COM CELEBRATES BUILDING TOMORROW GALA

College of the Mainland celebrated the road lying ahead for the school with its Building Tomorrows gala, held this past Thursday at Texas City’s Doyle Center. The event honored the success of previous galas along with adding three new members of Distinguished Alumni Awardees. Thursday evening’s gala occurred as the school is less than two months away from having its $162.5 million bond proposal placed in the hands of Galveston County voters. If successful, the bond will allow COM to expand with the addition of three new buildings while adding needed upgrades of the aging campus. COM is also thriving amidst record-setting enrollment, as the school announced it had 5,918 students registered for credit courses and continuing education. The highlight of the evening was the induction of Tanya Elise Baker (COM Class of 2005), William McGarvey (’75) and Michael Navarro (’11) as Distinguished Alumni. Baker, who graduated in graphic design, took her skills to Texas A&M University, where she works as a communication specialist for the Center of Disability and Development. “College of the Mainland has many great opportunities,” she said. “Do whatever you want to do, but complete your degree. There’s nothing like getting paid to do the work you enjoy.” McGarvey, who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, helped IBM secure a $1.2 billion Department of Defense contract with NASA. He is a Texas City resident who is also a board member of the Texas City ISD Foundation for the Future and a board member of the COM Foundation. “Don’t stop until you graduate,” he said. “Once you leave college, it’s hard to go back again.” Navarro, a graphic and web design graduate, founded Manticore Media, LLC in 2015 and earlier this year launched the Manticore Media Podcast that currently airs on YouTube and Facebook. “The rewards you get out of your education are directly proportionate to the efforts you put into your education,” said Navarro. The school also announced it had set a record with 299 students earning scholarships for a total of $247,125 along with announcing that 150 students and 27 employees received $79,910 in disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and an update on the Bright Idea Mini Grants, which have resulted in nearly $47,000 being awarded to college faculty and staff in the process of improving the learning experience of COM students.