Project Management at Edmonds College

Spring quarter was great! I learned so much from my students. (I always do!!!!)

105-year-old educator from Yakima receives masters degree from Stanford YAKIMA - The 105-year-old great grandmother who served the Yakima School District and was instrumental in developing Heritage University in Toppen*sh, is now a graduate. Virginia "Ginnie" Hislop received her

The speech given by this year’s student, a project management certificate recipient, Kristina Spencer:

Hello and welcome.
My name is Kristina Spencer. I stand before you in a cap and gown exactly 20 years since the last time I had one on. I am a graduate of the Business Management program at Edmonds college, with my Project Management Certificate. It took me 20 years out of high school and a couple tries to get back into college and complete a certificate, but I am so proud to share this moment with you and my loved ones including my kids, Barley 17, Anisten 10, and Ramsey who’s 6. They are probably surprised to see me up here because I didn’t tell them I was speaking tonight.
My teacher, Claudia Levi, encouraged me to apply as a speaker citing my resourcefulness and grit – but ultimately I’m sure it’s because I used to be a hot dog.
In 2009, while living in Montana, I called upon that resourcefulness to escape a 2-year abusive relationship. I had a toddler and no money. I emailed a popular court TV show and told the producers I wanted to sue my ex-boyfriend for damages on their show. As one would have it, they called me back, flew me and my toddler to Chicago and I sued him on television. That settlement paid for us to drive home to Seattle and rebuild our lives.
Once in Seattle, I applied for dozens of jobs including a position as the hot dog for Matt’s Gourmet Hotdog’s. My high school mascot experience (go Kangs) and past work as a Papa John’s pizza made me a shoe in. For a couple months I held a sign and danced my heart out, but continued to apply for other opportunities. With some strategic resume writing, I got an interview for a great job at Seattle Childrens Hospital! I consulted with a friend and mentor, Mary Kaercher. Her advice? “no matter what they say you the job entails, tell them you can do it and in fact you’d love to do it. Figure it out later. Just get your foot in the door.” Mary advised.
During the interview, they tell me the position begins at 5am so I lied and said I am a morning person. They follow with telling me I will sometimes work until 11pm. “Great!” I say. “I do some of my best work at night.” (foot in the door, foot in the door) Then we discuss my experience... According to my resume I am currently serving as a marketing representative for a local restaurant.

But listen... I WAS a marketing representative! Wasn’t I? I wore a suit developed for marketing and held a sign that said “Matt’s Gourmet Hot Dogs THAT way”... I was not only A marketing representative, I was THE marketing representative for MGH and Seattle Children’s would be so lucky to have such a qualified candidate! And guess what? They thought so too and in October, I will celebrate 15 years at Seattle Children’s. Then, in 2020, I also got my Washington State real estate broker’s license. Completing my Project Management certificate at Edmond’s College will help me continue to provide value to my team at Children’s and my real estate clients.
Now, I know I am not the only one with a story involving some hard work and dressing up as a food product or two to get here – and I want to acknowledge that whether it took 12 months or twenty years to get here - you can be so proud of yourself to be included in this diverse group.
Each of us has a life behind us and experiences that led us here. We see through those experiences as our lived lens that shapes our values and our biases. I have discovered that diversity and inclusion isn’t only about what other’s look like and where they came from. It’s also about trusting other people’s experiences and realizing people’s views won’t always make sense simply because your lived lens is different than theirs, not because one of you is wrong. Opening our lives to people with different values humanizes differences and allows us to open our minds through experience and not just through hearsay.
If you strive to have diversity and inclusion in your personal values, I want to leave you with a couple action items that I didn’t consider until the last several years: I encourage you to seek out conversations with others that DON’T think like you but are willing to have respectful conversations. Seek out reading materials in geographical areas that appear to have different values than you and see what people in those areas are fed every day when they open the newspaper or turn on their local news. Consider what they see and hear vs what you currently see and hear. Try not to put yourself in a box of others that THINK exactly like you. Expand your circles and take the time to increase your diversity of MIND. Always reserve your right to change your opinion, and though you may disagree with someone maybe you can learn to understand we’re all just doing our best and we’re not against each other.

