SUMMIT Vol.2

SUMMIT O L Y M P I C

C O L L E G E

M A G A Z I N E

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S U M M E R

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Featured Donors Grants Congratulations Class of 2016

What’s Ahead

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Celebrating 20 Years, OC Shelton

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Alumni Success

VOICE OF THE PRESIDENT

I am honored to be serving my fifteenth year as the President of Olympic College. The excitement I first experienced when I joined this campus continues to inspire me today.

I am equally excited to be writing my first welcome letter in the Summit, the College’s new alumni and friends’ magazine. The Summit will share what is happening at Olympic College, ensuring that you will always feel a part of our College’s community.

Together, as a college community, our faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends have made Olympic College one of the top community colleges in the country. My role is to ensure our momentum continues and that it is channeled in ways that best serve the citizens and economy of our region.

I am committed to equity and inclusion, providing access and opportunities for all students in Kitsap and Mason counties to complete some form of higher education – a professional technical certificate and degree, transfer degree, or baccalaureate program – that will lead to successful employment. Towards that end, the College seeks the generosity of its local community

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On the cover: 2016 Olympic College Commencement; From top - 1) Patti Mitchell; Kyle Broussard, Herbert H. Goodman Professional Scholarship recipient; and Dr. David Mitchell, President, Olympic College. 2) James (Jim) Johnson, donor for the James T. and Emily S. Johnson Scholarship; Bryan Huddleston, 2013 James T. and Emily S. Johnson Scholarship recipient; Michael Huddleston, 2016 James T. and Emily S. Johnson Scholarship recipient; and Emily (Sue) Johnson scholarship donor. 3) 2016 – 2017 Robert B. Stewart Scholarship recipients with Dr. David Mitchell and John Ebert, Robert B. Stewart Trust, Trustee. 4) Greg Wheeler, Bremerton City Council member and Drayton Jackson, Martin Luther King of Kitsap County Scholarship recipient.

to support students and programs that will allow students the opportunity to secure an excellent education without leaving the region and to then use that knowledge to live, work, and serve in the community.

Design and Photo Credits:

The community’s generosity enables the College to develop strong community partnerships and fulfill its role as a cultural center for the region, enriching those we serve by creating relevant, educational options and bringing a diverse array of activities to the region.

GET INVOLVED

Thank you for your generous support of this community’s college and the students who attend here. Your support allows Olympic College to create a learning environment in which each learner is welcomed, encouraged, supported, and has the opportunity to be successful.

Gretchen Ritter, gretchen designs; Logan Westom Photography; Luke Wesson Photography; Phil Wilson, Cream Soda Films; Kimberly Long Cockroft, Red House Writers

& STAY IN TOUCH Update your information & stay up to date on what’s happening at Olympic College!

Call (360) 475-7120 or email alumni@olympic.edu

Sincerely, David C. Mitchell, Ph.D. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook

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facebook.com/ olympicalumniassociation

FEATURED

TIM RYAN CONSTRUCTION DONATES $100,000 FOR NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS Olympic College has received a $100,000 donation from the Bev and Tim Ryan family, owners of Tim Ryan Construction Inc, to establish the Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship.

The donation provides financial support for students that are currently enrolled in the College’s nursing programs. Students will be eligible for scholarships of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 each year for the next 10 years.

Ryan, whose mom was a nurse, has admired this profession and the broad impact it has for as long as he can remember.

Olympic College students, Travis Phillips, Drayton Jackson, Nic Shakley, and Jayne Barton accepting a check from Dan Ryan and Kevin Ryan to establish the Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship during the 25th Annual Bremerton St. Patrick’s Day parade.

“Nurses are one of the first people to care for us when we are born and one of the last to care for us before we die,” he says.

“They give you your first shot, fix your broken leg and care for you throughout your life. With so many needs in this world, we felt as a family that this was important because nursing impacts us all.”

Tim Ryan Construction is also known for its extensive community support, providing funding and sponsorship for more than 30 organizations in the greater Kitsap County region.

Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship recipient Ayako Shinonaga, with Associate Dean of Nursing, Geri Babbo and Katie Rose, Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship recipient.

