Mattos—Career Center is Baaack! 1 Rise and Shine it’s Breakfast Time! 1 Simulator Provides Real Life Experience 2 People vs. Dominique Stephens 2 Wheeler to Head Safety and Security 2 Guess What Day It Is for Salisbury? 3 Wonders of the Holidays 3 SGCC Hosts Student Leadership Conference 4 Nursing Capping and Pinning Ceremony 4 Students Helping Students 5 Dickson New Athletic Director 5 Who-liday Buffet 5 Denim and Diamonds Gala Benefit Students 6

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 CERRO COSO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Inside this Issue

Rise and Shine it’s Breakfast Time!First impressions matter—especially on the first day of school. Leaders of the Student Government know the best way to start the day is with a good meal, so they placed themselves in the Sculpture Garden at the Ridgecrest Campus on the first day of classes and served warm pancakes and orange juice for breakfast and hot dogs and sodas for lunch. Welcoming students back after the holidays, greeting new students, and helping them to get a good start to the new semester is what it was all about. We hope they enjoyed the winter break, but it is time to rise and shine and start the New Year right! Action is the fundamental key to success.

SGCC Secretary Taylor Vaughn and lnternational Club Council Representative Ariel Nelson greet students on the first day of the semester with beautiful smiles and warm pancakes.

Mattos—CareerCenter is Baaack!

Ashlin Mattos is enjoying his position in the college Career Center as the new Job Development Specialist. “Helping students find work while filling local workforce needs,” is what Mattos says he likes most about his work. As a Job Development Specialist, Mattos helps students to connect career and major options through one-on-one consultations. Through the Career Center, students can explore their interests, skills, and values, think about majors, connect with alumni and employers, secure internships, find jobs, attend job skills workshops, and investigate programs of study. Challenging himself to leave the familiar behind and plunge into the unknown, Mattos spent a year in Venezuela as an exchange student, and credits the experience with giving him a greater understanding of cross-cultural issues. He spent three years working as a Senior Legal Assistant for an Immigration Law Firm in Fresno that ultimately led him back to Ridgecrest, family, and a familiar, yet slower paced life-style. A native of Ridgecrest, Mattos is a 2004 Honors Program graduate of Cerro Coso with a degree in Social Sciences. He holds three separate Bachelor’s Degrees in Political Science, Anthropology, and Sociology, and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from California State University, Fresno. He has a six year old daughter, Aislin, who lives in Fresno, and spends his free time traveling. Cerro Coso welcomes Ashlin baaack!

Simulator Provides Real Life Experience

She might look and sound like she’s in labor, but don’t let Noelle fool you. “Noelle” and her life-like baby, “Hal”, are the newest additions to the Cerro Coso Nursing Program. Together they give nursing students hands-on training for some of the most difficult situations that can arise during labor and delivery. Designed to provide a complete birthing experience before, during, and after delivery, the maternal and neonatal birthing simulator offers reliable, realistic training for childbirth maneuvers and emergency response when time is short and teamwork is essential. The physiological modeling allows learners to monitor and manage both patients. The addition of the birthing simulator to the Nursing Program greatly impacts patient care and will “help students learn how to treat and react to a variety of situations that can arise in labor and delivery,” said Nursing Director Annette Hodgins, “And will give them the confidence and experience they need when real life situations occur.” You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf!

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People vs. Dominique StephensWas it a case of murder or self-defense? That was the decision facing the jurors in the case of People vs. Dominique Stephens during a mock trial held at the Kern River Branch of the Superior Court of California, Kern County, in Lake Isabella. Cerro Coso Instructor Vikki Del Pellegrino presided over the simulated criminal trial, with students in her ADMJ C115 Legal Aspects of Evidence class assuming the roles of attorneys, witnesses, court recorder, and bailiff. College staff and community members served as jurors, ultimately determining the verdict in the case after pondering over the facts as presented. An effective learning tool for students, a mock trial provides an opportunity to expand speaking, writing, reading, and analytical skills while learning about the judicial system in a fun and competitive manner. Students in the class experience firsthand the difficulties that judges, lawyers, and juries face in determining which facts are relevant and what legal arguments are effective. It was an impressive show of preparation, knowledge, and skills, as the students shrewdly played the parts of prosecution and defense attorneys, competently examining and cross-examining witnesses, and raising objections when they believed it was necessary. A win for the prosecution in the case, a guilty verdict was handed down by the jury when they found the self-defense claim of imminent danger not likely considering the man was shot in the back three times while he slept. Learning by doing, peer-to-peer teaching, and computer simulation are all part of the same equation.

