June 2017

Inside this Issue Graduates Honored in Commencement Ceremonies 1 Bellevue Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting 1 Valdez and Cruz Make All-California Academic Team 2 Day-Dorrel: Be Kind to Others, Be Yourself, Think Positive 2 Wanta and Rock Complete KCCD Leadership Academy 2 Professor Abbott Retires after 23 Years 3

Palacios Promoted to CDC Teacher 3 Sulub and Hire Recipients of HTCC Scholarships 3 Eleven Receive Emeritus Status 4 French is Back 4 Foundation Feature: Hughes Receives Athletic Academic Achievement Award 4

Graduates Honored in Commencement CeremoniesGraduation marks a significant milestone in the lives of college students—a moment in time to cherish, surrounded by the enthusiasm and excitement of completing a goal, or moving one step closer to the completion of another. More than 415 students graduated from Cerro Coso in May as the college conferred degrees and certificates in two separate commencement ceremonies. 83 degrees and 35 certificates were awarded at the Eastern Sierra College Center Ceremony in Bishop on Friday, May 5th. And 331 students earned 415 degrees and 147 certificates presented at the Ridgecrest Campus ceremony on Friday, May 12. Both public events were well attended by friends and family of graduates marching for capacity crowds. What feels like the end is often just the beginning.

ESCC student speakers (l to r): Aleana Mullenhour, Emily Faircloth, and Griffin Covert.

Student speakers for the Ridgecrest ceremony were: Enrique Carrillo Sulub (IWV Campus), Eric Warda (Tehachapi Campus), and Kayla Voigt (IWV Campus).

Bellevue Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting

Bellevue University held a grand opening ceremony at Cerro Coso Community College on Thursday, April 27, 2017, to celebrate an educational partnership that will allow Cerro Coso students to transfer their associate degree credits and earn a bachelor’s degree locally. Veronica Chavez (left) is the Relationship Manager located on the Ridgecrest campus, connecting its students to Bellevue University. Also pictured (l to r) are: Pam Campbell, CCCC Director of Student Outreach and Activities; Jill Board, CCCC President; and Jim Grotrain, Senior Vice President for Bellevue University. The university offers over 50 career-related bachelor’s degrees in an online format that lines up well with Cerro Coso’s offerings, and students can utilize the library and computer labs at the college as part of the partnership. Partnering up to produce meaning and value!

Valdez and Cruz Make All-California Academic Team Cerro Coso students Theodore Valdez and Alejandro Tellez-Cruz have been named to the 2017 Phi Theta Kappa All-California Academic Team, a state-wide competition co-sponsored by the Community College League of California and the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. The All-State Academic Team Program provides recognition at the state level for top community college students. Grades, leadership, and community service determine selection to the All-California first, second, and third teams and are chosen based on the scores nominees receive from Phi Theta Kappa judges. Valdez and Cruz both made first team and are among the 85 California students chosen for this year’s awards that represent some of the best of the two million students enrolled in California’s 113 community colleges. Valdez, a Political Science major, was nominated for the award by Dr. Christine Swiridoff. He will be attending UC Berkeley next fall majoring in Law. Ultimately his goal is to promote economic growth in less developed countries through marketization and industrial growth. Cruz is a Liberal Arts and English major at the college and was nominated by Professor Lucila Gonzalez-Cirre. He hasn’t made up his mind on whether to transfer to UC Berkeley or UCLA this fall, but knows he wants to work with their English Department with hopes of finding opportunities to publish his writings. Both Valdez and Cruz attended the Ridgecrest campus, graduated from the college this May, have been active in the Student Government of Cerro Coso, and were members of the college Honors Program and the Beta Kappa Chi Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. “I congratulate and pay tribute to both of these young men for having earned and received this distinguished award,” stated Cerro Coso President Jill Board. Congratulations to both Teddy and Alejandro on their hard work and success!

Day-Dorrel: Be Kind to Others, Be Yourself, Think Positive Elizabeth Day-Dorrel, the new Assistant Teacher at the Cal City Child Development Center, understands the importance of developing young minds and preparing them for the future. A mother of three boys, ages 9, 11, and 12, Day-Dorrel’s knowledge allows her to better identify, interpret, and respond to the needs, challenges, and capacities of children and their families, helping them get the best start in life. She grew up in Lake Havasu

City, Arizona, but has lived in Kern County for the last 15 years. Day-Dorrel attended both Antelope Valley College and Cerro Coso Community College, and recently received her Master Teacher Certificate and Site Supervisor Certificate from Cerro Coso. In her spare time she likes to go to the beach, shop online, garden, and spend time with her wonderful husband and three boys. It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.

Wanta and Rock Complete KCCD Leadership Academy Two Cerro Coso employees have completed the 2016-2017 Kern Community College District (KCCD) Leadership Academy, a professional development program that prepares employees for leadership roles throughout the district. Each year, KCCD presidents submit the names of employees to participate in the program. Professor Matt Wanta, Nursing Director, and Becky Rock, Accounting Manager, were selected for the 2016-2017 cohort after a competitive application process. The KCCD Leadership Academy is a year-long program of monthly meetings on topics specific to community colleges. Academy participants from around the district attended the day-long sessions covering topics on: leadership, decision making, communication, budgeting, student success, accreditation, and more. They also worked outside the sessions on team-based projects to effect positive change across the district. “True leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

