At the construction site for Clark College at Boschma Farms, Oswald the Penguin arrived in style—riding in the back of a white Tesla hatchback, his penguin feet dangling, and his penguin arms waving to the crowd. 

Then he stepped down from the car and led the crowd to kick off the “topping out” ceremony at the Advanced Manufacturing Center, the first building being constructed at Clark’s new site located on 10 acres just east of the Ridgefield Junction at Interstate 5. Clark College in collaboration with developer and design-builder, Mortenson, hosted the ceremony on November 2. The event celebrated the structure reaching its full height.  

Guests had an opportunity to use gold or silver Sharpies to write their name and a message on a long steel beam temporarily suspended a few feet above the ground. The beam was painted Clark College blue and was topped with an American flag and a live, potted evergreen tree symbolizing persistence, prosperity and longevity.  

Then the crowd gathered under a large canopy to hear Clark College and Mortenson leaders speak about the importance of the project.  

Dr. Karin Edwards, president of Clark College said, “Just five months ago, we stood in this same place—and it was an empty field and an excavator.” She added, “The Advanced Manufacturing Center will enable future students with innovative training for careers in the manufacturing trades while also providing programs accessible to Ridgefield and the communities in north County. Our vision is for this progressive instructional center to serve our growing region and the critical workforce needs including advanced manufacturing.”  

Cristhian Canseco Juarez, chair of the Clark College Board of Trustees, said, “This Advanced Manufacturing Center not only stands as a testament to the college’s commitment to innovation and growth but also underscores our dedication to our community needs and providing the local industry with highly skilled workers.”  

After all guests had signed their names, a boom truck with a 50-foot mast began slowly hoisting the beam to the top of the structure. Meanwhile, four Mortenson ironworkers rode scissorlifts to the top of the structure, where they attached their safety harnesses. Then they guided the beam into place and secured it with spud wrenches and hefty bolts.  

The crowd clapped and whooped appreciatively.  

In less than two years, the Advanced Manufacturing Center will greet its first cohort of students. When it opens in the Fall of 2025, the Advanced Manufacturing Center will provide initial enrollment of 32 students in two cohorts of 16, with plans to eventually serve 48 students across three cohorts. In addition, this Clark building will also provide five general education classes with a computer lab that will have the capacity to serve up to 1,200 students per term. 

About the Advanced Manufacturing Center 

Designed to accommodate a multitude of both instructional and community needs, the Advanced Manufacturing Center will be adaptable for future growth. Manufacturing and classroom spaces will be 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 will ensure that unamplified voice communication will carry above ambient machine noise.  

A noteworthy aspect of the project’s construction is the building’s prefabricated exterior walls which will soon be installed by the Vancouver-based team from contractor and fabricator, Western Partitions, Inc. The progressive design-build construction delivery method, spearheaded by Mortenson and in collaboration with Henneberry Eddy Architects, are instrumental to the successful implementation of the use of prefabrication in this project and its resulting efficiencies.   

“As we mark this critical milestone and reflect on the 155 days and roughly 19,000 hours of injury-free work, we underscore our commitment to timeliness and safety,” said Mike Dickey, senior project manager of Mortenson.  “I stand proud of everyone who has contributed to this project and extend a heartfelt thanks for a job well done.” 

On track to be a LEED Silver certified building, the Advanced Manufacturing Center will meet state energy performance standards, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve operational efficiencies. 

Advanced Manufacturing Center by the numbers 

Projected completion: Late 2024 

First classes to begin: Fall 2025 

Building size: 49,000 square feet 

• 3 industry-specific classrooms 
• 4 four labs 
• 5 manufacturing cells 
• A vast manufacturing floor 
• 5 general education classrooms 
• Plus faculty and student amenities 

More event photos visit our Flickr Page

Photos Clark College/Jenny Shadley unless noted otherwise

Clark College’s Counseling and Health Center opened a sensory room during fall term. The calming space is geared for neurodivergent students who may feel overstimulated and need to take a short break.

