MAY 2009 SPECIAL RETIREMENT ISSUE - Golden West College

Golden West ColleagueDolores HarperExecutive Secretary to thePresident, retiredDolores Harper retired this past December,thus, creating another major loss of talentedand dedicated staff to retirement. The campuswill miss her smiling face, keen sense of humorand her highly professional approach to herposition, as secretary to six of the college’s sevenpresidents. For 39 years, the campus has hadthe grace of this New Orleans native’s charm,now poignantly missing.What a career it has been, after graduating fromBolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove,Dolores became a student at GWC in 1967,earning in her A. A. degree in the Secretarial/Technical program.We hope this question and answer interviewwith Dolores will provide our readers somenew insights into our colleague and her 39 yearcareer.When did you become an employee atGolden West College?I was a student assistant for Max Sisnerosin Maintenance and Operations as the firstperson to work in a clerical capacity for thatdepartment.Was that in the farmhouse?The farmhouse was still there, but our officewas in an old Quonset hut nearby. (Note: Thefarmhouse was originally the Lewis familyfarmhouse located on McFadden Avenue andbecame the administrative head quarters duringthe time the college was under construction.)What memories do you have of being out inthe Quonset hut?It was my very first job. It was less thanglamorous and often cold, and it was wonderful.I had enrolled in Work Experience, so the jobgave me practical experience in setting up anoffice from scratch. The secretarial trainingI had in high school was topnotch, so eventhough quite young, I was very prepared andready to try out my skills. Everyone in M &O was great—the guys all treated me like asister, with much teasing and laughing and afamily atmosphere. I still enjoy their Christmasluncheons and seeing many of the retirees fromwhen I was there.How many years did you work out there?For the two years I was a student. Aftergraduation, I applied for a position with theEvening College and was hired full time inJuly, 1969, working for Dr. Loren Moll and withEdith Cardinali. I trained the incoming studentassistant. We became roommates and have beenfriends since that time.How long were you with Evening College?About 10-11 years. It used to be a Districtfunction independent from the day classes.Both OCC and GWC reported to a DistrictDirector. We had a separate schedule of eveningclasses. Eventually, the District incorporatedday with evening classes under the GWC andOCC administration.You have the distinction of being one of onlytwo GWC secretaries to the president.Yes, Clarice Loseth was the first secretary to thepresident. Clarice was a GWC charter employeeand worked out of the farmhouse. ThePresident’s office was in a former back bedroom.Pretty racy! Clarice retired after 30 years withthe district. When I was given the position Dr.The new President’s Office in the 1980sLee Stevens was president. I remember beingreally intimidated when I first started in theposition and wondered how I would replacesomeone who had been here since the collegeopened. She was so gracious to me and told meI would do just fine.You have had a very unique experience sincethe college has had seven presidents, andyou’ve worked with six of them.Well, I also had one interim, Sharon Donoff, soit’s seven if we count her, but six permanent:Lee Stevens, Fred Garcia, Phil Westin, JudithValles, Ken Yglesias, Sharon Donoff, and WesBryan.Each president, I’m sure, has had his or herown operational style. Did that requireadjustments on your part?Oh, sure, but I think that’s true for working withany new supervisor. But I’m pretty adaptable,and by working for so many different presidentsit kept the job interesting and fresh. I learnedsomething from each.How would you describe the role of thesecretary to the president?It’s hard to describe in a few sentences, but inmy opinion, it’s a combination of technical skillswith an emphasis on people skills. It’s dealing2 Wav e l e n g t h Sp r i n g 2009

Michele SchroederMichele celebrated the completion of 26 years of service as a registered nurse at theGWC Student Health Service this past summer. During that time, she has been atireless advocate of Golden West College students in the areas of health care access,mental health, health education, and individual rights.While employed at Golden West College, she earned her master’s degree at NationalUniversity. She is very grateful to the district for providing a full scholarship for thisopportunity. In recent years, Michele expanded her role to serve as a clinical preceptorto both GWC nursing students and registered nurses earning their bachelor’s degreesat CSU Dominguez Hills.She is a proud cancer survivor who has participated in the Susan G. KomenFoundation’s “Race for the Cure” for many years, and she was instrumental inorganizing the GWC Health Center’s biannual community outreach that providesmammograms to low-income, uninsured women in our community.Her colleagues have always appreciated her hard work, common sense, directcommunication style, intellectual curiosity, sense of fairness, activism, and empathy.Michele would feel most honored by our recognition of her as a feminist who spent her career fearlesslyprotecting the rights of individuals less able to speak up for themselves. She will be missed.In retirement, Michele plans to write several books, raise orchids, volunteer at a free clinic, and enjoy herfamily and friends. She will continue working regularly a few hours a week at the GWC Student HealthCenter. She and her husband, retired GWC music professor Gerry Schroeder, plan to travel the worldand continue enjoying a life of jazz and gourmet meals.Scott SteidingerScott was the full-time Multimedia/Sound Specialist at Golden WestCollege in the Music department’s recording studios, labs, and thesound systems in the college’s theaters. Scott came to GWC as a studentmajoring in technical theater. He worked with Dr. Boyce, the college’sfounding president, and designed GWC’s Star Shower Amphitheater.After graduation, Scott founded a live sound rental company andstarted working part time in the GWC theater. In 1974, he became afull-time employee in the Music department. During his career at thecollege, Scott installed a new sound system in the Mainstage Theater.He also converted several studios in the music building to full digitalcapability. Scott’s passion was live theater. Over the past 30 years,he designed sound for more than fifty plays, including most of themusicals presented at GWC. These productions included The MusicMan, My Fair Lady, Forever Plaid, Nunsense, The Boy Friend, I LoveYou, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Sylvia, and How to Succeed in businessWithout Really Trying.Wav e l e n g t h Sp r i n g 2009 9

Dolores Harpercontinued from page 3Can you name the productions you did atGWC?Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the stage versionand Reader’s Theater, The Best ChristmasPageant Ever, The Man Who Came to Dinner,Steel Magnolias, and I Remember Mama.Stewart Rogers directed a number of these,and now that he’s gone, Mama was his lastproduction, and that was my first leading role,so that’s a bittersweet memory for me.Do you think you will get back into Theater?Maybe! I enjoy working in a small theater in theround setting. I thought it would be distracting,but being close to the audience is preferablefor me vs. a big stage. You get to hear everygasp, chuckle, or sniffle. My connection to ourTheater has been so much fun—even pokingaround in the basement for special event props.I will miss that.You’ve had an interest in dance over theyears.Yes, I have always loved all forms of dance. Itook ballroom during high school, but I wasmesmerized with Hawaiian/Polynesian when Isaw my first performance at age 13 and took uplessons in my 20’s. I just loved the gracefulnessof it. To me it’s sign language to music.Let’s look at your 39 years and put it underan umbrella. How would you describeyour career? The ups and downs that everycareer has? That’s a long time in the workforce.Edith and I were talking about that recently, andI think our time in Evening College was quitechallenging. This was before Coastline opened,so we were almost a mini office of instruction.We did the schedule (hand pasted) for on and offcampus classes, instructors handouts and tests,issued keys, facilities rentals for the off campusclasses, and instructors book requests. We didit all with two classified staff and finally a third,Pat Meredith, who is now on our FoundationBoard. And this was all done on typewriterswith ditto and mimeograph machines andcarbon paper.I distinctly remember almost being strangledby the mimeograph — my career was almostcut short! I remember one instructor asked meSkit at the 40th Anniversary Party with Dave Hudson (left), Bonnie Roohk and Joe Dowlingwhy I would want to work here when I couldmake good money in industry. I answered thatI thought working for a college would alwaysbe a learning experience, and that I didn’t wantto work for a company that was concernedprimarily with monetary profits. Even at age20 I realized the value of what we do in thecommunity college. I’ve had the opportunity towork at Coastline, OCC, and the District. AndI had a chance to start up several new officeswhich I enjoyed—the first classified staff towork for Public Safety, for the new Voc Edoffice where I took the minutes of at least 20career advisory committees, and a new officeat the District for the Special Assistant to theChancellor.I didn’t realize you had worked at otherplaces in the District. What was your careerpath?I left GWC and achieved a series of promotionsstarting with CCC in an Area office; then toDistrict; then to Orange Coast for six monthswhen my current position became availableand I was selected. So I was gone from GWCjust three years out of the 39.Well, you’ve worn more hats that I thought.Can you think of anything in your career,now I have to say District wide, thatwe haven’t talked about that should beincluded?What I cherish most with all the places I’veworked are the fabulous people I’ve met alongthe way. Some of my closest friends work orhave worked here, including the friend I’mvisiting in Mississippi. Like most retirees say,it’s the people I’m going to miss most.The people are really the strength of GoldenWest College.Yes, they are. I think one of my highlights wasthe 40th anniversary celebration and seeing somany faces from the past. We all put aside ourwork demeanor and got into the spirit of the60’s.We wish our colleague much happinessin her retirement.Going in Style.Dolores was surprised by friends with a limo and champagneto drive her off campus on her last day.10 Wav e l e n g t h Sp r i n g 2009

2008-2009 Employees of the MonthGolden West College honors a classified “Employee of the Month” each month from September to April. Classified staff arenominated by the campus community – faculty, staff, students and administrators – based upon outstanding service relative to thefour college goals. The Employee of the Month Committee, comprised of volunteers from across campus, selects the EOM fromthe nominations submitted all year. In May, the campus community votes on the Employee of the Year from that year’s recipients.Congratulations to all!September 2008October 2008November 2008Anita RenningerAcademic Senate, IPD &Staff DevelopmentIldefonso FloresGroundsMichelle SchroederStudent Health CenterJanuary 2009February 2009March 2009Dale SlagleCollege Support ServicesJuli Van DornNew MediaJavier AlcalaInternational StudentsWav e l e n g t h Sp r i n g 2009 11

Chefs for ScholarshipsA Family Festival of Food & FunSunday, September 20, 2009GWC Student Center • 4pm – 7pmSCHOLARSHIP• Taste specialties fromlocal restaurants• Wine & Beer Tasting• Live Music• Entertainment forchildren, including XBOX& Guitar Hero• Silent Auction,Opportunity Drawings& Grab Bags$40 Adults$20 Students w/student IDChildren 12 & under FREEIncludes all food, beverages,and entertainmentwww.chefs4scholarships.com714-895-8316Register Sat., June 6 & Sat., June 138am –12pm at the GWC Pool DeckGWC Stagewest TheaterJune 19 - 28www.gwctheater.comWavelength archives are available online: www.goldenwestcollege.edu/newsPlease contact John Wordes if you have interesting articles or suggestions at 714-895-8903.Wavelength reserves the right to edit submitted articles.Golden West College: Wes Bryan, PresidentCoast Community College District Board of TrusteesMary L. Hornbuckle; Walter G. Howald; Jim Moreno; Jerry Patterson; Lorraine Prinsky, Ph.D.; Michael Battistone, Student TrusteeDing-Jo H. Currie, Ph.D., Acting ChancellorIf you would like to be placed on ourmailing list to receive future issues ofWavelength, please sign up online atwww.goldenwestcollege.edu/newsor e-mail your address to:sorsini@gwc.cccd.edu(Please notify us of address changes).