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Welcome to the Shoreline Community College Alumni Page.
We invite you to come back and visit campus-the landscaping and campus grounds are still as beautiful as you remember. Check out what's new, get involved and re-connect. Opportunities include enjoying performances and educational programs, athletic games, visiting the art gallery, the Ray W. Howard Library, Media and Technology Center or stop by the SCC Campus in Lake Forest Park. Come see the remodeled student union building, still known affectionately as the PUB and enjoy a cup of coffee or lunch with your friends and colleagues.
Please contact us with any questions, comments or ideas.
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Congratulations to our Alumni Drawing Winner!
Who knew that walking in commencement could win you a prize?! Members of the class of 2011 who attended the forty-seventh SCC commencement on June 5th were eligible to enter the 2011 Alumni Commencement Day Drawing. By completing a form with their contact information and dropping it off at the reception following the ceremony, graduates received their own graduation rubber duck.
Marina Hanna, who is receiving her Associate in Science from SCC, was drawn as the winner of the Alumni gift basket. The basket included an SCC long sleeve t-shirt, SCC Alumni mug, and other SCC goodies (and Dilettante Chocolates, too) courtesy of the Office OF College Advancement. Marina, who graduated with honors, will be transferring to the University of Washington where she plans to study Nerve Biology.
Congratulations Marina!
Shoreline Hosts 47th Commencement
NURSES NIGHT OUT - BIG SUCCESS!
Nearly 200 people celebrated nursing at this special evening event, Friday, May 6. The Shoreline Nursing Program has a lot to be proud of and this evening encompassed a celebration of the annual Nurses Day, the first 10-quarter nursing graduation, the 100th graduating nursing class and scholarship awards! Photos
If you were unable to attend and would like to support the SCC's Nursing Program and students, you can give online or donations can be mailed to the SCC Foundation office: Giving Options
We have a winner!
SCC graduates, who completed an alumni information card during commencement and dropped it off at the reception following the ceremony, received their own graduation rubber duck. Ying Lam however was able to take home more. Ying’s name was drawn from all entries received and was the recipient of an SCC Alumni Gift Basket. This basket came with an SCC Alumni mug and cap, SCC jacket and window decal. Also in the basket were two tickets to the September 4 Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians game plus peanuts, red vines and Crackerjack. To help get to the game? A $25 Texaco gas card!
Ying will be completing her studies here at SCC this summer and graduating with honors with an Associates in Business degree. Congratulations Ying!
Commencement 2010 rhymes with student success
Angie Carranza smiles and waves as she files out of the 2010 Shoreline Community College Commencement.
More than 500 Shoreline Community College students turned into Shoreline Community College graduates on Sunday, June 6, 2010.
Although participating in Commencement isn't required to graduate, and increasing number of students are choosing to don cap and gown and march down the aisle in an acknowledgement of their achievements.
"Commencement is always an inspiring moment," said SCC President Lee Lambert. "Many of these students overcome great obstacles, show incredible perseverance to attain their goals. When you see what they do to get an education, it just reinforces our resolve to everything we can as a college to help them."
One of those inspiring students and chosen to give the annual student address is Angela Carranza.
