Faculty and students prepare for graduation

At least 350 caps and gowns had been sold as of Tuesday night in preparation for the MHCC commencement ceremonies that will take place June 14 -15.

On average, 500-600 Mt. Hood students participate each year in the main commencement ceremony, according to MHCC Director of Communications Maggie Huffman. As for the General Education Development (GED) and Adult High School (AHSD) programs, she said typically 150–175 students walk during the GED/AHSD graduation.

Whatever the numbers, the graduation ceremonies prove to be an emotional and exciting time – for both students and faculty.

“Students who’ve worked hard and done well, I like to cheer them on,” said Ted Scheinman, MHCC economics instructor. “I get out there and ‘Woo!’ ”

Scheinman fondly recalls past ceremonies. “The best ones were when our division would get together and have a party beforehand, and then all go together” to the commencement, he said.

Associated Student Government Vice President Antonio Guerrero-Jimenez also expects to share his special moment on June 15 with many peers and friends.

Guerrero-Jimenez began his journey at MHCC in the summer of 2009 and has earned a full-ride scholarship to Washington State University Vancouver. Continuing his education at a four-year university is a move he has been planning since he came to MHCC.  “I always have wanted to get my bachelor’s in business administration and, hopefully, go on to get my master’s,” he said.

He said his priorities changed and motivations became clear when his son was born.

“I always knew where I wanted to get,” he said. “My goal has always been clear; my parents always told me my future would be better if I were educated. But now, I know why I need to do what I need to do.”

His son, Jayden, is two years and four months old, he said proudly, and will attend the MHCC ceremony with Guerrero-Jimenez’s girlfriend of six years, his parents, two sisters and brother.

One change he made was deciding to get involved with student government. “I wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship, be where I am or had the same opportunities if I hadn’t gotten involved in student government and gone through this community college stage of life,” he said. “It’s been an important part of my life. It has opened a lot of doors, windows and chimneys.”

Guerrero-Jimenez plunged into student government and said — even though he has gone through hardships, is a father and works part-time — “It’s still possible (to achieve your goals), no matter what’s going on in your life, if you’re determined and put your heart into (it), anything’s possible.” While success may not be as fast or exactly as you picture it, “It’s better late than never,” he said.

Guerrero-Jimenez said one of the biggest challenges of being vice president this year was the transition from reporting to someone to being the person who is reported to, specifically, the amount of accountability and workload. “There have been a lot of busy days and nights,” he said.

Two-thirds of this year’s ASG members are graduating, although some are not walking at the ceremony, Guerrero-Jimenez said. He said he will try to make eye contact on Saturday with Pam Kuretich, MHCC Student Events and Special Projects Coordinator, David Sussman MHCC Manager – College Center Services and Grant Sponsored Programs, Meadow McWhorter, MHCC Student Events & Center Coordinator, and Mary Burlingame, MHCC Bookkeeper/Office Assistant. Especially Kuretich, the adviser for the ASG Senate, he said. “I’ve worked directly with her for three years. She has had a great impact on my life, and I also have made a friend (of her),” he said.

Guerrero-Jimenez anticipates a very positive transition to WSUV. He’s been hired for WSUV’s student government as the director of leadership development, a position he assumes July 8. He hopes to impact as many lives as he can. “I’m really excited, because it will allow me to help others step out of their comfort zones and maximize their potential.”

Guerrero-Jimenez has a little less than a month before he starts his new life at a four-year school. “Only three more years, and I should be good,” he said.

MHCC faculty members are eager for commencement, and appreciate the life step it represents.

After 15 years, biology instructor Lee Mitchell will attend his first MHCC commencement.

“I’ve never had the time,” he said. It’s “a rush to be in the robes. It’s a heady time, it’s a corner. It was certainly a corner for me, I’m sure it’s a corner for them,” he said of the new graduates.

Jodie Marion, a literature and composition instructor, said she sees people of all different disciplines, including SEED students, who go through her technical writing classes. She likes to attend “for the students because it is meaningful to them and their families. They ought to be congratulated and supported.”

Asked if she is sad to see any students depart, Marion said, “Nobody wants to see students stay here forever.”

Biology instructor Jack Brook said, “It’s fun to see students you taught graduate. The faculty form a row for the students to go through. Students like the accolades from the faculty.”