Rio Hondo College greeted new and returning students when the fall semester commenced with a new major in homeland security, an expanding roster of academic support services and a pantry resource to combat food insecurity. Students hosted a Welcome and Information booth in the mid-quad area where they answered questions and walked new students to classes.
Rio Hondo College will greet students with a new major, a slate of student support services and a pantry resource when the fall semester begins on Saturday, Aug. 18. The College added an Associate of Science program in homeland security to prepare students to entry-level jobs or to pursue advanced studies at a four-year university. Student support services include dedicated classes to guide students through their courses of study. The RioSource Room pantry opened in 2017-18 to assist students struggling with food insecurity. The room also helps students connect to other services.
Rio Hondo College’s Roadrunner Crew 77 has been called up for the second time this summer – this time to assist crews battling the massive Ferguson Fire that is threatening Yosemite National Park. The crew, led by a U.S. Forest Service crew boss, includes 17 recent graduates of the College’s Wildland Fire Academy. A Type II hand crew, the team assists with all aspects of fire monitoring, suppression and control, including digging fire containment lines. The crew can be called up for 21 days with each activation. It was activated over the July 4 weekend to assist in battling the Agua Caliente fire in Palm Springs.
About 45 members of the Boys & Girls Club of Whittier created electronic escape room games, created relief-prints and composed electronic music during a four-day, project-based summer camp at Rio Hondo College. Camp Rio was sponsored by the Whittier-based BCM Foundation and Pacific Western Bank as a way to offer project-based learning opportunities to area children ages 11 to 13 and inspire interest in college opportunities. Participants not only explored their topics, but enjoyed afternoon sports clinics and, on the last day, a celebration at the Rio Hondo College pool. Rio Hondo College faculty experts taught all classes, with assistance from Rio Hondo students. Children received T-shirts, ball caps and backpacks with material on the benefits of college.
More than 100 middle school students from five school districts built small engines, crystal radios and bridges and learned to do CPR as part of Rio Hondo College’s eighth annual CTE Career Exploration Summer Academy. The academy focuses on health science, engineering and automobile technology – all Rio Hondo College fields of study. The program has grown from 30 middle school students in its first year. Each day includes hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). For example, in the small-engine project, students broke down and assembled a car engine. Along the way, they learned electrical theory, calculations and application. In a structural design class, they constructed and tested the strength of bridges.
About 110 middle school students from five Whittier-area school districts explored career and technical education (CTE) fields in July as part of Rio Hondo College’s eighth annual CTE Boot Camp, a weeklong summer program that also seeks to inspire students to consider their college options. Students designed and tested bridges, built small engines and crystal radios, and learned the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Photos and video are available.
Rio Hondo College will hold the third of three, eight-day Summer Bridge sessions to support incoming first-year students from Monday, July 30 to Thursday, Aug. 9. The program includes a math academy, English preparation course and guided registration for fall classes. The free program is limited to 150 students.
Summer heat and Christmas spirit go head to head in Rio Hondo College’s summer show, “The Hollywood Summer Christmas Show,” an original play with songs and dancing inspired by a child’s love of the mid-winter holiday. The show, which stars an ensemble of nearly 20 Rio Hondo College students, will be performed at 8 p.m. Aug. 3, 4, 9-10, and at 2 p.m. Aug 4, 5 and 11 in the College’s Black Box Theater, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. Admission is free. Attendees will receive a holiday surprise at the show’s end.
Rio Hondo College Spanish Professor Mariano Zaro reviewed writing techniques, collaborated with fellow writers and received guidance on his work during the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing’s 2018 Summer Seminar. Zaro, who serves as co-adviser to Rio Hondo College’s Creative Writing Club, received free tuition and housing for the exclusive weeklong seminar after taking first place in the Institute’s 2018 Writing Contest with a short story titled “Ninamiel/Honeygirl.”
Rio Hondo College will hold its third annual Camp Rio summer program for up to 45 students from the Whittier Boys and Girls Club from Monday, July 16 through Thursday, July 19. The program features hands-on activities designed to inspire interest in college attendance. This year’s program includes a coding track, a design/printmaking track and an electronic music track.