Journalism Students Win a Record 52 Awards!
Mt. SAC Journalism students won 52 awards at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) Southern California Convention–the most awards won by a single college in the program's history.
For the second consecutive year, the Mountaineer newspaper and Substance magazine took General Excellence, the highest award given to a publication at the SoCal convention.
Top editor awards went to Evan Lancaster, Mountaineer editor-in-chief; Carmichael Cruz and Alfredo Camacho, Substance co-editors-in-chief; and Isai Rocha, editor-in-chief of Mountiewire.com
First place awards went to Vanessa Solis for Outstanding Copyediting; Aldo Padilla and Beatrice Alcala for Outstanding Magazine Cover Design; and Beatrice Alcala for Outstanding Magazine Design.
Congrats to our student journalists for their record-setting achievement.
For the complete list of award winners, go to http://www.mountiewire.com.
Forensics Team Sweeps Tournament Awards
Mt. SAC's nationally ranked Forensics Team brought home an impressive 23 awards for debate and individual event performances at the recent Watson-Lancer Invitational at Pasadena City College, where students from 24 community colleges competed.
Among them was Justin Yip, who at his first tournament became the "Novice Champion" of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, arguing his case about the need to reform the U.S. transportation infrastructure. Returning champion Emily Aldana was the open division champion in "Speech to Entertain" with her humorous critique of the growing "Don't Go to College" movement. Overall, Mt. SAC's team of 30 members placed second behind the reigning national champions, Orange Coast College.
The 2009-10 Mt. SAC Forensics Team is directed by Liesel Reinhart, Ken Klawitter and Crystal Lane Swift. For more info., call ext. 6453 or e-mail: forensics@mtsac.edu.
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 student in top 16 of So You Think You Can Dance!
Nineteen-year-old Mt. SAC dance student Pauline Mata has become a top 16 contestant on season six of Fox's hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance.
A West Covina native and Mt. SAC student in Advanced Dance classes during the 2008-09 school year, Pauline took this semester off to tryout and compete in the show. In season five, Pauline was eliminated before the top 20 cut, but came back this year after receiving encouragement from the judges.
"All of us here in the Dance department are very proud of Pauline!" said Dance Department Chairperson Amy Nakamura. "As a student, she was an inspiration and a great role model. The students and faculty of the dance department are her biggest fan club and we think she has a very bright future ahead of her!"
Tuesday November 10 is this season's first So You Think You Can Dance episode in which viewers will be able to vote on their favorite performers. To check air times and find out more about Pauline, go to http://www.fox.com/dance/contestants/profiles/pauline-mata.php.
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.
