Teams of engineering students stood outside the STEM Building engrossed in testing the transforming catapults they had designed and built. How many foam balls would their catapult successfully throw into the target buckets? Could their catapult quickly transform from stationary to mobile, and would it be fast enough to cross the finish line before the clock ran out?
Every term, Engineering professors Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu pose a real-world problem to their students and instruct them to design and build an object that solves the problem. Teams of students work together. At the end of each term, teams present their prototype to their peers, explaining their process and materials used. Finally, teams test their designs.
The spring 2024 challenge: Design and build a transforming catapult with two stages: stationary and moveable.
Requirements:
The catapult must pass under a twelve-inch bridge and shoot foam balls into target buckets placed at various distances.
The catapult must remain stationary while shooting.
It must transform into a moveable form before and after shooting the balls.
A student may not push the catapult across the finish line.
Timed test: Five minutes maximum was allowed for their mobile design to move from the starting line to the testing center, to transform to a stationary catapult, then to propel foam balls at the target, to transform back into moveable form, and finally to cross the finish line.
Materials: Student teams used various materials to build their catapult. Popular choices included radio control cars, lightweight wood, balsa craft sticks, cardboard, plastic cups, springs, string, rubber bands, and wheels and axles from a toy car. Some teams used high-tech carbon fiber, PET-CF, and TPU 3D printing filament to create parts of their catapult vehicle. Although all catapults shared some characteristics, such as wheels, a base, a long arm, and a bucket, each catapult looked different from the others.
Most teams were outside the STEM Building awaiting their turn to test their project. But not all teams had completed building their design. Team Proto A and a few other teams who were finishing their catapults worked at tables in the collaboratorium. Students wielded drills, glue guns, duct tape, and string to put the finishing touches on their designs before taking them outside to test them in front of their professors and their peers.
Each team took a turn running their catapult transformer through the course while other teams watched, cheered, and offered encouragement. Now was the moment of truth for Team Proto T and its “Squirrel Defeater” transforming catapult. It completed the tasks and crossed the finish line with 12 seconds to spare.
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Clark College’s 88th Commencement
Clark College honored its 88th graduating class at the 2024 Clark College Commencement ceremony on Thursday evening, June 20, at theRV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater.Over 640 graduates and their guests gathered with college faculty and staff to celebrate their achievements. This auspicious ceremony honored students graduating with their bachelor’s or associate degrees, and those earning certificates, high school diplomas, and/or GED completion.
2024 Commencement Highlights
Clark College conferred a total of 1,783 degrees and certificates on the next generation of our community’s workers, leaders, and scholars. This translates to the following:
President Dr. Karin Edwards, center with some of the Dental Hygiene BAS graduates.
2024 Degrees and Certificatesconferred included the:
Bachelor of Applied Science degree;
Associate in Arts degree;
Associate in Fine Arts degree;
Associate in Science degree;
Associate in Applied Science degree;
Associate in Applied Technology degree;
Certificate of Proficiency;
Certificate of Achievement;
Certificate of Completion;
High School Diploma; and
General Educational Development (GED) Completion
Student Speaker Ziyad El Amrani gives gets the graduates hyped up at commmencement.
Speakers at the 2024 Commencement included:
Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards
Clark College Board of Trustee President Cristhian Canseco Juarez, in both English and Spanish
Graduating Student Ziyad El Amrani, Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree
CCAHE Faculty Union President and Professor of Communication Studies Suzanne Southerland
Clark President Dr. Karin Edwards touted recent Clark successes: enrollment has increased 10%, more in-person classes are being offered, student engagement has increased, and its new campus at Boschma Farms in Ridgefield is nearing completion.
After sharing the inspiring stories of three graduating students, Dr. Edwards said, “These are just three examples of the transformational power of a community college education. Graduates, whatever path your future takes you, the return on your investment is invaluable. You believed in yourself and invested in bettering yourself. The result is that everyone benefits. You, your family, your community, and the world benefit by having your well-educated mind at work. We congratulate and applaud you for your dedication, your hard work, and your sacrifice.”
Trustee Cristhian Canseco Juarez (pictured above) followed with these words, “What an accomplishment! Through your perseverance and hard work, you did it! Congratulations!” He added, “Many of you, like me, are the first person in your family to graduate from college. Did you know that about 45% of Clark students are the first in their family to attend college? You have sacrificed to make a difference for your family and your future… Penguins Class of 2024, tonight you begin an exciting new journey. Pursue your dreams, reach toward your goals—and make the world a better place. All of Penguin Nation believes in you.”
Transformed Lives
Before the commencement ceremony, students waiting outside the amphitheater shared their stories that spoke to the transformational power of education.
Clark Libraries employees earn degrees. Amanda Brown (pictured above third from the left in white robe), Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management (BASAM): Brown is the program manager in Clark Libraries. She realized she would have more opportunities with a bachelor’s degree, so she worked full time while attending Clark full time and achieved her goal. Amanda stands with fellow Clark graduates Courtney Cichosz, a former Clark Libraries student employee, and current Clark Libraries employees Shay Walter and Bridgit Callaway.
