Re: Fresh

Leaders of the thriving Chaldean community in San Diego’s East County will be on hand for a special Chaldean Culture & Traditions celebration at Cuyamaca College on Monday, Aug. 28.

The event sponsored by the Cuyamaca College Student Affairs Office and the Associated Students of Cuyamaca College is set to start at 2 p.m. on the Grand Lawn. Highlights include an abundance of Chaldean food, music and dance. Among the scheduled speakers is Mar Bawi Soro, Vicar General for the Chaldean Catholic Cathedral, the seat for the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, in El Cajon.

“Cuyamaca is a community college, and we take the word ‘community’ to heart,” said Lauren Vaknin, Associate Dean of Student Affairs. “But beyond that, celebrating all our students and all our cultures provides us with an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about the world around us.”

An estimated 50,000 Iraqi Chaldeans live in El Cajon and its surrounding areas.

The celebration underscores Cuyamaca College’s commitment to creating an inclusive community dedicated to equity and equality. Cuyamaca – whose mission is to serve a diverse community of students who seek to benefit from the college’s wide range of educational programs – also hosts an annual powwow to promote Native American heritage, a Latino Heritage Month celebration, a workshop on Filipino culture and traditions, and a Veterans Week Barbecue honoring all those who have served in the armed forces.

Approximately 9,000 students attend the college each semester. Cuyamaca College is located at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.

Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges have long been filling the minds of students with knowledge. Now they are looking to help fill their stomachs as well, and are seeking the public’s help.

Studies, including a survey of the two colleges, have shown that food insecurity among college students is a significant problem, so the campuses are both setting up food pantries to help needy students.

Cuyamaca College’s Harvest Pantry started Monday, the first day of the fall semester. Grossmont College’s Gizmo Kitchen kicks off Friday, Aug. 25, with a noon-2 p.m. grand opening in Griffin Gate in the student center.

Both pantries are located in health services offices in each college’s student center. (Bldg. 60-130 at Grossmont College; I-134 at Cuyamaca College.)

"These food pantries are critically needed at our colleges,” said Chancellor Cindy Miles. “We assist students in other ways through scholarships and emergency grants for unexpected expenses, but until now, we haven’t had the resources to help with basic sustenance. Students who are hungry can’t focus on their studies.”

The two East County colleges are stocking their pantries with the help of the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges, the philanthropic arm of the college district, student government and the San Diego Food Bank, but are also seeking donations of non-perishable food and drinks, including snacks, bottled water and fruit juices.

“We have had students referred to us by teachers and other departments in the past, but we had minimal resources -- granola bars/water -- available here at Health Services,” said Cuyamaca College Health Services supervisor Lori Senini.

Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges were among 70 community colleges from 24 states that took part in a large-scale survey conducted in 2016 by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the Association of Community College Trustees. That survey found that of the 700 students at the East County colleges who responded, more than 60 percent reported a low or very low level of food security in the past 30 days. The colleges’ numbers exceeded the regional and national figures of 58 percent and 56 percent, respectively.

Another recent study by San Diego State University found that half of the local community college students who were surveyed faced some level of food insecurity over the past 30 days.

Such reports have brought food insecurity to the attention of educational leaders and community colleges across the country are taking steps to address the food crisis. Last fall, Cuyamaca College started a pantry by the EOPS/CARE offices that was maintained through donations from college staff. EOPS and CARE are both state-funded student assistance programs located at all 114 California community colleges.

The college also decided to take a collaborative approach to address food insecurities among students and established the campus-wide food pantry. The collaboration between the various student services departments – financial aid, EOPS/CARE, Student Affairs, the Health and Wellness Center, CalWorks, Veterans Services and others – has also improved student access to information and services related to food and housing challenges.

Senini said the collaboration will continue with the campus-wide Harvest Pantry keeping shelves stocked for EOPS/CARE students. Currently, the pantry is stocked to handle 50-100 students per week, an amount she said should be sustainable with regular visits to the San Diego Food Bank, donations and the startup of First Friday events to encourage faculty and staff to contribute to the food pantry, as well as to the college’s supply of free toiletries and clothing for students in need.

The Harvest Pantry will be available to any students on a once-weekly basis who is enrolled at Cuyamaca College. The college welcomes donations of non-perishable canned foods and snacks; breakfast cereals and oatmeal; rice, pasta, potatoes and lentils; and fruit juices, bottled waters and packets of hot chocolate.

Gizmo’s Kitchen
Grossmont College is offering a “grab and go” student food pantry providing prepackaged items suitable for an on-campus lunch or meal. Free food and toiletries will be available to any currently enrolled students on a once-weekly basis.

Student Engagement Coordinator Susan Berry said the Office of Student Affairs is working with faculty to get classrooms involved in food drives. Berry said outside vendors are also contributing, including Woodstock Pizza with coupons for free pizzas and a share of its sales at athletic events.“We have a variety of plans in place to ensure the sustainability of the food pantry,” Berry said.

“Eventually we will also be doing monthly fresh foods and a community breakfast free of charge to help our students in need.”The community is invited to the Aug. 25 grand opening, where they can drop off donations and write notes of encouragement to place inside the food bags going to the students.

The college also welcomes grocery store gift cards or monetary donations to the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges for the Grossmont Food Pantry. Donations of food on Gizmo’s Kitchen’s approved shopping list may be dropped off at the Associated Students of Grossmont College office (Bldg. 60-116) during business hours.

Due to space limitations, donations are requested of only items on the shopping list. They include non-perishable items such as packets or pop-top cans of tuna and chicken, microwavable soup with easy-open tops, beef/turkey/pork jerky; individual cups or snack-sized trail mix; apple sauce, dried fruits and fruit cups; microwavable packets or cups of rice, pasta, ravioli, and macaroni and cheese; snack sizes of chips, cookies, granola bars and microwave popcorn.

Cases of bottled water, hot chocolate and tea packets, instant coffee and drink enhancer packets such as Gatorade and Crystal Lite will also be accepted.

Toiletries, plastic silverware and other items on the shopping list are also welcome. Contact Student Engagement Coordinator Susan Berry for more information.

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District serves about 30,000 students each semester, about 20,000 at Grossmont College and almost 10,000 at Cuyamaca College. For more information about the colleges, go to www.gcccd.edu

Cuyamaca College’s Don Schultz spent his summer vacation using his expertise to save some lives.

Don Schultz (center) with Guatemalan farmers

Schultz, program director of the award-winning Ornamental Horticulture department at Cuyamaca College, volunteered with the Farmer-to-Farmer Program for two weeks in Guatemala instilling best practices in pesticide safety at plant exporters large and small. Some of the larger growers were as professional and safety conscious as they come. Some of the smaller ones? Not so much.

“At one farm, a guy was spraying paraquat without any protective equipment,” Schultz said, referring to the toxic chemical used for weed and grass control whose use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies as restricted. “That stuff can kill you.”

Sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program provides technical assistance from American volunteers to farmers, agribusinesses and farm groups in developing and promoting sustainable practices in production and marketing.

Volunteers tend to be senior or mid-career professionals with practical industry experience. Besides serving as Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture program director, Schultz also teaches a class in plant pest control, a class that includes identification and control of insects, mites, diseases and other factors that affect ornamental plants and details various methods at keeping such impacts in check.

