PHOTO BY DEBBIE PEDRO
Eastern Oregon University is working with Hermiston area schools and businesses to make higher education more appealing for local residents.
Dr. Donald Easton-Brooks, dean of EOU’s Colleges of Business and Education, and Laura Gow, a faculty member in the EOU College of Business, spoke with representatives of several area businesses at the Latino Business Network meeting Wednesday.
EOU aims to help people in this area make the most of their educational opportunities.
“College is not going to be for everyone; we get that,” said Easton-Brooks. “But it doesn’t mean that people can’t come and take some courses to get some skills that they would need to better themselves in their career.”
Easton-Brooks feels that EOU’s management, accounting and marketing degrees will connect with members of this community.
“One of the things that we feel makes us different than other colleges of business is that we try to give our students applied experience,” he said. “When they leave the university, they not only have the skills that you need to get through college, but they also have applied skills. They can get out in business and start working right away.”
In the effort to prepare students for the business world and thereby help businesses grow, Easton-Brooks says that EOU’s goal is to figure out, “What do we know? What can we bring to the table? What do you know, and what can you bring to the table? So that we can really connect and do those things together.”
These days, Hermiston-area residents who wish to pursue a degree from EOU don’t have to travel to La Grande. The university has an advisor at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center in Hermiston. “For working adults, we have a bachelor’s degree that they can do totally online,” Easton-Brooks said.
Students can also start their higher education at Blue Mountain Community College here in Hermiston and then transfer those credits toward a four-year university degree.
“Our goal is to help students transition seamlessly here in their own community from Blue Mountain on to Eastern Oregon University,” said Gow. “Ultimately it’s about providing opportunities for the people that are here to do whatever they would like to do in their lives.”
EOU offers evening courses at the higher education center and hopes to eventually have courses that are condensed over weekends.
Easton-Brooks said that the College of Business hopes to facilitate some sort of continuing education program in the Hermiston area over the next couple years, such as weekend workshops or series of courses to help people in the community develop their management skills.
“Life skills are just as valuable as getting a degree,” he said. “We want to combine those things so that we are really moving our community forward.”
Debra DeWitt, owner of Mailing Made Easy in Hermiston, voiced her concern for people who might settle for jobs with little possibility of upward movement and who hesitate to sacrifice work for the sake of higher education — a problem which she has witnessed among recent high school graduates as well as adults who are already established in the workforce.
Regarding the need to get high school students interested in higher education, Easton-Brooks explained that EOU has developed college awareness programs such as Eastern Promise, which is designed to reach students as early as eighth grade and get them interested in earning college credit in high school.
Martha Ortega, owner of Las Mañanitas in Hermiston, asked whether EOU provides any summer courses in which high school students could earn college credit.
“That’s one of the things that I’m looking at,” said Easton-Brooks. “I’m really trying to help the university move to a setup that, in the summertime, we do have some of those college readiness programs available to students to help gear them toward college.”
While universities still face the challenge of getting adults interested in returning to school, Gow says that the best strategy is a preemptive one: reaching students early and getting their families involved in encouraging them to take advantage of college opportunities in high school.
“That is our reality,” said Ortega. “We have to be involved in our children’s education.”
Ortega and Rocio Elhami of the Umatilla School District expressed concern about parents, particularly in the Hispanic community, who may be uncomfortable trying to navigate the school system.
“It’s not that the parents are not interested. It’s because they do not understand,” said Elhami.
Gow, a New Mexico native, is passionate about cultural diversity and understands the fears that many parents in the Hispanic community may face when thinking of sending their children to college.
“The important message from my experience is that we’re not taking your children away,” she said. “They can stay with the family; they can help take care of the family.” She stressed that EOU values parents’ involvement and input.
Hermiston School District Hispanic Community Liaison Cathy Keeney said that, like the Umatilla district, Hermiston has struggled to get Hispanic families involved with the schools, whether due to communication challenges or parents’ long work hours.
To that end, Gow suggested trying to get industry partners to allow representatives from EOU and the schools to visit parents during work hours, “so that it comes to them and it’s more convenient for them.”
EOU and other universities provide grants and scholarships for members of the Hispanic community.
“With the grant that we just received for (the Education department), we had an opportunity to provide six scholarships for minority students who want to be teachers,” Easton-Brooks said. “But they have to be willing to teach in Umatilla County once they graduate.”
EOU is always looking to include scholarships that will get local students more engaged and involved in the community. “We have to stop having our best and brightest go away and never come back,” said Easton-Brooks.
As the Hermiston area continues to grow, businesses are seeking qualified graduates who want to live and work locally. Eastern Oregon University participates in events where local businesses can recruit graduates in certain fields.
Gow said that no events are scheduled currently, but businesses that are interested in hiring EOU grads can contact Jacelyn Keys at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center for information on any upcoming events.
“We also have a job listing on our web site for students,” Easton-Brooks said. “We post things on our Facebook for students who are interested. If you have a series of jobs that you wanted to come and talk to seniors about, let us know, and we can get you in front of a class.”
EOU provides financial aid to full-time workers and those who have families. The university is also working to grow its sports programs and scholarships to reflect Eastern Oregon’s athletic focus.
“I think it’s really critical that right now we—both Latino and not—grow as a community,” Easton-Brooks said. “How do we really work together, move together, grow together? And a lot of that is going to have to do with how we connect in the workplace.”
To learn more about the programs and scholarships available from EOU, visit the university web site.
The next Latino Business Network meeting will be Wednesday April 9 at 9:00 a.m. For more information see the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Events Calendar.
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