SELECT command denied to user 'wnc'@'localhost' for table 'wnc_departments' WNC: The Right Choice

Stories and Testimonials

Winnie Kortemeier

Professor Supports Students With 'Rocks in their Heads'

WNC Geology Professor Winnie Kortemeier
WNC Geology Professor Winnie Kortemeier

WNC Geology Professor Winnie Kortemeier is known for her enthusiasm and creativity in the classroom and her fascinating geology field trips. But now she has been recognized as the top earth sciences student recruiter of 2010 for the University of Nevada, Reno's Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering.

The honor, which Kortemeier said surprised her since it came from outside her own college, is a testament to both WNC's faculty and its students.

"The 15 or so WNC students who have transferred into the geosciences programs at UNR have done really well there. They make me proud," Kortemeier said.

She often encourages her geosciences students to continue their studies at the university. She is pursuing her own Ph.D. in Geology from UNR, so she is familiar with the program and the professors.

"I'm able to give my students personal insight into the geosciences programs at UNR and help them decide if a program is a good fit," Kortemeier explained. "I often encourage them to speak to professors and recruiting personnel at the university, but I never considered myself a recruiter, so this award is a surprise and an honor."

At Western, Kortemeier and other earth science faculty teach geology, the study of the earth, the materials it is made of and the processes that change the materials over time. WNC offers an Associate of Science degree in Geosciences that prepares students to transfer into a bachelor's degree program in geology and many other disciplines. The degree provides a strong foundation in earth and physical sciences, and all classes within the geosciences emphasis are approved for direct transfer to UNR. Up to 64 credits may be applied toward a baccalaureate degree.

When asked what encourages her students to choose the geosciences as a major, Kortemeier believes it is the field trips into many corners of Nevada that she leads for each of her classes, "For a lot of students, that's the "ah-ha" moment, when they realize this subject is for them."

For additional information, please contact:
Winnie Kortemeier,
Community College Professor		 Phone: 775-445-4285 ext.
E-mail: kortemei@wnc.edu
WNC Information and Marketing Services
2201 W. College Parkway
Carson City, NV 89703		 Phone: 775-445-3234
Fax: 775-445-3198
E-mail: info_desk@wnc.edu


© 2012 Western Nevada College
Privacy Policy | Site Policies | WNC en Español | Home
Information: 775-445-3000
General Questions: info_desk@wnc.edu