2021 Black History Month events on tap at Grossmont, Cuyamaca colleges

Speaker panels, a poetry reading, and presentations, including one on the nation’s first Black vice president, are among February’s Black History Month events presented by Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.  

A diverse selection of events is being offered at both colleges to honor the traditions, legacies and contributions of Black Americans. All events are free and presented virtually.      

Grossmont College’s events will be available for live-stream viewing on the Grossmont College YouTube channel and Cuyamaca College’s are posted as Culture & Community Circle events on the Student Affairs website. For direct links to the events, go to www.gcccd.edu/news

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College District adds $1.1 billion to local economy

A new economic impact report finds that the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District added $1.1 billion to the San Diego County economy, providing a dependable stream of skilled employees to the region’s workforce and dramatically boosting lifetime earnings of graduates.

The study was conducted by Emsi, an Idaho-based labor market analytics firm which produces similar reports for colleges and universities nationwide. Researchers analyzed data for fiscal year 2018-19 to determine the economic impact and the return on investment for dollars invested by students in their education, by alumni who remain in San Diego County, and the impact of the District’s operational spending. 

Nedra Brown's COVID-19 experience

Nedra Brown

With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, a GCCCD employee agreed to share her experience with the illness. 

As she slowly recovers from her bout with COVID-19, Nedra Brown has a message for anyone who doubts the seriousness of the virus.

“Even if you do not know someone who has been affected, the virus is real,” said Brown, Associate Dean of Athletics at Grossmont College. “The symptoms are real. It’s not something I would want anyone to go through.” 

Brown says she was careful. She has been working from home and only had limited contacts except for trips to the grocery store. When she woke up one morning in November with flu-like symptoms, she was relieved when they went away after she took some pain medication.

About a week later, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Brown was still feeling a little achy when she noticed she had lost her sense of smell. Even a body spray and a strong household disinfectant had no scent for her. Brown was tested for COVID-19 the next day, and learned she was positive.

“I just broke down. I cried and cried,” she said. “I just could not believe it. I felt sad and embarrassed and angry and scared.”

She immediately isolated herself from the others in her household – her sister and her elderly mother, who is at-risk with cancer. None of the people she had been in contact with tested positive for COVID-19, and Brown still isn’t sure how she got the virus.