Simply Unstoppable!

Commencement is always a joyous occasion for Heritage University students and their families. This year it was doubly so. It was the first time in three years that the event took place in person and as scheduled.

All totaled, 274 students graduated with bachelor’s or master’s degrees from Heritage during the 2021/22 academic year. The majority of these graduates celebrated their accomplishments with friends and families at the 40th Annual Commencement held at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

“Our students displayed remarkable grit and dedication to their education during unprecedented difficulties,” said Dr. Kazuhiro Sonoda, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “They could have given up or said they would take time off from school until things got back to normal, but they didn’t. They shifted gears and doubled down on their studies because their education was a priority. Their work ethic and tenacity is an inspiration to us all.”

This year’s keynote address was presented by Washington state Representative Debra Lekanoff of the 40th legislative district, which includes parts of Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties. Sworn into the Washington State House of Representatives in January 2019, Rep. Lekanoff is the only Native American woman currently serving in the Legislature. She is Vice-Chair of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee and sits on the Appropriations Committee and the Rural Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.

In addition to Lekanoff’s address, two graduating students gave their remarks. Ashley Whitefoot-Erickson (B.S.W., Social Work) presented the baccalaureate student address and Monica Neri (M.I.T., Elementary Education) gave the master’s degree student address.

Twenty students and one alumna were recognized with special awards during the event. Courtney Hernandez (M.I.T., 2018) received the Violet Lumley Rau Alumna of the Year award. Karly Beth Serrano, Biology, received the President’s Council Award of Distinction, which is presented to a graduate with both an exceptional academic record as well as a history of service to the campus community. The Board of Directors Academic Excellence Award, which goes to students who graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA, was presented to 19 graduates. This year’s recipients were: Sandra Feria, Business Administration; Shannon Ozog, English; Nansi Iniguez, Psychology; Norma Manzanarez, Psychology; Mayra Delgado, Education; Richard Corona, Education; Turquesa Paz, Education; Faith Bold, Education; Valerie Aispuro, Social Work; Joaquin Padilla, Social Work; Melissa Kelly, Social Work; Silvia Guendulein, Social Work; Crystal Bednarski, Social Work; Kathleen McIntosh, Social Work; Rachael Gale, Social Work; Yamilet Aquino, Social Work; Veronica Lopez, Social Work; Angela Guerrero, Social Work; and Elizabeth Rodriguez, Social Work. page15image35206144

 

Revving Up S.T.E.M.

With the demand to build the diversity of STEM professionals increasing, Heritage is ramping up efforts to recruit and maximize the success of area students.

 

STEM-trained professionals – those who work in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math – are in great demand today. Those who come from minority backgrounds are needed even more. It’s been a white male-dominated world that doesn’t represent the actual world, say STEM experts like Kazuhiro Sonoda, Ph.D., provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Heritage.

Heritage has been working for years to change that. Now, a new grant is helping the university do even more to engage potential STEM students before they’re college-age, find academic success, and make sure they’re ready for whatever path they choose following graduation.

A $5 million “HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institution) Title III” grant from the U.S. Department of Education directs two-thirds of the funds toward hiring staff who’ll focus on attracting Hispanic students into Heritage STEM and working with them throughout their student experience, as well as developing programs to serve these students’ needs. The grant also makes possible the first steps of building a new STEM learning center and purchasing its equipment.

“There are very few Hispanics and African Americans and even fewer Native Americans in STEM professions,” said Sonoda. “The male- female component has been getting better, but ethnicity is skewed white.”

With 70 percent of Heritage’s student population Hispanic and 11 percent Native American, Sonoda noted: “We are perfectly positioned to put more minorities into STEM professions.”

New STEM-focused staff will conduct specialized outreach to area high schools with large Hispanic- student populations. Summer STEM bridge programs, dual enrollment and articulation agreements witharea schools to Heritage will increase students’ readiness for college courses.

Sonoda says a big part of recruiting students means sharing what STEM opportunities are available.

“Students in our area see people in medical professions, law enforcement and social work, for example, so they know those are professions they can pursue. They need to know about other career paths, like scientists and engineers, so they see those STEM professions as opportunities as well.

“They need to start to experience a shared belief that they can do this so that while they’re still in high school, they can take the appropriate courses and work to be ready for college-level STEM courses.”

FINE-TUNING SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Four long-standing grant-funded programs have added to Heritage’s success in increasing enrollment, retention, academic success, and graduation of Heritage’s minority students: the McNair Scholars Program and three National Science Foundation (NSF) grants – the EAGLES STEM Scholarship Program, the Culturally Responsive Education in STEM (CRESCENT) program, and the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).

The new HSI grant model now expands the student-serving provisions of existing programs. In addition to high school outreach, once at Heritage, each student will be assigned a STEM coach, a professional retention specialist who’ll connect them with academic and support services like tutoring and counseling. This person will serve as a mentor, role model and career advisor. STEM coaches will work hand in hand with academic advisors and faculty.

“Many students come to Heritage needing help getting up to speed in math and science, and there are those that don’t make it,” said Sonoda. “Part of what’s going to happen involves working with high school students to be ready for college-level STEM courses before they come here, and we need to make sure new freshmen don’t drop out if they don’t find immediate success in entry-level courses.”

In addition to leading students to needed academic support, STEM coaches will address their social and mental health needs, connecting them with internal and external services, referred to as “full wrap-around” services. The adaptation of this case management model will be rigorously studied for its effectiveness and modified as needed.

Students work on math problems at the Academic Skills Center at Heritage University

STEM coaches will follow up with students if they miss class or homework is delayed, if they have financial burdens, their transportation isn’t working, or if there are family needs.

“This has always been done at Heritage out of care for students’ well-being and academic success, but this model formalizes it,” Sonoda said. “The concept is to bridge the gap by identifying what each student needs and providing it.”

A significant part of the Heritage experience for students – professional internships – will also find support from HSI grant-supported staff to help students identify their desired post- graduation opportunities, whether with job possibilities or graduate studies.

“Our track record for connecting students to internships is excellent,” said Jessica Black, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science at Heritage University and director for the Center for Indigenous Health, Culture & the Environment (CIHCE).

“One hundred percent of STEM students at Heritage who wish to have paid summer research experiences get them, and the HSI grant will support this kind of active learning so important to their success. It lets them incorporate scientific research into their program and transition successfully into more advanced roles along the way to their professional path.”

POST-GRADUATION PREPAREDNESS

Professional experience via internships expands students’ vision of possibilities for their future, including graduate studies and post-graduation jobs, said Black.

“There’s no limit to what Heritage’s STEM students can do,” she said.

Black noted that Heritage grads have gone on to graduate programs in biology, computer science and engineering. They’ve completed medical lab science programs, physician assistant programs, veterinary school and medical school. They’ve earned doctorates in pharmacology, chemistry, microbiology, and environmental climate policy. They’re working as science teachers and at area labs in the Yakima Valley. They work for the Yakama Nation and natural resources and fisheries for Yakama Power and Yakima Forestry.

A student works on an experiment in a laboratory at Heritage University.

“They very often go to work back in their communities where they’re able to serve as role models and do meaningful work that really makes a difference for people.

“This grant means we do more to support our students and specifically their careers in STEM, and that’s why we’re here.”

ADELANTE, STEM!

Look at any building on the Heritage campus, and you’ll see a dream that’s become a reality. The university’s next big dream – its new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math center, being called the “STEM Learning Center” – is set to become the next dream come true.

On the southeast corner of campus, where the wide green lawn stretches to the hop fields beyond, adjacent to the Martha B. Yallup Health Sciences Building – this is where this long-awaited home to continued ingenuity and discovery in STEM will take shape.

The HSI grant is allowing plans for the new STEM structure to begin.

Early plans depict a simple, elegant building – low-slung, sleek- looking, with electricity-generating solar panels to power the entire facility and heat its water. Its thick windows will conserve energy; its walls will contain phase change materials for thermal energy storage.

Stepping inside the oversized entrance – one that seems to say “Welcome” in a very big way – visitors will experience the feel of a future STEM workplace, as fully outfitted, state-of-the-art labs and open-concept spaces welcome visitors, engender conversation, spark imagination, and facilitate learning.

Significantly located on the Yakama Reservation, it will be the first wholly STEM-focused learning center in the Yakima Valley.

Students have dubbed the project “Adelante STEM,” Spanish for “Forward STEM.”

UNIVERSITIES NATIONWIDE COMBINING STEM STUDIES

Heritage’s current STEM space is limited. Seven STEM majors – biology, mathematics, computer science, pre- engineering, environmental science, nursing and pre-med studies share five labs and 30 classrooms.

With 5,000 square feet of space, spacious labs, break-out rooms, multiple study areas and state-of-the- art equipment, Heritage’s new STEM building will revolutionize current offerings, making it possible for Heritage to increase its STEM student capacity to 350 students.

Artist rendering of the proposed STEM Center planned for Heritage University.

In creating this space, Heritage will join a STEM-learning emphasis taking place in major universities across the country.

“Combined STEM-focused study is what major universities are doing,” said Provost Sonoda. “Most have a science building where all STEM students study in the same area, not separate. STEM-oriented areas create camaraderie and enhance through shared learning opportunities.

“We want to make all the tools available, and this is the start of making it real – what has been the dream of leadership, faculty and students for ten years.”

RIGHT BUILDER, RIGHT TIME

Nuclear engineer Michael Durst was enjoying retirement in 2014 when Sonoda asked him to develop a pre-engineering program at Heritage. He decided to embrace that challenge and is taking his passion to the next step.

“When Dr. Sonoda asked me to direct the design and construction of the STEM building, I just had to say yes,” said Durst. “It was what I had come to Heritage for.”

Durst and other Heritage leaders are working with area architects on preliminary design concepts.

Durst’s illustrious career includes the receipt of a Nobel Peace Prize for his work reducing nuclear materials following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, followed by the design- build of the largest observatory and planetarium in the Pacific Northwest – the Moore Observatory at Columbia Basin College.

Yet he sites experiences working with middle schoolers in Washington’s Tri-Cities as among the most striking memories in his 50-year career.

The observatory had purchased a new scanning electron microscope, and Durst and others took it to middle schools in the area as part of their student outreach program.

“We demonstrated to students what their world looks like when they can see things ten times the size of an atom,” said Durst.

“They were absolutely incredulous. Watching them respond was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.”

IGNITING INTEREST

Durst says he’s excited to witness similar reactions among students of all ages when the STEM building is up and running.

“This will attract students to Heritage. It’ll ignite their energy to get involved with STEM. Students who apply themselves will be able to use this building to do anything they want to do to learn.

“We want students to feel the cross-cutting nature of sciences and technology. For example, the hot water solar collectors will provide hot water not only for building usage but also as potential feedstock in other areas of usage such as agro-farming and material sciences.”

In addition to class and lab time for Heritage students, Durst and other Heritage faculty plan to host pre-college-age students at the center. With a space designated for STEM outreach and STEM educator training for area K-12 school systems, they’d love to welcome students by the busload.

