2008 Inspiring Women of Mt. SAC

This year, five women were honored with the Inspiring Women of Mt. SAC award.

Each woman was nominated by either a student, faculty, or staff member and selected based on their involvement in College activities, service to their community, as well as personal achievement, core values, and scholastic capability.

The 2008 winners are:

• Student Recipients
• Kiran Alvi, Forensics Team
• Cheryl Jamison, Student Court
• Faculty & Staff Recipients
• Deb Blackmore, Physical Education
• Linda Diaz, Counseling Department
• Karyn Kakiba-Russell, Professor, Biological Sciences

Linda Diaz, Deb Blackmore, Cheryl Jamison, and Kiran Alvi are Inspiring Women of Mt. SAC

Retired Coach Inducted into State Hall of Fame

Retired Mt. SAC track and field coach Don Ruh was inducted into the California Community College Sports Hall of Fame at the 11th annual convention of the California Community College Athletic Association/Commission on Athletics recently in Ontario. This the highest honor bestowed in community college athletics.

Don enjoyed a long and distinguished career at Mt. SAC, beginning in 1964. Under his leadership, Mt. SAC's Track & Field/Cross Country teams won state championships in '84, '86, '88, '89, and '90. He was selected as "California Community College Coach of the Year" multiple times—in 1983, 1987, and 1994. Today, Don is still actively involved in the Mt. SAC Relays and oversees the Relays' Youth Days activities.

This incredible honor is greatly deserved by the man who helped put the Mt. SAC Relays and our track program on the map! Congratulations, Coach Ruh!

For more info on the Mt. SAC Relays, click here.

AmeriCorps Students Volunteer as Tutors

Determined to fight illiteracy and help boost children's math and reading skills, 20 Mt. SAC students recently pledged to serve as tutors at local elementary schools.

Through the AmeriCorps program, students in Mt. SAC's Teacher Preparation Institute will provide 12,000 hours of one-on-one and small-group tutoring in first-through-fifth-grade classrooms. In addition to addressing children's literacy and math skills needs, the program exposes community college students to the discipline of teaching.

Participating schools are: Pueblo Elementary and Montvue Elementary in Pomona, Rorimer Elementary in La Puente, Shull Elementary and Ekstrand Elementary in San Dimas, and Grace Miller Elementary and Roynon Elementary in La Verne.

Watch Real-time Streaming Video of the Mt. SAC Relays!

For the first time ever, the Mt. SAC Relays will truly be an interactive experience. With the assistance of Flotrack technology, computer users will be able to log on to the Mt. SAC Relays web site (http://www.mtsacrelays.com) and view live streaming video of all available races.

In addition, users can also utilize the new blog feature of the site to ask questions of the athletes and officials, get lap splits, and comment on the races—all while trying to win prizes.

Relays Director Doug Todd is enthusiastic about the opportunities the live feed will provide viewers. "This will be the first time in US track and field history and quite possibly the world where the viewers at home will be able to interact with the play-by-play commentary while watching a race in real time. It's quite an accomplishment."

The live coverage and interactive broadcast will begin online on Friday, April 18 at 11 a.m. with the distance carnival. The live stream will also be available all day on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20. Please note that the videos will also be archived on Flotrack.org for future viewing.

Cyber Defense Team Advances to Nationals

Mt. SAC's Cyber Defense team, an eight-member team of computer security students, will advance to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition after winning first place at the three-day Regional Cyber Defense Competition hosted by Cal Poly Pomona.

The Mt. SAC team, known as "The Protectors," defeated teams from Cal Poly, Cal State San Bernardino, and Sacramento State to advance to the national competition on April 18-20 in San Antonio, Texas.

As part of the competition, the teams have to protect a business network by identifying Trojan horses, installing firewalls, and other tasks. Teams also have to stave off cyber attacks from other teams.

Mt. SAC is one of the few colleges in the Western United States to offer a program in the emerging field of computer security, which trains information security professionals to guard against cyber crime. Students are able to earn an associate's degree in Network Security and Systems Management, the first local degree program of its kind.

For more on the Computer Information Systems program at Mt. SAC, click here.

Mountie Women Are Three-peat State Champs!

The 2008 State Champion Women's Basketball Team. Click on image to view larger version.

The Mounties Women's Basketball Team made a stunning from-behind comeback to win its third consecutive California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Championship title in a 65-57 victory against Los Altos Foothill at the University of the Pacific.

Freshman Zequoia Williams led the game with 16 points, while sophomore guard Carmen Deal had 13 points and 19 rebounds. The championship marks the end of an already memorable season, as the Mounties' realized a 37-game winning streak and joined Ventura as the only schools to win three consecutive CCCAA titles.

Mt. SAC coach Laura Beeman, who has led the team to 11 CCCAA tournament titles, said, "It's pretty amazing to have teams step up for you every year as a coach. It's amazing to have these young girls play that hard for you."

Coach Laura Beeman speaks before the Board of Trustees.
Click on image for larger version.

Nursing Student Named to Elite 2008 All-USA Academic First Team

Congratulations to nursing student Leanne Dogoldogol, who was recently selected among the nation's top 20 community college students to the elite 2008 All-USA Academic First Team by Phi Theta Kappa, the international two-year college honor society.

Leanne and the other honorees received a $2,500 cash award from USA TODAY as well as a trophy and medal during a ceremony at the American Association of Community Colleges convention in Philadelphia on April 7. She was escorted at the ceremony by Mt. SAC President/CEO John Nixon and joined by Mt. SAC Honors Coordinator Carolyn Inmon, Student Services VP Audrey Yamagata-Noji, and Leanne's parents.

Leanne earned associate degrees in mathematics and behavioral sciences at Mt. SAC in 2007, and continued her studies in nursing. In 2005, Leanne made a one-year commitment to intern as a care provider for local hospitals and has never stopped. Within a few months, she was asked to coordinate recruitment and training for the program, which requires her to travel throughout the greater Los Angeles area. She and another student also initiated a "big sister" program that offers support to help nursing students persevere through the sometimes-intensive demands.

A 21-year-old Chino Hills resident, Leanne is active in Mt. SAC's PTK chapter and was the recipient of the 2007 International PTK Outsanding President's Award. In addition, Leanne was awarded a $1,000 Coca-Cola scholarship last year and was named one of Mt. SAC's Students of Distinction in 2006. She also received the Faculty Association's highest scholarship.

For the full story on the 2008 All-USA Academic First Team recognition, please visit the USA Today web site.