During the center’s open house, the sensory room was a popular place. One student lounged on the beanbag chair. Another relaxed in the massage chair. Two more sat on the comfy couch. Others stood and looked around at the space.

Clark is one of the first community colleges in Washington to open a multi-sensory calming space for students. Although these spaces have historically been created to support people with sensory processing challenges, Clark’s sensory room is open to all students, neurodivergent and neurotypical alike.

Shayna Collins, faculty counselor, said, “Supporting the creation of a sensory room sends a strong message that Clark College is a neurodiversity-friendly campus and seeks to attract and retain neurodivergent students.”

Students access the sensory room by stopping by the Counseling and Health Center inside the Health Sciences Building during business hours and request to use the space. The room is available on a walk-in basis. No appointments are made. Currently only one student may access the sensory room at a time.

“I’m so excited that Clark College is jumping on this important trend to better support the health and well-being of students, particularly those with sensory processing challenges,” said Collins. “I am hopeful that getting the word out about our sensory room could drum up more interest in the college from neurodivergent circles in our community. For example, many students have reported that they chose to attend Clark College because support groups were offered for Autism and ADHD.”

Q: What is a sensory room?
Counseling Center: A sensory room is a dedicated space where people can go to decompress. The room offers a variety of calming tools to help regulate the nervous system. Historically, sensory rooms have been created for individuals with sensory processing challenges like ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). However, most everyone can benefit from visiting a sensory room, especially if they are experiencing stress and wanting a peaceful place to calm themselves.

Q: What was the impetus for creating a sensory room in Clark’s Counseling and Health Center?
CC: The idea to start a sensory room at Clark College came directly from Clark students. During several meetings of the Autism Support Group (which is offered every term through the Counseling and Health Center), students were discussing ways they thought Clark College could be more welcoming to neurodivergent students. Many of these students had been discussing the recent opening of the sensory room at the PDX Airport and they brought up the idea of having one at Clark College. They brainstormed items they would want to see in a Clark sensory room and shared details of helpful tools they’ve used to decompress.

Q: How did the Counseling Center staff design the sensory room? How did you determine which elements to include in the room?
CC: The design of the sensory room came first from students who attended the Autism Support Group at Clark College. They provided extensive feedback on the types of items and design aspects important to them. We also sought feedback from other students receiving Counseling and Health Center services and did research on best practices for creating sensory rooms from subject matter experts.

Collins pointed out the sensory room’s calming features:

• Art supplies
• Balance board
• Bean bag chairs
• Coloring books
• Exercise ball
• Fidgets (many options)
• Foot massager
• Heating pad
• Hot tea
• Massage chair
• Nature books
• Noise machine (with nature sounds as well as white, pink or brown noise options)
• Noise-canceling headphones
• Reading material
• Rocking chair
• Silly putty
• Snacks
• Sunlight lamp (for Seasonal Affective Disorder)
• Textured throw pillows and rug
• Weighted blanket

Adelphi University in New York opened the nation’s first sensory room at an American college or university in 2018. The college’s sensory room provides a calming refuge for students who are on the autism spectrum or have other sensory needs.

Since then, other colleges and universities have created similar spaces on their campus. Other Washington community colleges that have opened sensory rooms include South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia and Highline College in Des Moines.

Highline College’s reflection room:

Highline College opened a reflection room in the campus library during fall term. Previously, the space was a large vacant office. Highline students can use the room on a walk-in basis. No advance appointments are made. Students can use the space for 30 minutes at a time if there are others waiting. If they are okay with sharing the space with another student, they can flip the sign on the door to say: “Welcome. Please come in.” 

“The Reflection Room is a multi-sensory environment where students are welcome to go to retreat, relax, and unwind during the day,” said Jenni Sandler, associate dean for accessibility resources at Highline College. “The room creates a safe space for all students, but particularly those who are neurodivergent. It is our hope that students will use the space to relieve stress and anxiety and leave more focused, relaxed, and confident.” 

“Students are practically lining up. Students really benefit and seem to love it. They are also writing positive, identity-affirming notes to each other on the white board. It is really cool to see!” added Sandler. “Many college campuses around the country are creating similar neurodivergent student-centered spaces!” 

