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OC PREPS TOMORROW'S CHEFS From daily meals to international fine dining to food truck rumbles
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OC ALUMS
Stay in touch! We love hearing your news and seeing your photos! Please send accomplishments, stories and milestones to alumni@olympic.edu. And be sure to sign up for The Lookout, our bi-weekly alumni and friends E-News, at OlympicCollegeFoundation.org/ stay-in-the-loop.
SUMMIT ALU M N I & FR I EN DS MAGA ZI N E VO L . 8 | S PR I N G 201 9 SUMMIT is published by the Olympic College Foundation for the Alumni Association in the spring and autumn of each year. In these pages, we tell the story of Olympic College and celebrate the impact of its alumni, students, staff and programs. Have a story idea? Contact us at alumni@olympic.edu. PUBLISHER David Emmons ART DIRECTOR & DESIGNER Gretchen Ritter-Lopatowski WRITER & EDITOR Terri Gleich COPY EDITOR Herron Miller PHOTOGRAPHERS Logan Westom Photography Tiffany Diamond Photography ADDRESS CHANGES Email alumni@olympic.edu or call (360) 475-7120. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICE 1600 Chester Avenue, Bldg 5, 513 Bremerton, WA 98337 (360) 475-7120 alumni@olympic.edu OC BOARD OF TRUSTEES Harriette Bryant, Shannon Childs, Cheryl Miller, Jim Page '79, Stephen Warner
OC FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS Bill Baxter '81, John Berglind, Monica Blackwood '96, Peter Braun, Harriette Bryant, Dr. Marty Cavalluzzi, Gayle Dilling, Tom Eckmann, David Emmons, Tracy Flood '92, Meredith Green, Mark Hughes '94, Cindy Lucarelli, Rita Mitchell, Leah Olson, Frank Portello Jr. '04, Noel Pyatt, Alyson Rotter, Dr. Nathan Schlicher '99, Enrico Sio, Diana Smeland '82, Jim Sund, Sunny Wheeler, Kevin Wiley '93, Kate Wilson '75 © 2019 Olympic College Foundation. Contents may be reprinted with permission of the editor. Please recycle when finished reading. This paper is biodegradable and made from 100% renewable resources.
OC Bremerton during “Snowpocalypse 2019”
Join Us! Facebook.com/groups/OlympicCollegeAlumni
I N THIS ISSUE FEATURES
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OC
Growing Opportunities OC and Western Washington University are teaming up to offer bachelor's degrees in the high-demand field of Early Childhood Education. It’s a big step. Students and area employers are more than ready.
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OC Kitchen Confidential What goes into creating a dish that looks and tastes like a work of art? See the effort behind the scenes and learn why teamwork and adaptability are key ingredients.
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Making a Difference Meet Marit Bockelie, Steve Sego and Ardis Morrow, three OC alumni whose passion is changing their communities for the better.
DEPARTMENTS 3 3 6 19 27 29
VOICE OF THE PRESIDENT AROUND CAMPUS An OC Life, a heroic alum & sharing STEM love 5 QUESTIONS Poet Laureate Tia Hudson SPOTLIGHT How’s this for lifelong learning? OC’s Richard Shipley is 82! IN THE OC LOOP CALENDAR
ON THE COVER: A Filipino-Thai egg roll captured by Logan Westom Photography was the top vote-getter in OC Culinary’s winter 2019 Food Truck Rumble. The quarterly competition simulates day-to-day pressures of the culinary work world.
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VO I C E
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appy spring! Just as in nature, spring is a season of rebirth and renewal at Olympic College. As we change our culture to realize a laser focus on equity, we’re engaged in five key areas of college-wide work. All share a common goal: supporting student success and closing access/equity/achievement gaps for students who have typically been underserved by colleges and universities.
O U R TO - D O L I S T: ACHIEVING THE DREAM – At its heart, Achieving
the Dream is about ensuring that OC students reach their goals. For 90 percent, that’s graduating with a degree or certificate. Unfortunately, only 34 percent of our students are doing that right now within three years of enrollment. Graduation rates are even lower for first-generation college students, part-time students, those who are economically disadvantaged, and others who have typically been underrepresented in higher education. As a college, we’re committed to developing support systems that meet the unique needs of our students and help them cross the finish line to graduation.
ACCREDITATION – OC is accredited by the Northwest
Commission on Colleges and Universities as part of a rigorous seven-year review cycle designed to ensure that we’re fulfilling our mission and providing high-quality educational programs. During last fall’s accreditation visit, we earned kudos for our library services, our innovative approach to meeting community needs, and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We also have a number of areas to work on. Most significantly for students, we must implement a system to assess student learning outcomes and use the results to boost achievement.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
– We can’t get where we need to go without a map. Our ongoing planning process gives everyone at OC’s three campuses clear directions and ensures that we’re all heading toward the same destination. The process also helps us set priorities and builds in accountability.
ctcLINK
– OC is in the second group of Washington community colleges to implement ctcLink, an integrated network that modernizes online business functions for the state’s 34 community and technical colleges. The switch from our current system is scheduled for January and February 2020 and will provide several benefits to students: a single ID and student record that follows them throughout the Washington community college system, mobile-friendly tools to conduct college business online, and 24/7 access to an online student center.
GUIDED PATHWAYS – To help more students cross
the finish line to graduation, we must implement Guided Pathways. It helps students clarify their goals and choose classes that will keep them on track. And it ensures that they are learning along the way by providing a careerspecific explanation as to why every class taken is important to that career, as well as providing continuous monitoring and assistance.
Our students are like astronauts. They’re brave. There’s a lot riding on their success. And they need a team to be successful. Our college-wide work is about putting that team in place for our students and our community.
Marty Cavalluzzi PRESIDENT, OLYMPIC COLLEGE
P. 3 OLYMPIC COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
VIEW FINDER
Signs of spring? Sculpted heads popped up like mushrooms near the visual art department’s new digs in OC Bremerton’s Bldg 7.
The Barner Garden Club celebrated Earth Day by planting raised vegetable beds at OC Bremerton’s outdoor classroom, the Barner Learning Landscape.
OC Shelton welding students get creative. Is that skeletal Ranger an homage to “Game of Thrones?”
Happily ever after? Haselwood Library visitors created an intriguing story about Gerald the hamster and his love for all things paper.
OC U P C LOSE Can you guess where this is? Turn the page to find out.
An OC Life It’s no exaggeration to say Mary Garguile’s life has revolved around Olympic College. She’s a 1974 alum. She met her husband, Tim, at OC. And she’s spent her entire professional career at the college, starting as an early director of the Sophia Bremer Child Development Center and rising to Vice President for Instruction during her 42-year tenure. “It’s been a rewarding career to see how we make a positive difference in people’s lives,” she said. “Especially at the child care center, I got close to the families and I could see the change education made in their lives and that of their children.”
Garguile has also been one of the Olympic College Foundation’s longest continuous contributors, giving through employee payroll deduction for 21 years. “I’ve known of many, many, many, many students in desperate situations, and the Foundation has been able to help out,” she said. “It’s been very powerful to see.” She gets teary hearing student stories at the annual Donors & Scholars scholarship awards night and sees a huge need for programs like the Finish
Line Scholarship, which targets needy students who are within 15 credits of graduation. “It’s very, very meaningful. Sometimes people just need that little bit of help to get to the end.” During her years at OC, Garguile has seen the campus from every angle. She’s been a student, student worker, classified employee, faculty member and administrator. “I felt I could make a difference wherever I was, and I’ve never been bored ever.”
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SNOW FENCE – Beginning sculpture students crafted this public art piece near the Bremer Student Center (Building 10) at OC Bremerton in 2015. In February, it seemed especially appropriate as mountains of snow forced the college to cancel five days of classes. A skeleton crew at our three campuses took care of essential functions, including Security Officer Chris Crocker, who contributed the two photos of OC Bremerton on the right.
An OC alum won the Congressional Medal of Honor! John “Bud” Hawk '49 was just a year out of Bainbridge High School when he found himself in a French apple orchard outnumbered and outgunned by German tanks. In an oral history published in 2011 by MedalOfHonorBook on YouTube, Hawk recounted how he guided tank destroyers to their targets despite having been shot in the thigh. “The tank destroyers couldn’t see them (the Germans). Well I could see them. Not thinking really of the consequences and trying to think of solutions, I said, ‘I’ll line you up.’” Hawk repeatedly ran from high ground through heavy enemy fire to deliver instructions to the destroyers. “I would tell them, ‘Twenty feet to the left or raise it up three feet.’” It was a turning point that led to the surrender of 500 Germans and earned Hawk the nation’s highest award for valor in battle, the Congressional Medal of Honor. He fought five more months and was wounded again at the Battle of the Bulge. When he returned to Kitsap County, he devoted his life to education, earning degrees from OC and the University of Washington, and spending 31 years in the Central Kitsap School District as a teacher and principal. Hawk passed away in 2013 at age 89, but his legacy lives on. A Central Kitsap elementary school bears his name, his face is on an alumni banner at OC Bremerton and the parade that began as a tribute to his battlefield heroics continues as Bremerton’s annual Armed Forces Day Parade. Now in its 72nd year, it’s the largest and longest running event of its kind in the nation. Although he’s celebrated for his courage under fire, Hawk placed a greater value on his post-war service. “I think the greatest way to give of yourself and what you have to offer is by teaching.”
P. 5 OLYMPIC COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
5 QUESTIONS
FOR THE Poet Laureate
Olympic College English Professor Tia Hudson is Bremerton’s first Poet Laureate. Below, the narrative poet talks about her plans to build community around her craft.
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WHAT DOES A POET LAUREATE DO?
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HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN POETRY?
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WHAT KIND OF POETRY DO YOU WRITE?
My job is to promote poetry throughout the city. Bremerton has a lot of people writing, but no sense of community, at least that I’ve been able to find. I want to draw the disparate groups together. I’m also trying to make contacts within the school district. I really want to build a sense of poetry among young people as well.
From the time I was a kid, I’ve written. In high school, I got honorable mention in a Washington Poets Association contest. I was just writing out of my own thoughts and feelings. During my first year in college, I really thought about the craft and began to really work at it.
I often tell stories. I focus on the world around me and what I see and what I hear in the physical world. I also have a keen interest in social justice.
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WHAT’S YOUR CONNECTION TO BREMERTON? I moved here in 1997 or 1998 and I’ve come to love Bremerton a lot. My family was blue-collar, and Bremerton is a bluecollar town. When I taught at the shipyard (apprenticeship program), I would tell them, “I like looking out at a roomful of people like my dad and my brother.”
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HOW CAN YOU GET MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN POETRY? I want to look at non-traditional forms like rap and slam poetry. I want to check and see if Bremerton has a Writers in the Schools program established or if there’s a way to do it. I’d like to do a Saturday morning pop-up workshop. I want people to be able to hear poetry. A lot of times, if you hear it read aloud, it can help. It gives you a better entrance into it.
Did you know? Mathematics Professor Elisabeth Briggs runs a tiny STEM lending library in the Science & Technology lobby (Building 8), sharing her love of math and science and highlighting contributions to the field by women and underrepresented groups. “So many of the ‘important’ names in math and science are men, and I wanted (students) to learn about women too. I wanted the women to see that there were people like them, and I wanted the men to learn about what it was like for women.” Inspired by the Little Free Library in her mother’s yard, Briggs started an academic version in January 2018, first filling shelves outside her office, then moving her collection of donations and thrift-store
finds to a second-hand bookcase in its current more prominent location. There are about 100 volumes in the library with 45 in circulation on a recent week. Titles include: Rise of the Rocket Girls, Hidden Figures, Ada’s Algorithm and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This year, Briggs is focusing on adding children’s books to her collection, so students can share their newfound STEM knowledge with their families. “I hope students will see that learning isn’t just for a test,” said Briggs. “It can be fun and should continue for their whole life.”
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THE A, B, C’S OF OLYMPIC COLLEGE’S NEW EARLY CHILDHOOD PARTNERSHIP
BY TERRI GLEICH
PHOTOS BY LOGAN WESTOM PHOTOGRAPHY
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arah Mueller was an Olympic College nursing student when she took a job at the Sophia Bremer Child Development Center and discovered her passion among the rainbow-hued blocks and fingerpainted masterpieces. “I needed a student job, and it was the only one available,” she recalled. “After a couple of quarters in the classroom with these kids, I realized this is exactly what I wanted to do.” Now a full time preschool teacher at the center, Mueller’s long-term goal is to earn a master’s degree and train other teachers. Beginning in fall 2019, she’ll take a big step toward achieving her dream without leaving Kitsap County. That’s when Western Washington University begins offering a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at OC Bremerton.
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“The field is professionalizing. The field is in demand. And we’re in a shortage area.”
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ueller is one of four Sophia Bremer Center staffers who plans to join the first cohort. “It would be very hard for me to do it, if it wasn’t local,” she said. “It means quite a lot to our community here in Kitsap County to have this program.” It also means a lot to local employers, according to state Rep. Drew Hansen, who won $700,000 from the Legislature last year to create and implement the program. “It started with a visit to Naval Base Kitsap. I asked about what workforce needs they had and the number one priority was more early childhood educators to teach in their centers,” he said. “It’s very exciting to give people who live in Kitsap County the opportunity to get a college degree in Kitsap County and a job in Kitsap County.” Claudette Mohn oversees a staff of 260 as child and youth program director at Naval Base Kitsap and said she’s ready to hire as many bachelor’s-prepared teachers as OC and Western can produce. Her lead teachers, trainers and managers are all required to have four-year degrees. “The more people I can bring on with the relevant education, the better,” she said, adding that they are better able to meet children’s needs because they understand “ages and stages.” Marilyn Chu, Western’s Early Childhood Education program director, said that tribal and state-funded preschools are also looking for lead teachers with bachelor’s degrees as the state moves toward providing high-quality preschool to all lowincome children in the next three years. “The field is professionalizing. The field is in demand. And we’re in a shortage area,” she said. The partnership allows students with an associate’s degree and the appropriate prerequisites to complete their bachelor’s degree in two years or two-and-a-half if they choose to earn a teaching certification for pre-kindergarten through third grade. Up to 25 students will be accepted for the first cohort,
P. 9 OLYMPIC COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
FIRST CLASS – Sophia Bremer Child Development Center staffers Julia Dore, Sarah Mueller, Maria Andrews and Reanne Rossi are among the first students to enroll in Western Washington University’s new Early Childhood Education bachelor’s degree program at OC Bremerton. They’re pictured here (l-r) with professor and mentor Gayle Dilling (center), who coordinates OC’s program.
and classes will be offered in the afternoons and evenings to accommodate students who work full time. “They’re going to get their BA in the same classroom where they got their AA,” said Gayle Dilling, coordinator of OC’s Early Childhood Education program. “It’s a wonderful option for those who are placebound or who simply want to be here.” Dilling said there aren’t many bachelor’s-prepared early childhood educators on the Kitsap Peninsula because there haven’t been any training programs here. “This program is educating people to go back into the community,” she said. Chu, Western’s Early Childhood Education program director, said the partnership between Western and OC is a natural fit because it builds on a strong OC program. Another plus – the Sophia Bremer Center will provide a practicum site on campus. For Hansen, whose legislative district includes North Kitsap, Silverdale and Bainbridge Island, the program is part of his longstanding campaign for educational parity on the peninsula. “We’re working to make sure that we have educational opportunities in Kitsap that are closer to the opportunities they have in Seattle and Spokane,” he said. Maria Andrews said the new program inspired her to go back to school to finish the classes needed for her associate’s transfer degree. She plans to enroll in the bachelor’s program in the fall. “I’m excited,” she said. “I didn’t think I was going to continue. I thought I would just stop there (with an associate’s).” “I’m kind of elated,” said Reanne Rossi, who is finishing her associate’s degree at OC this spring and will enroll in the Western program in the fall. “It’s a really good opportunity. This program is being implemented because there’s a great need. I plan to go out and fulfill one of those needs in the community.” “I’m really excited for our students,” said Dilling, the OC early childhood coordinator. “They’re going to make a difference. They’re going to do good, for sure.”
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N E H C T I K OC
C I P M Y L O T A S E N E C S E H T D N BE HI
M A R G O R P S T R A Y R A N I L U C S ' COL L E G E G LE IC H BY T E R R I
M N W E S TO BY L O G A P H OTOS
P H OTO G R
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ulinary student Sherman Coley is channeling King Tut in gold cuffs, a blue-and-goldstriped headdress and bejeweled collar and sash. Against an ancient pyramid backdrop, he strikes a regal pose, hands on hips. On the table in front of him, a chafing dish of warm falafel emits the earthy aromas of turmeric, cumin and paprika. “Dressing up sets the whole thing off,” enthuses teammate Courtney Salisbury, who has gone full Cleopatra to draw attention to their station. With minutes to go before Olympic College Culinary Arts Institute’s quarterly Food Truck Rumble, Coley and Salisbury are looking for an edge in the competition. They’re not alone. Student chefs in white jackets and black aprons move purposefully through the dining room, putting final touches on attention-getting displays. There are palm trees, pineapples and tropical shirts at a stand serving Filipino-Thai fusion egg rolls. Redand-white-checked cloths decorate a table where servers in 1950s housewife attire offer cherry-apple tartlets. A slightly off-kilter beach “shack” is ready with beer-battered cheese sticks. And a student dressed as a slice of bacon is hawking cheeseburgerstuffed soft pretzels. “One minute!” The no-nonsense voice of Chef Instructor Tina Nys ‘11 cuts through the buzz of preparations. “Cheese sticks, are you ready? We’re now open.”
“Deciding what you want to do and executing are two entirely different things. Making tacos for six people is a lot different from making 200 bites.”
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elcome to the controlled chaos that animates OC’s signature culinary program. Operating out of a 5,700-square-foot commercial kitchen, one of the largest in Kitsap County, students and paid staff on the food service side dish up an astonishing variety of fare. They prepare breakfast and lunch daily in the Olympic Cafe, run an espresso stand and create four-course internationally themed lunches that sell out every Friday. They also cater more than 150 special events on the OC Bremerton campus each year, ranging from snacks for departmental meetings to the Olympic College Foundation’s annual Community Luncheon, a sit-down meal for more than 300. For the Rumble, students have been working in teams for weeks to create, refine and test dishes that could be served from a food truck. All-American favorites share billing with international flavors on the menu of elevated comfort food. Caribbean street tacos. Chili and cornbread. Carne asada. Creamfilled Italian zeppole doughnuts. “This is amazing. This is the best kind of lunch,” says Jackson Atkins, one of the first customers in a line that extends down the hall. Diners, who paid $6 for a plate of nine generously sized bites, choose the winning team. The prize: OC swag and bragging rights. To succeed, the student chefs have to think on their feet and be ready to shift course quickly, says Professor Chris Plemmons, a certified executive chef whose resume includes running his own restaurant and co-founding a spice company. “They have this plan and then everything changes. I tell them, ‘Just know you’re going to have to adjust.̕ It’s good for them to find that out because if they stay in this industry, they’re going to spend the rest of their lives doing just that.” On food truck day, students get to the kitchen as early as 6 a.m. to prepare 200 portions for the 11 a.m. competition, plus 30 portions for student lunch. An hour before service, they break to taste and critique each other’s dishes. By the time the first customer fills a plate, some of the teams have everything done and are breathing easy. Others race to cook a continuous fresh supply throughout the competition, a potentially risky strategy. “Come on guys, I need zeppole now,” Plemmons calls out, pointing to a four-tiered display that’s been depleted by the first crush of customers. It’s an ambitious dish. The ricotta-infused dough is carefully piped in a fluted spiral, deep-fried, filled with bourbon cream and topped with raspberry gelatin “caviar.” For much of the morning, teammates Emily Alcorn, Justin Woltan and Adrian Reed are frying the sticky dough on squares of parchment, three at a time. Each batch takes five or six minutes in 350-degree oil and the group is competing with three other teams for use of the kitchen’s sole fryer. They quickly fall behind. CONTINUED ON PG 17
“I had been out of the workforce for a number of years. The Culinar y Arts program at OC gave me the skills and confide nce I needed to move forward with my career.“
Sunny Mawson ‘18
Baker, The Point Casino and Hotel
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OC Culinary Arts 2017-18 Academic Year
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“The mentorship the chefs provided us was my favorite thing about the progra m. I owe everyt hing that I learne d to my chefs. Their creativity, patience and passio n for food and other things that contribute to the art makes me so proud that my instructors were Chef Plem mons, Chef Nash and Ms. Tina.”
Patricia Saique ‘18
Head Baker & Barista, Cafe au Lait
154 EVENTS
catered at OC Bremerton
Student Chef Wins Hospitality Group’s Scholarship
Darelle Rancap is of Filipino heritage, was born in Japan and lived in Spain for two years, so it’s fitting she won a scholarship in January from the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association. An artist-turned-baker and aspiring executive chef, Rancap said OC’s culinary program has taught her the importance of being prepared and how to think on her feet. “If you know what you’re doing, you can always make the recipe better.” She recalls scrambling to fulfill a catering order during winter quarter after learning that someone had locked the prepared appetizers in a walk-in fridge. She and Chef Instructor Robert Nash used leftovers and ingenuity to cobble together an assortment of bites – meringue cookies, pita triangles with dip, warm chips and salsa – and delivered on time. “We did everything we could to get something out,” she said.
Chef Instructor Chris Plemmons, who nominated Rancap for the scholarship, said she is a leader in the kitchen, preps dishes for his baking class three days a week and has been involved in every culinary event OC has participated in during her two years in the program. A highlight: the Olympic College Foundation’s annual Community Luncheon for more than 300 guests. The soft-spoken Rancap, a Robert B. Stewart Opportunity Scholarship recipient, said she’s learned to speak up in the kitchen and to stay cool when things go wrong. She’s also put her artistic side to work while plating dishes and creating catering displays. “I’ve been surprised by how much I actually enjoy it. I didn’t think this intense environment would be something I’d enjoy. But I like it because it keeps me busy. Whenever I step through the kitchen doors, I put all my problems behind me.”
CONTINUED FROM PG 14
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n the heat of competition, Alcorn, who has a soft spot for Krispy Kreme and aims to open her own bakery, quickly adapts. She takes over the fryer in the cafe and picks up the pace, plopping ice cream scoops of dough directly into the bubbling oil. She burns her hand but keeps going, gratefully accepting a cold soda from a fellow student. “I’m sweating so bad.” Another student, Caleb Wogberg, steps in to help even though he’s not on her team, filling the goldenbrown orbs with cream and offering encouragement. “It’ll be alright. You’re almost done.” Other teams also have challenges. First-quarter student Paul Castro isn’t happy with his carne asada. “I think I got close, but I think I can do better.” When converting the recipe from one pound of meat to the 13 pounds needed for the competition, he misjudged the amount of vinegar. Instructors helped him salvage the dish by adding salt and sugar to balance the flavors. But he’s still second-guessing himself. “I wish I would have done a wet rub.” “Deciding what you want to do and executing are two entirely different things,” says Nys. “Making tacos for six people is a lot different from making 200 bites. You have to do all your food math and figure out all the skills you’re going to need.” That includes creating an enticing presentation. Kaylin “KK” Quiambao says her team was so focused on producing their winning pork egg rolls accompanied with peanut butter hoisin and sriracha mayo pineapple dipping sauces, that they didn’t give much thought
land. Argentina. What do Afghanist an. Sam oa. Ire They’re all destin ations they have in com mon? s, OC Culina ry’s weekly for Fou r-Course Friday ce. for intern ational tou r de the palates, patron’s for mini-vacation A of f hal h sell out, wit $12 lunches reg ula rly a e hav “We . pus cam m off reserv ations com ing fro Nys. a Tin r cto tru Ins f lot of reg ula rs,” said Che onal Cuisine class spe nd Stu dents in the Intern ati ng their chosen cou ntries a month or more researchi t can be pro duc ed on a and develo ping menus tha s, On their assigned Friday bud get for 60-75 diners. ensure and n tio duc pro d foo the stu dents sup ervise ly g the kitche n is pro per that every plate leavin nished. seasoned, sauced and gar Cat hy, rarely miss the Noel Pyatt and his wife, e lunch any where,” he hav glo bal spread. “You can ure.” said. “Th is is an advent
to decorating their space. In the end, they pulled a tropical theme together, hollowing out pineapples for sauce boats and claiming palm trees from the department’s stash of catering props. It’s appropriate for someone with international ambitions. “My goal is to travel and learn about food through different cultures,” she says. “This is a good place to start.” The Rumble emphasizes adaptability, preparation, teamwork and time management, simulating the dayto-day deadline pressure of the culinary work world. It forces the student contestants to push themselves enough to stand out from the crowd, but still be able to deliver their food on time and with panache. Turning out a tasty bite isn’t enough; it also has to look like a winner. Olivia Vowell, an aspiring food scientist whose team made the cherry-apple tartlets, says the approach is what attracted her to OC’s program. “You’re accountable a lot more than in traditional classes.” Within a half-hour after the last customer clears out, students break down their displays, remove the day’s spills and splatters and move on to afternoon class and to planning and prepping the next day’s projects. Outside the kitchen, an anonymous diner has left a four-star review signed with a smiley face: “This was so amazing today. I really should have torn my ticket into five pieces. It was so hard to choose. Outstanding job guys and girls!!”
Soda Bread, 26, Dublin Codd le Soup and IRISH FOUR-COU RSE - Apr. Streusel Topping. with Cake e Appl and d ots, Irish Dubliner Sala Shep herd's Pie with Carr
P. 17 OLYMPIC COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Joseph Lucas has been cooking his way around the world on the USS Nimitz since 2017, but for two quarters of the 2018-19 school year he reported for duty at Olympic College. He’s one of 15 sailors who sharpened their skills at the OC Culinary Arts Institute and earned college credit while the supercarrier Nimitz was being overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. “The ship is a lot more rushed and there are a lot more people,” he said. “Here, you really get to dive into what you’re making.” Tasia Penaranda agreed. As a culinary specialist aboard one of the largest warships in the world, she helps feed 5,000 people in a two-hour stretch. There’s no time to think or to make things from scratch. “(At OC), we have more time to open up a book and read a recipe. We’re learning the right way to do things,” she said. Adrian Reed said those skills will help sailors pass Navy culinary exams to advance their careers. “We get to learn all this extra fancy stuff here.” During the Food Truck Rumble, for example, he created bourboninfused cream and piped it into scratch-made Italian doughnuts.
“I felt invested in by the chefs. They helped me gai n my con fidence in the kitche n. I felt car ed for, not only in gettin g the best culina ry education and exp erience I cou ld, but as a stu dent. I wil l never for get the exp erience of bei ng in that kitche n at OC. I felt like I was a part of a fam ily tea m. We had our rou gh mom ents like all kitche n crews do, but at the end of the day , we all had eac h oth er’s back and felt pri de whe n we successfu lly com pleted an eve nt or lunch ser vice.”
Hayley Holland ‘18
Sou s Chef, Cresce nt Moo n Cateri ng
Chef Instructor Chris Plemmons said the Navy partnership was born when OC hosted the annual Armed Forces Festival Culinary Arts Competition in 2018 and he met the ship’s culinary special master chief. “It’s a win-win. He gets a better trained staff, and it gives us extra help in doing things and opens our students up to what it’s like to be in the military. It shows them another career option.” One of the things Joe Jackson will take away from his OC experience is an emphasis on reducing waste and using everything on hand to make a tasty dish. He learned to use leftover bread crumbs, roasted peppers, red wine vinegar and walnuts to make a quick romesco sauce. “You throw everything in the blender and you have an instant sauce for fish or chicken or even beef,” he said. “You throw everything together and it tastes fantastic. That’s something I can use on the ship.” “It’s been a huge confidence booster,” added Taylor Milburn. “Not only is it helping us with cooking, it’s helping us with leadership skills and training others. “I love my job in the Navy. It’s a hard job and we work lots of hours, but I love how much control we have over the morale of the ship.” At sea as on shore, a good meal raises everyone’s spirits.
S P OT L I G H T
Lifelong Learner R
ichard Shipley has no interest in spending his retirement watching television or reminiscing about the good old days. At 82, he’s one of Olympic College’s oldest students.
The grizzled scholar, whose 52-year career took him to naval shipyards around the country and in the United Kingdom, has been continuously enrolled at OC Bremerton since fall quarter 2013. Not only does it keep his brain busy, Shipley said being a student also allows him to access the richness of campus life. With his nimbus of curly hair and long white beard, the octogenarian is a familiar sight at guest lectures and culinary events. He’s also participated in OC’s annual diversity conference and studied abroad in Ireland. “I realized I might be a lifetime student. I really don’t want to stop,” he said. “I love the halls of learning, the diversity of all these different classes.” Originally from Cleveland, Shipley has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Oberlin College and studied electrical engineering at Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University). Throughout his career, he worked for General Electric and its successor companies, monitoring the installation and testing of electronic, optical and mechanical equipment for submarines. His first experience at OC was taking accounting classes in 1969-70 to help him prepare his taxes and manage an investment. Now he audits an eclectic mix of courses through a senior citizen’s waiver that allows him to sit in for $5 per class, space permitting. One favorite was an astrobiology course, Life in the Universe. “I learned how insignificant the Earth is and how vast the universe is and the likelihood that there are many, many similar planets. That was extremely fascinating.”
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Shipley noted that things have changed for the better since he first attended college more than 60 years ago. When he was getting his physics degree, most classes involved a teacher lecturing at a chalkboard and students scrambling to copy everything down before it got erased. Now, he said, classes are more interactive, students have access to a multitude of resources and it’s much easier to find sources of information representing different points of view. “I think I’m getting more out of OC than I got out of Oberlin.”
MAKING a difference BY TERRI GLEICH
They couldn’t be more different – a young woman turning her passion into a business, a seasoned developer reshaping his hometown and a great-aunt on a mission shaped by tragedy. What do they have in common? All three are committed to their communities, and all found inspiration at Olympic College.
MAKING an impression Marit Bockelie's
life took a detour when she lost her job as a Seattle city planner during the Great Recession. To redesign her path, she enrolled in Olympic College and turned a passion for letterpress into a new career. Now the proprietor of a downtown Bremerton storefront, she’s the driving force behind the Wayzgoose arts festival and has been a booster of the Kitsap Food Co-op, the Bremerton Art Walk and the historic Roxy Theatre. “When I moved back to Bremerton, I started to get involved with trying to create a community that I wanted to be a part of,” said Bockelie '12. Having a storefront was always part of that vision. Growing up in a town shaped by the Navy on a street with no sidewalk fueled her interest in urban design. “Building community with intention instead of letting random forces come together really appealed to me.” She was thrilled when, after graduating from the University of Washington, she landed city planning jobs in Kent and then Seattle. Her path was set. She was living her dream. Then the building industry collapsed during the financial crisis. As the least senior planner, she was the first to be furloughed. Bockelie initially thought she’d find another job in the field but realized she was competing with a host of more experienced planners. She quickly turned to another passion – letterpress. Bockelie fell in love with setting type during a 2007 writing conference and took night classes in the printer’s art at Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts while working in the city. “I kept studying under people who were better than me with the goal of eventually mastering a craft.” She moved back to Bremerton around 2009, bought a house and started filling it with printing equipment. She also went back to school, earning an associate’s degree in digital media arts at OC and picking up software skills that helped her marry the worlds of modern graphic design with old-world hand printing. “I’ve always been a creative thinker,” she said. Just as urban planning engaged both sides of her brain, so did the tactile art of letterpress. She turned her hobby into a business in 2012 and joined the downtown business community in 2015, opening The Bremerton Letterpress Co. in a Pacific Avenue storefront that showcases her collection of type and presses. A treadle-operated Chandler & Price Co. platen press that Bockelie calls “the pumping heart of our print shop” is framed by the shop’s plate-glass window. It dates to the 1950s but has the same style and heft as the company’s 1880s edition. Bockelie operates it with a practiced ease to make business cards and wedding invitations that are humble works of art. The press pushes the raised type into cardstock or high-quality paper
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PHOTOS BY LOGAN WESTOM PHOTOGRAPHY
“When I moved back to Bremerton, I started to get involved with trying to create a community that I wanted to be a part of.” sandwiched between two plates, leaving an impression that customers can touch as well as see. There’s a romance to the craft that appeals to Bockelie, who is also learning bookbinding and restoration. At the same time, she’s grappling with the practicalities of running a business. Letterpress doesn’t keep the doors open, so she’s also become a full-service digital print and copy shop. And she's going through the steps to qualify for government contracts, including becoming a certified woman-owned business. “It’s been really challenging and really rewarding at the same time,” she said. “I’m having to adapt to the economy of downtown Bremerton. A boutique storefront doesn’t bring in the revenue. I’m only here because it’s important to me. It’s not a sustainable thing yet.” Tapping into the local arts community is part of what motivates her. Bockelie sells cards and wrapping paper by local artists in her store. And she worked with volunteers to bring the Wayzgoose public art festival to downtown Bremerton in 2018. Expected to become an annual event, the Labor Day weekend festival included kids’ art activities, art vendors and live music, but the highlight was two full-size steamrollers that acted as “presses” to print linoleum blocks hand carved by local artists. The finished three-foot-square prints were displayed at the OC Bremerton Art Gallery last fall. “It was pretty incredible to see how many people enjoyed it and what it means to people,” she said. “It gave an access point to art for people who don’t really see themselves as being into art.” Bockelie’s shop does the same, creating the perfect print for an urban planner and artist, business woman and downtown booster.
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ReMAKING
a city
PHOTOS BY TIFFANY DIAMOND PHOTOGRAPHY & LOGAN WESTOM PHOTOGRAPHY
Steve Sego
was a precocious teen living on his own with no plans to attend college when his high school principal helped him score a Silverdale Rotary Scholarship in the exact amount of Olympic College tuition. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Sego '78, whose varied careers have included coordinating U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s 1988 presidential campaign in the western states, teaching high school French and running an environmental mitigation company. Currently, he’s spearheading projects that are reshaping downtown Bremerton and Port Orchard – restoration of the historic Roxy Theatre, creation of a pedestrian-friendly square named for music producer and Bremerton native Quincy Jones, and redevelopment of Port Orchard’s waterfront with a seven-acre complex that includes housing, multi-use commercial space and a community center slated to house a new Port Orchard library.
University of Washington and throughout his life. “Once I understood the empowerment of teaching and learning, nothing was intimidating to me.” A business-oriented conservative, Sego worked for the campaigns of Dole and President Ronald Reagan, helped found a state think tank and fought for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“OC was my boot camp for life.”
“All that started with the empowerment of what I learned about myself and the process of learning at OC,” he said. “(Before OC) I knew how to get good grades, but I didn’t understand learning.” Sego singled out longtime history Professor Phil Schaeffer, who retired in 2018 after 50 years, with helping him develop skills that set him up for success as a transfer student at the
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He moved back to Kitsap nearly a decade ago and has carved out a niche as a developer who factors both economics and environmental impact into his bottom line. “They are complementary things,” he said. “There’s a value in doing things right, but there’s also a financial, monetized value to restoring the environment and wetlands. It makes the land more valuable to the users.” He’s working with the Navy to create environmental enhancement and restoration projects that will offset adverse effects from billions of dollars in planned construction projects. Sego’s passion project is a $150 million makeover of more than seven acres of downtown Port Orchard. The heart of
CIVIC PRIDE – Developer Steve Sego is reshaping downtown Bremerton and Port Orchard with an ambitious slate of projects, including revitalizing the 78-year-old Roxy Theatre and turning seven acres of Port Orchard waterfront into a community hub.
the project is a community center that will house a library, community theater and meeting space. Other components include 200 housing units, 84,000 square feet of commercial and office space, and 500 parking spaces. The project also creates public open space along a restored shoreline, including a kayak launch and beach. The Port Orchard library envisions checking out kayaks for downtown employees to use on their lunch breaks. That’s an attractive vision to Kitsap Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Tony George, who is interested in expanding the bank’s headquarters as part of the project and believes it will help attract new talent to the area.
them and their future. That’s why we’re doing it.” He believes the Port Orchard project will complement Bremerton’s downtown redevelopment and envisions a time when visitors attending a conference in Bremerton will take the 10-minute foot ferry to Port Orchard for dinner or to access overflow meeting space. “I see them as a vibrant connected community for business, recreation and lifestyle,” he said. “And they can be that.” When Sego applied for the Silverdale Rotary Scholarship that started him on his journey, he wrote, “There’s no reason you should believe in me, but I believe in me and I believe I have the passion and ability to do something.”
“I had to find a way to transform and redevelop this community that has been overlooked for so long,” said Sego of his hometown.
He made a promise then to return to the community and apply what he learned in college to making it a better place.
“You have to look forward or the community dies. We’re building this for people we don’t know yet. We’re adding jobs and downtown activities for kids who aren’t born yet or who are sitting in school. That’s who the beneficiaries are. It’s for
“I’m working on this seven days a week, and I don’t feel like I’m working. I feel like I’m fulfilling my mission.”
He’s making good on that pledge.
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MAKING a sanctuary “The victims try to get away from the abuser and when they do, there’s no place for them to go.”
Ardis Morrow
can spin a yarn. Sometimes risqué. Always humorous. And always delivered with a grandmotherly twinkle. She provides a wake-up chuckle that’s as welcome as a jolt of caffeine at Poulsbo Rotary’s early-morning meetings. Though she’s delivered hundreds of light anecdotes over the years, the story that’s had the most impact on her life is a tragedy.
year marriage, they lived in 19 homes along the West Coast and in Alaska as he chased commercial construction jobs. In 1965, they moved permanently to Kingston with their sons, Mike and Jay, and put down roots.
Morrow’s great-nephew, Eli Creekmore, was killed by his father two months after the child’s third birthday. The accounts are horrifying. Bruises. Cigarette burns. A fatal kick to the abdomen. More horrifying, family members and a child care provider reported the abuse. Repeatedly. But the state’s Child Protective Services failed the towheaded preschooler.
In addition to being a community volunteer, Morrow was a real estate agent for more than 30 years. Although she never earned a degree, she took classes over several decades at Olympic College starting in the 1970s. Topics included business, accounting and, within the last decade, American Sign Language.
The case led to an overhaul of state law and better training for social workers. It also turned Morrow into an unflinching advocate. She testified before the Legislature, helping to change seven state laws and 35 rules for caseworkers. “They used to remove the child from the home,” she said. “Now, the child stays in the home and the perpetrator goes to jail.” As she learned more about the prevalence of child abuse and domestic violence, the mother of two broadened her focus to help families in crisis find transitional housing. “The victims try to get away from the abuser and when they do, there’s no place for them to go,” Morrow said. “Most of the time, they go back to the abuser because otherwise they’d be driving around in their car with their children.” That led Morrow, working with the Poulsbo Rotary and the YWCA of Kitsap County, to establish Eli’s Place in 2003, a duplex where families can stay for up to two years. Now the same partnership is creating Morrow Manor, housing for eight families in a quiet neighborhood near Poulsbo Elementary School. Domestic abuse survivors will be able to stay in the homes for up to six years, while they continue to receive support services to build a new life. Harriette Bryant, YWCA board president and Olympic College trustee, has been working with Morrow for more than 20 years and is impressed by her drive. “She’s a powerhouse and she has a passion and a heart for families experiencing domestic violence.”
“When my kids were in school, I was doing things in the schools,” she recalled. “I did everything I could to advance education universally and for my kids.” She believes education is key to stopping the cycle of domestic violence. That’s why she speaks in schools and supports efforts like Bryant’s Our GEMS and Our Gents youth mentoring programs. “So often children who are subjected to (abuse) in their own home don’t know any better. We are trying to get boys and girls to learn how to treat each other. If we can ever, ever change it, that would be a really big step.” Thinking back on her short time with Eli, Morrow remembers a sweet-natured boy who loved to climb and slide, delighted in the company of other children and eagerly climbed into her lap when she read to him. The inspiration for Morrow Manor, Eli also will be there in a more tangible form. His statue will sit on a boulder in an adjacent park, inviting children to sit next to him and sling an arm around his shoulder or whisper a confidence. In the bronze likeness, his bruises are erased and a half-smile offers a message of hope.
Morrow’s commitment to the community extends well beyond a single issue. Her Rotary pals call the 94-year-old the Energizer bunny with good reason. She served on the North Kitsap School Board, was a Kingston Port commissioner and has been active with the League of Women Voters for 50 years. In 2003, she was recognized as a YWCA Woman of Achievement, and she was Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year in 2005. Born on a wheat farm in Eastern Washington, she married Burton Morrow in 1943. During the first 23 years of their 50PORTRAIT BY LOGAN WESTOM PHOTOGRAPHY
SUMMIT MAGAZINE | VOL.8 | SPRING 2019 P. 26
I N THE
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OC LOOP
1. The OC delegation turned out in force and in green to march in Bremerton’s 28th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 2. One of the world’s oldest art forms was on display at OC Bremerton Art Gallery during From the Ashes, a woodfired ceramics exhibit that featured works by stand-out regional artists.
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Congrats! Foundation Board Member Monica Blackwood '96 is Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Person of the Year. 4. The Alumni Association’s float, The Many Faces of OC, won second place in Clearwater Casino Resort’s Fat Tuesday Parade of Service. Featuring masks by beginning sculpture students, the prizewinner is displayed on the first floor of OC Bremerton’s College Instruction Center (Building 7). 5. OC’s Practical Nursing program is the top LPN program in the state according to PracticalNursing.org. 6. For the Sake of the Children, a traveling exhibit by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Association, stopped at OC’s Haselwood Library this spring. It documents the island’s Japanese American community before, during and after World War II internment. 7. The Olympic College Foundation won kudos for 25 years of transforming lives as Bremerton Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit of the Year.
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News of note on campus and around the community. Share your honors, milestones and stories at alumni@olympic.edu.
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11 8. For turning his life around after battling addiction and an HIV diagnosis, OC student Joe Barboza, won a 2019 Transforming Lives Award from the Washington State Association of College Trustees. Joe is training to become an addiction counselor and is active in student government. 9. The Foundation won five 2019 communications awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VIII, including silver for magazine improvement and fundraising publications. The district includes more than 150 colleges and universities in the northwest United States and western Canada. 10. Mars or bust! Robert B. Stewart Scholarship student Gregory Legister is a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar. This summer, he’ll spend four days at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, where one of his tasks will be helping design a Mars rover. 11. The first batch of alumni light-pole banners are up on OC campuses, celebrating the diverse career accomplishments of our alums. Email alumni@olympic.edu to nominate yourself or your favorite alum for a future banner. 12. “Knowledge is finite. Imagination is infinite. Connect to the wisdom within.” So said OC Athletics Hall of Famer Pete Dufour '50, who returned to campus in April to lecture about “Mastering the Law of Attraction” during the 2019 Alumni Speaker Series.
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C ALEN DAR
2019 Events JUNE
SEPTEMBER
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BREMERTON GREENDRINKS THURSDAY – OC Bremerton Bldg 7 – Mix. Engage. Repeat. Tickets at greendrinks.bpt.me.
BLACKBERRY FESTIVAL SUNDAY, SEP 1-2 – Be sure to also check out the Wayzgoose Kitsap Arts Festival in downtown Bremerton Aug 31 and Sep 1.
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FALL QUARTER BEGINS
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RANGER GOLF CLASSIC FRIDAY – McCormick Woods Golf Club – Learn more at olympic.edu/athletics/ranger-golf-classic.
HELPING ALL PEOPLE FLOURISH
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OC GRADUATION
20
6TH ANNUAL DIVERSITY CONFERENCE
SUNDAY – Kitsap County Fairgrounds – All the hard work pays off!
THURSDAY, JUN 20-21 – OC Bremerton – Identity, Culture, Power. Learn more at olympic.edu/diversity.
AUGUST TECHNOLOGY IS EATING THE WORLD
01 21 31
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SPEAKER SERIES THURSDAY – Harvey Theatre, Bldg 7 – Get tech tips from our panel of experts: Brett Eddy, Nathan Evans '99 & Ed Hallda '04.
24TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY LUNCHEON
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DECISIVE MOMENT EXHIBIT
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MONDAY – Meet our superhero donors and the students whose lives are transformed. Learn more at bit.ly/oc-be-a-hero.
FRIDAY – OC Art Gallery, Bldg 7 – Photojournalism invitational continues through Dec 6.
NOVEMBER THANKSGIVING IN THE NORTHWEST
WEDNESDAY, AUG 21-25 – Come check out our booth!
SATURDAY, AUG 31 TO SEP 2 – Visit our booth and enjoy a blackberry slug!
THURSDAY – Harvey Theatre, Bldg 7 – Kody Russell discusses how trauma affects the developing brain.
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KITSAP COUNTY FAIR & STAMPEDE BLACKBERRY FESTIVAL
SPEAKER SERIES
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SPEAKER SERIES THURSDAY – Harvey Theatre, Bldg 7 – Join OC Chef Chris Plemmons for new twists on holiday favorites.
CR E ATE A LEGACY
of student support
Your planned gift can transform lives forever by supporting scholarships, emergency funding, programs, equipment and more at Olympic College. The OC Foundation is a founding member of Leave 10 for Kitsap, an initiative that aims to strengthen our community and transform more of our region’s residents into philanthropists by educating and inspiring them to leave at least 10 percent of their estates to charity. To learn about planned giving, contact Executive Director David Emmons at 360-475-7120 or by emailing demmons@olympic.edu.
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID SILVERDALE, WA PERMIT NO. 111
1600 Chester Avenue, Bldg 5 Bremerton, WA 98337
(360) 475-7120 alumni@olympic.edu OlympicCollegeAlumni.org Join us on Facebook
Facebook.com/groups/ OlympicCollegeAlumni THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS FUNDED BY THE OC FOUNDATION.
Bearings When it’s been hot too long and the mountains are bowed and blurry, hidden in the haze; we beg the clouds come with familiar drizzle and wash them clean so they stand clear and sharp enough to cut through all this confusion. Poem by Tia Hudson Olympic College English Professor & Bremerton’s first Poet Laureate