EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College students Deepti Gautam, Nora Jackson and Shawna Staff have been named to the All-Oregon Academic Team. The annual award is sponsored by the Oregon Community College Association to honor high-achieving students at each of Oregon’s 17 community colleges.
“I am so proud of Deepti, Nora, and Shawna,” said Lane Community College President Margaret Hamilton. “Each of them are dedicated to their studies and in the past year had additional challenges to face as they completed their studies during a global health crisis. They are wonderful examples of the high academic standards that community college students can achieve.”
Students are selected based on academic excellence, leadership and community service while pursuing an associate degree. Judges for the competition include college board members, college presidents and OCCA staff. Gautam, Jackson and Staff will receive special recognition during LCC’s virtual commencement ceremony on June 12.
Gautam, 20, is originally from Parbat, Nepal, and completes her education at LCC with a 4.062 GPA. She plans to continue her studies at Portland State University and major in electrical engineering with a focus on sustainability. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the Lane Honors Program, and is an Honors ambassador. “With the integration of electrical engineering and sustainability, I will be a part of a process in which I will be making revolutionary changes to improve the quality of life that benefits not only this generation but future generations as well,” Gautam said.
Staff, 39, of Sacramento, completes her computer programming studies at Lane with a 4.048 GPA and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa. She has volunteered her web development skills in the community and plans to use her skills to pursue a career as a full stack developer. “I’ve chosen to become a developer because of my fascination with creating something from what appears to be nothing more than a jumble of characters,” Staff said. “Even more so, I enjoy creating something meaningful or that brings value to its purpose and its users.”
Jackson, 19, of Eugene, completes Associate of Science and Associate of General Studies degrees with a 3.9 GPA. A member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Lane Honors program, she is an applicant of Lane’s dental hygiene program and enjoys improving others’ health through her studies and her work as a fitness trainer.
Traditionally, OCCA hosts an annual luncheon to honor award winners with their families, and a special appearance by Gov. Kate Brown. However, due to COVID-19, the 2020 and 2021 luncheons were canceled. Instead, OCCA honors the students through a special recognition program on its website, www.occa17.com. Jackson was one of four student scholars selected to share her inspiring story to be featured the OCCA site. Her story and more information about the awards program can be found on OCCA’s YouTube channel.
Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.