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.
September 18, 2020
100% of Mesa Dental Graduates Seeking Jobs Gained Employment in Summer 2020
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.
“It really is a testament to the dedication of our students and faculty,” stated Tina Recalde, Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Public Service. “Fortunately, all the students seeking jobs were able to persevere and gain employment.”
In order for Mesa students to proceed with their education and graduate, they needed to be tested on core competencies. To complete this testing, the faculty and students needed access to the campus. Dental Assisting faculty prepared for the students’ return to campus for weeks and worked closely with Vice President of Instruction Isabel O'Connor, Dean Tina Recalde, Chairs Jill Chagnon and Christine Balderas, Allied Health ILT, Brittany Williams, Allied Health faculty and Facilities to assure that our students and their patients could safely return to campus.
This campus-wide collaborative effort included students being cleared to wear N-95 masks/respirators, since they would be performing procedures which involved aerosols. Student Health Services opened their clinic for a day to evaluate and give the needed clearance to 18 dental assisting students.
From June 22, 2020 until July 2, 2020, faculty and students worked diligently to complete all needed laboratory and clinical evaluations. Several students completed their clinical rotation hours by this date and were able to receive their Certificates of Completion in the Dental Assisting Program. Other students continued to work in their clinical settings to complete their hours.
All students seeking employment in a dental office secured positions as dental assistants and are now eligible to take their board exams. Due to the need for dental assistants in the field, Mesa has maintained full enrollment in the program for the 2020-2021 year. Visit the Mesa College Dental Assisting webpage to learn more.
Tags: Mesa College Alumni, Alumni, Dental Assisting, CTE, Career Education Programs, DENA
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
San Diego Mesa College proudly introduces a new mural painted by alumnus Andrew Alcasid on the lower-level entrance of the Fine Arts building. As a graduate of the Museum Studies Program, Andrew brought his artistic vision full circle to the community that taught him the skills needed to excel as a working artist.
On Monday, March 11, Mesa Dramatic Arts majors were thrilled when five Mesa College alumni came to speak with current students about their journey in the performing arts thus far. The panel, titled Life Post Mesa in the Performing Arts: Transfer and more, was organized by Drama Professor George Ye’. He explained that he wanted to show current students a “cross section of people with different pathways.”
San Diego Mesa College Alumnus Mario Romero made history as part of a team from Intuitive Machines’ whose uncrewed lander made history Thursday as the first privately owned spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface. It was also the first U.S. vehicle to accomplish this in more than 50 years. After four years of preparations, the company’s 14-foot-tall Nova-C lander navigated to a spot near the moon’s South Pole. It was the 24th mission to softly land on the moon since 1966. And with it comes a new era of exploration.
