Congratulations to:
Al Moser, Evelyn Henriques, Andrea Otanez and Heidi Weiss-Green

Each year, EvCC students are encouraged to nominate instructors who have inspired and encouraged them to succeed. Only a select few are chosen to receive the prestigious "You Made a Difference" award, an accomplishment which is recognized during commencement. This year four instructors were selected; Evelyn Henriques, Andrea Otanez, Heidi Weiss-Green, and, posthumously, Al Moser.

While each one of the winners of the "You made a difference award" has had a great impact on the lives of their students, we on the staff of The Clipper are especially grateful for our fearless leader, Andrea Otanez. So we did our research and then interviewed current Clipper staffers to find out what exactly made Otanez a shoe-in for the "You Made a Difference" award.

Otanez, The Clipper's adviser, came to EvCC straight from the Seattle Times, where she was an assistant metro editor and a freelance editorial columnist. Prior to this she spent over four years as Editor at Large for the University of Mexico Press, was a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune and then spent almost three years as their news editor.

She received her Bachelors degree in Communications/Journalism and a Masters in American studies from the University of Utah. The combination of education and experience has meant EvCC journalism students receive a uniquely practical and fascinating look at modern journalism.

"Andrea Otanez is the reason I chose journalism. She inspired me to write and push myself beyond my comfort zone with every issue of The Clipper," says Jody Hawkins, co-editor-in-chief of The Clipper. Even more than that, Andrea cares, she truly cares about the lives of her students, and I have been lucky enough to be on that roster for six quarters. Years from now, when I make my mark on the world and write that one amazing piece of journalism someone will ask, who inspired me, and without a doubt the answer will be Andrea Otanez."

New students are equally enthusiastic about Otanez's instruction.

"Andrea is an inspiration to me, as a writer and student. She is unrelenting in her pursuit for that extra bit, that nugget of truth, that quirky fact, that sentence composed in such a way that makes all the difference," says Ayla Riggle, a current Clipper staff writer.

"Andrea is one of those committed professionals who brings her work home with her and never seems to forget about us during the long nights when we're producing The Clipper. Where others might bail, Andrea often stays long after class to advise us and is even willing to answer our dumb questions via email when our brains start shutting down after hours of laying out newspaper pages," adds Clipper copy editor Angela Cooper-McCorkle. "In fact, I don't even want to be a journalist, but Andrea's instruction makes such a compelling case for the fourth estate I can't leave," says Cooper-McCorkle, who is in her third quarter on The Clipper.

The impact of Otanez's four-plus years at EvCC is best summed up by TJ Cotterill, co-editor in chief of The Clipper.

"Andrea has completely revolutionized the journalism department here at EvCC since she took over," says Cotterill. "She is my inspiration and I hope to bug her long after I have left EvCC. It is only fitting that my time at EvCC would begin in a class with Andrea and end in class with Andrea. You are the bomb home skillet! [That's me using the one exclamation point I get per journalist lifetime Andrea.]"