In the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship, education is often the catalyst for turning ideas and visions into reality. Such was the case for business owner Kussy Mackenzie.
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 7, 2018
On Friday, May 4, 2018, Mesa College awarded 19 Physical Therapy Assistant students a certificate of completion and a pin at the annual PTA Program Completion Ceremony. Special recognition was given to select students for the following awards: Academic Excellence – all A’s in program courses – to Kelly Gearheart, Aimee Hostetter, and Kevin Wyne, Student Excellence in APTA Advocacy to Aimee Hostetter, and Student Excellence in Clinical Education to Shavel Yang. Two graduates were also awarded the Intercollegiate Academic Clinical Coordinators Council (IACCC) Scholarship: Aimee Hostetter and Shavel Yang, both receiving $1500.
Awardee Aimee Hostetter also won the invidual PTA Student Category award of the California
Outreach Challenge, with Mesa’s overall program winning the competition between other
PTA Programs in California. The California Outreach Challenge exists to challenge
students and PTA Programs in California to see who can log the most volunteer hours
in their community while promoting the field of physical therapy. Program Director
of Physical Therapist Assistant Program Amanda Johnston shared, “The students did
a great job raising funds for the ceremony and are giving back to the program by donating
funds to the two available PTA Program Scholarships and also supplies for the lab.”
The Physical Therapist Assistant Program prepares the student for employment as a physical therapist assistant. The physical therapist assistant, working under the supervision of a registered physical therapist, assists in the provision of physical therapy services, such as electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, thermotherapy, massage, therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation activities.
The PTA Program is just one great example of the Career Education (CTE) opportunities that Mesa College offers for its students and their ambitious goals of success in their careers.
For more information about Mesa’s PTA Program, please contact Program Director Amanda Johnston at ajohnsto@sdccd.edu or visit the PTA Program page online. To learn more about Mesa’s Career Education (CTE) opportunities, please visit our Career Education page online.
Tags: PTA Program, Academic Excellence, Physical Therapy Assistant Students, CTE, PTA Students, Career Education, Physical Therapy Assistant Program, California Outreach Challenge, IACCC Scholarship, Student Excellence in Clinical Education, APTA Advocacy
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
In the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship, education is often the catalyst for turning ideas and visions into reality. Such was the case for business owner Kussy Mackenzie.
San Diego - On October 13, 2023, San Diego Mesa College was granted provisional approval by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) to offer a Bachelor's Degree in the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program. Mesa College’s innovative PTA program, which currently offers an Associate of Science (AS) degree, will be able to offer licensed physical therapist assistants the ability to enhance their clinical and leadership skills with the addition of a Baccalaureate degree program, leading to improved patient care within our community. Mesa’s first Bachelor’s degree program, Health Information Management (HIM), was fully approved in 2016.
Due to continuity of instruction and rigorous adherence to guidelines and safety practices, 100% of Mesa College’s 2020 graduating Dental students who were seeking employment, were able to get hired this past summer, despite the global pandemic. Even though Mesa’s Dental Assisting students were not allowed to return to campus until June 22, 2020, during that time frame, the Dental Assisting faculty continued to engage and instruct students in their laboratory courses, remotely, through videos, virtual simulations, case studies role playing and discussions.
