Salute to South Celebration
South Seattle Community College hosted its annual “Salute to South” celebration on September 19. The event is a community reception that allowed South to celebrate the upcoming academic year and was held in the school’s new building for the Northwest Wine Academy.
After opening the newly remodeled 9,000 plus square foot building this past spring, this summer the finishing touches were added with a new patio. The new addition allowed guests to enjoy the late-summer sunshine for the event while sampling some of the Wine Academy’s award-winning wine.
For many of the new faculty members, 17 have been added since last year’s Salute, this provided an opportunity to experience first-hand the culture of South that has been revered by many long-time and tenured faculty members.
“I didn’t really expect the warmth and the greeting I’ve received as a new faculty member,” English instructor Paige Talbot explained. Talbot added that the beauty of the campus and the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues has helped rejuvenate her eagerness for the upcoming academic year.
For South Seattle Community College President Gary Oertli, events like this help strengthen ties to the community.
“Events like this help build community. Our mission is to respond to the needs of the community,” Oertli explained. “The more we engage with our community, to find out what their needs are, the better we become as an institution.”