Wise decisions are based off data. Without data we can’t make informed decisions. And if our college were making decisions without good data, it would be in total disarray. This is where the focus of this article comes in: the department of Analytics and Institutional Research (AIR) at Mt. Hood Community College. While AIR is not an office that students often ever directly interact with, its services and products shape the way Mt. Hood operates. AIR’s mission is simple. Its s

Photos by Sabrina Kuhlmann Hello! My name is Avery Diep. I am a writer and online editor for The Advocate. I write about numerous topics, anything from news to sports. On campus, you can also find me at the Math and Sciences Tutoring Center, helping students succeed in mathematics and chemistry. Outside of Mt. Hood, I spend my time talking to friends, playing video games, and cramming college applications. I also regularly volunteer for Outdoor School and SnowCap Communit

Skyler Stever, the creative director for KGW-TV in Portland, came in one morning to speak to my Digital Video Production class at MHCC, and I could not be more excited that morning. My instructor, Blakesley Clapp, told us that Stever had completed the very same Integrated Media program we were participating in, which only made me more interested to hear what he had to share with the class. He shared a ton of great insights about working in television broadcasting. But he left

Some classes put you to sleep but have you ever been in a class that features such powerful acting it brought you to tears? I joined Zach Hartley for the last 20 minutes of his Fundamentals of Acting class one day. Even in that short time it was very clear to me the passion he has for teaching, and the care he takes to coach his students through the Michael Chekhov acting technique – a technique in which he was certified to teach through the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consor

’Tis the season to be scary, students and staff of MHCC! If you are a big fan of this season, the college has some truly horrible spots for you to catch a case of the “heebie-jeebies.” Our first notable landmark of terror is the Academic Center basement, also known as the Facilities Management wing. This area features an underground hallway with humming fluorescents and the occasional wood creaking to accompany the dead silence. Is it truly a bad place to be chased by someone

Photo by Denis Kuvaev About two months ago I started a job as a live-in nanny. At first, I was not even looking to be any such thing. But a friend gave my name to her good friend, and here I am, two months in, and I love it! This job has been a wakeup call though on how to be an adult, how to better organize my schedule and time. This job has been amazing – stressful like any other job – but it has been such a blessing to work with and for this family, and I am honored to be

Polly Malby has lived an incredible life and career, traveling the U.S. and beyond working as a midwife and teaching the art of midwifery to the next generation, with threads of science, art, and faith woven into her story. Now the Fairview-based artist harnesses her passion for birth, beauty and the wonder of life itself and uses it to create unique custom lampshades and lamp fixtures to shine a light in the world. Her story began as the oldest of five siblings. Her father s

Inside Building 18 on the Gresham campus is MHCC’s automotive program, where students learn how to work on and fix different cars. This two-year program runs through all four academic terms each year. Mt. Hood’s automotive shops are set up with the most up-to-date training supplies and equipment to help students thrive. One thing hasn’t changed over time: The automotive industry is a male-dominated field. I mean, go to any body shop and count how many females there are that a

“I grew up in the hearing world, even though I’m profoundly deaf,” Patty Martin, an ASL teacher at Mt. Hood explains. At age 19, she started learning Amercian Sign Language, hoping that she could teach it to deaf children. That decision would prove to change her life. “For me, it was a ‘Deafness journey,” she says (with a stress on the capital D, explained below). This journey to find herself as a Deaf woman is one that most people may not even think about. To many people, AS

Canemah Bluff camas field near Oregon City. Source: oregonmetro.gov 28 March 2023 The yin and yang of spring has been on full display these last few days. Daffodils open in time for snowflakes to fall on them. Early tree blossoms brighten a morning before dark clouds roll in afternoon to mute all color. Like all transitions, it’s a dynamic time, and although it is not clear at every moment, the movement is decidedly toward spring and all that it promises. On campus the stream

Since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 98, entered hospice care last month, many are looking back at his legacy, and The Advocate joins them, through a special, local lens: The president and his entourage visited Mt. Hood Community College on Nov. 3, 1978, one of the most high-profile events ever to take place on the campus. Flying into Portland on Air Force One from Illinois that Friday morning, Carter was whisked to MHCC to support the re-election campaign of Oregon Gov.

Image by Donald Dean Athough it may seem empty at times, the MHCC Gresham campus is blessed with a robust history of diversity and community that is there to help one another. That feeling was rekindled by a recent visit to the campus by a father-daughter duo that motivated us to start digging into our Advocate archives and asking more questions to learn more. Donald Dean, of Los Angeles, and his adult daughter, Dondei, walked around the college last autumn. He wanted to show

Kelly Chang The Advocate It’s that time of year, the time for holiday cheer – a time of giving and receiving, of holiday spirit, honoring religious beliefs – and of celebrating the start of the new year. What does Christmas mean to you? Or in the case of other religions and beliefs, say, Kwanza or Hannukah, during this time? For some, it’s a sense of newness and generous spending. For others, it’s a season of renewal, illumination, and festive activity. And then there is love

Edith Ramirez arrived in this country six years ago from Mexico, and started studies at MHCC five years ago. She recently participated in a leadership conference called New Leadership Oregon, which took place in June and gave her new skills and new confidence in her higher education. Women attending the Oregon Leadership Conference gather on the stairs. | Photo contributed by Edith Ramirez “Since I arrived here, I was trying to be involved in the community,” said Ramirez. Sh

Velvet Hunter serves Starbucks Coffee with a smile, striving to make a difference in the community and world around her. | Landon Spady The Advocate Velvet Hunter has worked at a Starbucks coffee stand inside an Albertsons grocery store for almost 10 years – a full decade, as of Jan. 10 this coming year. In April 2013, she got promoted to department manager, a job that matches her well – both in her attention to detail and her devotion to every customer she serves, a huge par

The new look for MHCC’s Student Services HUB | Maysee Thao, The Advocate Months ago, one college’s construction team set forth on a mission that would forever change the student experience… Returning MHCC students may recall the dark ages of trotting up and down stairs between offices, more than a few times. But trot no longer: The Student Hub is complete and you can now find most vital student services in one convenient location. In Room 2253 – marked by the large Student Se

Enrolling in college can be a tumultuous task. Between taking the college placement test, securing financial aid, and choosing classes, it’s easy to get lost in the vortex of registration. Beyond this, there remains the monumental goal of completing your education. In light of this, there are programs on the Mt. Hood campus dedicated to guiding students through the quest called higher education. One such program is TRIO SSS (Student Support Services). TRIO endeavors to aid s

The 2020 presidental primaries are coming. So far, the campaign makes the 2016 race look less like an animalistic free-for-all, but it sure does look a lot more crowded this time around. Much like the 2016 debates, the televised 2020 Democratic Party debates have focused on several prominent characters fighting, not only for a crowd of support, but also the policy ideas that they want to implement to benefit the American people. The unfortunate part of these debates is that t

Earlier this month, MHCC’s student government team attended the Oregon Community College Student Leadership and Activities Fall Conference, and they brought home a trophy. Hosted by the Oregon Student Leaders and Activities Professionals each September, the “Battle of the Campuses” challenges student leadership from different schools to think of ways to connect and engage with students on campus. Collin Lewis (Left) and Chelsea Allison (right) pose with ASG’s trophy | Phot