Clark recently launched a new “Green Clark” web area to make it easier to share and learn about environmental sustainability at the college.

Attention, Green Penguins! Now there’s a great new way to learn and share information about events and resources at Clark College that support environmental sustainability. The college’s new Green Clark web page was recently launched to help centralize information for everyone–employees, students, and community alike–interested in knowing about options Clark offers to be more environmentally responsible.

To add a keyword to your event, simply add it in the “Search Keyword” field in the online form on ClarkNet. (Click image to enlarge.)

Are you organizing an event that you think belongs on the Green Clark page? It’s easy to add it to the page’s calendar feed. Just add the keyword “greenclark” (all one word, all lower-case) to the “Search Keyword” field of your listing on the online Events Calendar. (See highlighting in the image to the left.)

As a refresher, any Clark employee can add an event to the college’s online Events Calendar through ClarkNet. Once logged into ClarkNet, simply select “Tools” from the main menu, then scroll down to “College Calendar” and select “Add Events.” Once you’ve filled out the simple form, your event will be added to the college’s main online calendar, where it will be accessible to anyone visiting the website and will appear on the clark.edu home page when it becomes one of the two closest upcoming events on the calendar.

If you’ve already created an event that you think belongs on the Green Clark page, it’s easy to add the “greenclark” search term to your event–all you have to do is log into ClarkNet, select “Tools,” and then under “College Calendar” select “Update/Delete Event.”

One of 100 shirofugen cherry trees on Clark’s main campus blossoming near the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, where (weather permitting) the opening remarks for this year’s Sakura Festival will be held.

On Thursday, April 16, Clark College’s 2015 Sakura Festival will honor the historic ties of friendship between the cities of Vancouver, Washington, and Joyo, Japan. This year’s celebration holds particular significance, as it recognizes several important milestones: the 25th anniversary of the donation by Mr. John Kageyama of the 100 shirofugen cherry trees whose blossoming on the Clark College campus this festival celebrates, the 10th anniversary of Clark’s Sakura celebration, and the 20th anniversary of the Vancouver-Joyo Sister City relationship.

The festival will begin with opening remarks at 1 p.m. at the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, which is located next to the Beacock Music Hall on Clark’s main campus. (In the event of inclement weather the ceremony will be held in Gaiser Student Center.) Dignitaries who are scheduled to speak include Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt; John Kageyama, President of America Kotobuki; Hiroshi Furusawa, Portland Consul General; Tatsuo Ito, Executive Vice President of SEH America Inc.; and Clark College international student Erina Yamazaki. Located within Kyoto Prefecture, Joyo is Vancouver’s official sister city in Japan.

The opening ceremony will include a koto performance by Yukiko Vossen and a performance by the Clark College Women’s Ensemble. The koto, a stringed musical instrument, is the national instrument of Japan.

From 2 to 3:30 p.m., the Sakura celebration will continue in the Gaiser Student Center, where guests will enjoy family-friendly cultural activities including a dance performance by the Clark College Japanese Club, a greeting from the children in the college’s Child & Family Studies program, and a performance by members of the Portland Taiko Drum Group. Refreshments will be served. Information about the Sakura Ceremony is available at www.clark.edu/cc/sakura.

All events are free and open to the public. The Sakura Festival is sponsored by Clark College, the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Rotary. For video of last year’s Sakura celebration, please visit Clark’s YouTube channel.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP) or visit the Penguin Union Building room 013.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Martin Parrao, left, and Lidiya Nikolayev, right, are Clark’s 2015 representatives to the All-Washington Academic Team.

Two students whose stories began on almost opposite sides of the earth have found success in the face of adversity at Clark College. Martin Parrao and Lidiya Nikolayev represented Clark College at the 2015 All-Washington Academic Team Recognition Ceremony, held on March 26 at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington.

