J.R. Siperly takes the stage for leadership development

J.R. Siperly, ASCC President

J.R. Siperly has a strong work ethic and a passion for community, traits he acquired from his adoptive parents Bruce and Sandra Siperly. He is an Eagle Scout and served three terms as senior patrol leader. He also served as student body president his senior year at Adna High School, where he founded the “Battle of the Schools” food drive competition between Adna and Napavine, now in its third year.

Siperly chose Centralia College because of the leadership opportunities available. He wasted no time making his mark, running for and being elected student body president. He is engaging his leadership skills to bring new computers to the Veterans Center, new computer monitors to the Writing Center, and he is working to name the Kiser Natural Outdoor Learning Lab (KNOLL) footbridge in honor of Russ Mohney, former Centralia College employee, author, and “peasant naturalist” who passedl away in 2010.

“I’m proud of the work I’ve done and grateful for the opportunities that being student body president provides,” Siperly said. “It’s a lot of hard work and I’m learning a lot. I could not have accomplished nearly as much without the support of my parents and Shelley Bannish (director of Student Life and Involvement Center).”

Siperly didn’t have an easy start in life. His biological parents suffered with addiction, bringing on health problems for Siperly as an infant, which led to learning difficulties as he grew up. He was placed in special education classes but with the support of his parents and his teachers he overcame these difficulties and entered mainstream classes by the time he entered eighth grade.

“I always struggled with math, but my teachers looked for creative ways to help me,” Siperly said. “Professor (Roberta) Ziegler (math) at the college has that easy going nature that helps me to relax and I’m able to do better on tests.”

Siperly also credits his success to the support he has received from many other teachers along the way and to the unconditional love and support of his parents.

Siperly has been re-elected to the office of president of the Associated Students of Centralia College (ASCC) student government for the 2014-15 college year.

“My parents are the driving force to my success at college and in life,” Siperly said. “They are always in my corner and have made me the person I am today. I will always be grateful for the life they’ve given me.”

Local couple turn to BASM for career growth

Chris and Doreen Dickinson

Chris Dickinson retired from the U.S. Navy where he served as a nuclear mechanic operator. He turned his military experience into a career at TransAlta as a water systems supervisor. This may be a solid career for many but Dickinson is looking for more.

He and his wife Doreen have a six-year-old daughter, Alyssa. He knew that if he wanted to advance and to afford a better life for his family, a bachelor’s degree could make a big difference.

The Centralia College Bachelor of Applied Science in Management (BASM) degree presented the path to get him what he wanted. The program, in a hybrid format, is structured so he can keep his job, earn a quality degree, and not have to relocate with his family. He enrolled in the first class cohort in 2012 and, along with 25 classmates, will receive his bachelor’s degree this June.

“Even though I have had to schedule time for homework, taking classes two evenings a week with the rest of the course work online is very family friendly,” Dickinson said.

While the bachelor’s degree program was structured to his liking, tuition expenses needed to be addressed. Dickinson was able to tap into TransAlta’s tuition assistance program, he found financial aid support he was able to tap into, and he landed a scholarship.

But there’s another half to this story….

His wife, Doreen, had suffered a life-threatening injury when she was thrown from a horse in 2001. She overcame her injuries and during her recovery she began to think about her future and the role of education.

She turned to Centralia College and its nursing program.

She was taking classes to become a nurse but then changed focus. She earned her associate degree in 2012, and with encouragement from Chris, entered the BASM program in fall 2013.

“Chris knew the program would be a good fit for me,” Doreen said. “I still face challenges from my accident, but everyone is so supportive.”

And the move into BASM has already paid dividends.

“Being in the program gave me the confidence I needed to apply for a new job, and now because of BASM, I have a much better job,” Doreen said. She moved from working as a pharmacy technician into a position with the law firm of Olson, Althauser, Samuelson, & Rayan, LLP.

“We knew that choosing a BASM student would be a good idea, and we’ll certainly do it again,” attorney and law partner Todd Rayan said. “BASM students are educated and hardworking.”

The future of the BASM couple looks bright. Chris, with encouragement from the college BASM faculty, is considering continuing toward his master’s in business or going on to law school.

The two have turned education into a family affair and likely will find a way to turn their education into new careers.

Quinsee Amburgy knows what she wants

Quinsee Amburgy

Quinsee Amburgy knows what she wants to do with her life. Her goal is to become a nurse and she now plans to apply for the Centralia College nursing program.

Choosing Centralia College also made financial sense for Amburgy and her family. Tuition at Centralia College did not increase last year and will not increase for the coming college year, making Centralia College a top educational value. The money she is saving by attending here will provide financial resources for the higher tuition rates at a transfer institution.

“By living with my parents while I go to school, not only do we save on tuition, we save on room and board,” Amburgy said. “Besides, the nursing program at the college has a great reputation.”

Amburgy recently expanded her educational goals to include psychology after taking a psychology class this winter taught by Atara MacNamara, associate professor of psychology.

“Professor MacNamara is passionate about her subject,” Amburgy said. “She makes learning easy, and nurses often use psychology when helping children with disease and injury.”

Amburgy didn’t choose nursing as a career lightly, and her interest in psychology is no accident. She began suffering severe hip and joint pain while playing soccer in high school. After many tests, doctors discovered that Amburgy has a rare congenital disorder called Arkless-Graham syndrome. This painful disorder causes her joints to fuse together over time, particularly in her hands, feet, and hips.

“I feel like I can make a real difference with children who are in similar situations,” Amburgy said. “The nurses helped me learn to cope with my disorder and I want to do the same for someone else.”

There is a distinct possibility that, because of her disorder, Amburgy may one day be in a wheelchair, but she is determined to not let it stop her from becoming a nurse and feels that the college is supportive of her goals.

“My instructors have been great, especially Professor MacNamara and Jeff McQuarrie (assistant professor of speech),” Amburgy said. “I take good care of myself and I don’t dwell on it, besides; I have too much to do to let anything get in my way.”

Molly McIntyre finds support at Centralia College

Molly McIntyre

Many basketball fans know Molly McIntyre as a standout forward on the Centralia College Lady Blazers basketball squad. She also has a life off the court.

McIntyre, a first-year student, plans to major in psychology and earn her associate degree before moving on to a four-year college closer to her hometown of Spokane. She was recruited to play basketball for the Blazers, applied for and received a scholarship. The financial support made the difference in her coming to Centralia College and really made a difference in being able to work toward her career goals.

“The scholarship has really helped my family,” McIntyre said. It’s helping to make her college education possible.

As a first-year Centralia College student, McIntyre said she appreciates her experiences and the attitude students have toward getting involved in college life.

“I enjoy the college,” she said. I like that students and especially the student-athletes are so supportive of each other. It was great to see so many students at our games,” said McIntyre.

And the high level of support goes beyond that.

“Teachers are really friendly. They make a point to stop and talk,” she said. They care about each student. “I really appreciate how faculty helped me work around my sports schedule with my class work.”

The bottom line is that Centralia College is helping McIntyre as she works toward her goals and supporting her as she succeeds on and off the basketball court.

Jake Kinsman, energy tech grad finds success in energy industry

Jake Kinsman

As a kid, Jake Kinsman, 29 of Morton, lived by a hydroelectric plant. He was always curious about what was inside that big concrete structure. “I always wanted to get into the energy industry, but figured I would never get the opportunity,” Kinsman, a hydroelectric mechanic at Tacoma Power, said. “I was working as a millwright and didn’t plan on switching careers until the recession laid me off.”

Kinsman qualified for the dislocated worker program and discovered that doors were beginning to open. “I was excited when I found out that I could go to Centralia College and enroll in the Energy Technology program,” Kinsman said. He enrolled in Centralia College’s Associate of Applied Science in Energy Technology program in spring of 2010. It gave him the foundation he needed to understand the industry.

Kinsman then began working for Tacoma Power in June 2011. “The first day I had butterflies like no other, but once I got to know the crew, I realized I would fit right in. After my orientation was done, they threw me right into the mix of things,” Kinsman said.

Kinsman graduated a year later and has been advancing in his career ever since. “Jake placed number one on the Hydroelectric Mechanics test for the City of Tacoma last summer,” Milt Hollingsworth, a fellow Centralia College classmate and Tacoma Power hydroelectric plant electrician, said. “His degree at Centralia College played a large part of his success.”

“It is impossible for me to describe a typical day at work. Every day is different. That is what I love most about this job. I could be working in the power houses one day, on the dam the next, and taking care of wildlife lands the next,” Kinsman said.

Kinsman also enjoys giving plant tours for the college’s energy technology students. “I like knowing that what I do every day makes a huge difference in the community,” Kinsman added. “Working in power generation is an extremely rewarding job and I get to work outside in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Tacoma Power is a great company to work for in all aspects.”

Tacoma Power offers tuition reimbursement to its employees, has donated used equipment for educational purposes and lent staff to advise program curriculum. Pat McCarty, generation manager, also serves as the chairman for the center’s advisory board.

Katherine Kruger, dance student passionate about learning

Katherine Kruger

A seven-year-old girl dreaming of owning her own dance studio: That was Katherine Kruger’s first memory of her passion and drive for dance. Now she’s 20 and enrolled full time at Centralia College, working toward that goal.

Kruger looks forward to opening a traveling dance studio to serve rural communities. Her plan is to have a studio based in Randle, Wash., with satellite studios in neighboring communities. “I would offer classes at a small studio as a base for a dance headquarters, and then set up other community centers to offer lessons,” she says.

At age seven, she performed in “The Sound of Music,” a production of the Fire Mountain Arts Council in Morton, where she acted, sang, and danced. After that, she performed in the traveling Missoula Children’s Theatre, and took part in MCT’s summer camp.

After dancing her way through lessons from age 16 at the Eatonville Dance Center, Kruger continued her dance studies while a student at Portland’s Lewis & Clark College, where she attended after graduating from White Pass High School. “I knew I loved dance and performing, but it wasn’t until I was at Lewis & Clark that I decided what to do with my life.”

Kruger says she chose Centralia College because “It’s convenient, I can live at home in Randle and commute.” Also, she was inspired by her mother, who went back to school when Kruger was in fourth grade and graduated from Centralia College.

As a first year Centralia College student (having transferred credits from Lewis & Clark), Kruger will graduate this June, then transfer to a four-year institution to complete her bachelor’s degree.

As a work-study student in the Office of College Relations, Kruger helps prepare for campus events and assists with social media. She selects and interviews students for the BlazerBite Student of the Week, posted on the college’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CentraliaCollege). The BlazerBite Student of the Week receives a coupon for a free coffee.

What’s the best thing about Centralia College? Kruger says, “I really like the class size. I have friends at other universities having trouble finding time to meet with professors. We have more opportunity to meet with the professor and be engaged in the subject.”

Kruger believes that Centralia College “is a really great school. I’m really pleased with my experiences here. The staff and faculty are helpful at getting the classes you need. It’s the same as classes at bigger colleges but a whole lot cheaper. It’s a really great thing!”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, her plan is to “be involved in different dance studios. I’ll see what opportunities arise,” she says. “I’m really passionate about learning, so it makes going to school easy. I’m just thankful for the opportunities to expand myself and have it [education] be so attainable, because I realize that’s not true for everyone. I enjoy my time here. It’s good stuff!”

Kruger is on her way to making dreams come true for other young dancers.

Raegan Nelson, All-Washington College Academic Team scholar

Raegan Nelson

Raegan Nelson, an All-Washington team member representing Centralia College, knows what it means to lead a busy life. She is a Running Start student carrying a 3.97 GPA, and is majoring in cellular/molecular biology. She is the starting point guard and a team captain on her high school varsity basketball team, runs varsity track in the spring, works on the college campus as a biology lab aide, she organized and leads a Centralia College chemistry study group, and has evolved her role into that of a mentor. She is also active in the college’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and TRiO Club. In her spare time, if such a thing exists, she curls up with a good book or hangs out with friends.

This past summer she served as a lab assistant for Dr. Steve Norton (Centralia College biology professor) during the annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy for high school students. “I was going to pay to attend. Instead, I had the privilege of working at the event, helping Dr. Norton run his chick respiration lab and his heart anatomy/electrical conduction lab. I was very humbled to have been asked by Dr. Norton to assist him.”

Dr. Norton inspired her focus on biology. She said she was fascinated by his expertise and his passion for biology. “He motivated me to learn more about cellular biology. He’s a great professor who makes me want to dig deeper, to see what is going on,” Nelson said.

No doubt she is motivated. “I’ve always had a passion for science,” she said. “My mother and father instilled a love of learning in me. I have always loved to read and am constantly asking questions to learn more about the way the world works,” Nelson said. She plans to transfer to Central Washington University after she receives her high school diploma and two-year college degree this June.

Her goal is to earn a doctorate and to share her passion for learning. She isn’t certain what she will do once her education is complete but she is considering a college-level teaching career. “I am also thinking about cancer research. I want to investigate nanotechnology, which will be important in curing cancer,” Nelson said.

Nelson said she chose to attend Centralia College through the Running Start program. “It was an amazing opportunity. Not only would attending a community college…help me pay for my first two years,” Nelson said, “I would also be able to challenge myself in a way my high school classes were unable to do.”

A resource she found helpful when first coming to Centralia Collge was the introductory class, CC 101. “Coming to college was scary for me at first but CC 101 helped me get comfortable. The class decreases the stress incoming students have. I learned where things were and where to go for help. Plus, everyone was so friendly. That was very important,” Nelson said. Last year’s CC 101 experience was so influential that she became an event leader this year. “I’ve found that people really care and the professors truly care about their students’ education,” Nelson said.

Kristina Lawley, All-Washington College Academic Team scholar

Kristina Lawley

Kristina Lawley, an All-Washington Team scholar, plans to become a Registered Nurse. Her first-born daughter, Abigail, passed away after only five days of life and that life-changing event is driving her.
“The nurses and respiratory therapists (during her daughter’s hospitalization) were amazing, never taking us out of the care loop for our daughter,” Lawley said. “Now, I feel it’s time to give back to other Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) families and their babies.” Her goal is to obtain her RN degree then her master’s in nursing and be in a position to provide “the best care that I can to families and their loved ones.”

Lawley will finish her associate degree at South Puget Sound Community College. She will then transfer to Pacific Lutheran University to work toward her bachelor’s in nursing.

As if nursing studies were not enough to occupy her time, Lawley, 34, stays active as a wife and mother of three- and four-year old daughters. She is a Certified Nursing Assistant and was a primary care provider for an elderly individual and now helps care for up to 10 residents at the Mother Joseph Care Center in Olympia.

“There is a tremendous need in providing care here and I love working in this environment,” Lawley said.

While a student at Centralia College, she joined Phi Theta Kappa, the two-year college honor society, and served as a tutor in the writing center.

Lawley took a roundabout journey to college. She was born into a military family, lived in Germany, South Carolina, and Victory, Texas, where she graduated high school. While visiting her uncle, who lived in California, she fell in love with the West Coast.

She told herself she wasn’t ready for college. She moved to the Olympia/Lacey area and worked as a veterinarian tech for several years before she joined the army in 2004 and became a signal support specialist and met the soldier who would become her husband. Not too much later she was discharged from the army while her husband continued his military career.

The couple relocated to Rochester where Lawley began to entertain notions of a college education and a career as a nurse. She felt she had a debt to repay.

“A friend told me about Centralia College so I visited the campus and loved it. It’s an intimate campus, easy to find everything. Everyone was so friendly, that really drew me in,” Lawley said. Although new to the campus, she wasn’t treated as a stranger.

She was also impressed with the help she received from her advisor, Dale Carroll. “She was always there for me, very helpful and always willing to listen and I mean really listen. That was very important to me,” Lawley said. “She took the time needed to explain what I needed to know and to answer my questions.”

Centralia College proved to be an important place for Lawley as she moves toward her career goal in nursing. “This is really a good school with really helpful people,” Lawley said. “There’s a lot of diversity among the students and the teachers are willing to listen to all points of view. I appreciate that.”

Zak Luker, diesel technology student

Zak Luker

Raised by his grandparents, Zak Luker had what he likes to call a “different than normal” childhood. Although he excelled as an athlete at W.F. West High School, he didn’t apply himself and certainly didn’t see himself pursuing a college education.

After some prodding from his grandparents, especially his grandmother Bonnie Luker, the first to graduate college in his family, Luker agreed to give college a try.

He first attended classes in the Centralia College criminal justice program. After a year he realized that criminal justice wasn’t for him, and withdrew. Luker spent the next year working at different dead-end jobs, and after more than a little prodding from his grandparents this time, he decided to give college one more try, entering the diesel technology program. This time it was a perfect fit.

