This content was published: December 23, 2019. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
2019’s Top-10 Stories: Meet the people and projects that make PCC great
Photos and Story by James Hill
It’s that time again when Portland Community College announces its top stories for the year. We comb through hundreds of stories on pcc.edu where we showcase great students, alumni, dedicated faculty and important programs. In the next two weeks we’ll feature the top-10 stories that were most popular with our readers.
This week, we unveil No. 10 through No. 6:
No. 10: All Business
Usha Ramanujam is always excited when reviewing numbers and budgets. Her charge as a Business Administration Program instructor is to get her students just as excited. It’s never hard, as her students have plenty of options after they graduate. They can land good positions as payroll specialists, bookkeepers or assistants with accounting responsibilities at law firms. This story details her career trajectory, where accounting opened doors and taught her valuable lessons.
No. 9: Electric Education
Mike Campbell and Korey Theberge are two talented employees with Intel. They used their training in PCC’s Electronic Engineering Program to build skills, and earn cool jobs on the company’s Washington County campuses. Their stories showcase the diversity of backgrounds of the talented students who come through one of the college’s most respected career-technical education programs.
No. 8: A Better Guide to Success
The PCC initiative Yes to Equitable Student Success is creating a robust Guided Pathways model to support students in their studies. The feature highlights how this approach is bolstering the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as increasing data and technology capacity, and creating a strategic enrollment management system to monitor student success.
No. 7: Holding Court
In September, PCC welcomed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to celebrate the release of her new children’s book, “Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.” The event centered on the book’s themes of inclusion, and was made possible in part by the Justice’s assistant, who graduated from PCC’s Paralegal Program.
No. 6: Going Back to School
In this story, President Mark Mitsui reviews how the college is innovating in the area of student support. At the college, nearly 14 percent of students report being homeless, and two-thirds say they are food insecure. These issues can make it difficult to complete a degree in a timely manner. This story highlights the critical, and inspiring efforts by PCC to address these problems.
Next week: The top-5!
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 »