Helping LBCC students at the Benton Center

Every day at 8 am, students gather outside the Benton Center’s Learning and Information center, waiting for the chance to print out their assignments, ask for directions or advice, or just find a quiet spot to study. The activity has a rhythm throughout the day, busier between classes and quieter during them, with the occasional phone call. During all this, the students receive help and guidance from the clerical workers running the learning center, whose organization and knowledge helps students get what they need every day.

Daniel Howard, 60, is a clerical specialist at the Benton Center, and has worked there for nearly a year and a half. At the learning and information center, he assists students with all sorts of things from placement testing and registration to helping students turn in homework or set up counseling appointments. He enjoys working with students, and helping them with whatever he can. “Going to school’s not easy, it’s harder than some jobs!”

Outside of the Benton Center, Howard is also the office manager at the Valley AIDS Information Network, a nonprofit volunteer outreach organization for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, and Sexually Transmitted Infections, as well as providing community support to those affected by those diseases.

After growing up in the San Francisco bay area and serving in the army at 17, Daniel lived near Seattle for office work before moving down to Oregon and Corvallis, where he has lived for the last 20 years, and now considers himself “semi-retired.” LBCC interested him primarily as a flexible option that fits well with his work with VAIN.

At a glance

Who - Daniel Howard

Where - Benton Center, Corvallis

What - Clerical work, volunteer organizing

Valley AIDS Information Network (VAIN): http://www.valleyaidsinfo.org/index.html

LBCC Benton Center: https://www.linnbenton.edu/current-students/campus-locations-and-maps/benton-center/

Word Mob Takes Over the Benton Center -- Corvallis Poets Share Their Work at LBCC Event

LBCC poetry club, after the event

Long after many of the students and staff of the Benton Center had left, writers and admirers of local poetry gathered in the student common area. Rows of chairs and tables of refreshments had been arranged, and among the warm, low lights of the darkened building, friends and colleagues found relief from the cold February night.



A name was read, and a person stepped up to the open microphone. Often, they’re a student, sometimes staff, in a few cases even just a Corvallis local, and the crowd listened attentively as they recited a poem. They received this expression openly, like a gift, shared in confidence. The reader thanked them for their time, and took a seat as another name was read from the sign-up sheet.



On Feb. 15, the LBCC Poetry Club held the Word Mob at the Benton Center in Corvallis. All members of the community were invited to share poetry, either their own work or just a piece they appreciate.



Tristan Striker, the new adviser of the Poetry Club, spoke about the importance of the Word Mob. By holding the event as an open forum, the club promotes poetry not just at LBCC, but in the wider community as well, as a tool for expression and connection. “Poetry is one of those beautiful things that allows you to say something very very complicated in a way that everyone can relate to.”



Biology major Kel Callaghan has attended the past three word mobs, and is appreciative of the warm comfortable atmosphere, as well as to see the ways different people express themselves in poetry. For her, poetry is also about finding common ground in universal experiences. “It’s trying to give it form and focus, so someone can say ‘Ah! That’s the feeling, that I know, but never was able to put into words.’”



Jonathan Clough, a radiology major, talks about how he started writing poetry at the recommendation of a writing professor, and how his poetry is inspired by his experiences as well as by games that impacted him. “They were basically my childhood, they helped me, and they were a big part of how I grew up.”

Where to go from here? LB hosted annual college transfer day fair

Have you thought about where you're going to go after LBCC? If not, you're not alone. There are many people willing to help you make that decision! Representatives from four-year colleges across the state came to campus on Jan. 23 to hold the annual Transfer Day fair, where they inform LBCC students of the options available to them, and assist them in preparing for the admissions and transfer process. Along the walls of the Commons cafeteria, several tables were set up with banners, papers, and pamphlets, each with one or two representatives of a different college in the Oregon area. Students milled about the room, occasionally stopping at one table or another to ask questions or just talk about a specific school before moving on. “We’re getting people to think about this earlier,” said Rick DeBellis, representing OSU and providing information on the Degree Partnership Program. When looking into all these options, getting the right information, you might find opportunities you like somewhere other than just your dream school, he said. Talking to people and visiting schools were things he found very important in making a decision. Alona Jackson, admissions counselor at Southern Oregon University, said “You have a lot of choices when you’re transferring, so it’s definitely nice to be informed and be able to really physically see all the colleges that it’s possible for you to go to.” She also discussed the importance of connecting to a strong community. “I wanted to find a place I could feel comfortable at, and felt I could be myself as an individual, with a strong community to help me academically as well as socially, too.” The admissions counselor at George Fox University, Jamison Loop, valued exposing students to other options, not only in their choice of college, but also about majors and eligible scholarships. Several of the representatives had come to previous fairs, and look forward to seeing it continue to grow in the future.

At a glance:
What: A fair where representatives of four-year colleges provide information and assistance with transferring.
When: Jan. 23, 2019
Where: Commons Cafeteria, LBCC

For more information, see:
Oregon Transfer Day at LBCC
LBCC-OSU Degree Partnership Program
Southern Oregon University Transfer Requirements

About Me

Hello! My name is Floria Mitchell, and I'm tentatively a Sociology major in my first year of school. To be honest, my main reason for taking this journalism class is to fill a writing requirement; it seemed to be the most interesting option when I was registering, so I basically picked it on a whim.

However, I am looking forward to doing my best in this course! Interviews are likely to be a major challenge for me, but I hope to learn how to work with those worries and anxieties and to get out of my own way in conducting good interviews.

I've always enjoyed writing, but I often worry that my writing sounds wooden or overly wordy, I also hope to be able to shorten and relax my writing slightly in this class!

Outside of class, I really enjoy board games, as well as reading (and occasionally writing) fiction and poetry.