El Paisano Newspaper Vol.67 Issue 3

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PAGE 4 Read more to find out the details about Rio Hondo Women’s Soccer victory against LACC on Wednesday, October 17th. Thursday

RIO HONDO HOSTS BLOOD DRIVE

Sierra Uribe

GIOVANNA HERNANDEZ

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Vol. 67 Issue 3

October 19, 2023

D1 DEAN OF ATHLETICS

@giovannahernandezofficial

ports are important because they bring people together and create bonds, conflicts and so many memories; it’s something that many people participate in. In schools, sports and fitness are a huge part of student success and student community. With that being said, schools offer you a chance to represent your colors in your sport or be involved in fitness like our Rio’s Kinesiology course, while still going to school. It gives young adults an opportunity to continue going to college. Being an athlete you look to your coaches or instructors for guidance but who do they look to? Dean Nedra Brown is who you’re gonna turn to with anything that has to do with Athletics, Dance and Kinesiology at Rio Hondo College. She oversees everything that has to do with the athletic programs, makes schedules and gives everyone everything they need. If you’re a coach or Kinesiology Instructor, Dean Brown will support you with timesheets, meetings and especially practices and games. “My favorite thing about being a dean of Rio is that I get the opportunity to not just be part of athletics, but here I can be a part of other disciplines like dance and kinesiology, “she says. Dean Brown has been here at Rio since December of 2021, and continues to emphasize on how a true athlete at heart cares about her students striving to make every athletic program better every day she’s here. Being only here a couple years she’s made an impact on many with her athleticism, experience and knowledge in sports. But as mentioned before everyone has a story, so you ask yourself once again, where did Dean Brown come from? Dean Brown was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn.

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being the youngest of three. She went to Elementary school in California for a bit, then finished her k-12 education after attending Hillcrest High School. Her love for sports began in 7th grade. When she was in high school she played quite a few sports such as volleyball, basketball, softball and tennis. After high school, she stayed local and went to Le Moyne College, which is a small, historically black private university for liberal arts. There she continued playing basketball, winning a championship the year she graduated in 1995. Dean Brown got her Bachelor’s Degree of Science and Biology, and started working in 1996 at the same college she graduated in. She worked there for 10 years until her departure in 2006. During that time, Dean Brown decided to go back to school to get a degree in Counseling. “I’m an athlete at heart, going back to school I felt as if our student athletes were not getting the same opportunity and information as some of the higher academic students so I wanted to be the person that gave them one,” she says. In 2006, she went on to become head coach of Kentucky State’s Volleyball Team. From there, she got the incredible opportunity to be head coach of Alabama A&M University’s Volleyball team, a D1 school. While being there for seven years, she led seven championships and won four conference championships. After having such success in coaching for so many years, she decided to retire her whistle and focus on administration. “I felt like I had maximized what I was gonna do as a coach, so I wanted to help more students, I wanted to help every sport, instead of a team, I could do it for everyone,” says Brown. From there, Dean Brown

continued with administration in a few colleges for a couple of years staying in women’s athletics. Then, in 2017, she moved to California. After landing her first job at Santa Monica College, she continued to strive in the state, later getting the Dean of Kinesiology Dance and Athletics position here at Rio Hondo College in December of 2021. You can hear the passion she still continues having for sports. Being an athlete at heart is exactly what an institution like ours needs. She continues to show young women exactly how far you can go doing something you love if you put your mind to it. “You probably have never met a woman that maneuvers the amount of things I do because I believe there’s not enough of us women working in these types of industries,” Brown says. Dean Brown makes it a point on how much she loves her job and serving not only athletes but students all across campus. When asked what she does outside of work she says, “I love going to sporting events, I recently got a bike and I also really enjoy skating.” Everyday, Brown learns something new being where she is today, whether that’s walking into a meeting or attending a game. We can only expect great things from her throughout because of her experiences in life that brought her where she deserves to be today. If you decide to come out to a game of any sport, or happen to be walking through campus, then you might run into Dean Nedra Brown – she will most likely be driving a golf cart and if you do see her, then ask her a question because she’ll probably have the right answer for you.

SIERRA URIBE @s3erra

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he American Red Cross announced on September 11th that there was a national blood shortage. Rio Hondo College partnered with the American Red Cross on Monday, October 16th and Tuesday, October 17th. Any roadrunner was welcomed to sign up, donate blood and receive a $15 dollar amazon gift card and a Seaworld ticket. But contributing to saving lives is enough for students at Rio Hondo. “I thought it would be nice to give blood to others of course as a nice gesture” said Jorge Quezada. The American Red Cross is a community partner which collects 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply. A variety of colleges such as the University of La Verne, Mt. Sac, Cal Poly Pomona, Whittier College and others also held a blood drive in recent weeks. Every person has different blood types, which makes blood donors with any blood type desperately needed. “Blood types O positive and O negative are needed the most‘’ said Senior Account Manager for American Red Cross, Daniel D’Angelo. The need for blood throughout hospitals in the nation is crucial. With unexpected daily trauma related accidents like car accidents and day to day procedures needed on patients such as surgery and cancer treatments, the blood usage in hospitals is high. “90 percent of the blood donated goes to hospitals,” said D’Angelo. During the summer months, hospitals began to not have enough blood donors come in to donate in order to equal what was needed for patient care. Every blood drive typically has around 40 people sign up and 25-30 pints are collected

Sierra Uribe

after each blood drive thanks to blood donors. Because of the construction on the Rio Hondo campus in building, the blood drives can only be held in the American Red Cross bus. “We usually would be getting 40 to 50 pints donated in a day” said D’ Angelo. Regardless of the limited space for the event, both Monday, October 16th and Tuesday October 17th dates were fully booked with donors. For many students, it is their first time donating blood. Student Dayleen Guzman said, “This is my first time and after watching Grey’s Anatomy, I was allowed to see what people in the real world go through and I am now aware that there are people in need of blood.” Other students donate blood as they relate their donation with personal experiences. “When I was young I had open heart surgery and the doctor told me she donated blood to me because there was no blood,” said student Virginia Camarena. The next blood drive at Rio Hondo will take place next semester, but anyone can donate off campus as well. The Blood Donor App allows anyone to simply check nearby blood drives and schedule appointments to donate blood. The free app is available on the app store and provides additional information for anyone interested in donating.

Sierra Uribe


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