Two years ago today

...blessings in new friends, new relationships, improvements in all areas of my life. My work, my new home, my job, my family, my health, my relationship with God, my thinking -- immeasurable blessings. Mind blowing -- amazing -- incredible -- the blessings that that are part of every day fill me with gratitude that can never be described. I can't wait to begin the third year....
Blessed Beyond Measure.

Proud to be an Islander

My University publishes features on faculty, students and staff who have gained recognition of some sort. I guess they must be getting to the bottom of the barrel :)  Really, it is nice to be recognized and is just one more reason why I love my job - as exhausted, frustrated and/or agitated as I sometimes become, at the end of the day, I ALWAYS feel like I have served a purpose in someone's - or many someone's - life. I am so blessed! The following is appearing on Texas A&M University's home website for the next month...

 

Dr. Cherie McCollough

An Outstanding Islander

Making Science Fun

Dr. Cherie McCollough is getting children interested in science by creating a fun, hands-on learning environment with Family Science Nights at area schools. So far, she has reached more than 6,000 K-16 students through the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded program, while training future educators to teach culturally-relevant science to K-12 students and their families.
Each year, she visits eight or more elementary, middle, and high schools across the Coastal Bend. Family Science Nights are also a learning experience for future teachers. These events provide them with the opportunity to interact with parents, one of the most important skills required to be an effective teacher.
“Family Science Nights are a part of my curriculum,” said McCollough, associate professor of Science Education.  “I give my students a theme and instruction and they design the curriculum and activity. Everybody has a great time and even the parents get involved.”
McCollough, who came to the Island University in January 2006, also leads the science component of the annual Family Learning Institute held at the University that instructs teachers on how to conduct a family learning event. McCollough currently teaches science to future K-12 teachers, is involved in extensive professional development in science teaching, and has designed and implemented interdisciplinary math and science curriculum and peer mentoring programs for the University’s NSF-funded Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP). In addition, she has helped secure several grants and has served on panels for the NSF and the Department of Education.
Recently, she was one of the first six educators inducted into The Texas A&M University System’s Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators. While she is excited about reaching so many children, she feels more work needs to be done because in Texas, science is not measured by standardized tests until the fifth grade and is often left out of the curriculum.
“I want to help raise the level of scientific literacy,” she says. “You can’t do that with a textbook. You have to generate interest and get people engaged to appreciate science.”

 

Harbor Bridge Half Marathon

It was a beautiful morning as about 1500 runners met before the sun rose in downtown Corpus Christi. The Harbor Half means you get to run over the huge Harbor Bridge (pictured), then down the causeway over the bay and back. So...you catch the bridge coming and going. Let me tell you, as we headed out and I found several friends, it was awesome -- the views, the company, the excitement -- felt great. I stopped and took several photos along the way...


 Me and my friend Katie - she was doing her first 10K (6 miles) that morning. This was taken as we were waiting for the start.

 Walking backwards...coming up to the bridge...

 USS Lexington taken from top of bridge...she is an awesome ship.

 The Art Center - and part of the newly designed bayfront.

 The sun rose as we were on the bridge...I had tears it was soooo beautiful.

 Yes, I took this picture...this view, to me, was worth running 13.1 miles on a Sunday....

The causeway linking Corpus Christi to Portland..it was long, but the sun had not yet completely risen.


At the turn around, things were feeling pretty great. However, getting back to the bridge and it's huge incline at mile 11 and in the blazing sun (it was now past 9:00) was tough. However, this pic and the view the can only be partially revealed via photography made the trek up the bridge TOTALLY worthwhile:

It's hard to tell how long you've been running as time goes fast at some points and painfully slow at others. I had a target time I wanted to make this run in -- and at the finish, I was ecstatic to find I finished under my target time by 2 minutes. Awesome, given the fact that it got so hot at the end! It was a totally awesome day filled with great times, good memories, friends, and beauty. Blessed beyond measure....

Swimming with Dolphins...maybe

The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN) is a non-profit organization to further the understanding and conservation of marine mammals through rescue and rehabilitation, research and education. Our College of Science and Engineering does research in this area, and sent out an email fishing (pun intended) for volunteers. I put my hand up - electronically of course. I've been told there is some training (I expected that), some videos to watch (cool~!) and some information to learn - some of which will not be pleasant. Evidently the area covered by TMMSN extends from the Sabine River to Brownsville, and includes first response services in this area as well as Western Louisiana. Big territory. There are a lot of education and research opportunities as well - including the Moody Gardens in Galveston and a Whales on Wheels program. I am really looking forward to learning more about this and getting involved. I'm sure some of the stories do not have happy endings...but the ones that DO have happy endings are the ones we remember :) Stay tuned....

Journey To Damascus #99

A three day retreat (no computer, no phone, no watch) full of blessings, grace, friendship, fellowship, scripture, laughter, tears and food...all in bountiful amounts. It was amazing--- so amazing. I will always be thankful that, after three bailouts for various reasons, my friend Kathy DROVE me there to make SURE I attended. Thank you Kathy and Elsie for insisting that I go and receive what I needed, when I didn't even realize what was missing....amazing, lifelong memories that will remain forever in my heart.