Running Start students Lemman Gurre (DTA Biology & transferring to WSUV) and Aalaa Hassan (Biochemical Engineering & transferring to UW) and Nevaeh Fang (AA DTA & undecided)
A trio of Running Start studentsLemman Gurre, Aalaa Hassan, and Nevaeh Fangearned direct transfer associate degrees and are headed to University of Washington and Washington State University Vancouver to pursue bachelor’s degrees. Gurre plans to become a pharmacist; Hassan, a biomedical engineer. Fang is undecided.
Left to right: Slade Samson Griffith and Micah Turner earned DTA degrees. Griffith is first gen student adopted from Haiti-joined US Navy. Turner undecided.
Slade Samson Griffith, a first-generation college graduate who was adopted from Haiti, earned a direct transfer associate degree. He has joined the U.S. Navy and plans to continue his education after he has completed his military service.
Rachel Kreitel, (pictured above)had not completed high school, but 20 years later, she enrolled at Clark and earned her GED and then an associate degree in Nursing. She realized she wanted to pursue a career in human resources, so returned to Clark again to earn a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management.
Life got in the way for Elizabeth Rivera, and she hadn’t had an opportunity to graduate from high school.She has four children, ages 6 to 18, and has worked full time at an assembly job for 16 years. Rivera wants to move into a leadership position, so she enrolled in Clark’s Transitional Studies high school plus program full time while working 12-hour shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday—and caring for her family. Now she plans to pursue a project management position and is considering returning to Clark to earn an associate’s degree.
The following were recognized during commencement
2024 Community College Presidents’ Award in honor of Val Ogden was received by Graduate Simon Kirpa (pictured above). This annual scholarship is awarded to a Clark College graduate who is transferring to Washington State University Vancouver. The recipient must demonstrate leadership potential, a commitment to community service, and academic achievement.
Kirpa joined the U.S. Army and served as a medic in Iraq, where he demonstrated his leadership skills and his ability to put patients at ease. He chose to continue pursuing medicine after completing his military service and applied to Clark’s nursing program. He completed this challenging program while balancing being a husband and father, caring for his mother, and volunteering weekly at his church to offer free meals to those in need. Despite his responsibilities, he consistently completed high-caliber work in his classes, performed his duties with diligence, and provided excellent care in hospital settings. At WSU-Vancouver, Kirpa will study to become an Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner and specialize in family medicine.
Thanks to the generosity of Clark College Foundation, the Presidential Scholarship taskforce selected two other recipients of a $1,000 scholarship each:
Alexandra Rose, associate of arts
Alita Sundberg
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society for two-year colleges selected the following graduating students for its All-Washington Academic Team, based on academic excellence and community service:
Addison Johnson, direct transfer associate degree in Bioengineering
Lisa Segretto, direct transfer associate degree in Psychology
Ethan Mahan, associate in applied technology degree in Medical Assisting; additional certification in Phlebotomy
Faculty and Staff Awards were also recognized during commencement
2024 Exceptional Faculty Award recipients:
Halina Brant-Zawadzki, Nursing
Sarah Luther, Mathematics
Sarah Blanchette, Human Services
Tanya Diaz-Kozlowski, Women’s Studies
Rebecca Engel, American Sign Language
Catherine Johnston, English as a Second Language
2024 Exceptional Classified Staff Award recipients:
Cheryl Davenport, Collections and Specialist, Library
Jennifer Lea, Program Specialist, Business department
2024 Exceptional Administrative Exempt Award recipient:
Vanessa Watkins, Director of Entry Services
2024 Lora Whitfield Social Equity Award:
Ezekial Wells, Program Specialist 3, Workforce Education Services
Congratulations, William (Tre) Sandlin, Instructional Accessibility Specialist in the Teaching and Learning Center for receiving the Spring 2024 Classified Staff Excellence Award.
A warm congratulations to the other award nominees:
Laura Borgman, Secretary Senior, Transitional Studies Division
Stephanie Hall, Secretary Senior, WPTE+ STEM Unit
Sergey Kachenkov, IT System Administration Entry, Library Services
“Tre takes the necessary time to assess the impacts of our work could have on his peers. I have the privilege of working with Tre creating accessible content. His awareness of trauma and racism and how they come into play for the content we see and deal with has made all the difference to me. For example, we were enrolled in a class about mass genocides, and one week covered mass genocides in Africa. Instead of passing that content onto me, a Black colleague, he took on that work. I could visibly see the effects it had on him. He expressed his knowledge of how racism played in mass genocides and his understanding of how that content could have affected me.”
“He serves on the art committee, and he has worked to make sure that the art being displayed is inclusive and diverse.”
“Tre works incredibly hard to make sure students have access to their learning materials so they can be successful in class and at the college regardless of their identities, experiences, or abilities. He is the fastest accessibility editor I have ever met, and he is always ready to offer support, encouragement, and expert guidance to faculty and staff who are trying to improve the accessibility of their work.”
Left to Right: Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vanessa Neal with Tre Sandlin who received a completion certificate at the BUILD graduation ceremony this spring.
“Tre is so clearly committed to creating a world where all people are welcome and treated with respect and dignity. Tre has contributed greatly to checking the Braille signage at both the main campus and CTC as part of his work with the universal design committee. Tre just recently finished his year as part of the BUILD program and is continuing to work with his project partners. Honestly, Tre’s contributions to the college cannot be emphasized enough in terms of his work ethic, his sustained efforts to improve accessibility, and his support of students and colleagues. Tre is always striving to learn more and do better to create a more inclusive and caring workplace for all of us.”