South Puget Sound Community College’s calm room:

South Puget Sound Community College opened a calm room in their library in fall of 2022, redesigning an existing group study room into a single-person space outfitted with sensory toys, textured surfaces, and active furnishings designed to support individuals with attention deficit disorders focus and self-regulate. Additional space enhancements included the installation of sound-absorbing tiles, a white noise machine, and alternatives to overhead fluorescent lighting. Students using the calm room can also make use of noise-cancelling headphones and an iPad that is pre-loaded with meditation programs selected in partnership with the SPSCC mental health counselors. As with all library study rooms, the calm room can be reserved for up to two hours at a time.

Amy Tureen, dean of academic success programs, noted that the use of the calm room has increased steadily as more and more students return to campus.

“The success of the calm room is helping us consider how we can improve our existing study spaces to meet the of all students,” Tureen said. “We’re currently looking at expanding some of the most popular aspects of the calm room into other study rooms, as well as designing study rooms for other students with unique needs, such as a room dedicated to supporting parents who need to bring their small children with them to the library to study.”

College campuses with sensory rooms:

• Northwestern
• Vanderbilt
• Stony Brook University
• University of Minnesota
• Adelphi University

Articles about sensory rooms in schools:

• Inside Higher Ed
• The Independent (UK)
• The Washington Post
• The Herald Tribune

Clark College students, staff, and supporters gathered with Clark College Foundation on Oct. 13 at the Hilton in downtown Vancouver for a reception to recognize scholarship recipients and generous donors. During fall term, the Foundation awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to Clark students.

In her welcome address, Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards said she has been energized to see so many students on campus and full parking lots during the first three weeks of fall term.

Calling attention to the Foundation, its donors and family and friends supporting Clark students, Dr. Edwards said, “We want to thank you for your unwavering support of our students.”

Before the program started, Dr. Edwards had the opportunity to talk with many scholarship recipients.

She said, “The students were grateful and expressed their appreciation for the scholarship. What an upbeat and energetic environment—a perfect way to end a busy week.”

Current student and scholarship recipient Amy Chitwood spoke from the podium about how a scholarship from the Foundation, combined with Clark’s reasonable tuition and fees and the caring faculty and staff have made it possible for her to work full-time while being a full-time student pursuing a career in human resources.

“I benefited from the foundation for their generous Rex and Arlene Garrison business scholarship, which helped me pay for college,” Chitwood said. “You see people from all walks of life attending Clark, and it’s thanks to its affordability and support of their students and community. None of my accomplishments would have been possible without the support of Clark College, my teachers, the administration, and the Foundation. The connections I have made here have shaped me. I look forward to completing my degree here and becoming an alumnus. Go penguins!”

Clark College Foundation CEO Calen Ouellette, said, “This vital work of awarding scholarships to students is the ‘why’ of everything we do at the Foundation. We are grateful to our donors for their support of Clark. We are excited to award these scholarships and look forward to hearing from students after they have graduated and are doing amazing work in our community.”

Two nursing students said scholarships awarded by the Foundation have made an enormous difference in their ability to succeed in the challenging program.

Hillary Sadlowski, now in her sixth term in the nursing program, will graduate in December. During the height of the pandemic, Sadlowski was working full time as a certified nursing assistant at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center while also enrolled in Clark’s nursing program full time. She didn’t know about scholarships and grants. A counselor in the nursing program told Sadlowski that she would not be able to continue at the pace she was going. The nursing counselor encouraged her to apply for scholarships and grants.

“It was life-changing for me,” Sadlowski said. “If it were not for scholarships and grants, there’s no way I could have continued in school.”

Alejandra Valencia is in her first term of Clark’s nursing program. While she was taking prerequisites at Clark, she was working full time as a certified nursing assistant and going to school full time. She also was pregnant.

Now in addition to starting the nursing program, she is the mother of a busy toddler. Thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Foundation and a supportive husband to help at home, she does not have to add a job to her full schedule.

