The large, blooming gardens of native wildflowers that pop up each spring on Clark’s campus don’t happen by accident, but through careful maintenance by Bee Campus Project Manager Steven Clark, the Bee Committee, and the help of our community.

We need volunteers to sow wildflower seeds at several bee garden locations on campus on Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14. Consider it your Valentine’s gift to native bees and other pollinators.

Although the flowers from last year scattered their own seed, a couple gardens this year need re-tilling, which means we need to plant fresh seeds in a few spots. The seeds are sown now, in the winter months, so they can take root in the soil and grow.

If you wish to volunteer, wear shoes and clothes appropriate for muddy, chilly conditions and prepare to walk over uneven terrain.

• Thursday, February 13: Meet at the Japanese Garden fountain at 1:00 pm (https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWvN3oRPdQpbZ8QK8)
• Friday, February 14: Meet in front of Hanna Hall on the north side at 1:00 pm (https://maps.app.goo.gl/d29CJEfDQQEQ63uZ9)

Clark who coordinates the college’s Bee Campus initiative has led the college in planting native wildflowers, to make the campus more attractive to bees and other pollinators. These flowers and natural areas where bees can make nests and lay eggs are helping Clark establish this bee habitat.

Pollinators—including mason bees, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and hummingbirds are essential for the planet. They are responsible for the reproduction of almost 90% of the world’s flowering plant species and 30% of our food.

Depending on the weather, look out for flowers to start popping up in April with full bloom in mid-May.

About Bee Campus

In April 2023, Clark College earned certification as a Bee Campus affiliate, becoming the fifth college in Washington to earn that distinction. Clark joined 165 other college campuses and 179 cities across the country united to make their landscape attractive to pollinators.

Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a Portland-based nonprofit. Bee City USA’s mission is to galvanize communities and college campuses to sustain pollinators by providing healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants that are free of pesticides.

A Bee Campus USA affiliate is a college campus that includes a bee habitat. Clark College—and other Bee Campus USA affiliates—show that the built environment (such as campuses, neighborhoods, city parks, and even roadsides) can feature a thoughtful design that allows bees to thrive in shared areas.

Learn more:

• Clark College’s Bee Campus USA initiative
• Bee Campus USA
• Four simple ways to help pollinators

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

The NERD Girls and GEEKs, an ASCC student program, hosted an “experiment social” on Tuesday, January 28 in the STEM Building Collaboratorium, inviting the Clark STEM community to come together to hang out and explore by doing hands-on science experiments. The student-led club is directed by professors Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu.

At the social, attendees created stress balls, made wildflower seed paper, and “elephant toothpaste,” (using dish soap to trap oxygen gas bubbles and create a foam that looks like toothpaste). Some projects were more successful than others, but the students kept trying and approached the experiments in different ways to achieve better results.

Professor Barsotti said, “The best part of the social experiment was how it brought students together for hands-on experimentation—proving that failure is just part of the journey in science and engineering. One student thought they had made a mistake when making their stress ball, but upon completion, they realized it was exactly what they intended.”

According to its mission statement, the student program “strives to provide opportunities for diverse learners to achieve their educational goals by promoting social connectedness through peer support, volunteering, professional interaction, and mentoring. By providing these opportunities, the program encourages students to continue their path in the STEM fields.”

This mission can be summarized by one student’s answer to the question: “What do you like about the club?” The student smiled, pointed at her friend, and said, “Well, I met her.”

Clark NERD Girls and GEEKs hosts events throughout the year. Last December, they hosted the Second Annual Free Holiday Market that gives students and their families an opportunity to shop for holiday gifts for their families and themselves—for free. Read more about that here.

Learn more

NERD Girls posts about upcoming events on its Instagram. You can also reach out to Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu for more information.

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

Hundreds of Clark College students and their family members flocked to the STEM Building for the Second Annual Free Holiday Market on the afternoon of December 4. This well-received event that was first offered last year is back by popular demand.

The Free Holiday Market gives students and their families an opportunity to shop for holiday gifts for their families and themselves — without the financial burden. Started in 2023, the annual event invites students and family members to shop at more than 50 tables laden with items donated by generous staff, faculty, and administrators.

This year, more than 350 students and guests shopped for gifts. Before the event even began, students eagerly lined up, and the steady flow of shoppers continued throughout the event. Parents helped children pick out toys, students scanned items looking for gifts for their families and friends, and staff working the tables helped students find gifts that might be a good fit for their recipients in mind.

