Annual Essay Contest Ends This Semester

The deadline for the 6^th Annual OCC Student Essay Competition is Monday, March 4, 2013. Sponsored by the OCC Foundation and the Student Outcomes Assessment Committee, the contest is open to all current OCC students who meet eligibility requirements. Submit an essay for your chance to win part of the $3,250 prize money.

This year’s theme is “Saving Detroit.” How would you bring people back to the city to work, live and explore the best that the city has to offer? What features and aspects could make Detroit a thriving city once again?

Students must meet all eligibility requirements and their paper must conform to specified length and formatting rules.  For complete contest rules and submission requirements, please visit www.oaklandcc.edu/essay or stop by any OCC campus Library and ask for an Student Essay Packet.

Good luck!

Raider wins Bronze Medal in Sochi,Russia

Daniel Eaton, a Sophomore student at the Auburn Hills Campus, along with his partner, Alexandra Aldridge, secured the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Finals.  The JGP Final brings together the top six Ice Dance Teams in the World, and was held in Sochi, Russia last week.   Their score of 83.59 points for the “Fiddler on the Roof” free dance represented a season high.

Eaton said “We wanted to come out today and show the judges, technical panel and crowd that we are a strong team technically and emotionally. We can have strong levels and a high performance. I think we accomplished that today.”  Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin earned the gold medal, while France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron earned silver in their JGP Final debut.”

Our next competition is the 2013 United States Figure Skating Championships in Omaha, NE the end of January.  The top three finishers at the US Nationals will represent the United States at the World Junior Championships in Milan, Italy, the end of February.

Arts Leader Aaron Dworkin Speaks at Annual MLK Convocation

Aaron P. Dworkin, founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, a leading arts enterprise that focuses on youth development and diversity in classical music, will be keynote speaker at OCC’s Ninth Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation.  The event takes place at the Orchard Ridge Campus, Wednesday, January 30 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

A 2005 MacArthur Fellow, Dworkin was President Obama’s first appointment to the National Council on the Arts.   An author, social entrepreneur, performing artist and youth education advocate, he has received national recognition for his many accomplishments.

 A lifelong musician, Dworkin is an accomplished acoustic and electric violin virtuoso, as well as a spoken-word and visual artist.  His memoir, Uncommon Rhythm:  A Black, White, Jewish, Jehovah’s Witness, Irish Catholic Adoptee’s Journey to Leadership” was published recently.  He has also written an autobiographical poetry collection and a children’s book, produced and recorded CDs, and directed the independent film “Deliberation.”

 Filling out this year’s program is a performance by the Detroit Children’s Choir, and organization established to help children in grades 3 to 8 gain self-confidence, social and political awareness and academic skills.