The T-Bird Times is a digital newsletter, which is published on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month by the Office of Student Life & Leadership. If you'd like to have your event or announcement included, please click this button to be directed to a Google Form. 

*Attention Faculty* Please add the T-Bird Times to your Canvas Navigation Menu!

You can now OPT-IN to have a link to the T-Bird Times added in your Canvas Navigation menu! Please consider opting-in for all your FALL 2023 classes so your students have easy access to T-Bird Times and all of this important information. For instructions on how to enable this link, please click here or contact the CTL at ctl@mesacc.edu.  Thank you!

Welcome Thunderbirds!

Stop by the Welcome/Information tables on campus when you arrive for free snacks, MCC merch, a campus map and information. We're here to help!

You'll find tables at the Southern & Dobson campus from 7 am-1 pm Monday-Wednesday near the Clock Tower, Library, Child Care Center, and outside of the Enrollment Center.

Red Mountain will have a Welcome Table outside of the Mesquite building from 8 am-1 pm on Monday and Tuesday. You can also get free ICE CREAM at Acacia Village on Wednesday from 10:30-12:30, and join us for National Waffle Day on Thorsday from 10:30-12:30 in the Saguaro Lobby. 

Please stop by and grab a snack and let us help you find your way! Welcome to MCC, Thunderbirds! Have a fantastic semester.


Join Thor's Thunder Crew at Red Mountain

"How do I sign up for Student Life?" Click here to join the Thunder Crew!

We get asked that question by students at the beginning of the semester. They know they want to get involved at MCC, but aren't sure where to start. Start by joining Thor's Thunder Crew at Red Mountain! You can be part of our team of students who help plan and run fun campus events, or you can just get added to a distribution list so you never miss an announcement about all the fun things happening at MCC! Join us by filling out this form. Stop by Student Life with any questions! We'll be setting up our first Thunder Crew meeting soon. 

LDSSA Dinner and Barn Dancing

Wednesday, August 30 | 7-10 pm

Located at the LDS Institute next to the MCC Red Mountain campus

The MCC Latter-day Students Association invites you to join them for dinner from 7-8 pm and barn dancing from 8-10 pm! All are welcome to stop by the LDS Institute buildig located at 7126 E. McKellips Road. 

Student Leadership Retreat

September 22-24 | Camp Pine Summit: Prescott, AZ

We are Fanning the Flames of Leadership this fall and we want you to be LIT (Leader Igniting Teamwork) with us!  We're getting rid of the social media, the "tik-grams" and "insta-toks," for the weekend and focusing on YOU!  


Take the weekend to Reset and Recalibrate your talents and leadership style; Light the Fire to Inspire with others IRL (in real life), and Open Horizons to action in yourself and those around you! 


Apply HERE to spend the weekend of September 22nd (Friday through Sunday) in the mountains of Prescott with other current and aspiring leaders from colleges throughout Arizona.  


The application deadline is Friday, September 1st, with interviews to follow to determine selection.  This retreat is FREE, and transportation, meals and lodging are all included. Don't miss this great retreat!

Sign up TODAY by visiting this link. Stop by Student Life if you have questions, or email Erick Tanchez.

Gilman Scholarship Workshop

Wednesday, August 6 | 1:00-2:00 pm | Link to join

Are you planning to study abroad this summer? Find out about how you can earn scholarships to help pay for your experience! MCC International Education specialists will be providing a workshop with everything you need to know to apply for the Gilman Scholarship, which has a deadline of 10/5/23. 

Blood Drive: Southern & Dobson

Tuesday, September 5 | 10 am-2 pm
Wednesday, September 6 | 10 am-2 pm

Student Lounge at MCC Southern/Dobson

Sign up for your appointment here, using blood drive code MCC

Blood Drive: Red Mountain

Wednesday, September 6 | 10 am-2 pm

Bloodmobile outside of Saguaro building at MCC Red Mountain

Sign up for your appointment here, using blood drive code MCC

Astronomy Nights at MCC

Join us on the first Friday of each month for our Planetarium Shows!

6:00-10:00 pm in the MCC Planetarium | Click here for more info or to purchase tickets.

There will be four shows throughout the course of the evening, starting at 6PM and starting every hour with the final show at 9PM. Tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis at the entrance to the planetarium. To guarantee seats for a particular show, tickets are available for reservation for $3 each. 

Semester Schedule

Sept 1: The Hot and Energetic Universe

Oct 6: Totality!

Nov 3: Unveiling the Invisible Universe

Dec 1: Tour the Universe with Pink Floyd

CLUB RUSH!

Southern/Dobson: Sept 13-14 | 10 am-2 pm (Navajo Room)

Red Mountain: Sept 21 | 10 am-1 pm (M200)

Do you want to get involved on campus? Interested in meeting with community partners for your volunteer work? Would you like to learn more about the services available to you at MCC? If so, you better mark your calendars for Club Rush! Complete a passport by visiting the various tables around the room, and you'll get a free meal and also get entered to win some cool prizes! 

*The RM event will also include some University Transfer Partners, and the food/prizes may vary. We hope to see you at either (or both) campus!

ASMCC at Red Mountain

ASMCC Student Government at Red Mountain is seeking student leaders to take on the important role of representing the student body on our campus. 

For more information, visit the Student Life and Leadership office in Mesquite 210 at Red Mountain or email Erica with questions, or sign up at this link. 

We Care Wednesday

Wednesday, Sept 6  | 10:00 am-12:00 pm | Southern & Dobson Campus

The first We Care Wednesday fresh food distribution of the semester is taking place at the SOUTHERN & DOBSON campus on Wednesday, Sept 6. It will take place from 10 am-12 pm in the NAVAJO ROOM in the Kirk Student Center. This is free and open to the public! *Food available while supplies last.

Walk-up service only. WCW at Southern and Dobson will no longer be a drive-up service. 

The next We Care Wednesday at Red Mountain will be on Sept 18 (and is still a drive-through event).

Follow the Student Life Instagram for your chance to win Thorsday prizes! @mccthunderbirds


What is THORSDAY?

Wear your favorite Thunderbird gear every Thorsday, greet your friends with "Happy Thorsday," and find your own ways to celebrate your Thunderbird pride.  Do you have your Thorsday shirt? Stop by Student Life!

Upcoming Community and Civic Engagement events

Topic: Election Security & How You Can Be Ballot Ready in 2024

September 6 | 12-1 pm | Online-Click here | Hosted by Betty Galanter

For presentation details, visit this link

EngageMe Workshop: Unleashed with Co-Op Survival

Date: Friday, September 8th, 2023
Start Time: 12:00 PM | End Time: 2:00 PM
Location: LB-145 (Southern/Dobson)
Host: Sharon Tope Grassi
Purpose: Co-Op Survival is an organization that makes leashes, but it isn't a leashmaking organization. Their programs are designed to bring veterans, military caregivers, military families, and the community together, one knot at a time.

The non-profit was founded by one Veteran and four military caregivers who found leashmaking to be a great way to connect with others, with the goal of opening lines of communication with military-caregiving families in our community—those families that form when a servicemember becomes wounded, ill, or injured. In the transition to a caregiving family, everyone adjusts from what-was to what-is. Lives can revolve around wounds, illnesses, and injuries; too often, careers, goals, and friendships are lost. Leashmaking brings caregiving families together. What you see is the leash, but what’s important are the conversations and the connections that happen between the knots. Funded in part by the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services as made available through the Arizona Veterans’ Donations Fund.

Sharon Grassi
Arizona Dole Caregiver Fellow/Alumni
Cell 480-329-5174
Proud Mom of Sgt Derek Tope
OEF/OIF Medic/Infantryman

Co-Curricular Type: Academic Involvement


EngageMe Workshop: Every Child Matters

Host: Margaret "Talia" White and Leora Smith; American Indian Institute
Date: Friday, September 22nd, 2023
Start Time: 12:00 PM | End Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center

Field trip to Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center. Will learn the true history of Indian boarding schools across America.

Co-Curricular Type: Academic Involvement

STUDENT SUCCESS WORKSHOPS

The Foundations for Student Success is offering student success workshops during the fall semester. Workshops are free and are conducted both online and in person. These sessions are open to all students. For more information, please visit this site.  Learn how to be a successful online student, how to manage stress, and how to feel like you deserve to be a college student!

Topic: The Professional Student

9/723 | 1:30 | S/D: Thunderbird Think Tank

9/8/23| 11:00 am | Online: Click Here

Topic:  Time Management

9/19/23 | 2:00 pm | S/D: Thunderbird Think Tank

9/22/23| 11:00 am | Online: Click Here

Upcoming Theater and Performing Arts events

Jack Absolute Flies Again

Friday, August 25 | 7:00-9:30 pm

For more info or to buy tickets, click here. 

Much Ado About Nothing

Friday, September 8 | 7:00-10:00 pm

For more info or to buy tickets, click here

Thunderbird Athletics

Support the MCC Thunderbird Athletes at one of their upcoming HOME games

ONGOING PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND EVENTS

MESA MARKET

FOOD & HYGIENE PRODUCTS FOR STUDENTS

The Mesa Market is a food and hygiene pantry for MCC students. Any student is eligible to visit the Mesa Market for up to 10 food and 5 hygiene products for free each week. 

Click this link for a Mesa Market flyer to share with others.

Open Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm

Southern and Dobson Campus

To use the Mesa Market at the Southern and Dobson campus, visit the Office of Student Life & Leadership in KSC 35S.  

Red Mountain Campus

The Mesa Market at Red Mountain is now located in Palo Verde 111. It will be available during regular business hours by calling 480-654-7759, and a Student Ambassador will meet you at the RM Mesa Market. 

We are always grateful for donations to the Mesa Market! Feel free to drop off your donations to the Student Life office at either campus. 

Amazon Wish List for SOUTHERN/DOBSON DONATIONS

Amazon Wish List for RED MOUNTAIN DONATIONS

We Care Wednesday

We Care Wednesday is a food distribution that takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at the Southern/Dobson campus and the third Wednesday of every month at the Red Mountain campus. The distribution happens from 10 am-12 pm* or until supplies run out. The food distributions are open to all students and community members in need of food assistance:

Southern/Dobson : Sep 6, Oct 4, Nov 1, Dec 6

Red Mountain : Sep 20, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 20

Clubs are an extremely valuable part of a student's experience at MCC. If you are interested in getting involved in a student club, please stay tuned for opportunities to meet our clubs, and consider starting (or reactivating) a new club! We are also seeking club advisors to help support a variety of MCC clubs. Any faculty or staff that are interested in this opportunity are encouraged to reach out to a member of the Student Life team. 

The Club Hub will have an updated list of student clubs (as we learn which clubs will be active this year) as well as important paperwork, forms, and a list of club connections to various Fields of Interest. 

Banner image for the MCC Club Hub website

Click here to visit the MCC Club Hub!

Get Involved and Get Connected!

Caring Connections Fall 2023

Weeks 1 and 2: You Belong

You belong here! Together we will make this a successful semester.

Please connect with each other and take advantage of the vast resources available to aid in attaining success.

As Thunderbirds, you have access to academic services and life essentials, such as food, personal hygiene items, and clothing. Visit mesacc.edu/get-help to get familiar with the breadth of resources that are available should you or someone you meet need them now or later in the year.

Please consider attending a FREE Student Success workshop hosted by the MCC Foundations for Student Success. This month’s topic is "The Professional Student." There’s an in-person option on Thursday, Sept. 7 and an online option on Friday, Sept. 8.

If you have a general college question you may use the Ask MCC button linked from the Current Students tab on the college’s home page, to chat online with a MCC staff member.

Here are some links to resources you may find helpful:

Optional Lesson


Center for Community & Civic Engagement 

Civic Action Hour | Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00 pm | Link to virtual event

We welcome you to join us for Civic Action Hour on Wednesdays from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. We have organized new and exciting speakers and topics for the semester to support Civic Engagement, Civic Action, Civic Service and Civic Leadership. The speakers bring great ideas and opportunities to their presentations for our students. These events are also Honors Co-curricular approved.

Civic Engagement Events

Civic Action encompasses actions to promote the quality of life in the community, through both political and non-political processes. Many of our events, projects and activities surround the Civic Holidays that include Constitution Day, National Voter Registration Day, Civic Engagement Week, AZ Civics Week, National Voter Education Week, and National Vote Early Day and collaborating with our community and national partners Check back periodically to see events that have been added.

EngageMe Workshops | Fridays from 12:00-2:00 pm

EngageMe Workshops are open to students, staff, faculty, and community partners as we offer additional educational training in civic engagement to promote the quality of life in the community through both political and non-political processes. Link to participate.

MCC Fitness Center Memberships

Start the new semester STRONG! Did you know you can sign up for a membership to the MCC Fitness Centers? They provide membership access to students, employees, and the community, and a membership gives you access to both the Southern and Dobson and the Red Mountain campus fitness centers.  Membership includes cardio and strength training equipment, fitness tools/accessories, access to drop in group fitness classes, personal training consultation and 1 complementary session, knowledgeable staff, day use lockers, clean facilities, and no crowds!

Also available: Community Ed memberships, PED 101/PED 115 classes for credit and a variety of fitness classes. Visit the Fitness Center website for a schedule and more information.

For more information on Student Life, visit our website. 

STUDENT LIFE & LEADERSHIP

Student Life is here to help you GET ENGAGED and GET CONNECTED at MCC. 

Getting involved makes a HUGE difference in your MCC experience. Check out Student Life for more information on these opportunities. Visit us in KSC 35S at the SoDo campus or in Mesquite 210 at Red Mountain, or check out our Virtual Student Life Center for more information.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District. The Maricopa County Community College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information, as well as a listing of all coordinators within the Maricopa College system, http://www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.