Rio Hondo College Spanish professor and noted poet Zaro explores the local literary landscape through Poetry.LA, a collaborative that showcases the work of the region’s talented writers. In just over three years, he has hosted 25 video interviews, including his most recent one with L.A.’s poet laureate, Luis J. Rodriguez. Ask Zaro what drives his interest, and he'll you that he has been intrigued by L.A.’s literary vitality since he arrived here two decades ago. In addition to his interview series, Zaro promotes the arts at Rio Hondo College and in the surrounding communities.
Rio Hondo College will conclude spring dates for free star and planet gazing at the Gordon D. Crowell Astrophysical Observatory at 8 p.m. Friday, May 13. The College is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. Guests should arrive 15 to 20 minutes early and park in Lot C in front of the Child Development Center. The walk to the observatory is about half a mile uphill. Flashlights are not required. Viewing is contingent on clear weather. For information, call 562-692-0921, ext. 3742.
Rio Hondo College will conclude its 2016 program of free basic income tax return help with one final day of service, from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 13. IRS-certified students from help with tax preparation for qualifying individuals and families who earned $52,000 or less in 2015 as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Call 562-463-7359 to make appointments. Those seeking aid will need to bring identification as well as all pertinent tax documents and records.
Rio Hondo College’s Student Services Division will partner with Assembly Member Ian C. Calderon, D-Whittier, and the Long Beach California Student Opportunity and Access Program (CalSOAP) to hold a Cash for College workshop and application lab on Saturday, Feb. 6, at the College, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. The workshop will run from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by the application lab from 10 a.m. to noon. Applicants will receive advice, access to computers and help in filling out forms, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The deadline for 2016-17 aid applications is March 2.
Rio Hondo College is doubling the size of its Santa Fe Springs training facility for firefighters and homeland security programs, acquiring 3 acres previously leased. The expanded 6.1-acre footprint gives the College greater flexibility in its development of what many already consider to be the area’s top center for teaching firefighter cadets and training first responders in advanced techniques for natural disasters, hazardous material spills and terrorist attacks. The College has used the land under a lease agreement for nearly nine years, constructing $2.1 million in training props and infrastructure. In 2012, the College worked in collaboration with the Santa Fe Springs Fire Department to open a regional Homeland Security Training Center to serve Los Angeles County on the property. The center is used non-stop by area firefighters and public safety agencies, including area SWAT teams.
Follow-up Story: A Ugandan children’s choir performed Feb. 18 at Rio Hondo College’s Wray Theater during the California leg of its 2015-16 world tour to raise awareness of African children orphaned or who face significant health challenges. The Watoto Children’s Choir was founded in 1994 and includes four adults and 18 children – all of whom have lost one or both their parents. The choir is part of the Watoto Church, which creates villages to care for orphaned children, providing them with stable homes and access to education and health care. The group was invited to perform its “Oh, What Love” tour by Rio Hondo Choral Director Kellori Dower.
Rio Hondo College will host its third annual breakfast for about 100 counselors from 25 area high schools at 8 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the Rio Café at the Rio Hondo College campus, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. This year’s event includes discussion of academic programs, including the Common Assessment initiative aimed at California’s community colleges and how high school transcripts will play a role among other measures in placing students in English and math classes. The event will also provide a tour of Rio Hondo College’s Automotive Technology Department, which began offering a four-year Bachelor of Science degree this year as part of a historic state pilot program, and of Career Technical Education facilities. A program fair will run during the morning so counselors may learn about Rio Hondo College’s student services programs.
Paper planes will loop-the-loop, soar for long distances and perform acrobatics when Rio Hondo College automotive experts hold four aerodynamics workshops from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11 at Scott Avenue Elementary School, 11701 Scott Ave., Whittier. Professor John Frala and the automotive team will guide 120 fourth-graders and 90 fifth-graders in assembling four color-coded planes to show how design differences determine flight patterns. The team chose paper airplanes as a fun way to introduce science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts – areas of increasing demand for careers and focus at colleges.
Follow-up Story: The Associated Students of Rio Hondo College (ASRHC) provided more than 1,400 cans of food to the Whittier Interfaith Food Center when the student government’s annual food drive concluded Nov. 25. The collections more than doubled 2014’s 599 cans, which in turn had doubled the roughly 300 cans collected in 2013. Photos are available.
Follow-up Story: : Rio Hondo College’s Board of Trustees named first-term Board Member Mary Ann Pacheco as its president during the group’s annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 9. Norma Edith Garcia was named vice president and outgoing President Madeline Shapiro was named clerk. Board members Vicky Santana and Gary Mendez, both re-elected in November, also took their oaths of office.