The production of flowers, ornamental plants and foliage is a growing industry in Guatemala, with approximately 80 percent of production shipped overseas. In 2015, exports exceeded $95 million, and that number has been increasing by more than 10 percent annually. While imports in the United States are limited because of a quarantine on soil, markets in Europe and elsewhere are thriving.

Schultz was based in Guatemala City during his stay and would ride out with farm representatives to their greenhouses around the country. “For the most part, the trip consisted of providing advice and technical assistance on pesticide use and safety,” Schultz said. The excursion ended with a four-hour presentation in Spanish at a Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport) conference in Guatemala City that included college professors, government officials and agronomists.

“Cuyamaca College is a leader in workforce training when it comes to ornamental horticulture and works closely with business and industry in our region,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes. “We’re proud that Don Schultz unselfishly provided so much of his time and expertise in working with the growing ornamental horticulture industry in Guatemala, and it underscores our commitment to serving others.”

The trip was somewhat of a homecoming; Schultz served in Guatemala with the Peace Corps 30 years ago.

Most striking to Schultz on his recent trip was how far greenhouse production has come in Guatemala, yet pesticide safety varies from farm to farm.

“There’s not the same level of structure in terms of providing technical assistance pertaining to pests,” Schultz said. “Here, you have a strong sharing of knowledge among trade groups, industry, the University of California and other higher education systems. Hopefully, we made even a little bit of a difference and left leaving somewhat of an impact.”

Discussions on topics ranging from social justice to the unique cultural challenges facing Muslim immigrants in the region highlight Cuyamaca College’s fall menu of Diversity Dialogues, which launches Sept. 14.

Diversity Dialogues were developed by Lauren Vaknin, associate dean of student affairs at Cuyamaca College, in spring 2011. From initially offering three workshops that drew about 50 students, these days, up to 300 people – mostly students -- attend the workshops each year.

“Diversity Dialogues has a tradition of fostering greater understanding by sparking open and honest discussions, and we look forward to another year of healthy and respectful conversations that underscore our commitment to diversity and inclusion,” Vaknin said.

All sessions are free and open to the public and take place in Room I-207 of the Student Center.

The series begins Sept. 14 with “Developing a Positive Multicultural Orientation towards Diversity: Self-Reflection about our Diverse Identities and Cultural Orientation” from 2 to 3 p.m. Presented by licensed marriage and family therapist Mayumi Y. Douglass, who is a lecturer at San Diego State University and a clinical supervisor at the Cuyamaca College Health and Wellness Center, this workshop is aimed at recognizing biases, increasing awareness about cultural prejudices and encouraging engagement with others who are culturally diverse.

That will be followed Sept. 18 with “Diversity & Social Justice” from 12 to 1 p.m. Presented by Grace Bagunu, who is the Student Affairs/SOLES Collaborative coordinator at the University of San Diego, this highly interactive session will focus on social justice-related concepts and effective communication skills when working in diverse groups.

A session titled “Teaching Tolerance – Supporting Students from Immigrant Families and Undocumented Students”is on tap Sept. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. Presented by Cuyamaca College counselor and interim First Year Experience coordinator Mary Garcia, this workshop will address how increased immigration enforcement is impacting many immigrant students and their families – both documented and undocumented – and how the Cuyamaca College community can best support them.

“The Border Corrido: Music of Resistance” is set for Sept. 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Led by John Escobedo, Cuyamaca College’s Title V activity director in the Department of Institutional Effectiveness, Success and Equity, will lead a discussion about the role of music in resistance movements and the development of the border corrido – popular, narrative songs that often speak to oppression and other socially relevant topics.

“Learning about Filipino Culture & Traditions” takes place Oct. 12 from 1 to 2 p.m. Grace Bagunu of USD will provide an overview of Filipino history, culture and tradition while touching on such topics as why the Philippines is the only Asian country to practice Christianity, why lumpia is such a well-known dish even though it did not originate in the Philippines, and why the Philippine flag has three stars.

“Aversive Racism and Microaggressions” is set for Oct. 19 from 2 to 3 p.m. with Douglass of the Health and Wellness Center leading a discussion that explores assumptions based on an individual’s culture and the various ways people can casually degrade a socially marginalized group in brief, everyday exchanges.

“Understanding Your Cultural Identity” takes place Oct. 25 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Presented by Tanis Starck, assistant dean for special projects and director of the Cultural Proficiency Institute for Educators at San Diego State University, this workshop will investigate how we are likely to see people of differing cultures and how we could transform our cultural differences into healthy, authentic relations with others.

“Breaking Barriers to Build Bridges: A Mental Health Initiative,” is set for Oct. 30 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Presented by Cuyamaca College and Southwestern College counselor Ahmed (Rasheed) Aden, this workshop will delve into the stress felt by immigrant communities – particularly Muslim immigrants in the United States – and how that can affect a person’s mental health.

Diversity Dialogues ends its fall semester run with “Developing Cultural Humility” on Nov. 16 from 2 to 3 p.m. Douglass returns for an important discussion on becoming more sensitive to the importance of diversity and respect for cultural differences.

Diversity Dialogues is but one of Cuyamaca College’s ongoing efforts at celebrating all cultures. The campus hosts an annual powwow to promote Native American heritage, Latino Heritage Month and Black History Month celebrations and a Veterans Week Barbecue honoring those who have served in the armed forces.

United Dreamers will have a table at Cuyamaca's event.

The Grossmont College Latino Film Festival and a Cuyamaca College Latinx Heritage Celebration kick off an array of special events honoring Hispanic Heritage Month at the two East County colleges from mid-September to the end of October.

All events are open to the public and free, with the exception of “Salsa Under the Stars.”

Grossmont College events include:

· Every Tuesday Sept. 19-Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in Building 26, Room 220: The Latino Film Festival explores Latino/a culture and history. See end for details.

· Thursday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Griffin Gate: .Marisol Clark-Ibañez, associate professor of sociology at California State University, San Marcos, speaking on “Undocumented Latino Youth-Realities and Strategies.”

· Sept. 25 to Oct. 10, Hyde Art Gallery: Painter Marianela De La Hoz’s “Tiempos Complicados” art exhibit. Meet the artist Thursday, Sept. 28, 4-7 p.m.

· Monday, Sept.25, 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Main Quad:“Salsa Under the Stars,” a scholarship fundraiser for the music department, featuring salsa dance lessons from 6:30-7:30 p.m., followed by the Manny Cepeda Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, $10 for students.

· Wednesday, Sept. 27, 1-2 p.m. in the Griffin Gate: A presentation about illustrator Gabe Eltaeband and a discussion about the Star Wars comic book artist's career path in the comic book industry.

· Thursday, Oct. 12, 9:30-10:45 a.m. in the Main Quad: Community activist Eduardo “Kiki” Ochoa discusses strategies for overcoming educational and personal challenges that affect people of color in higher education.

Cuyamaca College events include:

· Thursday, Sept. 14, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on the Grand Lawn:

LatinX Heritage Month College Hour featuring music, poetry, dancing and food by Ballet Folklorico Aztlan, poet Jim Moreno, DJ Rambo, and Your Taco Connect.

· Thursday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in the Student Center, Room I-207/208: Sociology instructor Raquel Jacob-Almeida and history instructor Moriah Gonzalez-Meeks present “Immigrants in the Media,” a short presentation followed by a group discussion of how immigrants are depicted in the media.

