PORT ANGELES — The first 14 people to earn bachelor’s degrees at Peninsula College will be among the 330 students who receive diplomas from the community college Saturday.
Representing them will be Tanya A. Knight, who earned the four-year degree while earning a living as well.
She will speak at the Peninsula College commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday at the college gymnasium, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I was working full time at the [North Olympic Peninsula] Skills Center, part time at [Peninsula] College and raising my kids at home.
“I learned some great time-management skills, and I formed some friendship bonds that, I believe, will last me a lifetime.”
The keynote speaker at the college’s 47th annual graduation will be Olympic National Park superintendent Karen Gustin, who will speak on “Leadership for the Future.”
Also earning bachelor’s degrees are Deborah L. Alcafaras, Eric N. Jacobson, Santiago O. Musso, Drew D. Schab, Tricia L. Barrett, William C. Keith, Trina Nevaril, Shelly M. Zornes, Jamie L. Brown, Andrew H. Powers, Nancy Holmberg East, Melissa R. Martin and Timothy R. Schneider.
The program for the bachelor of applied science in applied management degree is offered to students who have earned associate degrees, and it takes two years to complete, said Vicki DeLorey, program director, adding that the program began in 2007.
The Peninsula College students are among the 57 students statewide who are the first crop of community college students to receive bachelor degrees.
The students at Peninsula College and three other community colleges are part of a pilot program, approved by state lawmakers in 2005 and launched two years later, that allowed four community colleges to offer a limited number of four-year degrees in specialized fields.
The Peninsula College graduates will be the first in the state to be handed their diplomas.
Olympic College in Bremerton will graduate 11 students with a bachelor of science in nursing on Sunday. South Seattle Community College will graduate 13 students with a bachelor of applied science in hospitality management on Thursday, the same day that Bellevue College will graduate 19 students with a bachelor of applied science in radiation and imaging sciences.
The programs are especially useful for adults who already are earning their livings.
Knight, who works as a technology instructor at Peninsula College and the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, said getting a management degree was the realization of a long-held dream.
“I have five children, so I kind of did my life backwards,” she said. “I raised my family, and then I went to school.”
Her youngest is now 18. When she began the bachelor’s program, she had three children at home.
“I didn’t want to leave [Port Angeles], so the fact that this program was here was perfect for me,” she said.
The program requires students to complete an internship as part of the graduation requirement.
Knight did hers at the Clallam County Emergency Management Center.
“I love emergency management,” she said, adding that she plans to pursue becoming an emergency management teacher.
“I thought if I could marry my two loves — teaching and emergency management — that would be great,” she said.
The program is specifically designed for students who are working, DeLorey said.
Most students, she said, don’t plan to leave their current jobs.
“We have students who own businesses or who are in city government jobs or heath care or in nonprofits, and this degree will help them for future advancement,” she said.
“This degree is designed so that the management skills can be used at any industry.”
This class, DeLorey said, is a testament to the program’s “cohort format,” in which the students attend the same classes and work their way through the program together.
“The class really bonded, and you can see that it was really beneficial for them,” she said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
