Volume 140 Spring 2024 Issue 14

Woodland Hills, California Volume 140 - Issue 14

Piecing together a beautiful life

Student commencement speaker reflects on his journey at Pierce College

By Delilah Brumer and Violet Garcia Editors

Five years ago, an ambitious young adult immigrated to the United States from Uganda to meet the father he never knew.

Pierce College student Jacob Amanya grew up in “total poverty,” without “fancy foods, fancy things”—or his parents. So, at age 20, when Amanya got in contact with his UgandanAmerican father, he took the scary step of moving to the U.S.

What Amanya didn’t expect was, a mere five years later, he’s found much more than his father. He’s discovered the many pieces of his life that make him a person he is proud to be—the person who will be Pierce’s student commencement speaker this year.

“The whole point of me moving out here was to connect and bond with my dad because I never grew up with him,” said Amanya, who is now 25 years old. “[Moving] was quite emotional. Everything was different, but I got used to everything really fast because everyone was so friendly.”

Amanya started college during the Fall 2021 semester, but did not immediately build the connections he was hoping for. Then, in early 2022, he interrupted his college journey to join the U.S. Marines.

“COVID really affected me hard and I just saw my life in a different perspective,” Amanya said. “I felt like I needed my own life and I needed something to identify myself with, not just being my father’s son.”

As a Marine, Amanya has worked as an aviation mechanic and built a community for

himself.

“He’s an amazing human being,” said Lara Conrady Wong, Student Engagement Coordinator and counselor at Pierce. “If you ever interact with him, he’s just got a really great spirit. He honors himself by pushing himself every day to be who he’s supposed to be.”

In September 2022, Amanya decided to return to school and enrolled in Pierce College as a psychology major.

“[Enrolling at Pierce] was one of the best things that has happened to me,” Amanya said. “But the beginning was hard because I kept questioning myself. I had a big dream and that kind of propelled me to where I wanted to be. I wanted to graduate with honors.”

Amanya not only achieved that goal—he is graduating on the President’s Honor List—but he is also transferring to UCLA in the fall.

He was accepted to every CSU and UC he applied to.

“It’s amazing to see a high performing student like him dedicate his time to writing a speech and congratulating his fellow peers,” ASO President Gayane Zazyan said.

Some of Amanya’s many campus involvements include the English and psychology clubs, Umoja, the Pi chapter of Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society and the Pierce men’s soccer team.

“It was hard starting school here,” Amanya said. “Everything was difficult because I didn’t grow up speaking English. But the fact that I had people here that care and that were willing to support me was really good.”

At UCLA, Amanya hopes to combine his love of soccer and his academics by studying sports

Amanya, who will be this year’s student speaker at commencement, at Pierce

Hills, Calif., on May 23, 2024. psychology.

Amanya said his two pieces of advice for Pierce students are to “stick to your goals” and “utilize all the resources available at school.”

“I’m proud of my decisions, these bold decisions,” Amanya said. “Everything is now making sense. Eventually, all the pieces go together and you get beautiful pictures out of them.”

The 2024 Pierce College commencement ceremony will be held at Shepard Stadium on June 6 at 9 a.m.

Raquel

Frohlich

photo by Taylor Arthur / Roundup News

Veronica Rosas / Roundup News

Jacob

College in Woodland

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Woodland Hills, CA 91371

Room: Pierce College Village 8211

Phone: (818) 710-4115

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Editor-in-Chief...........Raquel G. Frohlich

Managing Editor....Christian Castellanos

Copy Editor.......................Brian Khoury

Online Editor.................Brandon Harrell

Online Editor......................Violet Garcia

Photo Editor.......................Emil Rizkalla

Photo Editor..................Myraneli Fabian

Opinion Editor........................Tyler Hale

News Editor....................Delilah Brumer

Campus Life Editor......Gerardo Escobar

Campus Life Editor........Olivia Espinoza

Sports Editor......................Sadie Shields

Social Media Editor........Alfonso Vargas

Reporters

Benjamin Hanson

Fabiola Carrizosa

Marcus Nocerino

Raiden Vazquez

Spencer Fuller

Taj Robles

Xavier Boyston

Photographers

Abraham Elizalde

Finn Andrade

Icy Smith

Karla Delgado

Kyle Camacho

Melanie Jurado

Owen Meza-Vandermeer

Sophie Lotterstein

Veronica Rosas

Advisers

Jill Connelly

Jeff Favre

Tracie Savage

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Corrections?

