Following the beat of his heart Pierce student plays more than ve instruments

Meghan McGillicuddy Roundup Reporter

What do the guitar, harmonica, piano, Irish tin whistle, and panpipes all have in common?

They are all played by 18-yearold Jacob “Zuko” Billings, a Pierce College student and musician.

“I play the guitar the best and I am pretty good at the piano. I mostly play the Irish tin whistle and panpipes at home,” Billings said. “I have recorded with the tin whistle, but I have not recorded with the panpipes.”

Billings’ major is undecided, but he attends a number of music classes at Pierce. He is also president of the French club on campus.

Billings’ most recent show was at the Guitar Merchant in Woodland Hills on Friday, Feb. 28.

The Guitar Merchant opened in 2006, according to owner Phil St. Germain. They wanted to have a place where new and local bands can perform, and there are no age restrictions at the venue.

“Anyone can come in and enjoy the show,” St. Germain said.

Billings had some friends and family come to watch his performance, including his father and his sister who were in the crowd.

“We saw his potential at a young age, and we kept encouraging him to play,” said his father, David Billings.

“My dad always played guitar when I was little. I always wanted a guitar, and I got one when I was eight,” Billings said. “I did not pick it up very fast, so I dropped it and then I picked it up again five years ago.”

Though he plays five instruments, the guitar and harmonica were the only ones used during his most recent performance.

“I think this is awesome,” said his sister, Gwendolyn Billings.

Jimi Hendrix was a big inspiration for Billings and his music, which along with encourangement from his family prompted him to begin practicing from an early age.

“I fell in love with music when I heard him and I just started playing,” Billings said.

The first song he played was “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix. The next was his own called “Losing,” which was more of a blue-grass interpretation according to Zuko. His final song of the night was an original called “Way to Go.”

Zuko is hoping to get more of a fan base from his performances in the future.

“I want to reach out to people. I want to get some more coverage,” Billings said.

There are no set dates for upcoming performances, but anybody looking for more information or updates can find him on Facebook and Twitter under Jacob Zuko.

“She’s always fun to talk to and is very easygoing; you can strike a conversation with her about anything,” Tchertchian said.

In her spare time Rashidian also enjoys swimming, working on arts and crafts, going to concerts, and listening to soft rock as well as Bruno Mars. She said she couldn’t see herself doing anything else for a living other than teaching math.

“They keep me alive,” Rashidian said. “It is a very rewarding job.”

Natalie Hatcher, a business major and founder of the club, started the club with the intention to keep others motivated with their fitness goals while having fun at the same time.

“We don’t care what fitness level you’re on,” Hatcher said. “It is not a competition between people, it is just for people to get healthy and fit. We basically just come in, we push play and we allow the trainers on the DVD to basically lead us in how our form is.”

Hatcher plays a one-hour routine from the Beachbody program each week on a DVD and the Great Hall has the big screen projector that displays it all for

“I was about 80 pounds heavier, and I managed to do it even though I was going to school, running a business, and teaching,” Newman said. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”

If you’re looking for a way to squeeze in some workout time while you’re on campus this semester, put the Fit Club on your Wednesday night to-do list. You can make friends, burn calories, and sweat in the name of fun.

“I just want to share this with people. I have this new sense of self-esteem I didn’t have before. It’s just amazing,” said Newman with a smile. “When you change your body, you change so much more than your body; you change yourself.”

Nelger Carrera / Roundup

STARLIGHT: Maxwell Ward, 19, peering at the planets through one of the viewing telescopes.

Students starstruck by the universe

Astronomy Society runs open viewing of night sky

For those interested in astronomy, the chunk of rock called Earth and everything else related to physical science, then the Astronomy Society at Pierce College should feel like home.

“As a person, I just find nerdy stuff really cool,” said Dale Fields, Astronomy Society adviser and assistant professor of astronomy at Pierce College.

The Astronomy Society meets on Fridays at 3 p.m. in Room 92047 of the Center for the Sciences. They discuss topics like finding and confirming planets, solar systems, other ‘earths’ in the universe, geology, natural polygons and the Hubble Space Telescope among several other topics.

“There is no more humbling of a science than astronomy,” said Felipe Cabello, vice-president of the Astronomy Society. “It’s cool for me to see that there are people who also agree and they want to use this club to explore not only astronomy but everything else.”

Daniel Best, a new member of the club, came across the group during Club Rush last semester. Looking through the telescope they had set up and talking with the group cemented his decision to join.

“I thought it was cool,” Best said. “I came to a club meeting and found out that the people in the club were really fun, cool and funny.”

Members interests and majors range from political science to environmental science to geology.

“We have official meetings off campus and talk about not only astronomy, but the politics with it,” Cabello said.

Along with the weekly meetings, the club hosts open viewing nights and planetarium shows several times a semester.

Viewing nights let the public looking through telescopes at the night sky with the assistance of adviser Fields. Planetarium shows give the public a different and unique view of the solar system.

More than 30 people attended

Friday’s viewing night. They were able to look through telescopes including a Dobsonian and two Schmidt-Cassegrains.

The next viewing night is planned for May 7 at around 6 p.m. The Planetarium shows are scheduled for April 16 from 7 - 9 p.m. and May 23 from 6 - 8 p.m.

The Astronomy Society will be hosting a fundraiser Friday, March 21 from 11 a.m. through 10 p.m. to raise money for their upcoming weekend trip to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara to study astronomy in the field.

“The easy part is getting me to start talking about astronomy,” Fields said. “The difficult part is getting me to shut up.”

To attend a club meeting, just walk, bike, or drive over to Room 92047 in the Center for the Sciences building or find them on Facebook as the “Pierce College Astronomy Society.”