On Campus: Harper College News Roundup

Students-turned-business owners. An impressive Ethics Bowl showing.

Those stories and more are part of this week's Harper news roundup. 

Students Join Forces in Furniture Rehab Business: They met as students in a Harper College sculpture class and fueled their friendship as aides in the College’s 3D art studio. They’ve now become business partners, in a venture aimed at giving second-hand castoffs a second life. The trio works together to creatively up-cycle old furniture, turning things like defunct record player cabinets and broken-down work benches into functioning 21st century appliances and family room-ready works of art. “Creativity is in our blood,” says sculpture student Paul Fritz of Arlington Heights, who stresses the group’s earth-conscious attitude and notes the profits go toward more art supplies. “This is funding our creativity, and that’s really our goal: to keep learning new skills, applying old skills and all around enhancing ourselves as artists and individuals.” The business, dubbed Leftie’s in a nod to the leftovers the team transforms, does custom work by request, and is displaying work at Harper’s Studio V – an on-campus student-run boutique featuring art, jewelry and fashion from students, faculty and community members – and selling finished pieces online. The trio is quick to credit Harper for bringing them together. “We are so thankful for our experience there,” says Victoria Claus of Arlington Heights, who recently completed her sculpture degree. “We credit Harper with almost all our success, individually and together, because of the professors and studio faculty who mentored us.”

Ethics Bowl Team Will Host Regionals, Compete at Nationals: Members of the Harper College Ethics Bowl team – the only community college squad to qualify for this year’s national tournament – now have their eyes set on the two-year college championship. The team, which lost a close battle to the U.S. Naval Academy team to finish 1-2 at the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Championship in San Antonio this month, will travel to Georgia in April for the inaugural Junior College Ethics Bowl Championship. The team also will battle it out at a first-ever regional contest hosted by Harper on Saturday, April 6. “This is the best team Harper’s ever had, and these students have proven that they have it in them to compete well and win big,” says Assistant Professor John Garcia, who coaches the team with Assistant Professor Brett Fulkerson-Smith. “It’s exciting to work with them as they prepare for these contests, because you can really see their eagerness to compete and to succeed.” The team beat out competitors from nearly a dozen Midwestern four-year colleges and universities to earn its first-ever national qualifying bid in December. The four-person team ranked ahead of 10 teams at nationals, including prestigious institutions like Georgetown University. The regional contest will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 6 in Rooms L304 and L314, Building L on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. It is free and open to the public.

Registration Open for 2013 Kids' Summer Camp: Last summer, 12-year-old Justin Cesario of Buffalo Grove designed a video game so tough on challengers it was crowned “Hardest Game to Win” in his Game Generator class. This year, he’ll attempt to repeat his title in Game Maker for Nintendo DS, a new kids’ class teaching the intricacies of programming and game design for Nintendo. The course, offered through Harper College’s InZone summer enrichment and sports camp, is one of several new tech-focused offerings being rolled out this year. The first-of-their-kind courses will be taught by experts and include classes in 3D game design, sound mixing and app creation for the iPhone and Android. “These classes take previous favorites to a new level, and fully immerse young students in the newest trends in a way that lets them have fun while learning,” InZone Coordinator Kevin Hahn says. InZone, open to children ages 8 to 14, boasts more than 200 classes in a wide range of subjects – from an acting camp culminating in a world-premiere movie screening and a Kung Fu course led by a self-defense master to a new, elite weeklong baseball camp allowing kids to learn InZone is offered in two-week sessions from Monday, June 10 through Friday, August 16. Morning and afternoon classes, lunch and before- and after-care options are available. To register or to browse the full InZone catalog, visit www.harpercollege.edu/inzone.

Art Exhibit Showcases Mini-Masterpieces: Small-scale artwork from artists across the nation will be on display this month in Harper College’s 36th annual Small Works National Juried Exhibition, a celebration of mini-masterpieces measuring no more than 22 inches across. More than 300 artists submitted a collective 900 pieces for consideration for this year’s show, which kicks off Monday, March 25 in the College’s Art Exhibition Space, Room 200, Building C on the main campus in Palatine. Staci Boris, who selected the works for this year’s exhibit, praised Small Works as a way for students and the community to discover new art and artists. The exhibit is sponsored by the Harper College Educational Foundation. Viewing times are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, March 25 through April 18. It is free and open to the public.