Educational philosophy

I believe that ongoing learning is the key to opening doors of opportunity, with college being one of those doors.  I believe higher education, and community colleges in particular, needs to recognize that students and instructors are co-learners and the classroom is a lab for sharing our wisdom, acquiring new knowledge and practicing new skills.  I encourage students to utilize all their senses in the process of learning and to begin envisioning themselves in the role they aspire to. I emphasize the need to know yourself and why you want to pursue the career pathway you have chosen. I think it is important to examine your family history, values, decision making and problem solving styles, and how that influences your ability to succeed in school and in life. Lastly, I stress seeing the details simultaneously with the big picture and thinking through the immediate and future impact of how you live your life as an individual within a global community.

My Background

I have been working in the field of higher education since 1978, when as the Program Coordinator for the Third World Coalition, I became the youngest administrator at the Evergreen State College. Within this position I advocated and provided services for students of color and promoted equity and diversity at the campus. I left Evergreen in 1990 upon completion of my Master's degree in Social Work with an emphasis on Administration and older adults. I worked for a brief time with the Pierce County Department of Aging and Long Term Care as a Planner, but found the call of higher education drawing me back. I re-entered the field as an Advisor for the Northwest Indian College branch campus located at the Puyallup Tribe. This opportunity opened the door for a Department of Education Title III funded project with Pierce College and the Puyallup Tribe.  I had the great challenge and pleasure in implementing a satellite campus at the Puyallup Tribe which later became the Medicine Creek Tribal College. Most recently I was a Program Manager at Highline Community College, and implemented a new degree program for them in Human Services. This allowed me the opportunity to teach, develop curriculum, and advise students interested in pursuing similar academic pathways as my own.  In reflecting upon how my career has developed I discovered I had a skill and receive great satisfaction in being able to get a new program launched and successful. This motivated me to apply for the TRIO SSS Director position, and now I'm here!  Giving it my best effort to make the program succeed by supporting and encouraging students to expand their horizons and realize their potential. 

Personal Statement 

The "Tsuru" or Japanese crane, a symbolic gift of well wishes presented to someone embarking on a new beginning. TRIO SSS is a new beginning, a new program for Pierce College, new staff, students new to college. Like all new births, there are moments of panic coupled with anticipation and hope, angst and ambiguity which accompanies growth, and the charting of an unknown pathway. 

"Tsuru" - my grandmother, sailed the seas from Hiroshima, Japan, to reach San Francisco and then travel over land to Devil's Slide, Utah. She came to marry a man she had never met, to live in a country hostile to her, removed from family, friends or anything familiar. Her "American dream" unfulfilled in a small wood shack with no heat or running water, as one baby after another is born. Her days spent working on someone else's farm, to have food to feed her family. Her hardships and sacrifices evident in her sun burnt face, the stoop of her back and the premature grey in her hair. She endured being a Buddhist in Mormon country, the Depression, WWII, the death of a husband and many years of widowhood, yet she never complained. Although we had limited ability to verbally communicate with each other, I knew the fullness of her heart.

"Tsuru" - my grandmother, only 4'10", is my mountain of inspiration; to be the voice of those unseen or heard, to witness and validate each person's truth, to act as a bridge between need and resources.

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