Christian Ilechukwu The Advocate Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham is a strong option for many students in the eastern Portland area. The campus is known for affordable classes, hands-on programs and a quiet environment with views of Mount Hood on clear days. As an MHCC student, you might wonder how it compares with other community colleges in Oregon. Here’s a fair look based on recent numbers. While no school is perfect for everyone, MHCC holds its own in many ways. Oreg

Morgan McCarraher The Advocate Most people do not think much about their local paper on an ordinary day. It is there, quietly doing its work: reporting on meetings, highlighting achievements, documenting decisions and recording the life of the community. Like many institutions that function well, it fades into the background. Until it doesn’t. Across the country, communities are learning what happens when local journalism weakens or disappears. The change is rarely dramatic

Photos by Aung Pyae Lin

Aung Pyae Lin The Advocate What would you do if you were the last person awake on a mission to save the sun? Project Hail Mary explores that question through a gripping mix of science, humor and emotion. Project Hail Mary is one of those space movies that pulls you in right away and keeps you thinking even after it ends. The camera work is strong, and the colors are especially striking in the space scenes. Everything feels vast, quiet and beautiful at the same time. The sound

Jennifer Childers The Advocate Students attending the OMPA Career Fair (Film School Career Day) over spring break got an unexpected surprise when comedian, content creator and filmmaker Skweezy Jibbs appeared as a guest speaker. Skweezy Jibbs is a “chaotic-good” local internet personality who has been creating viral comedy for over a decade. He is almost always seen in a tilted baseball cap and a state of constant confident confusion. While his persona is high-energy and unpr

Timothy Grassley The Advocate On Monday, March 30, at 12:40 p.m., a classroom filled with students shuffled in after a one-and-a-half-hour break following an early morning start. Still easing back into the day after a lighthearted review of the welding syllabus and a video, students expected another routine lecture to cap off their afternoon. Instead, they were met with unexpected news. What appeared to be a standard overview of class requirements concealed an announcement

Photo by Elijah Camacho Jennifer Childers The Advocate When Mt. Hood Community College President Lisa Skari sat down with The Advocate, she kept things simple. “Call me Lisa.” It is a small thing, but an intentional one — a genuine effort to break down hierarchy and keep conversations open. “I think we have a role beyond just educating students,” Skari said. “Students can get skills without sitting in a classroom. How do we remain relevant, and what’s our role and our space a

Chiderah Edeh The Advocate At many college events today, a brief statement is often read before the program begins. It may last less than a minute, but it carries meaning beyond the moment. This statement, known as a land acknowledgment, names the Indigenous peoples connected to the land on which the campus is located. Across higher education, land acknowledgments have become a way for institutions to recognize local Indigenous histories and the relationship between place and

Cassidy Thao The Advocate The Office of Student Life announced March 16, 2026, that Liana Navarro and Aubree Kennell won the 2026–27 ASMHCC presidential election and will serve as student body president and vice president in the coming academic year. A total of 767 ballots were cast, a slight increase from last year’s 726 votes. During their campaign, Navarro and Kennell outlined several goals for the upcoming year, with a focus on improving and expanding access to existing c

Adam Elwell The Advocate MHCC showed up at their first track and field meet with the largest team they have had since 2020 last Saturday, March 7 at the perennial Erik Anderson Icebreaker in McMinnville. While the season is still young, spirits are high. Both head coach Fernando Fantroy and teammates cited men’s hurdler River McClure and women’s field Ava Hanson as standout athletes to watch for the season. Fantroy nominated both for NWAC athlete of the week after last week’

Photo by Aung Pyae Lin Christian Ilechukwu The Advocate The potter’s wheel goes round with stillness, and a wet ball of clay slowly turns into the shape of a mug. It’s a lot of work, it takes time, and things may not always go as planned, but for Jamie Teigen, a student at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, that spinning wheel became something they love and can’t stop doing. During the pandemic, their ceramics classes were all online and all hand-building: rolling

Photo by Juan Marcel Francia Chiderah Edeh The Advocate When people hear “community college,” they often assume it’s a second choice, a backup plan or a temporary stop before something better. Some even think it’s only for those who couldn’t get into a university or can’t afford one. But that idea doesn’t reflect what I see every day at Mt. Hood Community College. What really defines MHCC isn’t prestige or comparison to four-year universities — it’s perseverance. Walk across

Photo By Jennifer Childers Jennifer Childers The Advocate The delicate balancing act of juggling classes and staying afloat financially is a struggle understood by most MHCC students. For many, the need to work while attending school not only impacts their ability to keep up with coursework but also prevents them from engaging in co‑curricular activities and other valuable student experiences.  But more than $1 million in scholarship funding is offered to students each year

Have a photo you would like to contribute to our slice of life section? Contact us!

Photo by Aung Pyae Lin Cassidy Thao The Advocate ASMHCC 2026-27 presidential elections are being held from March 10 to March 12, and every student has a chance to make a difference. The current student body president, Jeffery Erickson, and vice president, Elaria Salib, have been working hard all year, and it’s nearly time to pass on the responsibility. There are three candidates running for student body president: Liana Navarro, Nick Stone and Emanuely Igwira; and two candida

Photos by Adam Elwell Esther Murphy’s Mixed Media Work IN VA GALLERY UNTIL March 19 Jennifer Childers and Adam Elwell The Advocate Photography is often thought of as a finished image captured in a single moment. But the work featured in the current MHCC gallery exhibit by artist Esther Murphy pushes that idea further, layering photography with collage, paint and sculptural elements to create pieces that exist somewhere between photograph and object. Murphy’s work brings toge

Tim Grassley The Advocate Mt. Hood’s theater department isn’t just staging a play – A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a showcase of both talent and tenacity. How do they start with a fresh idea and end up rolling audiences in the aisles? Let’s take a look behind the closed curtains—and into the backstage shenanigans. Jan. 15 We began our coverage on Jan. 15, when we were asked to interview three actors starring in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We had a blast meeting them. From disc

Photo from MHCC Softball Adam Elwell The Advocate MHCC’s longtime athletic dynasty is off to another hot start. The softball team is 13-1 so far this season, despite — or maybe because of — a majority-freshman roster. Only four players returned from last year’s team; the remaining 17 are freshmen. Softball assistant coach Taylor Gould gave credit where it was due. “Historically at Mount Hood, I think softball has always been one of the more dominant sports… A lot of recruitm

Photo by Dmitriy Morgan McCarraher The Advocate When people think about a newspaper, they often think about the stories printed on the page: headlines, articles, opinions. But a local paper is more than a collection of stories. It is an institution — one that quietly helps hold a community together. Institutions are the structures that give a community stability. Libraries preserve knowledge. Schools pass on learning. Town halls provide a place for civic decisions. In its ow

Chris Woods The Advocate MHCC hosted a screening of the documentary “Priced Out” in the Student Union, Feb. 18, 2026 “Priced Out” explores the intertwined histories of Vanport and Albina, highlighting how exclusion laws, wartime migration and redlining shaped the lives of Black Oregonians. The event will included a short discussion following the film, offering students and community members a chance to reflect on how this history connects to present-day Portland. Albi