LSC-CF Student Spotlight - Dylan Quick
Current LSC-CF student Dylan Quick has had a long association with Lone Star College - CyFair. Almost 21 years old now, Dylan first started coming to campus at the age of 12 when his mother Tiffany involved him in the library’s teen activities. Initially reluctant to participate, Dylan was homeschooled and very shy, and Tiffany wanted him to be in a setting to socialize with other teens and also to be intellectually stimulated. Tiffany had removed Dylan from the public school system when the school placed him in a classroom for students with special needs. There, Dylan stagnated.
Dylan was born totally deaf and at the age of 7 received a cochlear implant. The first few years after receiving the implant, Dylan says that he was busy learning English, just as if he were an ESOL student.
During the first two years of Dylan’s participation in the library’s teen activities, he rarely spoke. But after those two years it was if a floodgate had opened up and Dylan became loquacious, sharing his analyses of literature and socializing with his book club comrades. Dylan attributes his attendance at the two monthly teen book clubs (Classics for Home Schooled Teens and Contemporary Books for Everyone) and the weekly summer book groups, to an increase in his hearing and communication skills.
Dylan, age 12, with LSC-CF math Professor Heather Gamber, Math Puzzler event, 2004 Teen Summer Reading Program
Dylan says the two monthly teen book clubs were like a family, became his second home. Everyone was free to express his/her own opinion. Everyone was accepting of each other, everyone agreed to disagree and everyone had fun. The book club environment promoted discussion and learning from each other, Dylan stated, and was a special environment that didn’t exist in a structured school setting. He said that the participants enjoyed hearing other people’s opinions and getting feedback. He enjoyed making connections with other students, as friends and also as sources of information. He learned about LSC-CF disability services and the registration process from others in the book clubs.
At LSC-CF Branch Library, Dylan says that teens felt a part of the college, and they wanted to continue in this environment after finishing high school. He said that the book clubs were a great foundation for college, a starting point from which to evolve. It made him and the others think about their futures. They all became passionate about reading, and books opened up whole new worlds for them. Dylan says the book clubs helped prepare him for college, made sure he did not have a late start getting ready for post high school studies, and showed the teens how the library connects to the college.
A high point of the library’s teen programs, according to Dylan, was when college staff and faculty presented a program. An incomplete list of current and past staff and faculty who have been involved with LSC-CF Branch Library teen programs:
Georges Detiveaux (French); Gail Marxhausen (Developmental English); Heather Gamer (math); Susan Edwards (history and humanities); Jeff Edwards (economics); Jason Moulenbelt (Philosophy); Ron Jones (theatre); Jamili Omar (English); Ronnie Nespeca (Kinesiology); Buck Buchanan (Geography); Susan Rush (Counseling); Chris Timmerman (as a Counselor); Kim Zandwyk (Food Services); Michael Smith (Small Business Development Center); Michael Fey (English); Matt Turner (English)
Dylan was the first author of the long running LSC-CF Branch Library teen blog, Teen Thoughts: A Blog For Teens, which started in June 2008 and continues today. Dylan’s pen name was Rockstar, and you can read his old entries. As of today (February 27, 2013) there have been 15,054 pageviews of the blog. Other LSC-CF Branch Library teens continue the authoring.
Dylan has decided to pursue a career in accounting and will be transferring to the University of Houston after he receives his Associate Degree from LSC-CF. In addition to a love a math, he still has a passion for reading, cultivated and nurtured in the library book clubs. His room at home, he explains, barely contains his 1,000+ collection of books. In the future he plans to build and host an online international book club to connect people of all ages from around the world.
Dylan, 14 years old, and his mom Tiffany after a 2006 teen book club discussion
Dylan’s all-time favorite book? The Phantom of the Opera: The Original Novel by Gaston Leroux. Dylan remembers an exciting and lively discussion several years ago led by Georges Detiveaux, LSC-CF Program Manager for Instructional Technology and Adjunct Support and French language instructor.
Dylan remains an active participant of the LSC-CF Branch Library teen book clubs.
venividiviciteens.blogspot.com
UPD
The Lone Star College student who allegedly stabbed 14 people Tuesday was on a "killing spree" until his knife broke, according to a witness who said he spoke with him in a holding cell.
Dylan Quick, 20, was tackled by students and taken into custody shortly after the victims were stabbed on the Cy-Fair campus. He had not been charged at last check.
Quick was well-known on campus because he often carried a sock monkey puppet. Michael Chalfan said Quick would ask the puppet questions, then answer them. Chalfan said other students made fun of Quick and said he looked like the comedian Carrot Top. khou.com
