End of Year Speech 2007-08

President Jean Floten

June 4, 2008

Aren’t our students wonderful? Thank you so much. You enriched us with your performances and have helped us launch this splendid day of celebration.

Welcome to all of you and thanks for coming together as a community to honor the passage of yet another successful academic year at Bellevue Community College. On this, our first official BCC Day of Kindness, I thank you for the many random acts of kindness you perform that make everyday miracles occur at BCC. As Scott Adams once said: Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”

Several years ago I watched a film called the Great Divorce, based upon the book by C. S. Lewis. A particularly unforgettable scene begins when a man stumbles aboard a bus we later learn is on its way to heaven. Gazing out the window, he seems puzzled by the unusually radiant colors of the sky and the soft shapes of sloping hills on the horizon, scarred only by a distinct road that transverses them. His curiosity, however, slowly subsides as he surrenders to the steady rhythm of the bus and swirling heat vapors on the road before him.

Then, something he sees moving on one of the hills jars him into consciousness. Straining to figure out what it is, he gets glimpses of a beautiful woman through the heat mist as she emerges over the crest of the adjacent hill, walking confidently and happily. “What is this,” his mind asks. “Who is she? “

He watches with fascination as she strides by him, his gaze lingering on the strange but fantastic sight of the multicolored and shimmering veil that flows for miles behind her, across the road’s many switches and turns. However, his fascination dissolves into shock as he soon realizes that the woman’s veil is, unbelievably, ALIVE, formed by an endless stream of people moving in cadence with the woman.

He later learns that the veil is made up of all of the people whom the woman has ever touched, nurtured or supported in some significant way during her life. Her living veil is the literal measure of her life-time of goodness.

I love this image and all that it signifies. Imagine for a moment if that woman were BCC. Think about the veil she would have. Woven over 42 years, it would encompass more than 500,000, a half-million, people who have achieved better lives and livelihoods through her help.

See all of their faces and remember their stories: the single mom who fashioned a whole new life; the recent immigrant who learned English well-enough to support his family; the kid who flunked out of WSU but found himself in your classroom on a path to a more promising future; the young woman wrested from the brink of suicide by a counselor who helped her to believe in herself; all of the students who remember a custodian whose bright smile enriched everyone she met in her daily rounds.

We and our important work have more influence than we can ever imagine. Countless and often unrecognized acts of kindness and every day miracles of our faculty and staff leave indelible impressions on BCC’s veil. The veil grows every year through each of our efforts, as it has through the efforts of those who have gone before us and by those who will follow us.

Imagining what our veil looks like, how it sparkles with the embedded faces of our students is a beautiful thought to me.

After 19 years, I have come to love our college and believe resolutely in the significance and virtue of our affiliation as a learning community. The crucial ingredient in all that we do is person-to-person connection, which also has proven to be the number one factor in a student’s perseverance in college. Together, we create endless energy through connection: connection of ideas, of values, of spirit, of people. We ourselves are connected by a set of well-defined and shared values, including a commitment to helping people, changing and renewing lives, and making the world a better place. I am proud to have had a chance to have made a small contribution through satisfying work with kindred spirits and values that permits each of us, every day, to weave with human yardage.

The veil is a wonderful portrayal of what we do; and, as the moral goes: Some people have long veils, some short veils, and a few none at all.

Many times it is regrettably true that we take for granted that which is most precious to us. I don’t want to take our college, our college community, or our students for granted. Today, I want to spend just a few minutes contemplating our work and the supreme importance of the every-day miracles that occur at BCC, and why they could not happen without every single one of us.

Moments of miracles start everywhere on campus. When we read reports about what students find memorable about their education and what keeps them on track, more often than not it is a single person who has connected with them in some important way. It can be something as small as a comment of support, an office discussion, a smile at just the right time, or it can be the viral enthusiasm of a faculty member who shares the wonders of his discipline; or the sense of satisfaction derived by the staff member who helps a student find the right class or makes the college a more aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable place to be. Each of these efforts creates among us a sustainable educational community that contributes mightily to our students’ journey towards finding a life of meaning and purpose beyond themselves. 

We opened today with more outstanding performances by our concert choir and our drama students. Remarkable, weren’t they? Now consider that at least one-third of our students are new to us every year. Yet people like Tom Almli in Music, Tammi Doyle in Drama, and everyone else who leads, coaches and advises our performing groups, athletic teams and student leaders, mold the constantly changing array of raw talent into top-quality groups each year. The very same astounding process of renewal, regeneration and transformation is repeated every year in every classroom across our campus, as individual students are helped to Become Exceptional and build their futures.

Ours is a community that attracts excellent people like this year’s Margin of Excellence award winners: teachers like Jennifer Laveglia, who finds joy when the flash of understanding strikes a struggling student; Ruth Mazzoni, who seeks to relate to each student in every class; and, Ray Pfortner, who inspires students to capture life’s moments through photography with such passion that you want to be his student; and dedicated staff members like Xinhang Hu, who led the effort to pack, move and unpack all of the books in the library 5 times, so that no student would go without needed materials; Ed Smith, Mr. Vista as he is known, who single-handedly keeps Blackboard Vista running despite great hardships and long hours, so that every online student can access their materials at the time they want or need to; and, Gabrielle Bennett, who is motivated by watching student leaders grow and take wing.

It’s a community that generates the kind of caring that results in us reaching into our pockets to give a total of $15,000 over the course of one week to the Student Safety Net, because many students go hungry as they make the daily choice to feed their kids or buy gas rather than feed themselves in their sacrifice to get an education.

Whether we are on the front lines, working directly with students as instructors or advisors, or work entirely behind the scenes to maintain computer systems, or keep the financial machinery working so students receive the financial aid they need even to attend school -- we are ALL part of one community, acting in concert, as that metaphorical woman with the stunning veil, to help students build sustainable lives.

Together, we restore and nurture their confidence and dreams. Together we sustain what I view as a powerful and almost magical arena of renewal and transformation. The teamwork that it takes to bring about such transformation is substantial -- teamwork that requires faculty and staff to work across departments or divisions and even outside the college through partnerships with the community we serve.

Pablo Neruda once observed that the original guiding stars are struggle and hope. We see this in students who are here for a second chance, or to find a way to deal with wrenching changes in their personal lives, who come to us with hope. We provide repair, restoration and renewal. For ALL students we offer a path toward a life of sustainable personal growth. And for the community at large we offer a path toward a sustainable society of involved, enlightened and informed citizens. Teaching is an act of hope, an act of commitment to building a better future – for the students, and for all of us.

This year, as we review the year, we will measure our progress through our students, the wonderful human fabric we are fashioning into BCC’s veil. I have invited just a few to join us today so we may experience the radiance of their accomplishments.

This was a year of firsts. BCC welcomed a class of 38 in our new Bachelor of Applied Science in Radiation and Imaging Sciences and, at the same time, forged an expanded mission for our college – that of serving our community with 4-year degrees. Our degree is the first of its kind in the state, and targeted directly on the sustainability of our health care system, filling a most urgent need for medical imaging professionals with both management and advanced technical skills. We are educating people who will save lives through diagnosis and treatment-- people who will make substantial contributions to society every day.

Let’s hear from one of our BAS students, Mike Bailey.

[VIDEO]

And now, please meet Mike Bailey in person. Would you stand please, Mike? Thank you for being here with us. We are proud of you and our first BAS class. We wish you all the best and want you to take good care of us when we need your services!  

And another first, one for which I am especially proud of BCC, is that this year we are graduating the first students to receive a brand new degree: the Associate in Occupational and Life Skills. Not only is this a first for BCC, it is a first for the state and first for the nation, as the first higher education degree program for students who are challenged with learning and cognitive disabilities. The vision for this rigorous, four-year, 90-credit curriculum is to prepare students to live self-sufficient, fulfilling lives with meaningful participation in society. Before this degree program, people with cognitive or learning disabilities had no opportunity to pursue higher education and faced long odds for building a sustainable, independent life of intellectual and personal growth.

As an institution committed to providing an open door to education for all, we know that students with such challenges can and do learn at an advanced level, and, what’s more, deserve that opportunity. And now, our first four graduates have proven that to the world.

Let’s hear from two of our graduating students -- Anna Harnois and Bergen Delisi:

[VIDEO]

Wow, we are so very proud of each of you. Your accomplishments mean so much to all of us. Let’s meet all four soon-to-be graduates: please stand -- Leah Brand, Bergen Delisi, Anna Harnois, and Trent Marshall. Thank you for being our students and for being with us today. We are deeply proud of all four of you, and wish you the best of everything as you enter this new stage of your lives.

Finally, I would like to introduce a very special BCC alumnus, Tyler Sabin, who graduated from BCC one year ago. I ran into Tyler recently when I went to Western Washington University for a function. Tyler told me that while at BCC he applied to transfer to the colleges of engineering at Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, and Western, and he was accepted by them ALL!

He chose to enter Western Washington University because of their outstanding vehicle research institute, through which he is working to fulfill a dream he has had since a small lad -- to build a super-efficient car that gets 100 miles-to-the-gallon. Tyler is now part of a team of students at Western doing precisely that. They have entered the $10 million X-Prize competition to be the first to get to 100 mpg. Tyler says they will win -- Tyler, we ask that you always remember the BCC Foundation!

Tyler is here in person to talk to us today as we were unable to connect for a video presentation.

Hello, my name is Tyler Sabin and I am a proud BCC graduate. BCC taught me about the importance of communication, teamwork, leadership, and most of all education. BCC’s excellent courses and instructors allowed me to Place Third in the 2007 All-Washington Academic Team and win several scholarships.

 

But being book smart isn’t the only thing BCC taught me. My teachers and mentors also taught me the importance of mentoring, mentoring my peers and that I could play an active role in shaping a better society. Because of this, I worked in BCC’s Student Programs to help create the Peer to Peer Mentor Program, Student Volunteer Program, and the Student Ambassador Program.

 

After graduating, my biggest concern was Global Warming and I wanted to create the green vehicles that world badly needs. In order to accomplish this, I knew I needed to attend Western Washington University and to major in Vehicle Design.

 

At WWU’s Vehicle Research Institute, I have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to use cutting edge technology side-by-side with Professors and talented students to create the VRI’s Automotive X Prize car. (This prize will award a 10 million dollar purse to the teams that can design, build, and demonstrate a  production-capable, passenger safe, vehicle that can achieve 100 MPG or more. The first prize winner will have to beat Cornell University and over 50 other teams in a cross country race that will be covered by CNN and stations around the globe). 

 

Our first prototype is Viking 40. It’s the 40th car WWU’s Vehicle Research Institute has built and our first X-Prize prototype. Haggen Top Foods recently sponsored Viking 40 to attend NASA’s 50th Anniversary and we were the lightest car there. I’m also pleased to announce that Viking 40 is as fast as a Ferrari while maintaining low environmentally friendly emissions. But that’s not even the best part. It also gets an astonishing 50 miles per gallon. That’s the same as today’s best hybrids and it does all this on regular gasoline and without the need of a hybrid system or batteries. This is just one of the amazing vehicles we are building at the VRI.

 

We are also researching alternative fuels so that, in the near future, our vehicles will have renewable and green energy.

 

In the next few weeks, we will begin construction of our 100 mile per gallon X-Prize car and we are currently accepting sponsors of all levels. Please join us in this unique and historical opportunity by sponsoring our car and watching us race in the Automotive X-Prize Competition in September 2009.

 

I would like to thank you all for listening and President Floten for inviting me to speak today. I would also like to take a moment to thank all the BCC faculty and staff who helped me graduate from this amazing institution. They really do their best to make their students exceptional

 

Congratulations, Tyler! We are rooting for you and your team.

Even though you may not have met him, you all had a part in helping Tyler to make contributions that in turn will make the earth a better and more sustainable home for all of us. This is but one example of how we prepare students not just for now, but for the future. 

I hope you will all take time to talk to these six fabulous students who will stay for today’s festivities. Their stories show clearly the value of your work in providing a renewing, transformational educational experience at BCC. 