In closing, I’ll share a secret to those of you entering the corporate world form here: leaders often think it’s a great idea to start a meeting with “tell us something interesting about yourself.” Luckily for me, I used to be a dancing hot dog and now lucky for YOU, you can say “A former dancing hot dog gave a speech at my college commencement.”
Congratulations class of 2024!

One of our own PM rockstars is also an alpaca wrangler!

I am happy to share the news that one of this year's Student Commencement Speakers is a Business Management student, Kristina Spencer!

Kristina is a Project Management student who works full time at Seattle Children's as a Program Coordinator III for the Safe Child and Adolescent Networking Program as well as a real estate agent specializing in Seniors selling their homes. Anyone who has had Kristina in their class knows that she is a dynamic student who adds a lot of life to a class and a conversation. Her reason for returning to Edmonds for the Project Management Certificate is to increase both her skills and her opportunities at Children's Hospital.

I am very excited that Kristia will be the Commencement Speaker for the 6:00 graduation.

What year did we complete the electric charging station feasibility study in our MGMT 270 class? Well, Edmonds College is finally getting one.

College is the place to be!!!! Come see us!

The money might be there for you.

Understanding your options for financial aid Learn more

I wish more people did this. Outlaw the blower!

DON'T CHOP UP OR BLOW AWAY LEAVES! Fallen leaves are a habitat in themselves. So many birds rely on fallen leaves as well. Great article here: https://xerces.org/leave-the-leaves

My students are in week nine and we would like to interview ONE MORE Edmonds College Project Management Certificate graduate. Would you be available for a quick phone interview? The questions are already written up. I would really appreciate your input and thoughts about training in project management and how you are or are not using these skills. Please contact me at Claudia.Levi@edmonds. Thank you! Claudia

This was recently posted on another Project Management group page and immediately got unspecific pushback, saying the terms are inaccurately defined, or are just never used. What are your thoughts? How accurate do you see this list to be?

Anyone recognize this?

Why?!

We could do this!

We are back!! We are back!! In class, working together!

Check this out!

Free PMP Prep Get Started Today

Hey, Project Management Certificate graduates, can the MGMT 271 class do a brief interview with you? We would like to gather some quotes and maybe even a short video, if you are up for it. Please let me know! Fall quarter starts next week! Thank you! Claudia

Hey, graduates of the Project Management at Edmonds College. Would any of you sit for a really brief interview about going to Edmonds College and getting your PM Certification here? I am thinking about creating a MGMT 271 project where some quotes, maybe even a little video, would be grand! Let me know if you are willing to talk! Thanks! CAL

Uhggg, it is time to use less disposables with our take out, or we will drown in it!

All My Takeout Has Delivered a Mountain of Trash. So I Asked Experts How to Minimize It. The pandemic has caused a spike in restaurant takeout containers — and the environmental damage that comes with them.

Sustainability is where it’s at in business! Come see what is out there at the Pacific Place this weekend! I will be going!

FREE interactive pop-up event Taiwan Excellence

This is a promotion to celebrate! Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap is one of the best administrators in the Seattle area. She is intelligent, approachable, and understands the diverse needs of students (and faculty!) like no other!

Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap, South's president, has been named the next chancellor of Seattle Colleges! We are so grateful for Dr. Rosie's dedication to South over the past two decades and we look forward to her leadership of our entire district, including South, Seattle Central College and North Seattle College.

You can read more here: https://www.seattlecolleges.edu/news-and-information/news-center/dr-rosie-rimando-chareunsap-named-chancellor

An internship opportunity with the City of Edmonds for a bright, go-getter project management student.
The City is in the process of purchasing a large parcel, 10 acres, in south Edmonds where the current Burlington Coat Factory is. There will be a lot of project management around the development of that property. Todd Tatum, Director of Economic Development will be the internship supervisor. This is unpaid.

Mother-daughter pair graduate together, proving age is nothing but a number A 71-year-old college graduate is proving it's never too late to turn the tassel.