English professor Bertha Wise will retire in May after 25 years at OCCC.

Wise said she sees life as an adventure, finding new and interesting things all the time  — “as cliché as that sounds.”

“I’m off on a trip in early June to go to Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria with a friend, and later in the summer, I’ll be up in New York to visit family for a couple weeks,” she said.

Though Wise will no longer be a regular faculty member, she will still be teaching a couple of online courses at OCCC as an adjunct.

Wise has been teaching a list of courses at OCCC since 1991, but has primarily taught English. She said through her 25-year career, she was acting dean twice, English and Humanities department chair and taught many courses.

Pioneer staff received more than 28 awards during the Oklahoma Collegiate Media Association 2015 Annual Conference and Awards Luncheon at the Oklahoma State University April 3.

Pioneer Senior Writer Jorge Krzyzaniak said he was not surprised at the number of awards.

“We work really hard to put out a good product and it was reflected at the ceremony,” he said.

Online Editor Lauren Daniel was awarded Journalist of the Year for a 2-year college.

The coming water shortage in the world — and in the U.S. — is one reason the college library chose “Water Matters: Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Precious Resource” as next academic year’s selection for the OCCC Reads Program.

OCCC Reads is a community reading program, said Librarian Tricia Sweany. She said she and other librarians reach out to faculty and encourage them to use the book in their classes.

“We’re trying non-fiction because we believe in water and want people to know that when they waste water, it is gone and there is no way to get it back,” she said.

“It is a supply that is running low and a lot of places around the world don’t have it, so we are hoping to raise awareness and have people get involved and be aware of the issue.”

The traditional words of congratulations and best wishes for OCCC’s graduating class may also be parting words for a man who has dedicated himself to leading the college in its mission for almost a decade.

However, OCCC’s President Paul Sechrist, who in October 2014 announced he would retire this summer, said he doesn’t see this speech as a goodbye.

As keynote speaker, Sechrist will take the stage to give his last formal address to graduating students at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, at the Cox Business Services Convention Center in Oklahoma City during the OCCC commencement.

Students and alumni will have the opportunity to celebrate President Paul Sechrist’s 10 years of service, as well as enjoy camaraderie between professors and students at the alumni reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the Sarkey’s Atrium in the VPAC theater.

Randy Cassimus, associate director of Alumni Relations and Community Development, said the goal is to build connections between students and the college.

The last play written by the acclaimed Russian playwright Anton Chekhov will make its way to the stage at 7:30 p.m. April 30 through May 2 in the Bruce Owen Theater on campus.

OCCC’s theater department will present David Mamet’s adaptation of “The Cherry Orchard,” one of Chekhov’s most famous and influential plays.