This content was published: April 1, 1998. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC All-Star Scholars Shine at State Capitol
Photos and story by Mark Evertz
Oregon’s 34 Community College All-Star Scholars, from 17 colleges, will be honored by Gov. Kitzhaber in a meeting in the Governor’s ceremonial office at the state capitol on Friday, April 10, 11 a.m. Gov. Kitzhaber will help shine the spotlight on community college excellence. Six from Portland Community College will be recognized for academic and personal accomplishment: Chisa Taylor and Rachel Rose, Cascade Campus; Loretta Dike and Susi Shiach from Rock Creek Campus; and Siiri Wilson and Amit Aryal from Sylvania Campus.
This is the sixth year of the event and is sponsored by the Oregon Community College Association. Students will be honored at a luncheon with community college presidents and legislators following their meeting with Kitzhaber.
By campus, the six all-stars are:
Cascade Campus –
Rachel Rose, a northeast Portland resident, is the mother of two grown sons who says Portland Community College has "changed my life – first, by teaching me how to operate an offset press in the late ’70s so that I could make a living wage and support my two sons. And later, after being seriously injured in an automobile accident, giving me hope for a new career in education."
Rose is president of the Cascade Campus chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society. She participated in the National Student Lobby Day last year in Washington, D.C, and was elected co-chair of the United States Students’ Association disabilities caucus. Rose has received a PCC Foundation scholarship and is on the PCC President’s and Dean’s lists, holding a 3.71 GPA. She plans to major in history.
Chisa D. Taylor is a northwest Portland resident and the mother of two children who has set her sights high after coming to PCC. "It is my goal in life to be a world changer," she said. "The changes we make today by educating ourselves, and others, positively impacts our future and changes our world for tomorrow."
Taylor has served as treasurer and vice president of the Associated Students of Portland Community College – Cascade, is a Phi Theta Kappa member, an academic peer advisor, volunteer coordinator and member of the Parent Teachers Association, and the program assistant for the Portland Teachers Program. She is on the National Dean’s list and the President’s list with a 3.86 GPA. She is working toward a major in social work.
Rock Creek Campus –
Susi Shiach, a resident of Hillsboro, said the "community learning" environment at PCC is something she won’t soon forget. The 21-year-old is working toward an advertising and communications degree, which she hopes to pursue further at the University of Oregon. She currently sports a 3.92 GPA.
Shiach was the public relations director of the Associated Students of Portland Community College (ASPCC) for 1996-97, the ASPCC executive for external affairs for 1997-98, and a volunteer tutor. She is on the Dean’s list, the President’s list, a Phi Theta Kappa member, and is a former PTK Beta Gamma Lambda president.
Olivia "Loretta" Dike is also a Hillsboro resident who managed to find time to come to PCC despite being the mother of six daughters. "Attending college has taught me how important it is to keep balanced," she said. "It is this realization that has helped make me a better student and a good role model for my daughters and other adults who are re-entering college."
Dike is on the Dean’s list and is a Service Learning Scholarship recipient. She was the former leader of a deaf Girl Scout troop, and helps raise guide dogs for the blind. She is also a Student Congress representative, a Phi Theta Kappa member and PTK’s Beta Gamma Lambda Secretary/Treasurer. She has a 3.65 GPA and hopes to major in business technology.
Sylvania Campus –
Siiri Aileen Wilson is a southwest Portland resident who is working toward a biology degree. She said after being involved in her studies and in campus activities at PCC, she considers herself "a success story." A 3.75 GPA, Dean’s list and President’s list honors, being a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Student Senate President helps back that opinion.
"My outstanding educational experience is the love for learning I now possess," Wilson said, "the excitement I feel for my future."
Amit Aryal, a native of Kathmandu, Nepal who lives in southwest Portland, is working toward a chemical engineering degree. He is on the Dean’s list and a staff writer for the PCC student newspaper, The Bridge. He is also a member of the Volunteer Society of PCC and the Program Services Council of PCC.
"I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to study in the United States and I know there are millions of children in this world who cannot afford an education," said Aryal. "Because of that, I feel inspired to help poor children receive the best education this world has to offer."