“I don’t think I could handle working, going to school and being the parent of 3-year-old,” Valencia said. “Thanks to the Foundation, I don’t have to be stretched that far.”

See more photos from the event on our Flickr Page.

Clark College’s own Chef Aaron Guerra competed in the Soup’s On Battle of the Chefs fundraiser for SHARE at Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield on Sunday, Oct. 15.

Chef Aaron was one of nine celebrity chefs who created a delicious soup for the event. Each chef prepared about 20 gallons of their soup, which was sampled by more than 800 soup tasters who lined up, bowls in hand. Everyone had an opportunity to vote for their favorite soup, bestowing the winning chef with the Golden Ladle. The winner was Chef Joe Reid, Hudson’s Bar & Grill for his beer cheese soup with rye croutons and brisket burnt end sausage.

Before the event doors opened, all nine chefs sat down for a soup tasting. Each voted for their favorite. They were not allowed to vote for their own soup. Chef’s Choice Award was a four-way tie between the chefs representing AC Hotels Marriott, Line & Lure Seafood Kitchen & Tap and Kuya’s Casa Kitchen. Heathen Brewing was awarded the top soup by the presenting sponsor.

Alas, Chef Aaron did not win the Golden Ladle Award this year, but his delicious corn and crawfish chowder was eaten up by appreciative soup tasters.

Chef Aaron used these ingredients: crawfish, butter, flour, white onion, fresh roasted corn, milk, heavy cream, bell peppers, red potatoes, celery, garlic, Italian parsley, green onions, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper, chives and bread croutons.

He said, “My team of students and I made everything from scratch with the freshest ingredients. We roasted ears of corn and made corn stock with the cobs and student-made croutons.”

It took a large volume of ingredients to make enough chowder for 800 people. Chef Aaron and his team used 24 pounds of crawfish meat. They roasted 40 pounds of corn on the cob, then cut a quarter of the corn from the cob and made stock from the cobs.

SHARE’s Soup’s On celebrity chefs and their soups:

• Aaron Guerra, Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute at Clark College prepared crawfish and corn chowder
• Tanner Genck, AC Hotels Marriott prepared Deadpool’s chimichanga soup
• Michael Garafolo, Heathen Brewing Feral Public House prepared Hulk’s smashed squash soup
• Joe Reid, Hudson’s Bar & Grill prepared Guardians of the Gourmet beer cheese soup with rye croutons and brisket burnt end sausage
• Fernando Martinez, Kuya’s Casa Kitchen prepared Levanta Muertos (revive the dead) soup
• Ryan Ziegler, Line & Lure Seafood Kitchen & Tap prepared coconut chicken curry soup
• Bobby Rasaphangthong, Nom Nom Restaurant & Grill prepared wonton soup
• Micheal Castaneda, Woody’s Tacos prepared hearty beef stew
• Brandon Edgerton, Wyld Pines Public House prepared lobster bisque

About SHAREand its Soup’s On: Battle of the Chefs event:

SHARE’s Soup’s On event began in 2002 and originally was called Share-a-Bowl.

SHARE’s Executive Director Amy Reynolds said, “The event first began as a way for community members to better understand the experience people have each day when they wait in a ‘soup line,’ just as hundreds of our neighbors do each day at SHARE’s Hot Meals kitchen.”

She added, “SHARE has done incredible work in the community for the past 45 years and with so many people living outside and experiencing food insecurity, there is clearly much more work to do.”

SHARE provides food for all ages—including through its backpack program for kids, operates four shelters, provides rental assistance with case management to help clients secure affordable housing, and assists people living on the streets as well as those in risk of losing their home. Learn more here.

Vancouver Mayor Pro Tem Ty Stober was the guest speaker for the Fall Queer Luncheon on October 10 in the Penguin Student Lounge. The free event is presented each term by Clark’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The luncheon is designed to create community for students who identify as queer and allies.

Stober is one of seven councilmembers for the city of Vancouver. He is Mayor Pro Tem, which means he serves as mayor in the mayor’s absence. He has served on city council for eight years.

Stober is also gay. He told the group that only 0.23% of elected officials nationwide identify themselves as LGBTQ.

