Summertime and Kid College—it’s hard to separate the two at UT Martin. Kid College completed its 30th year in June on the main campus, with similar formats also offered at the Jackson and Parsons centers and in Paris. More than 60 courses at Martin covered a wide range of interests for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Space Camp remains an annual favorite for children of all ages, while other classes teach everything from sports skills to making cupcakes. “Kid College’s success is most evident when we see past participants bring their own children,” said Debbie Mount, UT Martin director of non-degree programs. “The Kid College experience is being handed down from generation to generation.”
Vet Tech Program Grows
May was a month of firsts for UT Martin’s veterinary health technology option. The program received initial accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities. Then the first 20 students graduated from the program May 3 during spring commencement. Another 13 students are expected to graduate from the program in August. Veterinary technologists are best described as the equivalent of registered nurses in the animal world. Courses were first taught in fall 2011, and 120 students are now pursuing the option. It’s one of 24 accredited bachelor’s degree programs in the country, the only four-year program in West Tennessee and the only accredited veterinary technology program in West Tennessee.
Be Servant Leaders
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett told hundreds of graduates at spring commencement that they each have the responsibility of sharing their talents with the world around them in an effort to pay forward that which has been shared. “The challenge for each of us now is looking for ways that we can demonstrate the type of servant leadership that is so sorely needed but too often lacking in our culture,” Hargett said. “Unfortunately, we live in a world that doesn’t encourage this type of leadership. It inundates us with messages that tell us we all deserve the biggest house, the fastest car, and to be the CEO of the company by the time we are 25 years old.”
Escape in Dance
Members of the UT Martin Dance Ensemble performed their spring dance concert, ESCAPÉ, at the Harriet Fulton Theater in the Fine Arts Building on campus. All choreographers were students in the K-12 dance education licensure program as part of the UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts.