Before the year comes to a close, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµÂ teams reflected on how they made a difference this year in our state — whether engaging with young readers, supporting prospective students or assisting families in need. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ employees’ commitment to our community truly knows no bounds!
Karin Mellskog, from Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Trademarks and Licensing, shares the history and purpose of the program behind this month’s winning photo. “Spearheaded by Trademarks & Licensing’s Senior Director Kathy Hoggan in 2015, Real Dawgs Read is in its fourth year. The goal of the program is to instill a habit of reading during the summer, so that students can continue to learn when school is not in session,” said Karin. This year, T&L partnered with 188 Title I, K-8 schools in Washington and shipped 73,000 reading journals and 272 teacher toolkits to help educators roll out the program in their schools. They then mailed a Husky hat and reading certificate to each of the 2,150 students who completed and returned the postage-paid reading journal. Middle school students who completed their journals were also given the opportunity to write an essay about why they want to attend the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ. Talk about inspiring future Dawgs!
Barbara Owens, from academic affairs in the College of the Environment, spoke about her team’s day-long Future Student Day, inspiring prospective students as they learn about the opportunities the College has to offer. “This year was another great success with a total of 120 guests in attendance,” said Barbara. Students from five different states, 36 different Washington state high schools and six different community colleges/4-year institutions attended the event.
The Transportation and Administration team from Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Facilities also knows how to give back. Sara Brydges and her team organized a food drive for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Food Pantry. “[Our] team is like a family and we try to give back to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ community every chance we get,â€� said Sara, “[We deliver] the donations with a smile and warm hearts knowing they’ll benefit numerous members of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ community.â€�
