Women sign letters of intent
By Monica Tenneson
The Peninsula College Women’s Soccer team had their athletic signing on Friday Jan. 20, 2020, where Kayla Alcott, Sam Oliveira and Halle Nottage were the first female sophomores to sign national letters of intent to play, this year.
Alcott is from Ewa Beach, HI. Nottage is from Kailua-Kona, HI. Oliveira is from Porterville, Calif. The Associate Dean for Athletics and Student Life, Rick Ross said that when athletes come to Peninsula College, it is in the hopes they will play for two years then move up to the next level. The players are heading off after this next season to their new schools.
Oliveira was, according to Ross, “Peninsula’s leading scorer in 2019 and North Region most valuable player.” She will be starting as a Junior on the Vikings soccer team at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Portland State University.
Alcott and Nottage will both be attending the University of Mary, and will play on the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II, located in Bismarck, N.D. “These three have done a great job of representing the college both on and off the field,” Head Coach Kanyon Anderson said.
Nottage expressed multiple reasons for her choice of signing with the University of Mary. She said that the University of Mary has a Communications program that she feels will suit her educational needs. She is also looking forward to the new line of players that the school is signing for the women’s soccer team.
Pirate Pantry gains approval
By Saki Kambe
The Pirate Pantry, Peninsula College’s food pantry, became the first college to be approved as a site for Food Lifeline, according to Rick Ross, associate dean of athletics and student programs, Rick Ross. The Food Lifeline staff made a site visit last December and approved the college on the spot.
Food Lifeline is a Non-Profit Organization that has been providing food to 300 food banks, shelters, and meal programs across Western Washington for more than 40 years.
“This will open up an opportunity for a greater level of support from the Port Angeles Food Bank,” Ross said.
While the college is gaining support with the Food Lifeline approval, the Associated Student Council is continuing to support the Pirate Pantry.
A food drive is planned for winter quarter. The decided date are from Feb. 3 through 14. Further details will be announced soon.
Additionally, in reflection to the opening and the first quarter of serving campus community with the Pirate Pantry fall quarter, Ross said that day-to-day grab-and-go items have been popular.
“It has been a challenge to maintain inventory.
“That tells me that a large number of students are hungry during the day and I’m very happy we are able to address that need. Otherwise, the Wednesday pantry opening seems to be working, along with students’ ability to schedule visits with the ASC at other times,” Ross said.
New Interim coordinator
By Monica Tenneson
Samantha Della-DeVoney recently took over the position as the Interim House of Learning, Longhouse, Coordinator. Sadie Crowe was the previous Longhouse coordinator. Crowe was thecoordinator since 2014. The position includes coordinating events and art exhibits to be held in the Longhouse. Last Fall Quarter, Della-DeVoney co-taught indigenous humanities with Kate Reavey.
The Longhouse is available for students to study individually or with study groups. There are regularly scheduled art exhibits displayed in the entryway of the building. Community members as well as students can learn more about the Native American culture, attend cultural ceremonies or other events and view artwork from regularly hosted artistic displays.
Della-DeVoney brings in a strong connection to the Native American roots that The Longhouse was created from, as she is a part of the Makah Tribe. Art and native American culture have been a big part of her life. Growing up, her mother had an art shop on the Makah reservation in Neah Bay. She spent a big part of her childhood in that shop. A lifestyle rich in Native American customs gives her a direct pathway to many necessary skills and knowledge that will benefit the needs of this role as the Interim coordinator.
Over the years, Della-DeVoney went through different programs of study at PC in search of her inspiration to guide her towards her desired career path. She explored the health feilds as she has the intention to bring peace and healing to others.
After getting an Associates in Arts at the college, she went on to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree in the Native Pathways Program at Evergreen State College. This brought her to the Longhouse for two years as she attended the program through The Longhouse. Hosting it there allows for students to have more accessibility to the program, rather than going to Olympia. The program used to be known as “The Reservation Based Community Determining Program.” It gives indigenous people an easier way to access higher education.
This coming Fall she will be starting a Master’s program with the focus being on Public Administration. She has a dream to start a Non-Profit organization for Healing. Her intentions are that it will be for anybody, and it will, “be steeped in indigenous practices,” she said.
Della-DeVoney graduated June of 2019. She spends her free time in nature, connecting with the land and making plant medicine. She also makes jewelry, enjoys dancing and basket weaving. Traveling to Peru once a year over the past five years has helped her discover a greater appreciation for nature.
The Longhouse was created by six local Native American Tribes: Makah, Jamestown, S’Klallam, Lower Elwah Klallam, Port Gamble, and Quileute. In 2007, this Longhouse opened its doors and was the first creation of its kind, being the first Longhouse to have been built on a community college campus. There are many uses for the Longhouse in ways to bring the community together, celebrate art and education as well as understand and appreciate the history of the Olympic Peninsula.
Della-DeVoney has many visions for what she hopes to bring to her new position. She would like everyone who enters to feel welcome and comfortable. Her hopes are to bring more awareness about the Longhouse to the community as well as its purpose at the college. Della-DeVoney wishes to show what a helpful resource it is and how it could be even more so.
Although she considers herself “holding space” for the position, her hopes are that she can continue to bring more culture and positive attention to the Longhouse while keeping it grounded in the Native American roots it was created in the spirit of.