Page 48 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2021
P. 48

neck of the woods | prof ile




              Q: AND HAS THAT BEEN SUCCESSFUL?                    Q: HOW DID YOU COME TO BE A COMMUNITY COLLEGE
                                                                  PRESIDENT?
              CATHY:  Extremely successful. SOHOPE (Southern Oregon
              Health Occupations Poverty Elimination) was a $15-million   CATHY: I grew up in Illinois. I attended a community college right
            grant designed to provide wrap-around services to support very   out of high school, against my will. I was the youngest of four, the other
        needy students. The goal was to take people who live in multi-genera-  three had all gone to universities. My parents had this interesting idea
        tional poverty and get them into a living wage healthcare career. In the   that as the youngest child, I was going to stay home and take care of
        five-years of the grant, we successfully placed over 300 students into   them, because that happened in both of their families. I wasn’t having any
        healthcare careers. SOHOPE taught us that instead of expecting them   of that. I was very interested in the sciences, specifically environmental
        to come to us college-ready, we come to them student-ready.   science, biology and forestry. So begrudgingly I attended my local com-
                                                                  munity college. It was the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me!
                                                                  I was in small classes. My instructors saw my interests and encouraged
                                                                  me to do special projects and put me in touch with people like me who
        Q: IS YOUR TYPICAL STUDENT A 19-YEAR-OLD HIGH             were interested in the sciences. I wound up transferring to Illinois State
        SCHOOL GRADUATE?
                                                                  University and finished two degrees there. By then, I was connected with
        CATHY: It’s a mix. We have dual credit students who are still in high   researchers who were guiding me about a major and research areas. I
        school. We also have a fairly significant younger population of students   worked in the residence halls to pay my way through college. I was totally
        who are right out of high school. But only about half of our high school   on my own. And I got through a master’s degree with no debt.
        graduates in Jackson and Josephine Counties go directly to college.
        And then we have an adult population that’s 24 and older, who typically   I started work as a biological researcher on a Department of Energy grant
        didn’t go to college right after high school and got into career paths   in Southern Louisiana. I worked with some great scientists. I learned how
        that fizzled or didn’t pay a living wage. Perhaps now they don’t make   to do research, how to publish and how to present at conferences. I spent
        enough to support their family. That’s where we come in, taking adults   five years doing research on the environmental impact of the Strategic
        and retraining them for the living-wage jobs that are available regionally.   Petroleum Reserve. It was great fun, and I met some wonderful people.
















































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