· Tuesday, Sept. 26, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the Student Center, Room I-207: Title V Activity Director John Escobedo presents “Corridos: Resistance through Music” on the music and the politics of resistance in Chicano history.

· Wednesday, Oct. 4, 1-2:30 p.m. in the Student Center, Room I-207: A panel sponsored by student government and Student Affairs, Student Success and Equity to enlighten Cuyamaca College students about the Latinx experience.

· Monday, Oct. 9, 2-3 p.m. in the Student Center, Room I-207/208: The Latinx Heritage History Panel with presentations by Javier Gonzalez-Meeks, “Christopher Columbus: First Contact;” Moriah Gonzalez-Meeks, “Conquest in Ancient Mexico: Malintzin and Cortes;” and John Escobedo, “Mexican Mestizaje and the Sistema de Castas.”

· Oct. 25-Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Student Center, Room I-104: Leave photographs and non-perishable food at the Dia de los Muertos altar. A short presentation on the holiday and altar, followed by food, music, and discussion, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 11 a.m.-noon.

Hispanic Heritage Month was officially decreed by President Ronald Reagan on Aug. 17, 1988, expanding on National Hispanic Heritage Week, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on Sept. 17, 1968. Sept.15 was chosen as the starting point for Hispanic Heritage Month because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.

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

Grossmont College Latino Film Festival

· Sept. 19: Zoot Suit (1981) Directed by Luis Valez, Rated R; Host: Raymundo Quezada, Cross-Cultural Studies; Parking code: 116	· Oct. 3: Real Women Have Curves (2002) Directed by Patricia Cardosa. Rated PG-13 Host: Sue Gonda, history instructor; Parking code 6614
· Sept. 26: El Norte (1984) Directed by Gregory Nava. Rated R; Host: Noel Puga, Dream Center counselor; Parking code 229	· Oct. 10: Food Chains (2014) Directed by Sanjay Rawal. Not Rated; Hosts: Pearl Lopez, EOPS counselor and Barbara Gallego, acting director of Student Activities; Parking code 7784

All screenings are free and open to the public. They start at 5:30 p.m. in Bldg. 26, Room 220. Enter parking codes in parking permit machines for free parking.

Jesus Suarez

Jesus Suarez, the new Associated Student Government president at Cuyamaca College, has a passion for helping others and promoting equity for all.

Suarez was a force behind a new Contemplation Room at the campus Health & Wellness Center for those facing a crisis; was instrumental in establishing a food pantry for students who don’t have enough to eat; and was diligent in bringing frank discussions on topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and feminism in the modern age to Cuyamaca’s Cross Cultural Center.

His dedication was recognized nationally in February when Suarez was just one of just six community college students from around the country named an Achieving the Dream scholar.

“Keeping busy is good,” said Suarez, who turns 23 in November. “I’d rather be busy trying to contribute than sit around doing nothing.”

Keeping busy is a bit of an understatement.
“Jesus has played an important role in the success of many of the Associated Student Government programs and has been instrumental in creating and expanding student events,” said Lauren Vaknin, associate dean of student affairs. “A leader and a team player, Jesus helps other students in the Emerging Leaders Program to develop leadership skills by having them shadow him to gain experience within the Associated Student Government. Jesus also serves on various campus-wide committees, such as the Student Discipline Committee, Bookstore & Food Advisory Committee, and the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee.”
Born in San Diego and raised in Spring Valley, Suarez – a first-generation American – grew up in a household of modest means. He recalls being treated as less than exceptional by his peers and being bullied and the target of name calling as a youth. A graduate of Monte Vista High School, Suarez has been attending Cuyamaca College since 2013. He changed his major more than once before settling on political science and sociology, and his long-term goals include going to law school and becoming an environmental attorney.
Cuyamaca College, Suarez said, has been a perfect fit.
“It’s small enough to get to know people, including your instructors, on a personal level, but it’s also big enough to provide you with a lot of opportunities.”
Cuyamaca College faculty and staff are glad he’s here.
“Jesus is very sensitive and respectful to everyone on campus and to the framework under which we work at the college,” said Cuyamaca Colleges Health Services Supervisor Lori Senini, who called Suarez the “founding father” of a new pantry providing everything from cereal to soup and snacks for students facing food insecurity. “He brings a willingness to look at different options, and he has a great heart.”

Those attributes were among the reasons Suarez was selected as a DREAM scholar. The year-long experiential program is aimed at enhancing leadership, critical thinking and networking skills, and scholars were invited to share their experiences at the Achieving the Dream conference in San Francisco.
“You can summarize me and what I am passionate about with one of my highest held beliefs, which is that I think that when we give up and say your dreams are not worth pursuing because the obstacles seem insurmountable, that’s when we have truly lost,” he wrote in his Achieving the Dream application.
Suarez’s involvement didn’t begin at Cuyamaca College. Active in the LGBTQIA+ community and passionate about equity in education, Suarez said a pivotal moment in his life came in high school while participating in a winter carnival hosted by One.org to benefit shelters in Tijuana.

“That was the first time I had seen myself doing something I was truly passionate about,” he said in his Achieving the Dream essay. “Consequently, I spent a lot of my remaining high school experience trying to find myself and find out who I could help and how.”
He’s been busy doing that at Cuyamaca College.
“I like that Cuyamaca is trying,” said Suarez. “I like that Cuyamaca is putting in the effort to help students. I like being here and being a part of that.”

Michael P. Ryan

Michael P. Ryan had just $800 in his pockets when he walked out of Chino Institution for Men a free man in the fall of 2015. Today, the 56-year-old East County resident who has spent more than half of his life behind bars is building a new future at Cuyamaca College, where he has a GPA just shy of 4.0, is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and is steadily moving toward a new career in the water and wastewater industry.

Being named the new president of the American Water Works Association for the California-Nevada Section’s student chapter – which includes the likes of UC Davis, San Diego State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – won’t hurt him in reaching his career goal.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without the people and programs that are available here at Cuyamaca,” said Ryan, who hopes to transfer to San Diego State for a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences. “Everything is top shelf, from the Health & Wellness Center to the counseling staff to the financial aid people and the auxiliary support. Everything and everyone is aimed at getting you what you need to succeed. I have nothing but good things to say about what is truly a great college.”

Ryan was among the Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students recognized Sept. 9 when he was awarded a $500 Osher Scholarship from the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges during a ceremony at the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater.

“I’m honored by the recognition,” said Ryan. “I can’t say ‘Thank you’ enough.”

Ryan’s journey to Cuyamaca College came with more than a few turns along the way. Born and raised in San Diego, Ryan said his downward spiral started when he began drinking while still in middle school. That led to experimenting with drugs, and petty thefts to support his quest to stay high. Ryan said that at various times he was jailed for burglary, auto theft, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, and violating parole.

Ryan said his future began to change at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, where he completed multiple vocational classes and was certified by the state of California as a grade II wastewater plant operator, grade II water plant operator, and a grade II distribution system operator. For three years, he was earning 36 cents per hour as a prison wastewater plant operator.

“I don’t know why I went down that path, but it was a good thing I did,” Ryan said. “It was something I could do, it was something that was challenging but not too hard, and it was something I could enjoy doing.”

