Northeastern Junior College is making progress on its new welcome center. Lisa LeFevre, vice president of administrative services, shared plans for the center, located in Hays Student Center, during an NJC Advisory Council meeting Thursday.
The project doesn’t involve a lot of construction, just adding a wall, moving windows, etc. Using the space occupied by the bookstore, which is closed right now, the project will combine all of the key elements for registration including admissions, financial aid and registration, along with a smaller-sized book store, and there will also be space for students looking for a quiet place to study.
NJC hopes to have the welcome center open by the time spring semester starts. The project is moving at a good pace right now, with all of the demolition finished.
White said the reason they decided to do this is because they have found that best practice for colleges is to have an opportunity for students and families to do “one stop shopping,” when they come in, with all of the critical services in one location.
During his president’s report, White informed the council that enrollment is up about 4% this fall and NJC’s volleyball team has qualified for the national tournament in Clarksville, Tenn., while both the men’s and women’s soccer teams missed going to their regional tournament by one point.
Additionally, he spoke about a new Workforce Pell Grant that is part of the Big Beautiful Bill passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this year. Pell Grants have typically provided financial aid for traditional students taking a full credit load. In some cases, depending on income, they cover a student’s entire cost of tuition. Rules for the Workforce Pell Grant are still being developed, but it would allow students to receive financial aid if they are enrolled in a program that is eight weeks or longer that delivers a certificate in a profession that is in need in the school’s area.
For example, if NJC can deliver a Commercial Driver’s License course in eight weeks with the correct amount of credits, it could potentially qualify for the Workforce Pell Grant and students would get aid to pay for it.
“It’s a pretty exciting opportunity,” White said. “It’s a real opportunity for us to bring students in who aren’t looking for a traditional one-year certificate but to come and upskill or grab three or four welding classes over eight weeks and get that aid that would help pay for it.”
He also mentioned that in doing research he found that 10 years ago, students were taking classes in-person 95% of time and online 5% of the time, however, last year, students were taking in-person classes 82% of the time and online classes 18% percent of the time.
“So, our students are starting to tell us a little bit about their customer preferences. We’ll always, I think, be very much an in-classroom, in-person campus but we need to make sure we’re offering quality online opportunities because we see students looking that way,” White said.
Earlier in the meeting, Jesse Quinlin, Director of Marketing, announced that Auston Hoskins, NJC’s social media coordinator, has received the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 4 Rising Star Award. District 4 is comprised of community and junior colleges from Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming, some with 40,000 to 50,000 students. Quinlin and Hoskins recently presented at the NCMPR District 4 and 6 conference, in Las Vegas, where he received his award and Hoskins will be attending the national conference in Washington, D.C., in March, where he is in the running for the national Rising Star Award.
“In his short time of three years at NJC, Auston has made an immediate and lasting impact on our marketing and PR efforts. He has significantly increased our social media presence by creating engaging, relevant and visually appealing content that amazes both current and prospective students,” Quinlin said.
Hoskins has produced high-quality videos for all of NJC’s athletic teams and continues to expand his work by creating dynamic video content for departments across campus, helping to showcase NJC’s programs and opportunities in a fresh and modern way. He has also organized and streamlined NJC’s social media approach, ensuring the college’s platforms are more consistent, eye-catching and aligning with the college’s brand.
“His creativity, technical skills and ability to tell authentic stories have elevated NJC’s digital presence and strengthened our connection with the community in a remarkably short time,” Quinlin said.
Later, Vanessa Soliz, workforce resilience program manager, spoke about the upcoming Rural Colorado Career Expo to be held Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at NJC. Approximately 760 area high school students will be attending the event, which will feature 73 employers from throughout the region. The event is free to attend, to register go to: https://www.njc.edu/rural-colorado-career-expo.
While the expo is focused toward high school students, college students and community members are welcome to attend.
Additionally, Camille Rose, director of admissions/recruitment, introduced the 2025-26 Student Ambassadors, who play a critical role in helping with student tours at NJC. Ambassadors this year include Kalissa Weich from Fort Collins, Warre Monelaers from Korspel, Belgium, Elyce Sisseck from Holyoke, Daniela Garcia from Sevilla, Spain, Yaly BenHarush from Tel Aviv, Israel, Sofi Hernandez from Puebla, Mexico, Reina Roberts from Fruita, Oliver Vaida from Northampton, England, Grey Feicht from Westminster and Brendan Clelland from Alberta, Canada.
“Our Ambassador program is amazing, all of them are going to be given a scholarship for their efforts this fall retroactively. We couldn’t do what we do without you guys,” Rose said.
The council was also introduced to Jordan Richards, new wind renewable faculty member. He fills a position the college has been looking to fill for sometime and brings experience on every platform. Richards will free up time for Jason Winter, who has been NJC’s traditional wind faculty, to use the National Science Foundation grant he received to integrate wind and battery into NJC’s energy program and Winter will also assist with welding.
Later Leslie Weinsheim, director of institutional research, planning and development, presented the academic year 2025 graduate profile, which shows that NJC had 295 graduates this year and awarded 442 certificates and degrees. As of September, 18% or 53 Northeastern graduates have transferred to four-year universities across Colorado and the United States, compared to 9% for 2024 and 19% for 2023.