesill Concrete Construction. She previously held various positions at Kohl s for over seven years. In high school, she played short stop, second base, and left center in softball. Tiffany loves to hunt with her family and spend time outdoors camping, exploring, rock climbing and repelling). Laia Imhoff is the Advantage Communication Specialist. She was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain and now lives in Mayfield, Kentucky. She has a husband and two lovely dogs. She is a former competitive figure skater. She also worked as a professional figure skater for Disney on Ice for five years before moving to Mayfield. In addition to working for Advantage, Laia works as a freelance translator and can speak four languages (Catalan, Spanish, English and French). She is also a Zumba instructor and the coach for the MCU Spirit Squad. Melissa Clark is a new Registration Officer. She lives in Palmersville, Tennessee with her husband, Caleb, and two daughters, Abigail (six) and Olivia (three). Her spare time is spent with her family and making crafts with her girls. Melissa graduated in 2011 with the Mayfield 1P cohort. Prior to MCU, she worked for her grandfather s business in Fancy Farm and at U.S. Bank. Melissa said, During my educational journey, I attended the large university, the community college and the small Bible college. It was here at Mid-Continent where I felt I truly got the best education. I believe in what Advantage stands for and what they give to their students. I am blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the team at Mid-Continent and be able to help those who have a dream of a college education as I once did. Melody Meade, Online Admissions Assistant, is originally from Mayfield and graduated from Graves County High School. She went to Murray State for a year while working on staff with Chi Alpha College Ministries. She worked ten years as a staff member/director with Master Commission. Melody has traveled throughout the world to 26 countries, partly as a missionary s daughter, and partly through her own personal ministry time. New financial aid advisor, Robin Dawson, has lived in Calloway County her whole life. After she graduated from MCU in 2009 with a Psychology and Counseling major and Biblical Studies minor, Robin worked for Four Rivers Behavioral Health in the Short Term Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center and the Adult Crisis Stabilization Unit for three years. She is the youngest of seven and has 14 nieces and nephews. She has a Docker (Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund), Sassy, since she was 16. Robin enjoys crocheting, knitting, drawing (charcoal), animal ballooning and singing. She has been on the Relay For Life planning committee for Murray/Calloway County for six years. Robin said, Cancer has made a huge mark in my family. I have an uncle who died of it, aunt who is dying of it, uncle who survived it, and my five year old niece is in the final stages of treatment for leukemia. She ll be done with treatment 11/27! We are still waiting to see if my mom s tumor is malignant. WELCOME TO THE ADVANTAGE TEAM!! COMING SOON NEW MCU APA STYLE GUIDE!!!

3 Mt. Vernon 2 Find us on facebook and tag yourself in our photos!! Louisville 17F JALC 17 (IL) MT. STERLING 3F Kim Lindsey Alumni, Gina Leeper and Kim Lindsey, Nominated for Woman of Achievement The local unit of the Kentucky Federation of Business and Professional Women, The Paducah River City Business and Professional Women, recently announced Advantage alumni Gina Leeper and Kim Lindsey, as nominees for their annual Woman of Achievement Award. Gina Leeper, who earned her associate and bachelor degrees through Advantage, stated, I was extremely honored to be nominated and a finalist for Woman of Achievement. After participating in the Chamber s Leadership Paducah, especially the Community Service Day, I found my purpose. The goal of working in a non-profit that benefits others was set and became Gina Leeper my focus for the next several years. I knew I needed my bachelor s degree to accomplish this, but I was working fulltime to support my family. Mid-Continent presented at my place of employment, and I knew Advantage was perfect for me. I graduated in May of 2012 and received a promotion a few months later. I had accomplished my goal! I am employed by Western Baptist Hospital Foundation and received a great education in the process. Kim Lindsey, Chief Human Resource Officer at Lourdes Hospital, who earned her associate, bachelor and master degrees through Advantage, said, I was surprised and honored to be named a finalist for the Woman of Achievement award presented by the Paducah River City Business and Professional Women's organization. It is a humbling experience for my efforts to be recognized by professionals from within our business community. The pursuit of my educational goals can be linked directly to the recognition I received and to the level of my current success. She continued, When evaluating the choices for pursuing my graduate degree, I found the course work at Mid-Continent to be academically challenging. The Christian heritage and legacy of the school aligned perfectly with my own values. It was definitely the right choice for me. I am proud of my personal accomplishments for many reasons. But, most of all, I hope that I have demonstrated the value of hard work and perseverance. It is my sincere desire that my achievements will serve as a motivating example for both of my children as they pursue their own dreams through their academic efforts. For them, as for me, through education, anything is possible.