About Lidiya Nikolayev
About Martin Parrao
About the All-Washington Academic Team

About Lidiya Nikolayev

Lidiya Nikolayev, 30, came to the United States with her parents from Moldova when she was almost 6 years old. From early on, she displayed a head for business. “When I was 12, I met a nice lady who’s a real estate agent, and she taught me to read contracts,” recalls Nikolayev, who speaks English, Turkish, Russian, and Hindi. “My family had a side business buying homes and fixing them up to resell, so I started helping with that.”

Small wonder, then, that Nikolayev is now pursuing a career in finance. But there is a more personal and painful reason for her interest as well. The truth is, she began to hone her financial acumen while caring for her son, Ivan, who was born with cerebral palsy. Faced with daunting medical bills and limited income, Nikolayev became expert at managing a budget. Ivan passed away in 2011; as Nikolayev recovered from her trauma, she became determined to go to college and find a career that would not only make her self-sufficient, but allow her to create family-friendly jobs for other parents. “No parent should have to sacrifice time with their children to have a career,” she says. “More companies in the corporate world should be creating work environments with flexible schedules that allow employees better balance between work and family responsibilities.”

Nikolayev enrolled at Clark in 2013, and quickly gained notice for both her aptitude and drive. She has just finished a quarter in which she took a staggering 22 credits, divided between classes at Clark College and at a community college in Texas, where she is enrolled in online courses. This is even more challenging than it sounds—because the Texas college is on a semester system and Clark uses a quarter system, Nikolayev can be prepping for a midterm in one class while taking a final in another, and she rarely gets a vacation since one or the other of her schools is almost always in session while the other one is on break.

Nikolayev devised this strategy to facilitate a possible transfer to the University of Texas at Dallas, whose business program she admires. “For six months I bothered the heck out of both colleges’ advising and credentials departments figuring it all out,” she says with a laugh. The plan worked: Nikolayev has been accepted at UTD, as well as at multiple other universities, though she is still weighing her options before deciding on a transfer destination.

In addition to her turbo-powered studying, Nikolayev continues to help with her family’s farm; serves as student representative on many of the college’s administrative committees; and volunteers with both Phi Theta Kappa and the Association for India’s Development. In 2014, she earned an OSWALD Award from Clark College Student Life for her volunteer activities. And she has maintained a high grade point average all the while. Her secret? Not a lot of sleep and a whole lot of personal organization, plus using the flexibility of online learning to do coursework when it fits her schedule.

Nikolayev says she learned her work ethic early on from her parents. In addition to farming and investing in real estate, her father does seasonal work at factories, while her mother worked 14-hour shifts as a housekeeper during Nikolayev’s childhood—often taking night shifts so she could spend the days taking care of the children.

“I’m going to be the first person in my family to get a bachelor’s degree,” Nikolayev says. “I’ll work as hard as it takes to get there.”

About Martin Parrao

When Martin Parrao’s family moved from Chile to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, Parrao was already 15 years old. He spoke no English. “The process of learning English has been one of the longest and most difficult challenges I have ever faced,” he says. “Going through high school was very difficult for me, but I was determined to work extra-hard so that one day I could reach my goals and prove to my parents that their efforts to come to this country were not in vain.”

That hard work paid off: Parrao went from taking English as a Second Language classes to graduating from Battle Ground High School with honors in 2009. He enrolled at a four-year university, but quickly encountered a new challenge. “I took one class, and it was super-expensive,” he says. “I couldn’t afford to keep going.”

Parrao, 24, is a legal resident of this country, but he is not yet a citizen. This means that up until recently, he could qualify for in-state tuition, but not for federal or state financial aid. A 2014 Washington state law called the “Real HOPE Act” now allows students like Parrao to be eligible for state financial aid, but at the time, Parrao found himself facing thousands of dollars in tuition each quarter, even if he attended part-time, with no hope of assistance.

Parrao regrouped. He dropped out of university, realizing that his limited funds would go farther at Clark. Even so, he had to work for months to save enough money to take a single class, meaning that for his first three years at Clark, he could only afford to take one or two classes a year.

