someone is getting an opportunity - Portland Community College

Ralph Sawning
FINDING
HER CALLING
Maria Victoria Estevez, who goes by Vicky, has a lot
to juggle between family life with her husband and
recently diagnosed autistic son, an hour and a half
commute by bus three days a week, and her �nal
year of classes to become a radiologic technologist.
�ough she averages about �ve hours of sleep per
night, you’ll never hear her complain.
Vicky, who received the Dr. Howard Cherry
Scholarship, said the struggle is worth it because
she knows she’s doing something important.
“Without the proper x-rays you don’t get an accurate
diagnosis,” she said. “I’m around people who need
me. �at’s my calling.” And it’s all thanks to PCC
Foundation donors. “I wouldn’t have been able to
make it through without the scholarship,” said Vicky.
A NEW CAREER,
A NEW LIFE
After 27 years working in labor relations, Ralph Sawning
made the decision to give up his job so he and his wife could
move to Oregon to care for his ailing mother-in-law. In
the process, he su�ered what he calls “a devastating loss of
career,” which eventually put him on the path to retrain for
a career as an accountant. After researching �elds that are
most in need of the new skills he is learning at PCC, Ralph
plans to become a CPA so he can write �nancial software
for medium and large businesses.
Without support from the PCC Foundation, Ralph – who
received the Archie and Muriel Averill Scholarship and the
Gordon Adkins Memorial Scholarship – said he wouldn’t
have been free to study full time for his new career. “People
just don’t reach out to other people as much anymore,” he
said, “and that makes the PCC Foundation donors pretty
special. I would not only tell them thank you but do my best
to convince them how special and rare they are.”
Maria Victoria Estevez
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