Contra Costa College nursing program director Dr. Sandra Castillo – a Rio Hondo College graduate – will offer the keynote address during Rio Hondo College’s second annual Just Us Girls! Conference, set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 in the Rio Hondo College Learning Resource Center, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. The daylong event is designed to foster connections that will contribute to women’s academic and personal success. Just Us Girls! was founded by Rio Hondo College Psychological Services Coordinator Denna Sanchez in 2014.
Celebrated syndicated cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz will present a talk and advance screening of his new animated TV series, “Bordertown” at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 as Rio Hondo College continues its first-ever Fall Lecture Series. Alcaraz, known for his La Cucaracha comic strip, is the second of three speakers in the series. The event concludes Thursday, Nov. 5 with LGBT rights scholar and activist Dr. Ronnie Sanlo. Rio Hondo College is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
Rio Hondo College won a $2.62 million, five-year federal grant this week to help first-year Hispanic and low-income students prepare for college, identify education goals and map achievable programs of study. The award is one of about 87 five-year grants given by the U.S. Department of Education to colleges and universities at which enrollment is at least 25 percent Hispanic. At Rio Hondo, 70 percent of students are Hispanic. The grant will fund The Avance Project, which will offer students a summer math academy, a guaranteed first-year schedule, a seminar course in which to explore discipline-based career paths, and regular tutoring, counseling and coaching.
Rio Hondo College is partnering with El Rancho Unified School District to open an educational center in Pico Rivera, bringing the promise of higher education closer to home for thousands of residents. When completed in fall 2016, the $1.3 million center will be the third campus of convenience established by the College since 2010. Other sites serve South Whittier and El Monte. The Pico Rivera center will sit on 2.4 acres at El Rancho Unified’s former adult school across the street from El Rancho High School. The College will upgrade seven buildings spanning 6,720 square feet to create a collegiate identity and integrate 21st century learning tools into six classrooms and an office.
Rio Hondo College’s Career Development Center has been renamed the Center for Career and Re-Entry Services (CCRS) to reflect a new role in providing comprehensive support for students age 25 or older who are returning to college or just beginning their higher education journeys. Rio Hondo College’s enrollment includes nearly 1,000 such adult re-entry students who have been in the workforce for at least five years. Adult students face a number of challenges that include financial responsibilities, childcare issues and finding a balance between school, work and home. The center, which has added staffing dedicated to re-entry students, will provide counseling, aid with registering for classes, use of a dedicated computer lab, job and internship aid, and social media network training.
Rio Hondo College will receive $1.1 million in grants over the next five years from the U.S. Department of Education to help low-income, first-generation and underrepresented college students pursue transfers to four-year universities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors. The TRIO/Student Support Services Program will use the money – $220,000 a year – to provide 120 program participants with services that include personal coaching, personal success plans, comprehensive counseling, time-management guidance, community building and financial literacy education.
Rio Hondo College is offering a broad array of programs in the 2015-16 academic year to promote student success, including its new four-year bachelor’s degree, Pathway to Law School Initiative, 21 degrees that guarantee transfer to California State University and premier fire, police and nursing training programs. The academic programs work hand-in-glove with the community college’s equally deep range of student support programs, which include priority enrollment for targeted student groups, a First-Year Success Center and state-of-the-art facilities. The College is launching its fall semester on Monday, Aug. 24.
Rio Hondo College will host an orientation program for first-year students and their families at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19 at the College’s Wray Theater and Rio Café, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. First-Year Family Night sessions – to be conducted in English and Spanish – will provide information on financial aid, student resources and how families can help support their children as they begin their higher-education journey. The event follows four Freshman Welcome Days events in late July and early August that helped nearly 400 new students transition to college. Registration is available at www.go-rio.eventbrite.com or at 562-463-4693.
Rio Hondo College lit up the night on Aug. 12, projecting a giant color image of its logo and the message “Now Enrolling For Fall” against the walls of its five-story Library Tower – a sign visible to drivers along the 605 Freeway and for miles around the hilltop campus. The sign will be cast daily from 7 p.m. to midnight to promote various College programs. This fall, Rio Hondo launched one of the state’s first four-year degrees offered by community colleges, a Bachelor of Science in automotive technology. The college also offers a pathway to law school, 19 degrees that guarantee transfer to a Cal State campus and noted public safety and nursing programs.
Rio Hondo College has joined the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (M2C3) National Consortium on College Men of Color. The consortium facilitates exchange of ideas to boost the success of historically underrepresented and underserved students. Nearly seven in eight male students at Rio Hondo College – 86.8 percent of men who declared ethnicity – identified themselves in 2014-15 as men of color. The group is more than 80 percent Latino, 8 percent Asian, and 4 percent African-American. In the U.S., only 17 percent of African-American men and 15 percent of Latino men earn certificates, degrees or transfer from a community college to a four-year institution in six years.