The inaugural Ryan Family Nursing Scholarship will be awarded in June for the 2016-17 academic year. Donor scholarships are offered through the Olympic College Foundation, which provided more than $470,000 in scholarship support to Olympic College students in 2016.

“We could not be happier to be among the many organizations the Ryan family has supported through the years,” Olympic College President Dr. David Mitchell said. “These scholarships will have a lasting impact for our nursing students, many of whom are place-bound and would not have access to these programs if they were not available locally.”

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 3

DONORS

BEHIND THE DONOR: LESTER AND BETTY KRUGER

The Les and Betty Kruger Nursing Scholarships reflect their values: compassion, education, and Olympic College.

In 2006, the Krugers created a lasting legacy for students like Ruth Owen, a hardworking single mom who raised two sons before returning to school to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse. See related article on Ruth on the following page.

Betty Kruger’s story begins at Olympic College in the fall of 1948. After graduating from South Kitsap High School as class salutatorian, she was ready for new challenges. For two years, Betty attended classes and worked on the College switchboard and in the Admissions Office until she married Lester Kruger.

In the early 1960s, Betty and Les risked everything they had to buy a nearly bankrupt nursing home in Shelton. Six months of rigorous work followed as they scrubbed, painted, and updated services, bringing the nursing home up to their high standards.

Finally, they reopened it and began a life of meaningful service to Puget Sound’s elderly population.

By the late 90s, after opening four more nursing homes and building successful retirement and assisted living communities, the Krugers finally felt ready to retire themselves. But for the Krugers, stepping back from the workplace did not mean forgetting their life’s vision. They incorporated their values of compassion and education with a beloved place--Olympic College. Over the last five years, their scholarships have already profoundly impacted the lives of 38 nurses and future nurses in the Kitsap community.

Steve & Lenny Johnson; Betty Kruger and Kathy & Jack Johnson

At last year’s Foundation Donor and Scholars dinner, Betty assisted Gerri Babbo, Associate Dean of Nursing, in presenting a Shelton High School student with a full academic scholarship to Olympic College. For Betty, it was a truly wonderful moment. Thanks to the Lester and Betty Kruger Nursing Scholarships, the legacy of service will continue far into the future, touching countless lives.

2016 Kitsap Community Foundation Spirit of Philanthropy award recipient; Betty Kruger with event keynote speaker, NFL Hall of Famer and former Seattle Seahawk; Warren Moon.

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President and CEO of Liberty Bay Bank; Richard Darrow presenting the Spirit of Philanthropy award to Betty Kruger.

MOVING FORWARD: RUTH OWEN Ruth Own decided to change her life.

Ruth lived in Port Townsend, for years working hard as a single mom, pouring herself into her boys’ potential and success. But with her oldest son headed to university and her youngest close behind, she decided it was time to think critically about her own career.

A job in home health revealed a hidden passion for caring for people. The pleasure and meaning she found in that work, paired with a desire for more autonomy, moved Ruth to make a big decision: she would become a nurse. After researching several nursing programs, she chose Olympic College.

In 2010 Ruth began taking prerequisites she would need to apply to OC’s competitive nursing program. Three years later she gained admission and started classes. Now, one year from graduation, she finds the program rigorous and rewarding.

Even with family support, Ruth reflects, returning to school can be a financial burden.

Recently, Ruth received a Lester and Betty Kruger Nursing Scholarship. “It made all the difference for me,” she says. Now she has the freedom to concentrate fully on her studies and her upcoming nursing exam, which makes her excited and apprehensive.

What are Ruth’s dreams for her future? “One of the things I’ve learned is what a scourge diabetes is for so many people,” she says, noting the vital importance of good patient education. “Empowering people to feel like they are in control of their own health is my passion.” With characteristic determination and vision, she plans to share that passion with her community. “I’m thrilled to be here,” she says.

Ruth Owen

Sons of Norway Oslo Lodge 2-035 Lodge officers, Deanna Egeland Dowell, Past President; Grant Wood, Treasurer and Nancy Wood, President presenting Erik Martin, with the first Sons of Norway scholarship and Megan Martin.

CLOSED DOORS GIVE BACK TO STUDENTS Two years ago, the members of Bremerton Sons of Norway closed the doors of their lodge after more than 60 years in the same building and moved to a new location.

Although the lodge is missed, proceeds from the sale now give Olympic College students great opportunities through an endowed scholarship.

Bremerton Sons of Norway was formed in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression

by Al Blomlie, a shipyard civilian employee.

Blomlie gathered initial members by finding Norwegian names in the phone book.

By the 1940s, Bremerton was bustling—the naval shipyard expanded and the Sons of Norway bought an empty war surplus building next to a newly founded Olympic College (tuition ran students $35.00 per quarter).

old lodge] has the best dance floor in town.”

Instead of dwelling in regret, the members of the Sons of Norway contemplated the future: what should they do with the money from the sale of their beloved building?

Wood recalls asking two important questions: How can we help the community?

How can we continue to identify our presence in the community and let people know we are still here? “We thought, what better way than supporting college kids?” she says. After all, tuition is no longer $35.00 a quarter; Wood says she doesn’t know how anyone can afford college these days. The Sons of Norway met with the Olympic College Foundation to discuss how to best give, and just recently presented OC with a generous gift of $25,000 to establish an endowed scholarship for students.

“We thought, what better way than supporting college kids?”

The new lodge proved an important community fixture, not only for its active preservation of Norwegian culture (think lutefisk dinners), but by chairing war bond drives and collecting donations of food, clothing, and money. The lodge bustled with potlucks, weddings, dances, cookie sales, and many other joyful community events. The Sons of Norway also provided student scholarships and camp funds to members’ children.

But the aging, dwindling membership had to face facts, and in winter 2014, the lodge was sold and members relocated to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. “It breaks my heart,” President Nancy Wood says. “[The

“This is the first year of the scholarship,” Wood says, excitement in her voice. She says the incredible thing about the gift is that it will go on and on, helping one student after another. She recalls recently chatting with a local physical therapist. “She kept saying thank you. She told me, ‘I went all the way through Olympic college on scholarships. The fact that [Sons of Norway] could have done anything with that money and gave it to OC is amazing.’”

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 5

GRANTS

ROBINSON GRANTS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FACULTY The Jim and Audrey Robinson Teaching and Learning Innovation Grants are awarded annually to support significant, high-impact faculty professional development projects that cultivate a community of inquiry and innovation at Olympic College and contribute to student leaning and success.

A total of up to $25,000 dollars will be awarded annually and all full-time and adjunct faculty are eligible to apply. This year the recipients were Caroline Hartse, Anthropology professor, and Tim Hagan, professor of Digital Filmmaking.

“It’s amazing that the faculty will have this level of support every year from the Robinsons’ gift. Of all the ways they could have given, they chose to prioritize faculty,” says Martin Cockroft, Program Lead for the Center of Teaching & Learning, which administers the grant.

Jim Robinson, who once told a Kitsap Sun reporter that he had an “intense interest in education,” passed away in 2014. Audrey works hard to honor their joint vision of supporting excellence in teaching and learning. For the Robinsons, this grant is “not just a philanthropic passion,” Martin Cockroft notes. “It reflects a personal mission for both their families.”

YAMA PROJECT

Caroline Hartse, a Anthropology professor, received $17,000 to support the Yama Project and the Archaeology Field School.

The Yama Project and Field School centers on a late-nineteenth century and early twentieth-century Japanese immigrant village on Bainbridge Island. Yama is the bestpreserved site of its kind left from this era in the Northwest and has drawn national

2016 Yama Field School students working at the field site

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and international attention. In 2015, Olympic College began a three-year archaeological research project to document, reconstruct, and interpret life at Yama. Hartse believes that with its numerous educational benefits and community involvement, Yama truly supports OC’s mission of promoting diversity and cultural understanding.

“Research shows that investing in faculty development has a direct effect on student learning. The end product of this investment in faculty is student success,” Cockroft says.

With the Robinson Grant, Hartse anticipates that the Yama Project will expand in 2016, offering a world-class archaeology field school as it builds stronger ties and new relationships with collaborating organizations, high schools, and other community colleges. “The anthropology faculty are extremely grateful to the Robinsons for their vision to support innovation, collaborative inquiry, and student learning and success,” Hartse says.

MEISNER CERTIFICATION

Digital Filmmaking professor Timothy Hagan will receive $8,000 to support his summer enrollment in the Meisner Certificate

Japanese rice bowl found on the site during the 2015 Field School

Training Program at Willamette University.

The prestigious certification is held by department head, chairs, and professors of distinction throughout the United States. “The effectiveness of any educational program is faculty,” says Hagan, who has sought this vital training for many years. “The completion of the Meisner Teacher Certification ensures that my students are being taught the most direct and dynamic acting techniques available today.”

Hagan believes that faculty have a responsibility to be timely, relevant and conversant in their areas of expertise. “This is the first and only acting teaching certification program that I’ve been enthusiastically interested in pursuing since graduating from the Yale School of Drama, because of its compelling ability to empower our students with the dynamic tools necessary to succeed in the burgeoning digital filmmaking industry.”

Not only will the certification impact student learning, Hagan posits, but it will “greatly expand our department’s common ground of artistic collaboration and communication.”

Jim Robinson understood that education was a most worthy investment. Now Audrey is ensuring that their legacy will continue to grow in the lives of faculty and students for a long, long time.

Iron found at the site during the 2015 Field School

GRANT RECEIVED TO CREATE NEW STUDENT CENTER FOR VETERANS While visiting Olympic College in Bremerton, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) announced the college received a Department of Education (DOE) grant to create a new student center for veterans.

The three year grant for more than $300,000 will start a Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success (CEVSS) designed to boost veteran enrollment and help ensure that they complete programs to earn degrees.

The grant will hire staff to provide enhanced advising and orientation; conduct vigorous outreach; develop systems to monitor student success and ensure early follow up if students are struggling; and provide extensive staff training and professional development.

“This award is great news for the continued growth of OC as a destination for veterans and active-duty service-members,” said Kilmer.

During the announcement Olympic College also signed a biennial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs to continue their participation with the Partners for Veteran Supportive Services.

Among the things the MOU seeks to accomplish are:

• Increase awareness of veteran’s programs on and off campus

• Encourage campuses to implement best •

practices and policies to support and welcome veterans Help veterans succeed in post-secondary education and training

“The College is proud to participate in the

Partners for Veteran Supportive Services program as it strengthens our ties with other colleges in the consortium and ensures we are providing the support and services that our military veterans and their families need to be successful in their transition from the military into higher education,” OC Director of Military Education and Veteran Services Jerimiah Meyer said.

Olympic College serves a large number of veterans and dependents in Washington State. A 2014 report from the State Community and Technical College system found that OC serves the seconding highest number of veterans in Washington State’s community college system.

“It will help military members further their education and learn new trades at Olympic College. This investment reinforces how much Olympic College does for members of the military and their families by helping them transition into the next phase of their careers.”

2016

DONORS & SCHOLARS EVENT

Joe Burns, Dr. Damon Bell, Vice President for Student Services and Achievement; Kalani Burns, Page Business Scholarship and Cascade Natural Gas Scholarship recipient; Jim Page, Scholarship donor and Olympic College Board of Trustees member and Joy Page, Scholarship donor.

Diana Sullivan, OC Communications office Assistant; Student Government of Olympic College (SGOC) President and Foundation scholarship recipient, Drayton Jackson; Patti Mitchell; Dr. David Mitchell, President of Olympic College and Olympic College Board of Trustee member, Harriette Bryant.

Biella Foundation – Community & Technical College Scholarship recipients: Mariann dela Montanye, Janice Eshleman, Mary Kerdus, Nursing Professor; Meta Johnson, Dr. Anne Mullian, Nursing Professor; Monique Whack, and Betty Kawahara, all students are enrolled in the Practical Nursing program at OC.

Aurea Mitchell; John Mitchell, Chair of the Bremer Trust and scholarship donor; and Ann Peters, a Joseph and Georgina Boyles Memorial Scholarship recipient.

Audrey Robinson, Robinson Teaching and Learning Innovation Grants donor, Shawna Bliss, former OC Foundation Board of Directors member and William Harvey, former President of the OC Foundation Board of Directors and scholarship donor.

Multi-year Foundation scholarship recipient, Mawil Espino receiving a William and Janes Miles Scholarship from Shawna Bliss, Executive Assistant to the President.

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 7

CONGRATUL CLASS OF 2016

LATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS 2016 WOMAN OF ACHIEVEMENT LORI MAXIM

Lori’s voice on our board has been instrumental over the last five years. Her experience as a leader of a business has been insightful, bringing conversation back to our mission and how we accomplished it through our fiscal responsibilities. Lori is also an experienced story-teller who movingly tells the challenges and successes of our students and faculty, helping to raise awareness and support for not just the Foundation, but for Olympic College as a whole. ~ Olympic College Board President Monica Blackwood When Lori began working for the Sound Publishing in 1988, there were only three papers being published. Fast forward 27 years, the organization now produces 45 publications and Lori has been an instrumental part of the growth of the organization. As Vice President since 2000, she proudly holds the well-earned title of Senior Management Executive and oversees the success of more than 20 media profit centers/business units encompassing combined revenues in excess of 25 million dollars. She’s broken new ground and removed old barriers in the shift from traditional print media to the online/ digital model to not only the internal staff, but external customers as well. She is a role model that supervises, coaches, mentors

and motivates a team of over 100 sales representatives across 47 markets.

Lori has served the Olympic College Foundation as a board member since 2011. Her strengths in fundraising and her expansive knowledge of the community make her a considerable asset to the Board.

In 2015, Lori was the guiding force in the return of the Olympian on the Olympic College campus. She worked tirelessly to mentor the staff and students in the rebirth of a major source of communication to the college’s community across three campuses.

Today, the paper has been in production for a year and is on track to continue.

David Emmons, Executive Director, Olympic College Foundation, presenting Lori Maxim, Olympic College Foundation Board member with her YMCA Woman of Achievement award.

Other women from the Foundation and Olympic College who have been women of Achievement: IVALY ALEXANDER MOURINE ANDUIZA CYNTHIA E. AZARI MONICA BLACKWOOD DENISE BLAS HARRIETTE BRYANT BEVERLY A KINCAID MARCIA LEWIS GERI LITTLEWOOD TERESA MCDERMOTT SHANNON CHILDS MARYELLEN DIETZ STACY DORE WENDY MILES IMELDA MOORE

KAY MORGAN BARBARA PARKER MARY GARGUILE KAREN GRAY MARILEE HANSEN JOAN HANTEN, J.D. JOANNE HASELWOOD CHARLOTTE PUCCIA KATHLEEN SANFORD BARBARA STEPHENSON JULIE STEVENS ANNA HOEY-DORSEY LYNN HORTON VAL TORRENS LINDA YERGER

WE WON! We are ecstatic to announce that the Olympic College Scholarship Stories 2015 video has won the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Division VIII Gold Award for Fundraising and Alumni Relations Videos!

The Olympic College Foundation is extremely proud to partner with the Olympic College Film School for writing, directing, editing, and recording this video. View this award winning video at vimeo.com/142200736

Drayton Jackson

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Nicole Lacey

Gabriela Perez Morales

ALUMNI SUCCESS BANI M.

A Z A RI OC CLASS OF

1996 CURRENT POSITION:

Clinical Fellow, Cardiology, Yale University School of Medicine

GRADUATED OC:

1996: Running Start, graduated high school and OC at the same time

POST-OC EDUCATION:

2000: B.S., Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2009: Ph.D., Molecular & Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate School of Medicine 2011: M.D., State University of New York

HONORS AND AWARDS:

National Dean’s lists; Howard Hughes Summer Research Fellowships; Young Investigator award from the XXII Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis; SUNY Excellence in Medical Student Teaching award; Academic Excellence Award, MIT Office of Minority Education.

SAMPLE PRESENTATIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS:

“Silencing of the F11R gene reveals a role for F11R/JAM-A in the migration of inflamed vascular smooth muscle cells in atherosclerosis.” Atherosclerosis. 2010, 212(1):197-205.

American Society of Hematology 52nd Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, “Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A/ F11 Receptor (JAM-A/ F11R) Is a Novel Biomarker and a Potential Treatment Target In Multiple Myeloma Tumor and Its Microvascular Milieu.”

FAMILY: Husband, Mike More; two sons, Enzo and Ali.

IN HER SPARE TIME:

Nearly all of Bani’s free time is devoted to family; but concerts and museums are also on their entertainment list.

QUOTE: “Before my first term at MIT I took my syllabi and textbooks to the science professors and was able to place out of about a semester’s worth of work. It was great, because I ended up having more flexibility in college and I graduated a semester early–saving $18,000 then.”

MITRA M.

ESKANDARI-

AZ AR I OC CLASS OF 1999 CURRENT POSITION: Associate General Counsel, West Coast Law Department, CBS Network

GRADUATED OC: 1999: Running Start, graduated Central Kitsap High School at same time as Olympic

POST-OC EDUCATION: 2002: B.A., Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, cum laude, Dean’s list 2006: J.D., U. of California, Berkeley School of Law, Intellectual property specialty

SAMPLE PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Emerging Trends in the Digital Space, Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association, 2015 Spring Seminar.

Second Life’s Real-World Effect on the Future of Intellectual Property Litigation, Intellectual Property Today.

A Virtual Can of Worms, Los Angeles Daily Journal.

HONORS AND AWARDS: Member of the California Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association Inner City Law Center, Kids in need of defense, New Leaders Counsel : 2013 Fellow.

FAMILY: Husband, Thomas Robinett; two daughters, Aysa and Souri.

IN HER SPARE TIME: Mitra has always been a TV and movie buff. What are the five movies she can’t help but watch whenever they are on? Rocky, The Godfather, Star Wars: a New Hope, Bringing up Baby, and Kung Fu Hustle. She loves attending the screenings of movies every week on the CBS lot for all employees.

QUOTE: “Being a math tutor at OC taught me how valuable it is to believe in yourself; most of my students suffered from a lack of confidence, not ability.”

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 11

BEST HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: JIM SUND, NORTH KITSAP AUTO REBUILD, INC.

WASTE WISE @ WORK BUSINESS OF THE YEAR CHRISTOPHER PLEMMONS, CHEF INSTRUCTOR OLYMPIC COLLEGE Food waste is the single largest component of common household trash, and in turn feeds our landfills.

This school year the Chef Instructor at Olympic College took a stand against food waste and implemented preconsumer food waste recycling in the culinary arts kitchen.

Chef Plemmons led this program and is now sending around 800 pounds of pre-consumer food waste per month to a local composting facility.

Congratulations to Chef Plemmons on receiving the Waste Wise @ Work Business of the Year award from the 2016 Solid Waste Division Earth Day Awards.

The student chefs at Olympic College now have first-hand experience with pre-consumer food waste recycling that they can utilize in their future careers.

Since 1996, Jim Sund has owned and operated North Kitsap Auto Rebuild.

He developed this award-winning business to meet the highest measures in both collision repair and environmental standards. North Kitsap Auto Rebuild has earned the highest level of EnviroStars certification and achieved “five-star” certification requirements for hazardous waste management and pollution prevention.

Since the selection of this award, Jim has sold the business and now spends his time serving on multiple boards, including sitting as the President of the Olympic College Foundation.

ASPEN PRIZE WINNER & NOMINEE The Aspen Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s preeminent recognition of high achievement and performance in America’s community colleges. Olympic College is consistently ranked in the top 150, reaching the top 10 in 2014-15. The college is once again in the top 150 and in the running for top ten recognition in 2016-17.

The Prize assesses community colleges’ achievements in four areas: • Completion • Labor Market • Learning • Equity In order to be considered for top ten recognition and a share of the $1 million grand prize, colleges must complete a rigorous application process. For colleges that reach the top ten, additional applications and interviews with Aspen Prize representatives are conducted. In 2015, Olympic College was selected as a finalist because: • Steadily improving retention of some of the least academically prepared students (retention rate 57%compared to 52% nationally) • Close ties with local industry reflected in dozens of programs in skilled trades, from which 90% of students complete and 100% are placed in jobs.

• Strong, well-established pathways to a bachelor’s degree, including a collaborative engineering program at Olympic College in Bremerton.

During the 2016 application cycle, we will highlight our continued success and improvement in the four areas of focus, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

WHAT’S AHEAD GROWING BREMERTON’S CAMPUS When completed in 2017, the College Instruction Center (CIC) will provide a new home for OC’s art, music and theater programs. The CIC will also provide space for the College’s Physical Therapy program, nursing programs, simulation labs, and active learning classrooms.

This 70,000 square-foot facility includes a 276-seat theatre that will attract the

community to our OC Alumni Association Lecture Series for events like the Olympic Jazz Classic, Bremerton Symphony and youth orchestra performances.

The project includes extensive site work that will improve traffic in the busy Warren Avenue corridor, and provides enhanced transit access via an on-campus bus turnaround.

Open space adjoining the CIC will create a

unified-campus with a university-like quad that will serve as an open-air communal space for campus events.

We thank the State Legislature, which funded this project in the 2014-15 session, for supporting this world-class facility. The new building will benefit OC students, faculty and the community for decades to come.

Dr. David Mitchell using his skills on the backhoe to officially brake the ground for the project!

Dr. David Mitchell, President, Olympic College; Patti Lent, Mayor, City of Bremerton; Jan Angel, Senator, 26th Legislative District; Christine Rolfes, Senator, 23rd Legislative District; Walter Schacht, Principal, Schacht Aslani Architects; Drayton Jackson, Student Government of Olympic College President; Monica Blackwood, President, Olympic College Foundation Board of Directors; Harriette Bryant, Olympic College Board of Trustee.

And the building goes up!

PROJECT SPECS:

• 70,000 square-foot multipurpose

facility • $46.5 million budget (largest in state community college system history) • State-of-the-art Health Occupations facility

• Campus-wide IT infrastructure • Replaces aging Art, Music, Theater buildings • 276-seat theatre • Project Start: September 2015 • Building Occupancy: September 2017

• Site work and parking lot complete:

December 2017 • Check out the College Instruction Center live streaming webcam at http://www.olympic.edu/aboutolympic-college/communicationsweb-services/college-instructioncenter

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 13

Johnson Library completed, named for long-time Mason County residents Wes and Frances Johnson.

2017

Main Shelton Campus building remodeled and named Palmer Student Center in honor of local photographer Dean Palmer.

2016

Community supporters launch “Building for our Futures” campaign to raise $1.5 million for new campus.

2004

1995

1976

OC Shelton main campus built.

2003

Campus moves to Olympic Highway North where it remained for 15 years.

1990

OC Shelton opens facility in downtown Shelton on Eight Street and Railroad Avenue.

OC Shelton moves to Fourth Street and Cedar Street. This new facility allows for comprehensive amenities and services such as counseling rooms, library and office space.

1980

1973

1968

OC Shelton is founded. The first classes were taught at Shelton High School.

Construction of new welding shop.

OC Celebrates 20 years at new campus.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS, OC SHELTON What began as a small offering of college courses at Shelton High School in 1968, has blossomed into a state-of-the-art campus serving more than 60,000 Mason County residents, with new facilities and partnerships on the horizon at OC’s Shelton Campus.

OC Shelton is an ideal option for workers who are transitioning to new careers because it offers an array of programs tailored specifically to the needs of the community. Students can earn an associate degree locally, in addition to professionaltechnical degrees and certificates in trades such as welding where demand is high and the pay is good. With support from OC’s Workforce Development programs, recently unemployed workers may qualify for paid tuition, books and fees for their initial quarter.

With such a supportive community in place, it should come as no surprise that Mason County residents were instrumental in securing funding for the current OC Shelton campus on Alpine Way, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The relocation effort

began in 1990 with a groundswell of public support for a campaign dubbed “Building for our Futures” which raised $1.5 million to help fund the new facility.

“We truly are changing lives and strengthening our community through the work we do at OC Shelton,” McDermott said.

“Graduates of our programs are going out into the community and making a difference as workers, volunteers and leaders.

It really is rewarding for the College to be a part of their success.”

From the time of its inception in 1968 until 1980, OC Shelton had relocated no less than four times. That all came to an end in 1995, with the completion of phase one of the project – the main Shelton campus.

The transformation continued in 2003 with completion of the Johnson Library, the second phase of the project.

In 2004, the transformation was complete with the remodeling of the main Shelton campus, thanks in part to funding secured by then U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks.

The newly remodeled facility was named the Palmer Student Center, in memory of Dean Palmer, who was a professional photographer in the Shelton-Mason county area and president of Friends of Olympic College Shelton, a group that was instrumental in generating support for the new campus.

Today, OC Shelton is a vital part of the region’s academic and economic revitalization.

The College recently received funds from the Bremer Trust, a philanthropic trust formed by descendants of the City of Bremerton founders, to construct a new welding shop on the main Shelton campus. Construction of the new welding shop is scheduled to begin this summer with an estimated completion by 2017.

Olympic College Shelton | 937 W. Alpine Way | Shelton WA 98584 | olympic.edu/shelton-campus | sheltoncampus@olympic.edu, | 360-432-5400

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FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS NAME, OFFICE

AFFILIATION(S)

Jim Sund, President

Owner (retired), North Kitsap Auto Rebuild

Timothy Drury, President Elect

Tim Drury Law

Mark Hughes, Vice President

Director of Community Relations, Kitsap Regional Library

Diana Smeland, Treasurer

President, Port Ludlow Associates

Dr. David Mitchell, Ex Officio, Secretary

President, Olympic College

Kevin Wiley, Governance Committee Chair

Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial

Monica Blackwood, Director of Administration, Immediate Past President Rice Fergus Miller Inc. David Emmons, Ex Officio

Executive Director, Olympic College Foundation

Dr. Damon A. Bell

Vice President Student Support & Achievement, Olympic College

Barb Brenner

Community Volunteer

Sheila Collins

PSNS – Nuclear Engineer

Gayle Dilling

Professor, Early Childhood Education, Olympic College

Tracy Flood

Specialized Examiner, Attorney U.S. Department of Labor

Meredith Green

Kitsap County Treasurer

Edward (Ed) Hallda

VP – Strategic Development, Paladin Data Systems

Cindy Lucarelli

Community Volunteer, Port Orchard City Councilwoman

Rita Mitchell

Owner, LRJ, LLC.

Lloyd Mullen

Advertising Manager/ Society Editor, Mason County Journal

Ruth Ross Saucier

Retired, Olympic College

Dr. Nathan Schlicher

Physician, Attorney, Team Health

Elizabeth “Sunny” Wheeler

Co-Owner, Nest Egg Properties

Kate Wilson

Realtor, Broker, Windermere West Sound

© Brittni Stasiuk

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM Ireland is the perfect destination for an Olympic College study abroad program.

It is a safe, friendly destination, culturally fascinating and different, and yet very accessible and manageable.

The program is designed to ensure our faculty and students have an intercultural learning experience that can be focused on Irish Literature, Environmental studies, Business Studies, Sports and Outdoor Education, Theatre Studies, History, Conflict Resolution and Social Problems.

There are a number of activities that involve the development of self-awareness, self-esteem, personal self-confidence and teamwork.

By encouraging our students to study abroad, it provides an opportunity to experience something outside of their own world; there is just no substitute for this type of world experience. Research has shown when students venture into a study abroad experience, they learn a lot about themselves, about others and the world around them. It gives them the opportunity to see things in a whole new perspective and with an open mind and open heart, it will, no doubt, change lives.

For more information about the Study Abroad program, contact Dr. Heather Lukashin, Director of International Education and Study Abroad program, (360) 475-7199.

DESTINATION OC: MEN OF COLOR SUMMIT Olympic College sponsored the 2nd Annual Destination OC: Men of Color Summit, Friday, May 20, 2016 from 8:30am-1:30pm.

The Summit had high school students from

Bremerton, Central Kitsap, South Kitsap and North Kitsap School Districts along with Chief Kitsap.

2016 Summit Organizing Committee and Participants.

OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE - PAGE 15

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID SILVERDALE, WA PERMIT NO. 111

1600 Chester Ave., CSC 513 Bremerton, WA 98337-1699

THE OLYMPIC COLLEGE COMMUNITY LUNCHEON

2016

21 ANNUAL

OctobeR

10

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016 11:00am - 11:45am ~ Networking Coffee | 11:45am - 1:15pm ~ Luncheon Program Donations raised for Olympic College support our mission to provide quality, affordable, local education in our communities.

For more information, please contact the Olympic College Foundation office at (360) 475-7120.

Olympic College is an AA/EO Institution.