“Quarantine really started to affect my mental health during the first couple of months. Due to strict isolation, I began missing my friends greatly. I decided to start a series of portraits called, “The Art of Making Friends”, of everyone I had missed. This is the fifth portrait of my friend Grant.
This project has kept me busy and has also alleviated the hard feelings this experience unexpectedly brought. Now that school is in full swing again, life seems a lot more full, and staying busy is no challenge at all! I have never attended classes on campus, but I am happy we are back into a routine of normalcy that was ripped away from the world earlier this year.” – Sarah Jones
Submission Information
Title: The Art of Making Friends GRANT – Sarah Jones
Talent Name: Sarah Jones
Category: ART
Swansea Wealth Advisor Samuel Hanger named to the SWIC Foundation Board
By
SWIC Foundation Board Member Samuel Hanger
Wealth management advisor Samuel Hanger of O’Fallon has been named to the Southwestern Illinois College Foundation Board. As a board member, he will support the Foundation’s efforts to provide special educational and cultural activities that are not part of the college budget.
Hanger is a graduate of University of Missouri-Columbia and has been working in the financial industry since 2013. He started his career off as an intern with Archford Capital Strategies in Swansea. From there, he became a financial services representative for Scottrade in St. Louis. Hanger returned to Archford Capital Strategies in 2015 and currently works there as a wealth management advisor.
He holds a Certified Financial Planner certificate; is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary; and holds his Series 7, 66, 63 and life insurance licenses. Hanger is a member of the Gene Slay’s Girls and Boys Club of St. Louis and the Mizzou Alumni Association. He is also working towards his Chartered Financial Consultant designation.
For more information about the SWIC Foundation and supporting programs at the college, contact the SWIC Foundation Executive Director Rena Thoele at 618-235-2700, ext. 5647, or rena.thoele@swic.edu.
Juneteenth: a time for reflection and recommitment on the Black Life and the Fight against Racism
As an institution of higher education, we at Southwestern Illinois College are committed to valuing human life,with respect, fairness, equality, and dignity. I am appalled at the recent events across our country, the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and innumerable others. The reality is: we as individuals have a responsibility to build relationships valuing each other with respect, to learn and to understand diverse cultures and views, and to appreciate each other’s unique backgrounds, societal inequities, and abilities.
In our continued commitment toward respecting differences, and in light of the national conversation regarding racism and injustices, Southwestern Illinois College empathizes with the historically unique Texas celebration of Juneteenth, the emancipation of the last Confederate slaves on June 19, 1865. Two months after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, five months after passage of the 13th Amendment and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery in Texas had yet to be abolished. On June 19, as a Confederate insurgency continued, Union Major General Gordon Granger, in command of 1,800 Union soldiers, proclaimed that “all slaves are free” in the state and that there would be “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.” (Rita Reynolds, Associate Professor and Chair of Wagner College History Department)
Lizz Schumer, a staff writer for Hearst Magazines, on June 4, 2020 posted a Twitter comment from Makayla Butler on the Good Housekeeping website.
Let’s respect, support, and extend understanding to one another as human beings because it makes us stronger and we are able to achieve greater success together.
Respectfully yours,
Nick Mance
SWIC Adult Education now offering online High School Equivalency classes
By
If you left high school without earning a diploma, let Southwestern Illinois College help you earn one from the comfort of your home or anywhere. The SWIC Adult Education and Literacy department is now offering online High School Equivalency preparation classes.
Students must live in the college district and have a separation letter from their school district if 16-17 years old.
Learn more about upcoming classes and schedule an appointment for orientation by calling 618-235-2700, ext. 5525, or toll free in Illinois at 866-942-SWIC (7942), ext. 5525 or email tanja.anglin@swic.edu.
“I am truly honored to be considered a 2020 graduate from Southwestern Illinois College. My time here was not a walk in the park by any means, but I had the opportunity to learn from so many outstanding professors during the course of my Marketing degree. I hope that anyone who has the chance to follow their dreams is as lucky as I am, in regards to learning from some of the best individuals out there. A special thank you to: Tom Bilyeu, Jessica Talleur, Paris Rosenburg, Karla Brown, Damon Chaffin, Ken Kelly, Catherine Evans, and a few others. I would not have made it to where I am without all of you. Thank you SWIC! Heres to being a 2020 Graduate!” – Bennett
Belleville, IL
Kimberly Roseanne Bennett
In the degree of
Associate in Applied Science in Marketing
SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS COLLEGE
Excellence in Marketing, 2019-2020
Nominated By: Tom Bilyeu
Kimberly Roseanne Bennett
STUDENT RECOGNITION AWARDS 2020 – Business Division
having a difficult time in Quarantine? Here’s some creative activities for kids, teens, families, and adults to strengthen happiness and build memories!
Things to cure boredom:
Complete a puzzle! Complete a Rubik’s Cube, or even do a Crossword puzzle to challenge your brain!
Start a journal or blog about something important to you.
Dust off that old instrument and practice, or learn a new musical instrument.
Write poetry about your feelings.
Watch all the really long movies you haven’t seen!
Teach yourself a foreign language, You can watch tutorials or use a app or take a language class here at SWIC!
look at pictures of baby animals!
Write real hand-written letters to family and friends and write thank-you notes to service people during this hard time.
Learn calligraphy! YouTube or skill share can help.
Play a board game together with your family
Coloring books: They’re not just for kids.
Learn a new skill that you’ve always wanted to learn!
Work on your financial planning, try and find some ways to save more money.
Indoor scavenger hunt.
if you have hair dye dye your hair a new color. Life is too short not to!
Rearrange your furniture to make it seem like your home is a totally different space.
Make someone a Quarantine care package and donate it to the local hospitals or homeless shelters!
Learn origami. Make cranes for your loved ones.
Self care practices to help your mood:
Meditate try too get around 10 minutes of mediation in a day, to uplift your mood and improve clarity.
Take a bubble bath you can add music or candles or even do a whole spa day!
Make a vision board! Think of where you want to be 5 years from now and build your dreams!
Exercise! Get your blood pumping and do a at home work out! Try and get 30 minutes or more a week!
Clean! Do a deep clean and get rid of all the old items that don’t suit your life style anymore.
Cook something new for you and your family!
Go outside and go for a walk with out going on your phone. You can take a friend or the family dog!
Do a calming facial
Go for a bike ride
Do yoga it can improve your flexibility and help calm any nerves or stress you might be holding in.
Buy yourself some pretty flowers or buy a friend or family member some!
Journal your feelings or what you did in the day. Just write!
Read self-help books!
Make a list of things for which you are grateful.
Been meaning to get some new glasses? Try on new frames virtually!
Safe Date idea’s:
Clear out the family room and camp indoors with blankets, popcorn and favorite snacks, cuddle and watch scary movies together!
Cook a sperate meal for each other and eat each others meal.
Make art together, you can paint outdoors or even draw each other!
Play 20 questions with each other!
Clean your place together! Believe it or not it can be fun if you play some music and have a good time!
Take a peaceful walk together and look at the trees and clouds, collect flowers or leaves together! You can even store them in a binder for memory sake.
Do a online work out class together or just do a couples work out!
binge watch all of the series you may have never finished with your partner
Game night! Have some fun games lined up to do with your partner and read the directions before you play!
Staying Connected:
Use Facebook Messenger, Microsoft Teams, Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts etc. and video chat with your long-distance friends.
Give the mail man a thank you note with a small bottle of water or snack.
Create a Google document of shows or movies you’re watching and share it among family and friends.
Write a play starring your loved ones. Perform it via a video call or video and post it!
Jackbox Party Pack, which is a bundle of multiplayer games that you can play on any device (laptop, smartphone, smart TV, you name it). They’re affordably priced (under $30)
Netflix Party is a Chrome extension that synchronizes video playback and adds a group-chat function to anything you want to watch on Netflix.
Invite people to join an interactive online discussion group or book club. Or watch livestreams of interest that include live chat.
Hang out in your front yard and interact with neighbors postal workers or walkers, As long as you observe the proper physical distance, you can be a friendly, encouraging presence in the neighborhood.
Volunteer Virtually spend time for organizations and help your community and ones in need!
Become a volunteer for crisis textline. There’s many people going through a difficult time right now let’s be there for them even if it’s just a text message away.
Download be my eyes and help the visually impaired!
Check on your neighbors who live alone to ensure they are okay. From a safe distance, strike up regular conversations with these individuals at the same time every day or several times a week.
Learn ASL ( American sign language) even if it’s just a few basic signs more people need to learn this!
