Scholarships awarded to 142 students at Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges

More than 142 students were honored as scholarship winners.

More than $80,000 in scholarships was awarded to 142 students at Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges in a joyful event Saturday that honored the students’ accomplishments and recognized the challenges they faced during their journey to academic excellence.
The scholarship award ceremony for both colleges was held at the La Mesa Community Center and was sponsored by the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges, the philanthropic arm of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

Cuyamaca College's Fleure Fraser

Grossmont College's Kian Kline-Chilton

Foundation board chair Judy Garrett noted that many of the scholarship recipients dealt with personal issues that included financial difficulties, unstable families, homelessness or recent arrivals from other countries.

'Paving the Way' production honors African-Americans

Black History Month celebrations at Cuyamaca College culminate with “Paving the Way,” a Feb. 26 event at the Performing Arts Theatre that melds music, theatre, dance, and poetry in saluting African Americans who were pioneers in their field.

Shaletha Arnold: Forming a Black Student Union at Cuyamaca College

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 debuts during a Feb. 25, Black History Month event on the Grand Lawn, where Arnold and others will be joined by black business and civic leaders in introducing the group to the college community. The event, which includes speakers and free food, is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  

“We make up between 6 and 7 percent of the student population, which is not an insignificant number,” said Arnold. “We need to come together and work with each other in creating mentorships and support and educational programs.”

 

Groundbreaking Cuyamaca College program lifting students to success

Alexander Kraft with Mark Twain at the UC Berkeley library

Alexander Kraft was one of those students who never excelled in math. Problem was, the Cuyamaca College English major had fared so poorly on standardized assessment tests that he needed to take multiple remedial math classes prior to enrolling in a college-level course needed to move on to a four-year university.  

In other words, a subject that was not his academic focus was threatening his aspirations of an English professor. 

Kraft found a solution at Cuyamaca College’s trailblazing Stats Academy, a one-semester, remedial math class that sets students up to flourish in a transfer-level statistics course. The program has been so successful that it is helping to throw the traditional approach to community college remediation on its head. 

“Math requirements have always presented a barrier to my academic success,” he said. “I had to take a remedial math class before I could even take a transfer level math class, and it wasn’t something I was looking forward to. But the pedagogical approach in the Stats Academy was so effective in getting me to understand mathematical concepts.”

 

Dedication to students motto of award-winning faculty

Pearl Lopez, Grossmont College

David Ivester, Cuyamaca College

Marvelyn Bucky, Cuyamaca

Two instructors at Cuyamaca College and a counselor at Grossmont College have been honored for their contributions to their campuses and commitment to student success.

Pearl Lopez, a counselor in Grossmont College’s Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) office, received the President’s Leadership Award in recognition for distinguished service to students, faculty and staff. English instructor Marvelyn Bucky and Environmental Health and Safety Technology instructor David Ivester received the 2016 Awards for Teaching Excellence at Cuyamaca College.

Black History Month at Grossmont, Cuyamaca colleges

A celebration of black history that includes music, dance and theater performances at Cuyamaca College and an African-American Read-in at Grossmont College are among February’s Black History Month events.

Included among the events will be tributes to iconic figures like Martin Luther King Jr., President Obama, Maya Angelou and others, in addition to lesser-known names such as Daisy Bates, a civil rights heroine who led the charge to desegregate the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957.

Top talent on tap for Cuyamaca College's Spring Concert Series

San Diego Early Music Society performance starts music series

The 2016 Cuyamaca College Spring Concert Series gets under way Feb. 21 with a San Diego Early Music Society performance kicking off a season of productions covering styles ranging from Baroque and mariachi to jazz and rock ‘n’ roll.

A new series of Diversity Dialogues at Cuyamaca College

A new series of Diversity Dialogues, a program of free Cuyamaca College workshops aimed at fostering a greater understanding of diverse cultures and various social issues, launches Feb. 18 with a session on becoming mentors in promoting social justice and change. 

 “Cuyamaca College is a leader in promoting a culture of inclusion and engagement, and Diversity Dialogues underscores our commitment to fostering discussion, understanding and action in this area,” Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes said. 

Lauren Vaknin, Cuyamaca College’s associate dean of student affairs, developed the Diversity Dialogues in spring 2011, initially offering three workshops that drew a total of about 50 students. These days, about 250 people – mostly students -- attend the workshops each year. All of the workshops are free and open to the public. 

Preschoolers at Cuyamaca College eating healthy - and loving it!

         Curried chicken salad. Roasted garlic and rosemary bean soup. Roasted turmeric caulifower. 

Menu selections from a hot new restaurant? Guess again.  

Preschooler finds food finger-licking good.

These are dishes on February’s menu for the preschoolers at Cuyamaca College’s Child Development Center, which recently contracted for food services through the Neighborhood House Association, a multi-purpose human services agency and the local administrators of the federal Head Start program. NHA prepares and delivers thousands of made-from-scratch meals daily to preschools like the facility at Cuyamaca College. 

Diversity Dialogues return to Cuyamaca College Feb. 18

A new series of Diversity Dialogues, a program of free Cuyamaca College workshops aimed at fostering a greater understanding of diverse cultures and various social issues, launches Feb. 18 with a session on becoming mentors in promoting social justice and change. 

“Cuyamaca College is a leader in promoting a culture of inclusion and engagement, and Diversity Dialogues underscores our commitment to fostering discussion, understanding and action in this area,” Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes said.  

Lauren Vaknin, Cuyamaca College’s associate dean of student affairs, developed the Diversity Dialogues in spring 2011, initially offering three workshops that drew a total of about 50 students. These days, about 250 people – mostly students -- attend the workshops each year. 

All of the workshops are free and open to the public.