When he walked out of Chino state prison on Oct. 14, 2015, and was paroled to San Diego County, Ryan enrolled in the Cuyamaca College’s award winning Water & Wastewater Technology Program, which offers cutting-edge training programs taught by professionals who help their students network with industry leaders. Ryan’s goal is to become a wastewater plant operator at an industrial site, fracking operation, or perhaps a utility.

Joe Young is the director of Cuyamaca College’s Water & Wastewater Technology Program. He has no doubt about Ryan’s future.

“He is very focused and very motivated to get a job in the water and wastewater industry,” Young said. “He’s just a stand-up guy, and I have really high hopes for him.”

Ryan’s success is all the more remarkable considering the restrictions still placed on his freedom. Because he attends parole-mandated aftercare programs and attends school full time, money is tight. He lives in a motor home on a friend’s property, and had to borrow textbooks from the library to complete a few of his classes.

But he’s not complaining.

“Hard work and perseverance have been the key to my success, which is putting me on the path to reaching goals,” said Ryan.

“My main thing is to keep my education going and keep moving forward.”

Talk about taking it up a notch. The 2017 edition of the Fall Concert Series at Cuyamaca College will include a trio of world-class musicians from as far away as New York who will perform the first in an ongoing calendar of classic concerts underwritten by a well-known patron of the arts.

The Camera Lucida Piano Trio will play music by Mozart and Brahms during an Oct. 3 concert at the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater. The Camera Lucida Piano Trio comprises pianist Reiko Uchida, who teaches at Columbia University in New York and who has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a number of other orchestras around the world; violinist Jeff Thayer, who holds the Deborah Pate and John Forrest Concertmaster Chair of the San Diego Symphony; and internationally renowned cellist Charles Curtis, a graduate of Juilliard who teaches at UC San Diego.

The concert is being underwritten by Sam Ersan, who has helped transform the chamber music landscape of San Diego.
“This is a world-class trio of absolutely amazing musicians,” said Cuyamaca College Music Department chair and professor Taylor Smith, who organizes the annual Fall Concert Series. “I’m excited about this new partnership with Mr. Ersan and what it means for Cuyamaca College and the larger East County community.”

The Fall Concert Series gets under way Sept. 21 with the Reka Parker Jazz Quartet exploring new interpretations from the Blue Note catalog. Following is a list of scheduled performances, all of which are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. All concerts will take place in the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater in Building B. General admission tickets are $8 each, $5 for students and seniors, unless otherwise noted. Parking is free.

Thursday, Sept. 21

The Reka Parker Jazz Quartet features San Diego jazz pianist Reka Bodis-Parker, who attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston; Taylor Smith on bass; his counterpart at Grossmont College, Derek Cannon, on trumpet; and Bob Daniels on drums.

Monday, Oct. 2

Kembang Sunda, led by Cuyamaca College music instructor Amy Hacker, performs traditional Sundanese music from West Java. Kembang Sunda has performed throughout Southern California since 2007.

Tuesday, Oct. 3
Camera Lucida Piano Trio will perform music by Mozart and Brahms. In addition, pianist Reiko Uchida will be joined by guest violinist and USC adjunct professor Che-Yen Chen for a sonata by Brahms. General admission tickets for this event are $15 each, $10 for staff and $5 for students.

Thursday, Oct. 5
The Cuyamaca College Choir, directed by Paul Infantino, will perform contemporary and standard choral works.
Thursday, Oct. 12
Angham al-Saraq: Eastern Melodies Ensemble will perform music from the Middle East Friday, Oct. 20
The Marine Corps Jazz Orchestra, an all-star group comprising the top musicians from all 10 Marine bands stationed around the globe, will conclude their current tour with a performance of classic big band jazz accompanied by a group of student musicians There is no charge for this event.
Thursday, Nov. 9
The Rob Thorsen Trio, featuring bassist Rob Thorsen, pianist extraordinaire Hugo Suarez and drummer Richard Sellers, will perform contemporary jazz.
Thursday, Nov. 16
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.
Monday, Nov. 27
The Cuyamaca College Rock, Pop and Soul Ensemble will perform the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the debut solo album by the American singer and rapper that was released in 1998.
Thursday, Nov. 30.
The Cuyamaca College Choir returns to perform contemporary and standard choral works in collaboration with the Cuyamaca College Concert Band.
Wednesday, Dec. 6
The Cuyamaca College Concert Band will be accompanied by the Grossmont College Concert Band for the final event in this year’s Fall Concert Series. Each band comprises approximately 40 musicians and the groups will showcase several concert band masterpieces.

Randy Voepel

After serving eight years, eight months and 21 days in the Navy during the Vietnam War, Randy Voepel returned home to El Cajon in 1978 unsure about his future and with his mind affected by the horrors he had witnessed during his military service.

“I had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but I didn’t know it,” said Voepel, now an assemblyman representing eastern San Diego County in the state Legislature. “We didn’t know what it was. They simply said we were shell-shocked.”

Voepel enrolled in Grossmont College through the G.I. Bill and he credits his experience there with saving his life during that troubled time. He said having the goal of obtaining a college education, along with the support he received, helped him deal with the challenges he was facing.

Most importantly, he said, Grossmont College provided a place where he could connect with other veterans.

“I needed support and camaraderie with other veterans. Grossmont College provided that,” Voepel said. “I simply persevered. If a veteran gets up in the morning and perseveres, then they have a chance of success.”

He recalled that the instructors he had were sensitive to the special needs and concerns of veterans. In one class, he said, an instructor asked students to visualize walking through a tropical jungle toward a beach. With a third of the class Vietnam veterans, a tropical jungle brought back painful memories of wartime instead of a pleasant fantasy.

“We all started freaking out because walking through a tropical jungle was not our gig,” Voepel said. “The instructor changed his whole class around to help us out.”

Voepel was able to combine the credits from his Grossmont College classes with correspondence courses that he had taken while serving in the Navy to earn an associate degree from Saint Leo University.

Randy Voepel and Grossmont College President
Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh

After leaving the Navy, Voepel worked for nearly 40 years in the insurance industry. He served on the Santee City Council from 1996 to 2000, then served as mayor for 16 years until his election to the 71^stDistrict assembly seat.

He recently returned for a visit to the Grossmont College campus, wearing a baseball cap that recognized his Navy service.

“I left Grossmont College as a veteran, and I wanted to return as a veteran,” he said.

If salsa music gets your hips swaying, but you’ve got two left feet on the dance floor, Grossmont College’s “Salsa Under the Stars” is just the perfect evening starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25.

Complete with free dance lessons an hour before the main event, the music department’s “Salsa Under the Stars,” is a fundraiser for student scholarships and a CD release celebration for music instructor and internationally known salsa bandleader, composer and recording artist Manny Cepeda.

What’s being billed as Grossmont College’s first major outdoor concert event is set to take place at the Main Quad.

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students, with proceeds going to the Grossmont College Music Scholarship program. Tickets can be purchased at the Main Quad on the evening of the performance or online with the tickets picked up at will-call in front of Bldg. 26, Room 220.

The event starts with free salsa dance lessons from 6:30-7:30 p.m., followed by the 13-piece Manny Cepeda Orchestra, which blends classic salsa with Cumbia, Afro-Cuban and World music. In addition to raising scholarship funds, “Salsa Under the Stars” is a celebration of the release of Cepeda’s latest classic salsa CD, “Padre Querido.”