Now in his second year, Luker maintains a nearly 4.0 GPA and is president of the college diesel club.

“Criminal justice didn’t fit, and I’ve always liked working on cars, so I thought I’d give the diesel tech program a try,” Luker said. “I couldn’t have made a better choice, the instructors are great, and the hands-on learning of how to work on large diesel engines is a lot of fun.”

Though Luker is an excellent student, it’s through the diesel club and the support of its members that he really stands out. The diesel club works on a variety of activities and fundraisers on and off campus. Members are busy year-round raising money for scholarships through firewood raffles, helping with clothing drives for kids, food drives for local food banks, removing invasive species in the Kiser Natural Outdoor Learning Lab at the college, or helping with the foundation’s annual kickoff dinner. Then there’s the popular “touch a truck” event for school children and the diesel club entry of a semi-truck in the Christmas and tractor parades every year.

“I like to keep busy and I get to meet a lot of people when I work in the community,” Luker said. “Growing up here, it’s like helping my family and friends.”

Once Luker finishes school he plans to enter the proposed Bachelor of Applied Science in Diesel (BASD) program at Centralia College. If approved, it would be only the fourth program of this kind in the country and the first community college to offer it.

Vet finds success in second chance at Centralia College

Patrick Zandecki

Fresh out of Rochester High School in 1989, Patrick Zandecki knew a career in the military was the route he would follow. He did enroll at Centralia College, took a few classes, got scared and left.

“I had zero confidence,” Zandecki said. “I was convinced that I was not going to be able to go to college.”

That attitude confirmed his next move, a career in the army. Zandecki spent 13 years in a mix of active duty and National Guard service that found him as a front-line soldier in Operation Desert Storm and later in Iraqi Freedom. He also served as a member of the National Guard pulling security duty in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics and later in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Along the way he married, witness the birth of two of his children and the adoption of a third.

Then a different reality moved in.

In 1999, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2007 leaving him to raise the kids. To further complicate things the army wanted to station him overseas, which could create problems with his parenting responsibilities. He shopped around for a military occupation that would fit him but nothing appealed. In 2008 he was granted a hardship discharge.

He turned to alcohol to deal with the pain in his life. He was, however, sober enough to realize that education could make a difference. He returned to Centralia College, shaken and still lacking confidence. But he needed to start his education campaign to restart his life.

“This is where the people at Centralia College made the difference,” Zandecki said. “I came here with problems and wasn’t sure where I would be going. The teachers and staff kept me on task. They wouldn’t let me quit. They pulled me up time and time again. I can never say enough about how everyone at this college helped me.”

More than course content, Zandecki said, “Instructors like Randy Johnson (associate professor of English), taught me to overcome the roadblocks I put up. I didn’t think I could do English and he encouraged me, worked with me, and showed me that I could. Pat Pringle (associate professor of earth sciences) stood by me in ways I can’t describe. That was important.”

Zandecki also credits other instructors with providing counseling, tutoring, and caring attitudes that “are getting me through,” he said. “They looked past my problems and my feelings in a way that I couldn’t. Each one is an amazing person.”

With support from the college faculty and staff, he has marched from a life as a hard drinking soldier and a person who could barely make two words come together in a written sentence, to an individual who has not tasted alcohol in over two years and can stand in front of hundreds of people to deliver a presentation.

Then Larry McGee, executive director of the bachelor degree program, grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

“He told me I couldn’t quit, that I needed to keep going. He showed me what I needed to do to get into the bachelor’s program,” said Zandecki. “He taught me to believe in myself.” And Zandecki paid attention.

While members of the college faculty kept Zandecki engaged and on track, it was still his work that made success possible. This June he will be in the first Centralia College Bachelor of Applied Science in Management graduating class.

And there’s another successful outcome to his time at Centralia College: he received coaching on how to apply for a job. It paid off and now Zandecki is the Veterans Benefit Specialist for Lewis County.

“I have landed a job caring for my fellow veterans,” he said. “I can do something important to help others.”

He credits everyone at Centralia College for his achievement. “They (faculty, staff and students) are more than mentors to me, they are friends, family, teachers, and fellow students. They are the driving force that gave me the skills, and confidence I have today,” Zandecki said. “I have gained my confidence to the point where I will be able to stand with the most elite of students at Centralia College.”