Meg Lambert, a Montgomery College student, has been passionate about history since she was 12 years old. For years she had been looking for an opportunity to investigate history, specifically medieval history, and its influence on today’s pop culture generation.

“I have been looking for an excuse to talk about [this project] in public,” she admits.

She had her chance at the College’s first annual Student Excellence Expo, held Saturday, February 23, 2008 at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. Students from all three campuses, ranging in age and academic interest, presented more than 20 different projects that day throughout the Health Sciences building. There, they exhibited projects that grew from their academic courses, learning communities, cross-discipline independent research, and the College’s service learning connections in the community.

This expo, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Initiatives and Partnerships (VPAIP), was the first of its kind at the College to draw upon and showcase excellence from all academic programs and campuses while also showcasing the success of noncredit and developmental programs.

“We can’t focus on just one definition of excellence,” said Dr. John Hare, administrative associate in the VPAIP and Expo planning coordinator, at the February Expo. “Developmental courses to AELP courses to honors courses, they all attract students at all levels of the College. All of these courses have standards of excellence, and our students reach that.”

Unique in College history, the Expo is also groundbreaking nationwide as the first community college program of its kind to showcase excellence in such a venue.

Since the Expo, the Office of the VPAIP has shared its success stories with individuals from different institutions – including members from last month’s Middle States reaccreditation team – and interest has been high to replicate this project elsewhere. It is the College’s hope that future Expos like this help the external community recognize that excellence.

“Montgomery College was always on the map, but now we’re making sure it stays there,” said Roxanne Wellington, a student who presented on her internship experiences with the Paul Peck Humanities Institute’s Smithsonian and Library of Congress Internship Program. “[MC] is one of the best in the nation, and I’m happy to have gone here.”

The seeds for the Expo were planted at the November 2006 Learning College Retreat when a break-out group of faculty suggested a student excellence exhibition that mimics a professional academic conference. Dr. Buddy Muse, associate director of Distance Learning, developed the suggestion into a formal proposal and spearheaded the planning throughout the last academic year.

From the beginning, the entire College has been involved in planning and implementing the project. Last summer a pre-planning committee of faculty, staff, and administrators met to establish the project’s framework, themes, and details. Faculty members served as project mentors, working closely with students to develop their presentations.
Additional faculty and staff also served on the program’s planning committee that began work last September, guiding the essential student representatives who aided with social networking publicity, technology, logo design, and other outreach pieces.

Muhammad Waqar, a student who presented a Bollywood-themed project on South Asian society and served as a Planning Committee member, appreciated the opportunity to work side-by-side with members of the College community. It was a role reversal to divide and share work responsibilities with faculty and staff, one that taught him a great deal about communication and teamwork.

For many students this was their first time presenting in public. In addition to this learning opportunity and the other resume-building experiences that came from planning and participating in this event, students also acknowledged that this was a chance to meet students from the entire College. For many, this was the first time visiting the newly constructed buildings of Takoma Park/Silver Spring, the first time visiting with students from campuses other than their own.

One such student was Raissa Noubissie, who also presented on her internship opportunities with the Smithsonian and Library of Congress.

“Since I started attending Montgomery Collge, I focused just on Germantown,” she said. “Thanks to this event I got in touch with others from Rockville and Takoma Park/Silver Spring. I’m so glad I met them.”

At the conclusion of the day’s festivities, students remarked time and again about how much the Expo strengthened their understanding of their own abilities and the influence Montgomery College has everywhere

One part-time student, Bobbie Kolanowski, attended as an audience member, watching the academic projects of her fellow students.

“I was very inspired by the students – inspired not to give up, to pursue my goals, and –when it’s tough – to keep going,” she said.

Students made promises to help plan for next year’s event, encourage their friends to contribute, and others even promised to return even after they transfer to four-year institutions.

 “This event was everything we hoped for and more,” said Dr. Muse