Outreach specialist books it to Pierce College Library / Learning Crossroads

being physically there on campus,” he said.

While in Seattle, Macias began working in the community college system. It was there he was introduced to the community college culture and where he “learned to appreciate the values that community colleges uphold because of their special place in academia.”

Macias said he is happy to have landed the job.

According to Macias, to get a permanent job, librarians for the Cal State system are on a tenure track. Those positions, he said, “don’t often come up.”

Because his time with CSUN was only on a temporary contract, Macias actively applied for other opportunities. Pierce College just happened to be hiring.

“In the world of librarians, getting a librarian position is rather difficult,” said Macias.

According to Pierce College Library Department Chair Paula Paggi, there were 70-100 hire candidates for the open position. Of all those candidates, Paggi said Macias had “a strong presentation and a lot of enthusiasm.”

The library is currently looking to expand outreach and help. One way this can be done is through social media. According to Macias, “Nobody here was jumping to do social media.”

Though it already had a Facebook and a Twitter account, the library was not very “proactive and consistent” with them. Macias’s first course of action was to create an Instagram, Youtube Channel, and Snapchat account. All of which are already up and running.

Because all of this is relatively new, Macias says that the library is struggling just a little bit.

“We’re trying to get the word out there. We’re trying to get students to know that we exist,” Macias said.

“We’re trying to get students to follow us, so that we can create a culture online that exists outside of the physical environment here.”

Outreach librarian Lisa Valdez, who is also a new employee at the library, works with Macias on occasion.

They “have a lot of chemistry” and “make a good team”, she said. Together they want to “wake up the library.” When he’s not be in the workplace, Macias continues to work on his craft.

“I use to read a lot for pleasure, like fiction and poetry,” Macias says.

Currently, he tries to read more professional material related to his career in his off time.

“There’s so much that still need to learn about libraries and librarians,” he said.

In addition to getting better at his profession, Macias finds it important to read in Spanish as well. It is something he has been trying to do to help improve his writing as well as his Spanish language speaking skills.

As a continuing learner himself, Macias feels that “the value of a community college library is so important.”

“It is a really exciting time so we’ll see what happens,” he said.

KE-ALANI SARMIENTO Reporter @KeAlaniNews

Growing up in South Los Angeles and experiencing life in Cambodia motivated Lisa Valdez to contribute to the Outreach program as the new librarian at Pierce College.

Valdez began her employment on August 31st, in her first academic librarian position specializing in outreach, where she helps at the reference desk, locates books, researches information and provides resources.

Paula Paggi, Pierce College’s Library Department Chair, also assigned Valdez to run the “War Comes Home” program where she connects with counselors that work with first year experience students.

“She is a pleasure to work with,” Paggi said. “She brings good energy and enthusiasm to the department. She is energetic, flexible and full of good ideas. She enjoys working with students too.”

Valdez was formerly a public community librarian for six years but her passions always lay in college and career development.

Although the library is located on the Pierce College campus, Valdez receives calls from across the nation for information on books and resources. Pierce’s campus library is open to the students as well as the public community.

“I want to provide accessibility for information and resources to as many underserved groups as I can,”

Valdez said.

Valdez’s experience as a 10-year-old child in elementary school led her to the path she is on today.

She stated how she was a product of the No Child Left Behind Act, describing an incident in which a teacher refused to teach her and dismissed her from the classroom because of her ethnicity. She was led out of the school by her mother and transferred to another school.

Her mother, who joined the new school’s PTA, made sure Valdez was able to continue her education without being treated unfairly because of her ethnicity.

“I never want any child to experience that. I know that with so many cultures migrating and living here, it’s an adjustment for people to get used to so many of the different cultures,” Valdez said. “People say ‘You’re in America now,’ and yes we do things a certain way, but people should never dismiss or get rid of their culture.”

Valdez received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology at California State University Dominguez Hills. During her college career, Susan Needham, CSUDH’s Librarian Chair and an anthropology professor, mentored her.

Needham influenced Valdez to be involved in outreach programs where she did field work and observations in anthropology.

She was then given the opportunity to travel abroad in Cambodia for a summer to learn about different cultures through the school’s program. Although she was ready and willing to explore, her husband agreed to only send her off to Cambodia if he traveled along. The couple exchanged vows a second time in Cambodia, experiencing marriage in a different culture.

“This trip gave me tools to understand a variety of backgrounds and I developed a tolerance for different ways of communication and learning abilities,” Valdez said.

Whenever she traveled, Valdez took the time to view the resources and books the community had to offer. She has visited libraries in Texas, Hawaii, New Orleans and Chicago.

“She brings good energy and enthusiasm to the department.”

-Paula Paggi Department Chair

She continued her education with a scholarship to UCLA and graduated with a master’s degree in information library science.

