SDCCD : A Team Effort At Miramar College

Press release from San Diego Community College District:

May 20, 2021

San Diego Miramar College is taking teamwork to a new level when it comes to the San
Diego Promise, and Miramar College alumni are playing a major role.

Intent on further involving Promise students to the endless possibilities for growth,
Miramar College recently held a pair of well-attended webinars introducing students
to opportunities available in the Honors Program, the Preparing Accomplished Transfers
to the Humanities (PATH) collaboration with UC San Diego, and more. The events, which
organizers are aiming to become regularly scheduled symposiums, included Miramar College
alumni who shared their experiences and answered questions.

“Everyone here is working super hard on the San Diego Promise, everyone is working
super hard on the PATH Program, and everyone is working super hard on the Honors Program,
but instead of engaging in the ‘silo effect,’ we decided to come together to work
super hard for all our students and show them the opportunities and support services
that are here,” said Miramar College Honors Program Coordinator Carmen Carrasquillo.
“It’s about working together in planting new seeds in outreach, recruitment, and support.”

Among the highlights, Carrasquillo said, were Miramar College alumni who raved about
the abundance of programs that can help define a student’s future. Among them was
Kelly Clemen, a McNair Scholar at UCSD majoring in literature who has been accepted
with a full scholarship to several doctoral programs, and Franco Vargas Gonzalez,
a UCSD literature major planning to teach high school English. Both Clemen and Gonzalez
were PATH Program Peer Mentees before transferring successfully to UCSD.

Other speakers included PATH Project Assistant Niyatt Mengiss; Promise outreach ambassadors
and event co-coordinators Brittany Price and Aira Aquino; Carrasquillo and Honors
Program Professor Kirk Webley.

“Some of what we shared about honors involved what being an Honors student is all
about; having an experience that offers a flexible and accessible curriculum emphasizing
equity and social justice,” Carrasquillo said. “The Honors experience is about mentorship
and support from dedicated faculty. Honors can enrich the college-going experience
through opportunities to connect with others via smaller class sizes, leadership development
through membership in Phi Theta Kappa, access to scholarships, and presentation opportunities
at research conferences.”

The conference’s impact was immediate. Several attendees applied to become members
in Beta Iota Lambda, the Miramar College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Others further
inquired about the PATH program, especially the highly successful Peer Mentee opportunity.
 

This press release was produced by San Diego Community College District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.