Root, Root, Root for the Graduates!
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Summer Quarter Update • July 14, 2017 “Tonight we celebrated an amazing class of South students who have opened the door to their future in pursuit of fulfilling, family-supporting careers. I admire our graduates for their dedication, and thank the important people in their lives - family, friends, instructors and allies - for supporting them every step of the way.” - South Seattle College President Gary Oertli Root, Root, Root for the Graduates! Celebrating the Class of 2017 at Safeco Field Forget grand slams, it was our graduates that brought the crowd to its feet at the “Empowered to Achieve” Commencement Ceremony on June 16, the first combined Seattle Colleges’ graduation at Safeco Field. Gathering at the first base line, the night brought together graduates from South Seattle College, Seattle Central College, North Seattle College, and the Seattle Vocational Institute. Over 900 South graduates were celebrated, with over 300 attending the ceremony. Many thanks go out to the graduation committee and volunteers for helping coordinate such a memorable night for our graduates, and thanks to those who attended and cheered our amazing students on. Page 2 Class of 2017 Student government president Jacky Tran delivering one of four student commencement addresses at the “Empowered to Achieve” Commencement Ceremony on June 16. View more graduation photography in our Commencement Gallery or by exploring our photo albums on Facebook. Page 3 Service Awards Celebrate Over 1000 Years of Working at South! Representing an astounding 1330 years of service, 100 employees were honored at South Seattle College Service Awards on May 24. The annual event celebrates staff and faculty service milestones within the Seattle Colleges District, with service awards ranging from 5 to 45 years. Congratulations to you all! 10 YEARS Marilyn Anderson-Burt Gene Baker Vanessa Calonzo William Castillo Danielle Ingels Anne Joiner Janet Kapp 5 YEARS Laura Kingston Shan-E-Zahra Alavi Kimberly Kopetz-Buttleman Anton Amaratunge Kali Kuwada Stanislav Asaturov My-Dung Le James Bentley Susan Longstreth Daylene Boehm 5 Years Dione Mack Ocie Brown Sol Mendez Jill Bruyere Brian Neely David Carter Kim Nguyen Barbara Castleton Brian Patterson Benjamin Crum Judith Reed Gregory Dempsey Jr Teklezgy Sequar Daniel Dillard, Jr Yosef Tsehay Wilder Garcia Y Garcia Maria Vera Robert Glatt Kathleen Weiss Geoffrey Hamada Douglas West Bradley Harris Reika Yoshino Kenneth Hempel Der-Ming Hsieh 10 Years 15 YEARS Hibo Isse Catrina Bailey Ethan Jordan Joseph Bosco Kathryn Levenhagen Bill Fredericks Michael Moreland Colby Keene Tanya Morning Star Darling Eric Klevstad Andrea Pollard Anita LaFranchi Paola Querzoli Heidi Lyman Leteberhan Restat Laura Molina Eileen Robison Curtis Peterson Jennifer Schill Larry Reid Tara Slemons Adela Saenz Kimberly Smith Molly Ward Emily Sprafka Coleman Jane Wainwright Terry Weber Peter Whelan 15 Years Page 4 Service Awards Celebrate Over 1000 Years of Working at South! 20 YEARS Brett Bess C. Jocelyn Brubeck Thary Khun Kim Llewelyn Kristin Lysaker Dana Owens Remedios Rullan-Millare Baxi Vu 20 Years 25 YEARS Halimah Bellows-Rockfort Douglas Collins Danica Holly Kathleen Kwilinski 25 Years Melanie Meligro Robert Schricker Servillano Tila 40 YEARS Diane King 40 Years 35 Years 35 YEARS Murray Fye 30 YEARS Judy Hall Linda Chase Brian Hughes 45 Years Steve Hilderbrand Michelle Kasim 45 YEARS Michael McCrath Allen Stowers Jihad Othman Arleen Williams Dan Sutcliffe Danelle Weston Page 5 Donor Appreciation at Friends of the College 2017 On May 15, the South Seattle College Foundation hosted the Friends of the College Celebration to acknowledge the achievements of Foundation scholarship recipients, and to honor the generous donors whose scholarships have made a profound impact on the lives of our students. Scholarship recipients were joined by friends, family members, faculty, staff and their respective scholarship donors, with whom they could share their appreciation and talk about their academic goals and achievements. The night concluded with two powerful speeches by South scholarship recipients Daniel Juarez and Chhavi Mehra (pictured right). Both spoke to the importance of education, the hurdles they overcame to get to South and what they hope to accomplish after graduation. Endowed scholarship recipient Zeynab Inaii, connects with her scholarship sponsors Jerry and Linda Hermanson. The night also honored the 2017 Alumni of the Year Award recipient, Mike Hagler (pictured above left with President Gary Oertli). Mike graduated from South’s Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) program in 1990. Since then he’s embarked on a 27-year aviation industry career that continues today in Delta Air Lines’ Tech Ops division, where he was instrumental to the creation of the Delta Aircraft Maintenance Internship Program for South students. Read what Mike had to say about his time in the industry and how he got his start at South Seattle College in the SSC News Center. Congratulations Mike, we are honored to have you as an alum! Page 6 Cheers for 13th Year! Celebrating a Scholarship Fundraising Milestone On May 22, the South Seattle College Foundation was joined by longtime college supporters, students, staff and faculty in celebrating the Foundation’s accomplishment of raising over $9 million to support the 13th Year Promise Scholarship in perpetuity at four of South’s service- area high schools: Cleveland, Rainier Beach, Chief Sealth International and, starting in 2018, West Seattle High School. The program will soon be replicated at Seattle Central College and North Seattle College thanks to additional, separate support from the City of Seattle. South Seattle College alum Ruben DeLeon spoke at the event, telling his story of graduating from Chief Sealth and getting the opportunity to attend college thanks to the 13th Year Scholarship. Today, Ruben is a senior at the University of Washington studying construction management. His story, like so many others, speaks to the impact of the 13th Year Promise Scholarship and those who have supported it. “I didn’t know how much my life would change that day I learned about the 13th Year Scholarship, and it has. It’s been the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I came here (to South), and didn’t take the scholarship for granted. I felt so much support here, from faculty and staff, and it really carried me through.” ~ Ruben DeLeon, 13th Year Promise Scholarship alumnus Page 7 Principals • Pancakes • Promise Scholarships President Gary Oertli held a March 30 breakfast meeting with Seattle Public Schools leadership and elementary, junior high and high school principals to share the history, overview and future of the 13th Year Promise Scholarship. President Oertli was joined by Foundation Executive Director Heather Foss, Vice President of Student Services Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap and Assistant Director of 13th Year Julius Moss in explaining different aspects of the program with the goal of expanding the conversation so that students, as early as elementary school, see college as reality in their future. 13th Year Promise Scholarship recipients gathered in South’s TRiO Student Success Services offices for an orientation seminar focused on college readiness on June, 27, 2017. Page 8 Expanding the Fleet: AMT Acquires Lancair Aircraft A sleek new aircraft has found a home at South! The Lancair IV/P will join the Aviation Maintenance Technology program’s seven planes and one helicopter on campus, and the five planes and one helicopter currently housed at Boeing Field (King County Airport). South first applied to receive the Lancair IV/P in October 2016, after it was announced that three aircrafts modified for the US Airforce by The Boeing Company were available as surplus. At just 25 feet long and with a 35 foot wingspan, the small ground-operational turbo-propeller Lancair will improve and upgrade all aspects of instruction, adding a fully operational turbo-propeller engine and propeller combination, cabin pressurization, a Global Positioning Satellite system, retractable landing gear, a modern, fully composite airframe structure, crew oxygen system, integrated autopilot system and a full operating instrumentation system. “Being an intern definitely increases your chances at getting hired.” Andrey Kaduchok South Aeronautical Technology Alum Delta AMT Today Aviation Maintenance Technology Program Partners with Delta Air Lines After an extensive evaluation process, Delta Air Lines has selected South Seattle College as an approved partner college in training future aviation maintenance technicians for careers with the global aviation company. Delta foresees high demand for well-trained AMT professionals in the airline industry, and selected South along with 38 other AMT programs across the nation as a training partner. South and Delta have already been working closely since 2014, when a paid internship program launched that has become a national model Delta in now replicating in other cities. Page 9 New Staff & New Positions Shan-E-Zahra Alavi Kara Schwartz Full-time Tenure Track English as a Second Language Student Success Specialist/Advising Instructor/ Basic and Transitional Studies Kara has served as a part-time advisor in the Advising Center “If you make a difference in one person you have done your for the past year and a-half as she pursues her M.Ed. in job, and that person has improved in their way of thinking then Student Development Administration at Seattle University. you have achieved your goal,” wrote Zahra Alavi’s father while She brings a strong background in student centered support she was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa. Her Peace and development through her prior work at the University Corps experience and educational background led Zahra to of Redlands as a peer advisor and residential life community apply for a fellowship to Columbia University Teacher’s College director. Kara has developed those skills more deeply and and earn her Master’s Degree in TESOL while teaching ESL in an gained a strong understanding of South’s programs and student underserved high school in the Bronx.