“Our voices are radically underheard in politics,” he said, noting that he is the only LGTBQ elected official in a geographic area that includes six Washington counties. “I am standing here today so that students can see that representation in government is possible.”

Stober grew up in Canby, Ore., a conservative small town in Clackamas County. He was closeted in high school.

“I wanted so badly to fit in that I put on as good an act as I could of being straight,” he said. “I lived in constant fear that I’d slip up and be exposed.”

He graduated from Canby Union High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. He earned his MBA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“I was very, very closeted when I was in college,” he said.

After grad school he was working in Baltimore when he met the man who would become his husband. They have been together for 20 years.

Stober first got involved in politics in 2009, when as a citizen, he canvassed for passing Referendum 71, which legalized domestic partnership in Washington. It was the first statewide referendum in the U.S. that extended to LGBT people the rights and responsibility of domestic partnership.

In 2012 he chaired the organization that backed Referendum 74, which legalized gay marriage. It became law in 2012. He has been a Vancouver councilmember since 2015.

Stober encouraged Clark College students to get involved with local politics. There are opportunities to attend city council meetings in person or online. People also can send an email to all the councilors. Learn more about Vancouver City Council meetings here.

“If you don’t feel safe in our community as an LGBTQ person or as a person of color, come speak at city council,” he said.

Stober invited people to start by getting involved in Vancouver by providing public comment to a variety of community projects in an online community forum, BeHeardVancouver.

“You need to tell us what you want,” Stober said. “If you want affordable housing, say, ‘I want affordable housing.’ If politics interest you, reach out to me.”

Stober has a two-decade career in sales, marketing and operations, with leadership experience in medium-sized, publicly traded and entrepreneurial organizations. He last served as an energy efficiency program manager for an organization supporting all utilities in the Northwest.

Upcoming DEI events:

• Students with Disability Luncheon, Tuesday, Oct. 24 at noon in PUB 161
• Students of Color luncheon, Tuesday, Nov. 7 at noon in PUB 161

To learn more, visit the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s website.

Ty Stober, Council Seat 5

Current Assignments and Certifications

• National League of Cities: Vice Chair – Race, Equity and Leadership Council
• National League of Cities: Board of Directors and Board Policy Committee
• National League of Cities: First Vice President, LGBTQ+ Local Officials
• National League of Cities: First Tier Suburbs Council – Past Chair
• C-TRAN Board of Directors
• Vancouver Strategic Planning Executive Steering Group
• Vancouver Fire and Police Pension Boards
• Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (alternate)
• Metro Policy Advisory Committee (alternate)
• SW Regional Transportation Council (alternate)
• Association of Washington Cities Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership
• National League of Cities University Bronze Certificate
• Community Involvement
• NAACP, Member

Photo: Susan Parrish/Clark College

Dr. Kathy Chatfield has been recognized for her outstanding efforts toward improving digital learning at Clark College.

Chatfield, who leads the college’s eLearning and instructional design department, has received the Ron Legon Leadership Award for Quality Digital Education bestowed by Quality Matters and MarylandOnline. The award is reserved for singular contributors to the mission of continuous improvement in digital learning.

Quality Matters is an international leader for quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. Chatfield is among five award recipients who have demonstrated an exceptional dedication to quality in digital learning.

Chatfield’s work of improving online experiences for students includes building sustainable quality assurance processes at the institutional level. Clark College began offering online classes in 2005. Online classes were the first to fill and the first to put students on a waitlist.

Quality Matters stated: “The Ron Legon award acknowledges the impact Chatfield’s leadership has had on faculty, staff, students and the educational landscape at large through her steadfast devotion to the pursuit of quality assurance.”

In their recognition, Quality Matters added: “Chatfield represents a strong voice at both the college and state levels, where she helps sustain support for the importance of quality standards in online learning. At Clark College, she works to maintain the culture of professional development she has built among the institution’s faculty. As a member of the Washington State eLearning Council, she has championed statewide adoption of effective policy on digital learning.”

