Arts Culture
Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
3
Who are you going to call? CERC!
. Emily Walters
& Culture Editor
Clackamas students are no
stingers to school bills.
But many students have dif
ficulty getting hired for a job.
■ Whether due to a busy sched
ule, inexperience or a combi
nation of several factors, the
Career and Employer Resource
Center can help.
■ The Career and Employer
Resource Center - or the CERC
I- is a plethora of information
land guidance for Clackamas
¡students and community mem-
¡Ars.
There are many elements to
consider when searching, apply
ing and interviewing for jobs.
“A combination of things,
involving the resume, cover
letter and interviewing skills,”
Linda Wood said, should be the
main focus in order to obtain
a job.
Wood is one of three career
and development special
ists at the CERC, the others
being Clara Dawson and Ethel
Swanson.
“The three of us - Linda,
Ethel and myself - help stu
dents search for jobs,” said
Dawson. “We work very closely
with the Oregon Employment
Department.”
Many special services are
provided by the CERC for those
looking for work.
The CERC has two different
assessments to help students
determine their skills and pos
sible career options. They are
the Discover assessment and
the Career Information System
(CIS). These are great tools
for students who are undecided
about what field they would
like to enter and what majors to
explore in college.
Also available in the CERC
are two separate sets of mod
ules, which anyone can check
out. The first set concerns
Career Exploration, and the
second is about the Job Search.
Students and community
members have several acces
sible computers in the CERC
to use specifically for their job
searching, away from most of
the hubbub of noise throughout
the rest of the campus.
On these computers is a pro
gram to test skills and practice
them, and links to labor mar
kets, such as the Oregon Labor
Market Information System
(OLMIS). These services are
in addition to the normal pro
grams which are on the general
use computers at the college.
“These are all free servic
es for anyone in the commu
nity, but especially students,”
Dawson said.
Extra resources at the CERC
are those geared toward spe
cific groups of students.
I Career & Employe
: 9
Elizabeth Hitz Clackamas Print
The Career and Employer Resource Center sign hangs inside the Advising and Counseling Center in the Bill Brod Community
Center. Operating hours are weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We work back and forth
with the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA). It is a grant through
the Department of Labor,” said
Dawson.
Shalee Hodgson, an employ
ment and training specialist,
works closely with that particu
lar branch of the CERC.
“I work with employers to
find what they need,” she said.
Hodgson also finds jobs and
helps people in the WIA stay
employed.
Readily available in the
CERC is the Occupational
Skills Training section (OST),
which works mostly with indi
viduals who have mental dis
abilities.
“Vocational Rehabilitation
pays for whatever Financial Aid
does not,” said Ron Cleaver, a
specialist who heads the OST.
The office of Employment
and Training Specialist Melissa
Coombs, who heads the
Cooperative Work Experience
(CWE), is also located in the
CERC. CWE is a program at
the college through which stu
dents may receive help finding
an internship in their field of
interest while receiving college
credit. Courses can be found
in the college’s schedule of
classes.
The CERC is located inside
the Advising and Counseling
Center in the Community
Center. Hours of operation are 9
a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday. Stop in today for job
search assistance from any of
the experts.
For additional information
on the CERC, call ext. 2409,
e-mail career@clackamas.edu
or go to http://depts.clackamas.
edu/career.
Dance classes take center stage as physical education option
Andrea Simpson
[Hie Clackamas Print
■Every Tuesday and Thursday
on the third floor of Randall Hall,
you can hear the sweet blend of
tap shoes and Natalie Cole.
■ Tap dancing is only one of a
variety of dance classes offered
through the Physical Education
Department. Ballet, swing, jazz
and hip-hop are also offered at var
ious times throughout the week
. try every
thing until you
find something
that you love.
There is a type
of dance for
everyone,99
Taina Heiberg, Tap
Instructor
■Since the dance room was
moved three years ago to its cur
rent location in room 208, Tap
Instructor Taina Heiberg says she
has seen a decline in interest in
dance classes.
■ “When we were down near the
wrestling room, people would walk
by and look in; it created interest,”
Heiberg said. “I would like to see
■ore promotion about the fact that
we have a beautiful, new dance
room on the third floor.”
Heiberg has been teaching
dancing since she was 14, and has
been teaching here for 18 years.
In that time, she has seen many
changes in the program.
‘T applaud the college for bring
ing different types of dance here,”
she said. “If lads don’t have the
freshest thing to sign up for, they
are going to go somewhere else.”
Jazz and Hip-Hop Instructor
Jenelle Yarbrough says that the
dance classes
offer advantages
that traditional
physical educa
tion classes may
not.
“Dance helps
build
coor
dination
and
memory,” said
Yarbrough. “It’s
different from
playing a sport
in the way that
you have to learn
how to coordi
nate different
parts of your
body in rhythm
to music. It takes
layers and layers
of coordination
and movement.”
Yarbrough is
especially excit
ed about the
turnout for the
hip-hop classes.
“On the first
day, my hip-hop
class was com
pletely filled,”
she said. “I said,
‘Hey, if you like
this class, try
jazz.’ Street Jazz
is hip-hop with a twist It’s hip-hop
with some slight jazz influences,
and we do some leaps and turns
in jazz.”
Even though this is Yarbrough’s
first year teaching at Clackamas,
she has high hopes for the pro
gram.
“I would hope that the program
would grow to the point where it
can invest in itself for things like a
decent sound system. I would also
like to see a performing arts show
case of classes - an opportunity
for the students to work towards
something instead of having class
end semester after semester.”
“I would like to see better pro
motion for the dance program.
I think students just don’t know
about it,” Heiberg said. “Tap is a
fun form of exercise.”
And if you think that dance is
not for you?
“Figure out what interests you,
and try everything until you find
something you love. There is a
type of dance for everyone,” said
Yarbrough.
Heiberg said, “If they know
their left foot from their right foot,
I can teach them to dance.”
Alexandna Vallelunga Clackamas Print
Above: The hip-hop class gets their groove on.
Left: Tap Instructor Taina Heiberg shows off some footwork
with her talented toes.