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.
May 12, 2016
“This facility is a gamechanger,” Astian Agraz said as he eyed the rows of state-of-the-art fitness equipment on the first floor of San Diego Mesa College’s Exercise Science Center, which opened this spring.
Agraz, the linebacker and Mesa football team captain, wasn’t just talking about wins and losses.
“People are seeing this new facility and new equipment and starting to understand what exercise science is all about,” Astian said. “Our old facilities were beat up, so coming here, it’s a lot bigger, with new weights and new machines. This facility wins by a landslide.”
The building definitely has a wow factor.
A high-volume ceiling dominates the first floor lobby that leads into the weight training area. Aerobics and spin rooms are just around the corner. They open to an exterior exercise plaza, which leads to the athletic training room complete with a wet lab, treatment room, and offices. The second floor includes administration and faculty offices, a fitness lab and cardio area overlooking the equipment below, and an exterior exercise roof terrace.
The two-story, 27,200-square-foot steel structure is slated to be a geographic campus landmark, strategically situated on the new Sunrise Plaza entry and adjacent to the multi-use Mesa Commons that will open this fall.
“I believe that college athletics, physical activity, and exercise science play an important role in a wellrounded college education,” President Pamela T. Luster said at the facility’s grand opening event in April. Luster is also president of the California Community College Athletic Association, which oversees intercollegiate athletics across the state.
“It definitely will bring a long-awaited recruiting aspect for our coaches,” said Kevin Hazlett, department chair and assistant athletic director, who led the building’s design team along with instructor and former coach Manny Bautista.
With the addition of sand volleyball in 2015, Mesa College now has 21 athletic teams. All will use the facility for training and conditioning classes, which are open to all students.
Asked what he’s most proud of, Hazlett quickly answers, “The student reactions to the facility have been remarkable.”
Astian agrees. “The mindset of everyone has changed, especially among student athletes. Now that we have this facility, it’s really motivating us to work extra hard.”
Tags: Athletics, exercise science center, Exercise, Exercise Science
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
San Diego –On Monday, July 22 to Thursday, July 25, 2024, the San Diego Mesa College Softball program and Nike’s US Sports Camp program will host a half day and day camp for local girls, ages 6-14, at all levels of experience with Softball. Campers will learn the skills required to successfully play at a competitive level and maximize their potential as players.
San Diego - On Sunday, September 18, 2022, San Diego Mesa College Athletic Trainer, Yuki Matsuzawa, along with two students and a coach, helped save the life of a 66 year old athlete, who collapsed on field after his event during the annual Senior Games Track Meet held on campus at Merrill Douglas Stadium.
San Diego, CA – In Fall of 2022, San Diego Mesa College will offer California's first ever community college-based Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate Program with approval by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). The National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coaching exam is the gold standard certification in health and wellness coaching and is offered by the Board of Medical Examiners.
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.