4 Need Extra Classes? If you re interested in taking additional associate/online classes*, contact your advisor at MCU-GRAD. Bardstown Computer Apps II Monday, Bowling Green English Comp I Monday, Intro to Business Tuesday, Danville Intro to Business Tuesday, Frankfort Intro to Business Thursday, Fulton English Composition II Monday, Music Appreciation Tuesday, Music Appreciation Thursday, Glasgow Contemporary Issues Thursday, Hopkinsville English Comp I Tuesday, Applied English Tuesday, Lexington Computer Apps II Thursday, London Environmental Science Monday, Louisville Biology and Lab Monday, Applied English Tuesday, Environmental Science Monday, Applied English Thursday, General Psychology Thursday, Mayfield Environmental Science Monday, Intro to Business Tuesday, English Comp Thursday, Computer Apps I Thursday, Mt. Sterling General Psychology Monday, Murray Computer Apps II Tuesday, Owensboro Personnel Supervision Thursday, Paducah Intro to Business Monday, English Comp I Monday, General Bio & Lab Monday, Principles of Speech Tuesday, Environmental Science Tuesday, Computer Apps II Thursday, Princeton Principles of Speech Tuesday, Radcliff Contemporary Issues Tuesday, Russellville Computer Apps Monday, Somerset English Comp I Tuesday, Contact your advisor for log-on info. *MCU reserves the right to cancel any course. Dates are subject to change. Check with your advisor to ensure start dates of classes. INCLEMENT WEATHER: If classes are cancelled in the event of inclement weather, it will be posted on the MCU home page at by 3 PM. ONLINE COURSES January 14, 2013 start date Organizational Psych Social Science/PSY & HR Minor/Elective Employee & Labor Relations HR Minor/Elective Music Appreciation Humanities/Elective College Math Math General Biology Science Business Mathematics Elective Principles of Microeconomics Social Science/Elective General Psych Social Science/Psych Minor/Elective Applied English Elective English Comp I English English Comp II English Old Testament Human./Christ. Studies Min./Elec. Christianity in Plural. World Human./Christ. Studies Min./Elec. UPCOMING COHORT AREAS: Master s: Paducah, ONLINE Bachelor s: Business Mgmt: Louisville, Morganfield, Owensboro, Princeton, Mayfield, Lebanon, Mt. Sterling, JALC (IL), SCC (IL), Paducah, Bowling Green, Lexington Psych & Counseling: Paducah, Mayfield and ONLINE Christian Ministries: ONLINE FYI: New students can join associate groups at ANY time at ANY associate location. If you know anyone who may be interested in Advantage, please have them contact MCU at MCU-GRAD. Do you have any exciting news in your life you would like to share in the next Cohort Chronicle? Does your cohort group have a story or photos to share? your stories/photos to dmclaughlin@midcontinent.edu. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET ACTIVATED YOUR MCU , DO SO ASAP. YOU MAY BE MISSING IMPORTANT MCU COMMUNICATIONS! IF YOU DON T KNOW YOUR , STUDENTSERVICES@MIDCONTINENT.EDU & REQUEST THE INFO BE RESENT TO YOU. MCU TUTORIALS:

5 Moodle There s an app for that! Students with an iphone/ipad/ipod Touch that are enrolled in online classes can use the Moodle mtouch application. This application is intended for student usage scenarios and no server side installation or tweaks are required. The cost is $2.99 from the Apple itunes application store. You can begin using mtouch right away. With this application you can: View your course assignments, edit your submissions and upload files View and post to forums View upcoming events, add event to calendar View list of course resources Take photos and upload to MCU OLC forums, assignments or other activities which require or support attachments Upload existing photos to MCU OLC activities Download files from any web site and upload these files to MCU OLC activities List quizzes View your grades for all courses For those with devices that use Android operating systems there is not a current Moodle application. Please continue to check our Facebook page for updates. We will notify you as soon as there is one available. Greetings MCU students, faculty, staff and alumni! It is an honor to be working at a school where Christ is proclaimed and we Point the Way! Returning to Mayfield was a coming home of sorts for me. Fulton, KY was my birthplace and South Fulton, TN was where I was raised. God saw fit to move my family to Fort Lauderdale, FL while I was in high school. Leaving all the comforts of a small town was scary but the new adventures that awaited us overcame our fears. God found me my senior year of high school just before leaving for my freshman year at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. I was searching for something I was not finding at FSC. I returned home to complete my associate s degree at Broward Community College. Even in secular schools, God uses our experiences to fulfill His plan for us. For a field trip in a class on special education, we visited a state institution for the mentally impaired. Long story short, I knew then my life would be devoted to adults and children with special needs. Once I had a focus for my studies, God led me to Florida State University in Tallahassee. Being a Christian on a large, secular college campus was a tremendous experience. God moves in our secular world. AT FSU, I focused my sights on a teaching career in special education. After graduating from Florida State, I was ready to tackle the world. I was thrilled to get my first teaching job in one of the poorest and lowest paying counties in Florida. Disillusioned with teaching, I returned to FSU to get my master s degree. God, however, had a different plan for me and it was not time to return to graduate school. Years went by as I continued to teach school, get married, and raise a family. I never lost my desire for a master s degree. Finally, in 2005, I learned of an accelerated adult education program which seemed right for me. Thirty years had passed since I left graduate school and after two years, I graduated from Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN with a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership. My message to all who are struggling with finishing a college degree is to just finish. I understand your struggles and all the roadblocks that get in the way. I never let go of my dream and it has led me to Mid-Continent. Upon graduation from Florida State, my dream was to work at the university level. It has taken me many, many years to reach this point, but, I made it. You, too, can achieve your dreams of getting an education. You can do it if you never give up! Here at MCU I am blessed to be working with cohort chaplains and class representatives. I am also focused on retention trends, survey analysis, and how we can use our student s feedback to improve. We are also working to develop and coordinate career service efforts for current students, as well as, graduates. I am also the school coordinator for ADA services. Students who think they may qualify under the ADA should contact me at , ext. 294 or me at dpuckett@midcontinent.edu. One final project we are working on to help our students is to develop a tutoring program that can serve our students across two states.

