From passion to inspiration, Diana Wheat is living her dream at LBCC

After teaching in Colorado for seven years, a family decision was made to move to Oregon. Diana Wheat has been teaching biology at LBCC for 10 years.

Wheat grew up in a rural area in Kansas. Her family was affected during the farming crisis three decades ago. Some of her teachers were not comfortable enough to teach evolution, and going to college wasn't required to develop a career.

Living in a community stifled by scientific opportunities, nothing in her past pointed towards a career as a biologist, but one class and a brief discussion of a female scientist was enough to enlighten her. Today, Wheat still reveres Rachel Carson.

“I won’t say that I was following her footsteps, but I was very influenced by her writings,” said Wheat.

Wheat is the department chair and a biology faculty member at Linn-Benton Community College.

“I loved the land, but it’s nothing like the Northwest. This is such a diverse area compared to where I lived,” Wheat joked.

Wheat enjoys spending time outside every day and being surrounded by nature. This helped her to build the connection with the natural world.

Where she grew up, people didn't generally accept theories such as evolution and natural selection. Not many teachers talked about them at school during her growing up years because a few people got into trouble for teaching evolution.

However, teachers' reluctance and avoiding the subject made Wheat more curious. “I wanted to know what’s the controversy about. I wanted to understand more about the different perspectives.”

The more questions she asked, the more she realized the disconnection between people around her and nature. Studying about change became fascinating to Wheat. This initiation led her interests to issue-based biology studies.

Wheat could not help but dig deeper to see the science behind the scenes. She still believes it’s important to understand what’s really happening under the surface.

As a teacher, Wheat taught classes that were issue-based, and students loved learning that way.

“Because it’s almost like philosophy and ethical influence rather than just hard science,” she said.

Not every class affords opportunities for Wheat to teach that way.When she can, she engages students with issues along with scientific facts.

"I thought her class was difficult but I know she designed it to prepare me better for the future," said student Daniel Elliott.

She tries in her teaching approach to gather students’ attention with a phenomenon and let students ask for more.

“It’s not always important to tell people what to think, rather, it’s to give them a question so they learn how to think. That’s my mission of being a teacher,” said Wheat.

Wheat earned her bachelor’s degree in biology. The curriculum emphasized systematic and ecology. She worked for a museum but soon she realized the museum work was too quiet and not enough excitement for a young biologist. The insufficient funding was also part of the reason why she couldn't continue the job.

Wheat went back to school and earned her master’s degree in environmental science and specifically in eco-toxicology, the study of how toxins and poisons affect the environment. 

“It was part of a brand new master's degree program at the University of Kansas. I was one of the five people who applied for the program that year,” said Wheat. her interest included eco-toxicology or 

She was not afraid to step into the new genre.

Reflecting back to the age of 13, Wheat learned about Rachel Carson, who wrote the book “Silent Spring” and warned the world that the way humans poison the environment will result a future with no birds but a silent spring.

Following a similar path, Wheat wanted to be like Carson, a female scientist that can make a difference with what she believes.

Wheat was proud to receive her first job offer within the first year after graduation. She started working at a water quality laboratory as a microbiologist.

“It was not a glamorous job,” Wheat laughed, “It was a job to have a salary.”

The company was not happy about a research result she obtained about zebra mussels. They are now known as an invasive species from the Black Sea. Wheat warned the company that not a single chemical they were making could kill the zebra mussels, but the company thought she was wrong.

In the early '90s, it spread out in the country, and upset many ecosystems. Zebra mussels were then proved to be an invasive species that had high resistance.

After working in the company for one and half years, the company cut the lab and reduced Wheat's job. 

“Eventually, fate held my hands because it was a good beginning for my next journey,” Wheat said. 

With the money she saved, she decided to make the most out of the worst.

She went to Africa and explored like a real scientist.

It was not easy to travel in a place like Africa at the time, especially as a single woman. Wheat chose to go to Kenya because it was one of the safer countries. However, when she thought she could do something bigger on that continent, KWS (Kenyans Wildlife Services) stopped hiring. The director of KWS was Richard Leakey, the son of the famous scientist Louis Leakey. Because of a plane accident, Richard Leakey was sent back to a U.K. hospital. Wheat already had two interviews for the program, but no decisions could be made without the director.

Life didn't close all the doors. When the program manager noticed Wheat had museum work background, he suggested Wheat an opportunity to work at the NMK (National Museum of Kenya).

“Because of working for the NMK, I was put on to work on a project about biodiversity. It was a perfect project,” said Wheat.

The project was sponsored by the United Nations. So Wheat became a paid intern for $40 per month,
Roughly the same amount paid to Kenyan scientists at the time.

She wasn't a rich scientist, but the money was enough for her to safari to other areas in Africa.

The year in Africa taught Wheat not only biodiversity, but also valuable life lessons. Wheat decided to be a teacher to share her knowledge and experiences. She spent two years to complete her teaching certificate, and found her first teaching job at Littleton High School followed by the University of Colorado in Denver. 

“There were hardships and disappointments, but I kept going forward and never turned my back to biology. I hope through education, I can be a source of inspiration.”

Additional Info:

Instructor website: http://cf.linnbenton.edu/mathsci/bio/wheatd/web.cfm?pgID=2118
Office: WOH 207
Phone: 541-917-4772

Flipped-class for nursing students

Set up with round tables in the Fireside Room, students were divided into four sub-groups for a flipped class experience.

On Monday, April. 14, the nursing program at LBCC had a taste of the flipped classroom, a new form of teaching where students come to class prepared and practice their knowledge with more hands-on work.

The subject was addictions and substance abuse. After a brief overview in the beginning, each group received different parts of class material.

The first group worked on scoring the dosage of drug with the CIWA system; the second group practiced acupuncture with Tawnya Dailey L. AC from Lebanon; the third group, learned about motivational interviewing to encourage patients once they are ready to change their behavior; and the fourth group, impaire with health-treating professional James Conway, MFT from Lake Oswego, studied the process when treating patients with addictions.

The instructor was no longer teaching and students were no longer taking notes. The classroom turned into a conversation-styled convention.

Unlike the old-fashion lecturing, students were able to share and communicate ideas with each other. When they meet difficulties, the instructor and professionals were there to answer their questions.

Sherrilyn Sytsma, faculty at LBCC nursing program, was surprised of students’ reactions. “I think it worked well to have people engage more. This is a powerful learning process since nursing is all about applying your knowledge and skills,” said Sytsma.   

However, the anonymous feedbacks from students showed a mixture of opinions.

“I enjoyed the day. It was eye opening and helped me understand that addiction is not a choice that people make and that it can happen to anyone. ”

“I feel like there was not enough time to reach great depth with any one subject, but I have a better overall understanding of treatments and assessments regarding addiction and addicts. ”

This new concept of learning provided opportunities for students to collaborate and had better understandings of book theories through practical work. In addition, it is important to preview before hand. The in-class work requires students to know the material well so that students will not feel lost during the process.

Sytsma thought this is a great way of extending the skill lab style into lectures, “Our skill lab within our curriculum is kind of like the flipped class philosophy. Students need to come to class prepared and they practice with instructions.” She always mentioned there will always be students learn better or worse in unconventional classes. So it’s good to have a mixed style of classes where they can learn in either way without lifting anyone out.

Students compete for nursing spots at LBCC

In recent years, the increasing applicants caused more competition to apply nursing program at LBCC. Many of them are strong candidates and it's difficult to distinguish them based on GPA. Experiences play the second important role for those who urge to get in.

Photo from LBCC web

Wendy Wong, who got in the program on the first time she applied, described her application process as exciting and patient. “I retook one anatomy physiology, and I volunteered for a few years within the community to strengthen my knowledge and skills. I worked as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistants) and I have my previous bachelor. On top of all these, I was excited to apply LBCC nursing program. Even though I was wait-listed, I waited patiently and eventually I got in,” she said.  

Wait list means a second chance. The admission takes a further step to consider the qualifications of wait-listed  applicants. This time, there were nine students in line and they were all accepted in the end. However, each year is different. In 2012, the program only accepted one wait-listed student.

“It is a very competitive program. When I applied LBCC, I didn’t get in the first year. My GPA wasn’t super high. So I decided to retake two of the three anatomy and physiology courses. Then I was more competitive, and got in the second time I applied,” said Eliza gar Side, a transferred student from Utah.

In addition to the high GPA requirements, LBCC nursing program also requires CNA (Certified Nursing Assistants) for admission. CNA defines people who are eligible to help licensed nurses in nursing care.

“Nursing is not an easy job," Wong said. "A lot of other programs don’t require this, and many students regret and struggle when they realize nursing is not what they want later on.”

Wong pointed out that the CNA acts as a filter so the rest of students stay for the right reasons, not just for money. Also, students who survived the CNA exam are more likely to be a nurse with their persistence. Competition also creates a more mature group of students, she said.

LBCC nursing program has the same high standards and quality like other colleges, but it costs much less.

Photo from LBCC web

There are three roads when students are approaching to be a registered nurse. A three-year diploma, a three-year associate degree, and a four-year baccalaureate degree. Graduates who accomplish any of the three programs are qualified to take the NCLEX, the National Council Licensure Examination.

LBCC nursing program is for students to earn an associate degree, but instead of three years, it is designed as a two-year associate degree program. This saves student time and it saves money.

“Our program is very competitive and intense, but this will prepare students for real jobs once they graduate,” said Sheryl Oakes Caddy, the department Chair of Nursing Program at LBCC. Caddy was proud to show the stats: the national rate of passing NCLEX dropped to 84 percent during 2011 to 2013, but the rate at LBCC increased to 94.61 percent.

LBCC nursing program has an articulation agreement with Linfield School of Nursing. This allows students to pursue Bachelor degrees or Masters of Science degrees with less transition difficulties.

For those who are looking for nursing jobs, Amanda Morris who work for the HR department of Samaritan Health Services advised “Start applying right away when you see an opportunity posted. Make sure your application is complete, and includes information relevant to the nursing position such as clinical experiences, certifications, or relevant courses you have taken above and beyond what is required for your program.”

Morris also suggested including work history that is not necessarily related to nursing. “Even though it may not be directly related, employers want to see what kind of work you have done and what other skills you may bring to the work space.”

At a glance:

LBCC Nursing Program
Website: www.linnbenton.edu/nursing

Admission: admissions@linnbenton.edu
Phone: 541-917-4811
Fax: 541-917-4868
Tuition: $65,000-$7,500
Application forms: https://www.linnbenton.edu/go/admission-forms-and-applications