EDUCATION
Wednesday, april 29, 2020
HerMisTOnHerald.COM • A7
BMCC student named extraordinary community college student
HerMisTOn Herald
A Blue Mountain Com-
munity College sophomore
has been named one of Ore-
gon’s four most extraordi-
nary community college Phi
Theta Kappa (PTK) students
for 2020.
Esgar Garcia Avila, a
business student from Herm-
iston, was selected for the
honor out of more than 50
nominations of PTK students
from all 17 of Oregon’s com-
munity colleges. PTK is an
international honor society
for two-year colleges.
The Oregon Commu-
nity College
Associa-
tion bestows
the honor
among just
four
stu-
dents from
Garcia Avila
across the
state each
year. The criteria used for
selecting the top four stu-
dents is based on academic
excellence, leadership and
community service while
pursuing an associate’s
degree. A committee of local
college board members, col-
lege presidents and associ-
ation reviews nominations
and makes the selections.
“It was a difficult selec-
tion as all of the students
nominated for this recog-
nition had impressive aca-
demic credentials, leadership
qualities and community
service,” said OCCA Execu-
tive Director Dr. Cam Preus
in a congratulatory letter to
the four students. “However,
you all stood out as the most
accomplished.”
Besides being an honor
student with a cumula-
tive 3.8 GPA, Avila played
the past two seasons as a
defender on the men’s soccer
team. Avila has served the
past two years as a BMCC
student ambassador, leading
tours of prospective students
and other visitors around
campus, promoting the col-
lege in the community, and
visiting local high schools
to talk about the benefits of
being a student at BMCC.
He also served as BMCC’s
student representative on
the OCCA Board. In addi-
tion, Avila has held a work
study job in the BMCC Col-
lege Relations & Advance-
ment Office, assisting with
marketing and social media.
“I am honored to receive
such a high, prestigious
award and to be representing
BMCC,” he said. “I would
like to thank my parents, fam-
ily, and friends for believing
in me so I can always keep
pushing forward.”
The OCCA has tradition-
ally held a luncheon each
spring in Salem to honor
its outstanding students and
allow students to speak about
their educational journeys.
However, with COVID-19
and social distancing mea-
sures in place, the OCCA
canceled the event, but still
plans to celebrate later.
Avila will graduate from
BMCC in June with an asso-
ciates degree in business,
and plans to transfer to a
four-year university in the
fall.
“The faculty and staff of
Blue Mountain are very proud
of Esgar and his extraordi-
nary achievements,” said
BMCC President Dennis
Bailey-Fougnier. “He is not
only smart, talented, and
well-accomplished, but he is
also one of the kindest indi-
viduals I have met at BMCC.
He is always the first in line
to help with an activity or
event, and he always has a
smile on his face. This is a
well-deserved honor.”
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