6 My son, James Randall Wilson Jr., is presently serving in the military. He has become Sargent First Class and is working for the Army in Frankfort, Kentucky. He has done three tours in Afghanistan and was also in combat. Upon serving for our country, he attends MCU. He raises his James Randall Wilson Jr, brother's son and in his free time he helps coach summer football. He has been honored to serve our country, and gives 110 % in all he does. - Jennifer Wilson MCU thanks our military for their time and service! Murray 3 Originally from Fair Haven, New Jersey, I currently live in Bardstown after completing my 10 year tour of duty in the U.S. Navy. In 1997 I joined the Navy when I was 19. I was trained to be an Aviation Support Equipment Technician which followed my passion for anything with an engine. I served as the youngest flight deck troubleshooter on my first ship the USS Nassau. I was able to see lots of countries during my tours including Italy, France, Spain, Israel, and Greece. I ended my enlistment after 10 years due to a back injury that kept me from performing at 100%. I enjoyed every moment I spent in the Navy and am grateful for all the life long friends I made along the way. My father in-law, a Marine that served in Vietnam, and I started a business in 2008 called Veteran Auto Service. The name just came to us since we were both proud vet's. We have Brian Fowler been in business for going on six years and have a great group of loyal customers. My desire to go back to school always made me nervous. I struggled in high school and didn t know if I had what it took to be a college student. I m happy to say that I currently have an A average and am so excited to be going to school. The teachers and staff have been great, as well as my classmates. I was honored to be voted Class Rep. I enjoy the extra duties that come with that, and helping people when they need assistance. I m looking forward to this second term and am proud to say, I love Advantage, it is tailor fit for my needs. - Brian Fowler MURRAY 3 OUR 400TH COHORT GROUP! A celebration of education happened in Murray on October 15 th. Advantage celebrated with the students in the Murray 3 bachelor s cohort, as they were the 400 th new group that started Advantage. Almost 13 years prior on September 27, 1999, the first Advantage group kicked off on Mid-Continent s home campus in Mayfield. Since then, Advantage has continued to grow, year after year. Other notable landmarks include Louisville 6 as the 100 th cohort, Pinckneyville (IL) 2 as the 200 th cohort, and Mayfield 15F as the 300 th cohort. STUDENT TESTIMONIAL I ve lived my entire life in Lincoln County, Kentucky and currently live in Waynesburg. I am in my sixth year as the Assistant Coordinator at Lincoln County High School s Youth Service Center in Stanford. My husband, Darrin, and I have two children; our son, Ethan (11), and our daughter, Kaylie (15). I decided to enter Advantage when I hit a brick wall at another Kentucky college. I was pursuing Social Work and had taken all the classes I could without having to quit my day job. I could not give up my health benefits to quit and go to school full time. A very good friend introduced me to Advantage; I ve never regretted switching schools. I received my associate s degree many years ago and always wanted to get my bachelor s degree, but never thought the time was right. I decided a few years ago that I needed to make a move and finish my degree. The classes in the Psychology and Counseling bachelor s program have helped me tremendously in my job. I talk with high school students daily about their college/life goals and their problems. The Sheila Padgett classes I ve had at MCU have expanded my thinking to help students where they are today. I do feel like my education has given me a new perspective on my personal goals for me and my family. I would definitely recommend MCU and Advantage to anyone thinking about going back to school. The professors respond in a timely manner whenever I have questions. I was very nervous about not having a face to face with my instructors, but so far it has been a wonderful experience. It really makes a difference knowing that your classes also have an underlying theme of Christian values and your professors have a true Christian view on this entire experience. This program has allowed me to work, shuttle my kids to activities, and be involved in my church. The Advantage programs have so much flexibility. I do see it as a true blessing. It makes me feel good when I can ask my fellow classmates to pray for a need in my family or for a sick friend. Everyone is really positive and we encourage one another on a weekly basis! The instructors are encouraging too. I believe that God lead me down this path for a reason and I m so excited about receiving my degree next year. - Sheila Padgett, DL 7P