CHADRON – Two students from Chadron State College, Mekenna Fisher of Hershey, Nebraska, and Markus Ramsey of Minden, Nebraska, won championships at the 2023 Collegiate National Leadership Conference of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) in Atlanta June 22-25. Five other CSC students placed in the top 10 at the national event that attracted more than 800 college students and educators from the U.S. for workshops and networking opportunities.

Nine Chadron State College students qualified to attend. However, last year’s chapter president Drew Kurtenbach could not compete due to an employment offer, according to Dr. Nic Fisher an FBLA advisor and Assistant Professor at Chadron State College.

The eight CSC students who attended were limited to competing in two events. They are Andrew Avila of Chadron, Makenna Cormack of Eaton, Colo., Mekenna Fisher, Liliana Foose of Burlington, Colo., Logan Parde of Ceresco, Colo., Ramsey, Eben Rosentrater of Paxton, Neb., and Phillip Soto of Scottsbluff, Neb.

Mekenna Fisher took home first place in Impromptu Speaking and eighth place in Organizational Behavior and Leadership. She competed three years at FBLA nationals in high school. She said she enjoyed the college-level experience and meeting interesting people like a 70-year-old woman who placed second in Impromptu Speaking.

Ramsey, the new CSC chapter president, took first place in Human Resource Management.

“It was really encouraging to see the potential future for our chapter. It’s the first time I've won at nationals and it really meant a lot, especially facing students from division one colleges,” Ramsey said.

The team of Ramsey and Rosentrater took fifth place in Hospitality Management, and Rosentrater took fifth place in Retail Management. The team of Avila, Cormack, and Soto placed third in Global Analysis and Decision Making. Parde placed third in Business Decision Making and 10th in Accounting.

Fisher said the experience of traveling across the country to compete against students from institutions in the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, and the Big 10 was invaluable.

“To see our students stand toe to toe with others who had won their respective State Leadership Conferences and consistently move on to the championship rounds was edifying. The caliber of Chadron State's students and their application of business principles they have acquired at the Business Academy really shined,” Fisher said.

FBLA President and CEO Alexander T. Graham said he was proud of the student members who had worked diligently to prepare for the national competition.

“They impressed the judges with their mastery of competitive event subjects, made powerful new connections with employers and alumni, and demonstrated their readiness to enter the workforce,” Graham said.

Students learn about mental health careers at FARM Camp

CHADRON – Fifteen high school students learned more about mental health careers by participating in the Frontier Area Rural Mental-health (FARM) Camp at Chadron State College in June. This year, students and alumni attended from Chadron, Gordon, Rushville, Hemingford, Bayard, Grant, Valentine, and Lodgepole.

The FARM Camp and Mentorship Program was created in 2012 by Western Nebraska Behavioral Health (WNBH) Clinic staff, with support from the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, to address the underserved nature of rural areas by using a grow our own approach, according to Dr. Catherine Jones-Hazledine.

“We hope to identify young people in our rural communities who have an interest in, or affinity for these fields, and provide them with information and mentoring to pursue these much-needed careers,” she said. “We have done presentations in many local high schools and also spread the word through conferences and webinars.”

Student applications were reviewed by Jones-Hazledine and Dr. Tara Wilson, CSC associate professor, who then invited selected applicants.

A team of behavioral health professionals affiliated with WNBH clinics made core presentations including Jones-Hazledine, Wilson, Shanna Rosentrater, Lauren Coffey, Michael Steube, Julie Hamburger, and Elissa Rosebraugh. 

Students earn one credit hour by completing the camp including study of the history of behavioral health, psychological theories, basic brain anatomy, cultural considerations, and clinical skills.

Annually, guest speakers include community-based licensed mental health providers, psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselors, grief counselors, social workers, and counselor educators. This year's guest speakers were Mandi Price, Dr. Nathan Favaloro, Loni Watson, Jeanice Caporaso, Victor Gehrig, Dr. Russ Seger, Robin Bila, Rebecca Fernau, Ana Young, and Jen Taylor.

“They talk to the students about what their work involves, necessary training, what they like and don't like about their work, and more,” Jones-Hazledine said.

Another aspect of FARM Camp is a mock-interview exercise where local drama students portray clients seeking care.

“Our participants role play interviewing clients to get a sense of clinical interactions, and then we all debrief on this experience together. Their final project is to work with a partner to create a social media post or video about a mental health topic,” Jones-Hazledine said.

FARM leaders encourage camp alumni to take on a leadership or mentorship role and return to make presentations to the campers. This year, three alumni made presentations. Justin Frandsen, a graduate student at Texas A&M, presented about research psychology, Aliyah American Horse of Gordon, Nebraska, presented about mental health and poetry, and CSC student Summer Mayhew of Valentine, Nebraska, presented about mental health in the justice system.  

Update on National Student Clearinghouse

National Student Clearinghouse (the Clearinghouse), the nation's largest provider of postsecondary transcript services, has recently identified a security breach. This breach, affecting several higher education institutions across the country, potentially includes the Nebraska State Colleges (Chadron State, Peru State and Wayne State Colleges), which utilizes the Clearinghouse for federally mandated enrollment certifications and transcript services.

It is important to note that no systems operated or maintained by the Nebraska State Colleges were breached, as this incident is localized to the National Student Clearinghouse systems.

At this time, the extent of the breach and the specific impact on Nebraska State College students remain unclear. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that some of the data maintained by the Clearinghouse includes personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers and date of birth. The Clearinghouse is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation to determine the scope of the breach and identify the affected individuals. Once the Clearinghouse completes their investigation, National Student Clearinghouse will promptly notify any impacted students.

Please be aware that this breach encompasses multiple organizations and higher education institutions across the United States. Consequently, the investigation is expected to be extensive and may require a significant amount of time before its completion. The Clearinghouse has indicated that every effort is being made to expedite the process and provide you with the necessary information as soon as possible.

While the Nebraska State Colleges await further updates from the Clearinghouse, we recommend implementing the following safeguards to protect your personal information.

Monitor credit cards and bank accounts: Regularly review your accounts and promptly report any suspicious activity to your financial institution. Be vigilant for unexplained payments, unexpected notifications from your bank, or calls claiming to be your bank. Additionally, consider setting up email notifications for credit card purchases.

Place fraud alerts and credit freezes: Take proactive measures by requesting fraud alerts and credit freezes with major credit bureaus. This can help safeguard against identity theft or further misuse of your personal information if it was compromised. Further information on these measures can be found at the following link: [https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-credit-freezes-fraud-alerts].

Exercise caution with suspicious emails or communications: Refrain from opening or clicking on links in emails, texts, or messages from unknown individuals. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics. If you receive any messages (via email, text, Facebook Messenger, etc.) asking for your password, prompting for Multifactor Authentication (MFA), or requesting your one-time passcode, exercise caution. Remember, regardless of the consequences they may threaten, it is unlikely to be true.

Update passwords: It is advisable to create longer passwords, preferably with a minimum of 12 characters. Always use unique passwords for each website or application you access. Whenever possible, enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) for an added layer of security.

The privacy, safety and security of our students, alumni, families and employees are of utmost importance to the Nebraska State Colleges. The Colleges will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as they become available.

More information can be found on the Clearinghouse website https://alert.studentclearinghouse.org/