Bandit Biking for Books begins 1600-mile adventure at LCC

EUGENE, Ore. — Fernando Rojas-Galván teaches at an Oregon community college, attended one and now has children enrolled at them. He believes in the opportunities that community colleges provide so much, he is taking to the road to spread the word and raise funds to support community college students.

For the month of July, Fernando will be known around the state as the “Bandit Biking for Books.” Fernando is a Spanish instructor at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon—home of the Bandits—and last year approached his college’s foundation with an idea to combine his passion for outdoor adventure with helping students with financial need. The Clatsop Community College Foundation and Fernando planned a 1600-mile route with stops at all 17 Oregon community colleges and identified sponsors to make the project a reality. He will bike 60-90 miles each day and is scheduled to finish in Astoria on July 25.

Fernando’s adventure kicked off this morning at Lane Community College, where a delegation including LCC President Margaret Hamilton, Board Chair Lisa Fragala and Board Member Rosie Pryor welcomed him to campus and wished him well. Fernando plans to use his stop at each college to highlight local efforts underway to help students with expenses and other concerns. While at Lane, Fernando was joined by OER Librarian Meggie Wright and Ian Coronado, Dean of the Library, Academic Technology and Tutoring Services. They discussed the progress Lane has made over the past decade implementing Open Educational Resources (OER). OER and other low-cost course materials make education more accessible by reducing the overall cost. Nearly 30% of courses at Lane now use OER, reducing the overall student cost of attendance by approximately $1.5 million per year.

To learn more about OER at Lane, visit https://www.lanecc.edu/oer . To follow Fernando’s journey, tune into the Clatsop Community College Facebook page or YouTube channel.