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College receives Governor's Award for GST Program

At the November conference for workforce educators in Washington State, the Automotive Training and Career Opportunities Partnership (ATCOP) at Shoreline Community College received the Governor’s Award for Best Practices in workforce development.  The College’s General Service Technician (GST) training program received this honor awarded by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTB).  WTB recognizes local and regional agencies, organizations, and community and technical colleges for their leadership and excellence in developing programs and achieving results to advance issues in workforce development.  There were 21 projects nominated for this award, with six programs selected to receive the Governor’s Award.  (Photo: President Lee Lambert, GST graduate, Jesus Jasso and Toyota District Sales Representative, Aaron  Helenihi accept the award.)

“We are recognizing the entrepreneurial culture that is essential to workforce development efforts,” said WTB Board Chair, David Harrison. “We looked for programs that are innovative, replicable, and transferable – the key elements of a best practice.”

The General Service Technician program was initially developed in 2004 through funding received by the U.S. Department of Labor.   The program is an entry-level automotive technician curriculum which can be nationally disseminated among secondary schools and Job Corps Centers.  In addition, the program was recognized for providing GST training to students with limited English proficiency, out-of-school youth and dislocated workers.  ESL and ABE instructors work side-by-side with the automotive instructors to ensure student success, and students experience paid internships.  Students who complete the 45-credit, industry-certified automotive curriculum, earn a Certificate of Proficiency and move easily into entry-level positions as general service technicians, making livable salaries.  The GST program is a public/private partnership effort with Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

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Students thank community at SCC Foundation's 10th Annual Student Success Campaign Community Breakfast      

On November 8, 2007, three students stood before a group of community members, business leaders and SCC faculty and staff  and thanked them for making it possible for them to go to college.   Samson Getachew, Jerimiah Rice and Tami Barron all found help from the Shoreline Community College Foundation.  They shared their personal stories at the SCC Foundation's 10th Annual Student Success Campaign Community Breakfast.  (Photo: Samson Getachew, Jerimiah Rice, President Lambert and Tami Barron at the Student Success Campaign Community Breakfast.)

Jerimiah Rice left high school in Churdan, Iowa at the beginning of his junior year in order to start working.  He had educational aspirations, however, and earned his GED in 2000.  When he moved to the Seattle area in 2001, he found work as a sheet metal worker and two years later, began studying at Shoreline CC.  In the spring of 2007, the company he worked for went out of business and Jerimiah found himself ineligible to receive unemployment benefits because he was a student. He also found that his financial aid eligibility was nearing an end.  He was within one year of completing his degree and did not want to quit.  Thanks to the Continuing Education, the Merit, and the Dr. Bill Johnson scholarships. Jerimiah will complete his transfer degree and graduate this spring.  He plans to go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, and later, a graduate degree.  After completing his education, he plans to go on to do research and to eventually teach.

When Samson' Getachew's father was a young boy in Ethiopia, he earned money by renting his bike to other kids.  He believed in making his own way, and later opened his own auto repair business.  "He became my inspiration," says Samson.  In 2006, Samson was the first student to graduate from the General Service Technician (GST) Program at SCC.  The 24 year-old had been taking math and English classes at SCC when he learned about the automotive training program that was developed for students who might not have access to this type of training, including at-risk youth and those with limited English proficiency and Adult Basic Education skills. He excelled in the GST program and his instructors encouraged him to stay in school and enter one of the College’s factory-sponsored automotive training programs.  If it weren't for the help he found at the SCC Foundation, he would not have been able to enroll in the program.  Samson is completing his internship at Lexus of Bellevue and will have a full-time job there upon graduation in June.  He plans to someday open his own engine repair shop - in his father's footsteps.  Samson will graduate from the two-year program this spring.

It takes Tami Barron three to four hours a day to commute to and from Shoreline Community College where she is completing her AAS degree in Dental Hygiene.  Tami takes seven courses each quarter, and by the time she gets home in the evening, her day calculates into a long 13 to 14 hours.  Once home, she moves into her role as a single mom of three.  Tami doesn't complain about the long days, however.  She is just grateful that there are people out there who care about her and want her to succeed.  Tami graduated from Green River Community College with high honors and an AAS degree before enrolling in the Dental Hygiene program at Shoreline CC last year.  Tami will graduate in June.

Each year the SCC Foundation helps more than 200 students with scholarships, grants and no-interest loans to help pay for tuition, books, childcare and other expenses.  The scholarship funds help deflect the escalating costs of higher education and the difficulties created by students juggling work and family obligations while completing their education.  Approximately $33,000 was raised at this year's main fundraiser for direct aid to our students. 

If you would like to support the future of young men and women through education, please contact the Shoreline Community College Foundation at 206.546.4755 or email Lynn Yaw at lyaw@shoreline.edu. 

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SCC supports Word AIDS Day
During the week of December 3rd, students, faculty and staff at Shoreline Community College wore red ribbons in support of World AIDS Day.  The Advising and Counseling Center sponsored the awareness outreach activity and faculty members and staff passed them out to students and colleagues.  Counselor Nancy Field pins a ribbon on colleague, Angela Hughes.

"This is a small contribution to this world issue, but every little bit helps in the fight against HIV/AIDS," says Yvonne Terrell-Powell, dean, Advising and Counseling Services. 

Last year, Terrell-Powell, Multicultural Studies instructor and Black Student Union and African Student Club advisor, Ernest Johnson, and a group of African American students and staff developed a year-long awareness program.  This outreach is the first activity for the 2007-08 academic year. 

Johnson is one of several faculty members to talk to his students about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the impacts on the African and African American populations.  Science Academic Advisor Joyce Fagel worked with pre-medical sciences students to pass the ribbons out across campus and members of the Black Student Union and the African Student Club distributed the ribbons across campus and in their own communities. 

Started on December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day was identified as a time for a worldwide effort to increase awareness, fight prejudice, improve education and raise money.  It has been reported that approximately 33.2 million people globally are living with HIV today (www.cdc.gov/hiv/topic, www.istandwithmagic.com, www.imcworldwide.com). In the US, over 1 million people are living with HIV.

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Leaders in the Classroom
Joe Borich, Executive Director of Washington State China Relations Council talks to students about China-U.S. economic relations
The Executive Director of the WA State China Relations Council (WSCTC) Joe Borich spoke to a packed classroom at Shoreline Community College on November 27th.  Mr. Borich spoke about the transformation of China, its current economic status, and the effects of this nation on world economics. 

Borich shared 25 years of political and economic history. Governance is much more open today and interest groups influence government policy according to Borich.  With business and industry growing exponentially, peasants have migrated to the cities.  "From 1992-2000, 100 million peasants moved into cities," he said.  "By 2020, China will be the second largest economy."  Borich said that China has made more economic progress than any country in history, but that few of its residents reap the benefits.  By the end of the year, China will export more goods than the U.S., Borich said.  He also said that China imports more from the U.S. than any other country -- $1.6 billion, up more than 250 percent since 2000.  The WSCRC is working to balance the state's global trade

Prior to his current position, Borich was a Foreign Service Officer.  He entered the Foreign Service in 1972 and was closely associated with the China field throughout most of his career, serving under every president from Nixon to Clinton in a China-related capacity. His last assignment was as Consul General in Shanghai from October 1994 through June 1997; he previously helped open this Consulate General in 1980.  He also served as Director of the Taiwan Coordination staff in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Department of State, and prior to that as the last Deputy Chief of Mission in the former U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu.

The Washington State China Relations Council, which was founded in 1979 following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, is a non-profit business association dedicated to promoting stronger commercial, educational, and cultural relations between the state of Washington and the People's Republic of China. The Council represents over 150 Washington companies and provides trade support and information to many of Washington State's leading corporations.
This lecture is being presented by International Programs as part of International Education Week.

The lecture was sponsored by International Programs at the College and the Public Information Office.

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SCC women's volleyball team competes in Peru
The Shoreline Community College Women's Volleyball team traveled to Lima, Peru at the end of August to participate in the Regattis International Club tournament, an invitational tournament that brings together the best youth players in the country.  SCC coach and former Peruvian national team player, Raquel Chumpitaz-West took the team to her hometown where they competed against the Peruvian Youth National Team and several other clubs from the area.  Enrique Briceno, a former assistant coach for the 1988 Seoul Olympic team provided daily instruction for the team. The SCC women’s team took third place at the tournament.

"This was a great experience for our team to play against some of the best volleyball players in the country," said Coach Chumpitaz-West.  "This was also an opportunity for these women to learn about a different culture and how the youth of Peru get involved in volleyball at an early age." 

Funds for this trip were raised by the team by operating the Shoreline Community College Summer Volleyball camps. 

West took the team to Peru to compete in order to establish a solid pre-season foundation and to provide a cultural experience for the SCC team.  In years past she has taken the team to Peru and to Spain. 

Several former SCC volleyball players are now competing at four-year universities around the country.  Former Shoreline player, Natalia Owens, went on to play at WSU and was named MVP in the northern region of the NWAACC.  Yulissa Zamudio, who will play on the SCC team this season, is on the Peruvian National Team and will compete in Spain next month.  She has received All-American honors twice.

Coach West played for the Peruvian National and Olympic teams for eight years as a setter middle blocker.  She was dubbed by the press "Golden Fingers" at the 1981 World Championships in Mexico City and is a two-time World Champion Silver Medalist.  West was named MVP of the Professional League in Spain in 1989 and an All-Star Athlete in the Italian Professional League in the early 1990s.  She is a member of the "Hall of Fame" in Lima, and her name is prominently placed on the stadium there.  She is very well known across the country.

West and her husband, Mark, have co-coached at Shoreline Community College for 10 years. 

The SCC team has gone to the regional tournament seven times in that 10 year period, taking first place in 2001 and second place in 2002.  This was the first time that any SCC sports team finished that high in NWAACC tournament play.  The Women’s Volleyball schedule can be found at www.shoreline.edu/athletics.  

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CEO's Cindy Mix and team win Gay Softball World Series
Cindy Mix, program manager, Career Education Options Program, and her softball team, the Luna Chix, recently won the 2007 Gay Softball World Series in Phoenix.  Mix, who is a catcher for the team, just completed her first year as coach and is very pleased with the commitment by the team.  

"We outscored our opponents 124 to 18 -- that's really something for slow pitch softball.  We had exceptional defense and timely hitting and great pitching," says Mix. 

The team went undefeated in league play this year under Mix's coaching, winning the Women's D Division before going to the series playoffs. 

Mix says the team ranges in age from 24 to 49; Mix is the oldest player.  The players have very diverse backgrounds -- chefs, construction workers, EMTs and social workers.  All players participated in fundraising to raise the necessary $5000 to cover their expenses in Phoenix."

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SCC Hires New Head Coach for Women’s Basketball Team
Derek Witt has accepted the position as the head women’s basketball coach at Shoreline Community College.  He began recruiting for the Shoreline CC 2007-08 team in July.

Witt leaves Peninsula College in Port Angeles, where he was head women’s basketball coach for the 2005-06 season.  The Pirates won the north division NWAACC title in 2003-04 when Witt was the men’s basketball team assistant coach; the team went 14-2, 23-7 that year.   Witt was an associate men’s coach at Moberly Community College in Missouri in 2004—05, where he recruited seven student athletes on a team that was runner up in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) national tournament.  He also coached at other community colleges and at the high school level.  Witt has nearly 10 years as an assistant men’s coach, four of them in the NWAACC.    

During his career, Witt has been named the AHSAA (Alabama High School Athletic Association) Coach of the Year, the NWAACC Coach of the Year, the NJCAA National Coach of the Year, and the Region 6 Coach of the Year.   

As a recruiter, Witt has seen 13 players earn NCAA D1 scholarships, nine NCAA D2 scholarships, and six earning N.A.I.A. scholarships.  Currently, nine out of ten players at Peninsula are receiving scholarship opportunities.

Witt earned a bachelor’s degree in health/physical education from Americus University and attended Central Missouri State and Oglethorpe universities.

The Shoreline CC women’s basketball season begins with the women’s Dolphin team competing in the Turkey Shootout November 16-18th.  They go up against Douglas College from New Westminster, British Columbia, at 6 p.m., Saturday, December 1, 2007. n

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