COCC trio selected for All-Oregon Academic Team
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon Community College said Tuesday it's proud to announce that students Emma Bloss, ErinRae McKellar Cook and Taylor Taliesin and have been selected to represent the college on the Oregon Community College Association’s 2025 All-Oregon Academic Team, which honors high achievement from Oregon’s 17 community colleges.
The students will be celebrated at OCCA’s All-Oregon Academic Team luncheon event on Friday, April 18, at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, with community college presidents, board members, faculty and state legislators in attendance.
To earn the distinction, students must demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service. A minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA and completion of at least 54 credits is required. Nominated by a faculty member, finalists undergo a review process by the college’s committee for academic excellence.
Emma Bloss of Sisters is teaching full-time at a local preschool while working toward an associate degree in the early childhood education program, with plans to transfer to a university and eventually become a child psychologist. The dean’s list student has maintained a 3.8 GPA while serving as a head teacher at Mountain Montessori.
ErinRae McKellar Cook of Sunriver is in the massage therapy program, with a 3.95 GPA, and is committed to community service, including serving in the local Big Brothers Big Sisters program. At COCC, she has volunteered massage services and assisted with the annual Salmon Bake event. A co-owner of a micro farm focused on sustainability, she is planning a holistic career that combines massage therapy, yoga and herbalism.
Taylor Taliesin of Bend recently finished peer support specialist training at COCC and is soon to be the college’s first completer of a brand-new certificate in community health. They are also pursuing an associate degree in human services. The dean’s list student, with a 3.8 GPA, is a member of COCC’s Q+ Club (formerly the S2LGBTQIA+ Club), helped establish the Umbrella Club for neurodivergent students, and serves as an advisory council board member for the Central Oregon chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
All three students were supported in their schooling by scholarships from the COCC Foundation.
The All-Oregon Academic Team is part of the All-State Community College Academic Team program that started in 1994 in the states of Mississippi and Missouri. Today, 38 states host All-State Academic Team programs each year, focusing on two-year colleges and recognizing exceptional students. The OCCA sponsors the annual event, in partnership with the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, which awards some $37 million in scholarships nationally to community college students.
