Dr. Isaac Pope, a Pueblo Junior College alumnus who played on the 1961 National Junior College Basketball Championship team and has gone on to positively impact many lives, will be Pueblo Community College’s commencement speaker this spring.
The ceremony for graduates of PCC’s Pueblo and Fremont Campus will take place on Friday, May 15, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Colorado State Fair’s Southwest Motors Events Center. Two days later, Dr. Pope will deliver the keynote address at the commencement ceremony in Durango for graduates of PCC’s Southwest Colorado Community College branches in Durango and Cortez/Mancos.
Since growing up in his native Tennessee, Dr. Pope has lived his credo that one individual can make a huge difference in the lives of others. Perhaps it was partially instilled in him by his parents, who not only raised five children of their own but often took in both children who had lost their parents and elderly people who needed help.
“They and other members of the church were good examples of people taking care of people,” Dr. Pope noted.
He served in the Air Force for three years, being stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado. While there, he attended and received his high school diploma from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver. Next, he attended Pueblo Junior College, initially on a football scholarship but later on a basketball scholarship, and he was part of PJC’s 1961 national championship team. (PJC was renamed Pueblo Community College in 1982.)
Pope went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Gonzaga University before joining the Peace Corps as a volunteer high school science teacher in West Africa. When he returned, he attended the University of Washington in Seattle and earned a Master’s in Public Administration degree.
Pope fulfilled a lifelong dream he had had since being a child when he earned a Medical Degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1974. After serving his internship and residency at the Madison Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, he became a staff pediatrician at a U.S. Army hospital in Missouri.
But Dr. Pope’s life took on a significant focus when he went into private pediatric practice in 1979 in the state of Washington. Something that had always bothered him were the very sick, special-needs children and the struggles their parents faced. Since that time, he has devoted himself to improving the lives of children and families in his community.
He helped establish outreach clinics for children with special health-care needs, low-cost physical exams for area high school athletes, free exams for Special Olympics athletes, and medical services to those in juvenile correctional facilities. Then, he was part of a group that developed a Board of Review and conceived the “case management” family health care system.
Later, a bout with cancer caused Pope to sell his medical practice and follow his dream to launch Pope’s Kids Place in Southwest Washington with the help of his community and many volunteers. Its mission is to provide comprehensive health and social services with a focus on children with special needs or who are financially disadvantaged. It now has a pediatric clinic, a day treatment and respite center for children and families, and an outreach program that identifies children and families with special needs.
“Special consideration is always given to identifying our commencement speaker, as I consider this individual to be a “gift” to our graduates,” explains Pueblo Community College President Patty Erjavec. “Dr. Pope is sure to bring a powerful, lasting message that will culminate our students’ dedication to their pursuit of a higher education.”
While mostly retired now, Dr. Pope remains active on his community’s City Council, as a part-time pediatrician at a state juvenile correctional facility, and with The Chehalis Foundation that organizes and funds projects in his hometown community.
Pope has earned a lengthy list of awards and honors in the state of Washington during the past 36 years, many medical-related but dozens others for his civic leadership.
Pueblo Community College is anxious to welcome Dr. Isaac Pope to our campuses during the commencement ceremonies on May 15 & 17 and we are hopeful that many in the community will plan to be on hand to welcome Isaac Pope back to Colorado during these very special celebrations.