2 COYOTE HOWLER

Professor Abbott Retires after 23 Years

On May 15th, beloved English Professor Christine Abbott retired after 23 years as an educator at the Eastern Sierra College Center in Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. The first full-time faculty member to be hired at ESCC in 1994 after Mono and Inyo Counties were annexed into KCCD’s territory, Abbott has shared her passion for undergraduate education in a variety of English classes. “I knew by 17 I wanted to teach English (Yep: inspired by a high school instructor),” she said. “What a lucky person am I to have worked doing what I most love---and with thousands of wonderful students. Our world is in great hands because of our students; in fact, I believe the world will become a better place because of their passion for important global issues.” Professor Abbott has been a moving force in the growth and development of both the Mammoth and Bishop campuses. With a very small staff, titles are often thrown aside, and everyone chips in to help, that’s

just what you do to serve students. “Clearly, full-time faculty with close ties to department members is key to stability and growth. Our close working relationships, among ourselves and with staff members, also contribute to ESCC’s strength, and my joy in working here for 23 years.” She remembers ESCC’s rocky history, “we didn’t have a name: we were simply “Northern Outreach, and occasional packages would arrive from Ridgecrest marked NO,” she laughs. Actively serving on many committees over the years, including: Accreditation Self Study and College Council, Abbott also assisted as an advisor for Metamorphoses, the college literary and art journal. Professor Abbott has invested many hours bringing forward best practices to help students at the ESCC campuses stay engaged and complete their goals, and recently received the status of Professor Emeritus by the Kern Community College District. Her house sold and most of her belongings packed in storage, Abbott and her 10-pound dog Oliver are off to seek new adventures. We will miss our trusted colleague, mentor, and friend and wish her all the best in her retirement.

Palacios Promoted to CDC Teacher

Congratulations to Vanessa Palacios on her recent promotion to Teacher at the Child Development Center (CDC). Joining the staff of the CDC in 2015 as an Associate Teacher, Palacios graduated from the college this May with two Associate’s Degrees: one in Liberal Arts, Arts & Humanities and another in Liberal Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences. It is her mission in the CDC to make parents feel happy and secure, knowing that their children are well taken care of, and in the best educational setting. Well done Vanessa.

Sulub and Hire Recipients of HTCC Scholarships Two honor students from Cerro Coso Community College received prestigious scholarships by the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC). Enrique Carrillo-Sulub and Kelsey Hire each received the HTCC Exemplary Achievement Award. Nominated by Honors Program Coordinator Dr.

Christine Swiridoff, Sulub and Hire were recognized for their extraordinary academic performance, especially as it relates to their work in the Honors Program. Both presented at the HTCC Student Research Conference at the University of California, Irvine. Mentored by Professor Ben Beshwate, Sulub’s presentation on A Paradigm Shift in Medicine, argues that the Black Death sparked an evolution in medicine by causing a paradigm shift from superstitious, speculative medicine to pragmatic, empirical medicine during the Middle Ages. Hire was mentored by Professor Matt Jones and presented on The Politics of Powerlessness: Machine

Politics’ Most Powerful Urban Strategy Taken Nationally by President-elect Donald Trump. Both students received $250 scholarships for their work and graduated from Cerro Coso in May. Sulub will transfer to UC San Diego in the fall majoring in Bio Engineering. Hire will spend her summer as an intern for Congressman Kevin McCarthy. Ultimately she hopes to attend UCLA and an Ivy League Law School to become a Constitutional Lawyer defending First Amendment Rights. “It gives me a great sense of pride to see students from Cerro Coso’s Honors Program present their research at the HTCC Student Research Conference at UCI,” said President Jill Board. “Our student presenters, and the faculty and administrators who support them, are part of a fantastic team who do an amazing job of representing our college every year at the HTCC conference.”

COYOTE HOWLER 3

4 COYOTE HOWLER

Eleven Receive Emeritus Status

L to r: Jeannette Bournival, June Wasserman, Don Mourton, Jon Tittle, Janet Westbrook, Martha Rogers, and Carol Hewer.

The Kern Community College District Board of Trustees granted emeritus status to ten former Cerro Coso administrators and faculty members at its May meeting. To be awarded emeritus status, faculty and educational administrators must have served KCCD for at least 20 years. Administrators and faculty granted emeritus status were: Christine Abbott, Ricky Bell-Perkins, Jeannette Bournival, Roe Darnell, Leo Girardot, Carol Hewer, Don Mourton, Martha Rogers, Jon Tittle, June Wasserman, and Janet Westbrook.

French is Back

Interested in learning French? Cerro Coso Community College is offering French online this summer and fall with instructor Pamela Poole. The international language of cooking, fashion, theater, the visual arts, dance, and architecture, French is the third most used language on the internet, ahead of Spanish. An ability to understand French offers an alternative view of the world and creates a good base for learning other languages. Poole will instruct Elementary French C101 online providing students with the basic grammar and vocabulary for speaking, reading, understanding, and writing at the beginning level. Students will also explore the culture and civilization of the French speaking world in the 5 unit class. Nous saluons le retour – Welcome Back!

FOUNDATIONFEATURE

Hughes Receives Athletic Academic Achievement AwardStudent-athlete Troy Hughes is the recipient of the Cerro Coso Community College Foundation Athletic Academic Achievement Award. As a sophomore, Hughes, has demonstrated dedication and commitment both on the field and in the classroom. A transfer student from Cal State Bakersfield, Hughes has been playing for the Coyotes Baseball Team for the last year. He plays the position of first baseman, hit .326, had 2 home runs, 39 runs batted In (RBI), and he is the athlete with the highest GPA. He graduated from Cerro Coso in May with a degree in Liberal Arts: Math and Science.

Independence DayTuesday, July 4th (College Closed)

BAKERSFIELD COLLEGECERRO COSO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PORTERVILLE COLLEGE

About this PublicationThe Coyote Howler is a publication of

Cerro Coso Community College.For more information about the stories in this publication,

or to include information in this publication, contact Natalie Dorrell, Public Information Manager, at 760-384-6260 or

email ndorrell@cerrocoso.edu.