The planning committee expanded the market’s offerings by handing out snacks and including more children’s crafts activities. A new free clothing table was also a popular addition. They even hosted a new door prize, which pulled tickets throughout the event for the opportunity to win large items.

Chef Alison Dolder, head of the Professional Baking & Pastry Arts program, first had the idea to host a free student holiday market and was on the planning committee. She said, “I think it was really nice to see a real sense of community and to see Clark show students how much we care.” Referencing the COVID-19 pandemic that drove the community off-campus, she added, “It was nice to see everyone in one place again.”

How it works

• Students registered to participate as shoppers. Upon arrival, shoppers were given free tickets so they could shop.
• Students also get a special ticket for a door prize drawing for big-ticket items like giant penguin plushies or waffle irons.
• Employees ran the event and students from various student groups volunteered to help at the event.
• Staff, faculty, and administrators donated new or gently used gift items such as toys, games, puzzles, books, clothing, jewelry, craftwork, and household items. Every item can be ‘purchased’ with free tickets.
• Departments and individuals from around the campus hosted gift tables.
• Representatives from various support services were present.

Ongoing opportunities to give to students

• WES Giving Tree: Collecting new hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, socks, and throws for students and their families through January 10, 2025, in GHL 215.
• Basic Needs Hub: Donate here to this brand-new hub designed to connect students with essential resources for student success.
• Clark College Foundation: Check out the many ways our Foundation has set up to support our students through payroll deduction or one-time donation to any specific causes.

Special Acknowledgments

This year’s event is sponsored by the ASCC club, NERD Girls & GEEKS, along with the Engineering program and the McClaskey Culinary Institute.

Thank you to this year’s organizing committee:

Tina Barsotti
Alison Dolder
Judi Georgeades-Tambara
Stephanie Hall
Carol Hsu
Fay Shorten
Lucy Winslow

Fall term’s Engineering Design Competition featured an edible building material: Pasta!

Teams constructed towers with dry pasta. They could use any type of pasta, and the towers ranged from round rigatoni beauties to tall, elegant lasagna sculptures. And there’s another catch: the towers had to have spaces for two small toy penguins to stand.

On the day of the competition, towers were tested for their ability to withstand force. They used an “Instron machine” to test the towers, which imposed increasing load on the towers. Some of the pasta towers burst with the force, making for an exciting minor pasta explosion.

The goal of the pasta towers was to reach a minimum of 20 Newtons of force, but many towers achieved taking hundreds of Newtons of force and some even hit over 2700.

Carol Hsu, an engineering professor who led the project, said “Watching the towers get crushed is always exciting, especially when it is catastrophic! In this competition, the students were challenged to design towers capable of withstanding a specified range of loads. Every team rose to the challenge with their pasta towers. Their success was largely due to prototype testing. Great job!”

Tina Barsotti, another engineering professor, explained that the project was devised by the students themselves. “Really what we’re teaching is the engineering design process.”

Student Life’s enthusiastic group of student leaders, headed up by Sami Lelo and Sarah Gruhler, runs the Penguin Pantry. Every month, the Penguin Pantry provides one of the most vital basic needs to students: monthly food boxes. But every year for Thanksgiving, they bring holiday magic to Clark families by arranging something extra special. On November 19, they held a Thanksgiving-themed food distribution.

Last year, they distributed pre-made meals crafted by the McClaskey Culinary Institute. This year, they fundraised for “everything but the Turkey” boxes, stuffed to the brim with Thanksgiving staples, pantry items, and pumpkin pies. The boxes also came with Safeway gift cards to allow households to purchase additional wanted items.

15 volunteers served 309 households a total of 6,798 pounds of food, thanks partially to the over $5,800 fundraised for the event. That’s a huge increase over the 222 households served last year. You can still donate to contribute to Penguin Pantry’s future efforts.

Gruhler said, “It was cold and wet during the drive-thru distribution, but everyone was very excited and thankful, so that makes it all worth it.”

About Penguin Pantry

The Penguin Pantry supports a healthy college community by reducing hunger on campus and connecting students to essential resources. Any enrolled Clark student is eligible to receive monthly boxes, and they can sign up for each box in MyClark.