“I am very honored to have been selected as the recipient of this year’s Leadership Award for Quality Digital Education,” Chatfield said. “The rigor and dedication to quality that is involved in education and peer-reviewed course design through the Quality Matters organization inspires us to always strive for better, stay on a path of continuous improvement and seek greatness in our students’ learning. I am proud to represent Clark College in this endeavor.” Chatfield will accept her award at a ceremony during the QM Connect Conference Nov. 5-8 at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. She has been asked to speak about what the award means to her.

“I’m diligently working on my speech,” Chatfield said. “My aim is to inspire others to leadership in eLearning and to recognize Clark College as being a leader, itself, in this field.”

Chatfield has served in higher education for 34 years at eight institutions. She has worked at Clark College since January 1995. She has taught part-time in person and online. She has served full-time in the eLearning and Instructional Design department since 2006.

About Quality Matters

Quality Matters is a global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. QM certification marks on courses or programs means they have met QM course design standards or QM program review criteria in a rigorous review process. Learn more at here.

Every Clark College student enrolled in the Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program takes RBA’s certified journey exam as part of the curriculum expectations.  

Are you an enthusiastic home baker who has perfected choux pastry, meringues, and macarons? Do you relax by binge-watching episodes of The Great British Baking Show starring judges Prue Leith and that persnickety Paul Hollywood? Baking enthusiasts have a rare opportunity to watch professional bakers complete rigorous baking tests in Clark’s baking kitchens in October. 

Clark College’s Tod & Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute will open its baking kitchens to host two national tests for professional bakers October 20-22. The college’s Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program will host the Retail Bakers of America’s certified baker and certified master baker practical tests. This is the first time the college is hosting the test.  

“Clark College is honored and excited to host Retail Bakers of America to our campus kitchen,” said Alison Dolder, professional baking and pastry arts instructor who leads Clark’s program. “We have a large viewing window in our kitchen, so anyone can come and watch the test.” 

Clark College is one of only three RBA testing sites scheduled during this academic year. The others are the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill. Recent RBA exams were in New York, San Antonio, Palm Beach and Chicago.  

Dolder worked with Marissa Velie, RBA certification and education director, to bring the national tests to the college’s baking kitchens.  

“The RBA is always looking for great test sites across the country,” Velie said. “It was time for us to visit the West Coast and give bakers in that part of the country the opportunity to get certified. Having the exam at Clark College has been a long time in the making and we are excited to finally make it a reality. Clark College has everything required for a test site: ample space and all necessary equipment to host several candidates.”  

The Practical Test  

The purpose of the certification program is to verify professional competency in the baking industry. The RBA has three levels of baking certification: certified journey baker, certified baker, and certified master baker. The test is open to any professional baker in the U.S. who qualifies to take the exam. US Foods and Bakemark donated ingredients for the test.

For the Certified Master Baker exam that will be administered at Clark College, bakers must have at least 10 years of industry experience and must pass a 200-question written exam before they can take the practical test. Velie will travel to Clark’s campus to administer the practical tests, which will entail 8 hours of production on both Saturday, Oct. 21 and Sunday, Oct. 22. Candidates will be provided with RBA recommended recipes but may choose to use their own recipes.  

The judges for the exam at Clark College will be Lee Ann Adams, Bakery Development Manager at Sheetz in Claysburg, Penn. and Collette Christian, Chef Instructor for the online program at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. All RBA judges are Certified Master Baker professionals. Test results will be provided to candidates immediately following the exam.  

“This is a great opportunity for our students to observe experienced bakers go through the rigorous process of the certified master baker exam,” Dolder said. “Someday, it could be them.” 

About Clark College’s Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program  

Clark College has offered professional baking education for more than 60 years. By blending a mastery of classic, fundamental techniques with the interpersonal and management skills needed in hospitality, the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute at Clark College offers all the ingredients students need for a successful culinary career—competitive programs, a seasoned team of instructors, a state-of-the-art culinary facility and collaborative industry partnerships. Clark College offers two options for prospective bakers: a certificate of achievement in Baking and Pastry Arts Fundamentals and an associate of applied technology degree in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts Management. Learn more here.  

About Retail Bakers of America   

Founded in 1918, the Retail Bakers of America, a not-for-profit trade association, is committed to the success of the retail baking industry. Its certification program is recognized throughout the industry as a standard for excellence in skills and knowledge. Learn more here. 

The college community and the public are invited to the Columbia Writers Series kick off its 2023-24 season with Sindya Bhanoo, recipient of the 2023 Oregon Book Award for Fiction. The free event begins at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 in PUB 258 A-B. 

Bhanoo is the author of the story collection Seeking Fortune Elsewhere. She is the 2023 winner of the Oregon Book Award for fiction, the New American Voices Award and an O. Henry Prize.  

Seeking Fortune Elsewhere was a finalist for the Pen/Bingham Award and longlisted for both the Story Prize and the ALA’s Carnegie Medal for Excellence.  

A longtime newspaper reporter, Sindya has worked for The New York Times and The Washington Post. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon and teaches creative writing at Oregon State University. 

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. 

Other events featured during the 2023-24 series are: 

• Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 11 a.m.: Anis Mojgani, the tenth Poet Laureate of Oregon. A national and international poetry slam champion, his work has appeared on HBO, NPR and in The New York Times. He is the author of six books of poetry, the opera libretto Sanctuaries, a forthcoming children’s picture book and his latest collection, The Tigers, They Let Me.  

• Monday, April 29 at 11 a.m.: Andrew Leland. His debut book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, about the world of blindness and figuring out his place in it, was published in July 2023 by Penguin Press. His writing has been published in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s Quarterly, and The San Francisco Chronicle, and more. He is a former host and producer of The Organist, an arts and culture podcast for KCRW. He also has produced segments for Radiolab and 99 Percent Invisible.  
   
• TBD in May: Clark College literary week. A week of literary events both on and off campus to engage the college community and the Southwest Washington community. 

Learn more about the Columbia Writers Series at www.clark.edu/cc/cws. 

Welcome Week kicked off Monday with the first day of fall term and the 2023-24 academic year. Parking lots were crowded as thousands of students returned to classrooms and labs across the main campus, at the Clark College Building at Washington State University Vancouver and also at Clark College Columbia Tech Center. Clark’s mascot, Oswald the Penguin, strolled the hallways and paused for photos with students, staff and faculty. 

As on every first day, students had questions: Where is this class? Where is this building? Can someone help me? In Gaiser Hall and along campus walkways, students could stop at staffed tables to get directions to a building, have questions asked, or get a snack and information about available resources. 

Gaiser Hall’s Student Center bustled with activity as students, staff, and faculty gathered for the Student Involvement Fair in Gaiser Student Center on Wednesday. Students had the opportunity to learn more about the college’s student clubs, programs, on-campus jobs and college and community resources. Students also connected with peers with shared interests—from building a rocket to drawing comics and much more.  

At Clark’s ASCC student government table, student leaders answered students’ questions and shared information about getting involved with student government. Learn about ASCC here.

Students stopped by the Activities Programming Board table to learn about upcoming opportunities to connect with fellow students—including Bingo on October 2, Stuff a Sasquatch on October 9, and watch a free family night movie, “The Barbie Movie” with free pizza and soda, on October 18. Learn more here.

At the Phi Theta Kappa Student Honor Society table, PTK students distributed backpacks filled with school supplies to students who had requested them. Darci Feider said PTK received 133 requests for backpacks, and with help from faculty and staff, purchased and filled 116 backpacks for Clark students. This year, PTK students will volunteer with Penguin Pantry every month. Learn more about PTK here.

At the Columbia Writers Series table, students learned about the literary series and an opportunity to meet 2023 Oregon Book Award Winner Sindya Bhanoo, author of the story collection, Seeking Fortune Elsewhere, on campus on October 19. Learn more here.

At the Igloo table, students picked up past issues of the art department’s annual comics magazine and learned that the 2023 Igloo will be distributed in October.

At the Korean Club table students saw traditional clothing and learned what the club offers: K-Pop, K-Dramas, Korean food, history and much more.

At the Clark Aerospace table, students displayed their “Little Penguin” rocket they designed and built last academic year. Over the summer, some of the students competed in the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket competition in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Volunteers from League of Woman Voters Clark County encouraged students to register to vote. Were you born on or before November 5, 2006? Then you can vote in the March 2024 presidential primary election. Register to vote here.

With food prices rising, students talked with Clark County Food Bank volunteers to learn about food resources available in the community.

Clark College wants to ensure students know about and can access wrap-around services, including Penguin Pantry, Disability Support Services, Counseling and Health Center and more.

The kitchen garden that wraps around three sides of the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute at Clark College is reaping a bountiful, colorful harvest for students to use in their recipes. There is still time to visit the garden before everything is harvested.

Students and instructors from both the Cuisine Management program and the Professional Baking and Pastry Arts program have been harvesting herbs, vegetables and fruit throughout the summer. This is the second year the garden has produced a harvest. 

“The tomatoes are really coming in and the squashes are still producing,” said Chef James “Sonny” Demartini, a cuisine instructor who spearheaded the kitchen garden project with Fay Shorten, a stockroom attendant in the college’s food services department.  

Clark College renovated its culinary space in 2017, thanks to a grant from the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Foundation. The blueprints included plans for culinary gardens around all three sides of the building, but there was no funding for a garden. 

Demartini and Shorten did not let the lack of funding become a barrier to creating a kitchen garden for their students. They cleared otherwise unused space outside the building and created gardens including fruit trees, berries, herbs and vegetables.  

Demartini is a Midwesterner who grew up immersed in gardening. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Sweat equity from Demartini, Shorten and many others laid the groundwork. Demartini made a list of everything they would need to get started.

The first step was recruiting a team of volunteers to get to work amending the soil, including adding nutrient-rich composted produce from the college’s kitchens. The culinary programs save all organic food scraps—from carrot tops to eggshells. Demartini feeds the scraps into a blue Landworks industrial wood chipper he converted into a food waste mulcher. Rather than waiting for many weeks for the food to become compost, it chops food waste into rich, organic matter that immediately can be worked into the garden soil.  

Demartini credits the college’s hard-working grounds crew that has provided much labor, including revamping an irrigation system.  Demartini and Shorten found ways to get products at no cost. This includes getting deliveries of bark chips from pear trees removed from Washington State School for the Blind. Demartini also pointed to a stack of pear logs that students will use to cure and smoke meats.  

Not everything was free. About $8,000 in grant money was used to purchase some items, including the chipper, galvanized stock tanks they have repurposed as raised beds. Although some plants and seeds were donated, they also purchased others.  

• Concrete planters along the north entrance to Gaiser Hall—and just steps from the McClaskey Institute—are bursting with tomatoes, squash, peppers and an assortment of fragrant herbs, including sage, mint, rosemary, sorrel, lovage, parsley and chives.   
• Red grapes hang from the vines.  
• Hops grow high above the roof. 
• Thriving fruit trees include five different types of espalier apple and pear trees plus plum, quince and fig trees. 
• A dozen varieties of sunflowers, which have edible petals and seeds. These were harvested earlier this month. 
• Nasturtiums provide edible petals, a pretty garnish and an infusion in oils and vinegars.  
• An assortment of edible wildflowers also attracts pollinators to the garden.

Shorten said that when she worked in the garden, the college community and the public stopped by to admire the garden.

“When I’ve worked in the garden, people always tell me how good it looks.” Shorten said. “The veterans on the other side of Fort Vancouver Way came over and told us how good it looks. One of the gals who works for ODEI brought us strawberry plants. It’s so nice to go out and sit with all the plants.”

Clark College has offered culinary education for more than 60 years. The Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute at Clark College is the only public, accredited culinary program in the metro region that offers a two-year associate in applied technology degree. Clark’s program offers competitive programs, a seasoned team of instructors with real-world experience, a state-of-the-art culinary facility and collaborative industry partnerships. Learn more about Cuisine Management at Clark College here and Professional Baking and Pastry Arts here.