Former tech for Marine One now excels at Cuyamaca College

February 13, 2017, 3:35 pm

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It took James McAllister just a few weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to enlist in the Marine Corps. He would have signed up sooner, but he had to wait until his 17^thbirthday.

“I was a high school senior, and up to that point I was unsure of what I wanted to do,” said McAllister. “But after 9/11, there was no doubt.”

After 13 years that as a Marine Corps avionics technician who at one time helped maintain the Presidential helicopter, McAllister is flourishing at Cuyamaca College while striving for a career as a software engineer. His exceptionalism led the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Community Colleges to award him a $500 Barnes and Noble Scholarship, and he will be among the few dozen students honored during a Feb. 11 gala at Grossmont College for their academic accomplishments.

“I’m very grateful for the award,” said McAllister. “In a normal semester, you could spend several hundred dollars on books. This scholarship will go a long way in helping me secure the materials I need to succeed without having to compromise.”

McAllister’s instructors say no one is more deserving of the award.

“James stands out as a person with integrity along with a true desire to excel and succeed,” said John Gerstenberg, an adjunct professor who teaches computer programming and related courses. “His self-discipline to complete assignments on time, his attention to detail, and his work in both my classes was exemplary. I was always impressed with how much time he spent helping others who were struggling in the class during lab, when he could have gone home for the night, and the amount of patience he has. He is a person who consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty.”

McAllister’s journey to Cuyamaca College began in Middletown, N.Y. The son of a New York City Police officer, McAllister, 31, rarely saw his father in the aftermath of 9/11, as the elder McAllister was busy working 12-hour shifts and spending nights at his mother’s house in the Bronx in the chaos that followed.

“I grew up fast,” McAllister said.

He signed up for the Marines the day after he turned 17 on Oct. 20. He graduated from high school in June of 2002. That August, he was off to boot camp in Parris Island. From there, McAllister spent a year training as an avionics technician before being attached to the Quantico, Va.- based HMX-1, the presidential helicopter squadron. He would later move to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and serve three deployments in Afghanistan before leaving the Marines in 2015.

“It was time to go to school and begin the next chapter of my life,” he said.

Newly married and living in the East County, McAllister said Cuyamaca College was a no-brainer.

“I wanted to study computer science, I wanted to start at a community college, Cuyamaca was close to my home, they have a computer science program, OK, I’ll go here.”

“But what I found here,” McAllister said, “was a lot more than what I expected. The student body here, the faculty here, have been nothing but helpful. The quality of instruction is incredible. I hadn’t taken a math class in more than 13 years, but I assessed into pre-calculus. I was worried because a lot of core competencies in algebra and geometry just weren’t established. I was entirely unfamiliar with them. But the professor was wonderful. He made everything easy to understand and worked with me to make sure I would succeed. I ended up getting an A in the class.”

He’s been getting A’s in his classes since.

“His performance in my class was exceptional,” said Thomas Volkman, an adjunct faculty member in the Computer Science Department. “He was always well prepared and asked very thorough questions intended to expand his knowledge of the course material. Above being an exceptional student, I often noticed James helping other students in the class.”

McAllister, who has already secured a certificate in computer programming, is due to earn his associate degree in university studies this spring. He plans on transferring to San Diego State University – where his wife, also a former Marine, is earning her master’s degree in social work – this coming fall en route to a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

“I absolutely love it here,” he said of Cuyamaca College. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience after leaving the Marine Corps.”

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Scholarships go to 132 Grossmont, Cuyamaca College students

February 14, 2017, 2:08 pm

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Thirty-four students received Osher scholarships, the result of a statewide community college scholarship fund established by the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2011.

More than $70,000 in scholarships were awarded Saturday to 132 Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students who achieved academic excellence while overcoming incredible challenges and obstacles.

The scholarships, ranging from $200 to $1,250, were awarded during a breakfast event at Grossmont College. To be considered for the scholarship, students were required to write a personal essay. They each told moving stories of the path they had taken to excel in college.

The scholarships were created from a variety of sources, including private donors who want to honor a deceased family member or colleague; philanthropic businesses that want to assist college students with their education; or college departments that want to find another way to serve their students.


Among the scholarship winners was James McAllister, who came to Cuyamaca College after serving 13 years in the Marine Corps. McAllister is studying computer science and plans to transfer to San Diego State University after earning his associate degree in university studies. McAllister received a $500 scholarship from Barnes and Noble.

McAllister said the scholarship money will enable him to buy the books and supplies he needs for his education.

“As a college student, when you buy supplies, you want to get the best you can,” McAllister said. “I’ll be able to do that this semester so I can graduate with honors.”

Another scholarship winner was Tareen Mekany, a Grossmont College student who has extensively volunteered for Sharp Grossmont Hospital, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, Rady Children’s Hospital and Habitat for Humanity. She received the Jack McAuley Memorial Scholarship.

Mekany has also maintained a 4.0 grade point average, works part-time, and takes part in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. A first-generation American, her parents fled Iraq following the 1990 Gulf War. Her mother and older brother had to stay in Jordan for three years until they could join her father in El Cajon.

Mekany, who hopes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, said she learned from her parents that education is key.

“I wouldn’t have succeeded if it weren’t for the awesome support I’ve received,” she said. “Grossmont helped me discover who I am and the people here let me know that whatever I wanted to do and whatever field I wanted to study, they would be there for me.”

Thirty-four students received Osher scholarships, the result of a statewide community college scholarship fund established by the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2011. Osher, a Bay Area philanthropist, committed $50 million to the fund and challenged colleges to raise money to establish the scholarships.

Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges raised almost $850,000 and were two of the 31 institutions in the state that reached – and exceeded – their fundraising goals set by the Osher Foundation. Through a statewide endowment fund, scholarships will be awarded in perpetuity to students at the two colleges.

Among the Osher scholarship winners was Carlos Ornelas Zatarain, who received a $500 scholarship. Zatarain, who is from Borrego Springs said he is working 30 hours a week in addition to attending school full-time. He said he is supporting himself and living with roommates to lessen his parents’ financial burden.

“The scholarship gives me some breathing room between my paychecks so I don’t have to worry so much,” he said.

More information about the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges is available at http://foundation.gcccd.edu/ or by contacting Executive Director of Development Erich Foeckler at erich.foeckler@gcccd.edu.

Scholarship winner follows family tradition as Grossmont College student

February 16, 2017, 11:01 am

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Grossmont College student Tareen Mekany is dedicated to serving others in need. The 19-year-old Spring Valley resident volunteered for three years at Sharp Grossmont Hospital while still in high school, and she has spent the past 18 months volunteering at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center and Rady Children’s Hospital, along with Habitat for Humanity.

“It’s rewarding to help others who are going through various challenges,” Tareen said. “I probably get as much out of it as anyone.”

Tareen’s dedication to helping others while herself overcoming an array of challenges – all while working part time, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, and taking part in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society – led the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Community Colleges to award her a Jack McAuley Memorial Scholarship as she prepares to continue her educational journey she hopes will lead to a Ph.D. in psychology. She was among the students honored during a Feb. 11 event at Grossmont College for their academic accomplishments.

“Tareen is a motivated, inspiring, hard-working young woman who does so much in serving her community and the community at large,” said Sylvia Montejano, an EOPS counselor/professor who has known the Mekany family for years and who sang at Tareen’s First Communion. “She is just an outstanding individual who represents the best of Grossmont College.”

A first-generation American, Tareen’s parents fled Iraq following the 1990 Gulf War. “It was just too dangerous for them to continue living there,” Tareen said. “My mom always talked about how difficult it was even after the war, about how they would be asleep and hear the bombs going off. So they left for Jordan with hopes of coming to the United States.”

It wasn’t easy. Tareen’s parents and an older brother, who was 2 at the time, lived in Amman until Tareen’s father could move in with relatives in El Cajon. Tareen’s mother and brother, however, had to stay behind for three years until they could finally secure a visa to join him.

The hardships were many.

“They had to leave everything behind, they couldn’t bring any of their belongings with them,” Tareen said. “We had nothing when I was growing up.

“It’s difficult for people to grasp the challenges that refugees and immigrants have to face, not the least of which is trying to find your way in a totally different culture,” Tareen said. “You basically have to start from zero.”

Both parents, however, were determined. Tareen’s mother enrolled at Cuyamaca College, earned an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree in environmental engineering from National University, and now works as an environmental specialist at SDG&E. Tareen’s father took a similar route, enrolling at Grossmont College (where he worked with Montejano as a student in the EOPS office) before transferring to San Diego State University for his business degree.

The lesson for Tareen was clear. Education is the key, and Grossmont College was a gateway to a better life. Tareen will graduate from Grossmont College this spring, and plans to transfer to San Diego State University next fall. She wants to either work as a clinical psychologist or as a school counselor.

“I can’t say enough about Grossmont College,” she said. “And as much as I’d love to, I can’t take total credit for the grades that I’m getting because I wouldn’t have succeeded if it weren’t for the awesome support I’ve received. Grossmont helped me discover who I am and the people here let me know that whatever I wanted to do and whatever I field I wanted to study, they would be there for me.”

$1.5 M state Promise grant to help high school-to-college transition

February 22, 2017, 1:46 pm

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East County educators are celebrating a $1.5 million state grant to further the work of the East County Education Alliance, a three-year partnership between the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College and Grossmont Union High School districts to help students make the transition to higher education.

As one of only 14 community college districts statewide to garner the California College Promise Innovation Grant from the state Chancellor’s Office, district officials say the funding affirms the collaborative efforts of East County’s public education entities.

“This is fabulous news,” said college district Chancellor Cindy L. Miles, “To have been awarded the maximum $1.5 million is great recognition for our years of work in building the East County Education Alliance. These funds allow our districts to continue the innovative work that will open unprecedented opportunities for high school students in East County.”


The two-year grant will fund the Alliance’s Jumpstart Program, which will include outreach efforts like college campus visits, Parent Nights, mentoring programs and career workshops to introduce ninth through 12th-grade students to the demands and expectations of college and careers. It will also be used for an online student support and data collection system to improve student retention and completion rates.

The cornerstone of the Alliance, created in 2014 to smooth the transition between high school and college, is the Higher Edge Promise Scholarship, which will offer a free year of classes at Grossmont or Cuyamaca College to high school graduates, beginning with the class of 2019, who follow the Jumpstart steps to receive a Higher Edge Promise Scholarship.

The promise scholarship was created to provide a pathway to higher education and to better prepare students for college by increased articulation between the college and high school districts.

The Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges has launched a major philanthropic effort to establish an endowment so that the Higher Edge Promise Scholarship will continue in perpetuity. In addition to funding the Jumpstart Program, the state Promise Grant will provide $100,000 for the scholarships.

The Alliance is unique in that its work is much broader than offering a free year of college, a factor that is believed to have played heavily in the college district’s favor in competing for the Promise grant. In addition to offering the scholarship, the college and high school districts are working to better align their curricula, developing programs to engage and encourage high school students to attend college, and increasing dual enrollment efforts so more students can take college classes while still in high school. The districts are also developing programs that will engage parents and the community with the Alliance’s work.

“The East County Education Alliance is such important work for Grossmont Union High School District's high school students,” Superintendent Tim Glover said. “The California College Promise Innovation Grant provides hope to our students, guiding them toward greater access and a clearer path to their futures.”

As outlined by the state Chancellor’s Office, the College Promise programs “are partnerships which align local K-12 school districts, community colleges, and public university segments to provide clear pathways for students to follow in order to achieve their educational goals.”

The grant will brought before the state community colleges Board of Governors March 20-21 for formal approval.

For more information about the work of the East County Education Alliance, go to www.eastcountyeducationalliance.org. To donate to the Higher Edge Promise, go to www.higheredgepromise.org

Cuyamaca College Spring Concert Series kicks off Feb. 24

February 23, 2017, 11:04 am

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A celebration of black history that includes music, dance, spoken word and theater performances takes center stage when the annual Spring Concert Series gets underway Friday, Feb. 24, at Cuyamaca College.

Some of the performances are timed so students in Cuyamaca College music courses can hear live presentations of what they’re learning in class. An April 30 concert is presented by the Early San Diego Music Society. A May 6 event, the Coyote Music Festival, is presented by students in the Music Industry Studies program and includes a several local bands.

“The Spring Concert Series is a tradition at Cuyamaca College that continues to provide larger East County community an opportunity to experience an enriching array of cultural experiences,” said Taylor Smith, who serves as chair of the Performing Arts program.

All but the Coyote Music Festival take place at the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theatre. Following is a list of scheduled performances. Admission to all concerts is $8, or $5 for students and seniors, unless otherwise noted.

• Friday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. As part of Black History Month at Cuyamaca College is “Moments,” a production showcasing the accomplishments of such notables as Michelle Obama, Etta James, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, the Tuskegee Airmen, and others. Directed by the brother-and-sister team of Robert J. Chambers and Sakeenah Gallardo -- both educators and college district alumni -- the two-hour program will include hip-hop, scenes from plays by African-Americans, poetry readings, film clips, stage scenes and musical performances. The program includes adult themes and language. General admission tickets are $8, $6 for students with ID.
• Monday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. The Matt Smith Neu Jazz Trio – with Matthew Elton
  Smith on drums, Edward Kornhauser on piano and Mackenzie Leighton on bass – performs contemporary jazz originals and arrangements. This up-and-coming group pushes the polyrhythmic mind to the limit from beat one.
• Monday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. Kembang Sunda, led by Cuyamaca College music instructor Amy Hacker, performs traditional Sundanese music from West Java. Gamelan ensembles developed in the ancient courts of Java and Bali, and primarily consist of tuned bronze percussive instruments
• Thursday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. The Cuyamaca College Choir, directed by Paul Infantino, is set for the first of two spring concerts. The Cuyamaca College choir performs contemporary and standard choral works both on campus and in the larger East County community.
• Wednesday, March 22, 7:30 p.m. Violinist Alexandra Keegan and pianist Justin Gray perform sonatas for violin and piano. Keegan is a Cuyamaca College instructor and conductor of the East County Youth Symphony. Gray is the music director of the Welk Resorts - San Diego Theatre, as well as the chairman and founder of the San Diego Interfaith Choir and Orchestra.
• Thursday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. The Martin Martirena Quintet brings a lively rendition of contemporary jazz fusion to its debut appearance at Cuyamaca College’s Performing Arts Theatre. 
• Thursday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. The incomparable Mariachi Real de San Diego is back. Founded in 1978, this band has established itself as a mariachi leader and has performed in movies, television and commercials, in addition to the Super Bowl, World Series and Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. 
• Sunday, April 30, 3 p.m. Presented by the San Diego Early Music Society, Grammy Award nominees Paul O’Dette & Ronn McFarlane will perform virtuoso lute duets from Italy and England, where the lute duet achieved its greatest heights. Tickets range from $18 to $30, and can be purchased at the door or through the San Diego Early Music Society at sdems.tix.com. Students, faculty and staff are being offered $10 “rush” tickets at the door.
• Saturday, May 6, noon to 4 p.m. The annual Coyote Music Festival returns to
  Cuyamaca College on the Grand Lawn. Now in its ninth year, the entirely student-run festival provides the community with a free afternoon of live music. The festival also culminates a semester worth of work for students studying music, technology, recording, and business. This event is free and open to the public.
• Tuesday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. The Cuyamaca College Concert Band, directed by James Sepulvado, performs its high quality classical music for wind instruments. The ensemble consists of college students, high school students and community members who share a passion for music and a philosophy of expressive wind band playing.
• Friday, May 12, 7:30 p.m. The Cuyamaca College Rock, Pop & Soul Ensemble, under the direction of Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Department Chair Taylor Smith, performs Synchronicity, the fifth and final studio album of English rock band The Police. The band’s most successful release, the album includes the hit singles Every Breath You Take and Wrapped Around Your Finger.
• Thursday, May 18, 7:30 p.m. The Cuyamaca College Choir, directed by Paul
  Infantino, returns for an encore spring performance. The Cuyamaca College choir performs contemporary and standard choral works both on campus and in the larger East County community.
• Monday, May 22, 7:30 p.m. Zimbeat, a San Diego-based ensemble, will perform the dynamic village music of Zimbabwe that is based on the Shona people’s traditional instrument, the mbira Dzavadzimu. Zimbeat is a two-time nominee for the San Diego Music Awards.
• Tuesday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. The Cuyamaca College and Grossmont College Concert Band combine for the final event in this year’s Spring Concert Series. The bands, each comprising about 40 musicians, will showcase several concert band masterpieces.

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego, 92019. For further information, call (619) 660-4627, or visit www.cuyamaca.edu/performingarts

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Alan Kassab: Overcoming challenges to thrive at Cuyamaca College

February 23, 2017, 1:30 pm

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Alan Kassab

Alan Kassab has seen more than his share of challenges. A father losing his business. His family losing their home to foreclosure. His parents enduring a difficult divorce. But today, Kassab is thriving at Cuyamaca College, where he is president of the Engineering Club and involved with student government. 

Topping it all off, the Valhalla High School graduate last year took part in a prestigious NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Program at the NASA Aero Institute in Palmdale. 

“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “And it motivated me to continue pursuing my goal of becoming an aerospace engineer.” 

Kassab’s dedication resulted in a $500 Barnes and Noble Scholarship from the Foundation for Grossmont and Cuyamaca Colleges, and he was one of 132 recipients honored during a recent gala at Grossmont College recognizing students’ accomplishments. 

“I’m really thankful,” Kassab said. “Engineering books are really expensive. I wouldn’t be able to afford them had it not been for this scholarship.” 

Kassab is on track to earn an associate degree in engineering in 2018. Ultimately, he’d like to secure either a master’s degree or a Ph.D. His goal: running his own aerospace engineering company.  

He got a taste of the future when taking part in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Program. The program provides students focusing on STEM studies an authentic NASA experience while encouraging them to complete their associate degree and transfer to a four-year university en route to a NASA-related career. Participants engage in numerous webinars, plan a mission to Mars, work on a team project mentored by NASA engineers, tour NASA facilities, compete in a robotics contest and attend briefings conducted by leaders in their field. 

Kassab has left an impression on more than a few people at Cuyamaca College. 

“Alan is a go-getter and a leader,” said engineering instructor Duncan McGhehee. “He’s pretty involved on campus and I’m sure he’ll be successful in his endeavors.” 

It hasn’t always been easy. Kassab, 22, has struggled in school in the past. He has been at Cuyamaca College since the fall of 2012, but he says he became more determined, and focused in the months leading up to the NASA experience.  

“I’m going to do whatever I need for as long as I need to get me to where I want to be,” said Kassab, who praised the support he has received at Cuyamaca. 

“I really like the environment. Pretty much everyone here is super friendly. The entire staff is here to help you. The instructors are willing to meet with you after class. You just get a sense that people care.”

 

 

Iveth Estrada: Mexican immigrant becoming a leader at Cuyamaca College

February 26, 2017, 9:00 am

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Iveth Estrada

Iveth Estrada didn’t know she was an undocumented immigrant until shortly before she enrolled at Cuyamaca College. She didn’t know while growing up with her family in Spring Valley. She didn’t know while competing with the varsity swim and water polo teams at Monte Vista High School.  

“I only found out when I was talking to my mom about getting a job and she told me, ‘Well, you need a Social Security card for that and you were born in Mexico,’” said Estrada, who would learn she was brought across the border from Acapulco shortly after celebrating her first birthday. 

Today, despite growing anti-immigrant fervor, Estrada has found a home at Cuyamaca College. She is thriving academically, she has spearheaded the formation of a new United Dreamers club, and she is laying the groundwork to secure a master’s degree and launch a career as a clinical psychologist. 

In many ways, she is the face of the undocumented college student in California. 

“Inspiring, tenacious, and resilient are just some of the many adjectives I would use to describe Iveth Estrada,” said Mary Garcia, a Cuyamaca College counselor. “She is a natural leader and an asset to her community on and off campus. As an undocumented student, she has had not only academic but also personal barriers, yet she manages to overcome them semester by semester. I truly don’t know how she does it, given the political climate in our country.” 

Estrada is among the estimated 741,000 students nationwide who have benefitted from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy enacted by the Obama administration that allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable, two-year period free from deportation and be eligible to work. But Estrada’s amnesty under DACA expires in March 2018, and she is uncertain of her future with a new presidential administration pledging to crack down on illegal immigration. 

“Right now, I basically have permission to go to school and work here until next year, but after that, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Estrada said. “Are they going to pull me out of school? Take my education away? Are they going to put me in a country that I’ve never really lived in before? I don’t know anything about Mexico. What about my little sisters? They were born here, so I guess they would stay. But if my mom and I are deported, does that mean they would be orphans? It’s unsettling. It’s crazy.” 

Despite the distractions, Estrada is excelling in the classroom and as a student engagement ambassador helping the Office of Student Affairs coordinate various cultural events. 

“Cuyamaca College is fortunate to have students such as Iveth who are passionate about their beliefs and determined to get a good college education,” said Lauren Vaknin, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, who serves as Estrada’s supervisor.  

An average student at Monte Vista High School, Estrada almost didn’t make it to Cuyamaca College. “I wasn’t even aware of what college was,” she said. “I just thought you had to graduate from high school and that was it.” 

When representatives from Cuyamaca’s former First Year Experience program – now called the Pathway Academy - visited Monte Vista, Estrada learned otherwise. “They told me all about the college, how to apply, how to take the assessments,” she said. “I wasn’t prepared to go to a university. I never took an SAT test; I didn’t even know what it was. Cuyamaca was affordable, it was accessible, so it made perfect sense.” 

Estrada said tt was the best decision she’s made in her 19 years. “I’m thankful to be here,” she said. “Academically, it’s amazing. I have a job to help support myself, and I’m working with counselors who are incredible.” 

Estrada’s goal is to transfer to a University of California campus after earning her associate degree at Cuyamaca College, then secure a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in psychology before becoming a clinical psychologist. 

She is on track to graduate from Cuyamaca in spring 2018. Until then, she’ll be plenty busy as president of the nascent United Dreamers. 

“It’s primarily a way to provide a safe space for undocumented students,” Estrada said. “We give them a place to talk, a place to support each other and maybe put on some events.” 

“It’s sad, but a lot of undocumented students are looked at as criminals,” Estrada continued. “But nothing could be further from the truth. I came here as a baby and I had no idea I wasn’t an American citizen until recently. We’re people like anybody else who are looking for a good education and an opportunity to succeed.”

 

Community College AlumniFest: A ticket to celebrate

February 28, 2017, 8:48 am

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For the second year in a row, community college alum in San Diego and Imperial counties have a big reason to celebrate and to have more fun than you can shake a hockey stick at. On Saturday, March 25, community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties are throwing Community College AlumniFest, hosted by California Coast Credit Union and the San Diego Gulls hockey club.

Community College AlumniFest will feature a pregame Bud Light Tailgate bash beginning at 5 p.m. followed by the Gulls vs. the Bakersfield Condors at 7 p.m. for just $10, about half the price of a regular ticket. And for those who are game at trying their luck, everyone who buys an AlumniFest ticket will get a chance to win airfare for two and a four-day stay at a Caribbean resort in the Dominican Republic. Participants need not be present to win and the results will be announced the following day via email.

Anyone who took even a single community college class is considered an alum and is welcome to join the fun, along with family and friends, at Valley View Casino Center, at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., in San Diego.

Attendees will be able to connect with community college friends at the AlumniFest pregame party in the north entry parking lot that will feature family-friendly games, giveaways and prizes, a Kid Zone, $5 Bud Lights, food for purchase from the neighboring Banzai Bar, and more. New this year is the exclusive on-ice suite ticket for $100 per person, which reserves a coveted on-ice spectator seat behind glass with access to the private Stella Artois Lounge. Parking is $15, cash only. Go to the San Diego MTS trip planner for assistance with taking public transit.

AlumniFest is hosted by California Coast Credit Union and the San Diego Gulls Hockey Club and is made possible with the support of additional sponsors, including Wendy’s.

“This is a fun and easy-on-the-wallet way for people to show their pride and support of the community colleges in our region that have opened opportunities and changed the lives of so many,” said Erich Foeckler, executive director of development of the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges.

Local community colleges are: Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges in East County; City, Mesa, Miramar colleges, along with San Diego Continuing Education, in the city of San Diego; Southwestern College in South County; and MiraCosta and Palomar colleges in North County. Imperial Valley College is in Imperial County.

