INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL GRADUATION

International graduation celebration

International students hold a graduation party at home through Zoom Parleen Kaur The Communicator

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, graduation seemed almost impossible. The CCS Global Education Team decided to make the most out of the graduation day by organizing the virtual graduation party for international students.

The virtual graduation party was held on June 3 via Zoom. All the international students from Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College were cordially invited on to this occasion.

Global Education program coordinator of SFCC Christiana Hennings was the host of the virtual party and SCC Global Education program coordinator Julie Hands was the co-host. The students appeared to be truly appreciated by the faculty and staff.

International student advisor Trina Allen concluded by wishing students all the best and shared some memories with each student. Each student graduated ready to either transfer to a university or work full-time in their desired fields.

International student Angel was one a previous student of Spokane Falls Community College and encouraged graduating students worried about a difficult future, “Nothing is difficult if you’re willing to grab the opportunity.” Angel attended University of Washington and now works in a well-renowned company.

Maninder Singh, graduate student of Spokane Community College from India, adds that he is very grateful for graduating and looks forward to attending Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Students who went back to their home country also joined the party despite the difference in time zones and wished all the best to all the former students.

Charlotte, an international student from Spokane Falls Community College who graduated this year, is ready to go to Washington D.C. to further her studies.

Courtesy of CCS Global Education International students gather via Zoom from all over the world to celebrate their graduation, despite not being able to come to campus and some of the students being back home in their native countries.

Christiana Hennings showed a video of good times and memories students had gathered, and attendees appeared very happy at the viewing.

The CCS team is working hard to provide the best facilities to the students, and they clearly succeeded at providing an excellent graduation party for 2020’s outgoing students.

Courtesy of CCS Global Education Poster for the international students’ graduation party via Zoom.

High-schoolers get ahead in studies by taking opportunities on college campus

Gateway and Running Start students recount first college experiences Johnathan Curley The Communicator

Part of what makes the sense of community at Spokane Falls Community College so strong is the diverse range of students that populate the college’s campus.

Part of that range is thanks to the school’s Gateway and Running Start programs, a nontraditional pathway that gives local high-schoolers the chance to attend college classes either fulltime or part-time outside of their high school.

“You’re actually getting credit and you’re actually seeing a broad spectrum of people, you’re not just with a bunch of teenagers that have a keyhole mindset,” said first-year Gateway student Andrew Guymon, who switched from Lewis and Clark High School to SFCC in his junior year.

That same appreciation for the expanded perspective that college gives also resonates with Connor Hansen, a senior from West Valley High School who studies at SFCC as a part-time Running Start student.

“I like college way more than the high school,” Hansen said. “Once I went into college, I could not stand being at the high school anymore, cause I still had one class there I had to take.”

Still, this doesn’t mean that there weren’t those intangibles of a high school experience that felt missing sometimes. “There were things that I missed at the high school, like teachers and whatnot,” Hansen said. Beyond that, the support systems and staff that the college enlist create a structured and understandable pathway for the program, according to Hansen.

“The advisers are super helpful and they’ve got it set up nicely,” Hansen said. “They help you plan out your whole entire two years there. Honestly, I think they do a really nice job of it.”

Building 30, Falls Gateway on the Spokane Falls Community College campus.

For newcomers like Lucy Sharapata, who signed up for Running Start halfway through her junior year at Lewis and Clark, those same support systems made the difference in what was a difficult transition between the two schools.

“I transferred after my first semester ... It was kind of like a half-and-half switch,” Sharapata said. “I ended up taking nine classes at once. When I was doing that, everyone at the Falls was so nice, and the teachers weren’t necessarily lenient, but they were understanding.”

However, as the coronavirus has interrupted every corner of the world, including education, the college’s new exclusively online curriculum has complicated the communication that’s so important to succeeding in college, with Sharapata saying, “Sometimes it takes (the teachers) a while to communicate back.”

Still, it’s not enough to overshadow the impact and effect that the program means for students who are willing to put in the work to get ahead in their college studies.

“They were willing to take time to help me to try to understand what’s going on,” Sharapata said. “I like that the teachers aren’t trying to be your best friends, but they’re definitely trying to have you succeed.”

Courtesy photo