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Feature----------------
WedNEsdAy, ivUy I, 2002
TN e CI ac I íamas P rint
Here she comes, folks: Miss Clackamas 2002
DAISY BAIN
A&E Editor
Clackamas student Alisa Mara
recently won the title of Miss
Clackamas 2002 and will be com-
peting for the Miss Oregon
crown in July.
The three competitors all at
tend Clackamas. Lisa Rocheleau
and Serena Elder also vied for the
award.
Mara is a 20-year-old
Milwaukie resident who is a full-
time student studying medicine.
“I want to be a heart or emer
gency surgeon,” said Mara.
Miss Clackamas was Mara’s
first pageant.
“I became interested when I
saw what it had to offer,” said
Mara. Pageants offer many
scholarships and opportunity to
meet new people, according to
Mara.
Contestants base their inter
views on a platform issue.
Mara’s was diabetes awareness.
She wants to work on research
and development for new inno
vations.
“My dad’s diabetic,” said
Mara. “Before, I wasn’t aware
what diabetics go through.”
She sang for her talent compe
tition, which was her favorite part
of the competition.
When asked what the worst
part was she said, “I enjoyed the
whole thing, but I think it’s kind
of nerve-racking knowing you’re
getting judged on everything.”
Yes, they have the swimsuit
competition at this level, too.
“I wouldn’t mind being Miss
America, that’s a goal I think any
one would want to pertain (to),”
said Mara. Even if she doesn’t
win, she will still compete be
cause “it’s so fun.”
She never thought she would
be competing, “It was something
that I viewed in TV land, not in
actuality.”
The current Miss America,
Katie Harman, was at the crown-
Clackamas student Alisa Mara accepts her Miss Clackamas 2002 award with her parents Joshua
and Juanita Mara by her side. Mara's next competition is the Miss Oregon pageant in July.
ing of Miss Clackamas and will
be there for the Miss Oregon
Pageant. “It was really special
that she was there,” said Mara.
The Miss Oregon Pageant will
run July 11-13, and there will be
a parade, with details to be an
nounced later.
To reach Daisy Bain, e-mail
daisybain@hotmail.com or
drop by Bl04.
Potential nursing students await admissions diagnosis
ELISABETH MEYER
Feature Editor
Prospective nursing student ap
plicants who filled the Pauling lec
ture hall Thursday night, April 25,
got some good information on pro
gram prerequisites but also left with
some questions that won’t have
answers coming until June.
Due to a high dropout rate of
second-year nursing students this
year, CCC officials are re-evaluat-
ing prerequisites for application to
the program, said Tina Criswell, the
advising specialist who hosted the
meeting.
“We looked at the (drop-out)
student’s academic record. Their
transcripts showed that they had
gotten A’s and B’s,” Criswell said.
“Why weren’t we able to catch that
this person was going to have a
problem? We started re-evaluating
the measurements...to find out
what we could change to the ad
missions criteria to make sure that
we weren’t setting somebody up
for failure.”
But no one is quite sure what
the new standards will be. The
admissions board is still discuss
ing how GPAs will be computed,
and the writing sample will be
scored differently. Cut scores for
the placement tests and the Nurse
Entrance Test (NET) have both
been raised.
To apply to the nursing program,
prospectives must provide their
GPA, placement test scores, a writ
ing sample, and an acceptable
score on the NET. The top 60 of
the 100-some applicants then have
group interviews with nursing fac-
"I'm going to have to
say, I don't know a lot of
these things... but I am
like, hoping, hoping,
hoping that details will
be finalized by June 1. "
Tina Criswell
Advising Specialist
ulty, and the final choices for ac
ceptance to the program are made
from the interview, Criswell said.
“There has to be some subjec
tivity (in the selection process),”
Criswell said. “And there’s very
little, but this is it.. .it’s not some
thing that you can prepare for.”
“I’m going to have to say, I don’t
know a lot of these things. We
haven’t thought all of the things
through yet,” added Criswell. “But
I am like, hoping, hoping, hoping,
that details will be finalized by June
1,”
Much of the question and an
swer session centered around the
concept of points. Nursing pro
gram applicants are ranked by the
points they earn by taking classes,
maintaining a competitive GPA and
scoring well on the NET and place
ment tests.
Criswell advised students that
there is a tradeoff between earning
more points by finishing courses
quickly and keeping good grades.
But no schedule for determining
how points will be earned with
coursework is available right now.
Open summer registration and
fall term registration for returning
students begins May 29, meaning
that new nursing students will be
waiting for information they need
for scheduling while classes begin
to fill.
The Nursing Department has
scheduled two more informational
meetings for Monday, May 6, from
10-11 a.m. and Tuesday, May 21,
from 2-3 p.m. Both sessions are in
CC127.
To reach Elisabeth Meyer,
email saladlass@hotmail.com or
drop by B104.
Speech instructor's long tenure due
to hard work, students, enthusiasm
JENNIFER KANE_______
Staff Writer
MAGGIE JIRASEK / Clackamas Print
Long-time instructor Jane Rickenbaugh is still kicking up her
heels after 35 years of teaching communications and theater.
From the minute I stepped into
her office, I could tell Jane
Rickenbaugh, the CCC Communi
cations and Theater Department
Chair, really enjoys what she does.
Colorful pictures and flyers for
plays cover about every inch of her
office walls. Talking to her brought
out even more enthusiasm. This
year marks her 35th year with the
college, and she shows no signs
of slowing down.
In 1967, while teaching speech
at Southern Oregon University,
Jane Rickenbaugh was preparing
to get married and move to Port
land when she heard about a teach
ing position available at
Clackamas, which was just start
ing out.
“It was a much different world
than it is now,” she said. She re
called the early years of CCC as
being filled with sociability be
tween faculty and students be ported in order to discover talent
cause the school was so small. She and creativity.
reminisced of bake sales on week
“I encourage risk taking and ex
ends to raise money Also, Vietnam perimentation,” she said. As a
veterans were returning home and teacher, Rickenbaugh is very open
beginning to take classes.
to new things. She often hears
Rickenbaugh can also be cred from former students thanking her
ited for the dance floor that is now for the chances they were given in
a part of Randall Hall. She ex her class.
plained how the college had a foot
One of her students even re
ball team back in the early days that ceived special funding for a busi
was so terrible they actually lost ness program he was working on.
every game for three straight years. He never would have had the cour
So when the school decided to get age to present his plan without
rid of the program, the money went having taken her speech class.
to building the dance studio. “No
Another student was able to
body ever said ‘No. You can’t do present a eulogy at his uncle’s fu
this.’ You just had to work hard to neral when no other family mem
make it happen.”
bers would speak. Because of the
She pays homage to practically communications program, many of
everything when speaking about her students are taking chances
her longevity at CCC. But most of they wouldn’t normally have taken.
all, she credits her students.
“It’s an exciting thing to see
“They’ve taught me about look something flower [in a person]
ing at life through different they didn’t even know was there.”
lenses,” she said. From them she
7o reach Jennifer Kane, e-mail
has learned the importance of be jenk403@aol.com or drop by
ing given chances and being sup B104.