Hi everyone,
Many of you may have heard that Marci Muhlestein is leaving OLS on Friday after 10 years of service. What you may not know are her many accomplishments.
I have worked with Marci for 8 years and witnessed firsthand not only her accomplishments, but how she navigated BC through positive relationships and win/win solutions. Marci is a lifelong learner who knew how to apply her expertise, experience, and leadership. Marci lead by working as hard or harder than anyone else. She consistently lived the beliefs of OLS. Marci’s leadership was based in principles and standards. It is those same principles and standards upon which others learned to base their work at OLS.
Marci lead by working collaboratively with the OLS team. Whenever she determined a direction the program should take, she invited the views of the staff on how that direction could best be accomplished. She took the information and then came up with the best operational plan possible. Team members were respected. Some may not know how hard she fought for each of them. We did not always agree, but we came out of every discussion knowing why decisions were being made.
Mainly, you need to know that Marci believed in the OLS students. Though each student had a disability, she saw what was possible. Marci has a natural way of connecting with students and built personal connections to each of them. Her enthusiasm for what this program brings to the lives of its students was always apparent in her desire for each of them to succeed and achieve their personal and professional goals. The entire OLS program is based on self-determination, critical thinking, social thinking, and student empowerment. To that end, here are some of the results achieved through Marci’s leadership.
- 85% of graduates are employed; 30% have upward career mobility
- 107 total Graduates as of 2018; Program had 4 graduates in it’s first year and 2018 had 19, the largest graduating class in OLS history.
- Grew from 1 cohort of students to 2 cohorts in 2012/2013
- OLS actively partners with other local college programs, including founding the successful annual College Bound Resource Fair event
- Alumni actively serve as examples for current students
Lastly, I want you to know how much Marci has changed the lives of every student at OLS. Our students typically begin their first year totally overwhelmed. They are afraid and do not believe in themselves. Students then begin to believe in themselves as bright, capable young adults. By the time they finish their senior presentations, they are poised, confident, know how to solve problems, and cannot wait to enter the workforce.
Transitions of this magnitude are difficult, but OLS will prevail. The staff at OLS want you to know how fortunate and enriched their professional and personal lives are because they have worked with Marci. There is no replacement for Marci, but there is a leader who will come next and build on the shoulders of the current OLS program. They will lead the OLS program to become better and better, because this staff will accept nothing less.
Thank you for listening as we honor our gifted leader, Marci Muhlestein. We will miss you Marci.
Donna Hudson
Associate Director, OLS Bellevue College
Last Updated June 15, 2018