January 24, 2022 – Cypress News Review

CYPRESS -- Team Jordan Star, a binational team consisting of Lone Star College and Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan students, took second place in the recent Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge. In this virtual exchange initiative supporting workforce development in the U.S., Iraq and Jordan, community college students from the U.S. and university students from Iraq and Jordan team up to solve global challenges facing the business sector across industries. Team Jordan Star, one of only five teams chosen to pitch their innovative concepts, created “OurLib” as a solution to improving quality education. Their mission is to facilitate the exchange of affordable books and host virtual study groups and tutoring sessions via a website. “The level of success we achieved was due to the hard work of the team with students from LSC-Montgomery, LSC-Kingwood, and LSC-North Harris, as well as LSC-CyFair,” said Laura Taggett, LSC-CyFair professor and team co-advisor. advisor. “Working with students from throughout our system has been a true pleasure. I am so proud of how they have represented the whole LSC System.” The contributions of LSC-CyFair students Alma Gallardo Campa, Liam Blakeway and Seth Mejia also helped Team Jordan Star earn $1,500 to further their business concept solution. Campa, serving as team director, said team members implemented interpersonal skills, such as collaboration and active listening, resulting in team success. Personally, she gained greater insight on diversity and the importance of including different perspectives during the 8-week challenge. “One take away for me is that even a short interaction with someone can make a huge impact in their pathway,” said Campa, who plans on a career working with other engineers finding solutions to critical issues in the health care industry. “Being able to express one’s voice and feeling heard or included can be empowering to many, initiating a spark of motivation that can bring a greater change in the long run.” The Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge, administered by IREX and funded by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, improves global citizenship, strengthens problem-solving skills, and develops enduring connections, while enhancing students’ job skills through online collaboration. Helping more than 20,000 students reach their academic and career goals, Lone Star College-CyFair is the fifth comprehensive college in the Lone Star College System, located at 9191 Barker Cypress Road just 3 miles south of U.S. Highway 290. Start close and go far at LSC-CyFair as well as at LSC-Cypress Center, located at 19710 Clay Road and LSC-Westway Park Technology Center, located at 5060 Westway Park Boulevard. For more information visit LoneStar.edu/cyfair. Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 93,000+ students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2021 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and ranked 35th in Texas in the Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers By State’ list. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.