Women's Softball Wins State Title!

The Mt. SAC Women's Softball Team and coach Kelly Ford captured the '09 California Community College Softball Championship title recently in Salinas. The Mounties were the south's third-ranked team going into the contest, upsetting the state's top-seeded teams to advance to the championship game where they defeated College of the Siskiyous, 7-1.

This is the team's fourth state championship ('03, '05, '07, '09). Six Mounties were named to the All-State Championship Tournament Team, including Tournament MVP Missy Mendoza, who hit three game-winning homeruns and nine RBI's during the tournament. Christie Nieto was named "Best Hitter," Lisa Hernandez (Pitcher), Stephanie Tingle (Outfield) and Ashlynn Booker (Utility) were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

Click here to download the complete tournament bracket and scores.

2009 STUDENTS OF DISTINCTION

Mt. SAC recently honored 19 Students of Distinction at the College's annual awards ceremony and luncheon. The awards recognize students for outstanding service to the college, competitive achievement, and academic and personal achievement.

Winners of this year's Academic Achievement Award, who earned a minimum 3.75 GPA, are: Chandni Parikh, MinLi Zang, Priscilla Sugianto, Rebecca S. Wei, and Shirley Sui.

Recipients of the 2009 Service Achievement Award, who earned a minimum 3.0 GPA and provided notable volunteer service to the college and community, are: Isaac Powell, James Thao, Priscilla Soetanto, William Lee Hsu, and Xiwen Wang.

Winners of Personal Achievement Award, who earned a minimum 2.75 GPA and overcame personal hardship, are: Gina Guerrero, Rhonda Hottman, Julio Fregoso, Shalini Pal, and Josue Velasquez.

Recipients of the Competitive Achievement award, who earned a minimum 3.0 GPA and earned distinction as part of a competitive student group or team, are: Cassie Molinari, Joseph Davis, Michael Edwards, and Shane Hurter.

2009 EDUCATORS OF DISTINCTION

The Mt. SAC Associated Students is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Educators of Distinction award: Toni Albertson, English, Literature & Journalism; Frances Borella, Biological Sciences; Mark Cooper, Biological Sciences; Rosa Maria Preciado, Psychology & Education; and David West, Aeronautics & Transportation. The Educators of Distinction candidates are nominated by students, and the award recognizes faculty who have provided outstanding service to the College. They were honored at a dinner ceremony in May.

Mt. SAC Announces Employees of the Year

The Academic Senate Congratulates the 2008-09 Outstanding Award Nominees and Recipients:

Outstanding Faculty Award Recipient: Joe Ammirato; Nominee: Gary Enke

Oustanding Classified Award Recipient: Dwight Ayle; Nominees: Jeffrey George & Laura Martinez

Outstanding Administrator/Manager Award Recipient: Stephen Runnebohm; Nominees: Jim Jenkins, Sarah Daum & Matt Judd

Mt. SAC Groups Rock Reno Jazz Festival

After days of intense competition at the 2009 Reno Jazz Festival, two Mt. SAC groups – the Jazz Ensemble and Frontline – came home with top honors.

The prestigious Reno Jazz Festival is the largest jazz festival in the western United States and draws performing groups from around the country. Mt. SAC's instrumental Jazz Ensemble placed first in the two-year college band division, while vocal artists Frontline received second place in the college choir division for the second time.

Many individual members of the Jazz Band also received outstanding musicianship awards: Carlos Noriega (Trumpet), Ray Au Yenug (Piano), Miguel Martinez (Bass), Tim Talavera (Drums), and Christian Chico (Drums).

Click here for more information about Mt. SAC performing arts groups.

Forensics Team Shines Again!

The Mt. SAC Forensics Team recently traveled to Portland, Oregon to compete at the 75th annual Phi Rho Pi National Tournament. Competing against 67 schools from across the nation, the team garnered two School Sweepstakes awards: silver (3rd place) in the individual events division and silver (4th place) in the overall division.

Fourteen students represented Mt. SAC in a phenomenal manner throughout the course of the competition, with 12 of them advancing into elimination rounds. Standouts were Derod Taylor, who went home with five awards including second place in the Individual Sweepstakes, and Emiliano Bolado, Ginna Escobar, Rikiesha Pierce, and Maite Bruce who all earned three awards.

Phi Rho Pi is the national community college forensics association committed to increasing knowledge and appreciation of the forensics arts at the junior and community college level.

They Came "Fermata Nowhere"
... and won international honors on a high note!

Heartiest congratulations to Professor Bill McIntosh and Mt. SAC's male vocal group, Fermata Nowhere, for winning the coveted International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in New York April 18. These talented vocalists took command of the renowned stage of Lincoln Center and swept the competition, placing first over outstanding university ensembles from Oxford, Yale, Missouri State, Florida State, Ithaca, and a group from South Africa.

In addition to being judged best overall , Fermata Nowhere won awards for best choreography (Alex Fajardo), best vocal percussion (Kevin Shannon and Avi Kaplan), and best soloist (Ben Lee). This victory marked Fermata Nowhere's second trip to the finals after finishing second in 2004. The finals were taped live by MTV.

Click here to see more Fermata Nowhere performances on YouTube here.

Mt. SAC Student Among Nation's Top 20 Scholars

Adam Prohoroff continues the Mt. SAC legacy of being among the nation's top 20 community college scholars named to the All-U.S.A. Academic First Team, as chosen by Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the international community college honor society.

He was selected from a highly competitive pool of nearly 1,450 associate degree candidates nationwide. All 20 winners received a medal, a trophy, and a $2,500 scholarship at an awards ceremony April 6 in Phoenix. Prohoroff becomes the sixth Mt. SAC student scholar to win a place on the All-USA academic team in recent years.

Selection to the prestigious Academic First Team is the highest national honor a community college scholar can receive. The selection is based on grades, leadership, and community service.

"Adam is a very focused and caring young man," said Mt. SAC Honors Director Carolyn Kuykendall. "His selection to the Academic First Team is an extraordinary achievement, considering the rigorous criteria and the fierce national competition. Beyond his perfect GPA, Adam is involved on campus and in his community, and he is particularly concerned about the quality of life of others."

Prohoroff is a 4.0 accounting / economics major and plans to transfer to Claremont McKenna and go on to law school. On campus, he is involved with Mt. SAC's PTK chapter, student government, and the Accounting Club. He is also an English tutor, has organized a panel discussion on Islam and democracy, and promoted the benefits of securing bipartisan support for improving the citizen process for undocumented workers.