By Kat Carranza Encinas
Staff Writer

The all-new Cougar statue unveiled in Wacheno Welcome Center. Photos by Wesley Northcote

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Clackamas Community College, Nora Brodnicki hosts an event unveiling a new cougar statue. Unveiled by Delbert Dully on May 19, the sculpture of the college’s mascot, Cougie, is located in the Wacheno Welcome center entrance.

Nora Brodnicki was in search of a cougar statue to celebrate the college’s 60th anniversary. Her determination to fulfill her five-year dream for CCC came to fruition. This Cougar sculpture resembles the student pride and therefore is a great representation for CCC’s mascot.

Nora Brodnicki reached out to regional artist Brian Mock. Mock is a sculptor and welder with his own website at BrianMock.com. His animal and human sculptures are made from recycled scraps of metal. Brian requested metal scraps around CCC for the cougar statue. He was a student at CCC and he grew up in Portland. Some materials used for the sculpture are kitchen utensils, screwdrivers, wrenches, tools, and wires. His mission is to promote recycling and reusing materials to reduce waste. 

People gathered in Wacheno Welcome Center were admiring the new statue, made entirely out of recycled scrap materials.

“For the last 60 years we’ve grown alongside our community while staying grounded in our mission to serve students.” Tim Cook said during his opening speech before revealing the statue. “Anniversaries are an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, but they’re also about looking ahead. And this sculpture represents both of these things. It honors the history and traditions we’ve built over 60 years while creating something future students will connect with for decades.”

Two art students then removed the red cloth to unveil Cougie. Nora Brodnicki then read the letter from Mock to CCC students and staff, in which it says, “It’s been an honor to create Cougie for CCC. The project has meant a lot to me because I’m a Clackamas County native and even took a few courses here in the early 1980’s… hope this piece inspires the community to think about conservation in all its forms and to consider how reusing items from our past can help reshape our future,” said Cook.