News Releases

May 5, 2015
For additional information: 
Chato Hazelbaker
Chief Communications Officer
Telephone:  360-992-2921
Email:  chazelbaker@clark.edu

Clark College launches new awareness campaign

VANCOUVER, Wash.–Have you ever seen a Penguin fly? You probably have, whether you know it or not: All over this region, graduates from Clark College, home of the Clark College Penguins, are bettering both their own lives and their communities. We call that flying.

This month, Clark College is launching “Penguins Fly,” a new campaign to celebrate the achievements of its students and graduates. The message that Penguins Fly is being shared through television, print, and online advertisements featuring real Clark graduates; a new web page that allows people with Clark connections to talk about how the college has affected them and their communities; posts on social media using the hashtag #penguinsfly; and Penguins Fly Day, celebrated on May 15, during which people throughout the community will be wearing special Penguins Fly stickers or buttons to show their connection to Clark. There will also be a special rally on Clark College’s main campus on May 15 to celebrate student achievement.

“We know this theme may strike some as a little odd,” acknowledged Chief Communication Officer Chato Hazelbaker. “We’ve already heard from people saying, ‘But penguins don’t fly!’ But that’s our point: So many of our students have been told that they weren’t capable of achieving their dreams, either because of their backgrounds, age, financial circumstances, previous academic records, or other factors. Penguins Fly is our way of saying that Clark College believes that everyone is capable of creating a brighter future for themselves, and we’re here to help them do it.”

As an open-enrollment community college, Clark College serves a vital role in its community’s social and economic well-being. Seventy-six percent of its career and technical graduates were employed within nine months of graduation. Across the state, 40 percent of all undergraduate students in public four-year institutions began their academic careers at community colleges, where they could take advantage of lower tuition and smaller class sizes. However, many Southwest Washington residents remain unaware of how Clark College students and graduates are creating a more vibrant, healthy, and successful community. Penguins Fly is an exciting opportunity for everyone to learn more about what Clark College does and how its graduates are changing our community for the better.

Reporters are welcome to contact Clark College’s Office of Communications and Marketing for individual student success stories collected through the Penguins Fly campaign.

Here is a preview of the Penguins Fly TV advertising:

About Clark College

Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 14,000 students per quarter, Clark College is Washington State’s largest single-campus, for-credit community college. The college currently offers classes at three satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus; one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver; and one in the Columbia River Gorge in Bingen, WA. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.

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