At the end of 2011, another challenge emerged: His family decided to return to Chile. Many young people might have taken that as a sign to give up, but Parrao became even more determined to pursue his dreams. “For me, just the sacrifice of having to learn a whole new language when I was 15, and working so hard to graduate high school with honors—to go back would mean all that effort was wasted,” he says.

Parrao began applying for scholarships, working closely with Clark College Outreach/Scholarship Coordinator Lizette Drennan to identify opportunities. “Lizette was a great help,” Parrao says. “Every time I had a question, she was there for me.” The work paid off in 2013 when Parrao received a scholarship that allowed him to begin attending Clark part-time, followed by another that allowed him to become a full-time student.

At first, Parrao wanted to get a terminal two-year business degree; he assumed he wouldn’t be able to afford more than two years of college. But as he continued to excel in his coursework (he currently holds a 3.96 grade point average) and as scholarships and the Real HOPE Act began to make attending college full-time affordable, he realized that he could do more. “I realized, ‘This is the moment,’” says Parrao, who is engaged. “Because if you go out and work full-time and get married, you will not be able to do everything you can do right now.”

Parrao chose to return to Clark to complete a transfer Associate of Arts degree. He plans to transfer in the fall to the Washington State University Vancouver, where he will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Meanwhile, he continues to work two jobs—as a computer lab aide in Clark College’s Tech Hub, and as sales support for an industrial supplies company. He hopes to one day run his own business so he can provide jobs and scholarships to those who, like him, have more potential than resources.

Parrao says he greatly appreciates the opportunities provided to him by employers, friends, scholarship donors, and Clark College. “For my situation, this is probably the only way I could ever have done it,” he says. “It made me realize how important it is to have opportunities for everyone. And that was given to me at Clark. It’s changed my life.”

About the All-Washington Academic Team

The All-Washington Academic Team is a program of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges. The team honors students who demonstrate a commitment to success in the classroom and service in their communities, and has become the showcase of the Washington community and technical college system. This year’s team consists of 65 students representing all the state’s 34 community and technical colleges.

Gov. Jay Inslee was on hand to acknowledge recipients at the 20th annual ceremony, hosted by South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Wash. Phi Theta Kappa, the Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges (TACTC), the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges, and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges sponsor the event. All-Washington Academic Team members received scholarships from KeyBank and became eligible for scholarships from TACTC, the Washington State Employees Credit Union, and transfer scholarships from all four-year colleges and universities but one in Washington State.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Demolition work will begin the week of March 30 on the corner of Fourth Plain Blvd. and Fort Vancouver Way on the northwest end of Clark College’s main campus. The buildings and the property being demolished are owned by Clark College Foundation.

The future of the corner will have several phases. After the demolition, some of the space will be converted into parking, which will help to offset parking losses due to the construction of the college’s new 70,000 square-foot STEM building and remodeling of a culinary facility on the Clark College campus.

Long term, the corner of Fourth Plain Blvd. and Fort Vancouver Way is part of the Facilities Master Plan at the college and many options are under consideration. One option is for the foundation or college to partner with a developer to develop the property, but the location currently has no funding identified for any project or specific use.

The demolition will run through approximately April 3, 2015.

High school students visit Clark’s Automotive Technology program for a quick lesson under the hood during the 2015 Professional Technical Day.

Last Thursday 375 high school students visited Clark during its 24th annual Professional Technical Day, visiting with instructors in 18 different programs and finding out more about how to enter these fields themselves.

“Professional Technical Day is fantastic way to introduce local high school students, career counselors, teachers and administrators to the career technical educational opportunities that are available here at Clark College,” says Genevieve Howard,

Students in Clark’s Bakery program share their experiences with high school students during the 2015 Professional Technical Day.

Clark College Dean of Workforce, Career & Technical Education. “With the reduction of career technical education programs in the high schools, this is often the first exposure many students have to these career opportunities, and I think Clark faculty and staff do a great job of getting students excited and engaged around these opportunities.”

The students came from 15 different high schools from the Vancouver and Portland area, including Mountain View, Ft. Vancouver, Union, and Grant. Each student could pick two different program presentations during the half-day event. Popular programs included Automotive (and its highly regarded Toyoto T-TEN program), Welding, Bakery, Nursing/Dental Hygiene, Early Childhood Education, Business Technology, and Medical Office.

Area high school counselors and educators had a chance to hear about the future of technical careers from industry experts during Clark’s 2015 Professional Technical Day.

In addition to the students, 45 counselors, teachers, and principals attended the event. They were given a full tour of the available programs, as well as the opportunity to hear a panel discussion with industry experts about job prospects and educational requirements for today’s professional technical careers. Panelists were: Jim Lucey, human resources director of Linear Technology; Matt Houghton, general manager of Schurman Machine; Natalie Pacholl, training program specialist at SEH America; and Craig Baldwin, head of worldwide operations at nLight.

“At Professional Technical Day, high school students get a rare opportunity to interact with Clark College instructors and professors in hands-on learning environments that demonstrate the academic rigor and technical skill involved in career pathways such as: Welding Technology, Automotive Technology, Mechatronics, and Computer Networking, Science and Engineering,” says Clark College Student Recruitment Specialist Jami Fordyce, who helped organize the event. “We hope that students leave inspired and more confident than ever that college is part of their future, and that Clark College is a wonderful place to start.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

The Rocky Horror Show’s title character is brought to life in the Theatre Department’s 2015 winter quarter musical.

To quote Dr. Frank N. Furter, “We see you shiver with anticipa…tion.” Clark College Theatre continues its 2014-15 season with the raunchy camp musical classic, The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien. The play is directed by H. Gene Biby and runs Feb. 27 – March 14.

This gleeful spoof of science fiction and horror B movies from the 1950s, made famous by its 1975 film adaptation, has become a beloved cult hit thanks to midnight-movie showings of the film in which audience members dress as their favorite characters and shout lines in response to the film’s dialog. The plot, which involves a naïve young couple being seduced into a world of wonton sexuality by a cross-dressing alien named Dr. Frank N. Furter, is secondary to wickedly clever and high-energy musical numbers like “Sweet Transvestite,” “The Time Warp,” and “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me.”

Michal Capell struts his stuff as Dr. Frank N. Furter in the Theatre Department’s 2015 winter quarter musical, “The Rocky Horror Show.”

“For fans of the midnight movie showings, this is a great way to connect with a favorite musical the way it was originally intended to be experienced: as live theatre,” said Biby, who is also head of the Theatre Department. “For those who have never seen the movie, this is an opportunity to enjoy the show without having it be overshadowed by the audience. We encourage audience participation and even sell prop bags at the door, and we’re hoping many audience members dress up the way they might for a movie screening, but at the same time this is live theatre and we encourage respect for our actors. You’ll actually be able to hear the original dialog and song lyrics during the performance.”

Cast includes Kennedy Marvin (Usherette/Phantom), James Martine (Brad), Alexandra Mills (Janet), Mila Boyd (Narrator), Garrett Dabbs (Riff Raff), Wyley Thomason (Columbia), Tatiana Cannalla (Magenta), Michal Capell (Frank N. Furter), Steven Goolsby (Rocky),  Zak Campbell (Eddie), and JD Carpenter (Dr. Scott). Performing as Phantoms are Andrew Forrest, Kiara Gaulding, and Isabella Guetter.

Show Dates: February 27 and 28, March 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14. All show times are at 7:30 p.m. Midnight show on March 7.

Ticket Information: Students (with ID) $11; Alumni (with membership) $11; Senior Citizens $13; General Admission $15. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Clark College Bookstore in Gaiser Hall, online at http://www.clarkbookstore.com/site_theatre.asp, or call 360-992-2815. If you need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event, contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP), or visit the Penguin Union Building room 013, two weeks before the event.

More photos.

Photos: Jenny Shadley/Clark College

Clark College Bookstore buyer Kaina Derwin reads to Crestline Elementary students during Read Across America Day 2014.

As Theodor Geisel (aka “Dr. Seuss”) once wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Heeding those words, Clark College has chosen to make the beneficiary of its seventh annual book drive Vancouver’s King Elementary School.