A mainstay on the salsa circuit in San Diego for the past 13 years, Cepeda’s first salsa album, “Bomba & Plena” debuted in 2014 and has been featured at top clubs and festivals, including Gator by the Bay and the Chula Vista Harbor Fest. Cepeda’s orchestra plays a unique fusion of salsa and other rhythms from his past as an enlisted bandleader in the U.S. Navy who traveled the world. Cepeda leads an international group from his native Puerto Rico, as well as other band members from Panama, Japan and throughout the United States – all performing a blend of salsa, cumbia, Afro-Cuban and World music.

Also taking the performance stage will be Grossmont College Music Department chair and jazz trumpet player Derek Cannon, Classical Guitar Studies director Fred Benedetti, the Grossmont Master Chorale and others.

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District serves about 30,000 students each semester, about 20,000 at Grossmont College and almost 10,000 at Cuyamaca College. For more information about the colleges, go to www.gcccd.edu

The Grossmont College English Department will launch its annual Fall Reading Series with its “Banned Books/Banned Lives” event that coincides with National Banned Books Week and takes place 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28, in Griffin Gate.

“Banned Books/Banned Lives: #RISE” is a student-led reading that will feature spoken word poetry and performance prose by students, faculty and administrators that celebrate freedom of expression and raise awareness about censorship and persecution. Original works are paired with or inspired by resistance literature. The event is free and open to the public.

Other Fall Reading Series events include:

The 9^th Annual Lester Bangs Memorial Reading, featuring the Grand Prize winner of Grossmont College’s “First Book” contest, Douglas Payne. A native San Diegan and Grossmont College alumnus, Payne is the author of the newly released poetry collection, “Salted Rook.” The reading takes place at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18, in Griffin Gate.
The Creative Writing Faculty Reading will take place at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Griffin Gate. Creative Writing Program faculty will offer a rare glimpse of their writing lives outside of the classroom in this multiple genre reading. Featured faculty include author Rich Farrell and spoken word performer Daniela Sow.
The Creative Write-a-Thon fundraiser will be held 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18, in Griffin Gate. Open to faculty, students, staff and alumni, Write-a-Thon participants collect pledges to help raise funds for the Creative Writing Program and bring nationally and internationally renowned authors to the annual spring Literary Arts Festival. The event includes hours of inspiring and fun writing prompts presented by Grossmont instructors, prizes and a celebratory lunch. To donate or participate, contact Daniela Sow at Daniela.Sow@gcccd.edu.
The annual “New Voices: A Student Reading” takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 4, in Griffin Gate. The student reading caps off a semester of hard work and literary inspiration, and is a favorite of students and instructors. Invited student writers will impress attendees with their readings and performances of original poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and other unique forms of literary and spoken word art.

All Fall Reading Series events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit Grossmont.edu/English and select “Creative Writing” on the left.

About Grossmont College

Grossmont College is “Changing Lives Through Education” and has served the diverse educational needs of San Diego’s East County since 1962. With a wide variety of certificate and associate’s degree programs, Grossmont College provides workforce training, career development and transferable college-level coursework to its more than 18,000 students. For more information, visit Grossmont.edu

Garden at Wegeforth
Elementary School

Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture Department has helped transform an underutilized patch at a San Diego elementary school into a community reading garden and gathering spot where parents are getting to know each other and teachers are taking their lessons outdoors.

“Cuyamaca College was amazing,” said Wegeforth Elementary School Principal Lori Sandoval. “This project really came together beautifully and is a wonderful addition to our campus.”

The effort evolved following a recent natural gas leak prompted repairs that yielded an area at the front of the school near San Diego’s Montgomery Field into an afterthought. Sandoval and teacher Isabelle Farrell saw an opportunity to grow the site into a landscaped area where parents could congregate while waiting to pick up their children from school and where teachers could take their students for lessons al fresco. After the two secured a nearly $5,000 Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant for materials, they reached out to Cuyamaca College’s award-winning Ornamental Horticulture program for help in pulling off their vision.

Karen Sumek, a landscape architect who has worked as an adjunct faculty member at Cuyamaca College for the past decade, seized the opportunity. She recruited recent Cuyamaca College graduate Deborah Eckert, who earned a degree in landscape design, to work with her on the project.
“We wanted to make it a welcoming space,” Sumek said. “The parents really didn’t have a spot where they could meet and talk with each other when picking up their kids, so it was a fun project to work on.”
Sumek and Eckert met with Sandoval and developed a design that included strategically placing tree stumps of various heights to serve as seating for reading and community gathering; transforming the outside of a utility box into a chalkboard; creating a community bulletin board; providing an ample supply of planter boxes attached to benches; and planting nasturtiums that are growing on a chain link fence. The Lowe’s grant funded rental equipment, planter benches, a Little Free Library, banners and supplies. Cuyamaca College provided nearly all the plants, soil and expertise. Sumek, Eckert and Ornamental Horticulture program director Donald Shultz joined Wegeforth parents, teachers and students in volunteering their time to complete the project.
Construction began near the end of July. The Wegeforth Community Reading Garden was dedicated Aug. 26.
“We’re really happy with it,” said Eckert. “We’re happy with the response from the parents, from the teachers and from the students. The parents wanted to create a place where they could meet with other parents, and we’ve succeeded in doing that.”
Better yet, because the garden sits outside a fence by the main office, it’s accessible to nearby neighbors.
“People who hadn’t really known each other before are now talking to each other,” Sandoval said.
Much of that talk is about the work done by the Ornamental Horticulture program.
“Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture program has been around for a long time and has developed a great reputation in San Diego County for producing some of the most skilled workers in the field,” Sumek said. “Our reputation is pretty impressive in the gardening community, and this project is one of the reasons why.”
Eckert agreed. “All the parents at that elementary school are now aware of Cuyamaca College and the amazing Ornamental Horticulture program we have,” she said. “It was a wonderful experience for everyone involved.”

Career- and job-minded students and the public can get a two-fer in the form of a career expo and apprenticeship fair at Grossmont College in October.

Grossmont College’s 39th Annual Career/Apprenticeship Expo is set for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in the Main Quad.

Sponsored by the Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges’ Career and Technical Education/Workforce Development Departments, as well as Sharp Hospital, the event is free and open to the public. With the theme, “Connections Lead to Your Success,” the expo is expected to draw more than 60 exhibitors, as well as 400-500 high school students being bused in from throughout the Grossmont Union High School District.

In addition to experiencing a career fair, the high-schoolers will get campus tours and will attend workshops to help them focus on their futures.

For exhibitors like Sharp Healthcare, retailers, law enforcement agencies, military representatives and others, the career expo provides an informal setting for employers to interact with college students as well as the public to discuss career, internship, community service learning and work experience opportunities.

Apprenticeship opportunities will also abound, with representatives of the Southwest Carpenters, the Western Electrical Contractors Association and the Cosmetology Apprenticeship Program attending.

The Career/Apprenticeship Expo is the highlight of Career Week at Grossmont College, where a host of free workshops will be available for students and the public.

