The President`s Pen - West Hills Community College District

The President’s Pen
____
_____
News from West Hills College Coalinga
June 2009, Vol. 2, No. 12
www.westhillscollege.com/coalinga/about/presidents_pen_newsletters.asp
Campus Life and Student Activities
WHC Coalinga –
Commencement 2009
This year’s ceremony included:
Awarding of Honorary Degree to Vince Motte
Commencement Address by Dr. Marlon Hall, 1978 WHCC
Alumnus and WHCL Associate Dean
Graduate Address by 2009 Valedictorian
Michael Voss
1
Alumnus of the Year Dan Errotabere, Class of 1975
and most importantly the awarding of degrees and certificates to over 125 participating graduates.
2
WHCC CIMIS Weather Station Dedication Ceremony
On May 20, 2009 a ceremony was held to dedicate the Vince Motte CIMIS Weather Station at the WHCC Farm of the
Future. The weather station was made possible through Mr. Motte’s generous donation of over $12,000.
Vince Motte is known as
―Mr. Coalinga‖ for his many
contributions
to
the
community. The 95-yearold, though his generous
donations,
has
made
possible
many
of
Coalinga’s landmarks—the
clock tower, the water
fountain across from the
high school and more
recently the sports park.
He has long been bothered
by weather reports listing
Coalinga as the hottest
community in the Central
l to r: Rick Post, Interim
Executive Director of
WHCC Foundation;
Phyllis Roberts, WHCC
benefactor; Vince Motte, President Lewallen
Valley, which he feels are prompted by the current location of the weather-reporting facilities in downtown Coalinga
behind the fire station. His most recent donation is to the West Hills Community College Foundation to fund a new
weather station that will be located on three acres of grass at the West Hills College Coalinga Farm of the Future.
Mr. Motte is a member of one of the four founding families in Coalinga. His father helped found Coalinga College in
1932 which is now West Hills College Coalinga. For many years his family operated a grocery store in downtown
Coalinga and a visit with him can include a history lesson on the community. He speaks of the oil boom that fueled
Coalinga’s growth, the development of agriculture in the region and the 1983 earthquake that leveled much of
downtown and ended his family’s grocery business. The delivery truck that Mr. Motte and his father used to deliver
groceries to the oil camps now resides in the Baker Museum.
WHC NDC –
A graduation celebration was held on May 20, 2009 for students attending WHC North District Center.
An article written by Rebecca Plevin in the Vida En El Valle publication covered the NDC graduates celebration
stories. The article was titled ―Hope in College Degrees‖ and the full article can be viewed at:
http://www.vidaenelvalle.com/news/fresno/english/story/
353183.html
3
Car Wash Fundraiser
May 15, 2009: North District Center ―Car Wash.‖
Fernando Magana Gonzales was a student
attending Fresno State University to become a
teacher. He was killed while traveling back home
from class. Fernando was well known among the
West Hills College Firebaugh students.
WHC
students like Nalleli Lopez-Hernandez and Lleraldin
Moreno helped organize a massive ―Car Wash‖ to
help with funeral expenses. A total of $2,500 was
raised in only a few hours. A second car wash was
held the next day and raised over $3,000. Thanks
to the success of the fundraiser, the Gonzales
family was able to send their son to Jalisco, Mexico
for burial.
May 18, 2009: West Hills Community College District ―CAMP‖ Blood-Drive. West Hills Community College District
―CAMP‖ Program placed second nationally in the Cesar Chavez Blood-Drive. WHCCD was edged out for first place
by Texas University. Lupe Banales and Olivia Contreras helped coordinate the student led blood-drive events at
each respective site. CAMP student leaders at each site included: Isidro Angel, Brenda Soto, and Delmi Calles.
EOPS
June 4, 2009: The annual EOPS Scholars
Recognition Banquet was held at the VFW Hall in
Firebaugh. This activity was planned by Alicia Rocha
and other NDC staff members. The celebration drew
a full house full of students and their families. Over
100 awards were distributed.
―Inspirational Student‖ plaques went to:
Oscar Casareal & Digna Ruiz.
EOPS ―Outstanding Student‖: Estela Gutierrez.
CARE ―Outstanding student‖: Imelda Rivas
EOPS Graduates 2009
4
CAMP (College Assistance Migrant Program)
May 15, 2009: Education & Leadership Foundation. Olivia
Contreras attended the Education and Leadership Foundation
Scholarship Dinner in Fresno. A total of five migrant students
from the North District Center were recognized for their
outstanding community service. Scholarship recipients included
the following:
Rosa Hernandez, Marisol Rodriguez, Rosa
Casareal, Brisa Ramirez, and Oscar Casareal. A special plaque
was given to Lupe Banales, Olivia Contreras, and Eliseo Gamino
to honor the West Hills College ―CAMP‖ effort in outreaching to
migrant students.
Athletics
Horned Toad Derby Golf Tournament
The event was hosted in conjunction with the Horned Toad Derby and was held at the Lemoore Golf course. All
proceeds benefited the WHCC Athletic Program with the even well attended.
Falcon Basketball
Central Valley Conference
All Freshman Team
Brett Arce
Josh Lopez
All Conference Team
Rob Watsabaugh
Team Awards
Ball Handling – Brett Arce
5
3 Point Shooting % & Free Throw % - Josh Lopez
Chairman of the Boards, Best Defense & Falcon
Award – Rob Watsabaugh
Falcon Football
Former WHCC football player Adrian McLeod ―Bubba‖ has
been selected as a ―Pre-Season All American‖. He
graduated in the spring of 2008, and played last season at
Western Carolina University. Visit the following link for
more information:
http://www.catamountsports.com/sports/m-footbl/specrel/050709aaa.html
Falcon Baseball
Baseball Awards
Former West Hills Falcon shortstop Isaac Vivas who
transferred to Fresno State last fall has been named the
Western Athletic Conference Player of the week for May 1117, 2009.
Vivas, a junior, helped the Bulldogs to a four game sweep
on the road against Sacramento State last week. Vivas
batted .615 (8-13) with six runs scored, four doubles, 1
home run, two walks and a stolen base. He also helped
Fresno State turn several key double plays during the week
and had a perfect fielding percentage. His home run in the
series final proved to be the game winning run in a 7-6
victory.
While at West Hills Isaac was the Falcon Defensive MVP in 2007, 2008 at which time he earned his A.A. degree with
a 3.53 GPA.
6
Scholarships
High School President’s Scholars 2009-2010 Visits
President Lewallen recently recognized incoming President’s Scholars at various award ceremonies at local high
schools. Recipients included:
Avenal High School Awards Ceremony:
Jessica Vega, Sonia Rizo, Luis Miranda, and Marian Herrera;
Coalinga High School Oscars Night:
Estephanie Garcia, Minerva Mora, Jessica Harrington, Ashley Beck, Yazmin Gutierrez; Monica Patel, Filiberto
Infante, Christopher Scrivner, Fabiola Cabral, Cheri Jaime, Christian Silva, Nicole Rikalo, Fred Mendoza, Eric Okafor,
Samantha Rikalo, Rachel Carter, Jamie Applegate, and Daniel Pimentel;
Faith Fellowship Awards Ceremony:
Abram Howe, Sara Kozlowski, and Blanca Crystal Leon
Firebaugh High School Awards Ceremony:
Wazara Yehia
Farm of the Future
May 21, 2009: twenty-one students along with
their families and friends gathered to celebrate
the completion of the spring 2009 Heavy
Equipment Operations course. Through the
instruction of Merlin Welch, the students
learned how to ―operate crawlers, tractors,
backhoes, excavators, loaders, and motor
graders.‖ Students also learned firsthand the
―use of the level in laying ditches, contours,
land location, measurements, and calculation
of the area.‖ In addition to receiving a
certificate of course completion, students also
were given heavy equipment hats to
commemorate the twelve weeks they spent
together learning how to be heavy equipment
operators.
This class completed a project for the Huron
Police Department. The project consisted of
moving a great deal of dirt to build berms for
rifle and pistol ranges. They also completed
berms surrounding the future site of a ―shoot
house‖ used for training law enforcement
officers. Police Chief Frank Steenport attended the graduation to thank the class for their work.
As part of the ceremony Merlin was able to comment on personal stories and progress of each of his students. The
bottom line, as Merlin put it, ―for many of these students this is a life changing experience‖. Students move on to the
next phase of their lives with valuable equipment operating skills and the soft skills of getting along and functioning as
a team to get a job done‖.
7
Staff Development, Recognition and Involvement
AD Gritton appointed to Hospital Board
Degree Completion
The following employees completed their degree programs this past year and are to be congratulated!
Hillary Davis and Kira Tippins (at left) recently completed a BA in Social Science from
CSU Chico. Both of these young ladies work as Financial Aid Advisors in WHCC
Financial Aid Office.
Rebecca Bumpous, Financial Aid Assistant, completed an
Associate’s Degree.
Johnny Jennings, Program Assistant at Farm of the Future,
completed an Associate’s Degree.
Tenure
The following professors received tenure status this past year and are to be congratulated!
Brandy Wilds, English/ESL Professor
Kevin Wilds, Political Science Professor
8
Erin Corea, Counseling
Robert Skaggs, English Professor
Arkady Hanjiev, Math Professor
Facilities / Bond Measures
AD Gritton appointed to Hospital Board
Measure C Thank You Event
A ―thank you‖ event was held at the Fresno Grizzlies game on May 31 to recognize the many volunteers and
supporters who contributed to the successful passage of the Measure C bond election.
WHCC Wellness Center Project webcam
WHCC now has a webcam installed at the Wellness Center construction site. You can watch real-time, streaming
video of the construction any time on http://webcam.whccd.edu.
NDC Improvement Projects
West Hills College Coalinga’s North District Center (Firebaugh) is undergoing some renovation and modernization
through the use of Measure Q bond funds. Improvements include the following:
Exterior safety and security lighting
Carpet replacement in the NDC Computer Lab as well as the NDC front office area
Interior painting
HVAC repairs and upgrades
Restroom renovation and modernization
It is anticipated that all projects will be completed in time for the start of the fall 2009 term. All NDC summer session
classes are being held at Firebaugh High School.
9