From front to back, Chloe Scheffe and Chelsey Scheffe with Xixi Wang of China and Hanna Halkjelsvik of Norway. Xixi and Hanna stayed with the Scheffe family in Tacoma in the 2011-12 school year. Photo courtesy of George Scheffe.

Families can experience a new culture without ever leaving home when they host an international student attending Pierce College.

Pierce College is seeking caring, English-speaking families to host international students, who will begin arriving later this summer.

Students have basic to advanced English language skills and take classes at the college’s Fort Steilacoom campus. Most students are college-age but may be older or younger. And, while students may come from all over the globe, most are from Asia. They look to their host families to help them learn American culture.

“Hosting is a life-changing experience for the host and the student. You, the host, can help influence and shape the destiny of a student, simply by sharing life together,” said George Scheffe, Pierce College international housing manager. “The student will enrich and change your world view of their country and ours.”

Hosts commit to housing the student for three months or longer. They should live within a 45-minute public bus ride, with no more than one transfer, to the Fort Steilacoom campus.

Students pay hosts $600 a month to offset expenses. In exchange, host families provide each student:
– A private, furnished room, including a bed, bedding, desk, lamp, closet or drawer space.
– Three meals a day, including a home-prepared dinner that the host eats with the student.
– Use of a washer and dryer.
– A friendly welcoming atmosphere.

Family members must also pass a background check, arrange for a home visit, provide a list of references and attend an orientation session.

“We welcome you to become a part of our international community,” Scheffe said.

To learn more, call George Scheffe at (253) 964-6593 or email homestay@pierce.ctc.edu

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary E. Fairhurst

Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary E. Fairhurst will be the featured speaker at this Friday’s Pierce College graduation ceremonies.

Commencement exercises will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday, June 14, at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma. In all, 2,933 students are eligible to participate in the ceremony.

Fairhurst has served on the state Supreme Court since 2003. Before she was elected to the court, she worked as a Washington state assistant attorney general, specializing in criminal justice, transportation, revenue and labor.

Throughout her career, Justice Fairhurst has worked to enhance opportunities for women and minorities in the legal profession and to ensure access to justice for low-income individuals and families. She has served on the Supreme Court’s Gender and Justice Commission and Access to Justice Board committees.

Justice Fairhurst earned her law degree magna cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1984. She earned her undergraduate degree in political science cum laude from Gonzaga University in 1979.

Pierce College Graduation
Friday, June 14, 2013
Commencement ceremony: 3:30 p.m.
Doors open for graduate line-up: 2:30 p.m.
No tickets required for admission.

Tacoma Dome main arena
2727 East D St.
Tacoma, 98421
Dome parking is $10.

For more graduation information, go to: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/dist/graduation/commencement

To read more about Justice Fairhurst on the court, go to: http://tinyurl.com/mfairhurstbio

To read about Justice Fairhurst and her battle with colon cancer go to: http://tinyurl.com/mfairhurst

Dr. Matthew Campbell

An administrator with a decade of experience in student services and instructional administration will become vice president of learning and student success at Pierce College Puyallup.

Matthew Campbell, 39, currently serves as director of student services for the College of Science and Technology at Temple University in Philadelphia, and earlier was an administrator at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md.

Campbell said he’s eager to work with faculty, staff and students in what he described as the college’s collaborative environment. During his job interviews, Campbell said, “I was inspired by the positive attitudes and enthusiasm from and for the Pierce community.”

At the Puyallup campus, Campbell’s responsibilities will include overseeing instructional and student support service programs, faculty development and student retention strategies.

Pierce College District Chancellor and CEO Michele L. Johnson said Campbell is known as a high-energy administrator who’s skilled at engaging diverse groups of individuals in a shared vision. He also has a passion for community college students.

“He is a collaborative leader who has successfully led recruitment and retention initiatives targeted at improving student success and persistence,” Johnson said.

Campbell holds a doctorate of education from Temple University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Washington.

