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Graphic with portrait photos of the honorees.

OACC Announces the 2026 Hall of Fame Induction Class

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Three individuals who committed their careers to higher education will be honored at the annual luncheon ceremony of the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges (OACC). The event will begin at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, October 2, at the Tulsa Community College Northeast Campus.  OACC Executive Director, Dr. Cheryl Evans shared that members of the 2026 OACC Hall of Fame Class include Mary Cantrell, Becky Henthorn, and Dr. Ron Ramming.

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In this photo, Miss Choctaw Nation Mia Reich (left) and Miss Seminole Nation Alivia Wapskineh stand in front of the south pond on Seminole State College’s campus.

At SSC, Two Tribal Princesses Share a Path in Leadership

Josh Hutton

Alivia Wapskineh was nearing the end of her reign as Miss Seminole Nation. Mia Reich had only recently been crowned Miss Choctaw Nation.

Sitting together at Seminole State College in mid-September, the two students were looking at opposite ends of an experience few classmates could share: representing their nations while managing coursework and campus commitments.

Wapskineh was preparing for the Sept. 17 Seminole Nation princess pageant that would select her successor. Reich was beginning her year of service after earning her title at the Choctaw Nation Labor Day Festival.

Their earlier titles had overlapped, too. Wapskineh was Junior Miss Seminole Nation while Reich served as Junior Miss Indian Oklahoma.

“We get to reign again,” Wapskineh said.

This time, they also share a college campus. Both are President’s Leadership Class scholarship recipients at SSC, where Wapskineh is a sophomore studying elementary education and Reich is a freshman studying biology and playing basketball for the Belles.

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Shannon Miller Shares Message of Resilience at SSC

Josh Hutton
In this photo, Seven-time Olympic medalist, cancer survivor and health advocate Shannon Miller speaks to students, employees and community members at Seminole State College’s Jeff Johnston Fine Arts Auditorium.

Seven-time Olympic medalist, cancer survivor and health advocate Shannon Miller speaks to students, employees and community members at Seminole State College’s Jeff Johnston Fine Arts Auditorium. The Sept. 10 presentation, sponsored by SSC’s Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions program, focused on wellbeing, resilience and overcoming adversity.

In this photo, Shannon Miller poses for a photo in front of a Seminole State College banner with SSC NASNTI Program Director Kay Wallace.

Shannon Miller visits with SSC NASNTI Program Director Kay Wallace prior to Miller’s Sept. 10 presentation. The event marked the final sponsored program of SSC’s current five-year NASNTI grant, which provided $2.25 million to strengthen student support, accessibility, computer science instruction and campus programming. The grant concludes Sept. 30 without federal renewal.

In this photo, Shannon Miller is joined by current and former Seminole State College Regents and community leaders for a group photo in front of an SSC banner. Pictured from left are former SSC Regents Marci Donaho and Kim Hyden; SSC Regent Robyn Ready; Miller; SSC Regent Haley Coates; Avedis Foundation President and CEO Dr. Kathy Laster; and SSC Regent Teresa Burnett.

Shannon Miller is joined by current and former Seminole State College Regents and community leaders prior to her presentation at SSC. Pictured from left are former SSC Regents Marci Donaho and Kim Hyden; SSC Regent Robyn Ready; Miller; SSC Regent Haley Coates; Avedis Foundation President and CEO Dr. Kathy Laster; and SSC Regent Teresa Burnett.

In this photo, Seminole State College students participating in the College’s TRIO programs pose for a group photo while attending a recent college and career fair hosted by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation at the Grand Casino Event Center in Shawnee.

SSC TRIO Students Explore College, Career Opportunities

Josh Hutton

Seminole State College students explored educational and career opportunities during a recent college and career fair hosted by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation at the Grand Casino Event Center in Shawnee.

Several of SSC’s federally funded TRIO programs partnered for the event, bringing together high school students served by Upward Bound and current SSC students participating in Student Support Services.

The trip was sponsored by Student Support Services, STEM Student Support Services, Upward Bound I and II, and Upward Bound Math and Science I and II. Following the fair, students had lunch at Santa Fe Cattle Co.

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In this photo, Shannon Miller performs her gold medal-winning balance beam routine during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Photo by Dave Black.

Beyond Olympic Gold: Shannon Miller on Work, Failure and the Strength to Ask for Help

Brooks Nickell

Shannon Miller put it plainly: “The trouble is, you cannot outwork cancer.”

For most of her life, Miller could measure progress in repetitions: one more push-up, one more routine, one more landing. The girl who grew up in Edmond turned those ordinary days of work into an extraordinary career, winning seven Olympic medals and two world all-around championships before her 20th birthday.

Then a rare form of ovarian cancer forced Miller to reconsider the self-reliance that had carried her so far. Determination still mattered. Discipline still mattered. But neither could replace the help of a team.

Miller said, “My cancer diagnosis and treatment was a curveball I never saw coming. I was always a workhorse in the gym. I was not the most talented, the strongest, or the most flexible, but I would outwork anyone.”

Miller will share lessons from her athletic career, cancer diagnosis and life beyond gymnastics at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in the Jeff Johnston Fine Arts Auditorium at Seminole State College. The event is free and open to the public. Her presentation is part of the 2026 “Wellbeing and Resilience” theme of SSC’s Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions program and will serve as a culminating event for the final year of the College’s current five-year NASNTI grant.

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This photo shows the front of the North Rock creek Highschool building.

College Starts Early for More Than 100 North Rock Creek Students

Josh Hutton

Nearly one in every five students at North Rock Creek High School is also a Seminole State College student.

This fall, 106 of North Rock Creek High School’s approximately 500 students are taking SSC courses through concurrent enrollment, the largest group from any single high school at the College. Those students represent nearly 47% of the school’s 227 juniors and seniors.

The milestone is particularly notable for a young high school. North Rock Creek began offering high school courses in 2018 and moved students into its new high school building in 2019. Its first senior class graduated in 2022.

Behind the enrollment figure is a coordinated system that begins months before students enter an online college classroom. North Rock Creek High School Counselors Jennifer Barnett and Ashley Moody meet with students and families each spring to introduce concurrent enrollment and identify those who are interested.

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Mistletoe Conference plaques displayed.

The Municipal Colleges That Brought Higher Education Home

Josh Hutton

Long before community colleges became a familiar part of Oklahoma higher education, students in many towns could graduate from high school and return to the same building for their first year of college.

These institutions were known as municipal junior colleges, although the name was not entirely accurate. They were governed by local school districts rather than municipal governments. Most operated as extensions of public high schools, adding grades 13 and 14 to the district’s educational program.

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SSC Begins Demolition of Former Dormitory

Josh Hutton
In this photo, an ariel view shows a track hoe as it tears down the former S. J. Sarkeys Dormitory on the east side of the Seminole State College campus.
Seminole State College began demolition of the former S. J. Sarkeys Dormitory on Sept. 2, removing a long-vacant campus building completed more than four decades ago. Built in 1983, the two-story, 44-bed residence hall once housed male and female students. One-time deferred-maintenance funding allowed the College to safely remove the structure after deterioration, mold and other safety concerns made it a liability.