However, these amazing students are just a few of the stitches on our veil. We have helped thousands of students this year and they responded with remarkable achievements. Here are a few highlights:  

Our team of 230 math students – the Mathletes – finished ninth in the in the national math competition for 2-year colleges out of 179 participating colleges. They also took first place in Washington and our 3-state region.

Several BCC Drama students received accolades for their acting and directing abilities at this year’s Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and Northwest Drama Conference.

Our BCC Bulldogs athletic teams also excelled again this spring. The women’s tennis team won its fourth straight league title. Our women’s softball team posted an amazing 42-6 record, with 3 players named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American team. In Bulldog baseball, one player made the regional All-Star First Team, and three others were selected for the Second Team. Our golfers won the regional title, and missed the championship for the entire league by just one stroke! The league individual championship went to a BCC student for the second year in a row. Go, Bulldogs!

Other individual achievements by our students this year include winning one of 30 nationally Leader of Promise scholarships from Phi Theta Kappa international and one of only 350 nationwide Coca-Cola Foundation scholarships. Three of our students won Washington Award for Vocational Excellence scholarships from the state Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board; two were selected for Phi Theta Kappa’s All-Washington Academic Team; and a BCC student won the UW President’s medal for outstanding transfer student of the year, the second BCC student to win this award in the five years it has been offered.

Beyond these well-publicized achievements, our students achieved thousands of additional, less public but equally impressive individual victories. In two weeks, eighteen hundred students will graduate with credentials from BCC. Every one has overcome personal challenges to achieve this victory -- especially the 600 of them from our TRiO or CEO programs, students who were the first in their family to get a degree, immigrants or refugees, or single parents, or others who have suffered economic hardships or overcome health or disability issues. The same holds true for the 320 ABE, ESL and GED students who will graduate from their programs tomorrow.

Our incredible students continue to be a source of inspiration and hope to all of us. Prepared to go out and make the world a better place, their victories clearly show the value of all of our work in providing a renewing, transformational educational experience at BCC.

Because of the efforts of the entire BCC community, we have amassed thousands of new images into miles of brilliantly colored and vibrantly energetic human cloth to go into our veil this year. This is certainly not to be taken for granted—it is to be truly savored.

[Pause]

Our year would not be complete without saying a fond farewell

1. To our wonderful SCHOLARS IN RESIDENCE, Sung-Yoon Huh from Korea and Lucia Zuppa from Argentina, who have shared so freely with us this year.

2. To BCC RETIREES who have given BCC so much for so many years: Sharon Foster, Bernice Gotta, Bob Ingalls, Carol Lonczak, Sally Meijsen, Al Mittendorfer, Norm Starke, Naomi Willis, Jan Valentine, Linda Leeds, Akemi Matsumoto, Peter Ratener, Kit Taylor, David Jurji, and Karen Raphael; and

3. To colleagues who left life behind this past year: Jon Wulff, Frank Paustain, Margaret Mackey, and Horn Chhim.

I also want to recognize all the staff, faculty and students who helped make today’s celebration possible: Tom Almli and the BCC Concert Choir, Tammi Doyle and our drama students, Todd Juvrud and Food Services, Laurel LaFever and the facilities crew, Rick Otte and Dave Bruckner for our videos, Donna Sullivan for the PowerPoint, Gwyn Jones for the proclamation and daily affirmations on kindness, and to the other immensely creative planning committee members: Rob Viens, Bob Adams, Bart Becker, Kara Talbott, Robyn Bell-Bangerter, Kyra Olson, Maggie Whetsel, , and Lucinda Taylor.

I started today with an image created by C.S. Lewis and I would like to end with his words: “There are even better things ahead than any we leave behind.” Thanks for a great year and an even better one next. Please rise and give yourselves and each other a well-deserved ovation for doing such an outstanding job this year.

[Concert Choir sings: “Ain’t it Good.”]

Now, please join me in the cafeteria for the social event of the season, the BCC Community Block Party, featuring organic salmon, veggie burgers, and other delectable refreshments Todd and his crew have cooked up for us.

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