Student Spotlight - Rebecca Boehm

What did you study at EvCC?

I earned my A.A Direct Tranfer (Associate Degree - Direct Transfer Agreement) with an emphasis in Journalism and Mass Media.

Why did you choose EvCC?

Looking back, it looks a little silly. In high school I did not enjoy the long, early days and limited class options. I wanted choices. And I wanted to sleep in. For the first few quarters at EvCC, I wouldn't sign up for any class that started before 10 a.m.

I chose EvCC because it was close, affordable and offered me flexibility.

What was your experience your first few quarters? Why did you feel like you wanted to quit college?

Initially I was doing Running Start and working towards an A.A. because my parents wanted me to get an A.A degree. It's hard to be working in all of these classes when you don't know what kind of job or career you want. I worried a lot whether it would be worth it. I wanted to quit EvCC and just work until I knew what direction I wanted to go. I was scared I would put time and effort into a degree that wouldn't help me in the future. After sharing these struggles with my family, my mom encouraged me to take one more quarter - not worry about taking required classes and just sign up for some classes that sound interesting. So I did. I took one journalism class - Journalism and Media Writing... and then I took ALL of the journalism classes at EvCC.

What changed for you? Why did you continue your education?

What changed was all of a sudden I had a teacher who really mentored me, believed in me and told me about different career options I didn’t know existed. Journalism instructor T. Andrew Wahl convinced me that I could, in fact, write. He pushed me out of my comfort zone into being a staff writer for The Clipper, EvCC’s student news organization. He also helped me understand how all these classes relate to potentially starting a career in journalism or communications. He kind of laid out all the options of where this could go and what kind of jobs use the skills I learned in his classes. He spent time critiquing my work, helping me improve and advising me on organizations/industries I might be interested in working in.

Shortly after that I had fulfilled all credits needed for a an associate degree - direct transfer agreement, but I wasn’t done. I ended up taking all of the journalism and communication classes taught by T. Andrew Wahl and continuing as a staff writer for four quarters total.

Who helped you succeed at EvCC? (faculty member, staff). What did that person do to help you?

T. Andrew Wahl and my parents helped me succeed. My parents supported me by letting me live at home while I was in EvCC. (See above question).

Describe the best experience you had at EvCC.

Being in The Clipper was the best experience I had at EvCC. It was the opportunity to be a part of something, make friends, break out of being shy and get some writing samples to show potential employers.

What advice do you have for new EvCC students?

Don’t worry about taking ‘required classes’ too much. Just take the opportunity to learn about interesting topics. And TALK TO YOUR TEACHERS. Go to their office hours. They’re here to help you. I was nowhere near the only student T. Andrew Wahl mentored. I also had other teachers who wanted to meet students in their office to help with assignments, and also with education and career choices.

What did you do after graduation from EvCC?

T. Andrew Wahl helped me apply for internships by looking over my resume, cover letter and encouraging me to apply for internships where I wasn’t sure I was qualified. I had an amazing six-month public affairs internship with the American Red Cross.

After EvCC, I transferred to Washington State University at Everett. Many of the friends I made in The Clipper transferred over to WSU Everett at the same time. T. Andrew Wahl knew the director of the Integrated Strategic Communication program so it made the transition easy.

I would highly recommend getting an associate degree from EvCC and transferring to a university program there. It’s a small community so many of the teachers know each other, you might make more friends than you think, and you will definitely save a lot of money! Another benefit of staying in Everett, is there are so many businesses around here that it’s easier to get internships/work experience where everything is close by.

What are you doing now? How did your EvCC education help?

Now, I am a Community Outreach Specialist at Garden Court Retirement in Everett. I use what I learned in EvCC English classes, public speaking, media and other communications classes. I would not have known that jobs like mine exist – or how to get them if it wasn’t for EvCC. Through my education at EvCC I also gained confidence that helps me every day.