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For all of you keeping up with this exciting story, the Genesee Community College tartan is now officially registered with The Scottish Register of Tartans! This is a phenomenal achievement for Professor Ehrhart who has labored so extensively to bring this project to life, the GCC Fashion Business program, and the entire college! In case you missed the original post detailing just what goes into crafting a tartan, feel free to check it out here.

To view the official page dedicated to the GCC tartan on The Scottish Register of Tartans’ website, just click here! This is such a tremendous honor, and a real feather in the cap of both the Fashion program, and the school as a whole.

Established by the Scottish Parliament in 2008, the Scottish Register of Tartans promotes and preserves information about registered tartans.To learn more about the fabulous Scottish Register of Tartans find them on Facebook, and Twitter .

Heads up! Tomorrow during common hour (12:30 pm – 1:30 pm) there will be a lot of fun
activities happening in our gymnasium. The purpose of this events is to raise money for United Way which is a non profit organization that collects and distributes funds to charities local to a specific area. Each year Genesee Community College sets a goal amount of money that they’d like to donate to United Way. So stop by the gym tomorrow, give a dollar to a good cause and be entered into a raffle drawing to win one of three special prizes.

At 12:30 sharp the Spring Pep Rally will begin. Let’s cheer our athletes on for the season! There will be a Hot Shots competition between three extremely competitive college faculty members at 1 pm.  And after that, anyone can play for a $1 donation. Miniature golf will be set up on the east end of the gym, also costing a $1 donation to play. Did I mention when you donate a dollar to play or just to give, you will receive a raffle ticket?

Hang onto it because toward the end of the common hour three tickets will be pulled out randomly and three people will win a prize. The first prize won will be a football autographed by Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills.

The second is a Jack Eichel’s Buffalo Sabres jersey and the third will be a backpack filled with gifts from the GCC Barns & Noble store.

Hello! Iesha, here. For those of you who are frequent readers, and to serve as a brief introduction to some, I’m the girl who used to write blog last semester, often about nature walks, poetry, spirituality, and events happening around the school. I am a resident assistant at College Village, a lover of math, a member of the C.S.U. club, and my career goal is to become a dentist who travels to poor countries. But enough about me, let’s talk about something cool happening at our school!

Last semester College Village, our on campus residential community,  finished the construction of a spacious recreational center located in the basement of Hemlock Hall. Upon it’s completion, it was dubbed The Root by a resident, due to each building being named after a tree, and it’s been used ever since to host all sorts of programs from dance parties to cooking classes. College Village is always updating it’s new space, and has just recently added some more features to The Root. Let’s take a virtual tour of the place, shall we?

First stop the eating area:

Here we have some high chairs and tables, along side the windows.

Here is a more “cafeteria style” eating area with plenty more tables and chairs. These come in handy for Thanksgiving and Easter programs, when College Village cooks or orders enough food to feed 500 residents.

Next, we have our seating area, equipped with comfy arm chairs, and leg rest. Need a nap? You’re in the perfect spot.

To our right are some things that every college student needs: Computers and a printer! Resident do not have to walk to the library to do school work if one of these PCs are open. The Root is not the only place in College Village with computers for resident use. There are two computers in the study room of Hickory Hall and two other computers in the basement of Collage Village’s main office.

Right behind the computer stations are four vending machines. What would you like? Chips? Water? Soda? A Hot Pocket? These machines take credit/debit cards and we have a microwave nearby.

To our left is the College Village mini library. Residents are free to leave a recreational reading book, or to take one. Come by this table and find something interesting to read. If you come on Thursday grab a cookie too.

There is someone down here. Who can it be? Oh wow, it’s M.C.(aka Mary-Claire). She is our Student Success Coach. Her office is right next to the CV mini library and she’d love to talk to you about classes, careers, grades, and answer any questions you have about opportunities at the college. She host workshops to give Financial Aid advice, and to educate on other helpful topics. M.C. likes to meet with every new resident, so make sure you check your mailbox to see if you’ve received a request from her to meet you. We all could benefit from the guidance of someone who has been through what we’re going through.

Are you the type of person that needs a quiet study environment? Ask M.C. and she will unlock a study room for you, or for your study group. There are two study rooms available and one of them is usually always open.

Did I mention the CV 1 Classroom? Many things take place in this room due to the wide screen television display and the dry erasable marker painted walls. Classes are host here, Just Dance Now is often played here, Poetry is spoken here, and building meetings also take place here. If you’re registering for classes and you see CVR1 as the class location, that means that you and your classmates will be meeting here. It’s convenient for College Village residents.

Our final stop is The Root Kitchen. It’s a spacious and modern kitchen, equipped with plenty of counter space, an induction stove, fridge, and a dishwasher. Residents can meet the RA’s down here for a cooking class or dessert program.

Thank you for allowing me to give you a sneak peek tour of College Village’s new addition for residents, “The Root“. It has plenty more to offer residents living at College Village and we are excited to see what CV will do next. This concludes my blog, until next time!

Professor Dudkowski’s BUS201 Professional Sales class was treated to a fabulous educational opportunity, when Mary Kay Senior Sales Director Amanda Conley stopped by as a guest speaker! Amanda Conley has been involved with her Mary Kay business for almost a year, and in that time she has quickly risen through the ranks and now leads her own team of representatives.

We were fortunate enough to book Ms. Conley due to student Samantha Weber’s, relationship with her. Samantha first heard about the Mary Kay opportunity by hosting a small facial party for consultant Suzy Ball, who at the time was just starting her Mary Kay business. After the party Samantha set up a coffee career meeting with Mary Kay director Kirsten Dispenza, and became a consultant herself. Samantha says that what she loves most about being a Mary Kay consultant is having her own business and being able to work for herself. She is able to set her own hours, and ultimately control how much she makes.

On behalf of the entire BUS201 class, thank you so much Amanda Conley for sharing your time and professional experience with us!

I realize it’s a little bit past Christmas, but hey there’s still snow on the ground, so this winter themed news is still relevant! Professor Ehrhart’s BUS208  Display & Visual Merchandising class, and the entire Fashion Program want to thank Charles Men’s Shop from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to decorate windows for the annual Holiday Window Display in the city of Batavia. Eight students were provided an opportunity to decorate the windows: Maggie Gabalski, Lauren Countryman, Bailey Johnson, Jordan Reese, Jessica Rush, Jeanne Riviera, Jessica O’Brien, and myself (Kasey Edgerton).

The Charles Men’s Shop windows at 200 East Main St. placed first in the Holiday Window Decorating Contest sponsored by the Batavia Business Improvement District. For winning, the store received $200 which was then split among the eight visual display students. Ten judges- all of them senior citizens who live in the city-cast their votes after viewing 16 downtown store windows, both during the daytime and evening hours.

In conclusion I would just like to reiterate how thankful we are to Charles Men’s Shop for their continual support of the GCC Fashion Program, and to our marvelous professor Ms. Ehrhart for arranging the educational opportunity.

Located at 301 North Street in Batavia, My Sister’s Closet is a boutique style second hand clothing and accessories for women and children. The primary mission of My Sister’s Closet is to provide quality and affordable clothing to women who are re-entering the job market. The shop is open to the public, and proceeds assist the YWCA Domestic Violence Program.

Hours of Operation

• Monday 10am – 5pm
• Tuesday 10am – 5pm
• Wednesday 10am – 5pm
• Thursday 10am – 7pm
• Friday 10am – 5pm
• Saturday 10am – 3pm

History and Background:

In the first quarter of 1996, the idea of a woman’s shop featuring pre-owned clothing became real. YW staff members, Sandy Funke and Linda Olson, were charged with developing a volunteer-based program from what had originally been planned as a grant-funded opportunity. A committee was formed and enthusiasm for the project grew. The name for the store was selected from a short list. It came from an out-of-state consignment shop that one of the committee members had visited.

The Daily News provided a photo and story to explain the YWCA’s need for clothing and volunteers. There were 18 interested and eager women at the first volunteer recruitment meeting. Decisions were quickly made regarding hours of operation, pricing, and other procedures. Clothing racks, hangers, a display counter, and other items were soon gathered. My Sister’s Closet opened for business in late March,1996, and recorded an astounding sales total of nearly $5,000 during their first year of operation.

Volunteers, donations, and customers just kept coming, and by 2007, the annual sales total reached over $30,000. In time, the original location in Room 10 became overcrowded, and in January, 2005, My Sister’s Closet re-opened in newly refurbished and larger quarters in Room 9. Even that space eventually became too crowded, and in 2007, another move to Rooms 3 and 4 finally provided the shop with adequate floor space for displaying clothing, plus two work areas, good natural lighting, and a better location in the YWCA building.

My Sister’s Closet and GCC:

GCC Professor Donna Ehrhart was involved in the initial planning committee that established My Sister’s Closet twenty years ago.She recently introduced Fashion Program student Daisha Spence to Linda Olson of My Sister’s Closet, to offer her assistance as a visual display intern. With Daisha’s impeccable sense of style, I’m sure she will do just fabulously in this endeavor.

(Daisha Spence, Linda Olson, Donna Ehrhart )

GCC has a long history of partnership with the YWCA. Dean of Students Jennifer Newell is very involved with the YW’s Stiletto & Sneaker Walk, a fundraiser and community event aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence.

Another GCC faculty member was recently honored by the YWCA, Maryanne Arena . Arena is the director of Fine and Performing Arts at Genesee Community College. Her goal is to teach her students life lessons and serve as a mentor for those who love performing arts.In the past, the local YWCA chapter has honored award recipients at its annual Fabulous Females event. In 2015 they chose to hold a Women of Distinction event to fully align with the national YWCA goals and mission to empower women.