• Interested in volunteering to distribute boxes? Email penguinpantry@clark.edu.
• Wish to donate? Visit the Penguin Pantry’s Clark College Foundation fundraiser.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

The Advanced Manufacturing Center at the Boschma Farms campus in Ridgefield has officially finished construction. To celebrate, developer and design-builder Mortenson officially presented Clark College with the keys this past Tuesday, November 19.

The ceremony, held in the new building, welcomed around 100 guests, including the Clark College Foundation and Board of Trustees, the City of Ridgefield, and on-site workers and trade partners. After speeches by project leadership, Clark’s mascot Oswald the Penguin helped accept the symbolic key presented by Mortenson.

Speakers:  

• Dr. Karin Edwards, President, Clark College
• Sabra Sand, Vice President of Operations, Clark College
• Carolyn Sizemore, Market Director, Mortenson

Clark College will begin moving into its first building, the Advanced Manufacturing Center, over the next few months and readying the space for classes to begin in 2025. General education classes will be held there in Spring 2025; five general education classrooms and one computer lab will accommodate a future capacity to serve up to 1,200 students per term. 

By Fall 2025, the complex will become the hub for the college’s advanced manufacturing program which is currently in development. When completed, the program will provide an initial enrollment of 32 students in two cohorts of 16, with plans to eventually serve 48 students across three cohorts. A grand opening is planned for 2025 when the college officially opens its doors.

Located on a 10-acre property east of the Ridgefield Junction, the 49,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center features a vast open manufacturing floor, collaboration zones, satellite instructional facilities, classrooms, laboratories, offices, and more. The 35,000 square feet dedicated to manufacturing training includes three industry-specific classrooms, four labs, five manufacturing cells, and a vast open manufacturing floor. The remaining 14,000 square feet houses the five general education classrooms, along with faculty and student amenities.

Manufacturing and classroom spaces in the Advanced Manufacturing Center are designed for multiple delivery modes including lecture, collaborative, project-based learning, and hybrid models implementing online content and classroom application. The facility’s acoustic design ensures that unamplified voice communication will carry above ambient machine noise. The flexible design of the structure is envisioned to accommodate future growth and will serve students, Ridgefield, and other north Clark County communities.

“This milestone marks an incredible step forward for Clark College and the Ridgefield community,” said Dr. Edwards. “We are committed to delivering an education environment that fosters innovation, collaboration, and workforce readiness. The Advanced Manufacturing Center will provide invaluable opportunities to develop critical skills in a growing field, allowing us to support the region’s workforce and expand educational access in north Clark County.”

Mortenson’s Market Director, Carolyn Sizemore emphasized the project’s unique attributes. The LEED Silver-certified Advanced Manufacturing Center meets state energy performance standards, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and improves operational efficiencies. The progressive design-build construction delivery method used on the building was spearheaded by Mortenson in collaboration with Henneberry Eddy Architects; this delivery method proved instrumental to the successful implementation of the use of prefabrication in this project and the resulting efficiencies.

Mortenson is a U.S.-based builder, developer, and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional, and energy sectors. Their portfolio of integrated services helps its customers move their strategies forward, resulting as a turnkey partner, fully invested in the business success of its customers.

“The Advanced Manufacturing Center is a stunning testament to what can be achieved when stakeholders come together with a shared vision,” said Sizemore. “Clark College envisioned a sustainable, future-ready facility adaptable for growth in the Ridgefield community. We are proud to deliver this anchor building on the Ridgefield campus and we are confident that it will exceed the aspirations of Clark College and the Ridgefield community.”

View more photos from the event on our Flickr page. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBSpxw

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

On Tuesday, November 5, the Associated Students of Clark College (ASCC) and Activities Programming Board (APB) presented Democracy, Dogs, and Donuts to celebrate civic engagement on election day. Students handed out “I voted” stickers, provided voter information and delicious donuts. Therapy dogs — dressed flamboyantly in patriot red, white, and blue — mingled in the crowds to help soothe election anxiety.

For many Clark students, it was their first time being eligible to vote in either a general or a presidential election. ASCC student government led the effort to encourage new voters by hosting voter registration events on campus and directing students to the ballot box on campus.

ASCC Civics and Sustainability Director Keith Christian said, “ASCC and APB held the election day event as a way for Clark College students to celebrate our nation’s right to vote and get more engaged in the Clark College community. Helping Clark College students by engaging them in activities, volunteering, and getting more involved, we can find more ways to connect with each other and the community we live and work in.”

About ASCC and APB

The Associated Students of Clark College (ASCC) student government advocates and represents Clark College students by serving as the liaison between students and faculty, staff, administration, and the community.

The Activities Programming Board (APB) is charged with the creation of a comprehensive events calendar to include cultural, educational, family, and social events for Clark students both on-campus and virtually.

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

Did you know that Native Americans couldn’t be United States citizens until 1924, and that state law continued to prevent some from voting until long after that? Did you know that California committed a genocide against Native Americans — and only apologized in 2019? 

Jhon Kuppens delivered the third and final Penguin Talks on October 31 at Vancouver Community Library. He spoke on the theme of Native American, Indigenous or Indian? – about American Indian tribal histories, sovereignty, federal trust responsibility, and rights. Kuppens discussed the impact of tribal politics, culture, law, jurisdiction, and values while examining the legacy of historical trauma. 

Kuppens is an enrolled member of the Gabrielino-Tongva Indian Tribe, a California Indian Tribe known as the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. He holds a Master of Legal Studies degree in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from Washington State University. 

Kuppens shared his own story. Because of his name inherited from his father, he was frequently told “you don’t look Native American,” which he found very hurtful. His mom’s side was an early California family, and he is descended from enslaved Native Americans forced to work at the San Gabriel Mission run by Spanish colonizers. He asked if anyone had read the book Island of the Blue Dolphins growing up. “That’s my tribe.” 

While he was immersed in his culture growing up, he was always told to hide his Native American and Spanish heritage from those outside the tribe. “It was [perceived as] a negative thing.” 

He explained that while he knew some about his own tribe’s history, there was much he didn’t know about the history of tribes across North America growing up. 

When he was a young man, he became curious about his heritage. After an interaction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs gave him a glimpse of the complexities of tribal law, he dived further in to learn more and eventually became a lawyer himself. 

Tribal rights 

• While many tribes have treaties with the United States that protect their rights, the United States has disobeyed those treaties. 

• Getting federally recognized is an incredibly complicated process with two pathways: acts of Congress, or an extremely complex recognition process through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

• Many tribes have been fighting for federal recognition for decades. Even Sacagawea’s tribe, the Lemhi-Shoshone, is not federally recognized. 

• The United States frequently gave unwanted desert land to tribes for reservations. Now, companies attempt to take natural resources from those lands against the will of the people who live there. For example, the Navajo Nation has and is near a lot of valuable uranium deposits. Mining is creating health hazards for the Navajo people and they are trying to take legal measures against the miners. 

• Jurisdiction can be very complex on lands belonging to Native Americans. It can be very difficult to determine who has the rights to what under criminal law, family law, and public services. 

Local tribes 

• Tribes local to our area include the Cowlitz Tribe, the Chinook Nation, the Yakama Nation, and more. 

• Local tribes helped Lewis and Clark survive winter as they traveled through what is now known as the Pacific Northwest. 

• Cowlitz Tribe only recently gained federal recognition (2000) and a reservation of their own (2015).  

• Chinook Nation has been fighting for federal recognition for over 120 years. They were briefly recognized in 2001, but the status was revoked 18 months later. 

• In 2022, the Yakama Nation won a court case against Klickitat County which preserved their ownership of treaty-granted lands on Mount Adams and in Southwest Washington. 

Speaking about Native Americans with respect 

• Native Americans don’t like being considered “minorities,” and most don’t prefer the term “Indian.” 

• Alaska Natives should not be called “Eskimos.” 

• The terms “Indian-giver”, “totem pole”, “powwow”, and “off-the-reservation” when used as casual idioms are rooted in racism and disrespect of Native American culture. 

Kuppens ended his talk with a tip: “When you meet tribal people, have a kind heart towards them.” 

Want to learn more? 

Sign up for Kuppens’ Community Education class, “Tribal Sovereignty, Federal Recognition, and Federal Trust Responsibility.”  On three Tuesday sessions between November 3 and 19, Kuppens will share more about tribal law to better prepare those who collaborate and work with tribal governments. 

About Penguin Talks 

Clark College and Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries partnered to present Penguin Talks, a lunchtime speaker series at noon on three consecutive Thursdays in October in the Columbia Room at Vancouver Community Library, 901 C Street, Vancouver. The free, public series featured local experts sharing their knowledge about critical topics impacting our community. 

Recaps of the first two Penguin Talks: 

Dr. Terry Brown presented “The Power of Education”  on October 17, 2024. 

