Cuyamaca College holds bone marrow drive for automotive instructor

It was his conquest over cancer the first time around and a changed perspective that led longtime mechanic Jake Konen to a new career teaching at Cuyamaca College.

From left, Jake Konen's son Josh; daughter-in-law Veronica Gehrich;
Be the Match representative Janet Higgens and Cuyamaca College
President Mark Zacovic

Four years after he beat non-Hodgkins lymphoma, cancer has returned to wage another war, this time in the form of acute leukemia. And Konen is determined to once again prevail.

On Thursday, while he was at the hospital with Tina, his wife of 22 years, his sons and other family members were at Cuyamaca, taking part in a donor registry drive the college sponsored on his behalf. The six-hour event netted 34 people who swabbed their cheeks for cell samples and signed up for a national registry --  a commitment until age 61 to donate stem cells or bone marrow to any patient with whom they’re found to be a match.

“It was a great drive – it only takes one match to potentially save a life,” said Janet Higgens, community outreach specialist with Be the Match, the largest registry of potential marrow donors in the world.

Community college leaders endorse proposal for 4-year degrees

A proposal that would enable community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in selected majors with high workforce demands has been endorsed by the leaders of the nine community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties. 

 Twenty-two other states already offer baccalaureate degrees at their community colleges, and the proposal is gaining momentum in California as a study group of representatives from higher education prepares to issue its final report.

On December 2, the chief executive officers of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association (SDICCCA) voted unanimously to endorse the concept.  SDICCCA members include all of the region’s community colleges and community college districts.

“Our local community colleges excel at preparing students to enter the workforce in career technical fields such as nursing and allied health,” said Dr. Melinda Nish, president of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association and superintendent/president of Southwestern College.  “This proposal would enable community colleges to grant four-year degrees in similar fields.  It’s time for California to join this national movement and address our local workforce and student needs.”

Winter Wonder Jam music fest at Cuyamaca College

Lyrical Groove

If home-grown music is your thing, then the place to be this Friday night is the Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Theater, the venue for the always eclectic and entertaining Winter Wonder Jam, produced by students in the college’s Music Industry program.

Set for 7-10 p.m. Dec. 6, concert-goers will be treated to music ranging from rock, pop, jazz, acoustic and hip- hop.

Headlining this year’s show is the genre-defying group, Lyrical Groove, a 2013 San Diego Music Award winner for best hip-hop artists. Sharing the Cuyamaca stage will be the heavy metal sounds of It All Starts Here; the electronica band, D.L.O.D. (Digital Lizards of Doom) and rock/jazz instrumentalist Jay Williams.

Admission to the annual event is three cans of food to be donated to the San Diego Food Bank or $5.

Comet ISON, Thanksgiving and Chanukah -- all in one day

As if Thanksgiving and the first day of Chanukah falling on the same day were not coincidence enough, the comet ISON will be at its closest point to the sun—about 750,000 miles away-- on that day, Thursday, Nov. 28^th.

Grossmont College Astronomy Prof. Ross Cohen says for people who don’t have the proper equipment for comet watching,  at the time of its closest approach to the sun, it is safest to turn to the Internet or to television to view images from satellites that will be tracking the comet from various vantage points in space.  

At its closest point to the sun, called the perihelion, Comet ISON skims past the sun– as viewed from Earth.  But various satellites have other vantage points and might even see it cross in front of the sun.

If Comet ISON survives the transit, it is expected to display a bright trail of rock, ice and other space materials gathered from its origin in the mammoth Oort Cloud, a vast expanse of comets surrounding our solar system.  Cohen suggests that pre-dawn in the first several days of December may be the safest time to see the comet because viewers won’t have to contend with the sun’s glare.

Registration open for winter, spring classes

         Registration is now open for the first winter session – or intersession -- classes at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges since 2009.

Registration is also now open for spring 2014 classes, which start Jan 27.

Thanks to last year’s passage of Proposition 30, the tax plan that fortified education after four devastating years of state budget cuts, the colleges are offering more than 50 intersession classes between Jan. 3-24.  Before the passage of Prop. 30, debilitating funding losses totaling $16 million to Grossmont-Cuyamaca forced the district to slash 1,600 classes and to turn thousands of students away at a time of record demand.

“After years of having to turn away students because fewer classes were available, we’re happy to offer more options for students to reach their educational goals,” Chancellor Cindy L. Miles said.

District joins county's Live Well San Diego network

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board voted this week to join San Diego County’s “Live Well San Diego” campaign, part of the district’s commitment to supporting the health and wellness of the campus communities at the two East County colleges.

The county program was launched in 2010 as a long-term initiative to improve the health and well-being of all residents by involving partners including cities and schools to promote healthy, safe and thriving communities. The program was created to tackle three behaviors that have contributed to more than 60 percent of the deaths of East County residents – poor nutrition, lack of exercise and tobacco use.

The Governing Board passed a resolution Tuesday ratifying the district’s partnership with the county, becoming among the first higher-education institutions to join the Live Well San Diego network.

More than 240 high school students attend Day of Dance at Grossmont College

High school students dancing at Grossmont College

With California’s cash-starved K-12  public schools often feeling forced to deemphasize the arts in order to provide education in traditional academic subjects, East County high schools in cooperation with Grossmont College have an encouraging message for students with aspirations toward careers in the performing and visual arts.  There’s light --and movement--at the end of the tunnel!

More than 260 students from eight East County high schools recently attended technique classes and performances put on by Grossmont College’s Dance Department to familiarize themselves with the wide range of opportunities for aspiring dancers.

Prof. Kathy Meyer said that the high school students were treated on Friday, Nov. 15, to an abbreviated performance of “Breaking Boundaries,” the dance concert that Grossmont College presented in three performances last week at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre in San Diego.

In addition, high school students from Valhalla, Grossmont, Monte Vista, San Pasqual, Ramona, El Capitan, Helix Charter, and San Diego SCPA got to try their feet in a variety of dances demonstrated by Grossmont faculty.

David Mullen instructed the Jazz, Partnering, and Contact Improvisation classes, Kathy Meyer taught the Pilates mat classes, Melissa Adao instructed the Hip Hop classes as well as a Horton style Modern Dance class, Debi Toth-Ward instructed a Modern Dance class in the Taylor technique, Nancy Boskin-Mullen taught sections of both Salsa and Swing dance, and Colleen Shipkowski instructed the Ballet classes.

Meyer said over the years the day of dance has proven popular with serious young dancers.  “We often hear from students that their visit to Grossmont College for the High School Dance Day was the deciding factor in attending Grossmont College after their high school graduation,” she said. 

“It is an exciting event for the high school students, the Grossmont College dance instructors, and the high school dance educators and allows for a dialog that would not be possible without the one-on-one connection created during this annual event.”