CommunityConnections

                                                      March 2016                                 
 
In This Issue

     STUDENT

   SPOTLIGHT

 

Shaletha Arnold Shaletha Arnold is on a mission. Her mission is to build a coalition of African-American students at Cuyamaca College while providing myriad educational opportunities to learn about their rich - but often overlooked - history.

Meet the force behind the new Black Student Union, which debuted during a Feb. 25, Black History Month event on the Grand Lawn, where Arnold and others were joined by black business and civic leaders in introducing the group to the college community.

 In the News...

 

Dedicated faculty lauded

 

Scholarships awarded to 142 students 

 

 

Quick Links...

  

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AlumniFest
First-ever Community College AlumniFest skates into town 
 
If you're one of the vasnumbers of community college alum in San Diego and Imper ial counties, mark your calendar for an event tailor-made for you: the first-ever Community College AlumniFest set for Friday, March 11, featuring Gulls hockey and a pre-game bash for just $10.

Even if you've taken just a single class,  you're a community college alum in our book, so join this celebration at Valley View Casino Center - located  at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110.
 
Have fun connecting with community college friends at a pre-game party at 5 p.m. in the north entry parking lot that will feature giveaways and prizes, including a chance to ride a Zamboni;  face-painting; balloon artists; mascots and more.

Salt + Lime, a food truck featuring modern Mexican cuisine will roll into the parking lot, selling food like tostadas with marinated ahi tuna and wontons, and build-your-own chicken, shrimp or steak bowls. Feel free to bring along the kids and family, friends, co-workers -- everyone is welcome!

The pre-game party is free. Admission to the 7:05 p.m. hockey game is the $10 ticket - nearly half the cost of a regular game - and can be purchased online at www.alumnifest.org. Parking is $15, cash only.

coursesEarn college credit in just eight weeks with short-term classes
 
Eight-week courses beginning the week of March 28 at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges are a great way to pick up general education or subject-specialty classes in less time, but at the same affordable cost of regular semester-length classes. The classes ending May 21 cost $46 per unit and consist of traditional, online and hybrid classes requiring both in-classroom and online attendance.

More than 160 class sections are available, including general education courses such as Cultural Anthropology, U.S. History,  Introductory Psychology, World Religions, Spanish, and Public Speaking.
 
Other offerings focus on career technical education and specialty areas such as Principles of Baking and Pastry Making, Perioperative Nursing, and  Introduction to Administration of Justice at Grossmont College; and Business Law, Cisco Networking Academy, Applied Hydraulics, and Advanced Wastewater Plant Operations at Cuyamaca College. Business office training is available in online, self-paced courses such as Essential PowerPoint, Keyboard/Document Processing, and Using Microsoft Outlook. 

More information, including course offerings, is available online. The deadline for registering is April 1.

Free Cuyamaca College concert by 
Bandscollege and high school bands
   
 The Grossmont College Concert Band and the El Capitan High School Band under the direction of conductors Russ Sperling and Chris Nowlin will perform a free Pre-Festival Concert from 7:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, at the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater.

Sperling, Grossmont College's band director, arranges for a
collaborative concert with one of the East County high school bands each year as part of an outreach effort to interest high-schoolers in continuing with band at the college level. Always held in March, the event is called a "Pre-Frestival Concert" because it is an opportunity for high school bands to prepare for their competition season, which runs from March through April. The high school bands are able to perform in a low-key setting at the Cuyamaca College event and also are given feedback from Sperling on ways to better their competition scores. 

The El Capitan Band will perform Gustav Holst's "First Suite in E Flat," and the Grossmoont College Concert Band will perform John Williams' "Star Wars" theme, arranged by Stephen Bulla; "O Magnum Mysterium" by composer Morten Lauridsen and arranged by H. Robert Reynolds; and "Armenian Dances," a concert band piece written by Alfred Reed. 

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego. 

Harpist guest artist with Grossmont Symphony Orchestra
Harpist 
The Grossmont Symphony Orchestra & Grossmont Master Chorale with guest artist Tasha Smith-Godinez on harp will perform "Mathis der Maler," among the most famous orchestral works of German composer Paul Hindemith, from 7:30-9 p.m. Friday, March 4, at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church,  8086 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 91945. General admission is $10, $5 for students. 

The symphony orchestra and Master Chorale are East County's answer to quality classical music performances. Under the musical direction of Randall Tweed, the 75-member orchestral and 50-member choral ensembles are comprised of music and non-music majors, music teachers, and talented musicians from the community. 

 
Hundreds high school students, parents expected at 2nd annual event
openhouse 
Grossmont College will host its second annual Open House from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday, March 5. This free event is designed for prospective students and will feature free application and financial aid workshops, campus and department tours, program and department information, and live entertainment, courtesy of music students, and more.

 Ample free parking is available. Hundreds of high school students and their families are expected.


Faculty, staff and student volunteers will be on hand to help prospective students learn about the variety of academic programs, including certificate and associate degree programs, and student services provided on campus. Workshops are designed to assist incoming students with completing the college's free online application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as the FAFSA.

Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon.
Cuyamaca College offers workshop on interviewing techniques

Interviewing
Learn tips and techniques for a successful job interview at a free workshop from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, March 7, offered by the Cuyamaca College Career Center. The workshop in Room A-221 in the Student Services One-St op Center will help job-seekers make a great first impression.
Career workshops are free for students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. 

Show up or sign up by contacting Cuyamaca College Career Services at 619-660-4436 or emailing [email protected] .
'Lucky Stiff' takes the stage at Grossmont College Stagehouse Theatre
Lucky 
The Grossmont College Theatre Arts department's production of the musical farce, "Lucky Stiff," takes the stage 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays March 10-12, and March 17-19, and at 2 p.m. Saturdays, March 12 and 19. at the Stagehouse Theatre.
 
With book and lyrics by Tony Award-winning Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty (Rocky, Seussical, Ragtime), and directed by Geno Carr, the production is about unassuming English shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon, forced to take the embalmed body of his recently murdered uncle on a vacation to Monte Carlo if he hopes to inherit $6 million. If he is unable to pass off his uncle as alive, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn! "Lucky Stiff" is a zany, offbeat, hilarious murder mystery farce with a tuneful score, a well-oiled plot, diamond thieves and budding romance.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by phone, online, or at the box office. For online tickets, visit www.grossmont.edu/theatrebrochure. To order by phone, call (619) 644-7234. The box office is at Grossmont College, Building 22A/Room 200A1 (Back of Parking Lot #1) The box office opens one hour prior to each production.

 Value of landscape focus of Sustainable Turf & Landscape Seminar
Turf

The always well-attended
Sustainable Turf & Landscape Seminar at Cuyamaca College is just a few days away, so register now and don't miss out on Southern California's premier sustainable landscaping event.  

Registration for this eighth annual event is $75 by March 1 and $85 afterward, and includes the trade show, continental breakfast and lunch. Individuals can now register up to 20 attendees. On-line and mail registration is available.

The keynote speaker is landscape architect Glen Schmidt of the San Diego-based Schmidt Design Group, who will give a presentation on the value of landscapes.   

For further information, conctact Don Schultz, coordinator of the college's Ornamental Horticulture program at 619-660-4023, or at [email protected] .

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