Melissa Williams presented “Grapping with our Racialized History” on October 24, 2024.     

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

Sandra Bush (they/them) has psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES), a diagnosis that changed their life and also pushed them on a personal journey of discovery.

Bush, a Clark graduate and now Clark employee, shared their story with Clark students, faculty, and staff at the fall term Students with Disabilities Luncheon on October 22. The free event is presented each term by Clark’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The purpose of the luncheons is to allow students and employees to hear inspiring stories, connect with faculty, meet new friends, consider different career paths, and identify community resources and potential mentors.

Bush spoke about how they learned to cope with their diagnosis and stop allowing society to define them.

“Society is going to always have something to say about your ability or lack of,” Bush said, and added, “Society doesn’t always get to make the rules.”

Reaching this conclusion was a journey after hearing negative bias from society and from family members when they were growing up. “I have a hard time loving myself as I am… I’m doing work to figure out what that means.”

Their seizures, which are triggered by emotional stress or typical stress, can be dangerous and cause Bush to get hurt. The exact triggers for Bush’s condition have evolved over time. They have worked hard on managing emotional triggers and have developed strategies like listening to music or watching a funny video. At the same time, the condition makes it challenging to work through stressful emotions.

When Bush first started experiencing seizures, they were frightening and dangerous. Being a Black person experiencing medical issues also changed how Bush was treated. Bush shared a story about an early seizure episode when they were alone at a mall and only had time to call their mother before falling to the ground and becoming unresponsive. When someone saw Bush on the mall floor, they made the racist assumption that Bush was on drugs and decided to kick Bush to see if they responded. The person stopped kicking only when Bush’s mother screamed through the phone. Finally, someone called 911 to get Bush help.

For the record, Bush noted, that’s not how you should treat someone having a reaction to drugs, either. They said, “People don’t always respond best to something they don’t understand.”

Getting diagnosed required a lot of tests. Even after getting diagnosed, they experienced some challenging times. Bush spent their first week as a college freshman in the hospital.

Bush worked hard to understand how their disability does and does not limit them.

They advised: “Sit with it. Do research about your disability. What does it say you can and can’t do? Test it.”

Bush described their own process of trying smaller things—like starting with shorter walks—then working their way up. They also gained the courage to ignore the judgements of others and lean into interests and hobbies, like jewelry-making and rock hounding, that don’t trigger their condition.

Bush offered the audience six questions to help them on their own journey of discovery:

1. Who are you?
2. What makes you YOU?
3. Who’s holding power over you and why?
4. What do you need to let go of?
5. Do you respect and love yourself?
6. What does changing the narrative look like for you?

Save the Date:

Next DEI luncheon – Students of Color Luncheon in the Penguin Union Building (PUB), room 161 on November 12 at Noon.

Connect with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI):

• In-person: Diversity Center, Gaiser Hall 214
• Phone: 360-992-2292
• Email: diversity@clark.edu
• Website: www.clark.edu/cc/diversity

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

Can you pass this welding pop quiz?

Q: As more than 155,000 welders in the U.S. approach retirement age, how many new welders will need to be trained by 2027?

1. 155,000
2. 200,000
3. 360,000

The answer is C. The U.S. will need 360,000 new welding professionals by 2027, according to the American Welding Society. That translates into 90,000 welding jobs that need to be filled annually through 2027.

On Friday, Oct. 18, the Clark College welding program welcomed SteelDays, a welding competition for local high school students to showcase the welding and fabrication industry. It’s one of 25 SteelDays events organized by the American Institute of Steel Construction from October 14-18 around the U.S.  

Attendees from high schools with welding programs in Battle Ground, Fort Vancouver, and Kelso school districts spent the day welding, receiving guidance from Clark welding instructors, and competing to win. Representatives from the SteelDays sponsors, including Industrial Source, Thompson, and Central Welding Supply came to support the students. 

Wade Hausinger, instructor of welding technologies at Clark, said that Clark’s relationships with local companies are important. He regularly visits welding employers around the region to learn the techniques they’re using in their shops so he can teach current skills to Clark students. 

He also shared that local companies are hiring from Clark. One student was hired at Vigor Aluminum Fabrication right after finishing the program and started at $34.95 an hour. Vigor even brought some of their employees to Clark to learn some new welding skills from Hausinger. 

Clark College’s Welding program:

• Two-year degree, Associate of Applied Technology in Welding
• Five welding certificates
• Learn more here.

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent