Desert Messenger

May 30, 2012

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Page 6 www.DesertMessenger.com Arizona Western College Quartzsite honors first graduate Yuma, Arizona - The Arizona Western College Quartzsite Learning Center opened its doors in January of 2010. Kimberly Kilwien has been greeting and assisting students with extreme professionalism and courtesy since that time. She has also been studying to complete her own college degree and was recently honored at the AWC Celebration of Learning in Parker, AZ, as the fi rst ever graduate of the AWC Quartzsite Learning Center. Kimberly is the wife of Quartzsite resident Bill Kilwien and they are raising two teenage children, Jordan and Brooklynne. In addition to her duties as wife, mother, and full- time AWC employee, she has been a full-time student working toward her educational goals. She has faced many challenges and has overcome numerous road blocks throughout the years to accomplish this objective. For that reason, she was also hon- ored at the annual AWC La Cosecha Banquet as one who has overcome obstacles and in doing so, inspires others to continue working to reach their goals as well. Kimberly was born in Tucson, Arizona. At the age of 14, her family moved to Springfi eld, Oregon. It was there that she graduated from Spring- fi eld High School and married Wil- liam Kilwien. In 1994, she fi rst began taking college courses at Lane Com- munity College, where she was also employed as a work-study student. Marriage and family has always come fi rst for Kimberly. Those responsibili- ties and the need to provide for her family have made the road of educa- tion especially long and winding. It was when her son needed speech services at the age of 4 that Kimberly fi rst began to feel a calling toward the career of speech pathologist. Later, while working at Headstart and also for EC Cares in Oregon, she had more opportunities to be exposed to the work of speech pathologists. The dream of being able to help children in this way was born, but there were times when she lost hope that it could become a reality. In 2007, Kimberly returned to Ari- zona and resided in the Parker area to be near her mother. She began work- ing for Horizon Community Bank and later transferred to the Quartzsite Quartzsite Coachworks On Site RV Repair A/C • Electrical • Plumbing • Roof Repair • All Appliances CALL TODAY! 760-799-2370 RV Specialist PO Box 5082 • Quartzsite, AZ 85359 www.QuartzsiteCoachworks.com Serving the RVing Community since1977 Branch. When Arizona Western Col- lege opened the Quartzsite Learning Center, not only was her dreams of higher education rekindled, but she became the center's fi rst employee as the Center Assistant. Kimberly has been on an educa- tional roll ever since. Now at the completion of her Associate Degree in General Studies, she plans to begin her course work toward a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northern Arizona University with a specialization in Speech-Language Sciences & Technol- ogy. She also has dreams of achiev- ing her Master's Degree in Clinical Speech-Language Pathology. Kimberly is an inspiration to all and when asked to share words of wisdom for others considering a return to school she responded, "It is important to dream big and have goals. Failure only comes from not trying." She also offered one of her favorite quotes: "Success is not fi nal, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill www.MyQuartzsite.com RV & TRUCK REPAIR BEST AUTO SERVICE YOU CAN DEPEND ON! 585 N. Central Quartzsite Open Mon-Fri 8-5 928-927-8787 Johnny DelPino, Owner Read Desert MESSENGER ONLINE @ May 30, 2012

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