Tickets are nonrefundable and are selling exclusively online at www.alumnifest.org

For more information, contact Kerri Ewing at kerri.ewing@gcccd.edu or call (619) 644-7883.

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College events marking Women's History Month

March 8, 2017, 4:36 pm

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Books and posters on display at the Cuyamaca College library.

Established nationally by Congress in 1987, Women’s History Month will be celebrated at Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges with a variety of events, including presentations on feminist issues, a movie about the suffrage movement, a workshop on human trafficking, a donation drive for high school prom dresses, and more.

Grossmont College’s new chapter of the American Association of University Women is sponsoring two events:

·       Wednesday, March 15, 2-3:30, Room 575:

“Women’s Rights? What Are Those?”  -- Thought-provoking presentations and a discussion about barriers to equality that still exist for women, especially regarding their health.

·       Thursday, March 16, 10:45 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Main Quad: 

“How Do I Get Involved?” – A Community Service Outreach Fair at Grossmont College will feature information tables and representatives of a wide range of volunteer organizations and opportunities in San Diego County. The event is being held to encourage students and others to find out how to make a difference in the community while gaining valuable work experience for resumes. Groups like Planned Parenthood, Border Angels, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Alliance San Diego and other organizations working on the environment, social justice and equality, migration and immigration, education and other issues will be represented.

·       Monday-Thursday, March 20-23, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the ASGC Office:

A donation drive is being held for new or used formal gowns/cocktail dresses to donate to the El Cajon Library in support of its Gown Giveaway event to help local high school girls in need of attire for upcoming spring formals. Dresses should be clean and in good condition. Drop off at the Associated Students of Grossmont College (ASGC) office in Griffin Center (Building 60) between 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Thursday.

 Cuyamaca College will host a series of events, starting with a Women’s History Month display being held on the first floor of the library, Building C, throughout the month.

·       Wednesday, March 15, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Cross Cultural Center, Room I-124 in the Student Center:

A College Hour workshop on human trafficking will be presented by Tanis King Starck, assistant dean of the College of Education at San Diego State University, who developed the first Cultural Competency Certificate Program at a California state university.

The presentation is intended to bring attention to and answer questions about the growing epidemic of human trafficking. Learn what human trafficking is and how it has become viewed as modern-day slavery. In addition to providing information, the presentation will encourage students to take action to battle the problem.

·       Thursday, March 16, 1:30-3:30 pm, Student Center, Room I-207:

“Celebrating Women Writers”: English Department Chair Lauren Halsted Burroughs and English instructor Tania Jabour will introduce faculty members from multiple disciplines as they read selections from their favorite female writers who represent a diversity of cultures and periods in history.

·       Tuesday, March 21, noon to 2 p.m., Room F-505:

English Department faculty will present an interactive workshop, “Intersectional Feminism,” which will address the history of feminism and the question of why intersectionality is important. Also discussed will be the roles people play in the feminist movement.

·       Tuesday, March 21, 2-4:30 p.m. Digital Theater, Building B:

History instructor Moriah Gonzalez-Meeks will present a movie screening of “Iron-Jawed Angels,” a historical drama starring Hilary Swank and Frances O’Connor about the women's suffrage movement in the early 1900s.

·       Thursday, March 23, 2-4 p.m. Student Center, Room I-207:

Counselor Mary Garcia will present a workshop, “From Bossy to Boss: Encouraging Women’s Confidence and Assertiveness,” to discuss the myths, misconceptions, and challenges of what it means to be a leader. Students will be encouraged to take part in an open discussion on leadership, activism, media, arts, culture, religion, power, privilege, politics, and motherhood. 

All events are free and open to the public.

Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon. Cuyamaca College is located at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.

For more information about Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges, go to www.gcccd.edu

'Things We Carry' sculptures at Grossmont College's Hyde Gallery

March 10, 2017, 9:22 am

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"Angel of Transfiguration"

"The Fall"

The bronze sculptures of artist Joseph Castle will be on display at an exhibit, “Things We Carry,” opening Monday, March 13, and continuing through Tuesday, April 25, at the Hyde Art Gallery in Building 25 at Grossmont College.

Sponsored by Grossmont College’s World Arts and Cultures Committee, “Things We Carry” consists of 15 bronze wall reliefs, conceptualized and fabricated by Castle. With the largest pieces measuring 8 feet tall, the sculptures are static and extremely heavy. Still, they emit a sense of movement.

By incorporating and arranging animal remnants into the bronze casting process, the artist creates haunting scenes of floating biomorphic shapes, like mastodons emerging partially intact from the La Brea Tar Pits.

The sculptures invoke different archetypical narratives, addressing the sometimes subconscious symbols found throughout mythology and religion to explore themes of life, death, and transcendence.






“The concept for this series derives from ancient myths and sagas, which I believe are part of the collective human history,” the Santa Ynez artist said. “To observe these myths and rituals, various traditions use masks. I have replaced the mask with animal remnants to develop and symbolize psychological and mythological meaning.”

The show title, “Things We Carry,” acknowledges the concept of subjective truth found in Tim O’Brien’s wartime novel, “The Things They Carried,” but also speaks to the different physical forms and belief systems that people carry around. The works point to external façades and sometimes conflicting notions of reality and perceptions.

An artist’s reception is set for 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, with live music and refreshments.

The reception and gallery admission is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact gallery director, Alex DeCosta at (619) 644-7299 or alex.decosta@gcccd.edu

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and by appointment on Fridays. The gallery is closed on Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. One-day parking permits for $2 can be purchased at any parking lot vending machine.

A free parking pass is available on the evening of the reception by entering code 6524 into any machine.

Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, 92020.

East County college faculty lauded for service to students, campuses

March 10, 2017, 11:04 am

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Two instructors at Cuyamaca College and a counselor at Grossmont College have been honored for their contributions to their campuses and commitment to student success.

Theresa “T” Ford, a counselor and adjunct instructor at Grossmont College, received the President’s Leadership Award.  At Cuyamaca College, math instructor Katherine Naimark and Child Development instructor and program coordinator Kristin Zink received the 2017 Awards for Teaching Excellence.

 "The deep and abiding commitment of our faculty to the success of our students shines through in all that they do,” said Cindy L. Miles, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. “The winners of these coveted awards exemplify what makes our instructors and counselors at both colleges so very special. Our fundament mission is to serve students and they have made a difference in the lives of so many.”

Theresa "T" Ford

T Ford

In a repeat of her 1997 win, Theresa “T” Ford is this semester’s recipient of the President’s Leadership Award, one of the Grossmont’s highest honors recognizing distinguished service to the college. She shared her plaudit 20 years ago with Claudia Thompson, counselor emerita, for her role in implementing a college success program targeting first-year students.

Grossmont College President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh described Ford as an innovative leader, a student-centered educator and an advocate for equity and diversity. In 2009 was selected for the Distinguished Faculty Award and also received an Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2007, she helped establish Umoja (an African word for unity),  a learning resource at Grossmont College that is part of a statewide program designed to bolster African-American students with counseling support, peer mentoring, and cultural and educational field trips

In her acceptance speech, Ford expressed her gratitude for working with dedicated co-workers at Grossmont College. A photo montage also paid tribute to many who mentored and nurtured her in her career as a counselor at the college since 1988 and as an adjunct instructor since 1995 in the English and Cross-Cultural Studies departments.

Social justice is a running theme in Ford’s life. As a college student in Illinois, she worked on behalf of at-risk young people sentenced to the state’s correctional facilities. She served for a time as a legal researcher for the public defender’s office and a battered women’s legal clinic. Ford is also a certified mediator trained by the National Conflict Resolution Center.

She holds a bachelor’s in political science, two master’s degrees in ethnic studies and counselor education, and a doctorate in law from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. She credits her parents, Edwynne and Virginia Ford, who live outside Chicago, as her first mentors and role models.

“Growing up, the walls of our home were filled with honors and awards related to fighting for civil and human rights,” she said during her acceptance speech. With a nod to past generations of former slaves in her family, Ford closed her speech with a line from poet Maya Angelou: “I am the hope and the dream of the slave.”
  
