The most important aspect of communication is listening. This was the message a broadcast executive had for several NOVA communications classes. On a Jan. 26 visit to the Alexandria campus, Brian Lamb, founder and CEO of C-SPAN, shared his insights with students.

Lamb started the day visiting Professor Lucy Holsonbake’s communication class. He was greeted with the sounds of country music playing – a surprising contrast considering the rainbow of students present. The class had been thoroughly prepared for Lamb’s visit, remembering that he liked country music from a biography they had read on him.

It was twistedly romantic. It was spontaneous. It was magical. It was our first date, Valentine’s Day. It was a fateful decision.

We met at his condo in downtown Baltimore as to take one car. The limo was a nice touch, I will admit, though a little superfluous for a first date. None the less I felt flattered he would go to such a length. I don’t remember much about the conversation on the way to dinner but I do remember being smitten with his complicated cantations, higher education, and the fact that he was studying medical law. My first eyebrow raise being postponed until he mentioned how loaded his parents were, one of many times. I wrote his sticky conversation skills up to being nervous and brushed away the awkwardness. After all he was tall, handsome, fit and educated. A wonder to be single. Curious.

The 2010 version of the Washington Auto Show – its 68th – was entitled “Change Happens Here” and ran from Jan. 27 to 31 at the D.C. Convention Center. Its title was an apt description of the show, with the current emphasis of the federal government on energy and environmentalism and its large ownership of General Motors.
As has been the trend the last few years, the show emphasized the green aspects of new vehicles and built on last year’s show, which was entitled “Driven by the Environment.” Another year of research and development of green vehicles has led to the predicted introduction of a number of them in 2010.

A Centreville-based band is set to hit the airwaves and the local music clubs this spring. Their music, a fusion of piano and violin instrumentals set to an electronica backdrop, challenges its audience to redefine rock music.

The Black Cat is filled with admiring fans, and the two-member ensemble with a flair for the theatrics captured their hearts and pulled in their attention to the musical spectacle. Alex Gioeli, 19, has always dreamed for this scene to come to fruition. Turn a pedestrian gaze at Gioeli and see nothing out of the seemingly mundane college sophomore. Open an inquiring eye and see a passionate and ambitious musician looking to make it big one day.

“There’s no line of demarcation between us and the world,” Professor Joseph E. Windham said in his introduction to a video presentation from the founder of Kiva, an international aid organization. Members of Northern Virginia Community College and Phi Theta Kappa gathered on a Saturday afternoon to learn about the impact of microfinancing on developing countries, particularly through the organization Kiva.

“My dreams are a very active part of my life,” Annandale English instructor Raymond Orkwis said, right after stressing the importance of strict realism in life-planning essays. Orkwis’ outlet for those dreams is poetry, occasionally published, sometimes heard in coffee-houses, and usually, as he says, “surreal.”

A standing-room only crowd at the Manassas campus of Northern Virginia Community College got schooled about the ins and outs of international money laundering Jan. 20. It wasn’t a class for credit but a lecture given by FBI Special Agent Debra LaPrevotte and organized by the Lifelong Learning Institute.

Terracotta warriors are invading a National Geographic Society Museum exhibit in Washington. “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” features not only the warriors but artifacts from the reign of that first emperor and other terracotta figures. A movie called “The Real Dragon Emperor” was shown at limited times, depicting the life of the first emperor.

The weapon used by a Woodbridge college student now charged with the attempted murder of his math instructor jammed on him, preventing him from firing a third round from his high-powered rifle.

Jason M. Hamilton, 20, was unable to continue shooting at instructor Tatyana Kravchuk, who ducked behind a desk and was not hit, Prince William County police Maj. Ray Colgan said. No one was injured.

It’s been fought long and hard by students at many institutions of learning. The issue of religion and education has been very controversial – striking up heated discussions between students and faculty to allow students the right to practice their religious duties in school.

The new meditation/meeting room “is for everyone” said Haroon Ismail, former Muslim Student Association president and president of the student body at the Alexandria campus. “[Since] it’s a state institution, we can’t have a room designated only for faith-based activities. So, we got this room on the condition that it would be a meeting room/meditation room. Whenever there isn’t a meeting here, students can come and pray and prayers are meetings. It can also be an open space for students to come and have a bit of quiet time.”