On Steps of US Supreme Court, AG Rosenblum Rallies Abortion Rights Supporters
Speaking at an ACLU-organized rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court this morning, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum made an impassioned defense of abortion as essential healthcare, and of medication abortion as a key part of those healthcare rights. The rally coincided with arguments being presented inside the Supreme Court in the AHM (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) v. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) case.
Should College Essays Touch on Race? Some Feel the Affirmative Action Ruling Leaves Them No Choice
When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. Yet the added weight of the college essay has fallen unevenly on students of color, who often feel pressure to exploit their hardships as they compete for a spot on campus.
Bird Flu, Weather and Inflation Conspire to Keep Egg Prices Near Historic Highs for Easter
The cost of filling a basket or completing a Seder plate reflect a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated.
Strippers' Bill of Rights Bill Signed Into Law in Washington State
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure on Monday which creates safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry. The law requires employee training in establishments to prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, deescalate conflict and provide first aid.
The Portland Art Museum presents Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
Exhibition on view March 30 - August 11, 2024. Programs to include sneaker-focused Summer Camps and in-gallery activities ...
Portland Street Response Hosts Town Hall
PCCEP is seeking community input to help shape their recommendation in support of Portland Street Response. ...
Joint Center Responds to the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion Disbandment
This decision jeopardizes the establishment of policies to support diverse communities and threatens the pursuit of inclusivity for...
Bonamici, Kaine Praise Billion Dollar Increase for Child Care, Early Childhood Learning
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) —members of the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the...
Portland Rose Festival 2024 Court Member from Benson Polytechnic High School Announced
The Rose Festival Princess from Benson Polytechnic High School, Laedyn Romero, was selected March 22. ...
What's keeping egg prices high for Easter? It's not just inflation
Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. It’s the second year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, both...
Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95
SEATTLE (AP) — Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state, has died at age 95. RMI Expeditions,...
Georgia ends game on 12-0 run to beat Missouri 64-59 in first round of SEC tourney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blue Cain had 19 points, Justin Hill scored 17 off the bench and 11th-seeded Georgia finished the game on a 12-0 run to beat No. 14 seed Missouri 64-59 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Cain hit 6 of 12 shots,...
Georgia faces Missouri in SEC Tournament
Missouri Tigers (8-23, 0-18 SEC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) Nashville, Tennessee; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -3; over/under is 147 BOTTOM LINE: Georgia plays in the SEC Tournament against Missouri. ...
COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?
As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...
A Full Court Press to Get the Lead Out
With a “goal of identifying and remediating lead hazards in at least 2,800 Lancaster County homes,” LG Health is setting an example for the private sector. And the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on environmental justice and access to clean and safe...
OP-ED: Congress Is Right: Federal Reserve’s Reg II Will Hurt Minority Communities in America
The Fed is taking every effort to promote income equality and workplace diversity and inclusion, but Regulation II would undercut its great work in this respect and cause potential harm to millions of minority families. Now that a congressional coalition has...
OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More
Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6: March 31: Actor William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere,” ″Boy Meets World”) is 97. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 90. Actor Shirley Jones is 90. Musician Herb Alpert is 89. Actor Christopher Walken is 81. Comedian Gabe Kaplan...
How to make an Easter ham last all week
The beauty of making a baked ham for Easter (or any holiday or large gathering) is that there's bound to be leftovers. Leftover ham, which will last for up to five days in the fridge, can be a springboard for other meals during the week. Of course you’ll want a sandwich or two, but...
Book Review: 'Glorious Exploits' turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy
Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but their souls are filled with poetry. It’s 412 B.C. and the city of Syracuse doesn’t know what hit it when these two hatch up the best worst idea: They’ll put on a play using the Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death down in...
Russian veto brings end to UN panel monitoring enforcement of North Korea nuclear sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution Thursday in a move that effectively abolishes the...
VP Harris says US agencies must show their AI tools aren't harming people's safety or rights
U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren't harming the public, or stop using...
US journalist marks a year in a Russian prison as courts keep extending his time behind bars
For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow's courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. ...
Venezuelans are increasingly stuck in Mexico, explaining drop in illegal crossings to US
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan migrants often have a quick answer when asked to name the most difficult stretch...
King Charles stresses importance of kindness as he skips pre-Easter service amid cancer treatment
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Thursday stressed the importance of friendship and acts of caring in a...
Four people die in Spain in separate incidents after falling into sea along coast amid high winds
MADRID (AP) — Four people have died in three separate incidents on Spain's Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines...
Walter Ghant grew up in north Portland, near the intersection of Williams and Killingsworth. After graduating from Madison High School, Ghant attended Warner Pacific College, and took what he describes as “a 20-year hiatus” away from Portland to pursue graduate school and a career in education. Ghant holds master’s degrees from James Madison University (history) and George Mason University (public administration) and a doctorate in divinity from Howard University, all located in Washington D. C.
Ghant worked in a variety of administrative positions in higher education in the Washington, D. C. area, but told The Skanner he and his wife had been talking about moving back to Oregon for some time.
Now he’s back in Portland to serve as executive director of De La Salle North Catholic High School’s office of community learning, overseeing the school’s 16-year-old corporate work study program (formerly known as the corporate internship program). Ghant arrived in Portland at the end of October to step into his new role.
“This position kind of found me, quite frankly,” Ghant told The Skanner. “Things kind of worked out just magically, or providentially.”
De La Salle North’s program places students with large corporations in the Portland area to work five eight-hour shifts per month.
Ghant said the total budget for the corporate work study program is $2 million. To participate in the program, companies pay $27,295 per year for a team of four students with rotating schedules -- or they can divide their sponsorships to receive one student, or sponsor multiple teams. A full year of work helps compensate for half the cost of that student’s tuition. Sponsors include Providence Health Services, OnPoint Credit Union and Standard Insurance, among others.
Thirty-five percent of students who participate in the program are Latino, 30 percent are African American and 18 percent are Asian-American, Ghant said.
Ghant and the program’s staff train and orient students on basic job skills and etiquette, as well as “soft skills” – addressing issues that are critical to surviving in a corporate environment, such as punctuality and dress codes.
One of the key requirements of the program is that corporate sponsors provide real work for the students to do – including administrative office work like data entry or interacting with clients – so they learn basic office skills they’ll need later in the workforce. Many have gone on, as adults, to work for the companies where they served as work-study students, he said.
“The stories that they tell are very inspiring,” Ghant told The Skanner. “The confidence of these students is probably the number one thing they’ve watched develop. [It’s inspiring] to hear students say, ‘OK, I belong here,’ in a city that is predominantly White, for students in predominantly White settings, corporate organizations.”
Ghant added that since he stepped into his new role, representatives from sponsoring organizations have spoken glowingly about the students the program has sent them, saying they couldn’t do the work they do without students’ help. It’s common to hear that from nonprofit organizations that rely heavily on young volunteers, he said, but to hear it from large, private-sector employers was really meaningful.