Follow-up Story: Hundreds of students and community members crowded Rio Hondo College’s annual Writes of Spring festival on April 29 and 30 for talks from influential Southern California authors and artists, including nationally syndicated cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, and to celebrate student writing, art and films. Alcaraz creates the La Cucaracha comic strip, which explores Latino political issues.
The El Monte Promise Foundation, a community group that includes Rio Hondo College, local K-12 school districts and community partners, announced on March 12 that it has received $670,000 as incentive donations to encourage local school children to make monthly contributions to 529 college savings plans. The funds will provide incentive gifts each month families donate to the funds. The gifts were announced at a press event in El Monte featuring more than 500 first-graders from area schools.
Follow-up Story: Rio Hondo College hosted 1,159 area high school seniors Feb. 25 and 26 during its largest-ever Senior Preview Days, a program highlighting College programs, student life and academic options. Students were bused in from 27 high schools in Whittier, Pico Rivera, El Monte, La Puente, Montebello, Bell Gardens, Baldwin Park, Downey, San Gabriel and Los Angeles. Roughly 3,800 graduating high school seniors from across the region choose Rio Hondo College each year to start their higher education journeys. In past years, Senior Preview Day focused on schools within the College’s immediate service area, drawing about 750 students annually for a one-day event.
A ceremonial groundbreaking will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 to kick off construction of the Rio Hondo College Veterans Memorial. The memorial will feature a concrete monolith roughly six feet long and three feet tall, capped by a brass plaque and adorned along one side with five plaques representing the five branches of U.S. military service. The memorial includes three flags and a reflection bench. The monument was designed by a task force of staff, faculty and students, and will be placed on the campus’ mid-quad area where it will be highly visible to the College community. Rio Hondo College is at 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.
Community members who earned less than $53,000 per household in 2014 may obtain free income tax preparation assistance at Rio Hondo College from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 10. Appointments are required. The service will be provided in Rio Hondo College's Business Building, Room B-118, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. Community members can make appointments for Rio Hondo’s tax preparation aid by calling 562-463-7359.
Rio Hondo College on Tuesday, Jan. 20, was named as one of 15 California community colleges granted initial approval by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to offer a four-year degree as part of a historic statewide pilot program. The program will undergo additional review by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office before the Board of Governors considers final approval in March. Thirty-four campuses sought approval of degrees in the program, authorized by Senate Bill 850 as a way to train a new generation of graduates for high-demand technical jobs that increasingly require bachelor degrees. Rio Hondo College has proposed creating a Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive Technology that would position students for jobs in the automotive field and comparable posts at sea and rail transit companies.
Follow-up Story: Public safety officers from across Los Angeles County and hundreds of family members joined the 19 cadets of Rio Hondo Police Academy’s 200th class on Jan. 22 at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse to celebrate their graduation from the highly rigorous training program. The students completed almost double the hours required by the state’s standards, training in constitutional law, criminal law, aggressive control techniques, firearms, non-lethal force, domestic violence, mental health and human trafficking.
Follow-up Story: Nearly 50 firefighters from California, South Carolina, Nevada and the Barona Indian Reservation learned advanced techniques Jan. 5-16 during Rio Hondo College’s annual truck academy at the Rio Hondo Fire Training Center, 11400 Greenstone Ave, Santa Fe Springs. The 88-hour training program provided a mix of instructional lectures and visual hands-on exercises, including axe work, forcible entry into burning structures, structure ventilation, high-rise operations, elevator rescues, rope rescues, thermal imaging, auto extraction and rapid intervention tactics.
Rio Hondo College will hold the final of five community educational forums to discuss student service and academic programs at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23 at East Whittier Middle School, 14421 E. Whittier Blvd., Whittier. The community will have an opportunity to meet faculty from the nursing, public safety, auto technology, kinesiology, dance and athletics divisions. Photos are available.
Rio Hondo College’s Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) is hosting its 17th annual “Adopt-A-Child” event from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 at the Rio Hondo Café at the College, 3600 Workman Mill Road, Whittier. The festive holiday luncheon – a Rio Hondo tradition – is an opportunity for economically disadvantaged students with young children to enjoy a holiday celebration, complete with a visit from Santa Claus, and to receive gifts courtesy of the Rio Hondo College community. About 80 full-time student-parents with more than 120 children participate in the CARE program.