Carranza said that growing up in her Chicago neighborhood, she saw a number of friends die in gang-related violence and going to college was not a given. Carranza, who has been accepted to Seattle University where she will study sociology, told her story in a poem:
I grew up in a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side My life planned out for me: find a husband, be a bride Then become a mother, have a kid or two or three But changing dirty diapers - man, that wasn’t me Not a word about college was spoken in our home My father, the patriarch, ruled from his throne I was stubborn and opinionated, much to his chagrin And when we had an argument, I always fought to win I was a Latina: I should learn to iron, sew and cook And if I learned all that, then maybe I could read a book He just didn’t understand the struggle in my heart He just couldn’t see that our ideas were worlds apart And even though I loved him, I began to rebel The more he tried to silence me, the louder I would yell The world beyond our home loudly called my name A world where violence ruled and your brutality gained you fame I was completely fascinated by the chaos of the street I learned when to stay and fight and when I should retreat The leader of the gang tried to keep me from harm’s way He’d ask for my report card, shake his head, and say: “You’re too smart to stay here; your grades are really good Mija, go to college. You gotta leave the ‘hood. Don’t pretend that you’re not smart just to please some stupid guy You gotta get away from here. Tell me that you’ll try.” But I just wouldn’t listen, I was stubborn as a mule And middle of my Senior year, I said good-bye to school Still he tried to tell me that I had no future there But by then I’d seen such ugly things that I just didn’t care So he told his boys to respect me, to watch over me all the time And even though I didn’t like it, the decision wasn’t mine One after another, my friends were getting killed Another funeral to attend, another coffin filled I was out there doing things that could have gotten me shot And my poor Mami worried, cried, and prayed a lot There were many situations I didn’t think I’d survive But my Mami must have said a rosary, ‘cause Baby, I’m alive And he kept trying to protect me even when he went to jail He’d advise me when I visited, sent me letters in the mail Eventually I left the neighborhood and ended up out here I wanted to make a difference; I wanted a career I ended up at Shoreline, a school that I adore Everyone’s been so supportive, I couldn’t ask for more The people here at Shoreline have played a vital role And it’s because of all their help that I’ve achieved my goal In the Fall I’ll be majoring in Sociology at Seattle U. I never thought I’d get this far, it’s like a dream come true My dream is to work with troubled youth who need someone to care And because it’s so important, there’s a lesson I will share: It’s not all about you, hard to believe, I know! But every decision that you make will eventually come to show That every action affects someone in a positive or negative way So please be conscious of what you do each and every day And because of who he was, I can’t say his name out loud But if he could see and hear me now, I know I’ve made him proud. Copyright, Angela Carranza
I grew up in a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side
My life planned out for me: find a husband, be a bride
Then become a mother, have a kid or two or three
But changing dirty diapers - man, that wasn’t me
Not a word about college was spoken in our home
My father, the patriarch, ruled from his throne
I was stubborn and opinionated, much to his chagrin
And when we had an argument, I always fought to win
I was a Latina: I should learn to iron, sew and cook
And if I learned all that, then maybe I could read a book
He just didn’t understand the struggle in my heart
He just couldn’t see that our ideas were worlds apart
And even though I loved him, I began to rebel
The more he tried to silence me, the louder I would yell
The world beyond our home loudly called my name
A world where violence ruled and your brutality gained you fame
I was completely fascinated by the chaos of the street
I learned when to stay and fight and when I should retreat
The leader of the gang tried to keep me from harm’s way
He’d ask for my report card, shake his head, and say:
“You’re too smart to stay here; your grades are really good
Mija, go to college. You gotta leave the ‘hood.
Don’t pretend that you’re not smart just to please some stupid guy
You gotta get away from here. Tell me that you’ll try.”
But I just wouldn’t listen, I was stubborn as a mule
And middle of my Senior year, I said good-bye to school
Still he tried to tell me that I had no future there
But by then I’d seen such ugly things that I just didn’t care
So he told his boys to respect me, to watch over me all the time
And even though I didn’t like it, the decision wasn’t mine
One after another, my friends were getting killed
Another funeral to attend, another coffin filled
I was out there doing things that could have gotten me shot
And my poor Mami worried, cried, and prayed a lot
There were many situations I didn’t think I’d survive
But my Mami must have said a rosary, ‘cause Baby, I’m alive
And he kept trying to protect me even when he went to jail
He’d advise me when I visited, sent me letters in the mail
Eventually I left the neighborhood and ended up out here
I wanted to make a difference; I wanted a career
I ended up at Shoreline, a school that I adore
Everyone’s been so supportive, I couldn’t ask for more
The people here at Shoreline have played a vital role
And it’s because of all their help that I’ve achieved my goal
In the Fall I’ll be majoring in Sociology at Seattle U.
I never thought I’d get this far, it’s like a dream come true
My dream is to work with troubled youth who need someone to care
And because it’s so important, there’s a lesson I will share:
It’s not all about you, hard to believe, I know!
But every decision that you make will eventually come to show
That every action affects someone in a positive or negative way
So please be conscious of what you do each and every day
And because of who he was, I can’t say his name out loud
But if he could see and hear me now, I know I’ve made him proud.
Copyright, Angela Carranza
As she finished, the audience and other graduates gave Carranza a standing ovation.