While Campbell has spent the past six years on the East Coast, he has strong ties to the Puget Sound. He worked as an administrator for four years at the Art Institute of Seattle. Before that, he was an academic counselor and admissions support supervisor at the University of Washington.

Campbell and his wife, Danielle Marsch, have a 10-year-old daughter, Zoe. He said they look forward to returning to Washington where they “genuinely feel at home.”

He’s expected to start his new position by Aug. 1.

Campbell said he’s well familiar with the Achieving the Dream network of community colleges – including Pierce – working to increase success for students, especially minority and low-income students. He praised Pierce College’s focus on using data to plan efforts to better serve students.

“I look forward to working with the Pierce community,” he said, “to continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges that students face.”

Screen shot of live broadcast of Major League Baseball amateur draft Friday morning when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim chose Elliot Morris in the fourth round.

“I’m so happy to be picked. It’s the perfect team,” Morris said in a telephone interview, minutes after learning the Angels drafted him. “It’s awesome.”

Morris’s pick marks the first time Pierce College has ever seen a major league team draft a player directly from the college, Pierce College District Athletic Director Duncan Stevenson said. Morris was the 127th pick overall, higher up than his projected ranking of number 224.

Morris’s eye-popping 94-mph fastball caught the attention of nearly every major league scout in the Northwest, Stevenson said. The 21-year-old stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 lbs.

GREAT DAY AT PIERCE COLLEGE
“It’s very numbing at this point. We’re just extremely excited for Elliot and the future potential he

has as a professional athlete,” Stevenson said. “It’s a great day at Pierce College and for Raider Athletics.”

Morris played for the Raiders the past two seasons, helping lead the team to back-to-back West Division Titles in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges in 2012 and 2013, and the conference championship in 2012.

In the just-completed season, Morris notched 4 wins and 3 losses. He pitched 66 1/3 innings, recording 95 strikeouts and a 1.76 earned run average, Stevenson said.

A 2010 graduate of Federal Way High School, Morris is in his third year at Pierce. Morris red-shirted his freshman year, following successful Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He will graduate from Pierce with his associate degree next week.

WATCHING AND WAITING
Morris said he was watching the live broadcast of the first-year player draft at home in Federal Way when he heard the Angels announce his name.

“I ran to my mom and we hugged. She was watching, too,” Morris said with a smile in his voice. “My mom started crying. I was just super-excited.”

The news was a relief, considering the draft started Thursday. “You’re just watching, watching and waiting,” he said. “It’s so great.”

Morris expected to receive a call Friday night from a scout to hear what happens next.

Besides being a standout athlete, Morris is a soft spoken, humble and a “very kind young man” who always has an encouraging word for his teammates, Stevenson said.
“There is no ego with this kid at all,” Stevenson said. “He was an incredible student athlete and a remarkable representative for us and the college and the local community.”

Raiders pitcher Elliot Morris has a 94-mph fastball.

Cross your fingers for Raiders pitcher Elliot Morris. He’s expected to be drafted during the three-day Major League Baseball amateur draft that begins today, Thursday, June 6.

According to BaseballAmerica.com’s pre-draft ranking, Morris is
the number 5 prospect from the state of Washington, and number 227 in the nation. The draft runs this afternoon through Saturday.

Morris’s eye-popping 94-mph fastball has caught the attention of nearly every major league scout in the Northwest, according to Pierce College District Athletic Director Duncan Stevenson.

FORMER RAIDER DEREK VOIGT RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR

Derek Voigt/Courtesy of Peru State Athletics

In another nugget of baseball news, former Raider Derek Voigt has been named to the 2013 Rawlings-National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Baseball Gold Glove Team. It’s an honorary designation given to nine players based on their defensive success, according to the NAIA website.

Voigt is in his senior year at Peru State College in Nebraska, where he plays right field for the Bobcats. Originally from Auburn, Wash., Voigt played for the Raiders in 2010 and 2011.

MORRIS HELPS RAIDERS PLACE IN TOP TWO AT CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Pierce College, Morris was part of the Raiders baseball squad that placed second last week in the championship of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.

Last year, he helped the Raiders to their first-ever conference title, picking up a win in game 4 of the tournament, a 5-2 victory over Mount Hood Community College. In 6 2/3 innings, he recorded 9 strikeouts with no walks.

Last month, the Tacoma Athletic Commission honored Morris as one of its two Athletes of the Year.

Morris, a 2010 graduate of Federal Way High School, is in his third year at Pierce. Morris red-shirted his freshman year, following successful Tommy John surgery on his elbow, Stevenson wrote in a blog post.

Pierce College student T. Monique Montgomery signed the Commit to Complete pledge at Fort Steilacoom on June 5, 2013.

You’ve got to admire the resolve of students like T. Monique Montgomery.

The 26-year-old Pierce College student has a 7-month-old son, nearly 3-year-old daughter and two jobs, one as a home aide and the other as a temporary worker. It’s tough balancing school, motherhood and work, but the pre-nursing student is determined to complete her associate degree – and she put that pledge in writing Wednesday.

She was among the more than 300 Pierce students who signed a promise to finish their degree at the Commit to Completion event Wednesday at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.

Montgomery has been studying at Pierce two years, and expects to complete her program next spring.

“I signed because I do want to complete my education,” Montgomery said. “Usually when you stop school, even taking a brief intermission, you won’t complete; I’ve seen it thousands of times.

“I think it’s vital to complete my education. I have a family.”

AN INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT

Pierce College student T. Monique Montgomery signs the Commit to Complete pledge on June 5, 2013.

On the balmy spring day, Omega Theta, the Fort Steilacoom branch of the national Phi Theta Kappa organization, provided pledge forms, snacks, balloons and encouragement to the eager Raiders. Representatives of Access and Disability Services, the Academic Support Center and other services were on hand to publicize academic resources.

The event was part of an international movement called “Community College Completion Challenge” or “C4.”

Organizers wanted students to know that people who complete their degrees or certificates will earn an average of $400,000 more over the course of their careers than their peers who did not complete. People with credentials also are less likely to become unemployed than their co-workers who did not earn credentials, according to the national Phi Theta Kappa.

The U.S. is now ranked 16th among industrialized countries in the percentage of citizens holding higher education credentials, a statistic President Barack Obama wants to improve.

SAYING IT AGAIN 

Pierce College student Mike Overby signs the Commit to Complete poster on June 5, 2013, vowing to finish his associate degree.

Mike Overby, who started at Pierce as a Running Start high school student, understands the importance of earning a degree. “You need your AA (associate of arts) just to get a regular job; I’ve already seen that when I’ve applied.”

The 18-year-old earned his Washington High School diploma at Pierce and is one quarter away from earning his associate degree. Once that degree is in hand, the Parkland youth plans to study computer science at University of Washington Tacoma.

Though he’s certain he will finish the associate degree, he signed the pledge.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you say you’re committed to something,” Overby said. “Everytime you say that, it strengthens your commitment.”

For more information on Community College Completion Challenge, go to: www.cccompletioncorps.org.

Jensen will meet with the public at the opening reception of “Texture and Being” Wednesday, June 5, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Fort Steilacoom Fine Arts Gallery.

Jensen was just hired as an art professor at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, said Pierce College Art Professor Dave Roholt, who attended graduate school with Jensen.

“Justin has an extraordinary ability to mix the sacred and sublime,” Roholt said.
Much of Jensen’s imagery carries references to his Christian faith. In his landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, for instance, he often inserts a cosmos or nebula into what otherwise might be a postcard-perfect image.
“It’s a balance between the celestial and terrestrial state,” Roholt said.

Justin Jensen: Texture and Being
On display through Sept. 27, 2013

Fort Steilacoom Fine Arts Gallery
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
9401 Farwest Dr. S.W., Lakewood, Wash.
Fine Arts Gallery
Olympic Building (room 265)
Gallery hours: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. – noon Friday
More info: 253-964-6718 or http://jmjensenart.com

“Science Fiction or Science Fact” illustration by Theresa Carr

Ever wonder if warp drive is actually possible? Will we ever have flying cars and genetically engineered humans?

Find out at the Pierce College Science Dome’s “Science Fact or Science Fiction?” celebration this Saturday, June 8.

This free event features an afternoon of interactive science exhibits and talks about whether the amazing things billed as science in movies are rooted in fact.

Visitors can dig up imitation dinosaur bones and walk through a life-size, lighted “Stargate” modeled after the space-travel gate of the similarly named movie and TV show.

A series of 25-minute talks will explore such topics as “Total Recall: What would really happen on Mars,” or “Black Holes, Worm Holes and Warp Drives, Oh my!”

Science fiction movies will show inside the planetarium for a fee of $5 per flick.

Visitors who dress up as their favorite scientist or sci-fi character can compete for prizes. Kids 12 and younger can compete in the 12:30 p.m. contest, folks 13 and older can enter the 5:30 p.m. contest.

Science Fact or Science Fiction?
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Exhibits and talks: Noon to 5:30 p.m.
Movies: 10:30 a.m. to 5:55 p.m.
Admission: Free for exhibits and talks; $5 cash for each movie at the door.
To see the schedule of events or purchase advance movie tickets, go to www.piercecollegedome.com

Pierce College Science Dome
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
Rainier Building, Room 263
9401 Farwest Dr SW
Lakewood, WA 98498

Ongoing summer programs at the Science Dome
Children’s shows
Saturdays at 2 p.m.
“Seven Wonders” will take kids on an interactive tour of the classic ancient, natural and modern wonders. Cost is $3 per child, ages 3 to 8, cash only at the door starting at 1:40 p.m. Adults are free.

General audience shows
Fridays at 7 p.m.
Saturdays at 3:15 pm
Starting June 26, Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.
Planetarium shows start with an interactive tour of the current night sky, then feature one of the following fulldome movies: “Dynamic Earth,” “Lamps of Atlantis,” “Life: A Cosmic Story,” or “Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity,” or “Secret Lives of Stars.”

Omega Theta, the Fort Steilacoom branch of Phi Theta Kappa, will have pledge forms for students to sign as they vow to finish a community college program. It’s part of an international movement called “Community College Completion Challenge” or “C4.”

Omega Theta is holding the event at 11 a.m. in the Cascade Courtyard, outside the cafeteria, or, if it rains, inside the Performance Lounge. Students can grab a snack and listen to music along with signing their pledge.

Organizers want students to know that people who complete their degrees or certificates will earn an average of $400,000 more over the course of their careers than their peers who did not complete. People with credentials also are less likely to become unemployed than their co-workers who did not earn credentials, according to the national Phi Theta Kappa.

The U.S. is now ranked 16th among industrialized countries in the percentage of citizens holding higher education credentials.

The Fort Steilacoom project is designed to boost the morale of students struggling to earn a degree, said Alishia Agee Cooper, Omega Theta treasurer.

“So many people drop out for different reasons. A couple of us have wanted to drop out at times, but having a helping hand makes a difference,” she said. ““We think we should all complete college.”

Commit to Completion
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cascade Courtyard
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
9401 Farwest Dr. SW
Lakewood, WA 98498
More info: www.cccompletioncorps.org

Dental hygiene student Katie Barnes examines the teeth of fellow dental hygiene student Pam Strand in the newly equipped Pierce College Dental Hygiene Clinic.

Learning how to prevent and treat common “gum” infections, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, goes far beyond the classroom for Pierce College dental hygiene students.

Students can be found treating patients at health fairs throughout Pierce County, whether at an elementary school, a church parking lot or the Tacoma Dome. At a recent Homeless Connect fair in Sumner, for instance, students volunteered to clean homeless patients’ teeth, apply sealants and fill cavities.

Students aren’t paid for their service, and many volunteer more than the minimum number of hours they must fulfill to meet program requirements.

Pam Strand has volunteered with her classmates at many health fairs in her two years in the Pierce College Dental Hygiene Program.

