Melissa Williams, Policy Associate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges delivered the second Penguin Talks on October 24 at Vancouver Community Library.

Williams has almost 20 years of experience working in administrative leadership positions in higher education, including 13 years at Clark College. She serves on the Alumni Board of Clark College Foundation.

Speaking on the theme “Red, White, and Brown: Race in the United States,” Williams shared a detailed timeline focused on race and policy. She shared slide after slide illuminating laws, Supreme Court decisions, and policies that were integral in the formation of race in the U.S.

All of these policies and laws resulted in far-reaching consequences for those being oppressed. They determined whether a person was free, whether they could vote, where they could attend public school, who they could marry, what language they could speak, whether they were eligible for the G.I. Bill, whether they could get a home loan, live in a certain neighborhood, be protected by a union. The list is long and so very thorough.

One such policy was the Naturalization Act of 1790 which restricted citizenship to “any alien, being a free white person” who had resided in the U.S. for at least two years. Native Americans were considered “domestic foreigners” and were denied universal citizenship.

Other examples were Slave Codes and Black Codes, sets of laws that curtailed agency, expression, and limited recourse for Africans and African Americans—both enslaved and free—for more than 200 years from the 1600s to the 1800s.

Although Blacks were often the target, Native Americans, Chinese, Japanese—and many more people of color were targeted. In 1878, the Supreme Court ruled that Chinese individuals were ineligible for naturalized citizenship. Then the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese immigration for 10 years by an act of Congress. Ten years later, when the law was scheduled to expire, it was renewed and later made permanent. It was not repealed until 1943.

Native Americans were universally granted citizenship in 1924—and they were here first!

In 1942, shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing the evacuation and internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, most of whom were U.S. citizens or documented immigrants.

Williams said, “It is important to think about how policy, law, and traditions have shaped our country and our communities.”

Here are some highlights of Williams’ presentation.

Why talk about race?

• Even with all things equal, people of color nearly always experience worse outcomes than their White counterparts in every sociocultural and economic pillar.
• As a group, Black people specifically almost always experience worse outcomes than all others due to centuries of persistent anti-Black bias around the world.
• The fierce fight for equality and rights that people of color have waged in our nation has broadened access and inclusion for all people. The fight continues.
• Race has a profound impact on our lives.

What is racism?

• Racism is a system of race-based power and advantage.
• Systemic racism is the complex interaction of history, culture, policy, and social institutions that oppresses some groups to give an advantage to others.
• In the United States, the foundation of this system is white supremacy (the superiority of whiteness).

White supremacy

• The notion that White people and their ideas, views, values, communication styles, work styles, pursuits, approaches to relationship-building, appearances, and behaviors are the human standard to which all other people are compared.
• The term “white supremacy” is often associated with racist hate groups, but it more accurately describes the underpinning of U.S. culture and commonplace beliefs of people who grow up in a society.
• White supremacy can exist without malice.

What is race?

• Race as we think of it isn’t biological but is very real culturally, socially, politically, and economically.
• Race is an immensely powerful social construction.

At the conclusion of presenting the timeline, Williams shared a quote from Ibram X. Kendi from his book, How to Be an Antiracist:

“Americans have long been trained to see the deficiencies of people rather than policy. It’s a pretty easy mistake to make: People are in our faces. Policies are distant. We are particularly poor at seeing the policies lurking behind the struggles of people.”

Williams said, “Remember that folks have always been fighting for equity and justice.” She added, “It is important that we continue to grapple with our racialized history. We’re still grappling. We’re still making corrections.”

Some books and films Williams referenced:

• Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (2016)
• Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist (2019)
• Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origin of our Discontents (2020)
• Documentary 13^th: From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment, a film by Ava DuVernay that explores the history of racial inequality in the United States and the mass incarceration of Black Americans (2016); streaming on Netflix
• The PBS documentary series: Race: The Power of an Illusion discusses the origins, beliefs, and consequences of what we call race (2003)

About Penguin Talks

Clark College and Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries are partnering to present Penguin Talks, a lunchtime speaker series offered at noon on three consecutive Thursdays on October 17, 24, and 31 in the Columbia Room at Vancouver Community Library, 901 C Street, Vancouver. The free, public series features local experts sharing their knowledge about critical topics impacting our community.

Next Penguin Talk – October 31  

Native American, Indigenous or Indian? with Jhon Kuppens

Jhon Kuppens, enrolled member of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrielino/Tongva, will speak about American Indian tribal histories, sovereignty, federal trust responsibility, and rights. Kuppens will explore the impact of tribal politics, culture, law, jurisdiction, and values while examining the legacy of historical trauma.

Kuppens holds a Master of Legal Studies degree in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from Washington State University.

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Save the Date:

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

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

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

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

The Community Room in the Clark College Building at WSU Vancouver was the place to forge community and career connections on October 22. Students, alumni, community members, and local employers intersected at Clark’s Career Connect event, the first-ever Career Connect event the college has hosted at this campus.

Clark students pursuing Health Care and Bioscience programs connected with campus supports and with employers to discuss available internships, jobs, and other opportunities.

Looking around the room busy with people making connections, Alex Kison from Career Services said, “We got the word out to students!”

The event was organized by the Career Services team, with Kison leading the logistics. The Career Services team includes Kison, Emily Meoz, Trisha Haakonstad, Michael Caldwell, Aaron Campbell, and Niira Krupnick. Student employees Eli Knapp and Paul Dulaney also assisted with the event.

Connecting with Clark services

Advising Services, Career Services, and Student Success Coaches worked together to staff the event. Staff members assisted students who had the opportunity to ask questions and gain an understanding of academic pathways, career possibilities, and strategies for success.

These departments partnered with faculty to coordinate timing for the event that would make the most sense for student participation. The event was held in the community room on the main floor of the building that houses the majority of Clark’s Allied Health programs. Organizers scheduled a lunchtime event and offered free pizza, salad, and drinks.

Jordan Wilcox, program specialist for Clark’s upcoming surgical technology program, spoke to students about the new program and its prerequisites. The new program is scheduled to begin in Fall 2025.

Lana Strickland, Student Success Coach for students pursuing Healthcare and Biosciences was on hand to chat with students about scheduling time with a coach, improving study skills, and more.

Connecting with employers

Logan, a Clark biology student who plans to pursue a career in either microbiome research or zoology made his way around the various tables as he talked to employers. He stopped at the Multnomah County Health Department table to discuss potential career opportunities.

Ardon Health, which operates specialty pharmacies, is hiring pharmacy technicians. A Clark pharmacy tech student is currently doing an externship with them.

Kaiser Permanente is hiring medical assistants, nurses, and licensed practical nurses (LPNs).

Consumer Direct Care Network is hiring in-home caregivers.

Clark nursing student Kevin was the first to make connections with people around the room and turn in his Career Connect BINGO card, which includes activities related to career exploration and connections made at the event.

Over a two-hour period, valuable connections were made as Clark students stepped closer to their much-anticipated careers.

Next Career Connect Event

If you missed the October 22 event or are looking for more opportunities to connect, here is an upcoming opportunity:

Exploring Healthcare & Biosciences Careers – A Career Connect event

• When: Tuesday, November 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Location: Clark’s main campus in PUB 161 (Penguin Lounge)

“We want to meet students where they are already taking classes,” explained Kison. “The November 19^th event is more exploratory for students and community members who are interested in a healthcare and bioscience career but want to learn more and explore the different options. There will be healthcare and bioscience employers and industry professionals such as nurses, pharmacy technicians, and healthcare administrative specialists who will be available to speak to experience in their field.”

Employers who participated in the October 22 Career Connect:

• American Family Urgent Care
• Ardon Health (specialty pharmacy services)
• Consumer Direct Care Network (in-home caregivers)
• Department of Social and Health Services
• Kaiser Permanente
• Legacy Health
• Multnomah County Health Department
• PeaceHealth
• Providence
• The Vancouver Clinic

Clark connections:

• Allied Health programs
• Career Services
• Student Success Coaching
• Academic Advising
• Surgical Technology program (starting Fall 2025)

Make connections

• Advising Services: advising@clark.edu or (360) 992-2345 or GHL 108
• Career Services: careerservices@clark.edu or (360) 992-2902 or GHL 108
• Student Success Coaches: Schedule a session here

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

Can you pass this welding pop quiz?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clark College’s Welding program:

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

Photos: Clark College/Carly Rae Zent

Vice President of Instruction Dr. Terry Brown kicked off the Penguin Talks series on October 17 at Vancouver Community Library.

Speaking on the theme “The Power of Education,” Dr. Brown shared stories about how education transformed his own family in only three generations. His grandparents and parents grew up in the segregated South where their opportunities were limited.

Dr. Brown’s grandparents did not graduate from high school. A generation later, his mother attended community college but did not graduate. Eventually, she returned to college and earned a bachelor’s degree. Her children took their education even further. Both Dr. Brown and his brother earned doctorate degrees.

For an hour, Dr. Brown spoke about how education transforms people, families, and communities. Here are some highlights.

The power of education

• “The power of education extends far beyond the individual being educated. It extends to our families, our communities, our nation.”
• “Education is a conduit for personal transformation. It provides a way for people to learn how to solve problems, to learn about the world and how to navigate it, to discover and develop their abilities and talents so that they can become who they are meant to be.”
• “Education is a catalyst for family and of community wellbeing. Education provides the means for people to expand their opportunities to care for their families. This impact can be intergenerational.”
• “Education is a cornerstone of economic vitality. An educated workforce dramatically raises the economic prospects of a family, a community, and a nation.”
• “Education is a call to civic engagement and services.”

Investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion

• “Attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion say something. We are seeing diversity, equity, and inclusion being questioned, and being under attack. The antonyms of DEI are homogeneity, inequity, and exclusion.”
• “The power of education is limited only by our willingness to invest and engage with it. Disinvestment of our schools and colleges says something. Not providing support to people trying to learn says something.”

Investing in lifelong education

• “If we want a society filled with highly developed human beings, a nation and society rich materially and culturally, then we need to invest our resources into each other’s lifelong education.”
• “I believe in the power of education. Education is both our inheritance from those who came before us and our legacy to those who come after us. It’s our responsibility to preserve and protect it.”

About Penguin Talks

Clark College and Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries are partnering to present Penguin Talks, a lunchtime speaker series offered at noon on two more consecutive Thursdays, October 24 and 31 in the Columbia Room at Vancouver Community Library, 901 C Street, Vancouver. The free, public series features local experts sharing their knowledge about critical topics impacting our community. October 24: Red, White, and Brown: Race in the United States with Melissa Williams

Explore the formation of race in the United States and its lasting consequences. Learn how to define systemic racism and begin steps to mitigate its impacts.

Melissa Williams is the Policy Associate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. She has almost 20 years of experience working in administrative leadership positions in higher education, including 13 years at Clark College. She serves on the Alumni Board of Clark College Foundation. October 31: Native American, Indigenous or Indian? with Jhon Kuppens

Jhon Kuppens, enrolled member of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrielino/Tongva, will speak about American Indian tribal histories, sovereignty, federal trust responsibility, and rights. Kuppens will explore the impact of tribal politics, culture, law, jurisdiction, and values while examining the legacy of historical trauma.

Kuppens holds a Master of Legal Studies degree in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from Washington State University.

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

On a misty, rainy morning in October, Josie Lesage’s Environmental Science 101 students gathered around her in the gravel parking lot at Sams Walker Recreation Area near Skamania Landing in the Columbia River Gorge, about 34 miles from the Clark College main campus.  

Lesage distributed gardening gloves and asked for volunteers to carry supplies to the work site. One student carried a bucket of garden spades. Others carried flats of Canada goldenrod. The native plants are grown by Clark students in Environmental Biology/Biology 101 classes at the Native Plant Center’s greenhouse. As they hiked along a gravel trail, Lesage stopped to point out a field that previous Clark students had seeded with native plants.

“Clark students have been involved with a habitat restoration project here for the past two years,” says Clark Professor Kathleen Perillo, Environmental Science and Biology, and co-director of the college’s Native Plant Center. Students gain hands-on experience learning about and working with native plants at the Native Plant Center and planting them at the U.S. Forest-managed restoration sites in the Columbia River Gorge. 

This restoration effort is a partnership with Clark College, the U.S. Forest Service, and The Center for Ecodynamic Restoration, a nonprofit organization based in Washougal. 

Restoring habitat

After Lesage demonstrated the preferred planting technique, the group stepped off the trail and passed a sign that read: “Please keep off. Revegetation in progress.” As they walked uphill to the planting area, they snaked around a rusty relic of farm equipment, its iron wheels encased with thick moss. This artifact and a crumbling foundation are the few remaining remnants of the farms operated by the Sams and Walker families on this land in another era.

But much more recently, this entire area—the field and adjacent wooded areas—was overgrown with non-native invasive species including reed canary grass, pasture grasses, and towering Himalayan blackberry plants. Now, the ground is covered in decomposing blackberry canes. Over the past two years, Clark students and other volunteers have begun planting non-invasive native plants. Fields are sewn with a mix of 33 different native species including Canada goldenrod, western yarrow, streambank lupine, bigleaf lupine, Douglas aster, milkweed, and more.

Reaching a broad hillside, the group stopped while Lesage offered final instructions. Setting down their umbrellas, backpacks, and clipboards, the students carried pots of Canada goldenrod all along the field, then knelt on the rain-soaked ground and got to work.

With so many hands working, the planting was soon completed. Although these plants are tiny now, they soon will mature and reseed with the help of the wind and birds. To demonstrate how quickly this transformation can occur, Lesage led her students over the hill and stood amid a thriving native landscape students had planted two years earlier.

Sams Walker Recreation Area

Sandy Haigh, a former Clark College biology professor, is the president of The Center for Ecodynamic Restoration (CEDR). She manages the restoration project at Sams Walker Recreation Area, which was established by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1990s. Working with the Forest Service, Clark College, and other partners, CEDR works to restore native habitats at the site. The project is funded with National Forest Foundation grants to CEDR.

Haigh defined ecological restoration as the process of restoring damaged or disturbed ecosystems to their natural state. CEDR works closely with Clark College Native Plant Center. Biology students propagate native plants in the campus greenhouse. Then professors Lesage and Perillo’s environmental science students plant the native species at Sams Walker and at St. Cloud, another project two miles west. This cooperative work introduces students to ecology, demonstrates the role of natives in ecological systems, and encourages them to enter related fields of work.

Perillo said, “We want our students to learn what a healthy Pacific Northwest ecosystem looks like and what it takes to restore it. We are teaching them about native plants and their role in native systems. But it goes beyond that to be able to show how a healthy system starts from the ground up and goes from soils to plants to pollinators on up to our apex predators. Everything in the system relies on everything else. That’s an important takeaway.”

She added, “We also want to empower students to see that they can be a part of worthwhile work in restoring systems and even take that knowledge back to their own backyards. It’s a way to tackle some of the nihilism that infuses many of our students in the face of climate change and the biodiversity crisis.” 

Becoming an Environmental Scientist

First-year Clark student Kylie Miller (pictured above), one of the students who participated in the restoration work at Sams Walker, is pursuing a career as an environmental scientist. “I chose this field because I grew up in Southern Oregon and constantly being in nature made me a proud tree hugger.”

Miller grew up hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, gardening “and doing just about anything outdoors I could.” In high school, she took environmental science classes and was inspired by her teacher to pursue a career in the field. She helped start an environmental activism group, worked toward restoring the campus greenhouse, and planned local cleanups.

She chose Clark College for its strong environmental science program and because she was recruited to play volleyball for the Penguins. Miller is pursuing an associate transfer degree in environmental science and plans to earn her bachelor’s degree at Oregon State University, University of Oregon or Washington State University.

Miller said the planting project at Sams Walker Recreation Area “was a great experience to get a taste of what it would really be like to work in the field. I know for a fact I want to be hands on and in the field making change and impacting the ecosystems I’m working with for the better.”

Learn more

• Call to action: Volunteer at the October 26 work party at Sams Walker Recreation Area. Click here to sign up.
• Visit the site:

  • Sams Walker Day Use/Picnic Area: Located 34 miles from Clark College and 12 miles east of Stevenson, Washington.
  • Directions: No street address. Take Washington State Highway 14 west into the Columbia River Gorge. Turn right at milepost 32.8 onto Skamania Landing Road. Drive ¼ mile, crossing the railroad tracks. Turn right into the parking lot.
  • Amenities: Trails, toilet, picnic table. NW Forest Pass required. Learn more here.

• Learn more:
  • Project partner The Center for Ecodynamic Restoration, Washougal.

  • Habitat restoration at the Sams Walker Recreation Site near Skamania Landing along Highway 14 in the Columbia River Gorge here.

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish

Diane DeVore (formerly Hernandez-Olortiga) has achieved some notable “firsts.” She’s a first-generation college student, the first member of her family to come out as queer, and a first-generation Latina in her family in the United States.

An academic advisor at Clark, DeVore shared her story at the first Queer Student Luncheon of the academic year on October 8. The free event is presented each term by Clark’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to create community for students who identify as queer and allies.

DeVore grew up in Compton and Long Beach, California, and lived in a household committed to traditional gender norms, including her father who holds machismo world views. She was outed to her family when her father read her Myspace messages with her girlfriend. She said, “I was never afraid of myself, but I was scared of the world around me.” She was shaped by the pressure to come out early to a family that was not accepting.

When she had the opportunity to move out of her parents’ home, she took it. In college, she met queer and Indigenous mentors who allowed her to unlearn the gender norms and colonial thinking she grew up with. “In the queer community, especially, we ask ourselves hard questions… just by existing we are pushing against these boundaries every day.”

Her college journey was non-traditional. She dropped out twice but eventually earned her master’s degree in a primarily online program. She said “It’s okay to take breaks and step back. You’re not on anyone’s timeline but your own.”

When asked how her queer and Latina identities intersected, she said, “It took more unlearning than learning because of the machismo culture.”

Now, her relationship with her family is stable, she’s recently married, and she works at Clark helping students like herself navigate college.

She left students with three pieces of advice:

• “In the queer community, we are never really alone.”
• “Give yourself the space to grow and figure out who you want to become and unbecome.”
• “Together our stories help build for the next generation of queer community.”

Upcoming ODEI Luncheons

• October 22 @ noon: Students with Disability Luncheon in PUB 161
• November 12 @ noon: Students of Color Luncheon in PUB 161

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

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

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Clark College hosted award-winning author Kaveh Akbar on October 3 to a near-capacity audience of about 100 people. With nearly every seat full (and some attendees standing), Akbar read from his novel Martyr! and answered questions posed by the audience.

The first Columbia Writers Series event of the academic year attracted multiple creative writing classes, the Addiction Counseling Education Students Club (ACES), Clark’s Vice President of Instruction Dr. Terry Brown, and Clark librarians with a pop-up check-out cart featuring works by Akbar as well as past CWS speakers.

Akbar spoke extensively about his writing process (he called himself an ‘ox’ writer who needs to write every single day) and what drove his writing of Martyr!. Historically a poet, he found himself writing a novel. He said, “I tried to tell the story in lyric poetry. But I’m not a good enough poet to do that. I recognized I needed to learn a new skill.” He started with the idea of Orkideh — a performance artist at the center of the book — and the other characters evolved from their narrative need to exist along with Orkideh.

In Martyr!, Cyrus, who is a recovering alcoholic, becomes obsessed with having a meaningful death and decides to write a book about martyrs. When he sees that Orkideh, who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, is living out the rest of her life in an art museum, he undertakes a journey to visit her. The book explores the tension and commiseration between their two perspectives on death, along with multi-layered ideas on family, love, grief, and so much more.

Akbar shared the relationship between writing and addiction recovery. He said that doing the work of recovery involves a kind of honest self-analysis that is also key to writing honest work. “If you’re really doing the recovery work… it means you’re taking a searching and fearless look at your own life. It means that you’re rigorously accounting in ways that are not ethically infantilized, that are not rhetorically hygienic… you have a leg up.”

While writing is his profession, he shared that recovery, and working in recovery groups to help others in recovery, is the central mission that drives him. “The work of my life, the actual what I do with my life, is working in my recovery community.”

Though the poet has become a novelist, Akbar still writes love poems for his spouse and knows he will continue writing poems for the rest of his life. He believes his poems don’t have to be published to be meaningful.

When asked about how he creates his characters, he replied, “I wanted my characters to feel like the people I know.”

Kaveh Akbar is an acclaimed poet, novelist, and editor, whose works appear in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Paris Review, and Best American Poetry. He is the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Pilgrim Bell, with Martyr!, his debut novel, recently becoming a New York Times bestseller and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year. His writing delves into themes of empire, immigration, addiction, and the healing power of art.

The Columbia Writers Series hosted Akbar along with the college’s Addiction Counseling (ACES) Club.

Next Up:

Winter Columbia Writers Series: Paisley Rekdal, January 30, 2025, at 1 p.m., GHL 213. Rekdal is the author of four books of nonfiction, and seven books of poetry, most recently, West: A Translation, which won the 2024 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Her work has received the Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, and various state arts council awards. The former Utah poet laureate, she teaches at the University of Utah where she directs the American West Center.

Spring Columbia Writers Series: Chelsea Bieker, May 29 at 10 a.m., PUB 258A-C Bieker is the author of three books, most recently the nationally bestselling novel, Madwoman, a Book of the Month club pick the New York Times calls “brilliant in its depiction of the long shadows cast by domestic violence.” Her first novel, Godshot, was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and named a Barnes & Noble Pick of the Month. Her story collection, Heartbroke won the California Book Award and was a New York Times “Best California Book of 2022.” Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Marie Claire UK, People, The Cut, Wall Street Journal, and others. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers’ Award, as well as residencies from MacDowell and Tin House. Raised in Hawai’i and California, she lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
View more photos from the event on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBLiuf

Clark College hosted Noche de Familia on October 1, a special night for Latiné families to learn about academic options and college and community resources available to Clark students. This event is designed to deepen the connection with Latiné communities by providing programming in the Spanish language for new, prospective, and current students and their families.

The entire program was presented in Spanish, including introductions and all presentations. Offered in the fall and spring quarters by the college and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), this free event included activities for kids and a delicious dinner for all.

• Staff from Admissions, Adult Basic Education, and Financial Aid made presentations—offering information on how to apply to Clark, and for services and like financial aid, and the many student support services.
• Faculty from the college’s Business, Engineering, and Allied Health programs spoke about their programs and the types of job opportunities available to graduates.
• Attendees also had opportunities to speak with Clark representatives from Financial Aid, Transitional Studies, Workforce Education Services, Clark Libraries, Counseling and Health Center, Career Services and more, Allied Health, Engineering and Computer Science, and more who sat at tables around the perimeter of the room.

While parents learned about resources and opportunities to assist them along their educational journey, their young children were busy with activities including face painting, creating artwork, reading books, and playing games.

Vanessa Neal, Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), welcomed our special guests, Mexican Consul Mónica Ochoa Palomera; John Anderson, Southwest Washington regional representative of the office of Governor Jay Inslee; and Clark College Trustee Cristhian Canseco Juarez.

Inspiring Clark alum

Liliana Salazar, our keynote speaker, shared her inspiring story from undocumented childhood immigrant to first-generation college graduate and business owner. Growing up in Vancouver, Salazar decided she wanted to attend college, but she was not eligible for federal financial aid because she was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. But she did not let the difficult financial barrier stop her. She was determined to get an education.

To pay for school, she worked as a waitress and applied for countless scholarships. First, she attended Clark College for two years before transferring to Washington State University Vancouver. Passionate about helping her community, she transformed her hobby of creating web pages into Website Chicks, which she calls “a business that has allowed me to empower others for the past seven years.”

At tables around the perimeter of Gaiser Student Center, several community nonprofits and organizations provided information about scholarships and other support and assistance also offered information at tables. They included:

• Latino Leadership Northwest
• Betancourt Foundation
• Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
• Southwest Washington LULAC, League of United Latin American Citizens
• We Are One America
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington
• Vancouver Public Schools
• Washington State University Vancouver
• Central Washington University

Connect with us

• In person: Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI). Diversity Center, Gaiser Hall 214
• Phone: 360-992-2292
• Email: diversity@clark.edu
• Website: https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/student-support/diversity-and-equity/

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
View more photos on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBLi4o

Art appreciators gathered to welcome artist Daniel Duford at the opening reception for his exhibit “American Underland” at Archer Gallery on October 1. The exhibit closes on December 20, so if you missed the reception, you still have time to visit this exhibit.

Duford chatted with guests, who included Clark students, staff, faculty, and community members.

He created all the exhibited work after his January 2024 residency at PLAYA in rural Summer Lake, Oregon, a land of open spaces and sagebrush at the edge of the Great Basin.

Standing in front of his painting Paisley Caves, he spoke about how spending a month in that landscape influenced his art. He spoke about walking across shallow, frozen lakes and taking in that landscape. He observed and said, “I took a ton of photos.”

Gallery Director’s Statement: I was initially drawn to Daniel Duford’s work because of his rich color palette and the unique mix of painting, drawing, and ceramics in his practice. I also appreciate how he combines landscape imagery with shamanistic and folkloric symbols to lead the viewer on a poetic journey—a deeper sense of time and space is brought to the forefront.

Our country is coming up on an election and, at times, the campaigns have felt shallow or short-sighted. In other words, the problems and solutions seem to have a four-year expiration date. This exhibit presents an alternative look at our country. The work on display depicts North American landscapes, characters, and stories that have long roots and deep time.

“That sense of time and change connects us to the larger, living world. That’s true deep time,” Duford says in an interview for Artsy.com. My hope is that this exhibit is both visually evocative for viewers and starts conversations around what it means to be American. Archer Gallery is excited to welcome this engaging political show that is refreshingly non-partisan just in time for the election.

American Underland events

•  Exhibition: September 16 – December 20
• Saturday reception: November 2, 1-4 p.m.
• Artist Talk: October 15, 1-2 p.m. (in person, PUB room 161)
• Virtual artist workshop: November 7, 1:30-3:30 p.m. Zoom: https://clark-edu.zoom.us/j/89432337559

Artist’s Statement about American Underland: The motifs filling these new works are the Janus head, coyotes, and processions. Janus is the Roman god of doorways, of endings and beginnings. The double-faced god presided over city gates marking times of war and peace. Old Man Coyote too has many faces. He is the Changeable One. Coyote the deity created death, the stars, and lots of chaos. His stories are bawdy, absurd, and alive with the electricity of a living landscape.

Coyote the animal has a complicated relationship to the United States’s history of Puritanical programs of extermination and persistent resilience. The procession is an image I’ve long been interested in. From Goya’s penitents to Courbet’s A Burial at Ornans, the procession can be solemn, grotesque, mocking, or an exuberant carnival.

Given the flowing energy of protest movements in the past several years, I see the image of the procession as an image of collective soul. I am more interested in the chthonic energies rumbling beneath the ground and lava flows animating the collective unconscious of the nation.

About the artist

Daniel Duford is an artist, writer, and teacher. His work tells stories drawn from North American history and mythology. He is a 2019 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, a 2010 Hallie Ford Fellow, and a recipient of a 2012 Art Matters Grant. His murals and public art can be found throughout Portland. His books include John Brown’s Body, The Unfortunates Graphic Novel, The Naked Boy, and The Green Man of Portland. His work has been shown at MASS MoCA, The Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art, Maryhill Museum, Bellevue Arts Museum, Clay Studio, The Boise Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Craft, PICA, and The Art Gym at Marylhurst University. Residencies include MacDowell, Crow’s Shadow Art Center, and Ash Street Project. His writing has appeared in High Desert Journal, Parabola, Artweek, ARTnews, The Emily Dickinson Award Anthology, The Organ, The Bear Deluxe, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Technical and Ceramics: Art and Perception. His work has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Press, The Albany Times Union, The Oregonian, Sculpture Magazine, Art Papers, Artweek, The Willamette Week and The Portland Mercury. He is currently the Visiting Professor of Art at Reed College and Creative Director at Building Five in Portland, Oregon. Learn more here.

About Archer Gallery

Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. In order to exhibit work that has a strong interest for an academic institution, the gallery brings work that fulfills at least one of the following criteria.

• Regionally, nationally, or internationally exhibiting professional artists
• Artwork that has a strong connection to new contemporary art concepts or methods
• Artwork that connects to Clark College Art Department curriculum and programs
• Works by artists with significant historical influence on contemporary art practices

https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/arts-events/archer

Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish