PCC Foundation Hosts Reinvented ‘Party At PCC’ Event On May 17 (Photo) -04/30/25

SOUTHWEST PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Community College Foundation is reinventing a classic – its annual gala.

The PCC Foundation is debuting its reimagined signature event, "Together for Tomorrow," from 5:30-9 p.m, Saturday, May 17, at the Sylvania Campus, 12000 SW 49th Ave. Designed to reflect the heart of PCC’s mission and community, the event will raise funds for student scholarships while celebrating the transformative power of a PCC education. Tickets are $100 with proceeds supporting PCC student scholarships and parking will be free.

 

After years of hosting traditional fundraising galas, the PCC Foundation is embracing a new approach centered on connection, celebration and impact. “Together for Tomorrow” invites guests to enjoy a relaxed and vibrant evening on campus, featuring food, drinks and meaningful opportunities to connect. Entertainment includes music by DJ Aspen, who is a PCC student and spins for the Portland Timbers, Thorns and Trail Blazers.

 

“We wanted this event to reflect the values of our community: access, success, and a shared commitment to creating opportunity for PCC students,” said Executive Director of the PCC Foundation Christina Kline.

 

The PCC Foundation will present this event with longtime partner Comcast, which has supported the gala for the past six years and continues to invest in student and community success.

 

“At Comcast, we believe in the power of education and opportunity to transform lives, and we’re proud to continue our long-standing partnership with the PCC Foundation,” said Senior Director of Community Impact for Comcast Pacific NW Region Rebecca Brown. “We’re honored to be part of this meaningful event that helps create opportunity and builds a stronger future for our community.” 

 

The event will take place in Sylvania's Performing Arts Center courtyard. At 7 p.m., guests will move into the theater for a program highlighting stories from students and PCC President Dr. Adrien Bennings, celebrating donors and community partners, and underscoring the vital role scholarships play in helping students thrive. The event will close with dessert and dancing.

 

To purchase tickets and learn more, visit https://www.pcc.edu/foundation/events/together-for-tomorrow/ 

 

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 53,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

 

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

 

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.

 

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Andres Garcia Perez Is First-ever PCC Student Chosen For Prestigious Internship (Photo) -04/23/25

ALOHA, Ore. – Portland Community College student and Oregon native Andres Garcia Perez has made history as the first PCC student selected for the prestigious National High School Equivalency Program (HEP)/College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) Association Internship Program.

 

Perez, who lives in Aloha, is one of only six students nationwide chosen for this highly competitive internship, designed for first-year post-secondary students. He will spend 10 weeks this summer in Washington, D.C., developing advocacy and leadership skills by interning with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S. The HEP/CAMP internship covers round-trip travel, housing at George Washington University, and a $4,500 stipend to support professional development.

 

“It is truly such an honor and privilege to be interning for LULAC,” said Perez. “With my aspirations of owning a law firm and becoming an immigration attorney, this opportunity will develop my leadership and professional skills significantly. I’m excited to network with leaders in D.C. and bring back everything I learn to share with my community.”

 

PCC’s HEP Program helps students earn their high school equivalency credentials, serving over 6,000 students nationally each year. CAMP supports first-year college students through mentorship and academic resources. PCC's CAMP serves approximately 45 students annually, and nearly 75% of participants go on to complete a bachelor's degree. 

 

“Thanks to CAMP and their mentorship, I have been guided towards a successful college career,” Perez said. “They laid out the steps required for me to reach my professional goals, making it easy to focus on studies and prepare for opportunities like this one.”

 

PCC CAMP Director Greg Contreras is proud of Perez's academic development. Contreras, who can submit just one student recommendation annually, emphasized the historic nature of Perez’s accomplishment. He said that Perez's selection will open doors not only for him, but for others.

 

“Andres is a natural leader, deeply rooted in doing good for his community—through church, charity, or school,” said Contreras. “This selection shows what’s possible for students in our program and inspires others to aim high."

 

The Aloha High School graduate and sports star, Perez hopes to actively participate in policy discussions, staff meetings and advocacy efforts impacting Latino communities across the nation. Despite facing personal challenges—he is partially deaf and visually impaired even with corrective lenses -- Perez has enjoyed academic success. He excels academically, musically and in leadership, proficiently playing guitar, bass, piano, ukulele and drums.

 

“Everything has been good about this experience—from CAMP orientation to networking opportunities,” Perez said. Recently, he attended the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute in Chicago, meeting figures like Emmy-winning journalist Gaby Natale and Oregon's first Mexican-American District Attorney John Haroldson.

Perez said he wouldn't know where he'd be in his academic journey without CAMP. He said he wouldn’t have the connections, friendships and experiences that he now has thanks to the program's support. 

 

"CAMP gave me confidence, organizational skills and space to grow both personally and professionally,” Perez said.

 

Perez, 19, is deeply committed to community service, a value he attributes to his upbringing. Born in Oregon, he comes from a family of seven, the child of Mexican migrant farmworkers—his mother from Oaxaca and father from Tlaxcala. 

 

“Andres recognizes the toil of hard labor his parents have endured harvesting fruit,” wrote Contreras in his recommendation. “He is compelled to elevate his family through education.”

Perez was captain of the Aloha High School baseball team, earned the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy, and is now coaching junior varsity baseball there. Perez began at PCC with a scholarship from Aloha High and financial aid from Oregon Promise, plus a federal Pell Grant. He earned a place on PCC’s President’s List last fall, carrying a 3.75 grade-point average while taking 18 credits and volunteering with the Western Farm Workers Association.

 

“My dream is for my parents to retire comfortably, and for me to own one of the most successful law firms in the nation,” Perez said. “I want to inspire students like me to pursue careers in law or criminal justice and create a scholarship for migrant-background students in Oregon who aspire to attend law school.”

 

Perez describes himself as “a proud Latino student who has lived in Oregon my whole life. As the child of migrant farmworkers, I understand firsthand the transformative power of education. It is not just about personal success; it's about the responsibility I carry to uplift others along the way.”

 

For more information, visit the CAMP webpage or the HEP Program page.

 

 

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 53,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

 

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

 

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.

 

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PCC Earns First-ever AASHE Stars Gold For Sustainability Efforts (Photo) -04/16/25

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College has reached the gold standard for sustainability.

 

PCC recently learned that it was awarded AASHE Stars Gold for the first time.

The AASHE STARS report evaluates institutions on their sustainability across academics, engagement, operations and planning. PCC’s strong performance—especially in student engagement and climate action—resulted in the college achieving STARS Gold for the first time after reaching STARS Silver for many years.

 

“Achieving STARS Gold is monumental for PCC because it validates the college’s extremely collaborative and holistic approach to sustainability and climate action,” said PCC’s Associate Dean of Sustainability Strategies Briar Wray. “We are a leader due to our innovative programming and long-standing commitment. We would not be where we are today without the support from our partners in Operations, Student Engagement, Academic Affairs and Administration. We are thrilled to have this recognition and continue modeling what is possible for sustainability leadership in higher education.”

 

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS is intended to engage and recognize the full spectrum of higher education institutions, from community colleges to research universities.

 

The news comes as PCC is closing in on major milestones in its commitment to sustainability. As the 2026 deadline for its current Climate Action Plan approaches, the college’s Sustainability Program is well on its way to meeting several key goals—ranging from emissions reductions and waste diversion to community education and carbon neutrality.

 

One major advancement has been in construction waste diversion. Thanks to collaboration with the PCC’s Planning & Capital Construction office, the college has implemented policies to keep waste from building projects out of landfills. The effort has paid off: approximately 75%, and sometimes as much as 90%, of this waste is now diverted away from landfills.

 

“It’s a huge partnership,” said Jade Menchaca, PCC sustainability coordinator. “A lot of waste comes from those construction projects and they’re really working hard to divert that.”

 

The push toward renewable energy has also gained significant ground. Since the Climate Action Plan went into effect, PCC has installed solar arrays, secured renewable energy contracts and expanded its fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) to a dozen, bringing the college to 50% carbon neutrality.

 

Additionally, the college has grown its sustainability course offerings to nearly 150 across 46 subjects and supports unique hands-on learning through programs like learning gardens and habitat restoration.

 

While the current Climate Action Plan nears its endpoint, the work is far from over. PCC updates its climate strategy every five years, and preparations for the next version are already in motion. PCC will publish a report on the results of the plan by 2026 with the aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.

 

PCC will celebrate the news during its Earth Week festivities from April 21-25. Students, staff and community members are invited to join in the weeklong celebration, which highlights environmental awareness, education and engagement.

 

A key feature of the festivities is a series of daily tabling fairs, taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at each of PCC’s main campuses. Attendees can explore a variety of booths offering giveaways, hands-on activities, and resources centered on sustainability and climate action.

 

The full calendar of events can be viewed at pcc.edu/earthweek.

 

 

About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 53,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.

 

Visit PCC news on the web at http://news.pcc.edu/

 

For B-ROLL footage, visit PCC campus and student life highlight reel.