By Elizabeth Ballinger
Students in Issaquah public high schools know her as the “Condom Lady.” As of September, she’s BCC’s new director of the Health Science Institute.
Sheryl Berman, a teacher for 25 years, will oversee the Health Science Institute and its development of new degree programs in medical imaging, and new certificate offerings. With budget reductions in every department at BCC, Berman arrived at BCC and immediately met a budget cut agenda in one of BCC’s most rapidly expanding departments.
In a struggling economy, Berman said she expects to see an influx of returning students come to Health Science for professional and technical degrees. Providing unemployed people with new careers, said Berman, is exciting and worth the effort.
“From conventional programs, such as nursing and medical imaging, to new studies like Fire Science and Drug and Alcohol Dependency, this field is progressive and constantly developing,” said Berman. “We need new people in the field.”
Berman, an immunologist, volunteers often at public high schools as a guest speaker on HIV/AIDS protection and safe sex, and distributes condoms