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03/31/23

Gadsden State to celebrate Community College Month in April

Gadsden, Ala. – Gadsden State Community College is joining with community colleges across the state and nation to celebrate National Community College Month in April. The theme for this year is “Expanding Minds. Transforming Lives.”

CCM 2023 Calendar of Events

Gadsden State is a member institution of the Alabama Community College System, which enrolls more than half of all freshmen and sophomores in the state. Approximately 6,300 of these students transfer each year to public four-year institutions. More than 17,000 degrees and certificates are awarded annually from members of the Alabama Community College System.

Community College Month includes community events, workshops and professional development opportunities. 

Student fun days are planned at several Gadsden State campuses. Student Appreciation Day at the Ayers Campus will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 on the back lawn of the campus. G-Day will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 13 at the quad on the Wallace Drive Campus. All events will include fun, food and music for students, faculty and staff.

The Cardinal Arts Journal is sponsoring a creative student workshop focusing on mental health during the month. “De-Stress with Doodling” will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 13 in Room 103 at Allen Hall on the Wallace Drive Campus. The workshop is free. 

Activities for the community include the return of the International Festival from 4 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. April 6 at the Science Building on the East Broad Campus. This is the College’s 43rd International Festival, an event created to be a cultural exchange that exposes the community to other cultures. It is co-sponsored by the Division of Languages and Humanities, the Alabama Language Institute and Students Without Borders. It is free and open to the public.

Gadsden State Cherokee is hosting a month-long drive to collect supplies for the Cherokee County Children’s Advocacy Center. Needed items include Kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels, Clorox wipes, individually-wrapped chips & crackers, bottled water, juice pouches or boxes, new stuffed animals as well as crafts for play therapy, such as fidget spinners, stress balls, cute/fun pens, journals or small notebooks, washable paint, paintbrushes, glitter, small canvases and craft buttons. Items may be dropped off in the lobby of the Academic Building. For more information, call 256-927-1800 or 256-927-1808. 

An American Red Cross Blood Drive will be from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 5 in the Gadsden State Cherokee Academic Building. All donors will receive an exclusive American Red Cross and Peanuts t-shirt while supplies last.

The Gadsden State SGA and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers is sponsoring a community blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 4 and 5.  The blood mobile will be located in the parking lot of Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center on the Wallace Drive Campus. Community members, alumni, supporters, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate and donate.  

Adult Education Services will hold a graduation ceremony for students earning their general equivalency diploma at 7 p.m. April 11 at the Oxford Performing Arts Center. The graduation ceremony will include speeches from designated graduates and scholarship awards. The event is free and open to the public.

The Annual CAJ Breakout Poetry Reading and Art Exhibition sponsored by the Cardinal Arts Journal will be from 3 to 5 p.m. April 17 in the Multi-Purpose Room at the One Stop Center on the East Broad Campus.  The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. 

Through April 20, the Cardinal Arts Journal is accepting submissions for a contest themed “Telling Our Stories: Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends.” Creative writing, art, music and photography submissions are accepted. The event is open to Gadsden State alumni, supporters, students, employees and the general public. For more information and further details, please email cardinalartsjournal@gadsdenstate.edu.

Student achievement recognition ceremonies are traditionally held during Community College Month. The annual Honors Day on the Ayers Campus will be at 2 p.m. April 18 at the Learning Resource Center. Honors Day at the Wallace Drive Campus will be at 2 p.m. April 19 at Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center. Gadsden State’s Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society will hold an induction ceremony for new members at 5:30 p.m. April 19 at Wallace Hall. The public is invited to attend these events.

Administrative Professionals Week will be celebrated during Community College Month with a professional development opportunity for administrative assistants and clerks from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 25 in the Bevill Center Lecture Hall on the East Broad Campus. The event is open to the public. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. Participants must RSVP by April 20 to Baisha Woody, director of Skills Training, at 256-549-8234 or bwoody@gadsdenstate.edu.  The registration link can be found at https://forms.office.com/r/yJg7htBcMQ.

The Gadsden State Theatre Department’s Fundamentals of Directing class is hosting “A Night of Student-Directed One-Act Plays” at 7 p.m. April 26 and 27. The free event will be at Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center and is open to the public.

For more information on Community College Month, contact Jackie Edmondson at 256-549-8224.