In January of 2003, Karen Beltran Lopez arrived in Minnesota from Mexico at the age of nine. She didn’t know the language, was experiencing immense culture shock and was nervous to attend school. It would take more than three years of ESL courses to become fluent. Learning languages, however, quickly became a passion and after mastering reading, writing and comprehension in English, Karen Beltran Lopez began studying German, ultimately reaching a conversational level of knowledge before graduating high school.

The Three Legged Frog Club at Minneapolis College strives for an environmentally sustainable campus. Members of the club work to increase awareness of environmental conservation and preservation through education, with Sustainability Month in April serving as a key focus on stimulating discussions and offering interesting activities.

College student teams will compete Thursday and Friday, April 7-8 in a U.S. Bank-sponsored Hackathon, where they’ll work to design the most compelling and innovative application to help college students be successful in managing their money.

Minneapolis College Campus Community,

Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen an uptick in violent crimes against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community. These violent acts and anti-Asian rhetoric have had a significant impact on the mental and physical well-being of members within AAPI communities.

Running for Change, a student-led group started at the Lino Lakes Correctional Facility, is having a book drive for new and gently used textbooks until April 1. The goal is 1,000 textbooks, and for every book raised a club member will run one mile.

Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World

The School of Liberal Arts and Cultures and Student Life at Minneapolis College are hosting a virtual release and panel discussion featuring editors and writers from the book We are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World on April 14 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Instructor Nick Deacon, along with Minneapolis College Biology students, have contributed to a research paper in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) publication, Science. Deacon is co-author, and the students are acknowledged for their collaborative work in the lab. The following is a summary of the article, supplied by AAAS.

Minneapolis College Community,

Over the past few months, an unprecedented amount of anti-trans legislation has swept across the nation. Of the 170+ proposed bills this year, nearly 20+ have targeted the trans and LGBATQIA+ Community. This level of profiling is disturbing and does not align with the ideals of equity and inclusivity that we strive to promote here at Minneapolis College.

Teach Together Minnesota! is a free, virtual conference designed to bring together educators from across Minnesota to have discussions with colleagues in their field of study grounded in cultural fluency and culturally relevant pedagogies.

Registration is open and the event will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Miki Huntington, a member of the Political Science Faculty at Minneapolis College, has participated in the conference for two years.

Raquel Jarabek, astronomy instructor at Minneapolis College, is one of only 24 teachers nationwide to be selected as a 2022 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAAs). AAA is a professional development program for science teachers to improve science teaching and enhance student learning and STEM engagement.