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- Written by: Joshua Borba
Carlé Students Sam Ayala, Vincent Copas, Vincent Dela Cruz, Leana Efestione, Anthony Henson, Kenneth Horton, Tyler Lawson, Willie Lefferts, Chris Mccarley, Monica Mcgaffey and Ashley Wiebush were the 2009 team led by Steve Hammond and Dan Maes.
“We played a tough game against the Aspire girls,” said Maes. “We all played a tough game, but in the end Aspire took it. We placed second.”
When the students returned it seemed as if they were in shock. “Those girls massacred us,” said Sam Ayala.
“We played a tough game,” said Monica Mcgaffey.
We would like to congratulate Aspire on their tournament win.
On Sunday May 24, Carlé assisted in a special event. Carlé donated our services to the 2009 Memorial Day Parade. The parade was put together and funded by the Lower Lake Community Action Group. After the parade there was a Memorial Day barbecue at the Lower Lake Park, were everyone enjoyed barbecued food and live music by local band Without a Net.
The students at Carlé set up as well as took down this event. Jeff Agius, Jason Andrews, Joshua Borba, Vince Copas, Sam Ayala, Stacy Fedewa, Katie Flannery, Atlee Erickson, Marissa Espinoza, Taylor Lopez, Amy Reis, Winter Grey, Anthony Henson, Daniel Miller, Aaron Trammell and Eric Reising were the assisting students.
On Monday, May 25, students paid their respects at the Lower Lake Cemetery to set up the Avenue of the Flags. At the cemetery our students joined the Boy Scouts, Judge Freeborn, and Russell Perdock in showing our respect for Lake County veterans. Students also took place in the flag raising ceremony.
Finally we would also like to congratulate the five newest Carlé graduates, Taylor Lopez, Jeff Agius, Daniel Miller, Amanda Tchmourian and Bonnie Passley.
Joshua Borba is a student at Carlé High School.
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- Written by: Editor
Each year roughly half a million new students enroll in community colleges, but at least 70 percent are not prepared for college level coursework.
Along with Mendocino College, Chaffey College and College of the Canyons were honored as 2009 Hewlett Leaders. Award-winners were announced Friday, May 8, in Sacramento.
“This is fantastic recognition for Mendocino College and for all rural California colleges. People are beginning to realize that we do wonderful things here at Mendocino College,” Mendocino-Lake Community College District Superintendent/President Kathy Lehner said.
Mendocino College was awarded $15,000 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to be used to hold a conference or otherwise provide opportunities to share our successful programs with other community colleges (email from Kathy).
In June, a videographer will visit the Mendocino College campus to prepare a short video presentation to be shown in San Francisco at an upcoming statewide conference.
Hewlett Leaders in Student Success annually recognizes up to four California community colleges that are using innovative and proven methods in foundational math and English.
As co-chairs of the Mendocino College Foundation Skills Teaching and Learning Community, Instructional Dean Virginia Guleff and English Faculty member Debra Polak have been working to implement the statewide Basic Skills Initiative (BSI).
The BSI, funded by the California Community College Chancellor’s office is designed to help underprepared students master the skills required for success in transfer-level courses, those in which students can earn credit toward an associate or bachelor’s degree.
Hewlett Leaders selected Mendocino College for a number of elements that support student success. These include a broad outreach effort to the area’s Spanish-speaking community, a Math Institute, and academic support modeled on the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program.
Mendocino College’s outreach toward the Spanish-Speaking community included creating and hiring a new full-time faculty position in English as a Second Language (ESL).
As the new hire, Sarah Walsh has started offering courses closer to students’ homes at Grace Hudson Elementary School and St. Mary’s Church. Also, she has developed new ESL curriculum to reach out to new students. Within a year, enrollment has doubled in ESL classes.
A Math Institute offered by Mendocino College before the beginning of each semester gives students an intensive review of the concepts and skills needed for success.
Extensive academic support modeled on the MESA program is available to all students in basic skills math classes.
Mendocino College has also been engaged in new forums for professional development, including Teacher Institutes each semester and an annual conference designed to promote collaboration among secondary and post secondary educators in the Mendocino and Lake County Regions.
More information about Hewlett Leaders and Mendocino College can be found by visiting http://hewlettleadersinstudentsuccess.org or www.mendocino.edu.
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- Written by: Editor
UKIAH – A member of the Pomo Tribe from Sherwood Valley Rancheria who grew up in Ukiah, Hercules Campbell has spent the last four years at Mendocino College and is now graduating (spring 2009) with his associate's degree in nursing.
It’s been a long road for Campbell – full of challenges – but also full of amazing opportunity.
Both of his parents suffered from alcoholism; his father died at 52 when he was only 9. He and his four brothers and sister basically just “got by,” trying to make the best of things.
Campbell worked building fences, chopping wood, and at a local lumber mill for a brief time. He discovered he did not like manual labor and wanted to do more with his life.
He then found a job at Consolidated Tribal Health Project (CTHP) in Redwood Valley when he was 20 years old. Here he met his first mentors, two women who saw potential in him, believed in him and encouraged him to be all he could be.
Nancy Leybourne (who now works as a physician’s assistant at Pediatrics Group) and Mary Ann Gonzales, DDS, both worked at CTHP and not only helped him on the job, but encouraged him to get his GED.
It soon became obvious that Campbell had talent in art and design and he found himself working on signs, flyers and brochures for the organization. Encouraged by all this, he decided to enroll in the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe where he obtained a scholarship and studied painting. From there, he received a scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where he studied art.
Campbell then came back to Mendocino County, landing in Willits where he has been for the past 17 years. While he experienced success with his painting, he wanted something more.
An opportunity came in the health field again, this time as a Community Health Representative for Sherwood Valley Rancheria (SVR). Starting out as a driver, he worked his way up to becoming a manager with a heavy emphasis in patient advocacy.
After a few years, Campbell became a little discouraged as he felt he needed more education to really help people and further his career. He met another mentor here, Nancy Goodman, a public health nurse, who also saw something special in him. After he became frustrated with his position and left SVR Goodman went to visit him at home and encouraged him to enroll at Mendocino College’s brand new RN program. Campbell decided to take it on.
While the RN program can take just two years to complete, Campbell had to go back to the beginning.
In August of 2004, he began classes in basic math skills at the Willits Center. It took a year before he was even ready to begin tackling the nursing program prerequisites.
It was in Sue Blundell’s anatomy class that Campbell discovered how much he loved science. Thinking back to his years at CTHP – remembering how much the information he was now learning would have helped him in his daily dealings with patients – gave him the incentive to work hard.
He also knew that in order to get into the highly competitive RN program (at the onset only 18 students every two years were selected for admission) he was going to have to do everything he could to not only pass his classes, but to excel. Though very difficult, within another year he had completed the necessary prerequisites to apply for acceptance to the R.N. program.
Campbell was accepted, and in August of 2007 started his first nursing classes.
“It’s comprehensive ... condensed ... a lot of information!” he remembered.
Money is often an issue with getting through school, and that too was an issue for Campbell. He applied for and received the Alliance for Rural Community Health (ARCH) scholarship, an organization that helps Latino and American Indian students advance or enhance their career in the health field.
Howard Memorial Hospital also helped Campbell out by offering a $1,000 scholarship – with one condition. He had to agree to work for one year with them upon graduation. Thrilled that he might have a job waiting for him when he graduated made Campbell work even harder.
When asked about the nursing program, Campbell said, “The instructors are incredible – Fran Laughton, Barbara French, Melissa Hladek, Karen Wilson. There is a lot of support here at Mendocino College for we nursing students.
He said Hladek arranged for a group of recruiters to come to the classroom – a sort of mini career fair. “She did this all out of her own time, and we really appreciated it.”
If there is one piece of advice Campbell could give anyone wanting to become a nurse – or for that matter, anyone trying to make something out of their life – it would be this: “Be able to recognize your opportunities.”
When you know what you want, what your goal is, you can then find out what it takes to get there – and the opportunities will present themselves, as long as you are open to seeing them.
“You also must be willing to work hard, develop good study habits, get organized and learn how to prioritize,” said Campbell. If you’re willing to do all this, nothing can stop you.
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UKIAH – For the first time in Mendocino College history, a member of the Mendocino College Board of Trustees has been elected to the California Community College Trustee Board (CCCT).
Janet Chaniot, a Mendocino College Trustee since 2002, will now be able to represent Mendocino College at the state level.
"The CCCT Board is a prestigious board that any California community college trustee would be privileged to be a part of. It is truly a special honor that a trustee from a small, rural community college district was elected,” said Mendocino-Lake Community College District Superintendent and President Kathy Lehner.
She added, “Janet will serve us well, not only by representing the perspectives of all rural Northern California community colleges, but especially by communicating the needs of Mendocino College and helping to make Mendocino College better known at the state level.”
There are 72 districts in California for community colleges. Statewide, the CCCT handles trustee issues for California Community Colleges and makes recommendations to its “umbrella” organization, the Community College League of California (CCLC).
The CCLC consists of two boards, one of elected trustees and the other of chief executive officers of the 72 college districts.
They work with the California Community College Chancellor and Board of Governors, who make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor of California.
"It is important that Mendocino College has representatives at the state level working on budget, student access/success, and diversity issues," Chaniot said.
With the addition of Chaniot, Mendocino College now has two representatives active at the state level. Lehner is currently the chair-elect of the CCLC Advisory Committee on Legislation and Budget.
According to Chaniot, Mendocino College will now have more visibility and a voice that will be heard at the state level.
With an estimated two million students, the California Community College system is the largest institute of higher education in the world. It is also the system that serves the most diverse population of students.
"Regardless of age, race, economic or socio economic status, the community college system is working to help students who don't think they can attend college realize they can and will always have the opportunity to attend community colleges. We want to make sure Community colleges serve all students and provide them resources to help them succeed and realize their goals," Chaniot said.
"We also realize that the community college system, with emphases on job training, transfer to universities, and life-long learning, holds the key to California's recovery from the recession,” she continued. “It is an 'economic engine' of Mendocino County and the rest of California.”
Chaniot is serving her second term on the Mendocino-Lake Community College Board, and she will be up for reelection for her third term in November.
Originally from Michigan, Chaniot previously taught English and social science part-time at Potter Valley High School (1971-97), while also teaching English and business communication part-time at Mendocino College (1979-2000).
For more information about Mendocino College, please visit www.mendocino.edu.
