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.
Restaurant Menu Celebrates Rio Hondo College’s Roadrunner Spirit
A new “Rio Bistro” menu at Whittier’s California Grill restaurant celebrates the Rio Hondo College community, offering a slate of options with college-specific themes starting this month. Hailed as “school spirit you can sink your teeth into,” menu items range from Roadrunner Pasta and El Paisano Salad to #iLoveRioHondo Pancakes and Meep! Meep! Munchies at the Grill, at 6751 Painter Ave., Whittier. Staff/student IDs are required.
Follow-up Story: Rio Hondo College students have donated more than 175 suitcases, backpacks and other bags to foster youths through a new student group’s Case of Hope collection drive. About 70 of the bags were given away during a Dec. 6 lunch hosted by the Leaders for Change club; the rest were given out to needy students the following week. Many foster youths move from home to home or transition out of foster care with only trash bags to hold their possessions.
Nothing says college like a pennant – an idea the new Rio Hondo College pennant takes quite literally. The pennant, distributed by Rio Hondo College to every class at El Monte’s historic Valle Lindo School District, represents the opening stages of a pilot effort by the community college to open youngsters’ eyes to the possibilities of higher education. College leaders say they wanted to create a symbol to inspire students to consider their educational options, including Rio Hondo’s diversity of programs and student-centered services.
Rio Hondo College’s Board of Trustees has adopted a three-year plan spelling out how the school will target services for students who need the most support. The student equity plan, designed to be updated annually, outlines efforts to boost enrollment among underserved student groups and add services for students who face the greatest challenges in completing courses and attaining degrees. Rio Hondo has been allocated $845,031 for the effort.
Rio Hondo College’s Yoshio Nakamura taught high school and college students about creating art for more than four decades – sharing the unique perspectives that drove the dramatic images he created on canvas, on paper and through sculpture. Now, 22 years after retiring as Rio Hondo’s vice president of community services and institutional development, Nakamura continues to share important lessons on life and art. Nakamura and his wife, Grace Shinoda Nakamura, are among a dozen Angelenos ages 59 to 100 whose philosophies and tips for aging gracefully are featured in the November edition of Los Angeles Magazine. He is also slated to ride atop a Rose Parade float honoring Japanese-American veterans, will be one of two featured artists during Hillcrest Congregational Church's 50th annual Festival of Fine Arts and will be inducted into Whittier High School's Hall of Fame. Media contact: William Diepenbrock, 909-206-5304 (office) or 909-214-6909 (cell)
Rio Hondo College’s Mark Matsui has received the R.J. Scuderi Exemplary Service Award from the California Association for Postsecondary Education and Disability (CAPED), recognizing his exemplary service to the organization and to the individuals the organization serves. Matsui, a member of CAPED for more than 28 years, serves as Rio Hondo’s Director of Disabled Students Programs & Services, a post he has held since 2012. CAPED, formed as a non-profit postsecondary professional organization in 1974, promotes professional development and the advancement of postsecondary educational opportunities for students with disabilities. The group has more than 500 members. Media contact: William Diepenbrock, 909-206-5304 (office) or 909-214-6909 (cell)
Rio Hondo College Plays Honor 100th Anniversary of World War I
Rio Hondo College will present two original plays that explore the experiences of America’s military veterans. Roll Call, to be staged Friday, Nov 7, shows young Latino vets just back from Vietnam grappling with their war experiences and reception at home. Pump Room 111, to be staged Thursday and Friday, Nov. 14 and 15, relates the experiences of men trapped in a sinking battleship at Pearl Harbor. Roll Call playwright Alfred Lugo will host a discussion after the Nov. 6 performance on mental health issues faced by veterans, active service members and their families. Both plays will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Campus Inn Theater at Rio Hondo College. The free shows are open to the public. Parking is $3. For information, call (562) 908-3492 or go to www.riohondo.edu/arts and click on the Arts & Cultural Events tab. Media Contact: William Diepenbrock, 909-206-5304 (office) or 909-214-6909 (cell)