The Clark College Bookstore is hoping that Book Drive supporters will purchase 100 copies of the Dr. Seuss classic The Cat in the Hat. The books will be given to kindergarteners at King Elementary on Read Across America Day, a celebration to commemorate the birthday of Theodor Geisel (aka “Dr. Seuss”). Books will be read aloud to students by volunteers from Clark College Bookstore.

Copies of the selected Dr. Seuss books will be available for purchase and donation Feb. 16-27 for $6.85 each (plus tax). Each book will include a nameplate with the donor’s name. Donors will be able to purchase books at the Bookstore or online via the Bookstore’s website at www.clarkbookstore.com, making it quick and convenient to participate in the book drive.

“The Clark College Book Drive is a wonderful opportunity for King students to hear another adult read a book to them,” says King kindergarten teacher Shari Perea. “The students treasure the book that they receive and, in some cases, it is the only book that they own.”

According to Clark College Bookstore buyer Marti Earhart, one of the organizers of the drive, “I’ve personally handed books to students nearly every year of the book drive. I don’t doubt for a moment that each one of the kids will be reading the book on their own in a few weeks!”

Bookstore manager Monica Knowles adds, “I delight in knowing the joy those books bring to our local community and I don’t hesitate to challenge my friends and family to join it!”

The Clark College Bookstore is located in Gaiser Hall on the northern end of Clark’s main campus. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Information about the bookstore is available at www.clarkbookstore.com. For additional information, contact Marti Earhart at the Clark College Bookstore at 360-992-2261.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

“Poetry is about being able to speak the truth,” said Aaron Reader in his keynote address during Clark’s 2015 Martin Luther King observance. “And Dr. King not only spoke the truth, he acted on it.”

“Dr. King started the battle, but the war has not been won.”

That was one line from “Sleepwalking,” the poem spoken-word artist Aaron Reader chose to begin his presentation honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., held January 21 in Gaiser Student Center. Reader had come to Clark as the keynote speaker for the college’s annual Martin Luther King Day observance.

“It’s because of Dr. King that I am able to speak to you today,” Reader told his audience. “It’s because of Dr. King that I was able to get a master’s degree. At one point, people like me didn’t even go to college.”

Reader grew up in Oakland, California. In his teens, he began using poetry as an outlet to express the ups and downs of being a young African-American male in inner-city America. Today, in addition to his spoken-word performances and his work as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator around issues of diversity and equity, he also serves as the director of multicultural services at Bellevue College.

In was in his capacity at the college that he was invited to participate in a seven-day bus tour of significant sites from the 1960s civil rights movement, and much of his presentation focused on that experience.

“I went to the south and I realized that I have been sheltered living here in the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “We went to a spot where we got off the bus, and the guide said, ‘We don’t let students go down that road there because that’s where the Ku Klux Klan are.’”

Aaron Reader with MLK Celebration Committee members, left to right, Felisciana Peralta, Rosalba Pitkin, Michelle Golder, Rosalyn Guerrero, and Dolly England.

Reader said that the experience not only gave him a deeper connection to the history of civil rights in this country, but also some uncomfortable insight into disparities that remain today. He recounted one moment when the 30 members of his tour group—a combination of college students, employees, and alumni—arrived at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was shot and killed in 1968 on the second-floor balcony.

“I’m looking up at this thing and I’m starting to lose it,” recalled Reader. “I’m getting choked up. Some of the students were starting to cry. And then one of the [white] faculty said, ‘How many of you are up for Starbucks?’”

Reader said that afterward, he had private conversations with some of his colleagues to explain how that moment had been hurtful to the students of color on the tour. He told the audience to be ready to have such conversations themselves. “As social-justice activists, as warriors, you’re going to have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he said.

Afterward, during a question-and-answer period following Reader’s presentation, a white faculty member asked how she and her white colleagues at Clark could help support diverse students at the college.

