Giving back to CCC

Dean Walch attended Molalla High School for three years. High school wasn’t a good fit for him. He was bored and this was reflected in his grades, which were Ds at best. Dean knew some students who had studied in Clackamas Community College’s Adult High School Diploma program and liked it, so he decided to enroll. In his first year, he had raised his grades to a B+ average. He enrolled in as many college classes as possible so that he could earn high school and college credit at the same time. When he got his high school diploma from Clackamas, he already had many college credits. He continued taking classes at Clackamas, majoring in art and graphic design. He also worked part time in the Publications Department while pursuing his degree. Dean transferred to Marylhurst University and earned a bachelor’s degree in art. He continued working at Clackamas, and now Dean is the college’s website coordinator. Dean often thinks about how different his life would be if he hadn’t come to Clackamas. He credits Dave Campbell, his counselor, and Dave Simpkins, one of his instructors, for encouraging him and giving him the push he needed to be successful. Dean loves working at Clackamas, and he wants to give back to the college community for all the support he got when he was a student here.