Mt. SAC Trustees Chen Haggerty, Hall Re-elected

Incumbents Judy Chen Haggerty and Dr. David K. Hall were re-elected to the Mt. San Antonio College Board of Trustees for another four-year term in the Nov. 3 election. They were the two leading candidates, with Chen Haggerty capturing 26,403 votes (42.3%) and Hall garnering 24,538 votes (39.3%).

Hall currently serves the board as vice president, while Chen Haggerty serves as clerk of the board, which establishes policy for California's largest single-campus community college with an annual student population of more than 65,000. They join three other publicly elected trustees (Fred Chyr, Dr. Manuel Baca, and Rosanne Bader) as well as a student trustee, Xavier Padilla.

For complete bios on the Board of Trustees, click here:
http://www.mtsac.edu/administration/trustees/.

Mt. SAC Health Career Students Win 11 medals at Nationals

Mt. SAC health career students recently won four gold medals, three silver medals, and four bronze medals at the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) national competition in Nashville, TN. More than 6,000 secondary and post-secondary students competed at the national leadership event.

Adam Lwin, Chaona Malunga, Angelita Pedraja, and Erin Zepeda all won gold medals in the creative problem solving competition. Lwin also took home a silver medal in the concepts of health category. Michael Moland won a silver medal in the human growth and development competition, while Shianda Draper won a silver medal in medical spelling. Draper also won a bronze medal in creative problem solving. Ronda Eggers, Sylvia Castillo, and Elizabeth Guzman all won bronze medals in creative problem solving. Eggers was also awarded a $250 scholarship in the Kaiser Permanente examination, and Jules Jackson (Altadena) was a finalist in the extemporaneous health poster competition.

"All ten of our competitors this year ranked in the top ten nationally as finalists, and that is quite an accomplishment," said Mt. SAC Psychiatric Technician Professor and HOSA Advisor Mary Ellen Reyes. "Being involved in and competing in HOSA is a life changing experience for students."

HOSA, established in 1976 by the U.S. Department of Education, is the national organization for secondary and post-secondary health career students. The organization provides students in 40 states with skills, leadership development, and career development.

Grad Is Two-time "Alumnus of the Year"

After being honored in June as Mt. SAC's "Alumnus of the Year," Dr. Don Morris (class of 1950) has been named one of four recipients of the 2009 California Community College Distinguished Alumni Awards.

The California Community College League made the announcement this month, and Dr. Morris will be honored at the League's Annual Convention and Partner Conference in November. The prestigious award recognizes and honors the fine men and women whose attendance at a California community college helped them achieve their educational and professional goals, and serve their communities.

Dr. Morris is a retired Cal Poly San Luis Obispo administrator and former Mt. SAC track star.

"Mt. SAC has given me a chance to succeed in life," said Dr. Morris, "and I'm forever grateful to coach Hilmer Lodge and all the wonderful faculty and staff who helped me along the way. No one thought 61 years ago that in 2009, Mt. SAC would become the nation's greatest community college. I am proud to be part of the Mt. SAC family.

Glad for Our Grads!

Some 500 of the 1,800 students who petitioned for associate degrees participated in Mt. SAC's 63rd Commencement Ceremony on June 12 at the campus stadium.

Among them were graduates who earned academic distinction and other awards and recognition. Dr. Michael Friedman, president and CEO of City of Hope, keynoted the ceremony, and Dr. Don Morris (Class of '50) was honored as "Alumnus of the Year."

The ceremony also featured musical performances by the Wind Ensemble and Mt. SAC's internationally ranked male contemporary a cappella group, Fermata Nowhere; a memorial flyover by a team of Mt. SAC flight instructors; and inspiring student success profiles. Degrees were conferred upon Mt. SAC grads as well as 28 graduates of the Southern Illinois University's Aviation Management bachelor degree program. The ceremony ended with a bang — a colorful fireworks display!

For more photo highlights, go to our Commencement Photo Gallery.

MT. SAC ATHLETICS CAPTURES 2008-09 NATYCAA CUP

Mt. SAC was recently crowned as the 2008-09 National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Cup Champions.

The NATYCAA Cup is a national award that recognizes overall athletic program excellence at a two-year college. Mt. SAC narrowly edged out South Coast Conference rival Cerritos College by a half a point with a total score of 168.5 points. Since it's inception six years ago, Mt. SAC has consistently placed in the NATYCAA Cup top six, finishing second three times (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06), fourth once (2007-08), and sixth once (2006-07).

The 2008-09 season was an outstanding one for the Mounties as they captured one state championship in women's softball with strong top ten finishes at state championships in football (second), men's soccer (second), women's cross country (fourth), women's basketball (fourth), men's cross country (fifth), women's track and field (fifth), men's track and field (fifth), women's soccer (seventh), women's swimming (eighth) and men's wrestling (eighth). NATYCAA Cup points are based upon an individual sport team's final position in post-conference competition. Each colleges top five men's and top five women's teams count toward that institutions overall point total. The NATYCAA Cup will be presented to Mt. SAC at the 2009 NATTCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida on June 18th.

For more information on the NATYCAA Cup, including history, standings, scoring criteria, etc., visit the California Community College Athletic Association Website at www.coasports.org or contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.594.5611 ext. 4629.

Student Wins 3D Award

Mt. SAC student Christopher Martinez recently won the 3D Digital Imagery Architectural / Industrial Award at the 2009 Media Arts Award Competition for California Community Colleges. Martinez also received an honorable mention for three of his other 3D digital entries. Mt. SAC faculty member Keith Wilson was honored as Christopher's instructor.

This year's competition screened almost 500 entries in 14 categories with a result of 50 award-winning students. The winners were recognized at a showcase presentation and shared prizes valued at more than $40,000.

The prestigious Media Arts Awards are sponsored by the Multimedia & Entertainment Initiative (MEI) through the California Community College's Economic & Workforce Development. The initiative is committed to creating environments in which students can achieve artistic excellence and develop technological expertise for careers in the communications, entertainment, and interactive learning industries.

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.