Message from Golden West College President,
Wes Bryan

As you are aware, Golden West College is celebrating “40 years of excellence.” Our year long celebration started with our participation in the Huntington Beach Fourth of July parade where our Foundation partners with Huntington Beach Hospital to sponsor a float. This year we won the Sweepstakes award. It was also gratifying to see our current student body president, Brandon Shelly, as well as our first student body president from 1966, John Furbish, waving to the crowds.

At each of our events, I have had the privilege of meeting students who have benefited from the generosity of your support. Some were scholarship recipients, others were helped through the book loan program, and others were able to use equipment in their classrooms purchased with wish list donations. Living in an affluent area we sometimes forget how important these efforts are in making a significant difference in the lives of our students. Getting to meet them years later, it is also rewarding to see the difference they have made in the lives of others. It simply validates what we already know intuitively – that an education not only improves the quality of an individual life – it contributes to the community as a whole. It is a gift that keeps on giving. After all, a Foundation that spends over a quarter of a million dollars per year of its bequests on student scholarships is really about building futures.

I am proud to be associated with a Foundation Board that understands the importance of educational opportunities and donates their time and energy to help expand them for students in need. This is why I have made it a high priority to aid in the expansion of our Foundation Board and increase our donors and scholarships. Recently, I read an article in the “Chronicle of Higher Education” that pointed out that donors increasingly are realizing the importance of supporting two-year institutions because they understand that importance of helping students get ready for transfer or learn entry level job skills. They know that if they can help them get a strong start, they are more likely to finish their degree or certification. Community colleges play a central role in workforce preparation.

I hope as you review this report you will consider involving yourself to a greater degree in the projects that our campus community sponsors. Without your support, the college could not begin to offer the scholarships and programs which provide our students with so many avenues to success. I am excited to be on this Board as we make plans together to ensure that the next 40 years will be as bright as the last.

Wes Bryan, President
Golden West College