Shelby County Today

January 8, 2019 - Panola College hires former NJCAA Region XIV Volleyball Coach of the Year and University of Florida Hall of Famer, Nicole Thorn, as the new Head Volleyball Coach.

Coach Nicole Thorn will take over the reins at Panola College for the second time next week. Coach Thorn will become head coach over a program that she helped build into a national power when she took over in 2008 and went on to lead the Fillies to their first NJCAA National Volleyball Tournament in 2009. 

Thorn received her bachelor’s from the University of Florida where she enjoyed one of the best careers in school history. She was the 2000 SEC Player of the Year, a four-time all-SEC honoree and a second-team All-American in 2002 when she helped lead the Gators to a Final Four appearance. Thorn was also the recipient of the Ben Hill Griffin Award in 2002, which honors the top female athlete at Florida.

After leaving Florida, Thorn played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico for a year before returning to Gainesville, Florida to begin her coaching career. Later, she became the Head Coach at Georgia Southern University where she turned their program into conference contenders. Thorn went on to join Panola College as head coach from 2008 to 2013. During that time, Thorn was selected the NJCAA Region XIV and District Coach of the Year. Thorn has spent the past 6 years as the Head Coach at White Oak ISD where she was named District 17AAA coach in 2014, 2015, and 2016. 

"We are excited about having Nicole Thorn back with Panola College. There is no doubt that she will maintain a high standard for our Volleyball program on and off the court. We welcome her back with open arms," says Don Clinton, Vice President of Student Services at Panola College.

January 8, 2019 - Panola College is proud to announce the names of those students named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2018 semester. To qualify a student must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours with a grade point average between 3.5 and 3.79. Only courses applying toward an associate degree or certificate are included in the computation.

Georgia
Imani Hampton - Lilburn

Louisiana
Elizabeth Offer - Bethany
Yvonne Combs - Keithville

Mississippi
Jenna Grover - Purvis

New York
Daylon Swearingen - Piffard

Texas
Joy Jekayinoluwa - Arlington
Toree Scott - Athens
Mason Campbell - Beckville
Jeremy Dean - Beckville
Hannah Humphries - Beckville
Hunter Moon - Beckville
Riley Seegers - Beckville
Danielle Smith - Beckville
Shelby Storie - Beckville
Christopher Blackmon - Carthage
Kamryn Brady - Carthage
Dallas Crocker - Carthage
Yareli Hernandez - Carthage
Mary Howard - Carthage
Robyn Klysen - Carthage
Zachary Kruebbe - Carthage
Kelsey Lake - Carthage
Coby Lewis - Carthage
Brandon Medrano - Carthage
Keiler Norman - Carthage
Serena Rascoe - Carthage
David Richter - Carthage
Ashley Sistrunk - Carthage
Eniola Sogbesan - Carthage
Mary Tinkle - Carthage
Kylee Tompkins - Carthage
Clint Walker - Carthage
Mauricio Alejaldre-Robles - Center
Colton Davis - Center
Drew Diverdi - Center
Alexander Duarte - Center
Jocelyn Garcia - Center
Tiffany Griffin - Center
Jenny Harvey - Center
Jamarian Hill - Center
Kase Hooper - Center
Raul Lara - Center
Perla Mateos - Center
Stacy Mireles - Center
Angel Nunez - Center
Angela Perkins - Center
Nicklaus Powell - Center
Heidi Ricketson - Center
Mallory Sims - Center
Whitney Thomas - Center
Taylor Tomlin - Center
Ashlee Williams - Chandler
Victor Chinaka - Dallas
Dillan Peloquin - Deberry
Shelby Thompson - Deberry
John Williams - Deberry
Shane Iversen - Garrison
Daniel Quetzala - Garrison
Andrew Wise - Garrison
Latisha Gilbert - Gary
Austin Bost - Groves
Casen Copeland - Hallsville
Kaitlyn Cox - Hallsville
Abigail Wheat - Hallsville
Heather Lucius - Hemphill
Ezekiel Collins - Henderson
Zachary Collins - Henderson
Autumn Romine - Henderson
Jessica Sessums - Henderson
Rebecca Weatherford - Henderson
Evan Yount - Jacksonville
Dalayna Daw - Joaquin
Trista Mustard - Joaquin
Dustin Ramsey - Joaquin
Stacie Sonnier - Joaquin
Matthew Tyson - Katy
Theresa White - Laneville
Davina Eddy - Longview
Cassandra Higginbotham - Longview
Cheryl Mitchell - Longview
Blaine Parker - Longview
Tachala Pauley - Longview
Steven Sierra - Longview
Marisela Soto - Longview
Kayla Walker - Lufkin
Alexander Barroga - Marshall
Jessica Burns - Marshall
Elizabeth Collins - Marshall
Ashlyn Edwards - Marshall
Somali Fletcher - Marshall
Latoya Johnson - Marshall
Jazmine Meyers - Marshall
Martha Moreno - Marshall
Lauren Paulk - Marshall
Maria Sanchez - Marshall
Reese Sloan - Marshall
Victoria Williams - Marshall
Jeffrey Gongwer - Mount Enterprise
Amber Jones - Mount Enterprise
Chailey Norton - Mount Enterprise
Haley Allen - Nacogdoches
Mahiko Moreno - Nacogdoches
Phillip Najvar - Nacogdoches
Jesse Waters - Nacogdoches
Balie Wood - Nacogdoches
Debbie Brydson - San Augustine
Chad Elumbaugh - San Augustine
Lexie Moody - San Augustine
Miranda Walker - San Augustine
Kayla Williams - San Augustine
Ryan Bailey - Shelbyville
Colton Bragg - Shelbyville
Kennedey Parker - Shelbyville
Kaitlynn George - Sulphur Springs
Lucero Luna - Tatum
Brittani White - Tatum
Andres Leon - Tenaha
Mariel Lopez - Tenaha
Katelyn Martinez - Tenaha
Miguel Mendoza - Tenaha
Arlicia Roland - Tenaha
Calicia Roland - Tenaha
Ty'kuirra Bryant - Timpson
Christy Corliss - Waskom
Charlotte Reeves - Waskom
Pedro Rodriguez - Waskom
Abbey Thompson - White Oak
Cassidy Lonsway - Woodlawn