Wheeler to Head Safety and SecurityRetired Captain of the Ridgecrest Police Department and Professional Expert Paul Wheeler has accepted an interim position to coordinate Safety and Security at all Cerro Coso campuses. Committed to providing an environment that is comfortable, supportive, and safe, Wheeler will coordinate emergency preparedness drills, update compliance reports and planning documents, and develop and implement behavioral intervention teams. Please join us in welcoming Wheeler to the college.

Nursing student Marie Johnson delivers baby Hal for the first time.

Student Stan Syzmanski consults with his defense team and classmates Betty Miller and Jesse Davidson during a mock trial.

Guess What Day It Is for Salisbury?

A funny thing happened on the way to retirement for Administrative Assistant Kathy Salisbury, and it came as no surprise when she showed up to work on her last Wednesday dressed as a camel. Yes, it was her last Hump Day at the college. Life has not always been easy for Kathy, who was known for her great costumes around campus. An only child, she lost her father at the young age of 9, left home at 17, suffered at the hands of an abuser, and left as a single mother lost and without direction. Her story of triumph over tragedy is inspiring, “I’ve gone from homeless to owning my own home, financially secure, and set to retire comfortably and I owe it all to Cerro Coso,” she said. Kathy started taking classes at the college in the summer of 1995 and immediately took a job as a student worker in the Learning Assistance Center (LAC). Determined to create a better life for herself and her children, Kathy’s hard work, talent

for numbers, and resolve caught the eyes of those with which she worked. Her career at the college started as a Department Assistant (DA) I in the LAC in 1996, and she served as a DA II in Counseling, DA III in Special Services, and was promoted to Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Student Services in 1998. “I’ve grown a lot in my time at the college,” says the mother of 6, grandmother of 18, and great-grandmother of 2. In her 19 years she has seen a lot of changes, “I got to see the Learning Resource Center built, the politics have certainly changed, met lots of new people, and we suffered some severe budget cuts that we are just now starting to recover from,” she continued. When asked what she would miss most about the college she said “the students, especially the reentry students. I remember how scared I was when I first started going here and it has been my pleasure to help others in similar positions.” Her only regret was not being able to leave with her coworker and friend Paula Caudill, who planned to retire on the same day but sadly passed away in July. Kathy and her husband, Ward, plan to travel in retirement—her first stop, her birthplace in Kentucky. Her oldest son lives there and the two want to explore Glasgow, Louisville, and Sulphur Wells. Kathy holds three degrees from Cerro Coso in Business Administration, Modern Office Technology, and Criminal Justice. She was recognized as Business Student of the Year, Special Services Student of the Year, and was a student speaker at her first graduation in 1998. Last year she shared her inspirational story as an alumni speaker at the Access Program’s graduation luncheon. She and Ward don’t plan to ditch the costumes any time soon as the two already have plans to return as Santa Claus and his elf for next year’s Angel Tree event. Every day is Hump Day in retirement Kathy. Thank you for your years of service and dedication to the college.

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Wonders of the Holidays

Santa’s elves could hardly wait. It was the season to celebrate. They decked the halls and trimmed the tree, anxious for all to come and see. What a lovely time of year. Holiday celebrations galore, shopping for presents, and endless holiday cheer, but there’s one thing that overshadows this blissful time of year for college students. The season of giving is also the season for studying. A stressful time of year as endless study sessions and brain overload seeking last minute knowledge leaves little room for excitement other than that for anticipated finals. Every year, Access Programs sets out to help students relax and rejuvenate with those they hold dear with their Angel Tree event. There were crafts, and games, and sweet treats to eat, as children sat on Santa’s lap for pictures and special gifts purchased by college staff. It was a great occasion for students to take a break from their studies and enjoy the festivities and celebrate the close of one year and the joy of the new one to come. When you pick up an Angel Tree tag, you brighten the holiday for a student and their child!

Brooklynn Rosania, daughter of Cerro Coso student Brittiany Brown, shares an adorable smile with Santa during Access Programs’ Angle Tree activities.

President’s Day HolidayCollege Closed

2/12/16 & 2/15/16

SGCC Hosts Student Leadership ConferenceThe Student Government of Cerro Coso (SGCC) hosted the first district-wide Student Leadership Conference at the Ridgecrest Campus on January 12 and 13, 2016. All three Student Governments, representing the three colleges within the Kern Community College District (KCCD), participated in the two-day event. Workshops provided student government officers with the means to expand their individual and group leadership potentials, as well as with the avenues to apply those skills for broader student advocacy within KCCD, local, and state-wide initiatives. Participation helped officers develop an understanding of how members of an organization can unite and work together through various obstacles and challenges. It also

afforded them the opportunity to meet and create new friendships and partnerships for the future, participate in idea-sharing as it relates to their experiences as student officers, and exposed them to new ideas and ways to partner with others, recognize members, and further the mission of student government. The conference helped students obtain and strengthen leadership skills in conflict and risk management, communication, teamwork, time management, proactive event planning, and goal setting, and trained them in how to utilize internal practices to support organizational sustainability.

SGCC – leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example.

Nursing Capping and Pinning CeremonyIt’s a beautiful thing when a career and passion come together. In a room full of family and loved ones, and with tears in their eyes, fourteen Cerro Coso nursing students from the Ridgecrest Campus recited the Nightingale Pledge and received their nursing caps and pins in a ceremony held on Friday, December 12, 2015, at Immanuel Baptist Church. The ceremony culminated a long, intensive year of learning and clinical rotations. Success such as this does not happen by chance. A year ago, a group of strangers walked through the doors of Cerro Coso, found a common bond, and quickly formed friendships, many of which will last a lifetime. Together they laughed, cried, celebrated birthdays, births, anniversaries, and holidays. They’ve endured long nights of studying, writing care plans, and endless tests. In her address, Annette Hodgins, Director of the Nursing Program, told the class members that they had changed from their first day as new nursing students to graduates who are confident in their skills. “You accomplished it all and today…is about celebrating you and your success,” she said. “From now on you are not just an individual, you are a nurse.” Graduates

Melanie Anderson, Carol Robins, and Jenna Tamblyn sang “My Wish” to their classmates, their words ringing true, “My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to. Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small. You never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you’re out their getting where you’re getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things, too.” Dirk Addis received the Alice Ream Nursing Scholarship for his class leadership and positive can-do attitude. Cerro Coso congratulates the following fourteen nursing graduates on their success: Dirk Addis, Melanie Dawn Anderson, Viola M. Duff, Warner Howard Fellows, Danelle

Ford, Morgan Fuller, Jennifer Huddleston, Jennifer Anne Johnson, M. Marie Johnson, Brandi Moelter, Jillian Nelson, Carol L. Robins, Jenna M. Tamblyn, and Courtney A. Viveros. Being a nurse is more than a job—it’s a way of life.

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Nursing student Melanie Anderson receives a hug of congratulations at the reception following the pinning and capping ceremony.

Heads down, thumbs up. Student leaders from all three colleges within KCCD participate in a team building exercise with a common goal “solving a murder” at the Student Leadership Conference at Cerro Coso.

Students Helping StudentsStudents in David Villicana’s welding class assisted in making two steel doors that will be placed on wheels for use by students in Jarrod Bowen’s Modular Law Enforcement Academy. The doors will be used on the firing range for cover, simulating an officer’s patrol car doors. The program also recently added a simulator that offers interactive use of force and firearms training. The simulator with 3D capabilities helps prepare students for the stressful situations they are likely to face on the streets. The unit features real life scenarios where students can use a range of weapons including pepper spray, stun guns, batons, and firearms. “What we do is reality based training,” said Bowen. “This is about as close to reality as you can get.” True leadership lies in guiding others to success.

Who-liday BuffetEvery Who down in Who-ville likes sweet treats…but the Grinch who lived north of Who-ville did not. That was, until he came to Cerro Coso’s Who-liday Breakfast Feast. All the Whos in Who-ville were invited to the buffet. Who-staff and faculty celebrated as administrators did things to brighten their day. The Whos young and old sat down to a feast, and they’d feast, and they’d feast until their pants were two sizes too small. It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And they puzzled and puzzled, till their puzzlers was sore. Then they thought of something they hadn’t before. The Who-lidays don’t come from a store, the Who-liday celebration, means a little bit more. Oh, the Who-manity of it all. The tall and the small, it was fun time for all.

