Military veterans at San Diego City and San Diego Mesa colleges got an early Veterans Day present with the announcement of $400,000 in new grants to bolster services at their campus Veterans Resource Centers.
San Diego, CA. – Since its official launch in September 2019, the San Diego Mesa College Resiliency Fund Campaign has been receiving – on average - $1,000 per day in donations, with total donations up to $67,000 as of November 18, 2019. Leading donors who made this possible include California Coast Credit Union, which provided an Olympian Gold sponsorship, and a generous bequest from Mesa Alumnus Warren Rigdon.
San Diego City and Mesa colleges have received a combined total of nearly $1.7 million in federal Department of Education grants supporting the academic achievement of Latino/a students as part of the schools’ designations as Hispanic Serving Institutions.
On Wednesday, September 25, San Diego Mesa College Athletics has been awarded the DeVore Trophy for the 2018-19 calendar year. The DeVore Award is presented each year to a Pacific Coast Athletics Conference (PCAC) member college with the most successful men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic program for the academic year. Mesa College finished 2018-19 with a total of 217 total points overall. The last time Mesa won the DeVore Trophy was in 2011-12.
August 16, 2016
Calvin Dixon left the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2014 and followed the path of approximately 10,000 other active and retired military members, he attended college in the San Diego Community College District. By August of that year, he was a full-time student at San Diego Mesa College. For good reason.
“I really enjoy the small class sizes, and every professor I’ve had has had open office hours so if you’re struggling you could just drop in and get all the help and support you need,” said Dixon, who is studying mechanical engineering and works part time as an aircraft mechanic at Naval Air Station North Island. “There are a lot of resources, and the large numbers of veterans help make you feel right at home.”
From Coast to Coast
Dixon enlisted in the Marine Corps out of high school in part to help fund his college education. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and Miramar as a C-130 aircraft mechanic during his more than five years with the Marine Corps and decided to remain in San Diego after he completed his service.
One of Mesa’s biggest draws was the district’s commitment to veterans and their success.
“I spend a lot of time at the Veterans Resource Center, and a lot of people I come across at the VRC transfer to some really good schools like Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, some of the best schools in the country, and that shows me that Mesa is a wonderful college,” he said.
Not only that, but Mesa – along with City and Miramar colleges and San Diego Continuing Education – was named a Military Friendly school.
Branching Out
Dixon is looking at transferring to San Diego State University, the most popular destination for students transferring from the San Diego Community College District. Four district students – three from San Diego City College and one from San Diego Miramar College – were awarded a prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships worth up to $40,000 annually to complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university.
“I made a good decision coming here,” said Dixon.
Tags: Veterans, Featured Posts, Calvin Dixon, Veteran Affairs, Students in the News
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
Military veterans at San Diego City and San Diego Mesa colleges got an early Veterans Day present with the announcement of $400,000 in new grants to bolster services at their campus Veterans Resource Centers.
San Diego Mesa College’s veteran community will celebrate students that are graduating and/or transferring during an inaugural Veterans Graduation Ceremony on Friday, May 19 at 11 a.m.
Student Veteran at San Diego Mesa College have been finding a new sense of community on campus this semester through free social dancing classes on campus.
San Diego, CA. – Since its official launch in September 2019, the San Diego Mesa College Resiliency Fund Campaign has been receiving – on average - $1,000 per day in donations, with total donations up to $67,000 as of November 18, 2019. Leading donors who made this possible include California Coast Credit Union, which provided an Olympian Gold sponsorship, and a generous bequest from Mesa Alumnus Warren Rigdon.
San Diego City and Mesa colleges have received a combined total of nearly $1.7 million in federal Department of Education grants supporting the academic achievement of Latino/a students as part of the schools’ designations as Hispanic Serving Institutions.
On Wednesday, September 25, San Diego Mesa College Athletics has been awarded the DeVore Trophy for the 2018-19 calendar year. The DeVore Award is presented each year to a Pacific Coast Athletics Conference (PCAC) member college with the most successful men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic program for the academic year. Mesa College finished 2018-19 with a total of 217 total points overall. The last time Mesa won the DeVore Trophy was in 2011-12.
