Diversity Dialogues workshops take aim at prejudices and racism

Microaggressions and cultural misunderstandings are among the topics tackled this fall when Cuyamaca College launches its latest series of Diversity Dialogues with a Sept. 13 workshop focusing on latent biases.

The fall season of Diversity Dialogues begins less than two months after Cuyamaca became the first community college in San Diego County to earn the prestigious John W. Rice Diversity & Equity Award from the California Community Colleges system. Cuyamaca was honored for an accelerated pathways program that is eradicating achievement gaps and significantly boosting the numbers of students completing required math and English courses.

“Cuyamaca College prides itself on being a welcoming campus where different cultures are celebrated, not condemned, where different languages are treasured, not buried, and programs such as Diversity Dialogues continue to enlighten and educate our students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes.

All workshops, which are free and open to the public, take place in Room I-207 of the Student Center.

Anonymous donation to fund future scholarships at Cuyamaca College's Automotive Technology program

         

An anonymous San Diego County couple motivated by a desire to give back to the community has pledged $100,000 to help students at Cuyamaca College’s award-winning Automotive Technology program fund their education.

           The couple, who once attended a community college, said they hope the new ‘Pay It Forward Scholarship Program’ funded through their planned gift will ensure that any student with an interest can secure the training needed to thrive in an increasingly technologically complex industry with good-paying, in-demand jobs.

           “Thousands of students come to Cuyamaca College every year for the education and skills they need to secure well-paying jobs and better their lives, and we are absolutely thrilled this amazing couple is providing such a generous gift to our Automotive Technology program,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna Barnes. “So many of our students need additional financial support to meet their educational goals, so this new scholarship program will be a huge difference maker.”

         

District's Proposition V bond program lauded as model of transparency

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District has received a perfect score on the transparency of its information about the Proposition V construction bond program.

The East County college district was one of eight San Diego County school and college districts, out of 23 with school bonds that were rated, to receive a perfect rating by the San Diego County Taxpayers Educational Foundation. This is the fourth year that the district has received outstanding marks for its bond program.

The district was also noted as one of the “models of success” for its timely dissemination of information, and the foundation urged other school districts to follow the model in providing information about their bond programs. The district’s Proposition R and V website was praised for its organization and user-friendly interface so that information can easily be found.

Fall concert series begins at Cuyamaca College

A wide range of musical styles - from Korean folk to the soundtrack of Guardians of the Galaxy - is coming to Cuyamaca College's Samuel M. Ciccati Theatre courtesy of the the annual Fall Concert Series that launches Aug. 27.

Most performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with ticket prices set at $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors, unless otherwise noted. Guests can call (619) 660-4288 for reservations, and the first 20 students who attend are admitted for free.

• The Fall Concert Series kicks off Monday, Aug. 27, when jazz pianist extraordinaire Chase Morrin, who gave the premiere performance at the theater when it opened 10 years ago, returns with DoYeon Kim, a South Korean virtuoso on the gayageum, a traditional instrument of her homeland, for a selection of their original award-winning music.
• The Jeff Tower Memorial Quartet, named after the late Hemet High school icon who taught scores of students who went on to careers as music educators or performers, performs Friday, Sept. 21. The band, led by Hemet High School alumnus and Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Chair Taylor Smith, is comprised of graduates of the high school's program, some who also attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Tower died on July 4, 2017. Under his leadership, the Hemet High School band recorded several albums and performed across the world.

Dramatic fusion of jazz, Korean music coming to Cuyamaca

Chase Morrin, DoYeon Kim perform as GaPi

Ten years ago, a then-13-year-old Chase Morrin gave the premiere performance at Cuyamaca College’s jewel of a theater, now known as the Samuel M. Ciccati Performing Arts Center.

On Monday, Aug. 27, Morrin returns at 7:30 p.m. to Cuyamaca College to perform the music of GaPi, an enthralling fusion of jazz and Korean folk music that last year won the Korean equivalent to a Grammy. It is the first concert of the college’s fall semester. 

What started as a friendship at the New England Conservatory in Boston turned into a full-fledged collaboration between the former child prodigy-turned-jazz pianist and composer and DoYeon Kim, a South Korean virtuoso on the gayageum, a traditional instrument of her homeland.  Morrin, 24, and Kim released their first album of original compositions in 2017 and toured South Korea, where they were nominated for best Jazz Cross-over at the 2017 Korean Music Awards.

Cuyamaca helps auto tech students navigate toward jobs

Cuyamaca College’s Automotive Technology program and a coalition of independent repair shops are primed to launch a new associate degree program that will enhance paid hands-on training opportunities and lead to more jobs for graduates.

The Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA) Associate of Science Degree program is the state’s first associate degree program that combines classroom and online teaching with on-the-job training at independent repair shops. The program will kick off at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at Cuyamaca College’s Student Center in room I-207 . High school and college auto tech instructors and shop owners are encouraged to attend the free event, part of a three-day conference of ASCCA, the largest independent automotive repair council in the state whose members represent all areas of the auto repair industry.

Lina Abdulnoor: Cuyamaca College alumna has sights set on medical school

Lina Abdulnoor

She is a research assistant at UC San Diego’s Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, she was invited to the prestigious National Collegiate Research Conference at Harvard University, and she once served as an emergency room volunteer at UCSD Medical Center – Hillcrest. 

Meet Cuyamaca College alumna Lina Abdulnoor, who earned her bachelor’s degree in physiology and neuroscience from UCSD with the Class of 2018. Now she has her sights set on medical school.

Not bad for an Iraq War refugee whose family was targeted during the height of the chaos and who didn’t know more than a few words of English when she moved to El Cajon in the spring of 2013. 

“I try not to worry too much about all that,” Abdulnoor said. “I’m mostly focused on my studies and getting into medical school.”

“Lina is an inspiration,” said Cuyamaca College Biology Professor Kathryn Nette, who also serves as chair of the Science & Engineering Department. “Despite all of the incredible challenges in her life, Lina did all the right things, participating in every event that we held and in multiple student laboratory research programs. She went far over and above the minimum requirements as a student, and that will pay off for her in the future. I have no doubt that she will achieve all of her goals in life, and that she will be a role model for future Cuyamaca students.”

Drama and comedy as Grossmont College 2018-19 Theatre Arts season gets underway

The critically acclaimed masterpiece “Arcadia,” an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Goloshes of Fortune,” and the dramatic comedy “She Kills Monsters” are among the classics headlining the Stagehouse Theatre’s 2018-19 season at Grossmont College.

Season and individual tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling (619) 644-7234 or by visiting www.grossmont.edu/theatrebrochure . Parking is free.      

The new season opens with a production of “Arcadia,” a 1993 play written by Tom Stoppard delves into the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, certainty and uncertainty. Directed by Beth Duggan, “Arcadia” will be performed Oct. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 6 and 13 at 2 p.m.