This content was published: April 18, 2018. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Rock Creek Round Up: Seven pianos donated to Music Program
Photos and story by Janis Nichols
Three grand and four upright pianos were donated to the Portland Community College Music Program at the Rock Creek Campus by the Snowman Foundation of Portland. The pianos were delivered at the start of spring term. A concert to showcase the pianos will be held in the fall.
Seven Pianos Donated to Rock Creek.
The Snowman Foundation was founded by Northwest composer and pianist Michael Allen Harrison to 1999 to fill the gap in music left by a lack of funds in schools. Since 2000, the Foundation has raised nearly $3 million mainly through its annual fundraising event, Ten Grands. Angela Berdahl, dean of Arts and English at Rock Creek, and Campus President Sandra Fowler-Hill attended the Ten Grands event on March 31 to acknowledge their generous gifts.
Ashlee Young, instructor in piano and music theory, has been involved with the group’s foundation as a volunteer since moving to Portland in 1999.
“Michael and Marietta Harrison, who run the Foundation, are incredibly kind, generous, wonderful people with huge hearts,” Young said. “In addition to donating instruments, they have recently started partnering with teachers to offer lessons to students who can’t afford them.”
The number of students studying piano has tripled in the last two years. Not only were there not enough pianos at the campus, there were very few pianos of sufficient quality available to students.
“I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to experience different kinds of pianos,” said PCC student Jacob McKee. “It’s invigorating to know that there are people out there who care so deeply about music education.”
For more information, call Jason Palmer at jason.palmer@pcc.edu, 971-722-7869.
Students Really Dig Landscape Competition
Eleven Landscape Technology Program students made history when they traveled to Graham, N.C., in late March for the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, which is sponsored by the National Association of Landscape Professionals and hosted by Alamance Community College.
With 62 university and community college teams from all over the U.S. and Canada competing, the Rock Creek team placed 31st.
“Not bad for a small team competing for the first time,” said David Sandrock, landscape instructor. “Students competed in wood construction, irrigation design, irrigation construction, irrigation troubleshooting, interior and exterior design, computer-assisted design plus competition involving truck and trailer, back hoe, skid steer, mini utility loader, plant identification and landscape Installation. We had several students finish in the top 10 and several in the top 20.”
Students Tracy Hyland, Emily Purdin, Meara Gordanier and Jerry Katendewho earned some of the highest individual scores.
Grant Allows Staff to Unplug
With Earth Week upon the college, there’s more good environment news happening.
PCC is one of 12 institutions in the country selected to participate in a “Turning the Page on Campus Paper Use” Program grant. Elaine Cole, Rock Creek Campus sustainability coordinator, will lead this research effort along with Energy Intern Zachariah Strife.
Jeremy Estrella is getting with the recycling printer program.
Cole said PCC will focus on reducing the use of personal printers on the Rock Creek campus. and is in line with the college’s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) efforts and support the Print Center initiative to adopt Xerox’s Managed Print Services (MPS) software.
“The goal is to reduce paper consumption, saving PCC money on paper and ink, while contributing to PCC’s Strategic Energy Management goals,” Cole said.
Briar Schoon, PCC Sustainability Manager and LEED Green Associate, has seen firsthand the waste that is created by the use of personal printers.
“Central Distribution Services currently sorts and recycles about one pallet every two weeks of toner cartridges, which amounts to approximately 26 pallets worth of random toner cartridges from individual printers per year, Schoon said. “Some will be refilled and reused, some not. By using networked printers, we can reduce CDS’s workload and know that our print supplies are the greenest and most cost effective available.”
There is toner waste and then there is paper waste. According to the PCC Print Center approximately 884 cases of paper were used last fiscal year at Rock Creek Campus, about 444 of those cases were wasted (recycled or thrown out within 24 hours). At 5,000 sheets per case, 4,420,000 sheets of paper were used and 2,220,000 sheets of paper were wasted.As with any behavior shifts, there are early adapters. People giving up their personal printers include Sandra Fowler-Hill (Rock Creek president), Jeremy Estrella (dean of Social Science, Communication & Health) and Greg Contreras (CAMP director).
“As a person trying to adopt a more minimalist life, I am excited about the opportunity for additional space and simplicity on my desk,” said Estrella. “By decluttering my work space, I hope to create a more calm and relaxing environment. Ridding myself of my printer will be life changing…. for myself and the environment.”
Contreras has his own reasons for giving up his printer.
“I used to have a personal printer within arm’s reach,” he said. “I printed a lot every day, even overprinted at times. Plus I would sit for long periods of time which wasn’t healthy. As of this fall, I got rid of my personal printer and joined a network printer in my office area. I’ve noticed some positive changes. One, I am more selective in what I print, saving on printing costs. Second, I’m healthier because I walk back and forth between print jobs.”
For more information about this, email: elaine.cole16@pcc.edu.