Elizabeth Hanson, a Humanities professor, gave an equally stirring speech during the faculty address. Hanson spoke of the lessons she learned growing up in a family whose talent, she said, was "finding places for people to live."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF SCC’S GREAT SUPPORTERS!
The SCC Foundation would like to take the time to express our grateful appreciation to Professor Emerita Margaret Svec for the generous on-going financial and moral support she has provided the SCC Women’s Center, SCC Foundation, the College and our students. Margaret will be celebrating her 97th birthday on April 10, 2010 and we couldn't think of a better time to tell her story.
“My life was always about education. I always wanted women to have a chance.” Margaret Svec, Professor Emerita, English, Shoreline Community College.
A CHAT WITH MARGARET SVEC
When you ring the doorbell at her cottage house in north Seattle, Margaret Svec answers with a warm and welcoming smile. Her blue eyes sparkle as she shakes your hand and leads you into her cozy living room. Book shelves are lined with interesting titles, and frames hold photos that reveal her varied interests, such as a smiling Margaret with Ranch Romance, a local swing band that made it big in the ’80s and ’90s.
“Oh, yes, they are good friends,” the 90-something year-old said. “They helped me out during some difficult times, and I later became a groupie.”
Svec, one of the founding instructors at Shoreline Community College, leads you to the chair her calico, Tina, sits on. She tries to persuade the feline to move, but ends up pulling up another chair for you before sitting down herself.
“It’s important for women to get an education, don’t you think?” Svec asks rhetorically as she speaks about her own experiences.
As a young girl who valued her education, Svec had dismissed the thought that she would have the chance to go to college. Her mother was widowed and the two of them lived with relatives. “Not many women had the opportunity to go to college during those times,” she said of the Great Depression. But the young Svec had been encouraged by her teachers in Des Moines, Iowa, to apply for scholarships. “My high school teachers kept telling me I had to go to college,” she recalled. “They believed in me and never stopped encouraging me to get a college degree.”
Svec was blessed with an ability to write poetry that garnered lots of attention and numerous awards, including a first prize in a national high school competition in 1931, and “that was what got me to college,” she said. She received a full scholarship to Drake University, where she completed the first two years of her bachelor’s degree.
At that time only two years of education were required to teach, so Svec found herself in an elementary school in Newton, Iowa, teaching elementary science. It wasn’t English, but at least she was teaching.
When her mother remarried a man in Seattle, Svec moved with her and completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She also earned her master’s degree in English at the UW.
After completing her college education, she was anxious to get back into the classroom, but this time, a college classroom. She learned quickly, however, that women were not considered for college teaching positions. Not easily deterred, Svec wrote to the president at her alma mater asking if he might hire her, and shortly afterward, she was teaching freshman English back at her alma mater. “The president of Drake University carried one of my poems in his wallet for years,” she recalled with a fondness in her voice. She had won a poetry contest for the Chicago World’s Fair and had dedicated the award to the president of the university.
In 1941, Svec landed a teaching position at Everett Junior College, where she taught English for 15 years as one of the original faculty. “All the men had gone to war, so there were positions open for women.”
Her teaching provided a sense of accomplishment. “Year after year, I saw students succeed who might never have been able to enter or complete an education beyond high school, as they obtained an education equal and often, superior, to that in a more prestigious institution.”
In 1944, she married her love, Jerry Svec. “I went from Peck to Svec,” she said with a mischievous smile. They bought their home in north Seattle (the one she’s still in today) and in the mid-1950s, she left Everett CC to have more time at home with her husband. The 60-hour weeks had taken their toll. She then taught part-time at the University of Washington before landing a full-time job in 1964 at the then-new Shoreline Community College.
Svec was thrilled to be teaching what she loved and inspiring women to complete their education. “It was really wonderful,” she said, recalling her favorite lecture, “Racism, Sexism, Ageism and the Unholy Trinity.” Then in the mid ’70s, Svec had the opportunity to help establish a women’s center at Shoreline. The center was opened in 1978 just before she retired: “I never forgot my struggles trying to get an education. My commitment to both the community college concept and the progress of women through the Women’s Center occupied the rest of my life.”
Although she wasn’t happy when the state enforced retirement status at the age of 65, Svec found a way to continue inspiring women to get advanced degrees. Over the years, she supported the Women’s Center in many ways as a presenter (giving over 100 lectures on women’s issues), mentor advocate, donor and advisory committee member. Even after retiring, she continued to return to campus to speak on women’s issues, giving a lecture at the age of 90.
Svec was honored at a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Center in 2003. Barely visible behind the microphone, the diminutive and feisty educator brought smiles to the more than 100 people there to applaud her work. The director of the center provided copies of one of Svec’s favorite lectures, “The Making of a Friendship, Why Women Are So Good at It,” which the lecture/author has written in celebration of Women’s History Month 1988.
The Margaret Svec Endowed Scholarship generously provides tuition assistance for female students pursuing both transfer and professional technical degrees or certificates. While a number of students have received financial support from the scholarship, hundreds more have benefited from her classroom lectures or friendly conversations.
“I now hope that, as one dedicated person, in a small way I can make a big difference in the lives of women who will benefit from the quality education they will receive at Shoreline Community College through these scholarships,” she said. Margaret is also a Legacy Club member of the SCC Foundation.
Svec is celebrating her 97th Birthday this month. Happy Birthday, Margaret.
Margaret Svec is one of the founding instructors at Shoreline Community College, where she taught English from 1964 to 1978.
Article by Donna Myers, SCC Office of Advancement
ALL ACADEMIC STUDENTS EARN ADDITIONAL AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS Last fall, transfer students Ava Munson and Carol Moy were named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Washington Academic Team. Only two students are selected from each of the state’s 34 community colleges to be recognized and honored by the international honor society for their academic successes as well as their leadership accomplishments and community contributions. Munson also received the New Century Scholar Award, a first for a Shoreline student, and Moy was designated a Gold Scholar by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.
When Ava Munson arrived at Shoreline Community College in the fall of 2008, she knew she wanted more than access to an education and a high GPA. She wanted access to new ideas and varied perspectives. She wanted an environment in which she could learn more about herself and to establish a stronger personal identify.
At 18, Chung Nga (Carol) Moy already knows what she wants to do with her life – and she’s off to a good start. The petite, quiet-spoken woman came a long way to get her transfer degree at Shoreline Community College – 6,499 miles to be exact. Her father wanted her to study and work in the United States believing she would have better career opportunities here than at home,” said Moy, who was born and raised in Hong Kong.
Mike Gregoire, state VA Director John Lee and SCC President Lee Lambert (from left)
after signing an agreement designating Shoreline as a veterans friendly campus.
Shoreline Community College is officially “veterans friendly.”
“As a veteran and an Army brat, I understand the difficulty of transitioning from the team-oriented structure of the military to the less structured environment of college,” SCC President Lee Lambert told the audience before the signing. “I couldn’t be prouder of this college and the efforts to make our veterans feel welcome.”
The designation became official with the signing of a memorandum of understanding signed March 4, 2010, at the college’s 2nd Annual Veterans Roundtable. Signing the agreement were SCC President Lee Lambert, state Veterans Affairs Director John Lee and Mike Gregoire, husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire and an advocate for veterans.
“I’m very pleased to see a campus so dedicated to veterans and veterans’ issues,” Gregoire said. A Vietnam veteran, Gregoire said he was fortunate to have an older brother who’d also served there for someone to talk to about the experience.
Also a Vietnam veteran, VA Director Lee noted that the commitment of Shoreline Community College is indicative of the huge shift in public support from the Vietnam era. “I was there in 1968-69,” Lee said, adding that the reception for many returning Vietnam veterans was not supportive. “Now, whether you support the conflict or not, no one is making disparaging remarks about the men and women who are serving.”
Lee said the agreement’s designation represents more than being just friendly to veterans. “The U.S. has the best veteran’s benefits in the world,” Lee said. “They are also the most complicated.”
To help navigate those benefits, Shoreline Community College has a designated adviser, a Certifying Official, necessary for military transcript and record review as well as advising on various GI Bill benefits.
Robert Lemmons said during a panel discussion that finding that dedicated adviser was a pleasant surprise when he arrived at Shoreline to use his benefits. “They are a big help,” Lemmons said.
Panel member Emily Oelnick echoed the feeling.
“I enlisted when I was 18. I went from my mom to the Army,” Oelnick said. “When I got here, I was cut off from the support system I’d had in the Army. I didn’t know anything. The Certifying Official took care of everything, had all my paperwork ready to go.”
The agreement actually makes Shoreline a member of Partners for Veteran Supportive Campuses. As a partner campus, Shoreline will work to:
Increase awareness of veteran’s programs on- and off-campus
Provide staff members with a core set of veteran cultural competencies
Implement best practices and policies designed to foster social support, acceptance, a welcoming environment and a setting that meaningfully acknowledges the contributions of veterans
Encourage veterans to use GI Bill benefits
Help veterans succeed in higher education and training
Ensure staff and veterans have access to services through local, state and federal partners
“We want veterans to know that we are here to help them in any way,” said Kim Thompson, Director of Special Services at Shoreline Community College.
Homecoming 2010 photos
Some of you might enjoy giving a look at Funkngroove's new youtube videos captured from the Prism show a few weeks ago.
Here are the links...
"Baby Come Back"
"Shake Your Groove Thing"
"Red Hot Mama"
SCC's MLK Day Food Drive tops 25,000 lb. Goal
SCC students collect food in front of the Lake City Fred Meyer store.
Question: Can a group of Shoreline Community College students who find inspiration in the words and example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., collect 25,000 pounds of donated food in just one day?
Answer: No, they can collect 26,233 pounds in one day, add to the total the next day and then donate it all to local food banks
“Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a national day of service by Congress in 1994,” said Kaelyn Caldwell, SCC’s service-learning coordinator. “What better way to honor Dr. King than to bring a community together to help others on his day?”
The project involved putting donation sites and volunteers in front of nine participating grocery stores across the north end of King County on Monday, Jan. 18, 2010. While the project was coordinated through the Center for Service Learning, Caldwell also worked with SCC Veterans Center coordinator Jonathan Phillips and student Ava Munson, who serves in student government as Minister of Social Justice. A number of college administrators and staff also volunteered for the project.
Funding for effort came from the Dr. Ronald E. Bell Student Leadership Fund through the SCC Foundation.
“Local food banks and the people who rely on them are suffering. Demand is increasing while donations are not,” Caldwell said. Food banks in the Shoreline/North Seattle area have reported a 30 percent increase in the use of their emergency food services, she said.
The drive’s goal was ambitious, to collect 25,000 pounds of food. What seemed an audacious target at the start of the day began to look attainable as the donations piled up. After the 5:30 p.m. project close, volunteers brought the donations back to campus.
The total surprised even the most committed volunteers. “We gathered 26,233 pounds of food,” Caldwell said. “Surpassing our goal was really gratifying.”
The drive continued Tuesday, Jan. 19, at the school with more donations from students, faculty and staff. “This is a great example of what service learning is all about,” Caldwell said. “It’s taking the lessons of the classroom into the community, putting learning to work.”
All donations will be distributed to partnering food banks, including: Hopelink, the Greenwood Food Bank and North Helpline/Lake City Food Bank.
In October, 2007, the college joined Washington Campus Compact, a statewide coalition of colleges and universities to promote service learning. Washington Campus Compact has a grant from AmeriCorps*VISTA to help serve people in poverty through service learning.
SCC Jim Hills
The Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has researched the "best, most interesting, and most sought-after adult education classes and programs in the area" for the October 2009 edition
Check it out!
Shoreline Community College is listed not once, but twice in Seattle Metropolitan's 25 TOP Adult Education Classes.
http://www.seattlemet.com/issues/archives/articles/adult-education-1009/7/
Golf Tournaments Help College Connect
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Dustin Caldwell, Helen Fuiten, Tony Costa and Kim Chandler
at the Viva Hispanic Foundation NW Golf Tournament.
It may sound like fun and games, but the connections made and relationships forged and reinforced during summer charity golf tournaments are an important part of the overall efforts to connect Shoreline Community College with the partners that provide much needed support.
OK, there might have been a little fun and games, too, at two recent tournaments.
On Aug. 3, the college was well-represented in the Shoreline Breakfast Rotary Golf Tournament at the Echo Falls Country Club. On the course, the team of SCC employees Tony Costa and Jim Hills, student Dustin Caldwell and college supporter Margo Georgian held up their end by winning the mixed-team division with a score of 59, 11 under par.
The Shoreline Breakfast Rotary is an energetic group, dedicated to serving the community. More than $25,000 was raised at the tournament. The money will be used for a variety of Rotary-funded projects, including a number of college scholarships for graduating high school seniors, Polio Plus, Food Lifeline, History Day and the international exchange student program.
Just paying for the SCC team entry fee was an example of community relationships and partnering. Mark Anderson – an Edward Jones representative with an office in Richmond Beach, a former member of the SCC Foundation board and of Rotary – paid for a tournament sponsorship and then donated it to the Foundation. The SCC Foundation paid for the SCC team’s greens fees at the sponsorship’s discounted rate.
In addition, Anderson was what is known as a “hole sponsor” and spent the day raising money for the Rotary Foundation.
At another hole, SCC Trustee Shoubee Liaw and SCC Athletic Director Doug Palmer “worked the lemonade stand,” Palmer said. “We were there just to make sure the golfers had some refreshments. It was a hot day,” said Palmer, who made a sizable personal donation. He said Trustee Liaw also donated and purchased granola bars that the pair gave to hungry golfers.
“Without our community partners and supporters, the SCC Foundation’s job of supporting students and the college would be impossible,” Manchester said.
Then, on Aug. 12, another team from SCC participated in the Viva Hispanic Foundation NW Scholarship Golf Tournament, also at Echo Falls.
This time, Costa, who is the SCC golf instructor and Tutoring Services manager, was joined by Caldwelll, Kim Chandler from Technical Support Services and SCC supporter Helen Fuiten. The team won the championship with a score of 57, 13 under par, with Chandler winning the longest drive for women event. Costa won both the closest to the pin for men event and the overall putting competition.
“ …Our annual Viva Golf Tournament, which is a successful fundraiser for our organization, … promotes camaraderie and networking opportunities by bringing together a variety of professional groups and community organizations,” Abraham Gonzalez, Viva President, wrote on the group’s Web site.
Viva was formed to provide educational support and opportunities, and to promote the public good by conducting programs aimed at empowering the members of the Hispanic and other minority communities of the State of Washington. Viva has contributed $1,000 annually to the Shoreline Community College Scholarship Fund for several years.
“We will continue to strengthen our organization by provide leadership training programs for our Directors and Associates, and by forming appropriate partnerships that will result in benefiting the people of Washington State,” Gonzalez wrote.
SCC/Jim Hillsills
Rose Beattie moves from SCC Campus Theater to opera stages in Los Angeles and Rome
Los Angeles opera singer Rose Beattie was in Seattle this spring to perform as a guest soloist in Seattle Opera's Young Artist Program’s production of “A Midsummer Nights Dream.” While in town, she came to Shoreline to encourage voice students to take advantage of all the performance opportunities they have right here at Shoreline Community College – which she knows a lot about because she studied here for three years.
Rose petals
Rose Beattie was the first person in her family to attend college. Here are just a
few highlights from her career:
- Sang back-up with Michael Jackson,
Usher and U-2.
- Sang at the White House.
- Sang the national anthem at a Lakers
Game and a USC Commencement.
- Performed with the UCLA Philharmonic.
- Is a member of the Los Angeles Master
Chorale, where she earned two solos in
her first year.
- Performed the role of Mercedes in the
Los Angeles Doctor’s Symphony
production of “Carmen.”
Beattie said it was at Shoreline that she found confidence in her voice and stage presence. Even though she had had taken classical voice lessons when she was in junior high school, she said she credits Shoreline for her skills and successes. “I learned much more than the basics of singing on stage at Shoreline,” she told the students, “I learned to work hard and to believe in myself.”
Beattie urged the students to join the performing groups at Shoreline – to get as much performance under their belts as possible. “You have so many opportunities to perform here at Shoreline,” she said. “Don’t miss out! You won’t find these opportunities anywhere else.” She was not only referring to the choral and vocal groups and the annual musical and Opera Workshop Performances, but the master classes that provide another level of learning and confidence.
She spoke fondly of the Opera Workshop Performances. “I loved the scenes. I learned so much and that experience helped me grow as a performer. It was fantastic.”
Beattie also talked passionately about the support she got from her instructors. “Without Sue’s (Dolacky) help, I would never have gotten to where I am today,” she said referring to all the times Dolacky was there to help her with personal challenges. It was her instructor who helped her with the application process to transfer to the Thornton School of Music. It was Dolacky also, who was there long after “business hours” were over to provide an ear when personal challenges got the best of Beattie.
When it came time for her to apply at universities where she would complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she found another source of support at Shoreline. “I was totally clueless,” she said on what to look for, how to start the process. She found the kind of help she said her mother would have given her from Sue Dolacky. “I will be forever grateful.”
Beattie also gave the students suggestions on how to make lasting impressions when they went for auditions. "Be on time! Never, never be late for an audition. And take the time to write thank you notes afterwards. They will remember you." Beattie also suggested that the students find mentors.
Beattie went on to earn her bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from USC's Thornton School of Music, her master's from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music and her doctorate in musical arts from UCLA. She was awarded a UCLA teaching fellowship for 2005-2008 and won the UCLA Atwater Kent All Star Concerto Competition in 2007.
Honors Grad Jerimiah Rice found the intellectual stimulation he wanted in Honors Program
“Take research, work with it, discover something new.”
“This program prepared me to get the most out of my education – and my life in general.”
Jerimiah Rice is passionate about his education. The recent graduate enrolled in classes that challenged his intellect and fed his desire for knowledge and understanding. Rice was looking for thought-provoking conversations, both in and out of the classroom. When he learned about the Honors Program and the opportunity it provides for another level of intellectual exploration, he immediately enrolled.
“My psychology teacher and I would have long conversations about all kinds of interesting things,” Rice said, referring to Prof. Peter Sparks. “One day, he asked if I was interested in enrolling in the Honors Program so I looked into it and decided it was something I could really enjoy and get something out of it.”
The program had just been launched when Rice enrolled in 2006. He enjoyed the conversations led by a team of instructors that centered on the philosophical and scientific questions that have challenged generations of scholars. In those discussions, Rice found the creative stimulation that was instrumental in forming the thesis that he would present at the end of the program.
During the first quarter, Rice, an SCC scholarship recipient, was introduced to the many forms of research and the influences and perspectives that define them.
“I learned that there is no one way to look at things or approach a problem, that each situation or event is truly unique,” Rice said. He learned to consider cultural, scientific, perspective, time and many other factors. “I learned to not take anything at face value; that just because it was written didn’t always mean the truth,” Rice said.
His thesis title was heady: “Neuronal Systems of Creativity: Specifically Focused on Motivation and Problem-Solving or Cognitive Flexibility.” Behind the words was the idea to look into what happens in the brain to stimulate creativity. In the research phase of the program, Rice said he discovered the diametrical views of scientists and philosophers and scholars from different times throughout history. Through the research, Rice touched such diverse ideas as intervention of divinities, spiritual possession, madness and Sigmund Freud’s belief that creativity was the result of tension between the conscious and unconscious areas of the brain.
“I learned how to look at things in different ways – and the value of doing that,” Rice said.
One of the program highlights for Rice was the weekly one-on-one meetings with Sparks, who was his faculty mentor in the program. Rice said those conversations stretched his imagination and awareness beyond expectation. It was in those meetings, along with similar conversations with other Honors Program students, that Rice discovered the program’s value.
“I enjoyed every minute,” Rice said.
Sparks said the experiences with Rice and the other Honors Program students was a positive experience for him as well. “It was truly inspiring working with Jerimiah,” Sparks said.
Rice said he also enjoyed the camaraderie with other honors students. While the required weekly student discussions were centered on academics, there was a lighter side, too. Rice discovered that the questions and findings on which they were founding their research could be presented in not-quite-standard form: a humorous skit.
“We thought this creative approach supported the idea of the program in a new, unique way,” Rice said. “We felt like a team throughout the program and wanted to complete the project that way.”
What might have been a little risky turned out to be a good bet when Sparks embraced the effort. “The energetic team came up with a problem that needed to be solved and were able to use each of their topics together to generate the story and the solution to the problem,” Sparks said.
Currently, Rice said he’s “staying ahead of the economy” by putting his skills to work as a sheet metal worker. He plans to return to school to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology and is checking out a number of possibilities, including the University of California - San Diego. Eventually, Rice said he wants to do research and then teach.
One of the aspects that Rice didn’t expect are the lasting friendships from Shoreline and the Honors Program. On a regular basis, he and a few classmates are enjoying stimulating conversations over coffee. “I don’t see that ever ending,” Rice said.
Some assume that those driven by accomplishment and success don’t stop to smell the roses.
But Shoreline Community College graduate Emily Estep, a 4.0 GPA student in high school who slipped all the way to 3.95 in college, says au contraire, or more likely for Estep, “al contrario.”
In fact, the Shorewood High School grad had no problem at all with being the smartest kid on the block – or for that matter, the smartest kid in the Shoreline School District (which she was in 2003). She recognized early that her smarts could open avenues throughout her life and take her to the places of her dreams – like Mexico and Costa Rica – and immerse herself in a Spanish-speaking world.
“It was always Spanish for me,” said Estep, referring to her love affair with the language. She had taken Spanish since her freshman year in high school and started saving money even before that so she could someday travel to Spain, Mexico and other countries where Spanish is the mother tongue.
Graduating at the top of her high school class, Estep could have hand-picked any college in the country. However, Estep recognized the atmosphere that a community college would offer — the smaller class sizes, the clubs that provide leadership training — was a better value and that hometown Shoreline Community College had a good reputation. The strong transfer program and advanced Spanish courses made a perfect match for her goals. She was awarded an Academic Excellence Scholarship from the Shoreline Community College Foundation when she graduated from Shorewood.
At Shoreline, Estep found the diversity of students in her Spanish classes something she had not experienced in high school. Not only did the diversity provide a new level of opportunities to converse in Spanish, but the chance to talk with people who had lived in Spanish-speaking countries.
“One of them had lived in Costa Rica and it was great talking with her about that country and culture -- while practicing my Spanish,” Estep said. It was that relationship that motivated her to study in Costa Rica for two months that summer via a program through the college’s International Programs. The following summer she studied the language in Guatemala.
Estep joined the Association of Latin American Students club and found even more opportunities to master her favorite language. As the only non-Latin American in the club and the only non-native Spanish speaker; she said she found the language challenges extreme and helpful.
“I just couldn’t believe the opportunities I had right here on campus,” Estep said.
Besides Spanish, Estep also has a passion for teaching. She knew from an early age that she would someday teach, and Shoreline provided the foundational classes she could use toward a teaching degree after transferring to a four-year school. For Estep, that school was Western Washington University, where she completed her bachelor’s degree and earned a teaching certificate.
In the winter before her spring quarter student teaching assignment, Estep had another chance to immerse herself in her adopted language. This time, it included the opportunity to put her newly acquired teaching skills to the test, volunteering at a school for abandoned children in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her experience at the Movimiento de Apoyo para Menores Abandonados was life-changing and Estep says she’s grateful to have the opportunity to work with the children.
“They appreciated everything so much,” she said. While she was there to tutor, Estep said she came to realize the real value to the children was that someone was just paying attention. “I stayed after school and played with them sometimes. I will never forget them.”
While in Guadalajara, Estep also studied at the Guadalajara Language School in nearby Tlaquepaque. “It was an amazing experience,” she said. She got to know the staff well and when it was time to return to Shoreline, Estep said both she and her new friends found it difficult saying goodbye.
The experience was so good that just three days after completing her student teaching, Estep was on a plane returning to Tlaquepaque, this time to work for the language school she had studied at months earlier. For the next year, Estep worked as a program director, promoting the school’s English language program.
Although leaving Mexico proved emotional, Estep is back and ready to start a career here, teaching Spanish at Odyssey High School in the Highline School District.
“I’m so lucky to be doing exactly what I want to do,” Estep said. I’m so excited.”
Congratulations Julie!
We are happy to announce that Julie Leach's name was drawn from entries received in the 2009 Alumni Commencement Drawing. Recent graduates were eligible to enter by filling out their contact information and dropping the entry off in the SCC Foundation office starting June 2 or at the Alumni table at Commencement. The entries were put in a drawing to win their choice of a $50 gas card or a$50 Subway gift card. Julie chose the gas card and stated that it will go far with her means of transportation - a motorcycle. Julie received her GED diploma at the 2009 Commencement. Congratulations Julie!
Contact Ritva Manchester (206) 546-4755 rmanchester@shoreline.edu
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