About the Classified Staff Awards
Established in 2005, the Classified Staff Excellence Award recognizes classified staff who have demonstrated exemplary work performance, a positive and cooperative spirit, special achievements, or contributions to the college community, and supports individual and organizational diversity and inclusion. Through the support of the Clark College Foundation, the recipient will receive a $400 cash award.
Nominees must be a current classified employee who has been in their current position for more than six months. Award recipients will not be eligible for another award for three years. Visit the Clark College Employee Recognition page to learn more about this award and other ways to acknowledge the value and dedication of our staff and faculty.
Clark College students were recognized for their outstanding achievements during the annual OSWALD Awards on May 30 in Gaiser Student Center. These students were selected because they are Outstanding Students With Academic Leadership and Development Skills (OSWALD).
Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards welcomed the students and their families. She told the students who will graduate in three weeks: “I’m incredibly excited for you. Don’t let anyone minimize your accomplishment. Congratulations!”
To all the award winners she said, “I want you to know how happy I am for you. Know that you are always a part of Clark College. You can wear your Penguin proudly.”
More than 100 awards were bestowed on Clark students in these categories: Academic Award, Outstanding Student Employee Award, Outstanding Student in a Department Award, Outstanding Student in an ASCC Club Award, and Outstanding Student in an ASCC Program Award.
The Penguin Award
Running Start student and ASCC Vice President Elizabeth Swift receives the 2024 Penguin Award from Dr. Edwards.
The final award was the Penguin Award, awarded annually to a student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to the Clark College community. This award is based on the student’s performance in the following areas: academics, leadership, community, and college service. A committee of staff and students reviews nominations and selects the student for this award.
Penguin Award Nominees
Stephanie Crocker
Melina Doan
Ziyad El Amrani
Sienna Hahn
Emily Subroto
Penguin Award Winner
Elizabeth Swift, ASCC Vice President
Academic Award
Jasmina Camacena, Communication Studies
Pamela Crawford, Communication Studies
Dorji Damdul, Communication Studies
Joshua DeWees, Communication Studies
Tysson Dykes, Communication Studies
Sidney Exum, Communication Studies
Vella Hongel, Communication Studies
Avery LeCocq, Communication Studies
Carolina Lovato, Communication Studies
Emma Mady, Communication Studies
Ian McCuen, Communication Studies
Cassandra McDaniel, Communication Studies
Natalie Perdun, Communication Studies
Angeline Stefanyuk, Communication Studies
Kimberly Troncoso, Communication Studies
Elliott Vazquez, Communication Studies
Spencer Venable, Communication Studies
Kristina Zubrovych, Communication Studies
Cameron Steiger, Communication Studies/College 101
Mieta Branch, Early Childhood Education
Vanessa Herrera, Early Childhood Education
Vash Martinez, Early Childhood Education
Brenden Prothe, Physics
Paige Cook, Sociology
Joshua DeWees with his supporters at the photo booth.
Outstanding Student Employee Award
Anna Bondar, Child and Family Studies
Olena Bondar, Child and Family Studies
Mia Caggianese, Child and Family Studies
Grace Chen, Child and Family Studies
Jozi Eller, Child and Family Studies
Cindy Ildefonzo, Child and Family Studies
Kristen Jensen-Minkler, Child and Family Studies
Aspen Mallory, Child and Family Studies
Uliana Rudoi-Kostyshyn, Child and Family Studies
Ami Teramura, Child and Family Studies
Naomi Lauser, Environmental Health & Safety Dept.
Cassandra Williams, Environmental Health & Safety Dept.
Jessie Donehey, Library
Paden Geddings, Library
Preston Hagan, Library
Daniel Diego Hernandez, Multicultural Student Affairs Peer Mentors
Bill Erickson, General Council Secretary of the Cowlitz Tribe (left) accepted an award recognizing the crucial support of the Cowlitz Foundation. Pictured above (left to right) with Dr. Karin Edwards, Cheree Nygard, and Donna Larson. Photo: Monica Patton
Generations of veterans connected to Clark College gathered to celebrate how the college and its partners have impacted veteran students over the years. The May 21 event in Gaiser Student Center celebrated 10 years of the Veterans Center of Excellence (VCOE) at Clark College. The college has offered unique resources for veterans for much longer than a decade.
Several speakers shared the history of the Veterans Center of Excellence at Clark and reflected on how the VCOE has changed lives.
Cheree Nygard, chair of Clark College Foundation Board of Directors, a veteran, and a long-time supporter of the center said, “Reflecting on the inception of the VCOE fills me with pride and nostalgia. A decade ago, we embarked on a journey filled with hope and determination to support our veterans. Over the years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of the VCOE on veterans’ education and their successful integration into civilian life. Together, we’ve achieved significant milestones and made a tangible difference in the lives of our military-affiliated students.”
Nygard added, “Today, I stand before you as a testament to the resilience and determination of our veteran community. The VCOE has been more than just an educational resource; it has been a lifeline, providing guidance, mentorship, and a sense of belonging to so many of us. As we celebrate our past achievements, let us look towards the future with optimism and determination. Clark College remains steadfast in its commitment to serving and supporting our military-affiliated students, ensuring they have the necessary resources to succeed.”
A video highlighted Clark College student veterans sharing their stories and talking about how the support of the VCOE impacted their lives and their ability to succeed in school.
William (Bill) Erickson, General Council Secretary of the Cowlitz Tribe, contributed a land acknowledgment and shared the importance of veterans to his tribe. A high percentage of Cowlitz Tribe members are veterans.
Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards and Donna Larson presented appreciation certificates to those who have made substantial financial contributions to the VCOE.
Photo: Monica Patton
Jane Hagelstein (pictured above receiving recognition from Dr. Edwards), a founding member of Clark’s Veterans Advisory Board, began supporting Clark Student Veterans in 2011 with a scholarship. She continued supporting student veterans by providing funds to build out the Veteran Resource Center for facilities, staffing, and emergency grants. Her overall support of veterans with scholarships and emergency grants, along with facilities and staffing support has totaled $300,000 from 2011 to 2019. Without her generosity and belief in helping student veterans, there would not be a Veteran Center of Excellence today. She was a founding member of the Veterans Advisory Board.
The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation contributed $250,000 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the VCOE to expand basic needs and to provide needed technology devices student veterans needed to transition to remote learning.
People had opportunities to write thank-you notes to veterans and to meet others who are connected to the VCOE.
Donna Larson, associate director of the VCOE, said, “This event was truly a celebration for student veterans, alumni, staff, and supporters of the VCOE to celebrate this important milestone. The atmosphere felt like a tight-knit family gathering.”
She added, “A short history of the VCOE was shared, along with several inspirational student stories. The highlight of the event was presenting Clark College student coins to Jane Hagelstein and Bill Erickson of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in appreciation for large donations to support the VCOE. After the program, employees, students, partners, and honorees mingled while they enjoyed coffee and festive cupcakes and cake.”
About Veterans Center of Excellence
The center assists military-affiliated students with their educational journey. Focused on supporting veteran student success, the center provides a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive, individualized support services that address the academic, financial, physical, and social needs of Clark College’s student veterans. A Clark College veteran is any military-affiliated student at Clark: veterans, active duty, or a military dependent, either spouse or child.
The center’s staff can connect student veterans to agencies, programs, and support. The center also provides tutoring, help with books and calculators; useful workshops; a study area with computers and printers; a lounge and games for relaxation; networking with other veterans, and more.
Monica Patton, Program Coordinator, and Megan Anderson, Veterans Educational Planner. Photo: Carly Rae Zent.
November 2013: Clark College President Bob Knight began a new tradition: a college-sponsored celebration honoring veterans held the Thursday before Veterans Day in Gaiser Student Center. At that event, Knight announced the college would one day have a Veterans Resource Center on campus.
At that same Nov. 2013 event: Jennifer Rhoads, president of Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, announced in honor of the foundation’s 30th anniversary, they would donate six grants of $30,000 each to help alleviate poverty. The first grant was for Clark College to create its Veteran Resource Center.
March 2014: First open house at new Veterans Resource Center at Clark College—less than four months after the CFSWW announced the grant, the center held its first public event to welcome student veterans and the college community
Feb. 2021: The Veterans Resource Center received a $449,460 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish a Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success over three years. Clark was one of only two community colleges in the state to receive the grant. Focused on supporting student success, the Center will provide a single point of contact to coordinate comprehensive, individualized support services that address the academic, financial, physical, and social needs of Clark College’s student-veterans.
On Saturday, April 27, the rocket team from the Clark College Aerospace & Robotic program traveled to Brothers, Oregon, and successfully launched their rocket, named “Emperor Penguin,” for the first time this year.
Here are some noteworthy highlights from our expedition:
The crew: Five students Ethan Walters, Vyacheslav Lukiyanchuk, Alex Kari, Rebekah Irvin, and Bladen Mitchell, and advisor Sophie Lin
The rocket: “Emperor Penguin” is 14 feet long and weighs about 63 pounds
The journey: It is a long drive (about four hours) to the launch site in Brothers, Oregon. Departing from campus at 5:30 a.m., the crew arrived at Brothers around 9:30 a.m.
Tasks accomplished: Demonstrating remarkable efficiency, the team accomplished two major tasks during the trip:
An ejection charge test to figure out the black powder needed for rocket separations, and
A flight test to assess the rocket’s design, construction, and avionics system.
The flight test: The rocket soared to an altitude of roughly 7,200 feet before safely landing approximately 0.5 miles from the launch pad.
Retrieving the rocket: Despite a glitch in the GPS system onboard the rocket, the team successfully located it utilizing a radio tracker, with an unexpected assist from a team member and her dog, who managed to find the rocket before the radio tracker.
Other college teams at the launch site: Two other college teams, one from Oregon State University and another from Portland State University, were present at Brothers, though neither managed to launch their rockets that Saturday. During the weekend, the Clark College rocket team was the only college team to launch and recover a rocket without any deployment failure successfully.
Returning to campus: Wrapping up their activities, the team departed Brothers at 7:30 p.m. and returned to campus by 1:30 a.m. the next day.
Next flight test: Looking ahead, the team plans to return to Brothers in mid-May for another flight test, utilizing a motor designed and constructed by their students.
Ultimate goal: The team plans to fly “Emperor Penguin” at the 2024 Spaceport America Cup competition in New Mexico, alongside approximately 160 teams from across the globe. Stay tuned for further updates as we progress towards this competition!
Special Note: Last year, Clark’s team was the only community college team among 1,700 teams.
Learn more
Spaceport America Cup, the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition
The Healthy Penguin Nation wellness program conducted by human resources and the college well-being team has been awarded the Zo8 Award for 2024 by the Washington State Health Care Authority. The award is given to employers who promote wellness to support employees and their families by sharing resources and conducting wellness initiatives focusing on enhancing health, reducing health and injury risks, and improving overall health and well-being.
This is the second time Clark College has received the wellness award. The college last won a Zo8 award in 2016.
Each year, Washington Wellness honors organizations with the Zo8 award for their achievements in building, growing, and maintaining an effective health program. Organizations are invited to apply to highlight their institution’s wellness program and initiatives throughout the year to Washington Wellness.
Clark College received the Zo8 award by promoting health and well-being through the College’s Healthy Penguin Nation program to the college community through newsletters, events, discounts, presentations, fairs, campus emails, promoting programs such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and SmartHealth, a Washington Wellness program for eligible PEBB (Public Employees Benefits Board) employees, which offers employees an annual $125 wellness incentive.
About Clark’s Healthy Penguin Nation wellness program
The Healthy Penguin Nation program is a college-wide initiative to create a culture of well-being in support of the state of Washington’s initiative to promote healthy lifestyle practices in the workplace.
We aim to engage, educate, and empower the Clark College Community in healthy behaviors by developing, implementing, and supporting various wellness activities based on solid research and best practices. As the Wellness Team, we encourage the Clark College Community to thoughtfully consider their relationship to health and prioritize well-being for each other.
We do this by adhering to a holistic model of well-being that focuses on the whole person—offering a wide range of resources that support employees on their wellness journeys in Eight Dimensions that influence overall well-being.
Each year, Washington Wellness recognizes organizations with our Zo8 Award for their achievement in building, growing, and sustaining an effective wellness program. A wellness program aims to help employees and their family members be their best through positive behavior changes. These changes focus on enhancing well-being, reducing health and injury risks, and improving overall health. Washington Wellness encourages organizations to use the SmartHealth Workplace Wellness Roadmap. It is an eight-step process based on industry-preferred practices to help build the infrastructure for a sustainable wellness program. The roadmap can help organizations plan for and target key areas for success. The Zo8 award represents the organization’s commitment to its employees’ well-being.
To learn more about the Zo8 award visit the Washington State Healthcare Authority website.
What do Zo8 award winners receive? Washington Wellness celebrates Zo8 award winners during an annual recognition ceremony. Winning organizations receive a physical award, certificates for contributing members, and a logo to use in publications, signature lines, and websites to recognize their achievements.
About the Zo8 logo
Name Zo: In Greek, it means “live.”
Number 8: The eight steps in our wellness program project plan guide.
Logo shape: Flower of Life pattern is known to inspire.
Colors: Based on the four elements that support life (air, earth, water, and fire)
Eight Dimensions of Well-being
Physical
Emotional
Occupational
Environmental
Intellectual
Spiritual
Financial
Social
Faculty Professional Development
Nine Clark College faculty members have completed a new professional development certification for online teaching. The certification was designed by the college to address U.S. Department of Education requirements for regular and substantive interaction (RSI) in online courses. This certification was created, implemented, and awarded by Clark College, not the U.S. Department of Education.
Congratulations to the following faculty who completed the Clark eLearning Active Delivery Certification as of November 21, 2023:
Patricia Atkinson, Economics
Kimbree Brown, Psychology
Adam Coleman, Computer Technology
Kate Cook, Mathematics
Harold (Chris) Kernion, Communication Studies
Mackenzie Loyet, Biology
Richa Sharma, Communication Studies
Charlie Sheese, Communication Studies
Jennifer Stone Hill, English
In addition to the above faculty, 20 more Clark faculty have completed one or more of the workshops and are on the path to earn the certification during 2024.
Clark’s eLearning Active Delivery Certification launched Fall 2022 in its current iteration. The certification takes about 15 months to complete and consists of five online workshops:
eL301-Introduction to Active Delivery
eL302-Equity-minded and Culturally Responsive Teaching for Student Motivation and Success
eL303-Presence in the Phases of a Course
eL304-Active Delivery Strategies
eL305-Active Delivery and Scaffolding
“It’s a badge of pride to earn this certification,” said Kathy Chatfield, eLearning Instruction and Design at Clark College. “What these instructors have achieved is a big deal. This RSI is the Department of Education’s way of regulating what is expected when teaching online courses.”
Chatfield added, “This professional development certification is a critical aspect for Clark College accreditation. We’ve been very successful with our professional development, incrementally adding more advanced andragogy and skills for teaching more effectively with instructional technology.”
The learning objectives for Active Delivery Certification are:
Assess determinants of presence and related instructor roles
Plan and develop formative feedback focused on student achievement of learning objectives
Evaluate and apply universally designed, equity-minded, and culturally responsive active delivery strategies
Originally, Clark began offering the certification during summer 2017, but it was in one lengthy institute that was offered just once per year. When COVID hit and forced all instruction to go online in spring 2020, the college redesigned the certification to divide the content into more manageable pieces and offer it as part of the regular eLearning workshops.
Chatfield said, “We quickly realized it was too much for an individual to accomplish in a condensed format. So, we took the material and created five workshops, each taking two weeks of participation and a third week of submitting deliverables. We also designed the modular workshops so they don’t have to be taken in order.”
Faculty do not pay to take the workshops or to earn the certification. In fact, faculty who complete the certification are provided a $500 stipend from the college. Additionally, those who recently earned the certification received another $500 stipend provided by the Faculty Excellence Committee via Clark College Foundation. Chatfield said the extra $500 provided by the Foundation likely will not be available after June 2024.
Faculty register for professional development via Eventbrite. These 300-level workshops use the asynchronous online modality. All are facilitated by eLearning instructional designers. The workshops have had waiting lists.
Chatfield said, “We’re not offering this professional development certification to follow the rules. We’re doing it because it’s just good teaching and learning. The research has been overwhelming that these are the best practices. Rather than just meeting the rules, Clark has always gone above and beyond to ensure our students are receiving the best teaching and learning experience possible.”
Q & A about Active Delivery Certification
Q: When did Clark College begin providing professional development for faculty who teach in eLearning modalities?
KC: Clark College launched distance learning in 2005. We’ve been providing professional development since 2006. With every continuing year, we provide more advanced certification. We’ve been very successful with our professional development.”
Q: Who are the people designing the components for this certification?
KC: All instructional designers for the certification are adjunct faculty at Clark who currently teach at Clark. All have long-term connections with Clark.
Q: Why create this certification?
KC: The effort is designed to address Department of Education requirements for RSI (Regular and Substantive Interaction) in online courses. The underlying reason for more faculty to earn the certification is that we want Clark College to be the leader in quality online education. Clark College is currently offering about 13 degrees that students can earn fully online. We want Clark College to have a reputation for doing online learning well.
Q: How can Clark College faculty register for Active Delivery Certification and Clark’s othereLearning professional development?
Professor Katherine Goforth, who teaches voice lessons at Clark College, has been named the inaugural recipient of The Washington National Opera’s True Voice Award for transgender and nonbinary singers. Goforth will perform at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C. in May 2024.
A talented, celebrated opera singer, Goforth has performed in several countries and in several languages. For years, Goforth had been singing tenor in male roles, but it was a struggle to identify with the male characters.
While an undergraduate at St. Olaf College, a private Lutheran college in Minnesota, Goforth reached self-realization that she was queer and that this included her gender identity.
However, Goforth was unsure how to move forward in an authentic way. From where she stood at the time, transgender and other gender-diverse people did not get to participate in the world of classical music or opera. She had so many questions: How could she continue pursuing her dream of singing classical music and opera? Would she ever be offered roles again if she presented as a woman?
Eventually, Goforth told a small number of people she trusted. But she continued presenting male, using her birth name, and singing male roles, even though it did not feel authentic.
A decade passed before Goforth started to live her life authentically. She came out publicly as a woman January 2020, shortly before the pandemic lockdown.
Her Beginning
Goforth grew up in Vancouver in a home where “music wasn’t art—it was a part of everyday life. Part of my family’s life,” she said.
Encouraged by her parents, especially her musician father, Goforth began singing before she could remember and she first performed at 3 years old. She loved singing and she enjoyed performing, whether hymns at church or in a variety of choirs.
She explained: “I got serious about singing because I liked the positive attention I received from adults, especially from people outside of my family. Participating in music was how I navigated social situations, how I made friends, how I felt like I was worth something.”
At 14, when Goforth was a student at Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (VSAA), she started taking private voice lessons at her choir teacher’s recommendation.
“VSAA gave me the space to develop my own creative voice,” Goforth said. “We did tons of concerts and performances, but the projects that we designed ourselves are what most sticks with me, and the teachers who taught me to think critically and creatively.”
She said, “As I work to make spaces where we can deconstruct white supremacy and patriarchal domination, where all artists can show up authentically, I’ve found myself using those creative skills – creating opportunities where I can thrive, where others can thrive.”
At VSAA, she participated in vocal music, theater, and she played the clarinet. She also co-created a mural and wrote an opera for her senior capstone project. She graduated from VSAA and went to college to focus on singing. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, Minn., and her master’s degree from The Julliard School, N.Y.
Since then, Goforth has performed around the U.S. and in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. She has performed in French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, and Polish.
Goforth has excelled at thriving—despite the barriers.
Her Accomplishments
In the Pacific Northwest, Goforth has performed with Portland Opera, Bozeman Symphony, Walla Walla Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Opera Bend, Harmonia Seattle, Opera Theater Oregon, Sound Salon, Artists Repertory Theatre, Fuse Theatre Ensemble, Pink Martini and more.
She was a member of the International Opera Studio of Opera Köln. She attended the Franz Schubert Institut in Austria, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in England, Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie in Germany, Georg Solti Accademia in Italy, and the Boston Wagner Institute in the U.S.
Goforth received the Career Advancement Award and was a featured speaker and performer at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s fourth Women in Classical Music Symposium, 2022.
Outside of opera, she played the role of Rebbetzin Tzurris in a reading of Dan Kitrosser’s “Why This Night?” for Artists Repertory Theatre Mercury Festival and played Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” for Fuse Theatre Ensemble, both in Portland.
Most recently, she appeared in Philip Venables and Ted Huffman’s The F****ts and Their Friends Between Revolutions that premiered Summer 2023 at Manchester International Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Bregenzer Festspiele, some of the biggest arts and opera festivals in the world.
Goforth advocates for the self-determination of trans and nontrans people. A member of the Trans Opera Alliance, she has lectured for Renegade Opera, published an essay in Opera Canada Magazine, was quoted in Opera America Magazine, and been a guest speaker for Boston Conservatory and the League of American Orchestras, among others.
In the years since Goforth the undergraduate student realized her authentic self, she says there are more transgender opera singers now.
“More people had the courage to come out during/after the pandemic lockdown, but they aren’t necessarily working in the industry yet,” Goforth said. “Now I’m working on coalition building. We aren’t organized enough to change the industry yet.”
photo courtesy of Katherine Goforth
We met up with Professor Goforth during Fall term finals week. She made time in her schedule to sit down with us in Penguin Union Building to talk about her journey, her passion for singing opera, and her values she shares with her students.
Q & A with Katherine Goforth
Q: What was it about opera drew you in and made you say, “Yes, I will sing opera!”
KG: Because I was good at it. I wish that my answer was more about how much I loved it. I was definitely obsessed, especially at first, but I got a lot of privileges when I started winning singing competitions. I didn’t learn to love classical music until much later, when I was in my early twenties.
Q: In your biggest and bravest dreams, did you ever imagine you’d be singing at the Kennedy Center?
KG: Always. Not necessarily the Kennedy Center, but I always imagined that I’d be on the biggest stages. That was what made singing feel valuable to me. That’s also what made it hard to come out. What if I lost access to these big stages, the reason I’d been pursuing music in the first place? Who am I without the privileges that music has given me? Those were really important questions for me to ask myself and working (continuing to work) on my answers to them has finally helped me grow.
Q: What was your reaction to receiving this award—and being the first recipient?
KG: It’s very difficult to be the first person to do something. There are opportunities, but there are also limitations. It’s felt important to push for the True Voice Award to be as expansive as possible, so that the next winner doesn’t have to be anything like me, so that they can push on the award to make space for them. It’s felt like a huge opportunity, because representation can be validating, but it can also be a way of limiting, of saying, this is the one acceptable way to be this kind of marginalized person. Especially as a white trans person, it’s important to me to push back on that. To say, I’m not the definition of what it means to be trans, I’m one of many.” Q: How long will you be at Kennedy Center? What are your criteria/thought process for choosing the pieces you will perform at The Kennedy Center?
I’ll be in residence at the Kennedy Center for a week, and I want my performance to lay a foundation that is going to be broadening instead of narrowing. We have a narrative in the opera field that when trans women participate, they sing male parts and present as male onstage. I want people to know that there’s no such thing as one kind of trans woman, and we’re not all okay with playing male roles, so I want to present a variety of other images. Definitely female roles, but maybe a male role in female presentation. Some songs that don’t require the singer to have any particular gender identity.”
When I was at Juilliard, Melissa Harris-Perry came to give a talk for Martin Luther King Day. She talked about the “I Have a Dream” speech and told us that one reason King spoke at the Lincoln Memorial was because of Marian Anderson’s performance at the same place in 1939. Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial because the Daughters of the American Revolution would only allow white artists to perform at D.C.’s Constitution Hall, where Howard University wanted to host her concert. I will never forget the way Professor Harris-Perry described Marian Anderson as “preparing the Lincoln Memorial as a site of resistance.” I may only be able to resist in tiny ways, but my dream for my performance at the Kennedy Center is that it might prepare the True Voice Award as a place of resistance against all that is imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal in our lives.
Q: In the last year, you decided you will no longer perform male roles. You said you came to this conclusion after having the opportunity to play female roles, including Emily Webb in “Our Town.” How did you come to this decision? How did playing female roles resonate with you?
KG: When I came out, I expected to keep playing male roles. That was the space that existed for trans women in opera. But when I had my first chance to play a male role with a major company after coming out, it was a painful experience. And then I had my first chance to play a female role, and it was so easy. I could relate to the character, I could react intuitively to my scene partners and my emotions, and for once, no one told me that I looked or sounded wrong. And in 2022, it became increasingly clear to me that I couldn’t continue to have parts of myself stuck in the pre-coming out and parts in the post-coming out. I would need to step forward with every part of myself, and I would have to leave behind the things that were holding me back, or I was never going to be able to move forward.
Q: What is your essential message—as an opera singer and as a voice teacher?
KG: First, the question: When we have a stage, what do we do with it? And when I say that, it comes with the understanding that every action, every conversation is a platform as much as any concert program. That we can act consciously or unconsciously just like we can choose the song we want to sing both consciously and unconsciously. That our choices in music and in life can be made in or out of alignment with our values.
And also, that we always have the power to think for ourselves. It’s like when bell hooks discusses the book, Powers of the Weak in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center: we have the power to disbelieve what others tell us about ourselves, and to believe our own stories. We have the power to think critically, and to develop our critical thinking skills. We have the power to listen to our bodies and to act on that information.
Q: What are the values behind your career and your teaching?
KG: I’m always reading Black feminist and liberation theory and try to choose actions that are in alignment with what I’ve learned. For me, there’s no point in living if your life isn’t yours, and I found that my life wasn’t mine when I didn’t come out, when I don’t tell my truth. I think about when Audre Lorde’s daughter said, “Tell them about you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent,” and Lorde wrote, “the machine will try to grind you into dust anyway, whether or not we speak. We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and ourselves are wasted, while our children are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid.” I think about this quote because that has been my experience. That reminds me of what it felt like to be closeted.
So, I’m always hoping that I can connect my teaching to my real life, and to my students’ real lives. Maybe they don’t realize it now, but they’ll realize it in ten years. I’ve had that experience, where I only realized what I learned in retrospect. And maybe they’ll never realize that I had a positive impact on their
thinking, and that’s good too, because what’s important is that the impact happens, and they think for themselves, and live a life that they feel is worth living. And even if I have a negative impact on an individual, maybe they learn what they don’t want, and how to be in a better situation in the future, or they learn to walk away from a situation that doesn’t work for them. Because my negative experiences can be important to my learning as well, and I have struggled to walk away from detrimental situations, and helping a student learn to do that might be the most important thing they learn at all.
Q: How do you instill the love of singing in your students? Is this different from how you were taught?
KG: This is a very complex question. To begin, I don’t think I was taught to love in any facet of my life. I hope that wouldn’t be hard for anyone who has been part of my life to hear, and I’m sorry if it is, but I don’t think love was part of the majority of my life.
To talk about love, we have to start by defining what we’re talking about. I find that, over and over, when I talk about love with another person, it means something different to each of us. bell hooks had two main definitions of love: that it is “a combination of six things: care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust,” and, quoting M. Scott Peck, that it is “the will to nurture our own and another’s spiritual growth.” When we look at love like this, it might not apply as directly to singing.
In addition, we have to talk about what we mean by the word “singing.” If you had asked me at 18 whether I loved singing, I would have said yes. But what I would have meant was that I was addicted to how good it felt to be onstage, to be applauded, to feel superior to others, to feel a sense of self-worth through my accomplishments.
So, I would say that I hope I’m teaching my students not to get addicted to adulation, and instead to develop a personal relationship with singing. To me, singing isn’t something that we do on a stage. It’s something that’s done in private, alone, day in and day out, when it’s easy, when it’s not. It’s connected to forming a relationship with one’s own body: how do I feel today, how does my voice feel, can I understand why I’m feeling those things, what do I like, what do I not like, what do I want to change, what changes can be immediate and what changes will take time? It’s not only how I feel in this moment, but it’s connecting what I experienced today to what I experienced a week ago, next week, etc.
Q: What’s next for you (not including Kennedy Center)?
KG: I’m going to Boston in March to give a recital for the Boston Wagner Society, returning to Opera Bend to do a production of La traviata where we’ll adapt a tenor role into some kind of female and/or trans presentation, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Vancouver Symphony in June, and work on creative projects. And hopefully some other projects that I can’t announce quite yet!
Andra, fourth from the left, with other Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff during an Opening Day event.
A warm congratulations to Andra Spencer, Equity Professional Development Program Manager from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as the recipient of the Fall 2023 Classified Staff Excellence Award.
Excerpts from Andra’s nomination:
“Andra’s passion for equity and education is contagious. She dove into creating a PPI training on recognizing and disrupting antisemitism this summer and introduced many to a body of knowledge previously undiscussed at the college. Her sessions at Teaching and Learning Days and Fall Faculty Focus were packed and received overwhelmingly positive feedback and demands for a part two!”
“Equity is at the center of everything Andra does. Recognizing a gap in knowledge at the college, Andra spent time over the summer doing intense research on antisemitism and how to disrupt it, and developed a training for both Teaching and Learning Days and Fall Faculty Focus that was presented to PACKED rooms! Andra also developed training on creating inclusive learning environments, bringing her teaching expertise into her role here at ODEI and developing training specifically targeted to faculty, something that ODEI hasn’t done before.”
“Andra is well connected throughout the college – attending every event she can and volunteering to help out in any way. She collaborates with others on the team to execute projects and is always one of the first people there to set up and one of the last to leave after cleaning up. Her cooperative spirit is evident in her leadership on the Teaching and Learning Days Committee, the NWREC planning team, the O-Squad, Level Up, and many other cross-college initiatives.”
We also would like to acknowledge the contributions of the other nominees:
Becky Lindsay, Program Specialist II, Dental Hygiene
Nichole Maruca, Program Specialist II, Enrollment Services
Shelly Williams, Program Coordinator, Fine Art Division
Tani McBeth, Technical Training Consultant, eLearning
Teresa (Terry) Haye, Program Manager A, BASTE Bachelor of Teacher Education
About the Classified Staff Awards
The Classified Staff Excellence Award was established in 2005 and recognizes classified staff who have demonstrated exemplary work performance, a positive and cooperative spirit, special achievements or contributions to the college community, and supports individual and organizational diversity and inclusion. Through the support of the Clark College Foundation, the recipient will receive a $400 cash award.
Nominees must be a current classified employee who has been in their current position for more than six months. Award recipients will not be eligible to receive another award for three years.
Visit the Clark College Employee Recognition page to learn more about this award and other ways to acknowledge the value and dedication of our staff and faculty.