Email us at newsroom.roundupnews@ gmail.com

Editorial: From the desk of the Roundup Time to herd Brahmas into the spotlight

Pierce College should highlight achievements and success stories from students. Recognizing student achievement can help motivate others to excel.

“Highlighting student achievement is clearly a great motivator for the achievers to keep up the good work,” according to Informed Families. This recognition can also inspire other students to volunteer and excel. Students—some of

whom might be reluctant to get involved—see what their peers are accomplishing and want to learn what they can do.

Pierce can adapt to what El Camino College is doing and have a school website section dedicated to student success stories.

Pierce has a Student Leader Spotlight page on the website, but it is outdated and is not prominent displayed. The Pierce community can nominate

What are your summer plans?

students to be featured on the page, from a variety of campus involvements and backgrounds.

Posting on the school social media can help reach a larger audience to recognize student achievements.

“Share stories on your school’s social platforms using eye-catching visuals, engaging captions, and relevant hashtags. Encourage students, staff, and families to like, share, and comment on the content, helping

it reach a wider audience,” according to FinalSite.

Los Angeles Valley College frequently reposts student spotlights from their athletics department, as well as other campus departments and organizations.

Pierce College can use their resources to spread the word of the success of their students.

“I play the marimba, so I’m going to be getting some lessons from one of the people that I play with. I’m going to be preparing for auditions in the fall for this music group that I do. I’ve applied to a couple of different jobs as well as an internship at this city planning place, so I’m waiting to hear back.”

Aidan Callas - Civil engineering major

“Either volunteer at a hospital or get my CNA with my brother because we’re both doing nursing and hopefully get ready to transfer to UCLA.”

Levon Fitilchyan - Nursing major

Scan the QR code below or visit bit.ly/roundup-newsletter to subscribe to our weekly newsletter

“This summer I plan to read a lot of books that I’ve been putting off reading, binge-watch some shows and get some work in.”

Isis Gregory - Undecided major

“For the summer, I’m going to do a summer course, probably Anthropology 106 and probably work a part-time job. For fun, I’ll probably catch up on some shows or go somewhere fun, like the park or Six Flags.”

Josephine Harris - Anthropology major

“I’m going to try to get a part time job and enroll in some classes.”

Eric Sandoval - Business administration major

“My plans for summer is going out with my best friends and have some fun. If it’s too hot, maybe I’ll go to the beach or see a movie.”

Lexie Phan - Communications major

Quotes gathered by Brian Khoury. Photos by Icy Smith.

Ordering up the FOODTURE

New food option arrives on the Pierce College

By Gerardo Escobar Campus Life Editor

AJetsonian food option has been cooked up on Pierce that prepares hot food in just a few minutes.

The FOODTURE hot food vending machine—located next to the bookstore—has a fair diversity of products with a total of nine food options, ranging from pizzas to macaroni and cheese to pasta and chicken and rice.

According to their website, FOODTURE aims to provide restaurant-quality food, but their products are more comparable to food purchased in the frozen food aisle at a supermarket. While the products are not the restaurant-

quality food FOODTURE claims, they are still worth a try at least once because of the variety of the food offered.

The food is prepared in a kitchen, loaded and stocked into the machine and then cooked fully after a customer makes a purchase, according to the FOODTURE website.

Only accepting payments by card—potentially excluding students who only use cash—the machine is brightly colored and has a touch screen that is easy to navigate and allows users to see the star ratings of each meal and its nutritional value.

The food takes about four minutes to prepare and an enticing aroma starts to overtake the air as the food is cooked. Once the

campus

meal is prepared, it comes out of a trapdoor on the right side of the machine. Some dishes come with wooden utensils, but additional ones can be obtained on the right side of the machine.

Consumers should be careful with the trapdoor as it crushed the edge of the tray when it was taken out and pushed back in slightly. Consumers should also be aware that the food is hot (as the reviewer learned from eating the pizza before it cooled down to a consumable temperature).

