Area Report for Board of Trustees
Dear Board of Trustees,
I have just a few simple words to share this month. I am proud of the work Student Services staff have done this year to support students. Staff have been collaborative, resourceful, patient, engaged, and most of all consistent in their efforts toward providing outstanding services for students. You will see evidence of these efforts in this month’s report. This month, I ask that you take note of the following:
- Efforts to expand TRiO program offerings.
- Strategies used to “reach” and serve ISP students.
- Steps taken to fully staff Campus View for the 224-2025 academic year.
As we look to the future, we remain committed to continuously improving and expanding our student services. Our plans include further integrating technology to enhance service delivery, refining, and expanding our support for advising, and strengthening our partnerships with community organizations to provide holistic support to our students.
The accomplishments of this past year in Student Services are a direct result of the dedication and hard work of our staff and the unwavering support of the Board of Trustees. I am deeply grateful for your continued guidance and partnership as we, along with faculty and staff in other divisions across the College community, strive to provide the best possible support for our students. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to Highline College. I look forward to another year of progress and success.
Kind regards,
Dr. Jamilyn Penn, Vice President of Student Services/Co-Acting President
Student Support and Funding Services:
TRiO Programs and Grants
For clarity, the TRiO program was given its name after the first three programs, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services, were implemented. The name is not an acronym.
Dean Ay Saechao, Grants Manager Dave O’Keefe, and the TRiO SSS Grant Writing Team are writing two TRiO Student Support Services (SSS) grants. If awarded, Highline College would receive over $2.7 million s to operate two TRiO SSS grant projects. Highline College currently has one TRiO SSS grant officially identified as TRiO SSS “Regular.” The College is positioning itself to receive the TRiO SSS STEM Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (SSS STEM) grant. The grants are due on July 15, 2024.
On May 23, TRiO staff welcomed the community, families, and friends to celebrate annual accomplishments of TRiO eligible students. Students were honored with certificates, plaques, flowers, and money in a host of categories, including Citizenship Award, Perseverance Award, Learning Scholar Award, Partnership of Equity Award, and Student of the Year, to name a few. TRiO students continue to exceed grant benchmarks regarding student persistence, graduation and transferring.
Dr. Tolu Taiwo is the new Director of TRiO Programs. In her modified role, Dr. Taiwo administers both the TRiO Talent Search and TRiO Student Support Services (SSS) grant projects.
International Student Programs (ISP)
In late April, ISP conducted an F1 Visa workshop online via Zoom, with 19 potential students in attendance. Following this, ISP hosted meet-and-greet sessions at Campus View, where both international and domestic students engaged in discussions about campus activities. Throughout May, ISP staff organized two such sessions.
For incoming summer session students, ISP offered a pre-arrival workshop to introduce ISP staff to new students. ISP staff extended an invitation to the Campus View manager, Jordan Hamill, to discuss housing matters and address related queries.
Towards the end of May, interviews for the ISP Advisor for Special Populations and the Associate Director of Recruitment and Marketing vacancies will take place.
In collaboration with the Communication Department and the Marketing Department, ISP produced a video featuring four graduating students. This video will be shown during the end-of-year celebration and utilized for marketing purposes.
Additionally, ISP provided a graduation information session, specifically to support ISP students. Staff collaborated with the domestic admission department and the Center for Leadership and Service (CLS) to provide comprehensive guidance on the graduation process.
Campus View Student Housing
Two Residential Life (RL) positions, Assistant Director of Residential Life and Residence Life Coordinator, have been posted and interviews have been started. Associate Dean Juliette Kern and Director of Campus View Operations, Jordan Hamill conducted interviews with nine Resident Assistant (RA) candidates for summer and fall. They selected four students to serve as RAs during summer quarter 2024 and for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence (CCIE)
CCIE hosted a Unity through Diversity Series, where four programs on assorted topics were offered. Thos programs included: Contextualizing Palestine, SoulCollage Retreat, Breaking Barriers, and Global Fest. The average attendance per event was 40-50 people.
The Inter-Cultural Center offered four programs led by student leaders on several topics: support for Women of Color on Campus, Climate Change, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Vendor and Resource Fair and Securing the Bag- focusing on financial literacy. The average attendance per event: 30-40 participants.
Service and Mentorship Engagement Consultants lead an Earth Day Clean-up event, where over twenty volunteers help to advance Climate Justice Week
Peer Mentorship hosted an end-of-year community connection event.
Center for Leadership and Service (CLS)
Service and Activities (S&A) Budget: The S&A Committee finalized the S&A fund allocation for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Student and S&A President Milana Izetova presented the proposed budget to the committee, Executive Cabinet, and Board of Trustees. Currently, the S&A Committee is revising the ASHC Financial Code for 2024-2025
Student Legacy Awards: On May 22, CLS hosted the Student Legacy Awards event, a momentous occasion celebrating 51 outstanding students nominated for Legacy Scholars and Legacy Leaders. This year, the event was held in Building 8, Mt. Townsend room, on a larger scale than ever since 2019. Nominees, nominators, and guests gathered to celebrate the academic and leadership excellence of Highline College students.
Clubs: There are two new clubs. The first one is the SPICE Club. Members in SPICE seek to support students with disabilities. Members provide community and offer resources to support students with disabilities. They also build a relaxing and comfortable environment to help relieve the stress of disabled students. The second club is the Educadoras Study Club. The club provides a space for Early Childhood Education (ECE) students to connect, build, and grow in their academic journey in the education field.
The SWORD Club was recently awarded the Washington State Library Tabletop Role-Playing Grant of up to $400 to purchase club-related supplies. To apply for the grant, they collaborated with their advisor, Diego Luna, and Associate Library Dean Gerie Ventura.
Queer and Allies Club recently traveled to Seattle to see Seattle Rep perform Fat Ham–a contemporary adaptation of Hamlet centered around a queer Black man protagonist. After the show, they met one of the actors, Aishé Keita. Some words the club members chose to describe the theatrical experience include daring, confident, professional, good story, creative, beautiful design, resonant, engaging, soft, and comforting.
Global Student Ambassadors: The East-West Chanoyu Center visited campus to perform a live tea ceremony. Afterward, 40 students in attendance made their own macha. Students saw their culture included in our programming, which allowed them to connect to our larger community.
The Global Student Ambassadors hosted the annual Global Fest, where over 200 community members came to see student and community-run booths exploring culture and cultural organizations. Global Fest was accompanied by eight performances that ranged from traditional Ethiopian dance to the Palestinian Dabke. This event allowed students to break down perceived barriers between people while building community. Students mentioned that they were thrilled to meet other people from their own culture.
Associated Students of Highline College (ASHC): ASHC is in the process of selecting the 2024-2025 ASHC President and Vice President. Successful candidates will be recognized at the last ASHC Council meeting on May 29 at 1:30 p.m.
The ASHC Commencement cap decoration event was held on Thursday, May 23rd. Staff provided students with decorating supplies, as well as light refreshments and snacks.
T-Birds at T-Mobile Park—ASHC sponsored 100 free tickets to current Highline students for the May 31, 2024, Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Angels game. Students can also purchase tickets for friends and family at a discounted rate.
The ASHC council supports the call of Highline College community members to mark May 1 of every year as Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) Day.
Athletics
Congratulations to Women’s Tennis for another wonderful year. The team ranked second in the NWAC.
During the upcoming NWAC meetings, Highline College will induct Jason Prenovost and Steve Mohn into the NWAC Hall of Fame.
Coach Steve Mohn, Men’s Soccer, has been hired by the University of Puget Sound as the new men’s soccer coach. Skyler Roehr (Assistant Coach) will take over the T-Birds on an interim basis.
Report submitted by Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Jamilyn Penn