Telemundo anchor Dunia Elvir will address 1,400 graduates at Rio Hondo College's 53nd commencement at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 26. The ceremony will honor several graduates for overcoming adversity as well as 14 students in the College's Pathway to Law School inaugural class. Superintendent/President Teresa Dreyfuss and Associated Students of Rio Hondo College President William Ashby will speak. Academic Senate President Robert Bethel will present the Marie I. Pellissier Award to class valedictorian Maritza Acuña Gaxiola. Board of Trustees President Mary Ann Pacheco will honor emeritus professor of sociology and economics Maurice Meysenburg as a Fellow of the College. Rio Hondo College is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
A car accident staged on Friday, May 13 will provide a venue for students across multiple Rio Hondo College disciplines to collaborate on emergency response techniques mirroring those of a real-life crisis. The Collaborative Crisis Scenario will test how more than 100 students studying to be nurses, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and journalists respond to an emergency. Two sessions – at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. – will enable all students to participate. Students from the College’s visual and performing arts departments will support the effort by performing as victims and suspects during the event, staged at the Administration of Justice Annex on campus.
Rio Hondo College’s groundbreaking Automotive Technology Program received approval April 27 to offer California’s first Associate of Science degree in hybrid, electric vehicle and fuel-cell technology, a high-demand career field. Students will study electrical systems, chemistry, physics and applied math – a blend of skills required by the complex alternative-fuels vehicles. A.S. students will be prepared for technician jobs and qualify for Rio Hondo College’s historic Bachelor of Science program in automotive technology.
Follow-up Story: The Associated Students of Rio Hondo College (ASRHC) unveiled a Hydration Station on April 20 at the Student Union. The $5,000 station, in the works for six months, will be available from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. The station will provide students, campus employees and visitors with a free, environmentally friendly source of refrigerated pure water to refill reusable water bottles. Rio Hondo College is one of just a few community colleges in the region to boast such a facility.
Follow-up Story: Victor Villaseñor, acclaimed author of “Rain of Gold” and other works exploring the concept of cultural heritage, led a stellar roster at Rio Hondo College’s annual Writes of Spring on April 20-21 in Rio Hondo College’s Wray Theater. Also speaking were playwright Christel Joy Johnson, American Book Award winner Alex Espinoza, Faulkner Prize winner Tracy Robert and poet Marsha de la O. Students screened films and conducted readings from the Rio Hondo College literary anthology, River’s Voice. Photos are available.
Rio Hondo College will hold a groundbreaking celebration at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 for its Pico Rivera Educational Center, 9456 Marjorie St., Pico Rivera. The center will open for classes in fall 2016. It is the third such regional center created by Rio Hondo College since 2010. The college is upgrading seven buildings at El Rancho Unified School District’s former adult school to create a collegiate identity and to integrate digital learning tools into six classrooms. The site will include a shaded quad and 1.3 acres of parking.
Twins Maritza and Janeth Acuna almost didn’t come to Rio Hondo College. The inseparable Downey teenagers were prepared to give up their dream of playing college soccer in exchange for attending a top-notch, four-year university, even though it meant carrying significant debt without help from sports scholarships. But they decided to give soccer another shot and chose Rio Hondo because faculty members showed interest in them not only as athletes, but also as students. Now, two years later, they are garnering national attention for leading their team to the No. 2 spot in the state, an achievement on par with their stellar academic performance. The icing on the cake? UC Irvine, where they were accepted out of high school, has offered scholarships that will pick up where grant aid leaves off, allowing them to continue pursuing the sport they love while they prepare for careers in medicine.
A Rio Hondo College student with six children is being honored by Soroptimist International for overcoming life challenges as part of the organization’s 2016 Live Your Dream Awards. Oralia Lopez Alcorta, who is seeking her associate’s degree in sociology, will be considered Sunday, May 15 for a regional-level 2016 Live Your Dream Award. Alcorta is one of five Rio Hondo College students honored by Soroptimist International of Whittier with club-level 2016 Live Your Dream Awards on Feb. 23. Like Alcorta, recipients Natasha Rubalcava, Lorraine Montano, Reylene Priego and Ruth Noemi Rodriguez are all single mothers who participate in Rio Hondo College’s EOP&S/CARE program.
Rio Hondo College has been named to the 2016 list of Top 25 Community Colleges for Hispanics by Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine, recognizing the College’s popularity among Latino students and its success in helping them attain degrees.
The list is based on data reported by community colleges to the National Center for Education Statistics. Rio Hondo College ranked 13th for its Latino student population, at 80.7 percent in 2014. The College ranked 24th for associate degrees completed by Latino students for data reported for the same year.
Follow-up Story: Rio Hondo College held a grand-opening celebration March 23 for its new soccer field, an NCAA-regulation size artificial turf pitch. The complex includes a synthetic six-lane track, a three-stage lighting system that will allow night games, new bleachers and restrooms. The project began March 30, 2015.
