Scholarship Recipients

Recent COCC Foundation Scholarship Recipients

Diana Gehring
I am almost 45 years old and for most of my adult life, I dreamed of attending college.

I grew up in a small logging community located on the Oregon coast. It was easy, during the years of my youth for a person to find a job in the woods that paid very well and afforded a family a comfortable style of living. Consequently, my family didn’t place much value on higher education. This thought process still continues, and to this date, not one person in my family – immediate or extended – has pursued a degree beyond that of a high school diploma.

Needless to say, when I walked with my graduating class in 1979, I wasn’t exactly on the college track! Not only that? the odds were against me EVER being on the college track. I was 17, I’d already been married a year and a half and I had a 9-month-old daughter depending on me.

In 1982, things began to improve when I moved to Bend. With a community college here, I now had access to education. For the next couple decades, I wafted in and out of classes with a dream of someday attaining a degree. One of my greatest challenges was the fact that I needed five math classes to achieve college-level math. That one fact kept me from committing myself to college for several years. THANK GOODNESS for developmental classes. Once I had several math classes and a study strategies class under my belt, I mustered every ounce of my strength, and enrolled in the Health Information Technology program at COCC.

I had a goal. It was tangible, and in order to attain this goal I made the decision to quit a long-term job so that I could fully commit myself to school. My friends thought I was crazy? OR suffering a midlife crisis. I knew my life was just beginning.

My decision to pursue my dream did place a great financial hardship on my family, and I know that there have been times that this has not been easy for them. It is my hope, however, that I have instilled in my two daughters the value I place on education. After all, they have witnessed first hand what it means to purse a dream in spite of significant obstacles.

I would be lying if I said I had not considered giving up... ironically, the Foundation Scholarship did not just help me financially; it played a major role in keeping me grounded. Somebody had believed in me enough to give me this incredible gift, so how could I let them down by dropping out now?

Now, in just five weeks I will graduate with the rest of my classmates and I would like to thank the Foundation for believing in me? for giving me the desire to hang on. And I would like to say thank you for helping me to become the first in my family to earn a college degree.

Sunnie Bird
In Sunnie Bird’s household, practicing "shadow of the leader" is the heart of the family dynamics. "As a family leader, I try to set an example with my work ethic and grades," she says. "I will be the first in my family to earn a college degree."

Sunnie’s 3.93 grade-point average is reason enough to be proud, but her academic success comes in spite of the ongoing challenges of dyslexia. Though she long ago learned to write from left to right, she still struggles with some concepts—such as inequalities in math— and must put in extra hours of study for some classes.

In the fall, Sunnie will continue working on a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Oregon through the Cascades Campus. Her career goal is to work with learning-disabled juvenile offenders. "I want to show kids and their parents that there is hope—that with skills and encouragement, they can succeed."

Ronna Murillo
Reaching back into foggiest memories, Ronna Murillo can’t recall a time when she wasn’t fascinated with India and its culture. After working nine years as a dental assistant after high school, she acted on her dream and moved to India to study Tibetan Buddhism. While living in the monastery, she independently volunteered to teach English to Tibetan refugees, raised money for the Mother Theresa Houses of Hope, served as a liaison between the blind beggars and the Lions Club and worked in a dental office.

"For six years I saw disease, death and deformities—from maggots, burns and leprosy—things that you never see in America. I lost friends due to preventable diseases—and contracted life-threatening diseases myself," she recalls.

"I have this drive to help people. My intentions were good, but my help was just short-term. I know what it’s like to hurt and I knew I had the capacity to be more effective."

Returning to the US in 2002, the single mother enrolled at COCC with the help of a scholarship to take the classes necessary for admission to a nursing program.

Ronna is determined to pursue her education as far as possible—a master’s degree in nursing or a physician’s assistant—and then return to India. "I could be administering the medications they need through an infirmary or an organization such as Northwest Medical Teams."

Zac Cartwright
"My grandpa has always been my idol," says 19-year-old Zac Cartwright. "I want to be just like him—as good as he is." Zac’s grandparents have raised him and his sister since their single mother succumbed to drug addiction.

"My grandpa opened my eyes and showed me a better path. I’ve been working hard at life and school ever since. Seeing what’s happened to my mom, I want to go as far away from that as possible."

"My grandparents put the seed in my head about college and encouraged me," says Zac, "but I knew they didn’t have the means. My scholarship made it happen."

Zac plans to finish his associate’s degree in business next year and then earn a degree in business/finance from Oregon State University to reach his goal of a career in corporate budgeting and investments.

In addition to school and work commitments, Zac makes time to read with two first-grade girls as part of the Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) program, serve as a counselor for Camp Tamarack and volunteer with the Meal of the Year fund-raiser.

"It makes me feel good to volunteer," says Zac. "I think my mom was unhappy because she was so self-involved, so I take that extra step to help others."

Community Testimonials

Jack McCown
COCC Faculty and past COCC Foundation Board Member
“School is not a luxury item for scholarship recipients. It is a means of becoming self-sufficient and providing quality of life for themselves and their families.’ Jack continues, 'For teachers that are in direct personal contact with the students, receiving a pledge card in the mail is not merely a tax write off; it is a choice of whether or not to change a life.”

John Pinckney
La Pine Ace Hardware
Giving money away helps business. What is wrong with that equation, you might ask? Nothing according to John Pinckney, who owns La Pine Ace Hardware and Building Supply and is a Foundation donor. "My customers see that I am involved. It both inspires them to follow suit and lets them know I am committed to the betterment of the community."

Betsy Skovborg
COCC Foundation Board Member
“I believe the Foundation is a worthwhile charitable investment. It is one of the most valuable contributions that one could make. By supporting the Foundation, you are supporting students to further their education - students that would not have otherwise been able to. Educated people are vital to a thriving community. My personal goal (as a Foundation Board Member for COCC) is to encourage the younger and newer groups in Bend to become familiar with what an incredible asset the College is to our community, and to get them involved in supporting this resource however they can."

Dr. Paul Eckman
Past COCC Foundation Board Member
Paul, a neurologist in Bend since 1973, recalls the story of his grandfather who immigrated from Finland to Oregon. Despite the fact that Paul's grandfather had no formal education, he was committed to sending each of his five children to college. Paul notes that in his immediate family, all his siblings received graduate degrees in law or medicine. "From no education to graduate education in three generations... this is a tale told over and over again in this country. Community colleges are an important part of today's version of that story."

John Overbay
COCC Foundation Board Member
John Overbay took night classes so he could continue work in the lumber mill during the day. That was in 1952, the year Don Pence, who had been running things on a volunteer basis, was made the first President of the first community college in the state. John Overbay went on to Lewis and Clark College but didn't forget that year at COCC. He co-chaired the college's capital campaign, which raised $6.5 million. Overbay currently serves on the Board of Directors for the College. "I am proud of our home-grown college. We all should be."

Maryanne Freedman
Past COCC Foundation Board Member
"COCC is an important part of Central Oregon and my life! It would be difficult to imagine this wonderful community without it. I have been a part of COCC as a student, an employee, and Foundation Board Member for many years. The college has had such an impact on my life that I truly believe giving of our time and resources impacts students and their dreams to further their education and lives."