Belarus
Maryia Adashchyk - Minsk

Kenya
Abigael Joseph - Nairobi

New Zealand
Sioeli Vaiangina - Auckland

Nigeria
Ademola Sanni - Apata Ibadan

January 3, 2019 - Upon arrival from holiday break, the Fillies headed down to Shreveport for the annual Bossier Parrish Community College Classic. Despite a fighting effort, the Panola fell short to the Northwest Florida State College Raiders 65-73 in their first game of the BPCC Classic.

Four Fillies finished in double figures. Freshman Jolie Williams would come off the bench leading all scorers with 15. Daryna Barcharova and Maryia Adashchyk both contributed 14 points. Weronika Nowakowska rounded out the double figure scoring with 11 of her own.

In the second game of the BPCC classic, the Fillies came up short again, losing a 71-75 battle against the Lady Bulldogs of Hinds.

The Fillies battled to the end behind a 19 point performance by Adashchyk, who scored 10 of those 19 in the first quarter of play. Behind her in the scoring was freshman Barcharova who notched 14 of her own points. The Panola outscored Hinds in the third quarter but could not comeback from the half time deficit

The Fillies (7-6, 3-0 in conference) will return to conference action Wednesday, January 7th when they face Trinity Valley in AJ Gymnasium at 7:00 PM.

December 14, 2018 - Panola College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant program is participating in a research program to explore the potential for the use of virtual reality to help individuals living with dementia and other age-related conditions.

MyndVR is a tech, health and wellness company specializing in virtual reality solutions for people who are age 55 and over. The ongoing research studies the medical efficacy of virtual reality on seniors with and without age-related conditions.

Terrie King, OTA instructor and academic field work coordinator, is working with MyndVR on this research project. She is a licensed occupational therapist and certified dementia capable care instructor. King explained that the study is on the cutting edge with research into using virtual reality with older patients.

“The VR experience seems to awaken the mind and elders are able to recall memories forgotten. For example, one of our pilot study participants used to travel the world with her husband. After going to Paris, France, virtually, she chatted for hours about her travels. Typically, this elder would sit quietly throughout her day, saying very little,” King said.

In addition to Panola College’s OTA department, research teams from Indiana University’s Eskenazi Center for Brain Care, the University of Texas at Dallas, Florida Atlantic University’s Visual Mind Lab, the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, and St. Barnabas Health System near Pittsburgh are participating in the research.

“We have seen firsthand the positive impact virtual reality has on seniors, and we are elated to provide our curated content, senior-friendly user interface and customized hardware to these innovative research partners,” said Chris Brickler, CEO and co-founder of MyndVR.

King said elderly patients with dementia sometimes experience a syndrome called “sundowners,” which creates an atmosphere of fear and aggression as night approaches. Using VR sessions earlier in the day, we have seen a decrease in symptoms and the elders seem to be more calm and less fearful.

A $5,000 Perkins Grant funded the purchase of eight kits, which included two headsets and one tablet. Panola College OTA students, following the protocol of the research program, are utilizing this technology to provide statistics about the pre and post test heart rates and other medical statistics on research participants.

Other Texas higher education institutions participating in this research are the Stephen F. Austin State University Neuroscience Program and the University of Texas at Tyler Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy program.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this research program,” King said. “Our goal is to teach our students effective cutting edge occupational therapy interventions for people living with dementia related disorders. Through this research, we will be able to know if VR is an effective intervention tool for our future clients.”

King said she hopes to involve other campus departments in providing the virtual reality experience that is relative to the patients in regional long-term care facilities. In working with patients in clinical settings, King recognized the need for virtual reality films that are custom to the individual’s life experiences. Elders in the East Texas region have asked for films with children playing, farm animals, fishing, quilting groups, barn dances, church groups and kitchen cooking events, to name a few.

“The goal of occupational therapy is to help people live a life that has meaning and purpose in spite of a diagnosis or condition. During our pilot study with elders, we have seen VR help improve mood and increase a person’s quality of life. When a person’s mood is better, usually you see more motivation. With more motivation comes more energy to once again engage in meaningful life activities. We know there is so much more to know about how VR can be used to support health and wellness. It is our hope that through the research we will have evidence to understand how to best use VR as a therapeutic tool for our clients,” she said.