Take a page out of her story Professor love of teaching stems from an unconventional childhood

ZOE PARKER Features Editor @zparker3594

Sheryl Nomelli’s office resembles an art museum. Covered in artifacts documenting her affinity for history, the trinkets lining her shelves tell a history almost as vibrant as her own.

Nomelli’s story begins in the historical turmoil of the 1960s and 70s amidst the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal and both the Civil and Women’s rights movements. Her childhood, in her own words was “unconventional” as her parents adopted anti-government ideals and settled their family in a commune of like-minded people in Northern California. Living in quonset huts on an abandoned military base, Nomelli grew up wandering around its grounds without supervision and without formal education.

“My mom would go out and get used books, books that were donated, books that were free and on a hodge-podge of different subjects, and she would read to me and my brother every single day, sometimes for hours,” Nomelli said. “A lot of my education was just being read to by my mom.”

It wasn’t until she was 10, when the base that was her home was sold, that she began traditional schooling. She originally planned to enroll in fourth grade, but a placement test advanced her to sixth, although she only stayed until the eighth before dropping out.

A few years later, at 15, she took the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) and attended classes at Shasta College in Redding, California the same year. Throughout this phase of her life, Nomelli’s parents joined a religon and her father went back to school to study theology and become a minister.

“They were searching for answers and got involved in a really strict religious group,” Nomelli said. “So I went from a loosey, goosey ‘do-as-you-like’ lifestyle to this harsh brand of Christianity.” undocumented]. I asked my mom but she didn’t want to explicitly explain to me what it meant.”

By 18, Nomelli was married, and by 20, a mother, putting her education on the back burner to raise her family. It wasn’t until her late twenties that she enrolled in courses at Moorpark College as a re-entry student and discovered her love of history.

He attended John F. Kennedy High School in the magnet program as a film student and participated in Skills USA. Lopez won regional in eleventh grade, and in twelve grade, participated in regional, took home a gold medal in the state competition and made it to nationals.

Right after high school he got a job working for a small pizzeria shop before finding another job at Office Depot in Burbank working there for a year.

While attending Pierce College, he took a political science course and joined the PoliSci Society. He became interested in politics, so he decided to intern for Congressman Tony Cardenas.

During the five-month internship,

“It’s about seeing the people that you represent, and through them I learned the most about what I am doing right now,” Lopez said.

Lopez applied and interviewed for the City of Malibu under the Parks and Recreation Department during the summer and got the job as recreational assistant.

The interpersonal skills needed in a professional environment ,such as setting up meetings and sitting in on them, dressing up in suits and making sure you are entirely professional, are key learning experiences, Lopez said.

College Club Council President Kosar Afsir, 20, works with Lopez as part of ASO.

Although Afsir and Lopez work in two different branches within student government, they have different visions to accomplish similar goals.

“He sets goals for himself and he takes action,” Afsir said.

Dean of Student Engagement and co-advisor to the ASO Juan Carlos Astorga met Lopez last year when he was a senator. Astorga said that he had the privilege of traveling with him to the Student Senate California Community Campus, a statewide conference, where they participated.

“I was really impressed with his maturity and his ability to look at large scale issues that impact our community college students across the state,” Astorga said.

According to Astorga, the ASO has initiatives focusing on solving student problems. He thinks they are starting out on a good foot by being able to address the food insecurity and the home insecurity of individuals on campus.

“He’s really passionate about the initiatives, and he is going to keep it at the forefront for all of us to have these discussions as an ASO, as Pierce College community, and as leaders across the campus and district,” Astorga said.

When you first meet Lopez he’s serious, Astorga said. But he is a caring person and dedicated to ensuring all individuals at stake are included and a part of the discussion.

“I settled into politics,” Lopez said. “That’s my passion right there.”

“I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck, renting a tiny, little two-bedroom condo with my family of four,” Nomelli said. “I worked nights and weekends; my husband worked days. It was hard.”

It was then that she met Moorpark Professor Ceil Copsey, who inspired her to not only switch her major to history, but to want to become a history professor like her.

“She would march across the room telling stories in this very dramatic way with her hair swinging everywhere. She would make a bunch of strange noises and we started calling her ‘Cousin It’ like the character from the Addams Family, because she was just covered in hair,” Nomelli said. “Halfway through that semester, I changed my major to history.”

After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Nomelli earned her master’s at Cal. State Lutheran where she was involved in the Natchez Courthouse Records Program created by Professor Ron Davis. During the five week trip, Nomelli traveled to Mississippi and Louisiana to explore primary sources and archives.

“I was just weird enough that I was interesting,” Nomelli said in regards to obtaining fellowships from Davis himself.

Soon after, she began her teaching career. Nomelli taught classes both at Cal. State Northridge (CSUN) and Moorpark before settling at Pierce, where she’s been since 2012.

“I learned, when I started working here, that it’s like a mini-CSUN in terms of the diversity of the student population, which I love,” Nomelli said.

Pierce student Mady Pammit said she really enjoyed Nomelli’s History 52 class.

“This class is fantastic,” Pammit said. “It’s interesting, captivating and fascinating. Professor Nomelli is awesome; she keeps you engaged.”

History instructor Brian Walsh served on Pierce’s hiring committee during Nomelli’s interview phase and said her passion for teaching was evident from the start.

“When I was observing her teach, I saw the engagement with her students,” Walsh said. “The passion was there, and that’s a key quality to being successful as a history teacher. The students need to see that you care about it, which she does. She’s one of the good ones.”