News and Stories

Two New Members Appointed to Bellevue College Board of Trustees | 425Business

Bellevue College announced this week that Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed two new members to its board of trustees.

The new members are Advocat AI CEO Pradnya Desh and BC student Conor O’Meara. 

The board, which comprises six members, is responsible for setting the college’s strategic direction, establishing college policy, and approving budgets, the release said. Five members are advisors living and working within the college’s district boundaries. Every member serves a five-year term; one member is always a Bellevue College student who serves a one-year term. 

Besides her work with Advocat, Desh has served as a U.S. diplomat in the State department, been a U.S. trade negotiator with the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and served as the U.S. representative for the World Trade Organization and the U.N. Committee on Trade and Development, the release said. She also joined former Gov. Christine Gregoire’s trade delegation to India and Korea; four years later, she became a member of Inslee’s trade delegation to Korea and Japan, the release said. In her work as an attorney, Desh previously was the managing partner of Desh International and business Law and now serves as the chairperson of the board of Music works Northwest. 

BC Invites the Public to Learn More About the College at Discovery Day | Patch

Want to find out what’s new at Bellevue College (BC)? Then join us for Discovery Day on Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., an open house event for current and prospective students, parents, and community members who’re interested in exploring BC’s programs and services. Experience an open door to our Student Success Center…

Cloud Computing Degree Programs Help Fill Workforce Gaps | EdTech

Bellevue College in Washington named its continuing and career education arm the Tombolo Institute, after the word for a sandbar that joins an island to the mainland. The institute aims to similarly serve as a bridge, helping working professionals build their careers. When it comes to the cloud, officials are leaning on an ongoing partnership with Microsoft to help midcareer students grow their skills.

“We get input from the job marketplace — from the students and also from our advisory council made up of employers — and there’s definitely a gap in terms of the talent that employers are looking for and the people that want to get into the field,” says Ray Chew, director of technology at the Tombolo Institute. “There are all of these job openings, but you can’t just take a course and then expect someone to hire you tomorrow, so we’ve helped students to bridge that gap.”

Bellevue College’s partnership with Microsoft gives the school access to the vendor’s content and resources. It also provides training for Bellevue College instructors, ensuring that courses are led by professionals with thorough knowledge about the latest tools and practices in cloud computing. Students in the program pursue Microsoft cloud certifications, making them more competitive job candidates, Chew says.

Amazon Donates $3M to Seattle-Area Colleges to Support Computer Science Degrees | Geekwire

Amazon is donating $3 million to Seattle-area colleges to bolster their computer science programs. Bellevue College, located east of Seattle, will receive $1.5 million over three years to support its bachelor of science in computer science. There are 187 undergraduates currently enrolled in the degree program, which launched in 2017. The gift will increase financial support for enrolled students and college outreach to K-12 students.

Bellevue College Looking to Fill Space for Healthcare Management and Leadership Program | Bellevue Reporter

At the start of the pandemic, many educational institutions had to shift from in person learning to online learning, but Bellevue College’s healthcare management and leadership (HCML) bachelor’s degree program has exclusively offered remote learning since its inception in 2016. “Our faculty didn’t miss a beat. We’ve been doing it for six years,” said Shana…

See How One Detective Improves Lives Through the Game of Chess | CNN

Amazon Giving $1.5M to Support Bellevue College Computer Science Students | 425 Magazine

Amazon will donate $1.5 million to the Bellevue College Foundation over the next three years to support students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in computer science and help build a pipeline of graduates to meet industry demand, the college announced Tuesday.

The funds will help expand the capacity of the computer science program to serve more students and support students with financial or technical assistance, particularly those from underrepresented populations

Bellevue College Announces Expansion of Nursing Program | Benzinga

To help bolster the Pacific Northwest healthcare system and provide more opportunities to students eager to join the field, Bellevue College (BC) announced today an expansion of its Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program.

Before, all ADN students had to enroll in Fall Quarter or Winter Quarter and take a full-time class load. Starting in Spring 2023, students can enroll in Fall, Winter or Spring Quarters, and have ten quarters, instead of 6, to complete their degree. It's a huge bonus for students who need to work while going to college part-time. And it allows for more reentry points for students who may have started the ADN program in the past but were unable to finish it.

Making a Home for Students With Autism | News AKMI

“Autistic people, in order to fit into society, have to pretend to be something that they are not,” says Sara Sanders Gardner, director of Bellevue College’s Neurodiversity Navigators program. “That takes a huge toll on them.”

Gardner, who uses “they/them” pronouns, speaks from personal experience. Years of masking their autism
have left Gardner with chronic pain and two autoimmune disorders. “It is soul-crushing to have to pretend to be someone you are not, all the time.”

Instead of offering social-skills classes, Bellevue’s program pairs students with peer mentors who help them develop a script for what they might say in a given interaction. Mentors don’t tell students what to say but walk them through a process of figuring it out for themselves, Gardner says.

Why WA has Seen a Big Increase in These Community College Degrees | Seattle Times

Maria Hinojo-Hernandez, center, gets help from instructor Pablo Pedrosa Diaz during a class in the advanced manufacturing and materials engineering technology program at Edmonds College. Hinojo-Hernandez says she has gained skills that helped her land an internship at Boeing. Jie Zhang, left, works as a technician in a research laboratory and hopes her degree will…