ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Friday, February 14, 2020 | 1
Senior guard, Breanna Wright contributes success to her family
A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
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BY DAVID MITCHELL | PHOTOGRAPHER
Junior guard Reggie Miller attempts a dunk at men’s basketball game on Saturday against Lamar.
SGA boosts buffer fund for organizations BY ALLISON HARRELL EDITOR IN CHIEF
The Student Government Association plans to increase the buffer fund by decreasing initial allocations for student organizations. This semester, SGA will allocate a total sum of $45,000 to student organizations as funds rather than the $50,000 given last semester. This will increase the buffer fund by $5,000. The SGA Biannual Budget Meeting was held on Wednesday to discuss this new initiative. Karissa
Nickish, senior communication disorders major from Melbourne Beach, Fla., and SGA press secretary, said the recent SGA Budget Meeting is the one chance a semester where SGA is able to talk to every organization together. “It allows us to communicate clearly what the expectations are for using their allocated funds and how to use the P-card,” Nickish said. The P-card is the purchasing card given to each organization that keeps track of purchases
throughout the semester. Sixty-two organizations applied for funding and were expected to have a representative present at the budget meeting. Aaron Bunting, senior financial management major from Copperas Cove and SGA executive treasurer, said the meeting is important for them to meet with all the organizations as a collective group. “We get to have that oneon-one with them so they can understand how the budget works, what we plan to do with it this semester
and all the information that goes into funding,” Bunting said. “This year, we plan to add more information, as far as funding goes.” At the budget meeting, SGA executives also discussed fundraising and revenue opportunities for the organizations to receive money outside of SGA. Nickish said they want to help organizations become more self-sustaining by introducing fundraising ideas such as spirit nights at restaurants that will give back a portion of their proceeds.
“We get to have that one-on-one time with them so they can understand how the budget works, what we plan to do with it this semester and all the information that goes into funding.”
AARON BUNTING SENIOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MAJOR FROM COPPERAS COVE AND SGA EXECUTIVE TREASURER
“This year, the CEO and I looked at all of the restaurants around Abilene and looked at their fundraising nights to see which ones are better,” Bunting said. “We looked at pricing
Recent graduate starts local enneagram business BY ALYSSA HIGH STAFF WRITER
Kendall Castillo, a recent ACU graduate from Plano, started Gospel Centered Enneagram, an Enneagram coaching business, earlier this month. “I wanted to be a change almost and bring [the Enneagram] back to its roots because it is biblical,” Castillo said. “So I just came up with the simple name of Gospel Centered Enneagram because I wanted it to be pretty straightforward and blunt and centered around the gospel.” A type 2 wing 1 herself, Castillo said her forthcoming personality is an inspiration for getting into the Enneagram.
“It’s an ancient tool that has come to fruition but people aren’t using it as a tool for relationships, they are using it to define who they are which takes away from their identity and who the Lord wants them to be,” Castillo said. “They say “Oh, I’m a type 2 wing 1, but really the first thing is that they are a daughter or son of the King.” Castillo started by interviewing people and getting to know more about each type before teaching a class at The Well, a local non-denominational church. Using the first class as a way to get her brand out there, Castillo taught a multi-generational group of locals, including many students, about how each Enneagram type is
an example of who God is through their characteristics. “Each type is a characteristic of who the Lord is, so a Two shows the love of God and a Three shows the persistence of God,” Castillo said. “There’s just so many characteristics of each type but no one really knows that.” Kendall has several tentative events with several ACU groups on campus. She can be reached with any questions at gospelcenteredenneagram@gmail.com or on Instagram and Facebook at gospelcenterenneagram. “It’s kind of been this side-gig thing that has turned into a lot of ways to connect with people which has been really awesome,” Castillo said.
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SPORTS
PHOTO COURTESY OF KENDALL CASTILLO
Kendall Castillo, recent graduate begins Gospel Centered Enneagram business.
BY ANDREW NORSWORTHY STAFF WRITER
OPTIMIST FILE PHOTO
ACU nursing students achieve highest pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. programs and schools are evaluated from. In order to pass this evaluation, programs must achieve a first-time pass
rate of 80 percent or higher. On Jan. 24, 2020, the Texas Board of Nursing released the first-time pass rates for eligible
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Nursing students exceed state, national NCLEX program averages ACU nursing students taking the National Council Licensure Examination in 2019 achieved a first-time pass rate of 96.08 percent. For the first time, this number exceeds both the state and national averages. NCLEX is an exam designed to determine whether a graduate student is ready to begin practicing nursing in the field and their chosen career. This exam has two variations: NCLEX-PN for practical nurses and NCLEX-RN for registered nurses, of which the latter ACU students have qualified for. Students are allowed to take this exam multiple times, but first-time pass rates are what nursing
also. For example, if people order from Domino’s, we wanted to see where we could cut those costs and see where they can get pizzas cheaper.” Organizations were shown a slideshow highlighting different fundraising ideas and information about who to contact to set up a fundraising event. “It gives the SGA team the chance to introduce new ideas to increase the efficiency of the organizations funds, like utilizing food discounts,” Nickish said.
graduate students dating back to 2015. For 2019, the state average was 91.9 percent while the national average was 88.07 percent.
2019 was the first year that ACU students achieved a firsttime pass rate above both averages as well as the third consecutive year that the rate has surpassed 90 percent. Dr. Marcia Straughn, dean of ACU’s School of nursing, said, “We, as a program, do the best we can to provide students with as much support as possible so that they can achieve these outcomes.” The ACU nursing program continues to offer additional services, support, coaching, and student retention to repeat and build off its success. “We always look at our outcomes and our data and are striving for continuous quality improvement,” Straughn said.
Softball recap from Aggie Classic PAGE 6
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