Valdez worked in law enforcement as a 911 dispatcher during her time as a student. In graduate school, Valdez was also involved in the Nidorf Collective Committee, an outreach program where she provided book donations and resources to juveniles at a detention center in Sylmar, Calif. Because of her interest in different cultures, Valdez assists in many avenues in the community.

Valdez assists her hometown friend, Ida Humphrey, with her non-profit organization, Bright Star, which runs a debutante and cotillion scholarship program.

In the six-month program, Valdez helps teach young people etiquette, dancing, resume writing, and career and college planning. They also have taken trips to different cultural events and museums. Valdez and Bright Star are looking forward to their sixth cotillion on Oct. 17th in Gardena, Calif. Valdez stated that she and Humphrey remain dedicated to educating the youth of the community.

Valdez plans to use her experiences with other cultures and past outreach programs to expand outreach at the Pierce College Library Learning Crossroads.

“She has jumped right in with ideas and projects,”

Clay Gediman, Technology Librarian at Pierce said.

Valdez is looking forward to bringing students at Pierce College more accessibility to resources by getting a “book bike,” a bike with an attached carrier to transport books throughout the campus. The book bike will allow students to be informed about the databases, services, programs and also present free giveaways.

“With an outreach focus, she will be very instrumental in integrating the library’s resources with other departments and growing the library services in general,” Gediman said.

SALVADOR FARIAZ Assistant Sports Editor @S_fariaz

Excessive penalties and sloppy play led the Pierce College Brahmas to a loss against the Southwestern Jaguars on Saturday, Sept. 19 in Chula Vista, Calif.

The Brahmas’ play may have been affected after the defensive team had trouble finding a functional bus to make the trip.

The game was scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but kickoff didn’t take place until 8:45 p.m.

The Jaguars won the game 2320 and earned their first win of the season.

The bus that was assigned to Pierce’s defensive team had an air conditioner that was not functional and an emergency exit on the roof

The team waited at a park in Studio City for three hours before returning to the bus. The choice was to either forfeit the game or ride the ventless bus down to DeVore Stadium. The Brahmas defense was relentless and insisted on playing.

Pierce started the game kicking the ball off to the Jaguars, but quickly changed the possession when linebacker Tanner Kanteman intercepted a pass near the sideline.

Despite the hardships the defense faced to get to the game, they looked sharper in the first half.

“They ran just about every play on their offensive scheme,” said Pierce defensive back Jason Sturdivant. “We stopped over pursuing the ball and just stayed home and just played ball after that.”

The Pierce defense forced a three and out on the next drive, but Jaguars’ defensive back Connal Brown grabbed a pick 6 and puts Jaguars up 7-0 after a successful field goal.

The biggest obstacle for the Brahmas was penalties being called on both their offense and defense. The yards they lost cost them first down opportunities and their defensive penalties gave the Jaguars enough yards to put them in scoring position.

“We had too many penalties, 21 or 22 penalties just can’t happen,” said Pierce’s head coach Jason Sabolic.

“You can’t play that bad against a team like this and expect to win.”

Freshman running back Kyshawn

Richards scored off a 27-yard outside handoff and the Brahmas tied the game at 7-7.

Towards the end of the first half, Pierce quarterback Sean Smith started connecting on crucial passes. Two passes were caught by wide receiver Jamere Austin for a combined 52 yards. Smith kept the drive alive with a short pass to wide receiver Xavier Ubosi who evaded a sideline tackle to put six more on the board for Pierce.

At the half, Pierce led 14-10 after a Jaguar field goal.

In the first half, Pierce’s running game seemed to be the biggest reason why the team was able to pick up so many yards.

Sophomore Running back Calvin Howard opened up Pierce’s first drive of the half with a 59-yard run to give Pierce excellent field position. They

Conditioner

Once the team had completely loaded onto the bus there were more than 30 people and the added body heat was immediately felt by everyone. It was 95 degrees outside, but significantly hotter than 100 degrees inside the bus.

-Matthew Hatchette

were not able to convert and the ball went back to the Jaguars. On Pierce’s next possession, Smith threw a pass down the middle to Trevor Kanteman who finishes his run on the 14 yard line. Pierce couldn’t gain any yards and fumbled on fourth and 10. After Pierce’s defense did not allow any touchdowns in the first half, Southwestern College went on to score two quick second half touchdowns to make it a 23-14 Jaguar lead.

Smith continued to throw accurate passes and found tight end Trevor Kanteman for a Pierce touchdown to close the gap to three points. The Brahmas made a good last effort on its final drive, but couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-1 pass. Southwestern College ran the clock down to end its losing streak. There was not one play or one call that attributed to Pierce’s loss, but a combination of penalties, turnovers and good offense by Southwestern College. The Jaguars were able to execute offensively in the second half and took the game from the Brahmas.

“Defensively we had to put a lot of time in because Pierce runs a million different formations,” said Jaguar’s head coach Ed Carberry. “We were able to make plays on fourth down that mattered.” Pierce College (1-1) will play Glendale Community College (1-2) next on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.