This content was published: May 21, 2007. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
A preview of things to come
Photos and Story by James Hill
Levi Bailey - Clive Osborne at Cascade Campus Preview Day
It’s springtime, which means thousands of local high school seniors are choosing which colleges or universities to attend in the fall. At PCC, campus Preview Days help make their choice easier.
Preview Day, held at each comprehensive PCC campus, is a recruitment event to provide prospective students the opportunity to visit the campuses and learn more about PCC’s professional-technical and transfer programs. In May, the Sylvania Campus attracted hundreds of high school students to its event, Rock Creek Campus more than 370 and the Cascade Campus had more than 200.
“It was great to see so many young students on campus learning about all that Cascade has to offer,” said Algie Gatewood, Cascade Campus president. “As it happens, a visitor from Portland Public Schools, who was in my office at the time, commented about how wonderful it was to see so many students attending the barbecue and learning about the opportunities that await them in college.”
Grant High School students Levi Bailey and Clive Osborne were some of those students learning about the opportunities at PCC. Both are interested in becoming police officers or criminal investigators. So Cascade’s Criminal Justice program was a major selling point for them.
“It’s a fun campus,” said Osborne, 17, who says he wants to play basketball for the college. “It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I really love the criminal justice program and enjoyed the tours today to find out what is all out there for me. It’s a big step to what I want to do in the future.
“I don’t want to be doing nothing after high school,” he added. “I want to continue to learn things.”
Bailey said he wants to get going on his career in law enforcement so he can train and become a criminal investigator.
“PCC is definitely my college,” said Bailey, 18. “It’s a great jump start to what I want to do. The criminal justice program has a nice feel to it. I feel very comfortable there.”
Both high school seniors said that PCC’s affordability was a selling point as they toured the Cascade Campus. Another great plus was the excellent staff.
“Coming to PCC will really help me with money,” said Osborne. “I won’t have to spend a lot on tuition. And the quality of the teachers here are just as good as anywhere else.”
In the end, both students say they’ll go back to Grant High School and let their fellow students know about the opportunities that abound at the college.
“I have a friend I work with who is really big into rapping and he is really good,” said Osborne. “He’d enjoy the music studios and labs here.”
Bailey agreed.
“I’d recommend PCC to those who aren’t going to a four-year university, or don’t have anything planned yet,” he added.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »