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Retirement Sentiments
by Debi Wootton, Assistant
Director, Garfield Campus
After 21.5 years
with GCC,
I am taking advantage of early retirement effective 12/30/08. These
years have certainly been the best working years of my career.
I have many
memories of seeing student success in our training programs (ETP, JTPA/WIA
and CalWORKs). Our continuing education programs enriched, challenged,
and forever changed the lives of low-income and displaced workers
through these many years. This gives me great satisfaction and
professional fulfillment.
In
particular, I would like to commend my administrator, Karen Holden-Ferkich,
for her leadership style. I grew so much under her supervision. Karen
encourages critical thinking, creativity and independence. I matured
greatly as my responsibilities increased, simply due to the wide
parameter given me to achieve success in the programs and division in
which I worked. I cannot express my appreciation and happiness better
but wanted it known that my retirement is tinged with sadness, in the
respect that I am leaving a wonderful work environment, great coworkers,
and terrific supervision that allowed me to flourish.
“SO LONG AND THANKS
FOR ALL THE FISH!”
by Lynn McMurrey, Dance
Department Chair
Those
were the last words of the dolphins as they abandoned the earth before
it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass (Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy
series written by Douglas Adams). I have those feelings as I leave my
full-time job in the Dance Department, which has been my home and
passion for over twenty-five years.
In leaving, I
want to urge you all to remember the things that have made GCC a
wonderful place to work. Any member of our college community may have a
say in almost any decision made at this institution. I would hate to
see that change! Our governance system has been a model in the nation
for shared decision making. I would hate to see
that
change! Our college has always been known for having a wide-ranging
curriculum, with classes from basic skills to “Lobster Newburg,” where
students could have their educational needs met, no matter what their
goals. We have embodied the principle of lifelong learning. I would
really hate to see that change!!
With the
increasing pressures for the community college system to become basic
skills and transfer institutions, we must be ever vigilant that what
makes us unique is not allowed to be subverted by “new brooms” that come
here from institutions where these core values didn’t work. |