SSC Board of Trustees Celebrates Women’s Soccer Team Regional Title

South Suburban College (SSC) women’s soccer team was honored by the SSC Board of Trustees on Thursday, February 9, for receiving the regional title from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The soccer team, coached by Jose Gonzalez, finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 13 wins, five loses and one tie. “I want to thank everyone here for all the administrative support to make something like this happen. It takes a lot as we want to ensure we run a program where students can evolve to be productive citizens. The young ladies on my team are community members, and some are children of SSC graduates,” stated Coach Gonzalez. Coach Gonzalez, current Dean at Thornwood and voted District Coach of the Year in the last two seasons, has had two Regional Players of the Year, two All-American players, and two Academic All-Americans. SSC student Amaris Gonzalez was named the United Soccer Coaches Association Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, he has recently had two players commit to play for four-year institutions, one for Indiana University Northwest and Purdue University.

During the evening board celebration, the SSC Board of Trustees acknowledged the accomplishments of Coach Gonzalez and the entire athletic division at SSC. In an emotional statement, SSC Trustee Joseph Whittington congratulated Coach Gonzalez, “I watched him grow, and I want to let you know you have a great future. Thank you from the SSC Board of Trustees and the local community.” Later in the evening, Dr. Deborah Baness King, the SSC Vice-President of Student & Enrollment Services /Title IX Coordinator, announced that the SSC athletic division accomplished a historic feat, as all its’ sports teams have at some point won a regional championship. SSC Chairman Terry Wells continued his sentiments of the historic feat by stating that the soccer team joins other successful SSC sports teams, such as the men’s basketball and the men’s baseball teams, in successful runs. “We are really the school of champions, and it was confirmed tonight. Excellent job!” stated Chairman Wells.

If you are interested in participating in the SSC Women’s Soccer program, contact Coach Jose Gonzalez, SSC’S Women’s Soccer Coach, at (708) 596-2000 ext. 2002 or via email at jgonzalez@

Pictured: South Suburban College (SSC) Board of Trustees and Women’s Soccer Team. Front row, left to right: Student Estefani del Rio, Student Sandra Flores, Student Stephanie Mendoza, Student Fernanda Sanchez, Student Emily Sanchez, and Student Monse Solis. Middle Row, Left to Right: SSC Trustee Vivian Payne, Student Adriana Moreno, Student Yulissa, Student Lozano, Student Lisbeth Gallegos, Student Emily Mendoza, Student Amaris Gonzalez, Student Naomy Gallardo, and Student Jasmine Huerta. Standing Third row, Left to Right: Coach Bert Damian, Student Priscilla Sotelo, Student Sabrina Ortiz, Student Mia Cruz, SSC Chairman Terry Wells, Coach Tony Gonzalez, Student Daisy Rodriguez, Student Analisa Martinez, Student Crystal Sotelo, Coach Lisa Urbina, SSC Trustee Vincent Lockett, SSC Trustee Prince Reed and Coach Aaron Zambrano. Standing Fourth Row, Left to Right: SSC Trustee Joseph Whittington, SSC Trustee Anthony DeFilippo and SSC Trustee Janet Rogers ssc.edu. The South Suburban College Main Campus is located at 15800 South State Street, South Holland, Illinois. The college’s extension site, the Oak Forest Center, is located at 16333 South Kilbourn Avenue, Oak Forest, Illinois.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart Launches Volunteer Partnership with Paws Chicago

PAWS Chicago, the Midwest’s largest comprehensive No Kill animal welfare organization, and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart today announced a volunteer program that supports the need for more PAWS animal-handling volunteers while serving as a wellness initiative for Sheriff’s Office staff. Through the program, Sheriff’s Office employees will walk dogs and participate in cat enrichment activities at the PAWS Chicago Medical Center, the largest homeless pet hospital in the United States. The program will help PAWS Chicago meet a rising need for volunteers, because while adoptions and other animal welfare programs have now returned to pre-pandemic levels, volunteer hours have not. “We care for hundreds of pets each day, ranging from the homeless pets that receive medical care on their path to adoption to the many more that receive free and low-cost services we offer to the public,” said PAWS Chicago CEO Susanna Wickham. “A robust volunteer program is an essential part of us meeting the community’s needs, and we are still working to regain the volunteer hours we lost during the pandemic.” With over 2,000 Sheriff’s Office employees located just a mile away from the nation’s premier homeless pet hospital, the new program will support a growing need at PAWS Chicago: more volunteers to help with socialization of healing pets. It will also help animal-loving staff at the Sheriff’s Office reduce stress and decompress while giving back to the community. “We reached out to PAWS after hearing about their recent disaster relief rescue effort, because we wanted to help those pets on their path to finding homes,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “We quickly realized there was an opportunity to provide a much larger program and benefit to our staff and PAWS Chicago.”

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s first-of-its-kind customized volunteer partnership with PAWS Chicago trims the volunteer training time and focuses efforts on dog walking and cat enrichment, which are in great need at the Medical Center due to the high volume of pets served. Several employees of the Sheriff’s Office have already undergone training and begun the volunteer program, with many more expressing interest in attending orientation in the coming weeks. The PAWS Chicago Medical Center examines every animal brought to the organization and provides all necessary treatments. The facility performed over 15,000 spay and neuter operations last year and PAWS Chicago recently passed a milestone of 300,000 such procedures in its 25year history. The 30,000-square-foot hospital can house more than 200 pets, which allows PAWS Chicago to rescue pets from high-kill shelters in 13 different states, such as the rescue of 33 puppies and dogs from Houston area following a tornado that closed one Texas shelter. For information on volunteering with PAWS Chicago, email volunteers@pawschicago.org

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