U.S. Reps. Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Norma Torres (CA-35) and Eric Swalwell (CA-15) are inviting Rio Hondo College students to share their views at #FutureForum, a town hall style gathering at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, on how Congress should address national policy issues important to millennials. Attendance will be capped at just under 100 students to engender a “town hall” feel. #FutureForum, chaired by Rep. Swalwell, focuses on engaging millennial Americans to ensure their voices are represented in national policy discussions. Rep. Napolitano suggested Rio Hondo College for the town hall. The session will be held in the College's Administration of Justice Room, 3600 Workman Mill Road. For more information, call the Rio Hondo College Office of Government and Community Relations at 562-463-7268.
Rio Hondo College is staging a production of "The Laramie Project," a play that chronicles the life of the town of Laramie, Wyoming during the year after Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was tortured and killed near the town. Shows will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 in the Wray Theater, Rio Hondo College, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. The play is based on hundreds of interviews of Laramie residents in the months after Shepard was slain in 1998. More than 20 Rio Hondo College students portray over 60 characters.
Rio Hondo College Invites Applications from Former ITT Students
Rio Hondo College is inviting former students of recently shuttered ITT Educational Services to consider the community college as an option for continuing their education. In materials on its website, Rio Hondo College assures former ITT students of its stability – more than 1 million students served in the last 56 years – and sterling reputation for academic programs and career technical preparation. The website lauds the College’s groundbreaking Bachelor of Arts degree in automotive technology and longstanding programs in public safety, business and computer technology. ITT’s closure this month left about 35,000 students scrambling. Rio Hondo College offers classes at satellite campuses in Pico Rivera, El Monte/South El Monte and South Whittier, as well as at its primary campus in Whittier.
A Rio Hondo College emergency medical technician student put his classroom training into practice this month when he stepped in to help a choking woman at an area BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Mark King Jr., 23, of Lynwood, was celebrating a friend’s birthday at the restaurant in Downey on Sept. 16 when some of the guests told him a woman at the party was in distress, possibly having trouble breathing. King sprang into action, using his training to provide the Heimlich maneuver and remove the obstruction.
A Rio Hondo College graduate’s documentary about an unconventional therapy’s potential to aid veterans with traumatic brain injuries is a contender for a special award recognizing its powerful portrayal of the health issue. One of five nominees in the 20th annual PRISM Awards online category, “Hyperbaric Miracles, Episodes 1 and 2” recounts the history of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and barriers to its application to veterans. The film was written, directed and produced by John Salcedo, an Army veteran who graduated from Rio Hondo College in 2007 with an associate degree in small business management and entrepreneurialism.
Rio Hondo to Spotlight Election’s Impact on Community College Students
Rio Hondo College’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Division will host a program titled "Issues Affecting Community College Students and the 2016 General Election" at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. Los Angeles Community College District Trustee Mike Eng will give the keynote address. Eng is a former state Assemblyman and mayor of Monterey Park. The event will be held in the Wray Theater at Rio Hondo College, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
Rio Hondo College has received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to transform delivery of basic skills instruction in English and math, and align its curriculum with courses taught at K-12 schools. The effort will draw on multiple measures for assessing student placement in English and math, and apply accelerated instructional pathways, tutoring and mentoring support to give students the greatest opportunity to progress through the courses.
Follow-up Story: Thousands of new and returning students flooded onto the Rio Hondo College campus in Whittier as fall semester classes kicked into high gear on Aug. 22. Students clustered in small groups to share their first-day experiences, stopped at information booths for last-minute directions to classrooms and pored over new textbooks. New this year is a third satellite campus, the Rio Hondo Educational Center at Pico Rivera, and a Bachelor of Science program in automotive technology. Rio Hondo College is offering the major as part of a historic state initiative.
Rio Hondo College will host its second annual First Year Family Night at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17 to introduce the families of new students to the College community and provide them with avenues for offering support to the freshmen. More than 400 people, representing almost 260 Rio Hondo College families, are expected for the event, which will include dinner, a resource fair and presentations in English and Spanish. Topics include financial aid and student resources. Rio Hondo College is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
Follow-up Story: Rio Hondo College leaders were joined by local educators, city leaders and county, state and national legislators to celebrate the opening of the Rio Hondo Educational Center at Pico Rivera on Aug. 11. The $2.5 million center is located in buildings formerly used for El Rancho Unified School District’s adult school. Rio Hondo College renovated seven buildings to create a collegiate identity and integrate 21st century learning tools into six classrooms and an office. The center will offer 27 courses beginning this month. Photos are available.
