Foundation Board Member Gloria Ingle

Gloria Ingle serves on the OCCC Foundation Board, sits on the Scholarship Committee and is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Read why Gloria says, “An education at Oregon Coast Community College is the best buck you will ever spend.”

When I was born, there was only one hospital in the area which was located in Toledo.  I went from the hospital immediately to the reservation in Siletz.  Most of my education was right here in Siletz.  My dad was a logger.  When logging jobs dried up, we moved to Wrangell, Alaska just in time for my senior year of high school.  I was upset.  I had to leave my friends and relatives, but it turned out to be the best experience of my life.  Wrangell was a small logging and fishing community.  I became the co-editor of the school newspaper and annual.

From the time I was in third grade, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.  After high school, I attended Monmouth Teachers College, now known as Western Oregon University.  I only attended a short while then went back to Wrangell.  I married, had two children and became a teacher’s aide.  Eventually, I enrolled in Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka.  The school of education offered a unique program of classes on weekends and summer school called Educators for Rural Alaska. I took advantage of the flexibility and earned a BA degree in education.  The University of Alaska in Juneau offered a similar program for a certificate in Special Education and an Ed Leadership masters degree.  My Special Education practicum was in the Juneau School District in Douglas, Alaska.  I earned a second MA degree with a superintendent endorsement.

I taught 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders for thirteen years in Wrangell but my favorite is junior high students.  With a desire to put my superintendent education to use, I became a principal in Hydaburg City School District, the only Haida Community in the United States.  I was there for five years.

Medical service was difficult in Alaska at that time.  My husband and I decided it was time to come home to Siletz.

I ran for office a couple of times: first as a member of the Board of Trustees at Western Oregon University.  This was a position appointed by the governor.  I served a four-year term.  I ran for Tribal Council and lost by 12 votes. but won the second year.  The six years I served on the Tribal Council were wonderful.  I was also honored to serve as Chair on the Siletz Tribal Arts and Heritage Society (STAHS) for nearly eleven years.

While on the Tribal Council, I joined the OCCC Foundation Board.  The Foundation means so much to me.  I have been active in education my entire life.  Education is part of my heart.  At OCCC, I am valued as a volunteer surrounded by friendly, caring, self-sacrificing lay people who strive to exhibit the best of society.

I went back to school at 27 years of age.  My husband and two kids helped me.  My message to OCCC students is that it is never too late.  OCCC is a great vehicle for students in our community.  With smaller classes, faculty and staff are better able to meet the unique needs of individual students.  That is why I say a donation to, “OCCC is the best buck you will ever spend, and it turns over many, many times for our community.”

Gloria and her husband have been married for 55 years, have four children, 18 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren mostly living in Alaska.

Thank you, Gloria, for being part of the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation.