Prospective Students Get a Smart Start We should all be excited about our new Smart Start/Smart Connect recruitment effort. Attendance has grown steadily, with many people using these events to apply for admission. At each event, staff gathers feedback, which has been highly positive. Prospective students have wholeheartedly thanked us for helping them plan for college. The Smart Start series, providing an MATC overview, runs through June 28 at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus. Smart Connect sessions, zeroing in on specific programs and services, launched Feb. 22 with a presentation about financial aid. Almost all who attended filled out aid applications. Six more Smart Connect events will run through April. Instructor buy-in has been encouraging and is vital to our success. Smart Start/Smart Connect was promoted in an 80,000-piece mailing to district high school juniors and seniors and households with 19 - 24-year-olds. Recruiters also are getting the word out directly to area high schools. In an ever-more competitive academic marketplace, with so many colleges to choose from, people have countless options. Their decision-making becomes easier when they clearly understand what we have to offer at MATC. Let them know the best place to start: Smart Start and Smart Connect. Please see the front page of matc.edu for complete information and event schedules. To get involved, contact Brunnetta Soward, director of Recruitment. Darnell E. Cole President

In This Issue: Driving Commitment We are a partner in a creative new support service for students whose driver's licenses have been revoked. First Class Graduates from 'Express Ramp' At Bucyrus International, Inc. on March 8, our first 11 students graduated from the Express Ramp heavy plate welder training program. Minority Success The WTCS has reported a big increase in the number of people of color graduating from the tech college system, with MATC leading the way. Milwaukee 7 at Mequon Campus The Milwaukee 7 regional economic development group holds its quarterly meeting at the Mequon Campus. MATC is a major partner in this emerging and influential group. Introducing 'SAFE' The MATC Foundation is launching a Student Access Fund for Emergencies as a safety net for students in sudden, unexpected financial trouble. Students Earn State and National Recognition Meet MATC's new State Ambassador, and the Music Occupations student who's a New Century Scholar. Interior Design Students Win Competition MATC Interior Design students beat MIAD and  WCTC  college students at the NARI Home Remodeling Show. Spanish Instructor Gives the Gift of Sight Faculty member Perry Nigh volunteered to fit people with eyeglasses in rural Mexico. New Audience for College of the Air An older technology finds new life and 150 new students through a nationwide education program for prison inmates. Click here for top of Communique Click here for a printer-friendly version