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Engagement General Information
Foundation & Giving College & Employment Information
Evolve: Re-ignite Self & Community Do you want to be a part of solving challenging problems in your community? Do you want to help yourself, or others, aspire to great things?
Evolve: Re-ignite Self & Community is a six-month leadership development course that will help you discover your unique path to making a contribution, build your skills, and re-ignite your energies.
Evolve will broaden your perspectives and connect you with an ongoing network to help you achieve your dreams. Shoreline Community College and the Northwest Center for Creative Aging are collaborating to bring this innovative and unique program to the Puget Sound region.
For students at SCC, engagement comes right into the classroom and takes those lessons right back out into the community in the form of service learning.
Service learning is a holistic, hands-on model of education that expands the walls of the classroom into the community. The concept is to engage students in meaningful service opportunities that are purposefully linked with the academic curriculum. At Shoreline, these efforts are coordinated by the Center for Service Learning, led by a service-learning coordinator, a faculty member and a dean.
"Service learning enables students to discover for themselves how academic theories are linked to the real world," said coordinator Kaelyn Caldwell. "Ultimately, service learning makes for stronger and healthier individuals, classrooms, and communities."
Under the Global Affairs Center, the college brings world views and awareness to the campus and greater community. A non-profit, non-partisan organization, the mission is to encourage critical thinking and engagement on global issues such as humanitarian assistance, development, the environment and commerce.
Directed by SCC political science faculty member Larry Fuell, Ph.D, the center brings leading experts from around the world to campus for discussions and interactions on the issues of the day. Programs have included visits from Taiwan's director of economic development, the King County Health District director and a four-day humanitarian assistance symposium that included CARE, the Gates Foundation and the Peace Corps.
"We live in a global environment," said Fuell, who also served with the U.S. Foreign Service. "Better understanding the issues at play in that environment can help our students and communities move forward."
Shoreline's Honors Program is unique among Washington's community and technical colleges. While such programs at the high school and college levels traditionally involve a slate of higher-level classes in various disciplines, the Honors Program at SCC is standalone, offering students the opportunity to work on in-depth projects in specific academic disciplines. The students are guided by a community of scholars with whom they share ideas and concepts.
"The program is designed to challenge students and provide a deeper college experience," said Kenny Lawson, Dean of the Business, Intra-American Studies and Social Sciences Division. "It gives experience in developing a project or thesis. Also, graduation with Honors may lead to greater scholarship possibilities and admission to more selective colleges and universities."
Center for Equity and Engagement Shoreline has long shown a commitment to multiculturalism and equity. The campus was an early leader with separate centers for women's and multicultural issues. With recent qualification for federal funding, college officials are considering building on those strengths by establishing a Center for Equity and Engagement. Such a center would combine previous efforts under one umbrella that could cover the Global Affairs Center and the Honors Program.
Vice President of Student Success Tonya Drake said the center would provide a focal point.
"The Center for Equity and Engagement would strengthen the institution's commitment to student learning and student success," Drake said. "By focusing on a comprehensive and holistic learning environment, students would receive integrated opportunities both inside and outside the classroom."
Drake said the idea is to make learning personal for students. "This assists students in making emotional connections, applying their learning, and creating meaning," she said.
There are nearly 50 active clubs at Shoreline Community College. With everything from archery to pre-med, one of the more active groups on campus is the Worldly Philosophers' and Dismal Scientists' Society. With three faculty advisers (Bob Francis and Tim Payne from Economics and Larry Fuell from Political Science), the student-run group takes a look at the political and philosophical forces that are shaping the world. The club also takes an active role in that world, supporting micro-economic efforts in the Caribbean and South Pacific.
Other efforts Politics: Efforts by students, faculty and staff over two sessions of the state Legislature helped secure passage of a bill that will help thousands of high-school dropouts get back on track. Known as the dropout re-engagement bill, HB 1418 was sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park. In 2009 and 2010, students from the Career Education Options (CEO) program and Learning Center North (LCN) traveled to Olympia to testify before both House and Senate committees. Former CEO program student Genesee Rickel testified several times in 2010 and said she was glad to do it. "Testifying before the state Legislature was good experience," said Rickel, now at the University of Washington in Russian Studies.
Sustainability: Shoreline is an active supporter of sustainability and in 2009 signed on as a charter participant in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and STARS (Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System). "Responsible environmental stewardship is the key to addressing climate neutrality," SCC President Lambert said. "We must think differently about how we use natural resources and must challenge ourselves to put those thoughts into practice." The campus has a Sustainability Committee as part of the official governance structure and student projects have been integral to the school's recognition by King County as a top recycling location. In 2007, Shoreline signed on to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.
Community: When the attitude of engagement is all around, projects like the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Day food drive just spring up. Helping organize the effort were Service-Learning Coordinator Kaelyn Caldwell, Veterans Center coordinator Jonathan Phillips and student government Minister of Social Justice Ava Munson. With a seemingly audacious goal of 25,000 pounds of donated food, the group beat the mark, bringing in just over 26,000 pounds in just two days. "Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a national day of service by Congress in 1994," Caldwell said. "What better way to honor Dr. King than to bring a community together to help others on his day?" Funding for the effort came from the Dr. Ronald E. Bell Student Leadership Fund through the SCC Foundation.
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"To be successful in our mission, we must be engaged with all of the communities we serve," said SCC President Lee Lambert. "That means engagement with our students, our partners in business and industry, our education partners, our neighbors in the surrounding community and our faculty and staff." SCC students collect donations during a 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Day food drive.