San Diego, CA. - On Thursday, August 31, 2023, the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery will host a reception for The Resistance of the Echo & La Eco-Resistencia: a multimedia installation by artist Francisco Eme. This multimedia installation is an urban ecology study focusing on the biological dynamics of a canyon situated in a suburb of San Diego. This work will be displayed through September 14th, in the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery.
At San Diego Mesa College, alumni stories are as extraordinary as the students themselves. Amongst these testimonies, Sandra Perez's journey stands out as evidence to resilience and commitment to creating a brighter future.
On Saturday, August 19, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., the San Diego Mesa College Softball team will host a Softball Clinic for local girls, ages 6-16, at all levels of experience. The Clinic will be run by coaches and players and will focus on both defensive and offensive skills. Additionally, the team will host and question and answer session, and focus on the importance of team building and comradery.
August 9, 2018
Four San Diego Mesa College students, Alexander Beltzer-Sweeney, Ana Parra, Rob Ronayne and Alex Hewett, have been selected to participate in the National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program. The National Community College Aerospace Scholars, or NCAS, program is an educational experience for community college students interested in exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program provides selected students with a four-day, in-person learning experience at a NASA center. NCAS gives community college STEM students an authentic NASA experience and encourages them to finish a 2-year degree or transfer to a 4-year university to pursue a NASA-related field or career. Acting Program Manager for the Title III HSI STEM Conexiones, Leticia Lopez, congratulated the four Mesa’s NASA Scholars and is certain that just like former winners (Naylynn Tanon and Shawn Cvetezar), these four students will keep this tradition going for many years to come, with recruiting and mentoring new student award recipients. She told the four NCAS that the STEM Conexiones Program, faculty mentors and staff are ready to support them every step of the way. Beltzer-Sweeney, Parra, Ronayne and Hewett have experienced the support of the STEM Conexiones Program and the support of amazing faculty like Professor Irena Stojimirovic. Alexander Beltzer-Sweeney mentioned that since he came to Mesa College, he has been fortunate enough to work with faculty that have spent their time fostering a positive learning environment. While taking one of Professor Stojimirovic class, Beltzer-Sweeney remembers that it was by her introduction that he first met the Boyce Research Initiatives and Educational Foundation, where he spent the last two years conducting and publishing peer-reviewed binary star research at Mesa College. Parra has a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology, but was inspired by the show “Cosmos” to pursue an interest in astronomy. She is also in the process of becoming a published Journal author. Hewett is in his first year of college and spends his days studying at the STEM Center. He is a Physics major who encourages other students to get involved on campus as he says that this creates an environment of networking that you can’t get in class. Ronayne is a Peer Mentor in the STEM Center and was encouraged by Professor Stojimirovic and his peers to apply for the program. He hopes that this experience will open new career opportunities as he pursues to one day work for NASA. Aside from taking classes and becoming NCAS, these students are in the process of getting the Astronomy Club back together. Their mission is to develop a community for those interested in any aspect of astronomy. That can range from someone who is interested in learning about the stars and planets, to those who are interested in conducting research with the hope of continuing a career in the astronomy field.
Tags: NCAS Scholars, STEM Scholars, STEM
Jennifer Nichols Kearns
Director of Communications
jnkearns@sdccd.edu
(619) 388-2759
San Diego Mesa College student, Jason Compy, is expected to graduate Pre-med this spring majoring in Bio Chemistry. Jason hopes to attend USC, but has already been accepted to UCLA. So, he plans to become a Bruin or a Trojan this fall. With graduation around the corner, Jason reflects on the many obstacles he has overcome on his journey through life.
On July 23, 2020, San Diego Mesa College’s Teacher Education Pathways Program was honored with a League for Innovation’s 2019-2020 Innovation of the Year Award. The Mesa Teacher Education Program (Program) and the recognition via this award, positions Mesa as one of the premiere colleges for aspiring teachers, and prepares the next generation of educators to bring necessary racial and gender diversity to the current teacher work force. The Program was awarded, in part, not only because of the focus on diversity, but because it also offers free tutoring, smaller classes, stipends and a direct path to earning a Bachelor’s degree - all to help ensure student success.
As a new full-time hire in the Biology Department, Professor Daniela Bruckman is bringing fresh eyes to the general biology curriculum. When she taught Biology 210B: Introduction to the Biological Sciences II during her first semester at Mesa, she referred to a lab manual published by a previous instructor to create her lesson plans. Today, she conducts her classes with new lab material that she created as part of a grant-funded initiative to close equity gaps in the life sciences.
