Jinshil Yi

Debra Martin

LAKEWOOD — Two Pierce College Fort Steilacoom students will be honored as members of the 2009 All-Washington Academic Team at noon March 26 at South Puget Sound Community College. The ceremony recognizes top scholars from community and technical colleges from all over the state with scholarship prizes.

This year, the team members representing Pierce College Fort Steilacoom are Jinshil Yi and Debra Martin.

Jinshil Yi, 21, of University Place, is working towards her associate’s degree and studying biochemistry and medical sciences. A desire to stay close to home to care for her ailing mother and two younger brothers, Jinshil, a gifted student and pianist, began taking courses at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom. While maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA, Jinshil gives her time to several campus clubs, serves as an accompanist for the college’s Concert Choir, and is a supplemental instruction leader for one of the chemistry courses. She plans to become a doctor.

Debra Martin, 31, of Graham, is also working towards her associate’s degree, studying business and psychology. A dedicated mother and full-time student, Debra still manages to find time to give back to her community and to her fellow students. She currently serves as president of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year college students, and she gives heavily of her time to the Multicultural Leadership Institute, a student organization that promotes diversity and compassion.

Both Jinshil and Debra, will receive $750 scholarships from Key Bank and the National Education Loan Association, and they are now nominated for the 2009 All-USA Academic Team. Officials from Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for students of two-year colleges, will select students for the All-USA team.  

For more information on the All-Washington Academic Team and the ceremony, visit www.spscc.ctc.edu/allwa.

Chris Scaniffe

PUYALLUP — Two Pierce College Puyallup students will be honored as members of the 2009 All-Washington Academic Team at noon March 26 at South Puget Sound Community College. The ceremony recognizes top scholars from community and technical colleges from all over the state with scholarship prizes.

This year, the team members representing Pierce College Puyallup are Chris Scaniffe and Robert Leavitt.

Chris Scaniffe, 22, of Puyallup, worked in a warehouse for a year, saving every penny, in order to study nursing full-time at Pierce College Puyallup. It’s a profession that’s close to his heart, since serving as caregiver for his elderly grandmother. Now, as president of the Associated Students of Pierce College, Chris is committed to supporting students’ rights and enhancing political awareness on campus. In October, he helped plan a voter registration drive and a debate for candidates for Pierce County executive.

Robert Leavitt, 18, also of Puyallup, has shown a strong commitment to community service since starting his studies at Pierce College Puyallup. A communications major with ambitions to enter the youth ministry, he truly believes in giving of himself for others. Robert’s work includes serving in student government as the vice president of government relations, teaching through Light Source Kids Ministries, volunteering with homeless and transient families through New Horizons Christian Center, and singing in a semi-professional volunteer choir that tours state nursing homes.

Both Chris and Robert, by virtue of their inclusion on the state team, will receive $750 scholarships from Key Bank and the National Education Loan Association, and they are now nominated for the 2009 All-USA Academic Team. Officials from Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for students of two-year colleges, will select students for the All-USA team.

For more information on the All-Washington Academic Team and the ceremony, visit www.spscc.ctc.edu/allwa.

February is Black History Month and Pierce College is looking back at some of America’s most influential and groundbreaking leaders, and the pivotal role black Americans have played in shaping our history. Celebrate with us and begin building a new future by joining in the special Black History Month events at both main campuses throughout the month of February.

Pierce College Fort Steilacoom

• Feb. 11 - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eric Davis, Pierce instructor specializing in black thought and culture, diversity, and multiculturalism, will speak. Afterwards, local R&B/hip-hop group, The Commission, will perform. Cafeteria. Free.
• Feb. 19 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. See the Gosango Dancers, a group of traditional West African performers. Cafeteria. Free.
• Feb. 24 - All day. Take the Black History Month Quiz. The student who gets the highest score will win a $50 bookstore gift card. Second place gets a $40 movie gift card. Third place gets a $25 gas card. Visit the Student Programs office (fourth level Cascade) for more information. Free.

