JT eatore
■S, 2004
T he C lackamas P rint «11
sabbatical: not just all play
yndee Mady
C’JE ditor -I n -C hief
P1 a two-term sabbatical
11.1 h a combination of hard
1.1 rtache and relief, English
CCI Sue Mach returned to her
C11 in Rook Hall in time for
“V who has been teaching at
1IJ ; for nine years, spent a
;l'f her time off tending to
:l' -year-old daughter Nora,
Cooped a brain tumor and
l1:lIt 'surgery.
11 's a good thing I was on
” Mach said. “Around the
a year, she was falling a lot
Jidn’t want to go down
k .didn’t want to peddle her
1 lore or go to the park ... 1
1 he had an inner ear infcc-
ok her ko the doctor and
¡c her an MR1 and thankful-
'cct a sl^w-growing, benign
’th
■
V(|frs
at
Docrnbcchcr
¿n„| Hospital were able to
remove the build-up of spinal fluid,
but the tumor itself was in a difficult
position to maneuver.
“It’s in such a place that they
can’t remove it, so they’re just going
to leave it in,” said Mach. “If it
becomes a problem again, they’ll
probably have to radiate the tumor
... but so far it’s working—sheh
doing really well now.”
During the unexpected crisis,
Mach somehow managed to com
plete the first draft of a play she
wrote called “The Ixist Boy,” which
was inspired by the tragic events of
Ashley Pond and Miranda Caddis.
“Just having had a child, I was
more affected by |thc case] than
before,” she said. “Oh my Cod;
that just must be such a horrible
thing to have to go through as a
parent.”
Mach thought it in poor taste to
write about the two Oregon City
girls, but heard about an old case
that emulated the media frenzy that
surrounded the local case and decid
ed to pursue thc.prospcct.
“It’s about the first child kidnap
ping for ransom in this country,”
Mach said. “The only way that [the
father] could respond to the kidnap
pers was answering the personals in
the newspaper, so the newspaper
got a hold of the story and it
became a huge media event”
According to Mach, two broth
ers were playing in the yard of their
upper middle-class home in
Germantown, Pa., in 1874. It was
close to the Fourth of July and the
kidnappers tempted the boys with
the promise of fireworks. Both
boys went with the kidnappers; they
sent the six-year-old boy into the
store and abducted four-year-old
Charlie Ross,
“The kidnappers began to write
a scries of bizarre letters to the
father, who was a business man,”
said Mach.
Due to the recession that was
going on at that time, the father was
in debt and unable to meet the ran
som demand of $20,000.
“He could have raised the
money, but the police were saying
‘Don’t give in to this guy; don’t give
them the money’—so, long story
short—he never got his son [back],
never found a body, never found
anything,” said Mach.
In addition to writing plays,
Mach mentors inner-city kids and
helps them develop theatrical talent
in playwriting, acting and produc
tion in a program called the Haven
Project Mach plans to workshop
“The Lost Boy” over the summer
and said the play “will probably be
produced in conjunction with [the
Haven Project] at some point.”
Mach has five or six plays to her
credit. Her most frequently per
formed play, including two perform
ances in New York, is called
“Monogram,” about Portland play
wright Hazel Hall.
....... "w-'....... ■'
MACH
jl-time mom, student, volunteer, honored at graduation
strated leadership, academically suc
cessful-—student Sonia Thomas
F eature E ditor
possesses all of these qualities and
m H
standing student, an inspi- as a result was honored with the
£' rhers, overcame hardships Student Profile award.
“Sonia has been a leader in her
Sisucccss|at CCC, demon
program,” said Becky Carnahan,
one of the two staff members who
nominated Thomas for the award.
“She called me to get all the
graduation information so she could
: share, it with [students in the
Accelerated
Degree
Program
(ADP)],” Carnahan said.
Aparticipatc in ADP, Sonia
Thomas was able to earn her AAOT
in business while only attending
;. classes «pne night a week and on
*■ Saturd^^Si^™5^'S.C^;i;;S;^C
Margie Gibler, a coordinator for
.ADP. nominated Thomas for her
ability to accumulate 120 credits
. while occupying a full-time job,
\ Karen Hill
attending college full-time and sup through the program.
porting a family, as well as managing
“It’s a wonderful program
to maintain a 3.97 GPA and take a because you make very close friends,
leadership role in Phi Theta Kappa since you’re all taking the same class
es together,” said Thomas. “They’re
(PTK).
*
ADP is designed specifically for serious students who know what
people, who need to work during the they want.”
day and don’t have the time to attend
Thomas will be graduating
courses several nights a week. In from Clackamas next year with
order to cover the adequate amount an AAOT in business and a cer
of material with limited classroom tificate of supervision. The cer
time, the students take classes which tificate involved taking additional
integrate two or more courses. For classes in human resources, com
example, the writing and speech munication and budgeting.
“|The supervision certificate!
classes arc combined; students write
papers and present speeches on the is; a good foundation for being a
same topic, in an attempt to mini supervisor in. a department,” said
Thomas, who currently works as
mize their amount of research. • -1
I n addition- to. r ¡the accelerated .-manager of -childcare, resource
education Thomas was able to and referral at Campfire USA,
receive through the program; she “so that I’m a halfway decent
also appreciated the. shared goals and boss.”
Volunteering has always been
camaraderie
she.
experienced
a high priority to Thomas. She
has volunteered as an AWSEM
group leader and as a campfire
icadcr for many years.
“That’s why, I joined PTK,”
she said. “Community service is
very important to me.”
Thomas plans on using her
business degree and certificate at
her current job, while also hoping
to be able to work in a position as
a career and college counselor.
“I think it’s important for peo
ple to be empowered and encour
aged,” said Thomas. “The skills
that I’ve learned at CCC will
make me better at that.”
Thomas will be attending
Mafylhurst 1:ih; the’ fall’YA work
towards a bachelor’s degree 'in
business and leadership and a
certificate' in training and devel
opment.
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