Amelia Longbons and Christopher Beh are Clark College’s 2014 All-Washington Academic Team members.

Two Clark College students who serve their college and their community were named to the 2014 All-Washington Academic Team.

Amelia Longbons of Kelso and Christopher Beh of Vancouver were among 68 students from Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges who were recognized on March 27 in a ceremony at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia. Washington Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen was the keynote speaker.

According to organizers, each member of the All-Washington Academic team received a scholarship from KeyBank of Washington. In addition, many of Washington’s public and private four-year colleges are offering scholarship opportunities to members of the team.

About Amelia Longbons

Amelia Longbons can vouch for the value of community colleges: She earned her Associate of Arts at Lower Columbia College while still in high school through the Running Start Program and then enrolled at Clark College to enter its highly regarded Dental Hygiene program. Now she is busy on a project to provide dental hygiene care and education to homeless people in Southwest Washington, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

This is not Longbons’s first academic honor. She is also a recipient of the American Dental Association Foundation Allied Dental Student Scholarship, awarded to just 15 students nationwide each year and the 2012 Scholastic Achievement Award, granted by Lower Columbia College to the student with the highest grade point average in the graduating class. Additionally, she was valedictorian of her graduating class at Kelso High School.

Longbons’s academic achievements are all the more impressive considering how many hours she devotes to volunteer activities. She has a long history of volunteering, but currently concentrates most of her efforts toward her chosen career. She assisted at the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington’s Children’s Dental Day and is in the process of organizing a free dental day for local homeless and veterans in the community. She is a member of the Student American Dental Hygienists Association and regularly participates in outreach efforts to promote dental hygiene among underserved communities.

Longbons, 20, plans to graduate with her Associate of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene in June, after which she will enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program at Eastern Washington University. She says she hopes to one day use her education to travel to other countries and provide dental hygiene care to the poor and underserved.

“For me, winning this scholarship has been a great honor and made me understand that community colleges are an amazing opportunity to allow me to grow and reach my academic potential,” says Longbons. “It’s been an inspiration and a motivation to keep going and to work my hardest and to continue my education and give everything I have to becoming a successful student and becoming a successful dental hygienist.”

About Christopher Beh

At age 17, Christopher Beh has already experienced a lot of changes and challenges. Beh was 8 years old when his father left the family, and Beh’s mother had to work two jobs to keep them afloat.

“At the time, I didn’t realize the amount of work that she was putting in so that I could have a future,” says Beh. “I thought that she didn’t care; of myself as inept. I truly believed that I wasn’t capable of becoming anything worthwhile.”

But eventually Beh realized that he had both the drive and the ability to succeed academically. He enrolled at Clark College while still in high school through the Running Start Program, and anticipates earning his transfer associate degree in June. At Clark he has joined Alpha Sigma Phi, the college’s chapter of the national two-year college honor society Phi Theta Kappa, and has sought out opportunities to challenge himself academically through Clark’s rigorous Honors Program. He says these experiences have given him a newfound respect for community colleges.

“What community colleges do for students from all walks of life is absolutely incredible,” says Beh. “It’s an amazing stepping stone for people who maybe aren’t ready for a four-year university, or are looking for a closer-knit environment where students can work together, stay closer to home, and maybe juggle other things that they have going on.”

Beh’s own juggling act has become even more demanding: He has been helping his mother recover since she underwent neck surgery last year. Additionally, he helps support their household by working part-time at the college’s computer help desk. Fortunately, he has been able to take advantage of some of Clark’s online course offerings, allowing him more flexibility to assist his mother at home.

“Looking back, I know that I made the right choice,” Beh says of his decision to attend Clark. “I’ve been able to help my mom through her recovery, and I’m not bogged down by student loans. I’ve also been able to be part of an amazing community. I feel that my professors truly care about my success, and I’ve found a home with Alpha Sigma Phi. At first I chose a community college for the cost and convenience, but I have found so much more at Clark College.”

Beh, who is studying computer science and business at Clark, has accepted admission to the University of Washington, where he plans to major in computer science. His work at Clark has made him interested in a job in Information Technology and he hopes to one day work in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s cybercrime division.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
Video: Clark College/Nick Bremer Korb

Physical Education instructor Judy Glenney stands in Clark’s weight room. “I still train,” she says. “I want students to see physical fitness as a lifelong activity. I don’t intend to quit any time soon.”

Students in Judy Glenney’s physical education classes learn a few things about their instructor early on: She’s funny. She’s patient. She’s happy to meet students where they are, whether that’s “just got off the couch” or “training for my next triathlon.”

What they don’t always find out, however, is Glenney’s landmark role in promoting women in sports–namely, in making women’s weightlifting an Olympic event. In fact, last October Glenney was honored by the International Weightlifting Federation at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of women’s competitive weightlifting, held during the IWF’s 2013 World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland.

Glenney guides a student in her Fitness Center Basics class.

“She doesn’t toot her own horn,” says Kathy Slavin, secretary of Clark’s Health and Physical Education Division. “We probably would not have heard about the IWF honor except she had to have a sub for her classes while she was gone.”

“I kind of keep it under wraps,” admits Glenney. “I feel like I would be gloating. But every once in a while, especially with my female students, I’ll let it slip–just, like, ‘Yes, you can lift that, even if you’re a girl. I’ve lifted more than 200 pounds.'”

When Glenney herself first became interested in weightlifting in the 1970s, no one was around to provide her with that empowering message. At the time, women weren’t even supposed to lift weights as exercise, much less in competition. Glenney stumbled into weightlifting by accident: While working one summer for a campus ministry, she wandered into the building’s weight room looking for a place where she and her colleagues could work out.

“I looked around at all the weights and stuff and thought, ‘Wow, this is so cool!'” she recalls. “The only person there was this good-looking young man who offered to show me around, and I said, ‘Yes, please!'”

That good-looking young man turned out to be a student named Gary Glenney, who participated in a Christian weightlifting group called Athletes in Action. The two hit it off, and married soon after Judy graduated from Pacific University in 1971.

Judy Glenney would travel with her new husband to weightlifting competitions, and found herself intrigued by the sport. “It looked like gymnastic movements with weights,” said Glenney, who had participated in several athletic teams while in college.

Glenney stands between IWF president Dr. Tamas Ajan and IWF General Secretary Ma Wenguang after receiving an award at the 2013 IWF World Championships in Wroclaw, Poldand. Photo courtesy of Judy Glenney.

Soon she was learning how to make those moves herself. But when she asked her husband about weightlifting competitions for women, he told her there weren’t any–but that he’d be happy to help her start one. At first, Glenney began asking to compete at the men’s competitions. Soon, however, other women joined her–either inspired by seeing her compete or attracted through Glenney’s outreach efforts. She began to push for separate women’s events at some competitions, and the creation of a separate category for women’s weightlifting records–many of which she set herself. But societal resistance to the idea of “lady” weightlifters proved harder to budge than any barbell.

“My first competition was in 1972, and we didn’t have our first national competition until 1981,” she says with a wry grin. “So, yeah, it took a while.”

But Glenney wasn’t content to simply make it into the U.S. Weightlifting Federation. She wanted women’s weightlifting recognized by the IWF as well–and, ultimately, by the premier name in international sports. “In my mind, I was never just thinking national,” she says. “I wanted it to be an Olympic competition.”

That proved no small feat. Glenney lobbied the IWF to include women in its world championships, which it finally did in 1987. But women’s weightlifting didn’t become an Olympic event until 2000. Glenney was there–but as a judge, not a competitor. She had long since retired from competitive weightlifting, finishing her career as a four-time Women’s National Champion, five-time Master’s National Champion, and two-time World Master’s Champion.

Glenny holds a photo of herself from her weightlifting manual from the 1980s.

Glenney characterizes the Sydney Olympics as a bittersweet moment for her: “Deep down, I was kind of disappointed because I’d missed it as a lifter, but at the same time I was so excited because I contributed to those women being part of the Olympics.”

By then, Glenney had already transitioned into teaching. For 15 years, she has taught classes including Weight Training, Core Conditioning, Fitness Center Basics, and Tennis at Clark College, helping hundreds of students find their own strength.

“She’s an amazing instructor,” says Fitness Center Basics student Anna Rybalka between reps on a weight machine in the Fitness Center. “She manages to be professional and funny at the same time.”

“She’s very upbeat,” says Bryan Andrews, another Fitness Center Basics student, as he adjusts his pace on a treadmill. “She’s personally come over and helped adjust the machines for me. She definitely knows what she’s talking about.”

“At Clark, we pride ourselves on our talented and experienced faculty, and Judy certainly fits those criteria,” says Dean of Health Sciences Blake Bowers. “I appreciate the depth of knowledge she brings to the teaching of physical education, as well as the inspiration she provides not just to her students, but her to fellow faculty members as well.”

“I enjoy the total environment of Clark–the students, faculty, and staff,” says Glenney, whose husband teaches at Clark in the Mathematics Department. “It is just a joy to be around these people and be part of the community of Clark College. The staff everywhere is always willing to help with all my needs, no matter how large or small.”

For Glenney, one of the great joys of teaching is providing her female students with the guidance and encouragement that was absent when she was a young athlete, allowing them to discover their own physical power.

“By the end of the quarter, they’re like, ‘Oh man, look what I can do!'” she says, smiling. “For the first time, they’re really testing their own strength. They say, ‘Wow, I really am strong!’

“And I say, ‘Yeah, you are.'”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Pam Peiper, a member of U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s staff, gets some hands-on practice with DNA testing.

Flanked by a pair of three-story-high yachts, more than 150 people gathered inside the Christensen Shipyards warehouse in Vancouver to have their DNA tested and taste hot ice cream during an interactive event that demonstrated how Clark College is preparing students for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Clark College Foundation, in partnership with Christensen Shipyards, held the special event on the evening of March 15. The gathering showed local businesspeople how Clark matches the community’s workforce needs with training, education and internships in STEM.

Biology instructor Ryan Kustusch describes Clark’s  participation in Yale University’s Small World Initiative, in which students do research that could help discover new antibiotics.

Jim and Kelly Maul, from the Vancouver environmental engineering firm Maul, Foster & Alongi Inc., stood transfixed as Clark engineering student Jesse Bosdell described how a water clock worked and that the clocks were part of a campus-wide competition.

“You’ve got to put the fun into science and engineering first, and then the passion will come later,” said Jim Maul. His wife, Kelly, said she was “fired up to go back to school” after seeing the student demonstrations.

The couple has two daughters whom they hope to steer toward a STEM education. Clark is on their list of higher education options.

Guest Tim Kraft, a civil engineer and principal at the water resources company Otak Inc., said Clark College offers critical programs that aren’t available at other community colleges. “I see what Clark does, and it’s impressive,” said Kraft, who mentors youth with interests in science and engineering in the Southwest Washington area.

Clark College President Robert K. Knight addressed the guests by acknowledging the regional businesses present and how in partnership, they drive the region’s economic prosperity. “It’s vitally important that the community and Clark College work together to provide an educated workforce to meet the 17,000 jobs that regional economists predict will require education in STEM by 2015,” he said.

The event was part of the Ensuring a Bright Future: Campaign for Clark College. Funds raised during the campaign are aimed at enhancing scholarships, faculty professional development, technology infrastructure, STEM, and dental hygiene education.

Lisa Gibert, president and CEO of Clark College Foundation, said it was exciting to see guests clearly fascinated with the student achievements. “This evening brings me so much pride to showcase the great work Clark is doing and how that education translates to jobs in our region and beyond,” she said.

Engineering professor Carol Hsu and Clark student Jessica Molner explain to guests how water clocks work. Molner is a member of Clark’s NERD (Not Even Remotely Dorky) Girls, a student club devoted to promoting STEM among women and girls.

Guests had the opportunity to learn about water clocks built with coconuts and bamboo; a rocket that is part of a national NASA competition; software for mass-identifying license plates; the weight distribution of a package of Chips-Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies; DNA sampling; and more.

Some of the business community members represented included Portland Plastics, Corwin Beverage, Wells Fargo Advisors, Columbia Credit Union, Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital, Sterling Bank, Mekos Corporation, Silicon Forest Electronics, and SEH America Inc.

See more photos on Flickr

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

This article originally appeared in a slightly different form on the Clark College Foundation news site.

It’s been an exciting 2013-14 fall and winter for Clark College Athletics. So far this year, all of Clark’s athletic programs have advanced to the NWAACC playoffs–that’s seven for seven! In addition, four coaches were named Coach of the Year and several student athletes were named to All-Academic Sports teams and All-Star teams. There are so many students to be proud of and great sports moments to remember, but here is a quick recap of our mighty Penguins’ accomplishments so far.

Men’s & Women’s Cross Country

The Penguin cross country teams once again had solid fall season,s with both squads finishing in the top five at the NWAACC Championships, which were hosted by Clark College this year. Sophomores Julian Avalos and Jacob Mason were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned. Clark College will continue hosting the NWAACC Cross Country Championships at Lewisville Regional Park through Fall 2015.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team, led by 2013 South Region and NWAACC Coach of the Year Biniam Afenegus, put together another exceptional season, finishing with an 19-3-1 overall record. With a 13-1 mark in the South Region, the men captured their second consecutive regional title and advanced to the playoffs for the seventh straight season. The team eventually fell to Peninsula College in the NWAACC championship match, 1-0. Freshman Bernardino Ayala-Jimenez was named South Region MVP and freshmen Juan Ayala-Jimenez, Christian Desir, and Abdiel Morfin and sophomores Bryanth Garcia-Junco, Jonathan Morales, and Langdon Roscoe were named to the Southwest All-Star Team.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team fought through key injuries to finish 10-9-3 overall, with a third-place finish in the South Region. Second-year head coach Rochelle Hearns led the Penguins to consecutive NWAACC playoff appearances before falling to Whatcom on penalty kicks in the first round of the NWAACC playoffs. Coach Hearns was honored with the South Region Coach of the Year award, and sophomore Cristal Ruvalcaba and freshman Krista Campbell were named to the Southwest All-Star Team. Sophomores Emily Ainsworth, Kai Davidson and Alexandra White were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports Team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned.

Volleyball

After a one-year hiatus, the women’s volleyball squad returned to the NWAACC playoffs under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Dunn. The Penguins were a force to be reckoned with down the stretch of regular-season play and beat the odds by winning three of four matches to advance to post-season play. In the first round, the Penguins were defeated in three sets by eventual NWAACC champion Blue Mountain; afterward, they defeated Shoreline in an elimination match to advance to Day Two of the tournament for the first time in four years. Sophomore middle blocker Karissa Paltridge was named First Team West Region All-Star. Sophomores Shawntel Kalliainen and Amanda Curtis were named to the 2013 All-Academic Sports Team, which recognizes student athletes with a cumulative GPA above 3.25 and a minimum of 36 credits earned.

Men’s Basketball

For the first time in 17 years, the Clark men’s basketball program placed at the NWAACC basketball championships, going 3-1 for a fifth-place finish. The 2013-14 edition of the Penguins gave fans a thrill as the men won the West Region crown and finished 27-2. The record-breaking performance also included a 23-game winning streak, undefeated in West Region (16-0) play, and best overall record for a season. Clark became just the fourth team in NWAACC history to go undefeated in league play. Clark held the coaches poll No. 1 ranking for the majority of the season and finished ranked No. 1 in the final coaches poll. Second-year head coach Alex Kirk was named West Region Coach of the Year, sophomore Collin Spickerman was named West Region MVP, and sophomore Sean Price was named First-Team West Region. Sophomore Max Livingston was named Second-Team West Region. Spickerman and Price were also named to the All-Defensive Team.

Women’s Basketball

For the first time in 14 years, the Clark women’s basketball program won the West Region title and placed at the NWAACC basketball championships for the second straight season, going 3-1 for a fifth-place finish. The team was Ranked No. 2 in final coaches poll and posted a 15-game win streak during their impressive season. Second-year head coach Al Aldridge was named West Region Coach of the Year, sophomore Brooke Bowen was named West Region MVP, and sophomores Nicolette Bond and Haley Grossman were named First-Team West Region. Freshman Shantell Jackson was named Freshman of the Year and Second-Team West Region. Freshman Taylor Howlett was named to the All-Defensive Team.

So far, the year has provided us with plenty of exciting sports moments and lots to cheer about. Visit Clark Athletics to find out about our spring sports, including baseball, softball, and track and field.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

It’s the first sunny day the children in Terry Haye’s classroom in Clark College’s Child & Family Studies program have seen for a while, and the classroom’s staff need a few moments to gather everyone on the carpeted area normally reserved for Story Time. But as Haye speaks, the children settle down to listen.

“All right, friends,” she says. “Let’s sit down. I would like to welcome Michiyo to our classroom. Can you say, ‘Konnichi wa?'”

“Konnichi wa,”  chorus the children, ages 3 to 5. Japanese professor Michiyo Okuhara beams at them.

“Konnichi wa! Hello there!” she says. “My name is Michiyo, and I’m going to show you some traditional kimono from Japan.” With that, Okuhara pulls a vibrantly patterned kimono from a bag, and the children gasp.
Okuhara doesn’t just show off the kimono: With the help of volunteers from Clark’s Japanese Club, she fits many of the children with pint-sized kimonos from her collection. She explains that this activity is in preparation for Clark’s annual Sakura Festival on April 17, where the children will appear in the finale of a kimono fashion show.

Professor Michiyo Okuhara shows how to wrap a kimono.

While the kimono demonstration is new, the partnership between Haye and Okuhara goes back seven years, when Okuhara’s own son was a child in Haye’s classroom. At the time, Clark College had just begun holding a celebration of the campus’s 100 shirofugen cherry trees, a living symbol of friendship between the people of Vancouver and Japan. Haye invited Okuhara to visit her classroom to share stories about sakura celebrations in Okuhara’s native Japan. From that beginning has developed a rich partnership; today, with the help of the Rotary Club of Vancouver, children in the CFS program participate in an artwork exchange with children in a preschool in Vancouver’s sister city of Joyo, Japan. CFS children also attend Sakura each year, learning about Japanese culture.

“I’m always looking for ways to involve our children in the community on campus,” says Haye. “It’s a wonderful resource for us. We track the [shirofugen] trees each year, visiting them during each season. When they blossom, we have a picnic down there. And having Michiyo visit each year and share her experience, that’s a great way for our children to learn about another part of the world.”

Teira Harbeson, left, and Abigail Sloan, right, help a fellow member of the Japanese Club adjust her kimono.

It isn’t only the children who are learning: Japanese Club member Teira Harbeson says that visiting the classroom is giving her a taste of what may be in store for her one day. “I want to become a teacher myself,” says the 21-year-old sophomore, who says her interest in Japan was reinforced when she traveled there with Okuhara last year through Clark’s Study Abroad program. “I want to travel to Japan and teach English there, and while this is a different age group, it still gives me some experience.”

Japanese Club member Abigail Sloan adds that she wished she’d had opportunities to experience other cultures at such an early age. “I think it opens things up for them,” says the 15-year-old Mountain View High student, who attends Clark through Running Start. “The world is becoming more and more globalized, and it’s really good for citizens to get exposure to other cultures early on.”

The time has come for the children to take off their kimono and go play outside. As they wait to have their obi untied, one girl fingers the pink flowers on her kimono thoughtfully. Then she looks up at a visitor and says, “I want to know about Japan. I want to know lots more!”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Members of the Clark College Veterans Club and Associated Students were on hand to welcome student veterans to the new Veterans Resource Center. Also pictured are Vet Corps Navigators (and VCAS advisors) Tim McPharlin, far left, and Josh Vance, far right.

Less than four months after the college announced a major grant to help create a Veterans Resource Center, that center held its first public event to welcome student veterans and other members of the college community.

“This is a major milestone for the campus community as we pull together all the resources we have for veterans for their personal, financial, and educational success,” said Dean of Student Success & Retention Matthew Rygg as he greeted guests to the center’s open house, held March 11.

Clark College Bob Knight called the opening of the Veterans Resource Center “a proud day for Clark College.”

“As a vet myself, it is a proud day for Clark College to be opening a resource center for our student veterans,” said Clark College President Bob Knight, who served more than two decades in the U.S. Army. “To have a space where they can sit and meet with each other and get help and counseling is just a little of what we can do and should do for our veterans.”

Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Belden spoke in gratitude of the donors who had made the center possible. These include Jane Hagelstein, a longtime supporter of Clark’s student veteran community who donated $48,000 to help construct and furnish the center; the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, which donated $30,000 in November to help hire and train staff at the center; and other individual donors who wish to remain anonymous. Belden also thanked Clark College Foundation for its support in making the center a reality.

Tucked into a quiet corner of Gaiser Hall’s second floor, the center is not yet complete–there is more furniture and decor in the works, and the college is still in the process of hiring a staff person to run it. But already it offers student veterans a host of amenities. A comfortable couch sits near a bank of computers available for research and paper-writing; private offices allow student veterans to discuss their educational and personal needs in confidentiality. An American flag stands by the doorway.

Clark College Veterans Club and Associated Students president Megan O’Malley thanks Jane Hagelstein, whose donation helped make the Veterans Resource Center possible.

“For me personally, a lot of it is just having that quiet space that [veterans] can come to where they don’t have to fight for a computer and where they can feel comfortable,” said Megan O’Malley, who is currently serving in the Army National Guard and is president of the Clark College Veterans Club and Associated Students.

About 700 veterans enroll at Clark College every quarter, about 500 of whom use GI Bill benefits to help pay for tuition, fees, housing, books and supplies. They often face unique challenges when they enter college–everything from managing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to navigating the sometimes complex paperwork involved in accessing military benefits. And then there are the not-so-unique challenges, like time management and financial instability. The Veterans Resource Center provides veterans with guidance and help for all of those things in one welcoming, centralized location.

“It’s our way of extending a helping hand to our vets and showing that the community they experienced while in the military is still available to them now that they’re out,” said Clark student Josh Vance. Vance, who served 10 years in the Air Force, now works as one of two Vet Corps Navigators in the center, helping veterans connect with services both inside and outside the college. Additionally, the center houses two full-time staff members who previously worked in the Office of Financial Aid; they are charged with helping veterans (as well as their qualifying dependents) access, understand, and comply with their GI Bill benefits. Six work-study employees also work in the center, supporting the staff and helping  student veterans with questions. All the center’s work-study students and most of its staff are veterans or active service members themselves, helping to create a comfortable and supportive environment for student veterans.

Student veteran Killian Hough and her service dog, Chekov, visit with Veterans Affairs Program Manager Michael Gibson at the Veterans Resource Center open house.

Killian Hough, a quiet woman whose service dog bears a sergeant’s stripes, came to check out the center after reading about it in her student email. She said she would return, and thought the center was a good step toward serving veterans at the college. “It shows that they’re considering veterans, having a place where we can have our thoughts, separate from all the kids,” said Hough, who served in the Air Force during Operation Desert Storm and currently serves in the Army National Guard. “A lot of us, both young and old, we’ve been through a lot, and sometimes we kind of think differently.”

The Veterans Resource Center is located in Gaiser Hall room 216. Its current hours during the regular academic year are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Hours are reduced during breaks in the academic year. Certifying officials are available 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The center’s main phone line is 360-992-2073.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley. For more photos from this event, visit our Flickr set.

Clark College Independent 2014 winter quarter staff include, left to right Caitlin Calsbeek, Emma Fletcher, Cloe Beck, Aleksi Lepisto, Kyle Souvenir, Tra Friesen, Kenneth Zummach, Tyler Urke, Robert Berman, Ryan Rutledge, Brody Voge, Tyler “Charle” Brown, Evan “Smiles” Jones, Alejandra Magallanes, Ester Manea and Bradley York. Photo: The Independent/Bradley York

Clark College students who publish the print and online editions of The Independent captured two national awards at the Associated Collegiate Press 30th annual National College Journalism Convention, held Feb. 27-March 2 in San Diego.

In addition to attending more than 72 workshops and training sessions while at the convention, The Independent staff won third place in a “Best of Show” competition among more than 30 community colleges from across the country that publish weekly newspapers. The Clark College student staff also captured 10th place among large schools — both community colleges and four-year institutions — that produce news websites.

This was the first award for The Independent‘s online publication, said Clark journalism instructor Dee Anne Finken, who advises the student staff. She said the acknowledgement is evidence the student staff’s digital-first emphasis is working, and noted that the staff’s success in the print category was a step up from last year, when Clark students finished seventh at ACP.

Finken and adjunct instructor Jeff Bunch accompanied the 12 students who attended the three-day conference, which also included workshops on everything from the basics of newswriting to the future of journalism in the digital age, each led by experts in the field. Other workshops featured faculty from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University and the Poynter Institute along with New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan.

Editor-in-chief Aleksi Lepisto said Clark students are committed to publishing a high-quality news product and will continue to work hard to do even better next year. “If we do good work, people will see it,” Lepisto said.

Lepisto said the issue the staff submitted in the “Best of Show” judging featured a solid representation of the quality coverage for which The Independent staff has become known. It included a feature story about a Clark anthropology instructor who is also a ghost hunter and archeologist; a look at some of the issues faced by the growing blind student population at Clark; a commentary about a lack of political awareness among students; and an update on the popularity of the food carts on campus.

Finken and Lepisto said they were grateful for support from the Associated Students of Clark College, which helped fund the trip.

Finken noted that student news teams are in a similar situation as professional news outlets when it comes to figuring out best practices for operating in the rapidly evolving news landscape.

“It’s challenging right now,” Finken said. “We have one foot in developing the fundamentals, but we also have to look ahead to develop more ways of storytelling and delivering the news. But we are up for the challenge.”

In addition to Lepisto, Finken and Bunch, the following student staff members represented The Independent at the conference: Esther Manea, Emma Fletcher, Tyler Urke, Tyler “Charlie” Brown, Tra Friesen, Nate Nienaber, Alejandra Magallanes, Kenneth Zummach, Brody Voge, Ryan Rutledge, and Robert Berman.

Other staff members are Caitlin Calsbeek, Evan Jones, Daniel Hampton, Bradley York, Cloe Beck, Killian Bailey, Boyd Lainhart, Kyle Souvenir and Kait Terrel.

Independent staff contributed this article.

Monday, March 3, four Clark College Bookstore employees visited Crestline Elementary School’s temporary location, which was created after the school was destroyed in a fire last year. Their mission: To distribute to the school’s kindergarten and first-grade students the 190 copies of the Dr. Seuss classic One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish that the Bookstore had gathered through its annual Seuss-a-Palooza book drive. They also read the book aloud to classrooms as part of Read Across America Day.

“The best part of the event is always seeing the look on the children’s faces when you hand them a book and tell them that it is their very own to keep and take home to share with their family and friends,” said Bookstore buyer Kaina Barba, who visited Crestline with his colleagues Michael Owenby, Ashley Anderson, and Michal Neubauer. Indeed, many children gasped when they received their books, peppering the Bookstore staff with questions like “how did you get all these books here?” and “I really get to take this book home?”

“The children were absolutely thrilled to receive books of their own,” said Crestline Budget Secretary Lori Boyd. “Many of our students come from homes where there is not extra money to purchase books, and having their very own, brand-new book to keep is a special treat.”

In addition to the Bookstore’s Crestline visit, 56 Clark students participated in Read Across America Day by reading to children at Harney and Fruit Valley elementary schools through Clark’s Volunteer & Service Learning program.

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Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

WSUV’s Butch T. Cougar and Clark’s own Oswald the Penguin, as well as volunteers and Student Ambassadors from Clark College, were on hand to greet guests at College Goal Washington. Photo: Matthew Hunt/Doghouse Graphics.

On January 26, Clark College hosted a College Goal Washington event in Gaiser Student Center, attracting approximately 250 guests–more than any other such event in Southwest Washington.

College Goal Washington (also called “College Goal Sunday”) is a state-based volunteer program that provides free information and assistance to students and families who are applying for financial aid for post-secondary education. Financial aid specialists from both Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver were on hand to help families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Volunteers were able to provide assistance in both Spanish and Russian, as well as in English.

The afternoon-long event included three break-out sessions: “Getting to College & Succeeding,” “Financial Aid 101,” and “Scholarships.” Translation into Spanish and Russian was also provided for these sessions.

Financial Aid Program Coordinator Kendra Graham contributed this article.

Clark paralegal student Letisia Ford, left, introduced Professor Debi Jenkins at the 2014 winter quarter Faculty Speaker Series presentation.

Most large workplaces today have made some efforts toward encouraging diversity: a training session here, an “awareness day” there. But, as Early Childhood Education and Psychology professor Debi Jenkins argued passionately in her winter quarter Faculty Speaker Series presentation, truly fostering diversity requires a daily commitment by all members of the workforce, not just a once-a-year activity attended by a few.

“The question to ask is: How does the workplace nurture the souls of its diverse employees?” Jenkins said during her lecture, which was held February 13 in the Ellis Dunn Community Room on Clark College’s main campus. More than 40 people were in attendance, including college administration, faculty, staff, and students, as well as members of the larger community.

Appropriately enough, given Jenkins’s topic, she was introduced by a student who came to Jenkins for mentorship at a moment of crisis. Clark College paralegal student Letisia Ford said she first met Jenkins when Ford was referred to her by another professor after experiencing prejudice from her classmates. “I was called certain names, I’ve been singled out and called ‘ghetto,’ and I’ve been told I need to learn how to ‘speak like an American,'” said Ford, who is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Ford said Jenkins was able to offer her empathy, advice–and courage. “She challenged me to not give up,” said Ford. “She gave me the tools to be able to be positive.”

Prof. Jenkins brought in items from her own family’s Kwanzaa altar to help illustrate her presentation.

It was a fit introduction for Jenkins’s own presentation. Titled “Habari gani?: Support for a diverse workforce through communities of practice,” it synthesized research Jenkins is conducting on diverse employees’ experiences in the workplace. Habari gani is Swahili for ‘What’s happening?,’ a question posed by village elders to younger community members as a way to gauge how they were feeling. “They had the responsibility for the soul of the community,” Jenkins said of these elders, who were called the habari gani menta (“people who ask what’s happening”) but today would probably be called mentors.

Habari gani is also the call that begins each day of the African-American holiday Kwanzaa, and Jenkins used the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa to organize her findings and recommendations. She presented both research on academic literature about challenges experienced by diverse employees as well as direct quotes from anonymous employees of diverse population groups whom she’d interviewed. The results were sobering: employees who felt their employers were constantly watching them, waiting for them to fail–or, as one interviewee put it,  to “steal staples.” Others complained of feeling like their abilities and contributions were minimized by their supervisors, or of feeling completely isolated at their workplace.

The remedy, Jenkins said, was to use the habari gani menta mindset at work, reaching out to diverse employees to ensure they felt both understood and valued. As Jenkins explained, this approach makes everyone responsible for creating a workplace that welcomes diversity–but also lets those diverse employees have an active role in how that happens.

Jenkins cautioned members of dominant groups against the urge to try to position themselves as the “expert” when talking with diverse employees. “‘Oh, my cousin dates a black person,'” she said by way of example. “‘Oh, my cousin dates a lesbian.’ That’s great. [But] we members of diverse groups don’t know what our response is supposed to be to that.”

Better to accept the position of listener, Jenkins counseled, and to ask questions about those diverse employees’ own experiences and viewpoints–and really listen to the answers provided.

Jenkins also urged her listeners to ask themselves questions about what their own individual role was in fostering diversity in their workplace, and what they were doing currently to help foster diversity. “If you have to think about, ‘Hmm, what do I do?’ then you’re probably not doing enough,” she said.

Jenkins, who serves as division chair of Behavioral Sciences and head of the Early Childhood Education Department at Clark College, was presenting research that was part of her doctoral thesis in Higher Education Administration, which she plans to complete next year at Phoenix University in Arizona. Jenkins already holds a Master of Science degree in Psychology from that institution, as well as an Associate in Applied Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Clark College and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. In addition, she is founder of Share the Flame, an organization that offers strategies for personal growth and change through one-on-one coaching, workshops and presentations. In 2009, she received the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award for Clark County.

Established by Clark College with support from the Clark College Foundation, the Clark College Faculty Speaker Series honors individual faculty members and celebrates academic excellence. The series showcases recent experiences that have enriched both the life and teaching of a Clark faculty member. Faculty members share their developmental experiences with the college community–and with members of the community at large–while addressing some of today’s most intriguing issues. Visit Clark’s website for more information about both past and upcoming Faculty Speaker Series presentations.

Photos: Clark College/Hannah Erickson