Jun 21, 2023 | Alumni, News, OCCI News, Student Success
Oregon Coast Culinary Institute (OCCI) 2010 alum, Chef Reilly Meehan, recently competed at the Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge Regional Semi-Final culinary competition in Santiago, Chile. In late May, Chef Meehan’s exceptional culinary skills and unwavering determination propelled him to victory, earning him a gold medal and coveted title of “Global Chef of the Americas.”
The Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge is renowned for attracting top culinary talents from around the world who demonstrate their prowess in the kitchen and exhibit their remarkable adaptability under pressure. Chefs are tasked with creating culinary masterpieces that not only tantalize the taste buds but also display impeccable presentation for seamless service. Chef Meehan’s culinary creations exemplified these requirements, impressing the judges and securing his first-place finish.
Chef Meehan will now move on to compete in the Global Chefs Challenge Finals, which will take place in Singapore in October 2024. This opportunity allows him to further display his exceptional culinary talents on a global platform, representing both OCCI and the United States with pride.
“We are immensely proud of Chef Meehan’s accomplishments,” said OCCI Executive Chef Randy Torres, the driving force behind OCCI’s award-winning culinary and baking programs. “He is an inspiration to all OCCI students, and his remarkable journey is a testament to the exceptional training, dedication and passion both our students and instructors bring every day in the kitchen.”
Southwestern Oregon Community College’s OCCI culinary program has a long-standing legacy of nurturing exceptional talent and supporting its alumni in international culinary competitions. In 2012, the institute proudly hosted the U.S. National Youth Team. This year, it hosted the U.S. National Culinary Team as they prepared for the highly anticipated World Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany, in February 2024.
For more information about the programs offered at OCCI, visit www.socc.edu/occi. Text or call 541-240-8227.
May 31, 2023 | Alumni, Community, News, Student Success
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College is pleased to announce Dr. Eric Gleason of Winston is the 2023 Distinguished Alumnus. Gleason is a 2012 Southwestern graduate and professionally serves as Deputy Director of Coos Health & Wellness.
The Distinguished Alumni award recognizes individuals who demonstrate significant contributions to their professions, communities, or academia.
“We are excited to recognize a former student who served his country as well as his communities,” said college President Patty Scott. “Eric Gleason demonstrates Southwestern’s mission and validates our hope that students and graduates will contribute positively to our global society.”
Gleason grew up in North Bend. He joined the U.S. Navy, serving his country for eight years. He returned to the south Oregon coast in 2006 and soon found he wanted to be involved in improving the community.
“Trying to give back to the community in a way to saves lives is a big deal. I never thought I’d be doing that. And, I never thought I’d graduate from college either,” Gleason said while discussing the Distinguished Alumni award.
After becoming injured during a welding career, Gleason set out in a new direction in life. Enrolling at Southwestern, he used GI BILL® benefits to study and earn an Associate of Arts degree in 2012.
“Without SWOCC, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said. “If it wasn’t for people believing in me and the faculty being so supportive, I don’t know that I would have continued.”
Gleason did keep learning. After Southwestern, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in human development and family science in 2013 from Oregon State University.
While he continued pursuing his education, Gleason worked from 2011-13 as a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier. From 2013-15, he served as the Coos County veterans service officer.
“I knew education was a way forward. I kept pursuing it, always trying to give back to community, always trying to improve my community,” Gleason said.
In 2015, he earned a master’s degree from Arizona State University, and a doctoral degree in behavioral health management from ASU in 2018.
Since becoming a member of Coos Health & Wellness in 2015, Gleason has continued his work to support others in improving their lives. He guided the department’s public communication efforts throughout the pandemic and has maintained connections with veterans’ efforts.
He also served previously in elected local government positions, including North Bend City Council and North Bend School Board. He remains involved in local theater and activities involving his children.
Since 1992, Southwestern has celebrated former students who have distinguished themselves in professions and innovative efforts to build friendships around the globe. Past recipients have included leaders in education, the arts, Native American tribes, business and finance, research, medicine, and the military.
May 24, 2023 | Alumni, Community, Curry Campus, News, Student Success
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College’s 2023 Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, June 9, 2023, at noon in Prosper Hall on the Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.
Southwestern is proud of the 2023 graduates! This year the College is pleased to honor a total of 364 graduates, from 20 states and 15 countries.
Degrees being awarded are:
141 Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer
103 Associate of Applied Science
37 Associate of General Studies
40 Associate of Science
118 Certificates of Completion (one year)
Southwestern also congratulates seven local high school students who acquired their associate degrees at the same time they were completing their high school diplomas.
Guest attendance at the ceremony is by ticket only. The celebration can be viewed live via the College’s Livestream channel at https://livestream.com/accounts/1075958.
Additional information for graduates and their families can be found on the Graduation webpage located at https://www.socc.edu/graduation.
GH = Graduating with Honors, 3.75 GPA | V = Valedictorian, 4.00 GPA | PK = Member Phi Theta Kappa
May 22, 2023 | Alumni, Community, Curry Campus, Foundation, News, Student Success
When you walk into Randolph Hall on SWOCC’s Coos Campus, you can hear laughter. It is hard not to follow the sound right into the Veterans Center to be a part of something good.
One tall, blond-haired man is always right in the middle of conversations there. To folks who do not know Ryan DeVore, he appears to be just another Vet Center work study student. Quiet-spoken. Smiling.
To those who know him, he’s much more.
“I’ve become a better person because of Ryan,” Shana Brazil said, as she watched him chatting with two students. “Ryan is so open to everything. Veterans can tell him anything, and he never looks down on them – ever. He never has anything negative to say.”
Shana is SWOCC’s Veteran Services Coordinator. She’s worked with vets at the college for years. She got to know Ryan a couple years ago. He was one of many disabled veterans coming to school to use GI Bill benefits to learn. Ryan found his way to her office. Shana liked him immediately. She asked if he would be her work-study student. Disappointingly, he said no. Three weeks later, Ryan returned. He asked if the job was still open.
Ryan and his wife, Jessie Courtright, grew up here and have family here. Ryan felt a connection to the college. Jessie graduated from SWOCC 18 years ago, he said, adding proudly she was the first woman to graduate in welding. Ryan applied to SWOCC in 2022 and got a Foundation scholarship. He is pursuing a science degree, but is working on a bigger mission. He believes his mission will improve the world in small, incremental ways long after he’s gone.
“I’m dying, you know. Slowly,” Ryan said, as he started telling his story. “I have organ failure.”
It is an autoimmune disorder that manifested as diabetes and Grave’s disease. Slowly, it has overcome his pancreas and now is destroying his liver and spleen. He’s waiting for it to attack his heart or his brain.
A person could let that eat away at him. That’s not Ryan’s story.
When he started his work study job, he learned that veterans club students tried to create a permanent scholarship for vets and their families. They made good progress in 2020 fundraising, until COVID killed the effort.
Ryan picked up the mission.
“It’s really important to help the soldiers and their dependents. They may be running out of benefits or needing a little extra help,” he said.
There’s a perception that if you serve in the military, you get free college, free job training. Some do. For others it is more complicated. Many older veterans’ benefits may have expired, or run out just short of the end of their schooling. For veterans with families, the monthly aid often does not stretch far enough.
Ryan knows personally, the value of a scholarship. It covers the bits and pieces. It eases worry. It helps to know someone cares.
His goal is to raise the scholarship fund to $50,000. The Vet Center is selling T-shirts. Ryan says he’s hoping to win the lottery. He launched a GoFundMe effort. Donations are trickling in.
“I’m trying to make the world a smarter place. It’s how I deal with my PTSD and ailments. If I’m going to be around, I’m going to try to make everybody’s day better,” Ryan said.
Ryan developed the mindset serving in the U.S. Army from 2002-16, until being medically discharged. He served at Fort Benning, Fort Stewart and Fort Hood. He also did two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. As a staff sergeant, Ryan watched over his soldiers. He cared for them not only at work, but in their home life and everything. If they needed something, he made sure they were taken care of.
“He’s brought that into the Vet Center a thousand times more than we ever had,” Shana said. “He just cares about the students. I appreciate it so much.”
Every day, Ryan keeps a candy jar ready for anyone who walks through the Vet Center door. He gets to know each veteran, their spouses, their children. He listens. When they need help, food or a friend, Ryan finds it for them. He connects them with things to do in the community. When some veterans’ car broke down recently, he picked them up and drove them to school.
“I’m just trying to live forward. I need as much good karma as I can find,” Ryan said, which is why this 42-year-old man’s mission is to finish creating the scholarship fund for veterans.
“This work-study money I get, it’s going to go to this project. I am working for free today for kids,” he said.
Now you have met Ryan DeVore. No, he is not just another work-study student. To those who know him, he is a hero.
If you would like to contribute to a permanent scholarship for veterans and their families click ‘Give’ to donate online. Put ‘Veterans Scholarship’ in the notes.
Give
For more information about the veterans program at Southwestern visit www.socc.edu/veterans, call 541-888-7236 or email veterans@socc.edu.
May 2, 2023 | Alumni, Community, News
Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College’s Hall of Fame honors former athletes, teams, coaches, and those that had a large impact on the College and its athletic programs. Two teams and one individual span a wide range of Laker history and make up Southwestern’s Hall of Fame class of 2023.
This year’s inductees are:
- The First Men’s Golf team (1967-68) including players Bob Seelig, Ron Thompson*, Roger Ketchum, Clint* & Doug Laird*, Al McDougall*, Dave Johnson*, John Duncan*, Bob Abbey*, Chuck Smith*, and Wayne Overstake*, coached by James (Jim) Ferguson;
- The First Women’s Golf Team (1997-98) including players Margot Patula, Tiea Pruitt, and Raynae Harding;
- The First Men’s Golf NWAC Champion (2008-09), Andrew Von Lossow, coached by Michael Chupka.
The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on the Coos Campus (1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay) in Prosper Hall on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 3:00 pm during the Annual Sports Awards. The event is free and open to the public. There will be food available following the ceremony.
The College is seeking help in locating team members, noted with an (*). Anyone having information on the inductees may contact the Hall of Fame Committee at hof@socc.edu or 541-888-7208.
Mar 10, 2023 | Alumni, Community, News, Student Success
Tom, Deanna, Jack and Alan Prater
If you were to look among a crowd of Prater family members, just about every one you see works in health care. Husband and wife team Deanna and Tom Prater, Tom’s brother and sister-in-law, and Deanna’s mom worked in the profession.
Tom and Deanna met in the military. He grew up in Reedsport and she in Pennsylvania. When they finished service, they landed on the south coast in the late 1990s. Tom had it in his mind to go into nursing, having watched the timber industry crash while growing up. He knew it was a good pathway.
They enrolled at SWOCC.
“I was doing math, physics, and engineering. Tom definitely didn’t want to move out of the area. I thought what am I going to do with a math degree?” Deanna said.
It’s funny how things work out.
It wasn’t long before Deanna entered the nursing program. Today, the Praters have enjoyed nearly 25 years in the profession.
“There are so many avenues you can do in nursing. I feel like there is some avenue for anyone,” she said.
Tom worked at Bay Area Hospital for years, and now works in the ER at Lower Umpqua Hospital in Reedsport. Deanna works at Lower Umpqua, too, as Director of Infection Control, Employee Health and Safety.
Soon Deanna and Tom’s sons, Jack and Alan, will enter the profession. Both are first-year nursing students at SWOCC and living at home so they work their way through school debt-free.
“With nursing, you help people,” said Jack who’s 30 and ready for a new career. “And, you can make a living wage and own a home here.”
Alan had worked entry level jobs in health care, monitoring people’s hearts and then at the cancer center. He’s comfortable in a health care setting. He had the opportunity to take a free ride to law school in Salem, but turned it down for a career in nursing. Oregon desperately needs nurses and is among the top five states with the highest pay for RNs.
“This field is useful and helpful whereever you go, and wherever you are,” Alan said.
The brothers study together. Being able to work and go to school at the same time has been helpful, too.
“It’s convenient. I attend lectures remotely and in-person,” Alan said.
This winter, the brothers started their “clinicals” – the hands-on hospital work experience alongside a Registered Nurse.
“Seems like I know every fifth person. It’s cool taking care of people you live around,” Jack said.
Deanna and Tom didn’t pressure their sons to go into nursing. Their message to each son was simple.
“Be a good person. Enjoy life. Find a partner you can have a happy life with. Contribute to the world. Do something good.”
The next generation of Praters intends to follow that mission. Nursing will give them a start in that direction.
To learn more about our Nursing program text or call 541-240-8227; email: SWOCCbound@socc.edu.