“Number One is to listen,” Reader advised. “Oftentimes, I think that when we think we get it, we shut our ears off. Don’t be so quick to say, ‘I understand.’ Before you say you understand, take a moment to really listen.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Video: Nick Bremer-Korb

Many of us value our pets as sources of comfort, companionship, and protection. But what if it turned out that they were also teaching our children valuable lessons that could help them be better adults? Clark College psychology professor Dr. Mika Maruyama tackles the crucial role animals can play in early childhood development during her Faculty Speaker Series presentation, “Why Do We Need a Pet? Effects of animals on children’s socio-emotional development,” held Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. in the Ellis Dunn Community Room (Gaiser Hall room 213) on Clark College’s main campus.

“In America, most people own or have owned a pet, but they may not realize that these animals can actually improve your health and well-being—lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety, and, in the case of children, strengthening emotional development,” says Dr. Maruyama, who has published numerous articles and book chapters on the topic. “This talk could apply to anyone in the fields of social science, psychology, early childhood education, women’s studies, or nursing, as well as anyone interested in social issues like interpersonal violence and how our pets can help us raise healthy children.”

Dr. Maruyama shares her intriguing research findings, which suggest that children learn more than we suspect from animal companions. The daily interactions they have with pets can help develop the important quality of empathy. Likewise, studies show that when children regularly mistreat animals, we need to pay attention—as it could be a warning sign of further violence to come as the child grows up.

This presentation is free and open to the public. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event may contact Clark’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (video phone) or email dss@clark.edu within one week of the event.

This presentation is part of Clark’s prestigious Faculty Speaker Series. The theme for this year’s series is “Microbes, Pets, and Puppets: What Animals Can Teach Us.” The final presentation, “Bilingual Puppetry: a Project-Based Learning Exploration” by Spanish professor Elizabeth Ubiergo, is scheduled for May 12.

About Dr. Mika Maruyama

Dr. Mika Maruyama is a tenure-track professor teaching both general and lifespan psychology at Clark College. A native of Japan, she has studied the psychological relationship between animals and human development in both American and Japanese society as well as social issues including animal cruelty, domestic violence, child maltreatment, and juvenile delinquency. She has contributed to numerous academic journals, handbooks, and textbooks, including Animal Abuse and Developmental Psychopathology (2010, APA Books), Human Development (2008, Wadsworth Publishing), and International Handbook of Theory and Research on Animal Abuse and Cruelty (2008, Purdue University Press). Dr. Maruyama earned her bachelor’s degree from Utah State University and both her master’s and doctorate degrees in psychology from Portland State University. She began teaching at Clark in 2011.

Award-winning author Jess Walter reads at the 2015 winter quarter installment of Clark College’s Columbia Writers Series.

During the 2015 winter quarter installment of its renowned Columbia Writers Series, Clark College will welcome best-selling writer Jess Walter, whose award-winning work was recently deemed “captivating” by the New York Times and “bad-ass” by Esquire magazine.

A former National Book Award finalist and winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Jess Walter is the author of six novels, one book of short stories, and one nonfiction book. His 2012 novel, Beautiful Ruins, was both a No. 1 New York Times Bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book of 2012, as well as Esquire‘s Book of the Year and NPR Fresh Air’s Novel of the Year. His 2009 novel, The Financial Lives of the Poets was Time magazine’s No. 2 Novel of the Year. His most recent book, the 2013 collection of short stories called We Live in Water, was described by the Seattle Times as “[s]tories that twist and plumb, delivering unexpected laughs while playing with what it is we think we know … Walter has emerged as one of the country’s most dazzling novelists … so freakishly, fiendishly good, it isn’t fair.”

Walter’s work has been translated into 30 languages, and his essays, short fiction, criticism and journalism have been widely published, in Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, Harper’s, Esquire, McSweeney’s, Byliner, Playboy, ESPN the Magazine, Details and many others. He lives with his wife Anne and children, Brooklyn, Ava and Alec in his childhood home of Spokane, Washington.

Walter will read from some of his works and discuss his writing process from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 11, in Foster Auditorium on Clark’s main campus. The event is free and open to the public. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.