2016 Warner Pacific President's Report

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The hope that Rhona found in Christ continues to drive her work today. She is the Director of Outreach for Transitional Youth, a faith-based ministry to the homeless. As she built relationships with vulnerable youth, Rhona began to see a new opportunity for support emerging through a non-profit job training program she calls Braking Cycles.

RHONA’S STORY Rhona Mahl has worked with youth who live on the margins in Portland for her entire career. She has witnessed firsthand the cycles of abuse, poverty, addiction, sex trafficking, homelessness, and hopelessness that entangle the lives of young people in our city and she has seen how easily these cycles can break the spirits of those she serves. The path of homelessness deeply resonates with Rhona because there was a time when she found herself living on the streets. A 2007 Human Development graduate of the Warner Pacific Adult Degree Program, Rhona was born in New Orleans. For the first seven years of her life, Rhona, along with her mother and three of her six siblings called the family car home. Her early years were marked by abuse and neglect which led her to try and combat her loneliness with drugs at the age of 12. Rhona was a runaway by 13 and at age 14 she became a mother. Becoming a mother, even at such a young age, gave Rhona a sense of hope for the first time in her life. She remembers crying out to God, daring Him to prove His existence in the midst of her brokenness; in her pain, He revealed Himself. Strengthened by a new-found faith, Rhona found the hope that she needed to fight for herself and most importantly, for the life of her baby girl. Trying to escape the cycles of abuse, violence, and family addictions led Rhona to eventually move to Portland, the city she now calls home.

Braking Cycles is a unique social entrepreneurial endeavor that celebrates and taps into the love of Portland's beautiful bike, coffee, and art cultures to raise awareness of the destructive cycles that keep so many young people trapped and hopeless. Part coffee cart, part bike shop, Braking Cycles provides meals, transportation, job training, and practical apprenticeships to Portland’s most vulnerable youth in a hope-filled environment. Rhona believes that this is where healthy self-sufficiency can become the new cycle. Having moved around to various sites across the city for more than 2 years, Braking Cycles is preparing to settle into their first brick and mortar store on SE 33rd and Powell in January 2017. Rhona is currently working on organizing penny drives to create a beautiful and unique floor at the new café, the penny has become an unofficial symbol of Braking Cycles. “Pennies are much like the youth we serve; they are often times tossed aside, stepped over, forgotten and not valued. How often have we intentionally stepped over pennies on the sidewalk? Just as often we step over youth caught in the traps and addictions of the streets. We want to change that, and we believe you can help! By exposing the lie, and seeing the real value of our youth, we will not only raise the bar in our own belief systems, we can make a tremendous impact on the community around us in sharing this simple story. The next time you see a penny on the street, stop and pick it up, think about the hundreds of youth on the streets of Portland, and consider what you can do to make a difference… one penny at a time!” Learn more at brakingcycles.org.

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STUDENTS OF COLOR

FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS

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14

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2016 ACCOLADES • Only 4-Year Institution in Oregon to be Listed as an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by HSI Center for Policy and Practice (Emerging Category) • Educational Equity Award – Oregon; Oregon Campus Compact • #1 (tied) Most Diverse Campus – West; U.S. News & World Report, 2017 Edition • #6 Regional College – West; U.S. News & World Report, 2017 Edition • #7 Best Value School – West; U.S. News & World Report, 2017 Edition • A Best College for Veterans; U.S. News & World Report, 2017 Edition • Best College for Online Business Degrees; College Start • Best Online Degree Program in Oregon; BestColleges.com • #2 in Portland for Online Degree Offerings; Great Value Colleges • Top 5 Education Program – Oregon; ToBecomeATeacher.org • A Best Christian College; College Choice • 20 Knights Earned Academic All-Conference Recognition from the CCC

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2016

I EXPERIENCED A LOT OF DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOL AS I WAS GROWING UP, A LOT OF STUDENTS AND STAFF DIDN’T WANT TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT DIVERSITY. BEING A MEXICAN-AMERICAN STUDENT IN A PRIMARILY WHITE SCHOOL CREATED MANY DISADVANTAGES FOR ME. MANY PEOPLE DOUBTED MY PURSUIT IN EDUCATION BUT THE STEREOTYPICAL COMMENTS BUILT RESILIENCE WITHIN ME. I AM NOW A PROUD SENIOR AT WARNER PACIFIC, WHERE I AM NOT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE OF MY CULTURE, ETHNICITY, OR SKIN COLOR. I AM BLESSED BECAUSE I AM ABLE TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH WHO I AM WHILE BEING FULLY SUPPORTED BY MY SCHOOL COMMUNITY. - STEPHANIE REYES-CHAVEZ ’17 SOCIAL WORK MAJOR

C H R IST-C E NT ERED | URBAN | LIBERAL ARTS | D IVERSE

INVESTING IN STUDENTS ADVANCING THE CITY

2016

FINANCIALS


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2016 Warner Pacific President's Report by Warner Pacific University - Issuu