2 minute read
Julie Visner
The foundation’s newest endowed scholarship honors Julie Visner, a beloved counselor who inspired both students and colleagues during more than 35 years of service to College of the Canyons. Julie’s motto was “saving the world, one student at a time.” She is remembered for her compassion and kindness to others, and her willingness to reach out and offer assistance when it would have been easier for her to instead focus on her own family or herself. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer in December 2009, she continued to counsel students on campus, arranging her office hours around her ongoing chemo treatments and debilitating side effects. “Helping you guys is helping me,” Julie told Cougar News after her diagnosis. “It gives me a sense of purpose; I’m alive, still functional and capable in the real world.” While she could have retired, she continued working for another eight years after her diagnosis. “My passion is seeing students get to their goal and find their passion, and I get excited when they get excited about researching degrees, majors, and careers and finding their excitement in their life. That to me is more exciting than a cruise or traveling the world. I’m doing what I want to do at this point in my life,” she explained. Julie’s evident pride in COC and her desire to share it with others spans three generations. Her mother, Mary Gould, taught English and Philosophy in the early 1970s at the college. Her children, Scott and Alissa, both began their educational careers in the college’s preschool programs at the Early Childhood Center. Scott graduated from COC and completed his bachelor’s degree in organizational management from the University of La Verne at the Dianne G. Van Hook University Center. Alissa earned degrees in history and English from COC, and transferred to San Diego State, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in communication. She now works in COC’s Admissions and Records office. Julie’s mission in life was not only to survive, but to thrive, and she did so with passion, with compassion, with humor, and with style. In tribute to her positive attitude, unwavering courage, and incredible spirit, the Foundation is honored to establish the Julie Visner Memorial Endowed Scholarship, and continue her mission of saving the world, one student at a time. Please contact the Foundation if you would like to make a donation the Julie Visner Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund.