“I enjoy it,” Strand said. “I think it’s interesting to go and see this population of people who don’t have current or permanent oral or dental care in their lives. It’s nice to be able to provide them the care they need, and give them the experience so they might seek it out in the future.”

Patients would otherwise forego care

Without the students’ help, many of the patients likely would not receive any type of oral health care. According to a 2012 U.S. Senate report, “Dental Crisis in America,” as many as 130 million Americans have no dental insurance. “Seeing a dentist is expensive, so many people seek care only when the disease is advanced and the pain is unbearable,” the report said.

And lack of dental care can lead to other health problems, including heart problems, stroke, pre-term labor, and brain infections.

State-of-the-art clinic

The Pierce College Dental Hygiene Program enrolls 40 students who also treat patients at the newly equipped Dental Hygiene Clinic on the Fort Steilacoom campus. Thanks to state instructional funding, the clinic installed almost $700,000 worth of state-of-the-art equipment last fall.

The new dental chairs and units are equipped with fiber optic hand-pieces, which are lighted dental drills; ultrasonic scalers; a mechanical dental hygiene instrument, and curing lights, said Monica Hospenthal, director of the Dental Hygiene Program.

“The new equipment provides the best ergonomics for both patient and operator comfort and safety,” Hospenthal said.

“Additionally, the entire clinic is now fully digitized with electronic health records and digital radiography. This includes the new panoramic digital machine which takes an X-ray of the patients’ entire jaw.”

Close supervision

Whether at the clinic or at community health fairs, students work under the close supervision of professors who are licensed dental hygienists and dentists. During clinics, the ratio is one faculty member to five students. Four licensed dental hygienists and one dentist are present at clinics.

“Students render the care, and the licensed dental hygienists and dentists check all patient treatment,” Hospenthal said.

Dental hygiene is known as a rigorous, academic professional program from start to finish.

At Pierce College, dental hygiene hopefuls must complete 1 ½ to two years of pre-requisites that are heavy in the sciences. Next, they typically compete against more than 120 applicants for the 20 openings available each fall.

Students who are accepted face an intensive, seven-quarter program to earn an Associate in Dental Hygiene degree and then must pass several licensing exams in order to practice.

What dental hygienists are licensed to do

Once licensed in Washington state, dental hygienists provide preventive oral health treatment for gum infections, prevention of cavities and other conditions. They administer local anesthetic injections and nitrous oxide, and place permanent amalgam (silver) and composite (white) fillings.

Strand, 32, of Lacey, said she decided to become a dental hygienist after working as a dental assistant for ten years. Unlike dental assistants, she said, hygienists have more of a chance to develop ongoing relationships with patients and work independently. Said Strand:

“It’s nice to be able to get to know somebody personally and help them understand how to maintain good oral health.”

 

Affordable care at the Pierce College Dental Hygiene Clinic

The Pierce College Dental Hygiene Clinic always welcomes and needs new patients. Here are things to remember about the clinic:

• Anyone can get a free screening to determine suitability as a patient. Since the program’s mission is to educate dental hygiene students, patients must meet specific criteria to be accepted for treatment at the clinic.

• The clinic provides a range of preventive care and treatment including cleanings, sealants, and amalgam and composite fillings. Since it is not a full dental clinic, it does not provide extractions, dentures, crowns or root canals but can refer patients to low-cost clinics.

• Fees are low compared with private dentists. Pierce College students and Provider One patients receive a further reduction for preventive care.

• Students take longer than professional dental hygienists to perform treatments. Once a patient has been accepted, students individually schedule appointments.

• Hours are based on Pierce College’s academic calendar, but are generally:
– Monday & Friday: 8 a.m. to noon
– Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* This summer, the clinic will be closed Aug. 19 through Sept. 20.

Pierce College Dental Hygiene Clinic
Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
9401 Farwest Dr. S.W., Lakewood, WA 98498

(253) 964-6694
dhclinic@pierce.ctc.edu
www.pierce.ctc.edu/studentlife/dental/