Dickson New Athletic Director Cerro Coso officially has a new leader of its athletic programs. Kris Dickson will now be in charge of the Cerro Coso Coyotes. College President Jill Board said Dickson is definitely the person for the job. “He is a leader and a strategic thinker who understands how to build a successful program.” Dickson first joined the Cerro Coso staff in 2013 as head coach of the new Lady Coyote’s Soccer Team before being deployed to Bahrain last year. A Marine for 5 years and a helicopter pilot in the Navy for over 16 years, Dickson will officially retire from the military on 1 May. Great things are in store for athletics at the college this year and Dickson’s extensive experience as a player, coach, and leader make him a perfect fit for the position. He holds a BS Degree in Kinesiology (Physical

Education/Athletic Training) from Sonoma State University, FIFA AFC (Asian Football Confederation) “C” License, and an NSCAA Director of Coaching Certification, as well as three Master’s Degrees: Sports and Health Sciences and Military History from the American Military University, and National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is also a member of the Cal South Coaches Association and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Dickson and his wife, Cami, love Ridgecrest and are rooted in the community with their two boys: Cole (15) and Casey (13). Cerro Coso thanks Kris for his service to our country and welcomes him back as the new Athletic Director!

L to R: Sylvia Sotomayor, Deborah Gregory, Justin Witt, Natalie Dorrell, and Crystal Leffler, bid staff member Kathy Salisbury a Who-ville goodbye.

Welding students (l to r) Steven Payne, Nicholas Windsor, and Dustin Anderson pose for a picture of the steel doors they made with Instructor David Villicana.

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The Coyote Howler is a publication ofCerro 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 oremail ndorrell@cerrocoso.edu.

About this Publication

BAKERSFIELD COLLEGECERRO COSO COLLEGEPORTERVILLE COLLEGE

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Great news! Cerro Coso’s brand new online school store has officially launched! Treat yourself or your friends with a purchase from the new school store for this school year! Through the VIP Branding Program, the college has a new online school store filled with fresh, new Coyotes gear. Shop for yourself or a student and the Cerro Coso Community College Alumni Association will receive funds from every purchase to support

students and programs. This drives much needed funding to the school and unifies all of us as our students, families, alumni, faculty, and others start to see more and more Cerro Coso Community College gear in the community! Every item sold in our Varsity Shop is custom-made. VISIT THE OFFICIAL NEW SCHOOL STORE BY CLICKING THE IMAGE ON THE COLLEGE HOMEPAGE OR BY ENTERING varsityshop.com/ca_cerro_coso_cc IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER WINDOW.

Go Coyotes!

Denim and Diamonds Gala Benefits StudentsIt is time to get your tickets to the Cerro Coso Community College Foundation’s social event of the season, the 2016 Denim and Diamonds Gala, to be held on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at the Kerr McGee Center. Proceeds from the evening go to support the CCCC Foundation’s mission of being a major force in helping students turn their hopes and dreams for a college education into reality. Last year the Foundation awarded more than $65,000 in scholarships to CCCC students, funded innovative grant project for students and faculty, and provided leadership opportunities. “Education is about partnerships. Whether it’s the connection between a student and professor in the classroom or the support a student receives from our community, the success of an institution and the students it serves truly is a collaborative effort,” said Foundation Chairwoman Dotsy Cronin. Dress up in your favorite blue jeans with a tuxedo jacket or cocktail attire and enjoy an evening of cocktails, great food, a lively auction, great raffle prizes, and dancing. Sponsors are being sought for the Gala with a Special Reserved Table for 8 and all the amenities for $750, and Table Sponsorships for $250 (includes 2 free tickets). Tickets are $40 per person and are available from the College Business Office, Red Rock Books, Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce, and Maturango Museum. For tickets or additional information contact the CCCC Foundation Office at (760) 384-6262. “Giving is not just about making a donation, it is about making a difference.”

FOUNDATION FEATURE