Second-year student Zora Williams is using her voice to bring more mental health and nutrition programming to San Diego Mesa College. Williams was elected president of the college’s Associated Students (AS) for the 2024-2025 academic year and serves as the college’s student representative on the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.
Sometimes, you hear a story that makes you want to know more. Kevin Gonzalez has such a story. The last time this story was updated, San Diego Mesa College student Kevin Gonzalez was a 15 year-old heading off to Massachusetts to complete his high school education. In the ensuing years, he has travelled to the other side of the world, built houses, but remained in close contact with his Mesa College professors and connections he made while on campus.
The San Diego Community College District has appointed four new student trustees for the upcoming academic year. Dalia Ramirez (San Diego City College), Zora Williams (San Diego Mesa College), Hailey Hua (San Diego Miramar College), and Haydee Zuniga (San Diego College of Continuing Education), will be sworn in during the June 20 SDCCD Board of Trustees meeting.
January 19, 2017
San Diego Mesa College welcomed about 150 new students to the campus during the pilot Winter and Saturday CRUISE (Creating Rich Unique Intellectual Student Experiences), orientations during the week of Jan. 10.
Receiving an introduction to the school as a whole during the CRUISE, new students were able to learn about various campus clubs and programs. Each student who attended CRUISE was paired with a Peer Navigator who will help guide them during their first year at Mesa.
“(Orienting and pairing up students) is necessary because as students become more involved with the campus, the likelihood of them staying connected and going on to the next semester and so on dramatically increases,” said Agustin Rivera, the Student Support Services Officer for Proyecto Éxito.
The program debuted as Summer CRUISE in the summer of 2015, attended by approximately 150 new students. Increasing to 400 students during the summer of 2016, CRUISE was broken into morning and evening sessions – the former geared toward students aged 18-24, the latter geared toward older students, veterans and students transitioning to Mesa from Continuing Education.
Funding for the week-long CRUISE orientation, Peer Navigators and the Peer Navigator-CRUISE Center in I4-203 where the Peer Navigators interact with their students is provided by the Hispanic Serving Institution Title V Grant.
“The navigators are second or third year students that provide mentorship and support, not only for CRUISE, but for the entire Academic Year,” Rivera said.
During the Winter CRUISE, 70 to 80 percent of the new students came from international backgrounds. From countries as far as China, Morocco, Afghanistan and South Africa, the CRUISE attendees seemed eager to start their educational careers at Mesa College.
Biology major Peixin Ann Wong said she is beginning college for the first time, having moved to San Diego from China to attend Mesa College. She said she appreciates the CRUISE program because it has helped her to acclimate to a new learning environment.
“Your CRUISE member (Peer Navigator) is so helpful – I was testing her, and she got me a lot of answers,” Wong said.
Jacques Rossouw, who moved to San Diego from South Africa to major in exercise science, said he chose Mesa because it was the best, closest college to his grandfather’s home. For him and Marjorie Dorlus – who is majoring in medical assisting – the best part of CRUISE was getting to meet new, friendly people.
Tyson Dyer, a business major from Australia, chose Mesa for the football program. He appreciates the CRUISE program and said it was a great introduction to campus.
“CRUISE was good and pretty informative – now when I go to class, I’ll know where to go,” Dyer said.
This spring, 57 international students from 20 different countries will attend Mesa College, according to Student Services Assistant Abi Rosario from the International Student Admissions Office.
For more information about the CRUISE program, visit www.sdmesa.edu/cruise or contact Agustin Rivera Jr. via phone at (619) 388-2757 or via email at arivera@sdccd.edu.
Tags: Peer Navigators, Winter Cruise, Summer Cruise
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
Agustin Rivera Jr.
Student Support Services Officer - Proyecto Éxito
arivera@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2757
San Diego, CA ---- On Saturday, March 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Mesa College will host “Jumpstart Your Success.” Jumpstart is a FREE community event for prospective Mesa College students of all ages. Students and their families can learn about Mesa College programs and services, including the San Diego Promise, which offers free tuition to eligible students. Families can learn more and should RSVP at www.sdmesa.edu/Jumpstart.
San Diego, CA ---- On Saturday, April 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Mesa College will host “Jumpstart Your Success”, a FREE community event for prospective students, their families and friends. Attendees are asked to RSVP, and will have an opportunity to learn more about Mesa College and the San Diego Promise FREE Tuition Program. Jumpstart will include campus tours, workshops, resource fair, demonstrations, and presentations to showcase the diversity and depth of the programs and services that Mesa College offers.
For over five years, San Diego Mesa College has been offering Summer CRUISE—Creating Rich Unique Intellectual Student Experiences – for incoming students. This summer, Mesa offered six CRUISE sessions from June – August. Sessions are completely free and available to recent high school graduates and those who are first-time or returning college students.
