Skagit Valley College (SVC) is a public

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Vernon is the county seat of and the most populous city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. A central location in the Skagit River Valley, the city is located south of the U.S.–Canada border and north of Seattle. The popul ...

. It serves students in Skagit,

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, and

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

counties in northwest

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Established in 1926, SVC is as the second-oldest continuously operating community college in the state of Washington. SVC grants academic transfer pathways, professional/technical degrees, and certificates. The academic transfer degree and several professional/technical degrees can be completed online. SVC also offers Basic Education for Adults and Community Education courses. Courses are offered during Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. The SVC district includes two campuses and three centers: the Mount Vernon Campus, SVC's main campus, is located in

, and the Whidbey Island Campus is located in

Oak Harbor, Washington Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,622 at the 2020 census. Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915. History The Lower Skagit people have inhabited Oak Harb ...

. The San Juan Center is located in Friday Harbor, and the Marine Technology Center in

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Northwest Athletic Conference The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), formerly the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and along with the Canadian province ...

(NWAC) as the Cardinals, fielding men's teams for baseball, women's teams for softball and volleyball and men's and women's teams for basketball, golf, soccer and tennis.

Alumni

Among notable alumni of the college is the Malawian writer Legson Kayira (c.1942–2012), who after walking all the way from

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

as a young man applied to the College and was awarded a scholarship, which he took up in January 1961.Legson Kayira obituary, Skagit Valley Herald
/ref> Mount Vernon resident

Lawrence Colburn Lawrence Manley Colburn (July 6, 1949 – December 13, 2016) was a United States Army veteran who, while serving as a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War, intervened in the March 16, 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre. Born in Coulee Dam, Washington, Colb ...

, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

helicopter crew member who intervened to stop the 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre, later attended Skagit Valley Junior College using the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. Actor

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...

also attended Skagit Valley College, where he played basketball before being sidelined by injury.

References

External links

Official website
Private universities and colleges in Washington (state) Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges established in 1926 Education in Skagit County, Washington Education in Island County, Washington Education in San Juan County, Washington 1926 establishments in Washington (state) Two-year colleges in the United States {{Washington-university-stub