Honors & Leadership Awards

An excerpt from Satoshi’s nominations: [Satoshi has a] constant positive presence at this school. During my first year at school here I barely knew anyone and wasn't on campus often. However, I always saw Satoshi smiling, greeting, and talking to people when I walked through the halls. I remember thinking he would be a great friend and I wished I had a chance to get to know him.

Satoshi has been an invaluable Office Assistant at the International Programs office since June 2024…we can always rely on Satoshi to not only complete assigned tasks but also exceed our expectations. He also proactively sought ways to improve our office's operations and enhance staff performance. Despite living very far from campus and relying on public transportation, Satoshi is always punctual. This truly reflects his strong work ethic.

Satoshi actively participated in the Japanese Club (where he served in leadership positions) and engaged with various off-campus communities, demonstrating a strong commitment to cultural immersion.

 

An excerpt from Taylan’s nominations: As a dedicated member of the EAB (Events and Advocacy Board), Taylan has consistently demonstrated initiative, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to the mission and values of our institution. Taylan has been instrumental in organizing and leading impactful projects, including our recent efforts for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Through her work, she has thoughtfully collaborated with both internal departments and external community partners including key representatives from the University of Washington to amplify the message of prevention, awareness, and support. Her ability to build meaningful relationships and coordinate across institutions has not only enhanced our programming but also elevated the visibility of the good work being done here at Cascadia College. Her advocacy for students is both genuine and strategic, always centering student needs while aligning with institutional goals. Taylan exemplifies the spirit of leadership we hope to cultivate in all of our students. She is forward-thinking, collaborative, and mission driven.

Sustainability is not only about environmental action, but about societal improvement, community building, and supporting those in need – and Taylan has pushed to find ways to make the Cascadia student experience better. Her work with events has been exciting to see, and her interest in adding elements to make the campus experience better for students and Cascadia as a whole has been so encouraging.

 

An excerpt from Abigail’s nomination: Abigail has embraced the Cascadia culture and has had many achievements along the way despite transition and health challenges. I sincerely believe what Abigail has accomplished at Cascadia is a terrific example of what our college is all about. Abigail started at Cascadia in the CCF program. She came from out of state and spent the majority of her academic career in a non-traditional schooling environment. Being in a Cascadia classroom where the environment thrives on group collaboration was difficult for her. She was having trouble making connections at Cascadia and finding her place. When we started meeting, she was shy and reserved. Abigail persisted. She connected with resources. She communicated with her instructors. She engaged with her peers. Abigail is now set to graduate. After being reluctant to interact in the classroom, she now takes the lead in group projects. I've worked at Cascadia for almost seven years now and have never been so proud of a student's growth as I am of Abigails. Abigail embodies the culture and spirit of Cascadia. Her journey at Cascadia from start to finish exemplifies what students can achieve here and the positive impact our community can have.

 

An excerpt from Rita’s nomination: As a blind student, Rita has to work 100 times harder to learn, complete assignments, and connect with her classmates. But despite all of the challenges, Rita is always upbeat, steadfast and committed to not only her learning, but collaboration with her fellow cohort members. Rita is inspiring in the thought and purpose that she puts into her classwork and is always willing to workshop ways to improve accessibility in the classroom and on-campus for her and others. Rita is incredibly creative, creating sensory experiences with her classroom projects, and pushes through all obstacles to put together phenomenal outputs. She is a great teammate with her colleagues and is so visibly passionate about her learning. She never ceases to amaze me.

 

An excerpt from Heather’s nominations: [Heather] was already a very strong science focused student, worked in the labs, and also my office, but quickly found her place supporting her classmates, leading for sustainability and environmental activities, and taking over leadership with the Sustainability Club. She has organized trash clean ups, pushed students to be more involved in campus activities, and demanded more sustainability action from administration and other students. Her campus project focused on composting and education, working with a partner to organize vermiculture lessons for elementary through high school programs and classes, and creating materials for outreach to the general public.

Heather has been a leader, a mentor, and a confidant to her classmates and the entire Cascadia Community! Heather has taken on the role of President of the Sustainability Club at Cascadia with stunning success. She has ensured the club's events were successful and provided a shining model of stewardship in action. Heather deserves praise from the Cascadia Community for her achievements, both for her academic endeavors and her efforts to boost a sense of belonging for students throughout the Cascadia Community!

 

An excerpt from Lily’s nominations: Lily is an exceptional student, not only in her work ethic and performance, but in her willingness to take chances and to help others, and ultimately earn the respect and admiration of her peers. She always came to class with a smile on her face and was generous in lifting her struggling peers. She was willing to be involved in active learning, modeling how a successful student engages in a class. Lily thinks deeply about what she is doing in her studies. This curiosity makes others lean in - she is not just here for the grade. When she is struggling she reaches out. When she understands something she is generous with others.

I am convinced Lily is one of the most mature, grounded, and genuinely invested students I have encountered in 25 years at Cascadia. As a Bock Learning Center tutor, she goes above and beyond enhancing the classroom community and modeling caring, transformational scholarship for her peers. She is curious, innovative, optimistic, patient, and a generous listener.

As my student in France, Lily was a student who immediately established herself as THE student to learn from: she asked questions, took notes, shared out answers that were only partially formed and reasoned through them aloud until she discovered or clarified something new. She modeled inquiry and humility and humor and intellectual energy both in and out of the classroom.

As a writing tutor lead, Lily has developed support modules that map to the curriculum of every single faculty member teaching English 102! Her pride and joy is the workshop she delivers about “managing big projects,” and students regularly rave about it. She is also the first writing tutor to ever create an archive of her work so that onboarding and legacy knowledge would be available for future tutors, which also ensures that her intellectual labor lives on at Cascadia even when she’s gone.

 

An excerpt from Olivia’s nominations: Olivia has a natural ability to almost immediately connect with students and make them feel comfortable, listening to their experience as a Cascadia student and translating that into feedback to be share with college administration. This year she took on several big projects, including one that started with the previous Advocacy Chair that involved Olivia making a presentation to several administrative councils advocating to add a common hour to the academic schedule. She also collected student feedback on their College 101 experience and shared it with the staff and faculty who were reviewing the curriculum to ensure they were keeping the student voice in mind. Most years, the EAB advocacy chair only works on one or two projects that have a broader impact on the campus. Olivia took on the 2 named above as well as several more, all while cultivating strong relationships with faculty and staff as well as the Board of Trustees. She started the year with a goal to represent the student voice as strongly as she could to as many people as she could and became a trusted and respected voice across campus.

I have worked with Olivia over many activities and have seen her attend many meeting and take the role of leadership in many events. I also believe that she deserves all of the award due to her hard work and her time on campus. I believe that her effort to the students have been very helpful throughout her work in the Advocacy Chair.