Kristin Zink

Kristen Zink

More than 45 years at the front of a classroom have not dimmed Kristin Zink’s love of teaching, first as a graduate assistant in Child Development at San Diego State University in the early ‘70s, then as a part-time instructor at several colleges before she became a full-time faculty member at Cuyamaca College in 1991.

 “I knew I was at home,” she said.

The chair of Child Development recalls a time when the program was called Nursery School Training. Regulatory changes have upped the requirements and certifications for her students to enter the field as preschool aides and teachers. Those wanting to advance as directors of daycare facilities typically now require bachelor’s degrees.

The San Diego State University alumna holds two master’s degrees, including one in special education from what was then Point Loma Nazarene College. She said the need for more education is one reason she is excited about a new baccalaureate program at in child development offered at Cuyamaca College through an agreement the college has signed with Point Loma Nazarene University.

 “What’s been most rewarding to me are the opening and growth and excellence of our Child Development Center and the concurrent growth and professionalism of our child development program,” Zink said. She was previously honored with an award for Teaching Excellence in 1994 and a President’s Award in 2001 in recognition of her role in making the college’s Child Development Center a reality.

Opened in August 2001, the center serves a dual purpose as a preschool for youngsters from the campus and the community,  and as a fieldwork site for students in the Child Development program.

Katherine Naimark

Katherine Naimark

Adjunct math instructor Katherine Naimark has taught at Cuyamaca College for less than two years, but in that short time her impact has been felt. As an adjunct instructor at San Diego City, Miramar and Grossmont colleges as well as at Cuyamaca College, Naimark has a keen understanding of the mission of community colleges and needs of students.

Born and raised in Moscow, Russia in a family of mathematicians, scientists and engineers, Naimark has childhood memories of brain puzzles at the dinner table and challenging friends in math contests at school. After moving with her family to Israel, she continued her pursuit of math in college, earning a bachelor’s in mathematics and physics from Tel Aviv University, and a master’s and a doctorate in math from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

In 2001, she moved to Texas and accepted her first teaching position at the University of Texas at Austin. Two years later she moved to North Carolina to teach at the historically black North Carolina Central University, an eye-opening and transforming experience.

“My NC Central students didn’t come from elite high schools; they were underprivileged African-American students, struggling with loathsome fractions in aspirations to get a college degree – and a better life,” she said. “I was furious with the inequalities that life had thrown them, but I admired these students’ spirit. I rolled up my sleeves and started doing my best to help them with what they needed so badly: making sense of math, seeing its usefulness, and maybe even its beauty.”

Fifteen years later, Naimark is taking on the same challenges at Cuyamaca College, transforming underprepared students into those capable of college-level math. Twice a week for three hours each evening, students in her accelerated statistics class work together in groups, accomplishing what was thought to be impossible: passing a transfer-level math class in just one semester.

Naimark credits fellow math faculty at Cuyamaca College for spearheading an accelerated learning approach that allows basic-skills students to enroll in college-level and remedial classes at the same time. It has proven to be a winning formula, with students quickly advancing to college-level work and avoiding the extra semesters of remedial math that were previously required. 

Naimark said she is humbled by winning the adjunct Award for Teaching Excellence, and honored by her students’ praise.

Grossmont College grad takes case to the U.S. Supreme Court

March 11, 2017, 8:00 am

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It’s a long way from Grossmont College to the United States Supreme Court, but that’s where Simon Tam has found himself. 



Simon Tam at the U.S. Supreme Court

The former Grossmont College student and his Asian-American rock group, The Slants, are challenging a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office decision denying the band’s trademark of its name based on a 1946 law barring the federal registration of labels or brands it considers “scandalous, immoral, or disparaging.” The Slants performs up to 150 shows annually across North America, Europe and Asia, and describes its work as part art and part activism, often infusing performances with discussions about social justice and inequality. 

“The Slants is about re-appropriating a term and using it to talk about our slant on life, our perspective on what it’s like to be Asian-American in this country,” said the musician and serial entrepreneur who enrolled at Grossmont College’s audio engineering program after graduating from Monte Vista High School in 1999. 

The Portland, Ore.-based Slants have been fighting the government in court since after the group’s attorney suggested the successful band apply to trademark its name. That was in 2009. The following year they learned the Patent and Trademark Office had turned them down. 

“We were told we couldn’t trademark the name because it disparaged people of Asian descent,” Tam said. “We decided to appeal.” A circuit court agreed with The Slants, saying the Patent and Trademark Office’s decision violated the band’s First Amendment rights. The government appealed, and oral arguments were presented before the Supreme Court in January. A decision is expected in June. 

“Every single step of this process has been enormously expensive,” Tam said. “If it hadn’t been for the gracious and generous pro bono work done by a number of attorneys and other experts who believe in our cause, our expenses would have reached well into $1 million. As it is, we have spent tens of thousands of dollars from our own pockets.” 

Tam’s journey began in San Diego, growing up in North Park and Clairemont before moving with his family to Spring Valley. An advanced student, Tam opted to enroll at Grossmont College after graduating from Monte Vista. 



Simon Tam performing

“It’s a much better value than going straight to a four-year college or university,” he said. “But mostly I went there because of the small class sizes and working with professors with real-world experience. And the techniques I learned in the audio engineering program have, in many ways, profoundly impacted what we’re doing today with our music. 

“Not only did Grossmont College help prepare me for my future career, it also offered specialized technical courses that weren’t offered at any four-year university,” Tam continued. “Getting into classes that I needed for my transfer wasn’t a struggle. The instructors were passionate and always had time to assist every student.” 

After leaving Grossmont College, Tam earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and his MBA from Marylhurst University, just outside Portland. Although he is a driving force behind The Slants, he also works as marketing director for the Oregon Environmental Council, and is an author and a speaker who has developed equity and inclusion trainings for several public agencies and corporations. In addition, Tam is an adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at Portland Community College and Marylhurst University.  

For the past several years, The Slants has been front and center. He is listed as the founder and executive director of The Slants LLC, and the group advertises itself as the world’s first and only all Asian-American dance rock band, refers to its sound as Chinatown Dance Rock, and often appears at anime conventions around the world. As the group’s marketing guru, Tam has created strategic partnerships with Red Bull, Fender Guitars, Gibson Guitars and more. 

After nearly a decade in a legal battle against the United States government, Tam says that despite the cost, the effort has been worth it. 

“Hopefully, this will bring more attention to the social justice issues that we are trying to promote.”

 

5 from college district receive national awards for community college excellence

March 13, 2017, 4:37 pm

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Four instructors from Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges and an administrator from the East County community college district are recipients of a national award recognizing community college teaching and leadership.
 
Grossmont College art history professor Marion de Koning, and Administration of Justice instructor Shaun Donelson; Cuyamaca College English instructor Lauren Halsted and math instructor Terrie Nichols; and the district’s director of Campus and Parking Services Nicole Conklin will be presented with the John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Awards March 12 at a conference in San Francisco that drew community college representatives from across the nation.


The award is from the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international consortium of community colleges and their districts, and 160 corporate partners. Recipients are honored at special events at the League’s Innovations conference each spring.

The award, which was launched in 2012, is named after the president of the Roueche Graduate Center at National American University, and his wife, a senior lecturer in the department of Educational Administration at the University of Texas at Austin from 2000-2012. The two academic scholars – authors of dozens of books and hundreds of articles about community college leadership -- have partnered with the League for Innovation on numerous community college initiatives in the past 38 years.

 “The inventive spirit and vision of the League for Innovation is reflected in this superlative team of community college leaders whose dedication and resourcefulness have contributed hugely to the success of our students and colleges,” said Cindy L. Miles, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, and former chief operating officer for the League.

Marion de Koning
An art historian and a Grossmont College instructor for 18 years, Marion de Koning’s credentials as an art scholar are as impressive as her multilingual abilities. The Netherlands native emigrated to the United States in the mid-‘80s, earning her associate degree from Palomar College, her bachelor’s and master’s in art history from San Diego State University and her doctorate, also in art history, from the University of Southern California.

Marion de Koning

The Phi Beta Kappa member speaks English, Dutch, French, German and conversational Spanish.

 De Koning, who received a Distinguished Faculty Award last fall at Grossmont College, is credited for her efforts to develop an associate degree for transfer in art history at Grossmont and is also lauded for her service as an honor society advisor, Study Abroad coordinator, Academic Senate officer, and her extensive committee work.

