Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Meet the five winners of PCC’s inaugural Classified Employee Appreciation Week

Photos and story by James Hill

Portland Community College’s inaugural Classified Employee Appreciation Week is honoring a diverse and hardworking group of staff who help keep the college running.

Celebrated during the first full week of March across the country, the week is a chance for PCC to pay tribute to the spirit, dedication and “Panther Pride” that its Classified Employees bring to work every day. The honorees were selected by the PCC Federation of Classified Employees (Local 3922) peers to recognize their amazing contributions to the college community.

In this first year, PCC and the Classified Union are recognizing one employee from each campus, and one from the collective centers. At its Feb. 21 meeting, the PCC Board of Directors passed a resolution acknowledging Classified Employee Appreciation Week. The college leadership will acknowledge the five staff in a special ceremony at the upcoming March 17 board meeting.

PCC Centers – Massi Hunaidi

Hunaidi is one of five Classified staff at PCC being recognized for her contribution to the college for PCC’s Classified Employee Appreciation Week. For the past eight years, Hunaidi has worked for the college’s workforce development division at the Portland Metro Workforce Training Center as an accountant technician dealing with the bookkeeping, budgeting and other financial issues. She is part of the college that enables people who receive public assistance to develop their skills and be competitive in applying for family wage jobs.

“I was really surprised and honored to receive this sort of recognition,” she added. “PCC is really respectful and valuable. It gives a lot to the community, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Read more about Massi’s inspiring story.

Sylvania Campus – Malou Ensign

Ensign is a custodian who has been working at Portland Community College for 20 years. She started her career as a student taking computer classes, but had trouble buying the required books for the class and saw a job opening for a custodian and she applied.

On any given day, Ensign can be found taking care of Sylvania’s largest building, the College Center, but what sets her apart is her friendliness and how she connects with PCC students, faculty and staff – and that’s why she is being honored by her peers for her contributions to the college community.

“I am so happy to be honored,” Ensign explained. “This is the first time I have been recognized for something like this.”

Learn more about Malou’s interesting journey.

Cascade Campus – Cindy Hervey

As a computer labs coordinator, Hervey supports the several computer labs at Cascade. She helps with repair and maintenance in the labs; hires, trains, and manages a staff of student lab assistants; and works with instructors to ensure that students are provided with assistance appropriate to the work they’re doing. She also serves as a computing technology specialist, supporting faculty and staff workstations. But what she enjoys most is helping students, one-on-one, and giving them the tools they need to succeed.

“I’m happy to be recognized,” she said, “but I love my job and love working with students, so I don’t look for recognition beyond helping our students achieve their goals. My recognition comes from the student who comes back a few years later and tells me how the teachers and staff were excellent, and that they wouldn’t have the life they have without PCC.”

Check out Hervey’s complete story.

Southeast Campus – Edie Waterhouse

Waterhouse has worked in the Crossroads Café at Southeast for nearly 12 years as Food Service staff and has been an integral part of creating a sense of belonging on campus.

The authentic sense of belonging that Waterhouse has fostered with each individual interaction on campus is something that she excels at. Her long experience in the food industry meant that this was nothing new to her. Waterhouse has been a part of the Southeast Campus since it began as a PCC center back in early 2004. She was a part of the first team to serve here in the Café and prior to her work here worked at a historic Chinese restaurant in downtown Portland China Town.

“She was always around to make sure that everything was just right, or she would make it right,” said Marganette Ware, an assistant with the Career Pathways Program. “She would do all the little things for me, and all of us on a daily basis to bring a smile to our face.”

Read more about why Waterhouse is so beloved.

Rock Creek Campus – Mark Roberts

Roberts started delivering the mail for PCC in 1991 and figures he logs an average of 500 packages per year, mostly books. If you figure ten pounds per delivery, that’s approximately 125,000 pounds over 25 years.

He works for Central Distribution Services, which delivers approximately 100 to 200 boxes a day. Department orders are typically paper and classroom supplies. They also handle computers, printers, lab supplies, etc. Faculty and staff depend on CDS and he takes pride in his work and says PCC is a great place to work.

“People make the job. CDS is like a family,” Roberts said. “It works for me.”

Check out Robert’s cool story in depth.