NEWS @ NEW COLLEGE INSTITUTE
July 2016
Longwood Master’s in Counselor Education Set to Begin Spring 2017
NCI’s newest academic offering will be a Master’s degree
program in Counselor Education through Longwood University.
This 60-credit hour program is designed to accommodate
working professionals. The first cohort of students will begin
classes in January 2017. The cohort model provides students
with the support of a community of colleagues who will begin
and end the program together. All classes will be taught at NCI
in Martinsville by doctoral level counselors with experience in
the field. More information about the program is available on
NCI’s website, www.NewCollegeInstitute.org, or by calling (276)
403-5610. If you are interested in applying, please contact Kathy
Charleston, Assistant Dean of Longwood’s College of Graduate & Professional Studies, at (434) 395-2255 or
charlestonke@longwood.edu.
STAR Telehealth Offers New Certification in Telemental Health
Telemental health is a rapidly growing field spanning across mental health
disciplines around the world. As such, professionals are looking for best
practices and credibility to offer safe and effective services to their clients.
In conjunction with thought leaders in the field of telemental health, the
Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) has developed the Board
Certified TeleMental Health Provider (BC-THMP) certification. This
certification is designed for counselors, marriage and family therapists,
social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, recovery coaches, and related
social services professions. Such certification can be obtained through
STAR Telehealth, a program created in partnership between NCI and
University of Virginia. For more information, please contact Laurie Wardle
at (276) 403-5456 or lwardle@newcollegeinstitute.org.
PROGRAM PROFILE: AET Engineering Fundamentals
Rising high school juniors from around the region came together to
practice essential skills for the next two years: communication, teamwork,
and problem-solving.
These students, coming from Danville, Martinsville, Henry County, and
Pittsylvania County, are preparing to start the Academy for Engineering and
Technology (AET) program in the fall. Students from Danville and
Pittsylvania County will attend AET courses at the Institute for Advanced
Learning and Research (IALR) while students from Martinsville and Henry
County will attend courses at New College Institute (NCI).
AET is a dual enrollment program for high school juniors and seniors to
earn both high school and university credits from Virginia State University
(VSU). This program is offered at no cost to students accepted into the
program.
AET students collaborate to program their robots
to compete in a dance party challenge using
specialized software.
During this recent, week-long camp, which is called Engineering
Fundaments, students came together to practice the engineering approach to
problem-solving through various activities. Students also participated in
industry and community tours to explore engineering opportunities close
to home. Tours included visits to the STAGS robotics lab, Dalton IDEA
Center, Tyton Bioenergy Systems, Engineered Biopharmaceuticals, and
Bassett Furniture Design Center. The week culminated with student
presentations and a robot dance party competition using newly acquired
programming skills.
Engineering and creative thinking combine with
During their final presentations, many of the students felt that one of the
fun during the balloon chair challenge.
most valuable aspects of Engineering Fundamentals was their newfound
friendships with students across the school districts. “I really enjoyed
working in groups with new people and seeing how well we functioned
together. We developed a camaraderie through the various challenges and
all shared a willingness to learn together,” said Preston Painter, rising
junior at Carlisle School.
Other students enjoyed local industry tours as they learned about
engineering careers within Southside Virginia. “My favorite part of
Engineering Fundamentals was touring the local industries. I didn’t realize
that there were so many engineering jobs available in our community,”
shared Logan Thacker, rising junior at Magna Vista High School.
While the students were not touring industries, they were taking on
various challenges such as the Balloon Chair Challenge. Tunstall High
Team C. A. L. K. wins the robot dance party
challenge with their interpretation of the waltz.
School student Kelci Pool found this to be one of her favorite activities of
the camp. “I had never heard of this challenge. It was cool to work together
in teams and practice preparing for unique problems within engineering,” said Pool.
Libby Sharp, AET instructor at the IALR site, explained the main goals of Engineering Fundamentals at the culminating
luncheon. These goals included establishing teamwork among the two AET cohorts (NCI and IALR), introducing the
engineering mindset that these students will utilize in the next two years within AET, and finally, introducing students
to local engineering opportunities through tours and visits.
Experiential Learning Luncheon Celebrates Interns; Fall Internships Available
On July 21, college students and local employers gathered at
New College Institute to celebrate the culmination of
another successful season of the NCI Summer Internship
Program. Representative interns Lucas Prillaman and
Caroline Williams addressed the crowd to share the
meaningful experiences gained during their summer
internships. Prillaman shared that his experience “forced me
out of my comfort zone, it made me tackle new problems
head one, it taught me flexibility and greatly development
my team work and communication skills. Furthermore,
because of my position in the school system, I was able to
Many of the 2016 NCI Summer Interns attended the Experiential
make countless connections and build somewhat of a
Learning Luncheon on Thursday, July 21.
reputation for myself within the community.” In total, 39
interns completed the program among 26 local employing agencies.
Looking ahead to the fall semester, students enrolled in academic programs offered at NCI are eligible to begin
applying for a fall internship. The fall program runs much like the summer program, but with a reduced number of
hours to account for the students’ time commitments with classes running full-time. Employers interested in hosting
an intern or students interested in applying for an internship should contact Tabitha Ramey at (276) 403-5609 or
tramey@newcollegeinstitute.org. The deadline to apply is September 1, 2016.
Dates and Topics Announced for NCI Fall Lecture Series
New College Institute offers various non-credit lectures
throughout the year. These lectures represent opportunities for
learners of all ages to expand their knowledge base on a variety
of topics including history, art, technology, gardening, and other
relevant or timely matters. NCI is excited to announce the
upcoming fall lecture dates and topics:
Holiday tunes filled NCI’s Martin-Lacy Lecture Hall
during the 2015 Holiday Concert, a special
performance in conjunction with NCI’s non-credit
lecture series.

Wednesday, September 21: Centennial Year of our National
Parks

Wednesday, October 19: What is Telehealth and How is it
Changing Healthcare?

Wednesday, November 16: Managing Diabetes

Wednesday, December 14: Holiday Concert with the
Martinsville High School Jazz Band
All lectures are scheduled to be held at NCI’s Building on Baldwin
at 12:00 p.m. If you would like to RSVP or request more
information, please contact Steve Keyser at (276) 403-5612 or
skeyser@newcollegeinstitute.org.
A look into the history of Philpott Dam draws a
crowd for this 2015 non-credit lecture.
U PCOMING
E VENTS
LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY STUDENT
ORIENTATION AT NCI
August 2 at 5 p.m.
NCI Building on Baldwin,
Martin-Lacy Lecture Hall
TECHNOLOGY & CHURCHES
WORKSHOP
August 20 at 10 a.m.
NCI Building on Baldwin
SMOKE & MIRRORS: TOBACCO,
CANCER & YOU
August 27 from 8:30—1:30 p.m.
NCI Building on Baldwin,
Martin-Lacy Lecture Hall
NON-CREDIT LECTURE: CENTENNIAL
YEAR OF OUR NATIONAL PARKS
September 21 at 12: p.m.
NCI Building on Baldwin
VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LIVE
STREAMED FROM LONGWOOD
UNIVERSITY
October 4
NCI Building on Baldwin,
Martin-Lacy Lecture Hall
Student Spotlight: Angela Stowe
Angela Stowe is a senior in the
Longwood University Social Work
bachelor’s degree program at NCI.
Additionally, she has participated
in the NCI Internship program,
where she has worked this past
spring and summer at Mountain
Valley Hospice. Angela has been a
standout student and a great
example of the pipeline that is
available for students to transition
to NCI after earning their
associate’s degree at Patrick Henry
Community College. Angela says,
“the process of transitioning from
PHCC to Longwood at NCI was very
easy. I had the support of my advisor who followed me through my final
year at PHCC. NCI staff were available for any questions or concerns I
had before graduating at PHCC. I graduated in December 2014 and was
ready to begin classes in January at NCI. I feel the process is smooth and
organized to work with people's busy schedules.”
NCI Night at the Mustangs Hits a Homerun
Fun times all around at NCI
Night at the Mustangs! It
was a great game and a
great time to talk with the
community about the
programs and services we
offer here at NCI. And a
Mustangs homerun
ensured the win for the
home team!
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