25th Anniversary Celebration

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March 4, 2025

CASCADIA COLLEGE TURNS 25

The Community Turns Out to Celebrate

BOTHELL, Wash – Elected officials, community leaders, alumni, board members, and employees gathered last week on the Cascadia campus to celebrate the college’s 25th Anniversary. The event was sponsored by the Cascadia College Foundation and was attended by approximately 250 people, including several of the founding faculty and employees who helped to create the college.

Dr. Jean Hernandez, who was a vice president soon after Cascadia opened in the fall of 2000, addressed the crowd. “We worked long hours in those early years, often working late into the evening as we tried to ‘fly the plane while building it’.”

Many alumni joined the event from across the state and even across the country. The vast majority most chose to stay nearby after graduating after graduating to work for local businesses.

Atlas Turner, who earned a bachelor’s in Sustainable Practices at Cascadia leveraged his passion for sustainability into a career that recently brought him back to campus as a LEED consultant for Innovation Hall. He told the audience how the people, support systems, and programs all played a role in helping him find success.

“Cascadia College has fostered an ethos of belonging – a belief that no matter your background you can succeed and grow here. This ethos gave me strength and purpose,” he said.

According to Dr. Matt Binder, another alumnus, “Cascadia has meant the world to me. I’ve been its neighbor since I was about two years old. I got a world class education and ended up finding a path through science.” Binder went on to graduate from the UW School of Pharmacy and enjoys serving the community through his ownership of three local pharmacies, including Ostroms Drug & Gift.

Many of the returning alumni attended Cascadia on scholarships and emergency grants funded by the Cascadia College Foundation.

“We truly believe that education unlocks a world of new opportunities and we want those opportunities to be available to all of our students,” said the foundation board chair, Kelly Snyder.

About Cascadia College: Cascadia College is a comprehensive community college that specializes in university transfer education. It is nationally recognized for its high transfer rate and for its emphasis on collaborative and active learning across disciplines. It was established by the legislature to serve the higher education needs of Northeast King and South Snohomish counties. For information, please contact Brittany Caldwell bcaldwell@cascadia.edu or Mark Collins mcollins@cascadia.edu.