The workshops will be held in the Career Resource Center (Building 60, Room 140):

Monday, Oct. 9: · Navigating the Career Expo, 10-11 a.m. · Soft Skills, 11-12:30 p.m.	Tuesday Oct. 10: · Orientation to Career Services 10-11 a.m. · Navigating the Career Fair 12-1 p.m. (Cuyamaca College-Career Center) · Job Club Meeting 2-3 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 11 · Time Management 8:30-9:30 a.m.* · Effective Job Search Strategies 10:30-1 p.m.* *Both workshops in Griffin Gate, Bldg. 60)	Thursday, Oct. 12 · In-Demand Jobs 2-3 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 13 · Creating an Elevator Pitch 9-10 a.m. · Professional Networking 10-11 a.m.	· Job Search Strategies 11a.m.-noon · Self Defense in Avoidance 12-1 p.m.

Judy and Bill Garrett

A new award honoring individuals who have made notable contributions to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and the East County community was presented last night to El Cajon residents Bill and Judy Garrett.

The recognition, named the Bill and Judy Garrett Civic Leadership Award, was presented to the Garretts to honor their leadership on district boards and their financial support of Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students.

“The Garretts have given tremendously of their time and their money, but most importantly their wisdom and leadership, to the college district,” said Chancellor Cindy L. Miles. “The contributions that Bill and Judy have made change lives every day around this college district.”

Bill Garrett has served on the district’s Governing Board since 2004, when he was appointed to fill a vacant seat. He has been re-elected three times and has served as board president for 10 years.

“Bill has helped the board and district focus on what’s most important – and that’s student success and service to our community,” Miles said. “This district is the best it’s ever been, in large part because of Bill’s leadership.”

Garrett first became involved with the college district in 1996, when he moved to El Cajon for a job as city manager. He served on the Cuyamaca College Foundation for eight years, including five years as president. He also served on the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, which oversaw bond construction spending, until he was appointed to the Governing Board.

Bill Garrett’s wife, Judy, has also played an active role in the college district. Beginning in 2007, she served on both the Cuyamaca College and Grossmont College foundations. When the two foundations merged in 2011, she served for three years as president of the newly-formed Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges.

Rob Nolan of the East County Schools Federal Credit Union, now chair of the foundation’s board of directors, praised Judy Garrett’s professionalism and skill as foundation president.

“She has a much broader view of things,” Nolan said. “She has a way of working you down the road to where we should be. She provides information so all the sudden we realize what we should do, which was her path from the very beginning.”

In addition to their service to the district, the Garretts also funded two scholarships, one at each college, honoring Judy’s father, Reynold Stone, a community college instructor. The scholarships were created during a campaign by the Bernard Osher Foundation to provide matching dollars to donated monies so that the scholarships could continue in perpetuity. Each year, a student at Grossmont College and another student at Cuyamaca College receives one of the Garretts’ scholarships.

They have also supported the theater and music programs at the colleges, and other initiatives such as an emergency scholarship for students who face a financial crisis. The Garretts have also been enthusiastic backers of the Higher Edge Promise scholarship, which will provide a free year at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges for Grossmont Union High School graduates beginning with the class of 2019.

In addition to their service and philanthropic efforts, the Garretts have also built connections with promising Grossmont and Cuyamaca College students. Zack Gianino, Grossmont College’s student representative on the Governing Board from 2013-2015, recalled the relationship he developed with Garrett.

“He cared about not just my concerns, but the concerns of the students I represented,” Gianino said. “I felt open and free to speak my mind to him.”

The award was presented to the Garretts at an event Thursday night honoring the major donors to the district foundation. It is planned to become an annual award honoring others who have given exemplary service to the district and community.

“The contributions that Bill and Judy have made are changing lives every day at the college district,” Miles said. “We are blessed and truly grateful for their dedication to our college students.”

Charles Harrington

Even while living in foster homes or on the streets, Charles Harrington was drawn to cooking, drawing inspiration from Food Network celebrities such as Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay. So when Harrington tired of the seemingly endless stream of minimum wage jobs and enrolled at Grossmont College, the Culinary Arts program was his first stop.

“It changed my life,” Harrington said.

Now the 32-year-old Spring Valley resident is on track to earn a certificate of achievement in baking and pastry next June, he’s working as a baker at San Diego State University, and he’s determined to open a delicatessen or perhaps a food truck.

He says he couldn’t have done any of it without Grossmont College, where he has secured a pair of scholarships to help support his dream.

“Every program I signed up for and everyone I saw, whether it was in counseling, EOPS, Umoja – it didn’t matter, they all helped make sure I was going to get where I needed to go,” Harrington said. “From the top administrators all the way to the teachers, they all want you to succeed.”

That type of support had been sorely lacking in the past.

Born in San Diego, Harrington said he grew up being shuffled from foster home to group home with occasional stops with his mom. He tried a San Diego community college shortly after graduating high school, but decided at the time that education wasn’t a priority. “I was moving from house to house, place to place, not really doing anything with my life but trying to get by,” he said.

Trying to get by, however, meant moving from one minimum-wage job to another. When Harrington’s now 5-year-old son came into his life, he decided it was time to go back to school and pursue his dream of a culinary career. Familiar with Grossmont College after taking a pastry course at the school once before, Harrington enrolled at the El Cajon campus – this time more determined than ever to succeed.

He gives much of the credit to culinary arts instructor/coordinator and executive pastry chef James Foran. “Chef James is the reason why I’m in school and he’s the reason I’m staying in school,” Harrington said. “He pushes you to do better, but he’s very supportive.”

Foran speaks just as highly of Harrington.

“He’s a super-motivated student who is really enthusiastic about learning,” Foran said. “He comes here before class, he comes here after class, he even comes into classes he’s not enrolled in. He’s just really utilizing what the college has to offer and he’s definitely on course to becoming a very good chef.”

Why culinary arts?

“I’ve just always loved cooking and baking,” said Harrington, who is known for memorizing cooking techniques by incorporating them into rap lyrics. “It’s an art. You have to develop your skills, you have to be passionate about it, and you have to have desire. I really don’t want to do anything else.”

As for the challenges he’s had to overcome along the way, Harrington said: “Obstacles create character, achievements prove that one is working hard and goals show that one is planning. To live doesn’t always mean coasting on the edge or crazy partying. Sometimes it’s striving for something that gives one the greatest joy in the world. When I wake up and go to school, I feel as if I’m really living. I plan to be the first in my family who will graduate college.”

RANCHO SAN DIEGO– Cuyamaca College will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Annual Wheelchair Basketball Game Oct. 25 with members of three local wheelchair basketball clubs teaming up with the men’s basketball team in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Sponsored by the Cuyamaca College Athletics Department, Associated Student Government of Cuyamaca College and Disabled Students Programs & Services, the annual contest will include players from the So Cal Sol, the San Diego Hammer and the San Diego Xpress National Wheelchair Basketball Association teams, along with the athletes, faculty and staff at the Rancho San Diego campus. Teams will comprise both wheelchair users and able-bodied athletes to demonstrate the strength and agility of those in chairs, leaving participants and viewers with a greater sense of appreciation for athletes with disabilities.

“It’s harder than it looks,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes, who participated in the contest several years ago while serving as the college’s vice president of student services. “It gives you a totally different perspective.”

This year’s event takes place from noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the Cuyamaca College Gym (Building D) at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway. Students, faculty, staff and spectators are encouraged to try their hand at playing and meet the athletes after the game. The free event is open to the public.

The Annual Wheelchair Basketball Game was the brainchild of former DSPS Specialist-Counselor Kelli Turpin, who knew several athletes who played on wheelchair basketball teams. She suggested that DSPS invite the Cuyamaca College men’s basketball team to play in a game in which squads comprised both able-bodied and disabled athletes. Launched in October 1998, the game became an official Associated Student Government College Hour event in 2013. Several of the players have participated since the event’s founding.

“The Annual Wheelchair Basketball game for the past two decades has been an exciting, fun and transformational experience for all, from those taking part on the court to those sitting in the stands,” said Mary Asher-Fitzpatrick, Cuyamaca College’s learning disabilities specialist. “This event has created a great, inclusive spirit here at Cuyamaca College, tearing down barriers and bringing everyone together in camaraderie.”

Indeed, those involved in organizing the contest include Club ABLED, a campus organization that supports students with disabilities; the college’s Learning Resource Center; Associated Student Government; and DSPS. As part of this year’s celebration,

An exhibit celebrating the history of the annual contest will be on display at the Cuyamaca College throughout the month.

Likaa Mohamad

Her father was killed by kidnappers in Iraq and she would later spend more than three years as refugee in Jordan. But Likaa Mohamad is not looking for sympathy. The Cuyamaca College student is too busy focusing on dedicating her life to helping the less fortunate.

“I love people,” Mohamad says matter-of-factly. “I want to do what I can.”

The straight-A student is certainly on the right track. Mohamad is hoping to graduate in 2018 with at least two associate degrees – in child development and biology – before transferring to San Diego State University and then working at an orphanage her father founded in Nigeria.

“I grew up in a community of people with stature, doctors, scientists, researchers,” Likaa said. “But I never felt comfortable in that kind of setting. I feel more comfortable when I am with people who are living in poverty. I feel like I belong. I feel like I can make a difference.”

Meanwhile, she spends much of her time helping immigrants in her El Cajon neighborhood navigate their new life in America.

“I can’t say enough good things about Likaa,” said Lori Senini, Cuyamaca College’s Health Services supervisor, who recently hired Mohamad as a part-time employee at the Health & Wellness Center. “She is so kind and so compassionate and she is such a joy to work with. She is an excellent role model for the campus community.”

It’s been an often-difficult journey to get here. Born and raised near the ancient city of Ur in Iraq, Mohammad fled to Jordan with her husband and four young daughters after the slaying of her father, a medical researcher who was kidnapped in the chaos of sectarian violence following the U.S. invasion of that country. Unable to work while living in the Jordanian capital of Amman because of her refugee status, Mohammad and her family survived thanks to a stipend from the United Nations and donations from social activists.

“It was horrible, it was horrible for my children,” said Mohamad. “My children were constantly being picked on. It was very difficult.”

Their fortunes changed on Nov. 27, 2012, when the family immigrated to the United States. Unsure where to settle, Mohamad ended up in El Cajon’s growing Iraqi community.

“It just happened,” she said. “It was my destiny to be here, and I love it.”

Before long, both Mohamad and her husband, a mechanical engineer in Iraq who now works at a small grocery store in El Cajon, enrolled at Cuyamaca College.

“Many of my neighbors told me what a wonderful place it was, so I came to see it and I loved it,” Mohamad said of the Rancho San Diego campus. “All my teachers in all my classes are so supportive. “It is very beautiful here, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn.”

Faculty, staff and students are just as impressed with Likaa.

“Likaa is one of the most supportive students in my classes,” said Child Development Program Coordinator Kristin Zink. “When someone presents or shares in class, she is warm, enthusiastic, and willing to give positive feedback. If a student has a question or needs further explanation of something in class, then Likaa takes the time to try and answer those questions and help the student find resources. And she does so with warmth and enthusiasm.”

Cuyamaca College is set to begin construction on a state-of-the-art Center for Water Studies aimed at training the next generation of industry professionals to manage and operate California’s complex water and wastewater systems.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the first component of the project – the Field Operations Skills Yard – is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 9:30 a.m. next to the “L” Building at the Cuyamaca College campus, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, in Rancho San Diego. When completed, the Field Operations Skills Yard will include a fully operational, above-ground water distribution and an underground wastewater collection system that will enable students to apply their science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge in a learning-by-doing, career-preparation environment.

“Cuyamaca College is a leader in workforce training for the water and wastewater industry, and the Center for Water Studies will further strengthen our status as a trailblazer in the profession,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes.

A California Community College Strong Workforce grant is providing $192,000 for the Field Operations Skills Yard. Additional contributions for the above-ground network of pipes, pumps, valves, meters and other equipment is being provided by donations from the waterworks industry. A National Science Foundation grant is providing $72,000.

The Field Operations Skills Yard is projected to be completed in time for spring semester classes.

Donald Jones

“These fully operational water and wastewater systems will be used to replicate many of the entry-level tasks employees perform as they begin their careers in the water and wastewater industry,” said Don Jones, the National Science Foundation grant manager who has helped spearhead the creation of Center for Water Studies. “It’s the culmination of a many years long pipe dream.”

The second component of the Center for Water Studies involves relocating Cuyamaca College’s Water & Wastewater Technology program to a renovated L Building, which sits next to the Field Operations Skill Yard and which will be transformed to house, among other things, a water quality analysis classroom and a shop area for backflow prevention and cross-connection control training. In addition, two other classrooms will be remodeled to accommodate approximately 40 water and wastewater technology students each.

Renovating the L Building will cost approximately $1 million and will be funded through the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’s Proposition V, which voters approved in 2012. Renovation is set to begin in the early spring, and facilities should be available next fall.

The National Science Foundation grant, which totals almost $900,000, will cover the cost of Cuyamaca College working with the Grossmont Union High School District and water industry experts to develop contextualized lesson plans related to water and wastewater management skills for local high school science teachers to use in their classrooms. High school instructors will be able to participate in water-related activities at the Center for Water Studies as early as next summer. The grant also will help develop career pathways that recruit veterans, women and students from underrepresented communities into water and wastewater management careers.

The timing for the Center for Water Studies couldn’t be better. The Water Research Foundation and the American Water Works Association anticipate that water utilities will lose up to half their workforce over the next decade as an aging workforce opts to retire. Water and wastewater agencies in currently employ up to 5,000 in San Diego County and provide more than 60,000 jobs statewide. Water and wastewater treatment and system operators earn, on average, an annual wage of more than $66,000 annually in San Diego County, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Center for Water Studies evolved through discussions with the Cuyamaca College Water & Wastewater Technology Program Industry Advisory Committee, which comprises water industry professionals from the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department, the San Diego County Water Authority, Helix Water District, Padre Dam Water District, the City of Escondido Utilities Department, the Olivenhain Water District, and others.

The Cuyamaca College’s Water & Wastewater Technology program is the oldest and most comprehensive program serving the water and wastewater industry in the California Community College system. It has delivered water and wastewater management education for more than a half a century and has a successful track record of administering grants that expanded the capacity of the California Community Colleges system to partner with the water and wastewater industry. It recently secured two Workforce Star Awards from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, one of only four community colleges statewide to earn two awards in a single workforce development program.

Biology professor Michael Golden

A veteran biology professor and a German instructor at Grossmont have been selected by their peers as recipients of the 2017-18 Distinguished Faculty Awards for their excellence as educators and exemplary service to the college.

Biology instructor Michael Golden received the award for full-time faculty, and German instructor Astrid Ronke was picked for the adjunct award.