Pierce College Puyallup

• All month -Honoring the Past, Forging a Future, a Black History Month display, featuring educational materials and artwork, will be posted campus-wide. Stop by Student Programs in College Center 210 for more information. Free.
• Feb. 18 - Noon. Comedian Debbie Wooten will speak about overcoming adversity with strength, grace, and humor. Ms. Wooten will connect her experiences to how we can forge a new history for America. Connection Café. Free. 

Pierce College is launching a new non-credit certificate program aimed at helping unemployed and underemployed workers in Pierce County secure higher wage jobs in project management.

The new Project Management Certificate program is being offered through Pierce Business and Industry Training, a division of the Continuing Education program. The non-credit certificate program is a series of three courses designed to give students the training they need to secure such entry-level positions as project assistants, project coordinators, and assistant project managers in nearly every industry and trade.

“Construction and engineering companies have employed project managers on a regular basis longer than any other industry, but we’re seeing that expand to many different industries,” explained Renee Phoenix, program manager and developer for Pierce’s Continuing Education program. “Increasingly project managers are recognized as important in virtually every company, as well as in municipal, county, state, and federal governments.”

Project managers typically organize and coordinate all aspects of a project, from early planning to budget and deadline management to execution and completion. Projects are often those relating to construction, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications, or software development, though such skills are needed across all boundaries of field and industry.

The first course, Introduction to Project Management, begins Feb. 19 and ends April 23. Classes are held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays at Pierce College South Hill Park in Puyallup (near the South Hill Mall off Highway 512). Students must have access to a computer and the Internet, and be comfortable using an E-mail account. Cost is $650.

The second and third courses, Project Planning and Scheduling and Project Execution, Monitoring, Controlling, and Closing, will follow.

 For more information on the program, including full course descriptions and details on how to register, visit Pierce College’s Continuing Education program Web site at www.pierce.ctc.edu/conted/business or call (253) 964-6616.

Gaining exposure to a new culture is easy, affordable, and exciting when families host international students in their homes.

Pierce College is now seeking host families for several international students this academic year. Students range in age from 16 to 50 and, while students may come from all over the globe, most are coming from different parts of Asia. Students have some English skills, but will be looking to their host families to help them learn American culture and language.

“Families really enjoy the cultural learning both they and the students get,” said Robert Redaja of Abode Homestay, the placement service Pierce uses for its students. “It’s a great cultural exchange for all involved.”

Host families must provide the student with their own furnished bedroom and meals (several meal options are available), and live no farther than an hour commute by bus from either Pierce College Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood or Pierce College Puyallup.  Family members must also submit to a home visit by Abode officials and provide a list of references.

Host families are given a stipend to provide room and board to the students.

To learn more about the program, visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/international/housing.php or call the Pierce College International Education program at (253) 964-7327.

Quantum what? Cosmologi-huh? Think science isn’t your thing? Well, think again.

Pierce College Puyallup will present world-renowned physicist and string theorist Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, at 7 p.m. April 16 at the College Center, 1601 39^th Ave. S.E.

Greene is an engaging, dynamic speaker who brings high-level physics to a level that entertains and intrigues everyone. In fact, The Washington Post described Greene as “the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today.”

A professor of math and physics at Columbia University and a former Rhodes Scholar and Harvard grad, Greene earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Oxford University. He has since played key roles in some of the most exciting research on quantum mechanics, and is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on string theory, a well-established notion that the universe is made up of exceptionally tiny, vibrating energy strings.

Greene’s first book, The Elegant Universe, was a New York Times bestseller and the starting point for a three-part NOVA television series that won Emmy and Peabody awards. His second book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, is now being developed into a second NOVA series set for 2010.

Tickets for Greene’s presentation, Why Science Matters, are $15 for general admission and $8 for Pierce College students. Tickets are available in the College Center building, Room 210 (there is no service fee for tickets purchased from Pierce College), or at any Ticketmaster location. For tickets or more information, call (253) 840-8416. 

A book signing and reception will follow Greene’s presentation. This event is sponsored by the Pierce College Puyallup Office of Student Life.