Recovery: A Journey That’s Limitless

Michelle Gray, RCC Counseling For people who are overcoming addiction, the work never stops. I have assisted people with acknowledging their addiction, finding help, and supporting them in their recovery. Recovery is limitless because there is no “done” or finish line. Recovery is limitless because there are constantly new opportunities to include in your toolbox and ways to focus your healthy energy and adapt to your new...

Grief and loss in difficult times

By Eva Akiyama, LPC, RCC Counseling  It’s no secret that it’s been a difficult year and a half. Many people have experienced tragedy and trauma in 2020 and 2021 – there have been deaths due to COVID-19, losses due to wildfire, job layoffs, disconnection with family and friends. Almost everyone has experienced increased worry, stress, and depression in some form or another. We are all being forced...

Peter Buckley

2021 Outstanding Citizen: Peter Buckley

Former state legislator Rep. Peter Buckley, a longtime advocate for education and healthy families, has been selected as recipient of the Rogue Community College 2021 Outstanding Citizen Award for distinguished service to the college and community. Buckley, of Ashland, currently serves as program manager for Southern Oregon Success as well as a trainer and administrator for the Southern Oregon ACEs Training team, an effort to...

Outstanding RCC alum Gary Malone helps UO keep its cool

Think you’re too busy to go back to school? Gary Malone wondered, too. But, like many students, he was attracted to the flexibility Rogue Community College offers, which allows non-traditional students to earn a degree while juggling full-time jobs and family responsibilities. This spring, the RCC Foundation has named Gary as recipient of the 2021 RCC Outstanding Alumni Award—proof that the system works. Like many...

Looking forward to spring

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a year since the COVID-19 pandemic changed, well, just about everything. It’s been an unusually rough year, and we want to say how proud we are of your determination and grit. You’ve got this, Ospreys! Keep pushing forward. Sunnier days are just ahead. RAINBOW CLUB is a student-led club that seeks to empower, advocate, and support all LGBTQ+ students,...

Founding faculty recall RCC’s early days

In 1970, Mary Slayter was already a role model for young women. She spent a decade earning two college degrees while raising three children, eventually securing a full-time teaching job at Grants Pass High School. Mary believed in the power of education. Which is why, when Rogue Community College opened its doors, Mary wanted in. “I enjoyed teaching at Grants Pass High School, but the...

Portrait of Millie Shawn

Nursing grad finds her path through GED

Rogue Community College (RCC) has been the path to affordable job training and college education for thousands of Southern Oregon residents. As many as 40 percent of them are the first in their families to attend college. The path for these pioneers often starts with earning a high school certification by passing the General Education Development (GED) test. When her three daughters were older, Millie...

Wiseman had a heart of gold

The Wiseman Center, home to the Redwood Campus library, is named in honor of Lillian Alicia Wiseman, who lived from 1895 to 1983. In 1973, the retired seamstress gave an anonymous gift of $10,000 to Rogue Community College. She’d never even stepped on campus. She just wanted to help future students. This Jan. 12, 1977 article from the Grants Pass Daily Courier tells her inspiring...

Phil Nelson and Marjorie Holzgang

Volunteer, advocate, student: An RCC founder recalls ‘it’s all for the community’

In 1969, three people sat around a table with an idea—to transform the old Fort Vannoy Job Corps campus into a bustling center of higher education. Community leaders Bill Ford, Marjorie Holzgang and newcomer Phil Nelson—a local attorney, the youngest of the group—are credited today for founding Rogue Community College, a staple of Rogue Valley culture and opportunity. But imagine fifty years ago, when Jackson...

Pest management program boosts campus safety

By John Miles, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator Good day, everyone! While COVID-19 has affected everyone’s life in some way, some things are still moving forward. The good and exciting news is that the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program at RCC is working to make the campuses safer for students and employees, as well as more environmentally friendly. Since there is much confusion on what IPM...