German instructor Astrid Ronke

College President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh said the faculty awards recognize the two faculty members’ immeasurable contributions and their stellar work representing the excellence of Grossmont College.

“Our students thrive because of the commitment and caring of faculty like Professor Golden and Dr. Ronke,” he said. “Grossmont College is truly fortunate to benefit from their knowledge and remarkable abilities to connect with their students.”

A Golden year
For Golden, the award caps a quarter-century at Grossmont College, where he began teaching in 1993. The Bay Area native was a first-generation college student and credits his own community college experience for his choice of careers.

“I was not well prepared out of high school to go to a four-year university,” he said. “Nobody in my family or the neighborhoods I grew up in were college bound.”

Students describe him as empathetic and supportive, with a genuine interest in their success.
“Professor Golden is passionate, motivational, and extremely knowledgeable,” reads one student’s comment in an online critique of Grossmont College instructors. “His lectures, although not normally structured, were amazing. I learned so much, and I always looked forward to going to class.”

Golden’s contributions to Grossmont College have been many, including developing and teaching the first online course in 2000, maintaining the college’s coastal sage scrub reserve since1993; and bringing the Bridges to the Future program, a federally funded partnership with San Diego State University to increase the number of under-represented minorities transferring to four-year colleges to study biology. His leadership in the Bridges program earned him SDSU’s Homer Peabody Award for Teaching and Mentoring in 2010.

A founding member and first chair of Grossmont College’s World Arts and Culture Committee, Golden embraces diversity and is well-recognized for pursuing social justice and equal opportunity for students, faculty, and classified staff.

“When I think of Michael Golden, I think about social justice and fair-mindedness,” history professor Sue Gonda said. The staunch advocate of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students donated the $500 he received for his faculty award as a scholarship for undocumented students.

Golden said his working-class background and his own discovery of the promise of higher education through community college have engendered a special relationship with his students.

“Laney College in Oakland was the place I discovered I could actually be successful in school,” he said. “I was so impressed by the experience, and I have always loved Gandhi’s quote; ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ that I thought, that’s what I want to be, a community college instructor.”

Marriage of body, mind and spirit

Ronke starts her German classes with a few minutes of stretching and calisthenics, which she leads in her native German to get students’ bodies and minds warmed up for learning. She points to neuro-psychological studies that support her theory that students learn faster and retain knowledge longer when intellect, emotion and movement are engaged in the classroom.

The Berlin native, an adjunct instructor of German at Grossmont College since 2002, also has been incorporating drama and music in her holistic approach to teaching college students, as well as children and teens in a German immersion program she helped found in 1997 at Balboa Park’s House of Germany and at Albert Einstein Academies in San Diego.

Her innovative approach to teaching at Grossmont and San Diego Mesa colleges have earned her high ratings in online student critiques, which nearly all mention activities and exercises that are a part of many of Ronke’s classes.

“Her class is never boring, she hilarious and she’s just a lot of fun,” one student commented. “Lots of activities and interaction. Sie ist wunderbar!”

Ronke has developed strong connections with her students through activities beyond the classroom that include cultural celebrations, German Theater Festivals she’s organized for many years, and even the construction of a replica of the Berlin Wall.

At her intermediate German class at Grossmont, students set up clusters of desks and conversed in German over the social and political topics of the day, such as the legalization of marijuana and Donald Trump’s impact on the U.S. presidency. The clusters of desks represented a German Stammtisch, regular group chats typically held in bars and restaurants in Germany, Ronke explained.

Ronke, who has a doctorate in German as a foreign language from Technical University of Berlin, established a four-week German immersion and scholarship program in her native country for Grossmont College students. Through the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation Berlin, four students received scholarships in 2016 and 2017. Ronke is also currently serving as the coordinator of the German and Russian Language Program at Grossmont.

“I believe, in a time of so much global political uncertainty, it is more important than ever for students to study foreign languages and different cultures,” Ronke said. “It better equips them with the knowledge of what political, cultural and religious diversity there is in the world and it leads them to a path of acceptance and mutual respect.”

She is the recipient of a national award from the Goethe Institute and the American Association of Teachers of German, Inc. for outstanding achievement in furthering the study of German in the United States. This past spring, she received a Grossmont College Teaching Excellence Award. Other recognitions include a certificate of excellence in 2011 from the German Consulate General in San Diego, a nomination for a distinguished professor award from California State University, San Marcos, where she taught from 1997 to 2002, and a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

German instructor Johannes Bruestle, one of a trio who nominated Ronke for the Distinguished Faculty Award, described his colleague as “spirited, intelligent and humorous – a team player who is resourceful and has invested time and effort into students’ success.”

Ronke said her years at Grossmont College have been rewarding and inspirational.
“I am very grateful to have had the chance over the last 15 years to interact with outstanding faculty, staff and students, and to teach German at our vibrant World Languages Department and at the dedicated and supportive Arts, Literature and Communication Division here at Grossmont.”

Registration is now open for spring intersession classes at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges. Students attend classes Jan. 2-27 and can complete a course, including those satisfying general education requirements, in just four weeks.

The deadline for registering is Jan. 6. The cost of the courses is the same $46 per unit that applies for regular-session classes, with most classes meeting daily for 2.5 hours and earning students three units.

Registration for regular spring semester classes has also begun, with classes starting Jan. 29.

A conditioning class for athletes at Cuyamaca College.

A variety of general education classes are offered during intersession at both colleges, including Interpersonal Communications (COMM. 120); Public Speaking (COMM. 122) Early World History (HIST 100); Modern American History (HIST 109); Introduction to U.S. Government and Politics (POSC 121); and Introductory Psychology (PSY 120).

Both colleges are also offering a personal development class, College and Career

Teaching different levels of dance is a Grossmont intersession offering.

Success (COUNS 120) to help students improve their learning and study skills, as well as using self-discovery tools in order to plan a successful career.

At Grossmont College, additional GE classes for intersession include online classes in anthropology, economics, intermediate algebra, elementary statistics, calculus for business, social and behavioral sciences, introductory physics and sociology. Specialized training and instruction is also offered in Business Office Technology, Administration of Justice and Theatre Arts. At Cuyamaca College, additional GE intersession courses are offered in art and business communication, and a specialized Child Development course in designing and implementing curricula.

Just in time to get serious about that New Year’s resolution to get into shape, Grossmont College is offering an introductory class in Hip Hop and four levels of Pilates. If teaching others to dance is an appealing idea, the dance department is offering beginning, intermediate and advance level courses in developing proper teaching techniques.

Cuyamaca is offering conditioning classes for intercollegiate golf and intercollegiate cross country running. Exercise science classes in teaching fitness walking to children, and learning about childhood obesity are also offered at Cuyamaca College. Also at Cuyamaca are health education classes in personal health and lifestyles, and a class exploring health inequities in the United States that stem from unequal living conditions.

The short-term courses are a quick way to satisfy general education course requirements for university transfer, offering a compressed alternative to the semester-length schedule. The longer classroom hours and generally smaller classes also provide more one-on-one time with instructors. Go to WebAdvisor for the most current list of available classes. Click on “Spring 2018” for the term and “Intersession” as the selection for short-term courses.

Additional information on admissions and registering for classes is available online at www.gcccd.edu/now/

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

For more information, go to www.grossmont.edu or www.cuyamaca.edu.

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