Diversity Award Recipients

"I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare."
~ Maya Angelou

This award seeks to recognize those faculty, staff, and students who make valuable contributions to our campus community in a way that supports and fosters a respectful and inclusive multicultural environment. Learn more about the Diversity Achievement Award.

Diversity Achievement Award 2011 Recipients

Kent Cass 

A committed and loyal employee, Kent helps to make our campus a welcoming place for students with disabilities. He performs the majority of the ADA transports on campus and seeks to ensure that students not only get to their classes and campus activities on time, but also that their experience during the trip is pleasant and positive. Students regularly comment about his cheerful attitude and how well he takes care of them. Kent is also often the person who does the set-up and organization for the multicultural events, such as the Asian Cultural Festival and the Salmon Bake as well as speaker and film events. He is dedicated to make every event a success for the organizers so that participants in the programs feel respected and comfortable.

Joaquin Rodriguez Remigio

For the past three years, Joaquin has served as the president of the Latino Club at COCC. He volunteers countless hours of time to help the club plan cultural events like Cinco de Mayo and El Día de los Muertos. He also helped organize educational film events to inform the campus and community about immigration issues. Under his leadership, the club has also been instrumental in raising funds for scholarships for Latino students, building relationships with other campus clubs, and reaching out to the larger Central Oregon Latino community. He has also served as a mentor for the Oregon Leadership Institute. As a role model and mentor for local high schools students, he actively works to promote higher education as an option for Latino youth. In addition, he is active in the community working with Redmond firefighters, the Latino Community Association, Causa, and Recursos.

View Past Recipients