Rio Hondo College Women Sweep Soroptimist Scholarship Competition
Soroptimist International of Whittier has named five Rio Hondo College students as winners of $15,000 in Live Your Dream scholarships, which help single mothers pursue higher education dreams. This year’s winners, who were honored at a March 14 lunch, are Charlotte Banister, Heather Estrada, Sofia Tortoledo, Lorena Roknipour and Leah Nolan. Banister will receive $5,000 and advance to a regional competition; the others will each receive $2,500. Each woman participates in Rio Hondo College’s Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOP&S) and Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) programs, which assist students who have language, social and economic disadvantages.
Follow-up Story: “A Taste of Rio,” the signature event of the Rio Hondo College Foundation, brought in an estimated $102,000 in total donations on April 28 for student scholarships and other support services. Foundation officials hosted a capacity crowd of more than 500 guests at the evening wine, beer and food-tasting event atop Rio Hondo College’s hilltop campus. Figures for the event’s impact are still tentative, but early estimates indicate a substantial boost over 2016 – which in turn significantly topped all previous years.
Follow-up Story: : Students in Rio Hondo College’s Pathway to Law School program competed head to head against students from four-year universities at an American Mock Trial Association tournament at Pomona College in February. This is the College’s first foray into mock trial competition. Accompanied by Debate and Forensics Team head coach Grant Tovmasian, students prepared two cases – as defense and prosecution – for four separate rounds over the two-day contest. The Pathway to Law School program guides students from Rio Hondo through four-year institutions to enrollment in one of six top California law schools. The program is offered at 28 California community colleges. Photos are available.
IRS-certified students from Rio Hondo College on Friday, April 14 will provide the final day of free income tax return aid for individuals and families who earned $54,000 or less in 2016 as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The program runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Administration of Justice Building Room 203, Rio Hondo College, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. VITA volunteers will help prepare Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. No appointments are necessary.
Seventy-six Rio Hondo College students received scholarship awards totaling nearly $64,000 from the Rio Hondo College Foundation at the Fall 2016 Scholarship Awards Reception on Jan. 27. The students received 104 separate awards. The event was attended by College leaders, donors, family members and friends. The Rio Hondo College Foundation oversees the scholarship awards process, and accepts gifts from donors throughout the community, including many faculty and staff at Rio Hondo. Additional funds are raised through the Foundation’s annual Taste of Rio event in April. Photos are available.
Follow-up Story: More than 140 community members explored Rio Hondo College’s career and technical education (CTE) options during an open house staged Feb. 25, including students bused in from El Rancho Unified, Paramount Unified and Whittier Union High School District. Visitors, including parents, learned about Rio Hondo’s programs in alternative energy technology and electronics; alternative fuels/fuel cell technician; architecture and engineering technology; civic design technology, drone technology; heavy equipment operation; and graphic design; as well as the College’s new Bachelor of Science program in automotive technology. Photos are available.
Rio Hondo College has been selected to receive a NASA-sponsored California Space Grant that will provide 12 students with hands-on instruction in science, technology, engineering and math as a way of boosting their interest in STEM fields and raising academic performance. The grant, announced Jan. 30, brings the College $6,000 for student scholarships, $1,000 for equipment and $500 for faculty mentor awards. In addition, the consortium will fund a trip to either NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and will host online webinars on research topics.
Follow-up Story: Forty-five firefighters from across California hewed their way through structures and carved up cars during an 11-day advanced training course at Rio Hondo College’s annual Regional Truck Academy that concluded Feb. 3. The program, launched in 2006, offers professionals a mix of lectures and hands-on exercises, including forcible entry into burning structures, structure ventilation, high-rise operations, elevator rescues, rope rescues, thermal imaging, auto extraction and rapid intervention tactics. Photos are available.
Rio Hondo College Professors to Serve as Judges in Hillcrest Arts Fest
Rio Hondo College art history professor Sheila Lynch and design and drawing professor Ron Reeder will join four other art professionals to judge the 57th annual Hillcrest Festival of Fine Arts, set for Friday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, Feb. 26. The juried competition’s categories range from photography and water color to graphics/mixed media, sculpture and religious. More than 200 artists participate annually. The festival is hosted by Hillcrest Congregational Church, 2000 West Road, La Habra Heights. For information, go to www.hillcrestfestivaloffinearts.com/.
Rio Hondo College will showcase transfer and career pathways, honors programs, financial aid, adult re-entry programs and student support services at a Community Education Forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 11 at the Rio Hondo College Educational Center at Pico Rivera, 9426 Marjorie St., Pico Rivera. The forum will provide community members with a chance to meet faculty from Rio Hondo’s academic and career programs, including nursing, public safety, business administration and automotive technology. For details, call 562-908-3403 or email outreach@riohondo.edu. A light dinner will be served and drawings will be held.