Now serving as chair of the Visual Arts and Humanities Department, de Koning’s career as an educator began in 1975 as an elementary school teacher in her native country and as a cultural guide for Study Abroad programs in Europe. Although she has a master’s degree from a teacher’s college in the Netherlands, she started her U.S. education as a community college student to gain writing proficiency.

The multifaceted lives and challenges faced by community college students continue to motivate her as an educator, said de Koning, who in 2010 received Grossmont College’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

 “The impact I am able to have on them as an educator, in addition to the support of my colleagues and the strength of the arts program, are what have kept me here,” she said.

 Shaun Donelson
With 31 years in law enforcement, including 22 with the San Diego Police Department, Grossmont College Administration of Justice instructor Shaun Donelson engages his students and Police Academy cadets with real-world scenarios that are both thought-provoking and challenging.

Shaun Donelson

During his career with the San Diego Police Department, Donelson received a dozen citations for exceptional service and performance as a police officer, detective, sergeant and training coordinator. He continues to receive plaudits in his second career at Grossmont, where he was lauded last fall with the adjunct Distinguished Faculty Award. A community college alum, he began as an instructor’s assistant at Grossmont College 25 years ago, eventually becoming the lead instructor for the police academy and later expanding his role as an adjunct AOJ faculty member.

Three years ago, Donelson began teaching an introductory AOJ course in the Freshman Academy, a Grossmont College program that provides mentoring, counseling and academic support to first-year students. In addition to learning the Freshman Academy’s unique approach to collaborative teaching, Donelson also took the time to do outreach to high schools students in underserved communities.

“I find Grossmont College to be a very nurturing, supportive and pleasing environment for both staff and students,” Donelson said. “My priority is my students and helping them understand that, with effort, they can accomplish anything.”

Terrie Nichols
Cuyamaca College math instructor Terrie Nichols’ teaching innovations since her hiring in 1995 have set many remedial students on an accelerated path to successfully complete college-level math. The state awarded the college a $1.5 million Basic Skills Student Outcomes Transformation Grant a year ago, the result of a grant-writing effort led by Nichols. She was also instrumental in the award of a nearly $2.6 million grant to Cuyamaca College funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.

Terrie Nichols

 “I have been on an unyielding quest to implement accelerated learning in math, English, and ESL at Cuyamaca,” she said last fall when she and English instructor Lauren Halsted were announced as co-winners of the Outstanding Faculty Member Award. “Before Cuyamaca College launched this effort to successfully get basic-skills students into college-level classes, the old approach to remediation frustrated many students because of the extra time it took for them to make any progress. Adopting new approaches like concurrent learning that allows students to enroll in college-level and remedial classes at the same time has proven to be a game-changer.”

Nichols is a passionate community college advocate because she experienced its life-changing effect firsthand. She said it’s because of Cuyamaca College that she is where she is today.

Divorced with two young boys and pregnant with her third, Nichols returned to school in her late 20s, enrolling at Cuyamaca College. With no job skills, she viewed Cuyamaca as an opportunity to improve her lot in life. The move proved transformational.

“A counselor placed me into an English class and an elementary algebra class that first semester,” she said. “While watching the instructor prove the quadratic formula in that basic skills math class, I fell in love with math and decided right then and there that I wanted to be a math teacher – and more specifically a math teacher at Cuyamaca College.”

So intent was Nichols on attaining her goal that after earning her bachelor’s and master’s in pure mathematics from San Diego State University, she took a job as a secretary, biding her time until a Cuyamaca teaching position became available.

“I refused to apply for a teaching job at another college,” she said. She was hired as a math professor in fall 1995.

Lauren Halsted
Hired as an adjunct faculty member in 2005, English instructor Lauren Halsted became full-time in 2008, melding teaching with service on numerous committees.

Lauren Halsted

Like Nichols in the math department, Halsted has been at the forefront of Cuyamaca’s accelerated learning initiatives since 2011. Her doctoral research, which showed that students were frustrated with traditional approaches to developmental education, sparked her interest in accelerated learning. Over the years, she has helped shepherd English acceleration by writing curricula, teaching the new classes, and leading training efforts in the English department.

Aspiring to become a writer and teacher, the Orange County native earned her bachelor’s in English from UC Santa Barbara and after a three-year writing stint at a surfing magazine and the Tahoe Daily Tribune, she returned to school for a master’s in English literature from San Francisco State University.

She moved to San Diego in 2005, becoming an adjunct instructor at several community colleges.

“I quickly fell in love with Cuyamaca because of the people here—our students and the faculty, staff, and administrative team,” said Halsted, who in 2011 earned her doctorate in education from San Diego State University’s Community College Leadership program. “It truly feels like a family here, and I am honored to work with such amazing people every day.”

Nicole Conklin
As the Campus and Parking Services (CAPS) director since 2014, Nicole Conklin oversees the department at the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District that provides parking enforcement and services including safety escorts, room unlocks/locks, and lost-and-found at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.

Nicole Conklin

Conklin, who worked as a planner for the city of Binghamton and an assistant director of capital projects at Binghamton University before her current job, sees her primary responsibility as ensuring that students and employees are safe and that visitors feel welcome to attend college events.

In the short time the Binghamton University alumna has been with the college district, Conklin has accomplished much, including developing innovative training for CAPS and other employees; implementing new technology to improve customer service; launching the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Council; improving auditing procedures to ensure compliance with state laws and regulations relating to parking enforcement; working with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department to improve campus safety; developing a Building Marshal Program to assist people during emergencies, and overseeing campus signage and parking lot improvements while reducing costs by bringing work in-house.

The 14 CAPS employees she supervises have been busy as well. In the past year, their work has included locking and unlocking the doors to more than 2,100 rooms, keeping track of more than 2,100 lost and found items, providing more than 850 safety escorts and jumping batteries for more than 280 vehicles. They’ve even had to handle or rescue more than 50 animals – everything from dogs to snakes to birds.

Conklin said she is grateful for the recognition of the Roueche Award, but the efficient operation of her department is a team effort.

“I am very fortunate to be part of such an incredible team of people,” she said. “They inspire me every day to become more innovative and successful. I could not be more proud to work at GCCCD.”

Thousands of region's community college alum to celebrate AlumniFest

March 16, 2017, 5:02 pm

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Gulliver with the San Diego Gulls hockey club poses with Gizmo.

With just over a week until the biggest community college alumni event around, don’t miss out on a $10 ticket for a Gulls hockey game and a chance to win lots of freebies and prizes, including a Caribbean trip for two.

For the second year in a row, community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties are celebrating on Saturday, March 25, with Community College AlumniFest, a 5 p.m. tailgate bash followed by a Gulls game against the Bakersfield Condors at 7 p.m. for just $10, about half the price of a regular ticket. 

Think of the evening as alumni night for everyone who’s ever attended a community college class, and that is the size and scope of the event hosted by California Coast Credit Union and the San Diego Gulls hockey club, with additional sponsorship by Wendy’s, Lyft, 101 KGB  and others. Anyone who’s ever taken a single community college class is considered an alum and is urged to join the fun, along with family and friends, at Valley View Casino Center, at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., in San Diego. This year’s ticket sales are expected to top the 2,300 from the 2016 inaugural event.

Gulliver the mascot helps promote AlumniFest.

As the region’s largest provider of higher education and the largest workforce trainer, San Diego’s nine community colleges and Imperial Valley College enrolled nearly 150,000 students for the 2016-17 academic year alone, so there’s little question of the impact of community college alum to the area. But while universities have long had robust alumni organizations, community colleges are relatively new to developing similar ties to their graduates and past students. It was in this spirit of building camaraderie that AlumniFest was born.

 Local community colleges are: Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges in East County; City, Mesa, Miramar colleges, along with San Diego Continuing Education, in the city of San Diego; Southwestern College in South County; and MiraCosta and Palomar colleges in North County.  Imperial Valley College is in Imperial County.

Winning opportunities

Typically, $10 usually doesn’t buy much, but for AlumniFest celebrants, that modest amount is enough for a pre-game rally in the north entry parking lot to connect with fellow community college alum and an action-packed night of professional hockey, plus a chance to win airfare for two and a four-day stay at a Caribbean resort in the Dominican Republic; a tail-gate red-carpet photo op; giveaways, raffles and games; Bud Light beers for $5 at the pre-party; a kid zone and food for purchase from the neighboring Banzai Bar; a chance to win a ride on a Zamboni, ticket giveaways for access to the High-5 tunnel to greet the athletes, and more.

New this year is the exclusive on-ice suite ticket for $100 per person, which reserves a coveted on-ice spectator seat behind glass with access to the private Stella Artois Lounge.

 “This is a fun and easy-on-the-wallet way for

people to show their pride and support of the community colleges in our region that have opened opportunities and changed the lives of so many,” said Erich Foeckler, executive director of development of the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges.

Tickets are nonrefundable and are selling exclusively online at www.alumnifest.org Parking is $15, cash only. Go to the San Diego MTS trip planner for assistance with taking public transit.

For more information, contact Kerri Ewing at kerri.ewing@gcccd.edu or call (619) 644-7883.

Attorney retiring after 37 years of service to college district

March 22, 2017, 10:42 am

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Tim Garfield

Tim Garfield has seen it all in his 37 years as attorney for the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. Dealing with issues ranging from student discipline to an endangered species that caused a massive construction delay, Garfield has quietly handled the East County college district’s legal issues based on a deep knowledge of education law and human nature.

“It’s been very gratifying,” Garfield said. “I’ve been able to work with really good people trying to do the right thing and provide the best education possible to the students of the district.”

Garfield attended his last meeting of the East County college district’s board on March 21, where he was honored by Governing Board members and district Chancellor Cindy L. Miles.

“Tim’s legal advice has always been wise, thoughtful and well-researched,” Miles said. “He’s been more than just our attorney. He’s part of the family.”

Garfield’s entire legal career has involved working with the college district, along with other education clients that included the Cajon Valley Union School District and the MiraCosta Community College District. He literally wrote the book on education law: a 2010 guide for lawyers and administrators entitled College and School Law: Analysis, Prevention, and Forms. He was also selected three times by San Diego Magazine as a top lawyer in education law.

Garfield, who grew up in La Mesa, said he always had a fondness for the college district because of his East County roots. The son of an El Cajon municipal court judge, Garfield got his law degree from the University of Southern California. He said he was always interested in the law.

“I wanted a job where you could help people and not just make money and generate a profit,” he said. “I found the law fascinating. It’s the basis of civilization to have rules that apply to everyone.”

Garfield’s first job in 1972 was with the San Diego County Counsel, which handles legal matters for the county. Back then, the office also represented schools and college districts across the county, and in 1974, he was assigned to begin representing the Grossmont Junior College District. (Cuyamaca College opened in 1978, and the district’s name was changed to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District in 1985.)

As legal issues for schools and colleges expanded throughout the 1970s, the County Counsel was unable to continue representing districts. Garfield went into private practice with his colleagues from the county in 1979, and his law firm began doing legal work for the district in 1980. He officially signed as the college district’s attorney in 1983.

Although Garfield is not a district employee, he’s been working for Grossmont-Cuyamaca for so long that only four district employees have more longevity in their jobs. He’s worked with five district leaders and handled hundreds of legal matters on behalf of the district.

Garfield said he’s only been in court representing the district about a dozen times – which he considers a victory because that means legal conflicts have been avoided.

“We try to do things the right way so people wouldn’t have a basis to sue us,” Garfield said. “It’s preventive law. It’s trying to guide administrators to handle things correctly.”

He said his most challenging legal issue came up in the early 1990s when Cuyamaca College made plans to build a new $5.5 million physical education facility. The project was halted for a year when the gnatcatcher, a tiny songbird, was placed on the endangered species list and the facility site was found to be a gnatcatcher habitat. To mitigate the habitat loss, the district bought 20 acres by Cuyamaca College that has been set aside as a nature preserve.

“We were in a lot of negotiations with the Fish and Wildlife Service,” Garfield said. “It was quite intense.”

His more enjoyable memories involve setting up the legal agreements that created the Water Conservation Garden and the Heritage of the Americas museum on the Cuyamaca College campus in the 1990s. He said even the more common legal issues, such as expelling an unruly student or terminating an employee, have their own intellectual challenges.



Tim Garfield, center, and Governing Board members

“It’s always been interesting,” Garfield said. “It’s been wonderful.”

Garfield said he is confident the district is in good hands thanks to the leadership of the Governing Board, its president Bill Garrett, and Miles.

“The district is running more smoothly now than it ever has,” Garfield said. “I’m proud to be part of a district that is so well-run and well-regarded.”

Garrett also praised Garfield’s legal acumen.

“In my 30-plus years of public service, I have never worked with an attorney who provided me better legal advice than Tim Garfield,” Garrett said. “He is a consummate professional and will be greatly missed by all of us who worked with him at the District. I always tell people, 'there is no indispensable person.’ Tim Garfield may well prove me wrong.”

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Cuyamaca College shines in National Collegiate Landscape Competition

March 23, 2017, 9:23 am

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L to R: Neiva Martinez, Casey Woodall, Tyler Shannon, Kaity Bevenor, Brittany Etnyre, Alaxandra Trofimov

Just don’t call it beginner’s luck. 

Students from Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture program finished among the top of the class during the school’s inaugural foray at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition – a March 15-18 event involving some of the leading universities in the country. 

          “Our students were unreal,” said Donald Schultz, Program Coordinator of the Ornamental Horticulture program at Cuyamaca College. “We had several major industry sponsors and officials, along with an official from a college in Mississippi, congratulating us on what they said was truly an amazing accomplishment for such a small school taking part in its first national competition like this.” 

     
     The National Collegiate Landscape Competition, sponsored by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, includes a tournament and networking opportunities for students enrolled in landscape and horticulture programs at colleges and universities across the country. The competition, held this year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, also offers industry representatives from some of the field’s leading companies the opportunity to meet and recruit next-generation landscape industry superstars. 

          More than 750 students from 61 colleges and universities took part in the event, with competitors coming from such schools as Michigan State, Colorado State and Virginia Tech universities. Cuyamaca College was among the smallest colleges and universities that took part.  

         The National Collegiate Landscape Competitionincludes 29 different categories, ranging from Arboriculture Techniques to Wood Construction, with judging conducted by industry professionals. Cuyamaca College student Alexandra Trofimov finished second out of 44 competitors in the Exterior Landscape Design contest, and teammates Tyler Shannon and Neiva Martinez finished a close second out of 42 competitors in the Irrigation Assembly contest.  

          Shannon and Brittany Etnyre finished third out of 15 competitors in the Irrigation Troubleshooting competition. Casey Woodall came in fifth in the Business Management competition; Trofimov finished in fifth in the 3D Exterior Landscape Design contest; and Kaity Bevenour came in sixth place in the Plant Problem Diagnosis competition.  

          “Cuyamaca College has a great Ornamental Horticulture program, and these students did just an outstanding job at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition,” said Lynda Whiteman, a former Ornamental Horticulture student who now serves as industry relations manager at Hunter Industries, a leading manufacturer of irrigation equipment for the landscaping and golf course industries that is based in San Marcos. “They are one of the very few schools in the United States that has a dedicated irrigation program, and the quality of that program showed at the competition.” 

          Schultz and instructor Tiffany Faulstich drove the students to the competition, which was in part aimed at increasing Cuyamaca College’s visibility to landscape industry leaders across the country. 

          Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture program teaches and builds upon skills for students interested in careers in urban forestry and tree care, landscape design and construction, grounds management, retail and wholesale nursery operations, irrigation technology, golf and sports turf management, and more. The program works closely with industry leaders in the region, providing students with networking opportunities unavailable elsewhere.

 

Joel Anderson: From Grossmont College to the California Senate

March 23, 2017, 4:10 pm

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State Sen. Joel Anderson

State Senator Joel Anderson has come a long way since the days when he was a student at Grossmont College, living out of his car to save money so he could continue his schooling.

“Grossmont was a great value,” said Anderson, who received an associate degree from the college in 1983. “I got a tremendous education and the price was right.”

Anderson said he decided to go to Grossmont College because he was supporting himself and couldn’t afford to attend a four-year university. At the time, California community colleges cost just $22 a credit unit. (They’re still a bargain at $46 a credit unit.)

He said the factory where he worked laid him off when they planned to move to Washington state. To save money, Anderson lived out of his car for about six months. “There are worse places than sleeping on the beach,” he said.

A college friend, Barry Jantz, offered to let Anderson stay at his La Mesa apartment and the two became roommates. Anderson has remained lifelong friends with Jantz, a former La Mesa councilman who is CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District.

“Life was good,” Anderson said. “I was young, foolish and without a future.”

Anderson was rehired at his job when the factory’s move was delayed, and he worked 48 hours a week while attending Grossmont College. It took him four years to earn enough credits to graduate, but Anderson said the experience made him value his education even more.

“Because I paid my way, I understood the importance of strong instructors who would provide an education that translated into an income and would provide for my future,” he said.

When he transferred to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Anderson was pleased that all of his course credits from Grossmont College carried over. He even tested out of a required statistics class at Cal Poly because he had already learned the material in his Grossmont College class.

Anderson’s first elected position was in November 2002, when he won election to the Padre Dam Municipal Water District board. After four years on the water board, Anderson was elected to the California Assembly, where he served two two-year terms. He was elected a state senator in 2010, winning a second four-year term in 2014.

As a state senator, Anderson has shown his support for community colleges by co-sponsoring a 2014 bill that provides for a pilot program allowing 15 California community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in workforce programs. Anderson is also co-sponsoring a follow-up bill now before the state Legislature that will extend the program to allow 30 colleges to offer degrees, and end a sunset provision in the first bill that is now scheduled for 2023.

Anderson said he’s glad the legislation can help other students seeking a degree, just as he did when he was at Grossmont College.

“I have nothing but respect for the quality of education I received at Grossmont College,” Anderson said.

 

AlumniFest draws big crowd of community college alum

March 28, 2017, 2:28 pm

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The weather gods smiled down upon San Diego over the weekend, drawing sighs of relief from AlumniFest organizers who say the 3,000 community college alum and others who attended a tailgate rally before a Gulls hockey game at Valley View Casino Center Saturday represent the largest crowd ever for an event of its kind.

AlumniFest fans and their "thunder sticks."

For the second year in a row, community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties celebrated with Community College AlumniFest, a tailgate bash in the parking lot of the home arena for San Diego Gulls hockey club, co-host of the event, along with California Coast Credit Union. This year’s attendance topped the 2,300 at last year’s inaugural event, memorable for torrential rains and gale-force winds that forced the event indoors.

Grossmont alum Karen Pearlman drops the puck.

Not so this year, as scores of former community college students from throughout the county brought friends and family for a SoCal-perfect outdoor evening of fun, games, line dancing, prizes and sharing college memories, followed by admission to the Gulls game against the Bakersfield Condors for the bargain price of $10. 

 For AlumniFest celebrants like Southwestern College graduates Eddie DeBaca and his wife, Esther, Saturday’s event was a reminder of the life-changing impact that community colleges have on so many. The Chula Vista couple both credit the education they received at the South Bay college for providing a path for good jobs: he is a postal carrier; she is a teacher at Lauderbach Elementary School in Chula Vista. 

“We took turns working and supporting each other as we went to college,” said Eddie, who received his associate of arts degree in the mid-‘90s. “I went first, and then, I told my wife, it’s your time now for school.”  

Esther, who received her associate of arts in Child Development and transferred to National University for her bachelor’s in elementary education, said the affordability of community colleges and the personal attention she received from her instructors are what she remembers most from her years at Southwestern College. 

Gizmo, Grossmont's mascot, does a line dance.

Such stories are like gems to people in the business of community college advancement, said John Valencia, vice chancellor of Workforce and Organizational Development at Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, which organized AlumniFest. 

Valencia, who served as a time as the executive director of the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges, said all too often, community college alumni who go on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees hold a strong allegiance to their universities and don’t give as much credit to the two-year colleges where they embarked on their higher education.   

“That’s why events like AlumniFest are so great – they remind people of the value of community colleges,” he said. 

As the region’s largest provider of higher education and the largest workforce trainer, San Diego’s nine community colleges and Imperial Valley College enrolled nearly 150,000 students for the 2016-17 academic year alone, so there’s little question of the impact of community college alum to the area. But while universities have long had robust alumni organizations, community colleges are relatively new to developing similar ties to their graduates and past students. It was in this spirit of building camaraderie that AlumniFest was born.

Valencia gave a presentation last year at the national conference for Community College Advancement and it was there that he heard from colleagues about the novelty of AlumniFest and its goal to bring together community college alum to recognize the contributions of two-year colleges. 

“This is truly the largest event for community college alumni in the nation,” he said. 

This year, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca foundation decided to mine stories like the DeBacas’ by asking ticket-buyers to describe in online forms how community colleges have affected their lives. The best descriptions earned the graduates and former students free upgrades to coveted spectator seats flush to the ice with access to the private Stella Artois clubroom. 

Mesa College and other campuses took part.

Among the winners was Danielle Rice, a 2009 Grossmont College nursing graduate, who related her story of acquiring her dream job. 

“I graduated in December and on Jan. 16, I was hired as a registered nurse at Sharp Memorial Hospital,” said Rice, who has since moved to a new job as a pediatric nurse at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns. “I love my job, caring for little babies.”

AlumniFest is an annual event recognizing the following San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association colleges and their alum: Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges in East County; City, Mesa, Miramar colleges, along with San Diego Continuing Education, in the city of San Diego; Southwestern College in South County; and MiraCosta and Palomar colleges in North County.  Imperial Valley College is in Imperial County.

College District wins big awards for annual report

March 30, 2017, 2:29 pm

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March was a winning month for the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, with its Marketing and Communications Office receiving two awards for its 2015-16 Annual Report to the Community: In Their Own Words.

A gold Paragon was announced this week at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations national conference in Charleston, S.C. The coveted prize is the only national award for marketing and communications excellence in community and technical colleges. This was the third year running for the Grossmont-Cuyamaca district to win a Paragon award for its annual report: a bronze in 2015, a silver in 2016, and gold in 2017.

The college district was also awarded a silver Paragon for its dramatic photo of a goalie on Cuyamaca College’s men’s soccer team making a diving save to prevent an opponent’s score.

More than 1,800 entries from 247 colleges across the United States, Canada and other countries were submitted in the NCMPR Paragon competition.

Earlier this month, the annual report picked up a silver award in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII competition. The awards were announced March 8 at the District VII conference in San Diego.

The college district was the only community college to win in the entire competition, with the majority of awards going to schools in the California State University and University of California systems, as well as private institutions such as the University of Southern California and Brigham Young University. CASE is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

District VII represents professionals and institutions in the western region of the United States (Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, and Utah).

Colleges hosting free career fairs for public service, sustainability jobs

April 4, 2017, 2:41 pm

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Both Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges are hosting free career fairs this month for students and the community to network with employers and to learn what jobs are on the horizon.

Public Service Career Day

Cuyamaca College is hosting a Public Service Career Day from 10:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, on the Grand Lawn.

About 40 public service organizations and agencies are expected, including State Sen. Joel Anderson’s office, the Armed Services YMCA, YMCA of San Diego, the San Diego Fire Department, the FBI and the East County Career Center.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the career center at (619) 660-4436. 

Sustainability Resource Fair

Grossmont College is introducing a Sustainability Resource Fair 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, April 27, in the Main Quad, an event geared for students and community members to connect with employers and explore career opportunities in sustainability. Academic programs from both colleges will be represented. Among the companies and agencies attending will be San Diego Gas and Electric, Clean Tech, Eco Tech Services and the Port of San Diego.

The purpose of the fair is to show the breadth of opportunities available in pursuing a career in sustainability. Career options range from water management companies to project management positions with local utilities. Sustainability is on every industry’s radar because of the need for resource management and every career sector will be impacted by the need to prioritize sustainability, experts say.

 “Sustainability careers employ majors in science, business, engineering, law, marketing, art, computer technology: virtually every course of study intersects with sustainability,” said Renee Nasori, a supervisor at the Grossmont College Career Center, which is hosting the event.

Some vendors will be recruiting for jobs and/or internships. All intend to provide information on how their company prioritizes and achieves sustainable progress, and will be able to advise students on tailoring their education to maximize career options.

Online registration is available for vendors, as well as students and community members.

For more information, email renee.nasori@gcccd.edu