Ales & Ideas October 7, 2021 at 7pm: CCC’s Bandit Way: Serving the Needs of Students One Mile at a Time with President Chris Breitmeyer and Spanish/Modern Language Faculty Fundraiser Fernando Rojas-Galván

Community colleges provide a pathway to education and careers for students, but for many in our region, that path is blocked by obstacles which can prevent them from reaching their goals. Challenges for local students include food insecurity, housing insecurity, developmental education needs, and other accessibility issues. During this back-to-school month, CCC’s President Chris Breitmeyer will share what he knows about challenges faced by community college students from Clatsop County and beyond.  Then, Spanish/Modern Language Instructor Fernando Rojas-Galvin will show slides and tell stories from his Summer 2021 efforts to complete an epic bicycle ride across Oregon. CCC’s BB4Books: Bandits Biking for Books fundraiser is an ongoing attempt to raise awareness and funds to address the cost of textbooks, a major obstacle for students at CCC. The average cost of a textbook is $100 and for a full-time student textbook costs can exceed $1500 a year. To date, BB4B has generated $66,000 in donations, that will be used to provide $100 Bandit Book Bucks to over 500 CCC students enrolled in certificate and degree programs this fall.  Come, be inspired, witness Fernando’s journey—by bicycle and through life—and learn how local residents can help students improve their lives and benefit our community through college success. 

Clatsop Community College is pleased to follow Fort George’s lead in returning to LIVE audiences for this year’s Thursday Night Talks. An audience cap of 50 will be enforced, to include physically distanced seating.  Face coverings are required, except while actively eating or drinking.  Doors open at 6pm, with food and beverages available for purchase.  Please come early to assure you get a seat. This is a FREE event.  Alcohol will be present, but minors are welcome, and it’s absolutely fine to sit and listen without spending a dime.  To accommodate those who feel safer staying home, these lectures will also stream on Facebook LIVE.  Home audiences need not be members of Facebook to watch the event.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/FortGeorgeBrewery at 7PM to livestream the event via computer or smart phone.  

Fernando Rojas-Galván was born in 1971 in an adobe house in the ejido/common land of El Sauz, a village of 400 people, located in the far northwestern section of the state of Michoacán, México. June 18, 1974 marked Fernando’s first day in Oregon.  He stepped out of his father’s 1965, White Ford Galaxie 500 onto the dirt road that lead him to fifty or so pickers half a mile away on a strawberry farm near present day Hillsboro. Fernando was raised in Hood River and The Dalles, Oregon. After graduating from The Dalles High School in 1990, he began college studies at Portland Community College, later earning BA degrees in Political Science (U of Portland), Secondary Education (College of Santa Fe), and an MA degree in Spanish/Border Studies (U of New Mexico). An educator for twenty-four years and counting, he spends his free time reading, writing, running, hiking, snowboarding, skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and biking the many roads and hills of Oregon.

To learn more about the CCC Foundation and BB4Books Bandits Biking for Books Fundraiser, visit https://www.clatsopcc.edu/leadership/foundation/ Or make an online gift to support CCC students at http://weblink.donorperfect.com/CCC-Online_Giving.

Attachments:  Fernando Rojas-Galvan at the Finish Line; Fernando Rojas-Galvan on the Seaside Promenade. Photos by Russ Dickerson.