F eature
6 • T he C lackamas P rint
M ay 5, J
Robbery victim finds interest in criminal justicj
After being asked
to describe the face
of a robber to a
sketch artist, stu
dent discovers a
way to use her _
drawing abilities
Karen Hill
F eature E ditor
her certification, which involved
taking courses in Colorado and
Idaho.
Currently Snyder, 23, is working
on earning an AAOT in criminal
justice at CCC to supplement her
forensic artist certificate.
“Because of the saturation. of
forensic artists in the Portland area,
it’s kind of hard to get my foot in
the door without getting another
degree,” said Snyder.
An incident involving an intrud
er at CCC, last March, presented
the opportunity for Snyder to pro
duce a sketch of a woman as
described by cadet Adam Pedersen.
Snyder, as she was once asked to do
herself, requested that Adam look
through the pages of a book dis
playing hundreds of pages of
noses, eyes, mouths, chins and
other facial features and choose
those that most closely resembled
that of the intruder.
“1 asked him to describe the
overall feeling and the most promi
nent thing he remembered about
her,” said Snyder. Although the face
of the person may seem vague, the
“Open the register,” said the
man. A gun barrel stared coldly at
Sacha Snyder as she opened the
register containing the day’s money
two years ago at Gary’s Tuxedo
Shop in Clackamas. Of all the peo
ple who came and went from the
shop that day, his would be the face
Snyder would remember.
At the time, she was busy work
ing full-time at Gary’s and taking
several art classes at Mt. Hood
Community College with plans to
major in fine arts. Snyder had little
interest in criminal justice.
After the incident at Gary’s,
Snyder was asked to describe the
robber so a Clackamas County
forensic artist could create a sketch.
During the session, an interest in
this area of art arose in Snyder. The
forensic artist suggested Snyder
take courses from Stuart Parks to
become a certified fdrcnsic artist.
A year later, Snyder was given
features are usually recognizable.
“It’s a lot easier for people to rec
ognize something than it is for them
to recall it,” said Snyder. “The pic
tures, when you’re doing it, they just
kind of jump out at you. All you
have to do is look at a sheet of noses
and you’ll sec this one nose and
you’ll just know that that’s the one.
With a traumatic incident like that,
the image is burned into your brain;
you’ll never forget”
Snyder is currcndy unsure which
area of criminal justice to pursue,
but is helping sketching can be a
Criminal jus
tice student
Sacha Snyder
was given the
opportunity
to draw a
sketch of an
intruder on
campus last
March, as
described to
her by CCC
cadet Adam
Pedersen.
The sketch
was used by
campus safe
ty to search
for the
intruder.
NIC DELZELL C lackamas P rint
part. She is grateful for the c I
justice program at Clackamas I
“I think [the program] is
said Snyder. “It’s taught by J
people who have actual experl
the field. It’s better than goinl
where where people just tear
having been taught |Thc instr
know what it’s really like out t
Snyder remembers the 1
with a shudder, but is still anJ
the way it has shaped het
plans.
“It’s weird how someth
that can completely chanj
life,” said Snyder.“The way 11
can either look at the incidcn
horrible thing that causes hl
can take something good or
and turn it into something 1
five; that’s what I’ve chosen
SNYDER
Clackamas student relates a tale of two citiq
3
Obiero is on a quest
to help hometown of
Nairobi, Kenya
Bethany Monroe
T he C lackamas P rint
t
After working with World
Concern to bring food and med
ical supplies to needy people
throughout
Africa,
student
MyQue Obiero is furthering his
education in hopes of finding
cures for the devastating diseases
that he witnessed.
Obiero, 23, is a native of
Nairobi, Kenya. He was invited to
live with friends in Oregon so he
could
attend
Clackamas
Community College, where he is
working on a transfer degree in
microbiology.
“|I’ve seen] diseases wiping out
a whole population and doctors
don’t even know what to do,” said
Obiero. “That’s why I’m going |to
college]—to research some of
those diseases—see if 1 can find
cures.”
Although Americans often
associate Africa with jungles and
small villages, Nairobi is actually a
large city.
“It’s bigger than Portland ...
but the infrastructure is much
worse,” he said. “The roads have
potholes ... we have street kids all
over the city and rubbish heaps.
It’s basically a third-world country.
“We have 42 different lan
guages in our country and they arc
all very, very different,” said
Obiero, who currently speaks
seven: Swahili, English, French,
Tswana and a few other African
languages. He is also attempting
to add Spanish and Japanese to his
list.
“Japanese sounds so much like
my mother’s |tribal] language ...
so I find it easy to pick up,” said
Obiero. He also said he prefers to
learn languages by listening to
native speakers rather than study
ing in a classroom setting.
Obiero admits that the intensi
ty of schoolwork at Clackamas is
not quite comparable to his high
school years in Kenya.
“We used to go to school from
seven to seven,” he said. “On
Saturday, you go to school from
eight to five, Sunday from eight to
one. So, basically every day you go
to school.”
The senior year is especially
intense, when students prepare for
a month of exams that they must
pass in order to graduate from
high school.
“They can give us questions
from our freshman year,” said
Obiero, explaining that he had to
Student MyQue
Obiero speaks
seven languages
including
Swahili, English,
French, Tswana,
and several
other African
languages, “We
have 42 different
languages in our
country, and
they are all very,
very different,"
said-Obiero.
Obiero has trav-j
elled to North
and South
America, Europe,
and Asia.
MICHAELE COOPER C lackamas P rint
study stacks of notes from all. four
years of high school. “There’s no
multiple choices—no A, B, C, D.”
Nairobi, which is Kenya’s capi
tal city, is home to a diverse mix
ture of people, but many attempt
to hold on to the customs of their
tribes.
At the age of 14, Obiero under
went a tribal rite of passage into
adulthood requiring him to spear a
lion. He and 19 other boys were
taken to the jungle early one morn
ing and left with spears as their only
weapon.
“|The lion] roared so' loud—
that’s what he uses to paralyze his
prey,” said Obiero. “So when the
thing started roaring after my friend
threw the first spear ... it almost
drove us nuts. 1 was screaming my
head off; it was so painful.”
After an intense chase, Obiero
said, he and the others were success
ful in slaying their lion.
Although the cultural differences
between Kenya and the United
States are vast, Obiero has plenty in
common with his American class
mates.
A Blazer fan since age 10, Obiero
is a sports enthusiast and particularly
enjoys rugby, soccer and b.x
He loves fast food, especially
Wendy’s. He also loves to tnl
“I’ve been to South Al
North America, Europe, A*'
I’m from Africa ... sol nccl
to Australia and maybe AntaJ
just so I can say I’ve gone tol
continents,” he said.
I
For now, Obiero is erf
his time in the United Stall
“A couple of times*
dreamt in English and ill
‘Man!
I’m
K
Americanized!’
It frcaP
out!” he said.
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