Page 10 Section II Portland Observer, August 11, 1902
OSU EOP program supports students
The Educational O pportunities
Program (EOP) at Oregon State
University is a very successful stu
dent support program for non-tradi-
tional students which has assisted
23$ students to graduate from high
er education during the thirteen
years of its existence. The groups o f
students which the program is dedi
cated to assisting are Black Amer
icans, Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, resident refugees, low-
income students, and older
returning students. The program o f
fers support and assitance in all
areas o f admission, financial aid,
academic planning and growth, and
personal concerns. EOP at OSU is
now beginning its fourteenth year,
(t is well-established in the commu
nity and has developed a vast net
work o f services for students, valua
ble contacts at the university and in
the com m unity, and resources at
other schools and agencies
throughout Oregon. The program
has gained a favorable reputation
with these contacts resulting in more
students being referred to EOP.
EOP offers a wide range o f sup
port services to its students, includ
ing academic developmental classes,
tutoring, career counseling, and per
sonal counseling. When a student
applies to the university, the EOP
office acts in the capacity o f an ad
missions office until the file is com
plete and ready fo r o ffic ia l admis
sion. The application fee and hous-
with the Career Planning und Place
ment Office to ussisl students in pre
paring resumes and interviewing loi
employment upon graduation.
EOP students are also given the
opportunity to attend various cul
tural affairs on and o ff campus. In
the past, students have attended a
poetry reading in Portland. Shake
spcarcan plays in Ashland, and weic
able to watch fellow classmates per
form in plays at OSU’ s M itchell
Playhouse.
LAVERNE WOODS
Another facet o f EOP is recruit
ing. It is the mission of the recruiters
to see that inform ation and assist
ance is given to a ll students in Ore
gon and in the Pacific Northwest to
enable them to gel a higher educa
tion, if that is the desire o f the stud
ent. Several counselors travel
around the state visitin g high
schools and com m unity colleges,
OR. LAWRENCE GRIGGS
ing deposit are deferred u n til the
student arrives on campus. New
EOP students attend special orienta-
tin sessions, including an overnight
retreat where they have an oppor
tu n ity to meet and interact w ith
people from various departments on
campus, including OSU’s president.
Companies in the Corvallis area al
so send representatives to this re
treat.
Each student is assigned to a
counselor who assists in both aca
demic and personal areas. Academic
skills are evaluated through testing
so that students can be placed in the
proper classes. Developmental
courses are available in the areas o f
reading, writing, math, personal de
velopment, and study skills. When
EOP students need extra assistance
in any particular course, they can
turn to EOP’s own Learning Center
where the students arc matched up
w ith tutors who have expertise in
that particular area. The students al
so have access to audio-visual teach
ing aids in EOP's Learning Lab.
I f a student should encounter
problems w ith financial aid, the
EOP assistant director. Dr. Law
rence Griggs, counsels and acts as a
liaison with the OSU Financial Aid
Office. Dr. Griggs has information
on scholarhips and grants which are
not available to a m ajority o f stu-
dents, and he aids the students in
applying for these funds.
An EOP student has available (he
services o f a Cooperative Education
Counselor, Monte Freeman. Coop
erative Education is a university-
wide program which enables stu
dents
to
gain
employment
experience in their fields, receive
credit toward graduation, and often
receive a salary as well. In addition,
other EOP counselors work directly
talking with students about the op
portunities and services available
through EOP at OSU. Information
packets and applications are given
out, and slide presentations are giv
en. One o f these recruiters, LaVernc
Woods, visits the Portland area reg
ularly. LaVernc recently joined the
EOP s ta ff after re tirin g from the
A rm y w ith the rank o f Sergeant-
Major. He had been working on the
OSU campus for several years with
the Army ROTC.
V.A. loan program expanded
The Veterans A d m in is tra tio n ’s
Loan Guaranty program has ex
panded its services to veterans and
their dependents with acceptance of
Growing Equity Mortgages (GEM).
Under this new mortgage con
cept, loans are arranged to mature
much earlier than standard 30-year
mortgages, according to W illia m
Cipolla, Loan Guaranty O fficer at
the Portland Regional Office.
“ In some cases the loan could be
satisfied in 11 years, even though
early mortgage payments are in the
same amount as those for a 30-year
loan,” Cipolla explained.
The early p a yo ff results from a
gradual increase in mortgage pay
ments, typically no more than 3 to 5
per cent each year. Unlike variable
interest rate mortgages, however, all
o f the payment increase is applied to
principal rather than interest, result
ing in an accelerated reduction in
the loan balance.
In addition to an early payoff o f a
Center
selects
director
Ellen Dressier has been selected as
Director for the Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center, Commissioner Jor
dan announced Tuesday.
funded by a $420,000 federal re
hab grant by the Urban Parks and
Recreation Recovery Program
(UPARR) matched by a $180,000
C ity G rant (H C D ) to convert an
abandoned firehouse located at
5340 N. Interstate Street, the com
munity cultural center w ill provide
recreational, artistic, and cultural
program m ing to include physical
fitness, drama, crafts, dance, music,
photography and social activities.
The new D irecto r, a native o f
P ortland, recently served as
Director o f Cultural A ffairs for the
City o f Charleston where employed
for the last four years. In addition
to her management, program devel
opment and public relations skills,
Ellen has excellent experience
working with community organiza
tions, gained while employed with
the City o f Montgomery, Alabama
as its C ultural A rts Supervisor in
1977 and Galassini Advertising as
Creative Services Director in 1976.
Her public relations skills were ac
quired during her tenure with
WSFA-TV in 1974 and Fuller and
Dees Publishers, also in Alabama.
She attended Portland State Uni
versity from 1961-1964 as a music
major.
She has also attended Westmin
ster C hoir College in P rincetoin,
New Jersey and the U niversity o f
N orth Carolina fo r post graduate
study in arts management and recre
ation.
She is President o f the South Car
olina Alliance o f Community Arts
Agencies and serves on the Gover
n o r’ s A rts Task Force. Ellen also
serves as Advocacy Chairman and
as a member o f the Board o f Direc
tors for the N a fo n a l Assembly o f
Community Arts Agencies. In addi
tio n , she chairs the W orking Sub
committee for the Arts for the U.S.
Conference o f Mayors.
Miss Dressier w ill be responsible
for managing the day-to-day opera
tions o f the center which is sche
duled to o fficia lly open in October
GEM , another advantage to the
borrower is that the investment in
the property grows rapidly at a rela
tively low monthly cost. Lenders al
so benefit by receiving an early pay
back o f capital and a lessening risk
o f loss as the property equity in
creases.
Like other types o f VA financing,
VA-guaranteed GEMS are obtained
through mortgage lenders and other
traditional residential loan sources,
according to Cipolla.
Oregon State University
Educational Opportunities Program
Would you like to go
to college?
Get a degree?
Now
IT IS POSSIBLE through
E.O.P. atO.S.U.
The Educational Opportunities Program at Oregon State
University will help you to apply to the university, to apply for
all scholarships and grants available to you, offers academic
developmental classes, has tutors available, offers career
counseling, personal counseling, Co-operative Education
opportunities, cultural enrichment activities.
AND MOREI
You may qualify
Do you feel that your high school GPA is too low to get you
into college?
Are your math, reading or written skills marginal?
Do you think that you may not qualify for funds to help you
through college?
Do you live in an isolated rural area?
Meet David Abbott, Cablesystems Pacific's Quality Control Technician. David
has been with us since January, 1982. After receiving his technical training as
Missile Facilities Specialist for the United States Air Force, David decided to focus
on a career in the communications industry. Why? Let David tell you:
I fin d my jo b and the fie ld o f
communications very challenging. The
opportunities in this fast-growing
industry and with Cablesystems
Pacific are limitless. I plan to use my
skills and training to assist my climb to
the top o f the ladder o f success.
FOR MORE INFO RM ATION, CONTACT:
Educational Opportunities Program
Waldo Hall 337
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331 6406
(503) 754-3628
David Abbott: A living example of the opportunities awaiting you in the
field of telecommunications technology.
Pacific
S E R V IN O P O R T L A N D