“We’ll have lots of lab space where students of all ages can learn how to do things and make mistakes in a safe manner,” Durst said. “There’s no end to what students will be able to learn.”

Durst sites vertical, sustainable farming, expected to take an increasingly central role in Washington’s and the world’s future, as just one of the areas that can be studied and showcased.

Connections with area businesses are also being made and are expected to be good for student internships as well as job possibilities following graduation.

“The building will be like a business hub for Heritage,” Durst said. “It will act as a hub for students moving in and out of internships and will play an integral role in real-work experience in solar electric, solar hot water, wastewater treatment technologies, agriculture and so much more.

“In a very real sense, this building is the first phase of building a full Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics study complex.

“We want it to be sized and built in such a way that in the future, we can add on to it for additional expanded capability for our STEM programs and an ever-growing number of STEM students.” page15image35206144

Law school pipeline program for Central Washington students to launch at Heritage University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Law school pipeline program for Central Washington students to launch at Heritage University

Toppenish, Wash. – Legal educators, lawyers, and judges from across Washington state will lead a program at Heritage University designed to prepare Central Washington students for the rigors of law school and a legal career. The program, funded by a grant from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program, is an innovative partnership between the law schools at Seattle University, the University of Washington and Gonzaga University and Heritage that aims to make a law degree more accessible to diverse students, especially Latino/Latina/Latinx and Indigenous students.

To teach specific program topics, the program will host highly acclaimed legal professionals from across the state, including:

  • Stephen C. Gonzalez – chief justice, Washington Supreme Court
  • Helen Whitener – justice, Washington Supreme Court
  • Annette Clark – dean and professor of law, Seattle University School of Law.
  • César Torres – executive director, Northwest Justice Project in Yakima, Wash.
  • Sonia Rodriguez-True – Yakima County Superior Court commissioner in Yakima, Wash.
  • Bree Black Horse – senior associate with Seattle law firm Kilpatrick Townsend and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma citizen.
  • Fé LopezGaetke – director, LSAC diversity, equity & inclusion programs & operations.
  • Jaime “Jr.” Cuevas – general council, Ramsey Companies in White Swan, Wash.
  • Lola Velazquez – attorney, Northwest Justice Project.

The LSAC PLUS Program kicks off the three-week program on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, with in-person classes at Heritage three days each week. Key aspects are designed to help the 37 enrolled students envision themselves as lawyers, with a visit by Washington Supreme Court justices, a mock law school class, roundtable discussions with leaders of minority bar associations, and modules that provide helpful information to demystify the application process and the law school experience. Students may also visit one of the Washington law schools. A shorter, follow-up program component will take place in October.

By the end of the program, students will have a better understanding of what it takes to apply to and become accepted by a law school, thrive as a law student, and ultimately a career as a lawyer. Students will make valuable connections with diverse attorneys and judges in their community who are invested in their future success.

For additional background information, visit: https://law.seattleu.edu/about/newscenter/all-current-stories/partnership-seeks-to-create-a-pipeline-of-latinx-and-indigenous-students-from-heritage-university-to-law-school.html

Media are invited to report on the first day of the LSAC PLUS Program, with opportunities to interview students, instructors and program coordinators during a break scheduled for 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact Davidson Mance, Heritage University media relations coordinator, at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

# # #

This project received funding from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The opinions and conclusions contained in this document are the opinions and conclusions of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of LSAC.

Heritage University’s Annual Scholarship Fundraiser raises $723,085 in return to in-person event

Heritage University students hold placards to reveal $723,085 as the amount raised during the 36th Annual Bounty of the Valley Gathering for Scholarships and Paddle Raise held at the Heritage University campus in Toppenish, Wash. on June 4, 2022.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University’s annual “Bounty of the Valley” Scholarship Dinner returns as an in-person event, raises $723,085 for student scholarships

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University’s 36th annual Bounty of the Valley Gathering for Scholarships, held this past weekend, brought in $723,085 during the event. The premier fundraiser for student scholarships at Heritage returned as an in-person event following two years of being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was also live-streamed for those who wished to attend remotely.

This year the Bounty of the Valley featured hosts, Alex Vera and Gerardo Ruelas, two Heritage alumni and Valley natives who have gone onto much success in their careers at Costco Wholesale in the company’s headquarters in Issaquah, Wash.

Heritage University alumna Yuli Guzman, who recently graduated from Heritage with a B.A. in social work, served as student speaker. Guzman graduated from Davis High School in 2018. She’s completed practicum experiences at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Comprehensive Healthcare, the Yakima Police Department and the Central Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Her future plans include attending graduate school to earn a Master of Social Work.

This year marks the first time in three years Heritage celebrated its students and generous donors raised their paddles for scholarships on the university’s campus. Heritage University president Andrew Sund, Ph.D. expressed his gratitude for the many donors, longtime and new, who showed unwavering support for Heritage during the pandemic. “When I think back on the many lessons I learned during the COVID times, one of the most endearing is just how blessed this university and our students are to have the unwavering support of all of you,” said Dr. Sund. “Your commitment to ensuring that higher education remains accessible means our students continued their academic pursuits uninterrupted. Moreover, it means that future generations of Heritage Eagles can count on the university being here in the Yakima Valley when they are ready to enter college.”

The live-streamed portion of Bounty of the Valley can be viewed by visiting Heritage.edu/Bounty. Donations to student scholarships can be made on the same page by clicking on the “Raise Your Paddle” button. For more information, contact Dana Eliason at (509) 865-0441 or Eliason_D@Heritage.edu or Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

# # #

News Briefs

Science student selected for Neurotechnology research at the University of Washington

Miguel Mendoza

Heritage University student and McNair Program scholar Miguel Mendoza will spend this summer on a research project with the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. Mendoza will participate in the 2022 Center for Neurotechnology Research Experience for Undergraduates Program and will work in the “GRIDlab” at UW.

“I believe this opportunity with Drs. Raj Rao, Jeff Ojemann, Jeffrey Herron at GRIDlab will help me grow as an individual and will allow me to dive into the field of neurosurgery, which is a great fit for me as I continue my journey towards becoming a doctor,” said Mendoza.

The McNair program prepares first-generation, minority and low-income students to enter into doctoral studies after graduating from Heritage. Students participate in specialized research, mentoring and other scholarly activities.

Student traveling to Johns Hopkins University for humanities research this summer

Melissa “Millie” Land

 

Heritage University student Melissa “Millie” Land will spend part of this summer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, after being selected for a Leadership Alliance Summer Research-Early Identification Program (SR-EIP). Land’s internship conducting research in humanities will run from May 30 to August 5, 2022, and she will receive a $5,700 fellowship payment plus travel and housing expenses.

Along with conducting research, Land will participate in social and professional development activities with other students. The SR-EIP provides training and mentoring and prepares them to pursue competitive applications to PhD or MD- PhD programs.

 

Law school partnership program brings legal career prep to Heritage students

A new partnership program at Heritage is helping students and alumni explore careers in the legal field. The Law School Admission Council Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program is an innovative partnership among Washington’s three law schools – Seattle University School of Law, University of Washington School of Law, and Gonzaga University School of Law – and Heritage University.

It seeks to make a law degree more accessible to diverse students, especially Latino, Latina, Latinx and Indigenous students.

This three-week, summer program helps students realize that getting admitted to law school and launching a legal career are achievable goals. By the end of the program, they will have a better understanding of what it takes to apply to and become accepted by a law school, how to thrive as a law student, and what it is like to work as a lawyer. In the process, students will make valuable connections with diverse attorneys and judges in their community who are invested in their future success.

More information is available at https://law. seattleu.edu/student-life/community/diversity-equity- inclusion/lsac-plus-program/

 

Angela Guerrero

Student selected for fellowship program

The Latino Center for Health has named Heritage social work major Angela Guerrero as one of the recipients of its third annual Student Scholars Fellowship Program. Guerrero is one of eleven students selected from health sciences programs in universities across Washington state for this crucial financial and community support opportunity.

The fellowship program helps meet the demand for Latinx and Spanish-speaking healthcare workers in WA state by providing financial and community support to students in the health sciences.

 

Heritage breaks ground for new Early Learning Center opening next year

New ELC groundbreaking

Heritage University broke ground on a new state-of- the-art Early Learning Center on December 3. The new $3.2 million facility will contain five classrooms, and will serve children between the ages of 12 months and kindergarten.

Construction is expected to take eight months, with the center scheduled to open in December 2022. The new ELC will allow Heritage to increase the number of children served from 75 to 90.

The new facility is made possible by a generous contribution from an anonymous donor. See the construction progress by visiting heritage.edu/eaglecam.

 

Five Heritage alums selected among top young leaders to watch in Yakima County

Since 2018, the Yakima Herald- Republic recognizes 39 men and women under 39 years old as up and coming community leaders to watch. This year, five Heritage grads were among those honored. They are: Andrea Flores, Amy Hamilton, Courtney Hernandez, Cindy Lemus and Corbin Schuster.

Flores was recognized for her work in public service. She graduated from Heritage in 2016 with a degree in accounting. She completed her degree in just three years while working full-time. After graduating, she worked in the accounting departments at both Yakima Regional Medical Center and Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital before joining the city of Yakima, where she works as a level two accountant.

Hamilton was recognized for her work in health and medicine. She earned her degree in criminal justice from Heritage in 2018. She was working as a care provider at Total Care Home Health, which is now Avenna Healthcare, while going to school. After graduating, she stayed with the company and worked her way through the ranks. Today, she is the area operations director for Central and Eastern Washington.

Hernandez was recognized for her work in nonprofits and advocacy. She is an English teacher at Davis High School and a community organizer who helped create the Selah Alliance for Equality. Her work, along with others in the grass-roots organization, led the city to agree to changes to improved diversity and conversations around equity and First Amendment rights. Hernandez graduated from Heritage in 2018 with a Master in Teaching.

Lemus was recognized in the category of education. She is an artist and teacher in the Toppenish School District. She teaches art to grade school children from kindergarten through fifth grade and is involved in several community art projects. He earned her degree in art education in 2018.

Schuster was also recognized in the education category. He graduated from Heritage with a degree in biomedical science in 2018 and went to Oregon State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in microbiology. Today, he is a researcher for the Zebrafish International Resource Center at the University of Oregon and an adjunct professor at Heritage.

Heritage University community mourns the loss of a leader and good friend

Long-time supporter and former member of the Heritage University Board of Directors, William “Bill” Rich, passed away on February 25, 2022. He was 87.

William Rich

Rich served on the board for ten years until 2014. During that time, he was part of the Advancement Committee and was Vice-Chair of the Executive and Tribal Relations committees. Through his leadership, Rich helped raise funding to construct the Arts and Sciences Center; hired the university’s second president, Dr. John Bassett; and helped the university rebuild its campus following the 2012 fire that destroyed Petrie Hall.

In addition to his service to Heritage, Rich was an active Rotarian who was part of the Yakima Downtown Rotary since 1984. He spent 30 years working at Jack Frost Fruit Company and Marley Orchards before retiring as the general manager in 1996.

Rich was an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing and hunting. He was also a talented woodcarver who took inspiration from nature, carving wildlife and Native American-style masks.

Rich is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sue; his children Doug and Kitty; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Class Notes

 

2005

Phillip J. Vasquez (Principal Certification) recently retired from the Yakima School District. Vasquez spent 18 years working in school administration in the district. During his career he served as an assistant principal in an elementary school and as a principal at both the elementary and middle school levels.

 

 

 

2006

Melissa Vickers (B.S., Computer Science) recently earned a master’s degree in library and information science from San Jose State University. Vickers is the information technology manager at Yakima Valley Libraries.

2007

Rachel Gonzalez- Garza (M.Ed., Professional Development in ESL) recently completed The National Institute for STEM Education (NISE) certification. NISE is a competency-based, academic portfolio of work that demonstrates proficiency across STEM teacher actions.

 

 

2015

Sagrario Bernal (B.A., Business Administration) was promoted to Area Manager for central Washington at Enterprise in December. Bernal joined Enterprise in 2016 as part of their management training program. Since then, she’s spent the past five years working as an assistant manager or branch manager at locations across Washington state.

Lizbet Maceda (B.A., Business Administration) started a new position as a regional prevention specialist at ESD105 in Yakima. Prior to this position, she served as community prevention coordinator at the ESD.

2016

Patrick Feller (B.A., Environmental Studies) joined Darigold to serve as a production supervisor in their whey plant in Sunnyside, Washington. He previously served as a field science technician for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

 

2017

Elisa Cantu (B.A., Criminal Justice) recently completed the APR 6 Law Clerk Program. This is a four-year program that is an alternative to attending law school. Those who complete the program are eligible to take the Washington state lawyer bar exam.

2018

Corbin Schuster, PhD (B.S., Biomedical Sciences) earned a doctoral degree in microbiology from Oregon State University in December. His thesis was “Expanding Diagnostic Assays for Pseudoloma Neurophilia and Description of the Progression of Infection in Adult Zebrafish Populations.”

2021

Edith Zarogoza (M.A., Physician Assistant) joined Miramar Health Center in Pasco, where she is working as a physician assistant. Miramar is a Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic subsidiary.

You are an important part of the university family, and we want to make sure that you are fully informed of all the great opportunities that are available to you through Alumni Connections. There are lots of great ways to stay connected:

• Like us on Facebook (facebook.com/ HeritageUniversityAlumni)

• Sign up to receive Heritage’s e-newsletter HUNow.

• Visit us online at heritage. edu/alumni

Of course, the best way to stay connected is to make sure your contact information is up to date. Please be sure to let us know if your address, e-mail or phone number changes. You can submit your changes online through heritage.edu/ alumni, e-mail us at alumni@ heritage.edu or give us a call at (509) 865-8588.

For the Love of the Game

 

For Coach Adam Strom (BA.Ed., 2015, M.A.Ed., 2019), every loss is a choice “to be bitter or better.” He doesn’t harp on what his team did wrong. Instead, he tells his players to think about one thing they did right and feel good about it.

It’s an attitude that’s propelled him from part-time high school basketball coach to the fulfillment of a dream: head women’s basketball coach at National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics-level (NAIA) Haskell Indian Nations University.

“My dad always said you give the players the credit when they win, and you take it on the chin when you lose. I ask myself how I can be better,” he said. “And I remember what my dad told me ‘always let your team know before they leave the locker room: I believe in you.’”

FAMILY, FAITH AND EDUCATION

Ted and Phyllis Strom instilled values of family, faith and education in their eight children. Mom was straightforward, Dad was philosophical, but both came from a place of great love, said Strom.

Ted Strom, who passed away in 2014, was his son’s most significant life coach and “coaching coach.”

In fall 1996, Strom was at the University of Washington on a pre-engineering track when his dad had a heart attack.  Strom rushed home to be by his dad’s side.

“Dad had to take it easy for a while, so he said I was going to be his assistant coach – which was his way of saying he was still coach, but I was going to do the work,” Strom laughed.

Strom loved coaching and decided to pursue it. He transferred from UW to Yakima Valley College and a couple of years later, took over girls’ varsity at White Swan High School, his alma mater.

“I then understood why my dad would be up at night watching game film. I found myself doing the same thing, reading books, talking to other coaches. I was a student of the game.

“I questioned myself a lot, but I was always able to lean on my huge passion for others to achieve.”

Working to excel meant playing and practicing all year, including about 60 games a summer. Fun was a by-product, said Strom, and girls came to White Swan to be part of its culture.

Adam Strom

Every new challenge had him questioning his abilities, but Strom stepped outside his comfort zone every time. In his second year at Hermiston, his team won conference title.

GIVING MORE

“I was riding my high horse – coaching, doing what I wanted to do,” recalled Strom. “And I received a challenge to do more.”

It was 2012, and Strom’s wife Relyn was principal at Yakama Nation Tribal School. She talked with him about teaching. Strom agreed to meet with the school’s superintendent.

“’These are struggling learners,’ she told me. ‘You’re needed in the classroom as well as on the court.’ The clarity of her approach reminded me of my mom. I accepted the invitation.”

Strom needed to finish the mid-level math program he’d begun at UW. He enrolled at Heritage and became a full-time math teacher at the Tribal School.

“I was ready to give to these students and to be a student again myself.”

BRINGING IT IN THE CLASSROOM

Where Strom’s basketball players had always been excited to be under his tutelage, his pre- algebra students at the Tribal School were not. Three years behind grade level, he said they felt little sense of belonging.

Again, his dad’s words echoed: “Let them know you believe in them.”

“I’d greet them at the door every day. In class, we’d talk about the relationship between school and life. I let them know my classroom was a safe place. They knew I cared, and they did better.”

In 2017, two years after joining the Tribal School, Strom received his master’s degree in school administration from Heritage and was appointed principal. In 2020, he was named superintendent. His appointment was announced to the students with the statement, “If nobody told you they loved you, Mr. Strom loves you!”

In 2016, for the first time in the school’s history, his boys team made it to the state playoffs.

Two months later, Strom also found himself on the shortlist to be head women’s basketball coach at Yakima Valley College, a move from a 1B school to community college ranks. He took the job and in his first year, his team qualified for the NWAC division playoffs.

MAKING DAD PROUD

Once again, Strom was happy coaching his team. Then one day in spring 2021, a player showed him a Facebook post about an opening for head women’s basketball coach at Haskell Indian Nations University.

“This should be your next job,” she said.

“My dad told me early in my coaching career, ‘You’re going to make a great college coach someday.’ I wanted to be able to say, ‘Look, Dad – I did it.’”

Strom applied and got the job.

Third-highest level of college basketball, 100 percent native, and coaching women: Strom’s job at Haskell University checks all his boxes.

The family moved to Lawrence, Kansas Relyn got an assistant principal job in Topeka. Two of their three sons are students at Haskell – one plays for the college’s men’s team.

Strom said he’ll be a school administrator again one day. But for now, he’s living his absolute dream and modeling his trademark positive attitude.

Before every game, he tells his team: “There are two things you can control: your attitude and your effort. Making the ball go through the hoop is at best a 50-50 chance. But 110 percent effort is up to you as an individual.

“Take this attitude from the court into life, and there’s no doubt you’ll succeed,” he said. “And you’ll be happy.”

 

 

Heritage University to hold 40th Commencement at Yakima Valley SunDome May 14, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University to hold Class of 2022 Commencement at
Yakima Valley SunDome

Yakima, Wash. – Heritage University will celebrate the Class of 2022 during its 40th Commencement Exercise Saturday, May 14 at 10:00 a.m. at the Yakima Valley SunDome. Undergraduate and graduate degrees will be conferred upon students graduating from both the Heritage Toppenish campus and the Tri-Cities campus. Overall, 274 students will earn their degrees at Heritage this year. This will be the first Heritage University commencement ceremony held at the SunDome since 2019.

Representative Debra Lekanoff of the 40th legislative district of Washington state, which includes parts of Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties, will be the commencement speaker. Sworn into the Washington State House of Representatives in January 2019, Rep. Lekanoff is the only Native American woman to currently serve in the Legislature. She is Vice-Chair of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee and also sits on the Appropriations Committee and the Rural Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.

In addition to serving in the Legislature, Lekanoff served as Governmental Affairs Director for the Swinomish Tribe. With over 20 years of government relations experience, she engages on a variety of issues at the international, federal, tribal, state, and local levels.

Heritage University will present the 2022 Violet Lumley Rau Outstanding Alumnus Award to Courtney Hernandez. Hernandez earned her Master’s in Teaching and her English Language Learner endorsement from Heritage University in 2018. She is currently an English teacher at Davis High School in Yakima. At Davis, she and a colleague reinvigorated the Black Student Union.

Hernandez was recently featured in the Yakima Herald-Republic’s special series “39 Under 39” which recognizes community members under the age of 39 who are making a difference in the Yakima Valley. Courtney helped organize Black Lives Matter rallies over the past two years. She is also a co-founder of Selah Alliance For Equality (S.A.F.E.), which was recently involved in a court battle with the city of Selah to ensure the protection of First Amendment Rights for all Selah citizens. According to the Yakima Herald-Republic, the suit was settled with the city agreeing to diversify its workforce, amend its sign ordinance and put a mural on a city-owned retaining wall that sends the message that all are welcome in the city.

Heritage will announce the recipients of the Board of Directors’ Academic Excellence Award and the President’s Council Student Award of Distinction during the ceremony.

The Yakima Valley SunDome is located at 1301 South Fair Ave. in Yakima. Parking is free. Additional information is available online at https://heritage.edu/student-resources/commencement-2022/.

For more information, contact David Mance, media relations coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

# # #

Taking Flight

Heritage launches campaign for the Ross Institute for Student Success

In 2009, when Sr. Kathleen Ross announced she was retiring from the presidency of Heritage University, she promised her work at the institution was far from over. She was compelled to expand the work started in rural Toppenish, Washington, to colleges and universities in towns big and small throughout the United States. Ross took her wisdom from the president’s office and into a newly-founded institute that would allow her to build on all that she and other educators had learned about working with students that she called the “New Majority.”

As colleges and universities throughout the United States diversify, more students who have traditionally been left out of higher education are pursuing degrees. They are the “New Majority,” those who are the first in their families to go to college. More often than not, they are from lower-income, working- class backgrounds and are often Latino/a, African American, Native American or from other cultural and racial minorities. They are just as bright, capable and driven as their traditional student peers, but through no fault of their own, they are often either underprepared for college or lack some of the skills that help students thrive in a college environment.

Heritage University was founded precisely to help New Majority students. In the 29 years under Ross’s leadership, much was learned about working with these students to break through barriers that keep them from success. Ross compiled these learnings in her book Breakthrough Strategies Classroom-based Practices to Support New Majority College Students. This book gives educators real, practical tools that Ross and other Heritage educators found to be successful in helping students thrive and persist through earning their degrees.

