Spring/Summer 2010
The Verizon Foundation has awarded the SBCC MESA program $12,500 for student trips to science and engineering conferences, books and counseling. Verizon awarded the funds to MESA because of the program's proven track record of preparing community college students to transfer to four-year institutions. MESA director Virginia Estrella said private support is vital and that the foundation has contributed a total of $35,000 to the SBCC MESA program. "Our goal is to support the communities in which we do business and to seek out the great programs like MESA, which make a difference," said Verizon Director of Government and External Affairs Holly Cole.
An $18,000 grant from Agilent Technologies made the first VEX Robotics Competition possible for more than 80 MESA high school students from seven MESA centers. The award to MESA's Santa Rosa pre-college center from the Santa Clara-based measurement and monitoring instrument company will fund robotics kits for the May competition. Using robots teaches students about basic programming and transmitter systems. Four-person teams will maneuver robots through obstacle courses. Money from the grant will also fund a Santa Rosa Junior College MESA Lego NXT robotics competition.
The MESA Community College Program launched the first annual Math Challenge test to get students excited about math through a statewide competition. The 60-minute, multiple choice test includes problems from algebra, trigonometry, pre-calculus and analytical geometry. 183 students in teams of five or more students participated from 19 -campuses.
Teams will be ranked according to the top five scores from their campus. The top three highest individual scores per campus will be recognized at MESA Day events. The test is modeled after the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges' Student Math League test.
Pasadena City College director Melva Alvarez was selected by La Opinion as one of 30 Southern California Latinas recognized as a La Opinion Mujer Destacada (Woman of Distinction).
La Opinion, a leading Spanish-language newspaper in the Los Angeles area, selects remarkable Southern California Latinas in the following categories each year: community, leadership, education, business/technology, arts and cultures and health. Their profiles are featured in the newspaper, on its website and at a special awards ceremony program.
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