Margin of Excellence Award Recipients Announced!

This past week the Bellevue College Foundation had a great time gathering crowds of colleagues to surprise our 2013 Margin of Excellence Award recipients in the midst of meetings and even as one recipient was teaching.  We congratulate all recipients and nominees. Below is the formal announcement that was shared with the college:

The Bellevue College Foundation is proud to announce the
2013 Margin of Excellence Award Recipients!

Classified Employee Award
Becky Turnbull, Library Media Center 

Administrative Exempt Award
Patricia Dombrowski, Life Science Informatics 

Part-Time Faculty Award
Mark Mappala, Interior Design Program

Full-Time Faculty Award
Gita Bangera, Science Division

Congratulations to all of the 2013 Margin of Excellence Award Nominees!
Ryan Bauer • Ray Butler • Jim Craswell • Carmina Cruz • Deron Dahlke
Tonya Estes • Jan Ng • Katherine Oleson • Lyneen Patnoe • Jennifer Prekeges
Margaret Turcott • Deanna Veyna • Kim Williams • Sandra Wilson • Joan Wong• Jeff Wong

This year the surprise visits from the College President drew the biggest crowds ever!  Thanks to everyone who kept our visits secret and still managed to get the word out! Video footage of the surprise visits will be featured at the Margin of Excellence Ceremony.

Margin of Excellence Awards ceremony and reception
Date and time: February 6, 2013 from 2:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Place: Carlson Theatre

Thank you to all who participated and took the time to nominate these outstanding faculty and staff.
Thank you to our donors who support us all in our pursuit of excellence.

Please see the foundation website for more information about the Margin of Excellence Awards

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Wrapping Up An Exceptional 2012

** Don’t forget to make the most of current tax laws and make your donation to Bellevue College Foundation before year-end! All donations must be received online before midnight or postmarked by Monday 12/31**

2012 has been a great year for Bellevue College. Here’s a recap of some of our Foundation highlights from the year!

  •  Back in April, our 2012 Become Exceptional Luncheon was a great success:

- Approximately $270,000 raised from individuals and corporate sponsorships

- Over 700 attendees, 34 corporate sponsors, and 95 guests who donated $500 or more

- Compliments from our attendees, including: “Congratulations on a great event!  The students were inspiring.  Keynote speaker Ronan Farrow was amazing!”

Stay tuned for what the BC Foundation has in store for 2013.  Thanks for making 2012 a great year and for helping us all to BECOME EXCEPTIONAL!

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BC Foundation 2012-13 Scholarship Recipients Announced

As the year draws to a close, the Bellevue College Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank all our donors, volunteers, community partners, staff, and supporters for their contribution to a wonderful 2012.

Best wishes for happy and safe holidays and a Happy New Year!

BC Foundation congratulates our 2012-2013 scholarship recipients! Providing scholarships to students is critical to the mission of the BC Foundation. In the 2012-2013 academic year, $120,000 was awarded to Bellevue College students. Since 2004, over $900,000 has been awarded. Scholarship awards would not be possible without the support of donors.

Scholarships not only help students with tuition and book assistance but also put students on the path to success. BCF scholarship recipients have a significantly higher GPA and degree completion rate.

Mark your calendars!

Please join us on Wednesday, May 1st  2013 for the annual Become Exceptional Luncheon! Reserve your seat today and make the BC Foundation’s largest fundraising event for scholarship support a success. Contact Kara Talbott at kara.talbott@bellevuecollege.edu if you are interested in helping to sponsor or attend this great event.

The Bellevue College Foundation is proud to announce the 2012-2013 scholarship recipients!

Eliseo Banda-Gonzalez
Tika Esler Scholarship

Kirsten Barrows
Norman & Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Christine Baryayebwa
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Norman & Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Saghar Behinaein
Norman & Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Jessica Bell
Randall T. Hagen Memorial Scholarship

Natalia Bryant
Debbie Killinger Scholarship for Single Parents

Christopher Butler
Charlotte Field Interior Design Scholarship

Venus Calderon de Cornejo
Wells Fargo Scholarship for Students of Color

Yajing Chu
Habib Mathematics Scholarship

McKenzie Cooper
Peterson Family Scholarship for Military Families

Hatha Dam
Hoffman Math Scholarship

Trisha Dillon
The Boeing Company Scholarship

Mark Dodge
Leona Hickman Educational Scholarship

Takhmina Dzhuraeva
Charlotte Field Interior Design Scholarship

Amanda Grace Gildersleeve
Debbie Killinger Scholarship for Single Parents

Lacey Gray
Norman & Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Paloma Hernandez
Costco Student of Diversity Scholarship

Juncheng Huang
Courter Family Interior Design Scholarship

Olga Kazakova
Jack Perry Scholarship
Seattle Times Company Scholarship

Tara Kerr
McDermott Scholarship

Vannarith Khov
Leona Hickman Educational Scholarship

Anita Kunzli
Ravindra K. Agrawal Scholarship

Douglas Wayne Larsen
Charlotte Field Interior Design Scholarship

Nhi Le
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Kaitlin Leonard
Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship

Natalie Marie Lovelett-Childers
Leona Hickman Educational Scholarship

John Manino
Leona Hickman Educational Scholarship

Kaitlyn Martin
Oskoui Family Scholarship for Nurses
Shirley Farnham Nursing Scholarship

Natasha L Natalevna
BECU Scholarship for Advancing Student Success
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Jean M. Nelson
Vijay and Sita Vashee Single Parent Scholarship
Debbie Killinger Scholarship for Single Parents

Qi Pan
Wells Fargo Scholarship for Students of Color

Roselynn Parker
Green Family Nursing Scholarship
Shirley Farnham Nursing Scholarship

Jeffrey Perry
Jack Perry Scholarship

Fatimeh Poursayedahmed
Debbie Killinger Scholarship for Single Parents

 April Rauch
Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship

Ny’Nrica Kamilah Ray
Wells Fargo Scholarship for Students of Color

Benjamin Reed
BECU Scholarship for Advancing Student Success
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Corey Lynn Rois
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Aziza S Saliev
Peterson Health Care Scholarship
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Maliha Imran Siddiqui
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Nicole Cherie Smith
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship
Swegle Family Scholarship

Tabitha Rachel Stewart
Costco Student of Diversity Scholarship

Yin Swe Su
Lynn Stafford Yilmaz Memorial Scholarship

Anthony  Dawayne Tackett
The Boeing Company Scholarship

Malgorzata Thurfjell
Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship

Andrea Gisela Torres
Norman and Camille Stromer Endowed Scholarship

Chantal Umutoni
Wells Fargo Scholarship for Students of Color

Aksana M Varashkevich
Leona Hickman Educational Scholarship

Olga M Voronkovich
Spencer de Mille Scholarship

Bridget Lauren Walsh
BECU Scholarship for Advancing Success
Norman and Camille Stromer Scholarship

Thomas Julian Ware
BECU Scholarship for Advancing Success
Norman and Camille Stromer Scholarship

Denise Eden Whitlow
Naomi and Claude Newbury Scholarship for Women in Transition

Frederick Eugene Wood
James and Sandra Dagnon Scholarship

Yulia Yemelianov
BECU Scholarship for Advancing Success

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Fall 2012 Mini-Grant Awards Announced!

The BC Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the Fall 2012 Foundation Mini-Grant Awards!

NURSING Clinical Simulation and Learning
Jocelyn Anderson, Health Sciences Ed and Wellness Institute (Nursing)

ADOBE cS6 textbooks for ibit/bts teacher assistants and tutors
Mary Corcoran, Institute for Business and Information Technology

SUMMER BRIDGE TO COLLEGE: AUTISM SPECTRUM NAVIGATORS
Sara Gardner, Disability Resource Center

TRiO SUMMER ENGLISH & MATH SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAM
Ron Holland, TRiO

NARROWING SUCCESS RATE GAPS
Denise Johnson, Social Sciences (Sociology)

FUJITSU SCANSNAP SCANNERS
Michelle Robertson and Errold Nabong, Enrollment & Registrar Services

WATCHDOG NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Lisa Salkind, Student Programs (The Watchdog)

Biological anthropology and forensic anthropology age lab improvement
Anthony Tessandori, Science (Anthropology)

Please join us in congratulating all of the recipients.

The BC Foundation mini-grants are designed to support projects and programs that may not be eligible for support through other college funding sources.  Mini-grant awards range from $300 – $3,000 and are available to all college employees.  Preference is given to projects that are consistent with the college’s strategic plan as well as the President’s and Foundation’s priorities and goals.  Grants can be for ongoing projects, one-time projects, or for seed money to start new programs.

The BC Foundation Mini-grant program is funded by donors to the BC Foundation, including many BC faculty and staff.

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Exciting news from BC’s Science Division

Bellevue College’s Science Division was the source of some exciting news recently.

The National Science Foundation awarded the college a $550,000 grant to bring a groundbreaking student research program to other community colleges in the state. Called ComGen: Community College Genomics Research Initiative, this program, created several years ago by biology instructor Gita Bangera, gives students the opportunity to perform original scientific research sequencing the genome of a bacterium that fights a wheat fungus.

The program has been very successful at BC, boosting the number of students who pursue STEM – short for science, technology, engineering and math – majors and careers. It has also helped open the door for many nontraditional students, such as parents, veterans, people of color and those with low-income backgrounds.

Not to be outdone, one of our chemistry instructors, Dan Mitchell, also made news when he was ranked as one of the top professors in the nation by the website RateMyProfessors.com. Out of 1.7 million professors rated, Mitchell made the list at number 16, alongside faculty at schools such as Boston University, University of Massachusetts, George Mason University and Indiana University. He was the only professor from Washington state in the top 25.

Mitchell, who earned a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Washington, has taught at BC since 2008. “I’m really honored that my students had such nice things to say in their reviews. I just try to treat them with respect and remember what it was like to be in their position, and work to motivate them and get the most out of them,” he said.

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2013 Become Exceptional Luncheon Speaker: Gerald Chertavian

Gerald Chertavian

The BC Foundation is thrilled to announce that the 2013 Become Exceptional Luncheon speaker is Gerald Chertavian!

Gerald Chertavian has dedicated his life to closing the opportunity divide that exists for so many people in this country. To make his vision a reality, he combined his entrepreneurial and business skills with his passion for working with young people to found Year Up.

Year Up is an intensive, one-year training and education program that provides low-income young adults, ages 18-24, with a combination of hands-on skills development, college credits and corporate internships. Since its inception in 2000, Year Up has served over 4,000 individuals, with the vast majority employed or attending college full-time within four months of completing the program. With an annual operating budget exceeding $50 million, Year Up is one of the fastest growing non-profits in the nation, and has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the top 25 organizations using business excellence to effect social change.

Gerald began his career in banking on Wall Street. Following graduate school, he co-founded Conduit Communications, helping it grow to $20 million in annual revenues with 130 employees in three countries. After selling the company in 1999, he shifted his focus to helping others.

A New York Times best-selling author, Gerald earned a bachelor’s in economics (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude) from Bowdoin College and a MBA, with honors, from Harvard University. He is the recipient of two honorary doctorates and numerous awards, including being recognized as an outstanding Big Brother for his work with the New York chapter of the organization.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 to hear Gerald Chertavian at the 14th annual Become Exceptional luncheon.  Comments will also be heard from Bellevue College and BC Foundation Presidents as well BCF scholarship recipients.

More information about the Become Exceptional Luncheon can be found HERE.

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