When current Heritage president Andrew Sund, Ph.D., arrived at the university, he was gifted a copy of Ross’s book. The tools he found within were powerful and insightful. More had to be done to expand on this work, both for the students at Heritage and beyond. It was time to direct resources towards the small one-woman institute that Ross operated under and build it into a research center that would provide development and training for Heritage faculty to enhance classroom practices and teaching methods. Additionally, the institute would conduct new research into effective practices and methods developed at Heritage and institutions elsewhere. The knowledge gained would be shared widely through visiting scholars, symposiums and other similar efforts.

“The lifelong work of Heritage University co-founder and President Emerita Kathleen Ross inspires me to follow in her footsteps and advance the mission of providing higher education to underserved student populations,” said Sund. “In addition to preserving the legacy of Dr. Ross, this new institute will continue her groundbreaking work, form collaborative and strategic partnerships, and, most importantly, make new research-based discoveries that will transform the lives of first-generation college students everywhere.”

In April 2022, Heritage launched its campaign to raise the funds needed to build the Ross Institute for Student Success. The announcement came at Ross’s 80th birthday celebration on April 7. A donor provided a $1 million cornerstone gift to launch the effort.

“The institute is a lasting legacy to a woman who dedicated much of her life to helping men and women rise to their fullest potential, regardless of the roadblocks they face,” said David Wise, vice president for Advancement. “We see the proof of how important equitable access to higher education is to individuals, families and communities every day. The work Kathleen started all those years ago, and that Heritage does to this day, only scratches the surface of the need. The institute will allow us to do so much more, for so many more.”

To learn more about the Ross Institute for Student Success or to make your gift, go to heritage.edu/RossInstitute.

Building the Foundation to Thrive

Three years after its founding, YVPE’s organizations and individuals are working together to help students – and have early results to show for it.

Aligning resources and people, and prioritizing meeting students’ needs, Yakima Valley Partners in Education (YVPE) has made significant progress toward improving educational outcomes for the children of the Yakima Valley.

“Through community listening sessions, we identified the educational challenges students face and formed groups of professionals and community members who wanted to address these,” said Suzy Diaz, Heritage’s Collective Impact director for YVPE.

Significantly, said Diaz, three of the Valley’s school districts – Sunnyside, Mabton and Grandview – are working collaboratively on their shared concerns for their students, their futures and the related well-being of the community. YVPE plans to include other school districts as the work progresses and funding is made available.

“We’ve seen school districts willing to collaborate cross-sectors to solve challenges to benefit students.”

Children entering school arrive with varying reading abilities, home lives that may impact attendance, food insecurity, health needs, transportation challenges, even homelessness.

“Teachers dedicate themselves to teaching and do a wonderful job, but students carry so much with them as they enter the classroom.”

The challenges faced by students impact achievement rates in the Valley. According to yakimavalleytrends.org, 20 percent of young people here fail to complete high school. College attainment rates are low, with only 8.2 percent of students getting two-year degree and 11.1 percent earning a four-year degree.

“One of our first goals is that children enter school kinder-ready, improving their chances to meet the educational milestones that follow and enter the workforce with increased success,” said Diaz.

FULL-TIME COORDINATORS MAKE PROGRESS

YVPE’s focus for the three school districts is on a significant milestone in a student’s future success: reading at or above grade level by third grade.

In its first year, YVPE members established the “Rural Accelerator Leadership Program” to positively address the varied issues affecting literacy achievement, especially in rural communities. Members include school district leaders, community members, and professionals from community- based organizations. Each works in one of four active workgroups: Health, Digital Connectivity, Partnerships and Resources, and Parent-Family Engagement.

Helping make reading to grade level by third grade a reality, a program called “Early Steps to School Success” was implemented in the Grandview School District in the 2019-20 academic year. It’s an early-learning support program run by Save the Children, one of YVPE’s founding partners and funders.

In addition, in a step Diaz calls “very significant for our goals,” place-based, full-time staff have been hired to coordinate early-learning family- support activities.

Families were so eager to receive support from the early steps team that a waitlist was generated. Organizers are adding additional coordinators in Grandview, Mabton, and Sunnyside in 2022 to meet the demand for services.

The coordinators partner with parents to screen children for developmental progress using an evidence-based curriculum to ensure early- learning milestones are reached. When a need is identified, the coordinator connects the family to resources. Seventy children have been served to date; 10 percent of them have needed referrals for developmental services.

“If a child receives support early, they’ll be more likely to enter school kinder-ready,” said Diaz. “It’s an opportunity for a family to raise questions and get the needed school-based supports.”

HEALTH WORKGROUP

The Health workgroup focuses on increasing access to healthcare for families of students pre- school to third grade. The goal is to increase attendance by reducing health issues that keep students from attending school, thereby increasing students’ chances for achievement.

“Part of our work is trying to understand whether there are healthcare needs that aren’t being met that are a barrier to attendance or success in the classroom,” said Josie Chase, human resources director with Grandview School District and Health workgroup liaison.

“You have to get your information from families themselves to understand what’s happening at this moment in time. Maybe it’s the affordability of healthcare; maybe it’s a type of provider needed or undiagnosed conditions.

“When we understand and help meet their needs, and they’re in school, there’s a greater likelihood that children will be on pace to meet grade-level milestones.”

A YVPE community health fair served 250 families in fall 2021, providing free healthy food via a food truck, meetings with a mental health provider and emergency services, plus coordination for sports physicals, dental screenings, COVID vaccinations and school immunizations.

Families who completed attendance surveys received free food voucher. In total, 600 surveys were completed, giving the Health workgroup excellent data to help them develop student- centered strategies. More than 150 students have since been enrolled in free telehealth services.

Grandview Early Steps to School Success family; bonding and teaching the youngest members of the family through play

“When students are able to come to school every day, they’ll be on grade level,” said BJ Wilson, Grandview’s director of special education and a member of the Health workgroup.

“Removing barriers for students this young truly opens up their future.”

DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY WORKGROUP

The pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of connectivity in our homes, said Jared Lind, director of instructional improvement and assessment for the Grandview School District and liaison for the Digital Connectivity workgroup.

“And it revealed early on the inequities that exist in our communities.”

Digital connectivity is all about making sure students are connected virtually to their schools, teachers and outside sources of information necessary for their education. This means equipment, wireless connection and ensuring users have the skills they need to use their devices.

“It’s also really important that our students are given the option to read what’s of interest to them.”

In 2020, Save The Children provided “MyOn Digital Library” subscriptions to every third grade student in Grandview, Mabton and Sunnyside, thus providing access to both fiction and nonfiction digital books. They have optional reading supports like narration options and language choices that allow them to connect further with what they’re reading.

“It makes reading that’s of interest for students available to them in their homes any time day or evening,” said Lind.

The long-term goal is to increase access for all grades. Ultimately all students will have access to more than 7,000 books.

“The MyOn system keeps track of students’ time spent reading so we can celebrate it,” said Lind. “We’re doing incentive programs with school librarians taking the lead on that.

“We’re seeing a change in reading habits and an increased joy in reading.”

PARTNERSHIPS AND RESOURCE ALIGNMENT WORKGROUP

Increasing alignment between food access, transportation and homelessness is the primary goal of the Partnerships and Resources Alignment workgroup.

Many challenges to education are related to one another, said Faviola Ochoa, lead associate for the State of Washington with the Early Childhood Program of Save the Children and liaison for this group.

“Food insecurity is a consequence of poverty as well as lack of transportation, especially for people in rural communities. Sometimes there are multiple issues so that family dynamics focus on just surviving. It doesn’t leave much time for the parent or caregiver to seek out resources for other things.

“It has to be about the long-term, so people know what’s available on an ongoing basis. We need to give them the tools to empower them, whether that’s sharing it online or laying out all the resources in flyers at resource events.”

The group has also organized the distribution of staple items directly to schools during parent nights and drive-through events, literally “meeting people where they are.” Local grocers and food banks partnered with YVPE to provide families with gift cards purchased with funds collected from nonprofit organizations, allowing families food choices and the freedom to shop at their convenience.

“Normally, families have to go to the school for one thing and then the food bank,” said Ochoa. “This is about integrating multiple things at once to minimize the transactional busyness families are often up against.”

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT WORKGROUP

The Parent and Family Engagement group has acknowledged the importance of involvement beyond attendance at parent-teacher conferences and open houses. “Parental involvement” must reflect the lived experience, i.e., what makes sense for families in the reality of their actual lives, said Gloria Jones-Dance, assistant professor of teacher preparation at Heritage.

“Family engagement is making sure your kids get to school every day, making sure they have housing, making sure they have food, making sure your kids get to bed so they can be ready for school,” said Jones-Dance. “Parents need to be able to interact with teachers and school staff outside the traditional 8 to 5. How that will look is different for each community.”

Jones-Dance said her group has made a lot of inquiry and listening about what engagement means.

“I was talking with a Grandview parent who’s really involved in her kids’ lives. She said all many parents can do right now, as it relates to school, is drop their kids off. For them, that’s engagement right now.

“We are looking at ways to reach families outside of the schools, possibly some community events in parks this summer, read-aloud opportunities, how we can partner with schools and understand better the backgrounds of the families in these communities.”

INVITING ALL TO CONTRIBUTE

The work of getting all students to thrive in school requires everyone, said Diaz.

“Our true north is to invite people to improve educational outcomes by recognizing what they can contribute to the solutions. It’s a trusted adult picking up a book and reading with a child. It’s parents asking what their children are learning. It’s employers allowing flexibility so parents can be present for their children.”

Henry Strom, superintendent of the Grandview School District and a YVPE partner, wants more school districts to become involved.

While districts’ work has always overlapped, he said YVPE gives them the means to take that work to another level.

“In education, if a concept is solid, you look for other areas to implement it. We’re now seeing that includes superintendents.

“And imagine the potential for our region if we were all bold enough to bring the data to the table and function like our teachers do to improve student outcomes. That’s what we’ve started doing.

“We’re interested in all students in the Yakima Valley, and that means we are as concerned for other districts as we are for our own,” said José Rivera, Grandview’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning and a YVPE collaborator. “With YVPE, we’re no longer siloed.”

Strom and Rivera say the holistic- helping approach of YVPE increases families’ trust levels. Parents see unified efforts that make a difference in their lives.

“The healthier the household, the healthier the community,” said Strom. “That’s really what we’re going for. We want students to want to come back and raise a family here, contribute to our region and our economy.

“I believe we all have a moral imperative to make our communities better. That means schools, businesses, people, all of us. No one’s going to come and save us, and we don’t need anyone to. We have expertise right here.

“My dad was a P.E. teacher and a coach, and he had a saying, ‘Create a place of being,’ meaning a place that kids want to come to.

“There’s great potential that the Yakima Valley can be that. You want a community that’s so strong that people come in droves to be part of it all. We can do that.”

Heritage University serves as the backbone for YVPE. Our mission is closely aligned with the purpose of this initiative, and as an institution of higher education, many of our alumni are working in the Yakima Valley. Additionally, one of our strategic priorities is community partnerships in which we extend our support to join with others to improve educational outcomes for the Valley.