Los Altos Town Crier » Foothill College student appointed to Community College Board of Governors

By Traci Newell

Image from article Foothill College student appointed to Community College Board of Governors

Howe

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in July appointed Foothill College student Bridget Howe, 29, to serve as a member of the California Community College Board of Governors.

“My experiences at Foothill College have been so great,” Howe said. “I was looking for a way I could serve the community colleges.”

Howe was officially inducted at the California Community College Board of Governors meeting July 9 in Sacramento. The induction concluded a series of interviews that lasted nearly a year. Howe is one of two community college students on the board.

The board of governors, which formally interacts with state and federal officials and other state organizations, sets policy and provides guidance for the 72 districts and 109 colleges in the California Community College system. The board meets bimonthly in Sacramento for two-day sessions.

“I am interested in keeping access open for all students,” Howe said, “to make sure that all students in the community college are successful.”

Howe said that some students at community colleges face barriers, such as a lack of childcare, which may keep them from attending.

“I want to make sure that none of the barriers is so great that you wouldn’t step on a campus,” she said.

Howe said she is looking forward to learning how the education system works, what it takes to get things done and developing herself in a professional setting.

She has served the community college system in a variety of ways, including as the elected Foothill College student trustee to the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees, as alternative policy board representative for the California Student Association of Community Colleges in Region IV and as president of the Foothill Academy of California Social Issues. Howe also participated in the Foothill-De Anza Internship Program as a biogeochemistry research assistant intern at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

Howe is studying public health and nursing with the intention of pursuing a career in public health. She said she thinks public health and education are very similar passions, and that she may end up in the education field down the road.

“People tend to not exactly understand what purpose community colleges serve in the community,” Howe said. “We really need to support them in any way we can.”