The most expensive item available at the time of the review was the Big BBQ/Detroit Barbeque Chicken Pizza priced at $12.74.

The Detroit Barbeque Chicken Pizza has a good flavor, and the most admirable aspect is the texture of the crust and the prominence of the barbecue. The toppings, while good, are not outstanding with the flavor of the chicken being mostly faint.

The Teriyaki Chicken with Fried Rice, priced around $9, is one of the better options, however the rice, mixed with corn and red pepper, has almost no flavor. The chicken with teriyaki sauce is delicious. Packing a slightly sweeter than savory flavor and a soft and creamy texture. The broccoli is one of the stronger ingredients in this plate, being savory, moist and soft.

The sodium content of the dishes is concerning. Each slice of the barbecue chicken pizza contains 1,140 milligrams of sodium, which is almost half of the recommended limit for adults by the FDA. The teriyaki chicken has 537 calories and 1,204 milligrams of sodium.

A high intake of sodium can increase the risk of stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Although prices are on the higher end for what is comparable to Lean Cuisine, the

Onthis day 49 years ago, the Roundup published Volume 42, Number 15.

The cover story was about students protesting the potential closing of the Ethnic Cultural Center, due to the Bungalow it was in being needed by Pierce for newly-hired additional counselors. Also on the front of the paper were the stories of six faculty members retiring, who had been teaching at Pierce for a cumulative 111 years.

This issue’s editorial, titled “‘Dial O’ too slow

for first aid,” called for a “revamped” switchboard, as they found immediate aid was not always available when dialing “O” because the switchboard is filled with incoming calls.

News briefs provided information about commencement exercises, different placement exams, veterans representatives on campus, the summer schedule and tutoring for finals.

The Pierce radio station KPCR, which was operating as a club, was now planned to be offered as a lab for broadcasting, according to

then-Media Arts Department Chairman Tom Kramer. Students taking the KPCR lab courses would also be required to obtain a third class FCC license—with a broadcast endorsement— and part of the course could be used to help students obtain the license.

A “1975 Summer Job Special for Los Angeles Pierce College Students” advertisement offered job opportunities in Australia and Alaska for both skilled and unskilled workers.

Copy by Raquel G. Frohlich.

FOODTURE hot food vending machine is open 24 hours a day making it a viable alternative on occasion, especially for students who have night classes after the cafeteria and Brahma Cafe have closed.

Icy Smith / Roundup News Roundup News reporter Gerardo Escobar purchases the BBQ pizza from the FOODTURE vending machine near the Bookstore at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 23, 2024.

The BBQ pizza is sent out of the vending machine.

Icy Smith / Roundup News

A May 29, 1975 archived issue of the Roundup in the newsroom at Pierce College on May 22, 2024. Photo by Raquel G. Frohlich.

At Pierce College Council meeting, students urge for a smoke-free campus

By Taj Robles Reporter

During the last two Pierce College Council meetings, students have voiced their concerns over Pierce College not being a 100% smoke-free campus.

Student athlete and Pierce Democrats Club president Marcelo Cabrera shared his struggles with attending a campus that he feels doesn’t support those trying to beat their addiction to nicotine, and said he feels that having these designated smoking areas around campus encourages smoking.

“I do want to advocate for students who want to either stop or don’t want to [smoke] in the first place,” Cabrera said. “It’s hard for me to study, I get distracted trying to pay attention in class when I smell it. I don’t want to alienate anyone who

does it, but I do want to have the ability to have clean air.”

Political science professor Denise Robb addressed the Council, advocating for their support in making Pierce a smokefree college. She mentioned that taking that direction for the campus aligns with the college’s mission statement.

“A smoke-free Pierce would provide a sanctuary for our students, offering a place where they can breathe clean air,” Robb said. “Ensuring a safe and equitable environment for student success.”

Robb continued to touch on the benefits of the college taking this initiative and mentioned how community colleges are the only public campuses that are not 100 percent smoke-free.

“All the UCs and Cal States are already smoke free,” Robb said. “100 percent smoke free, tobacco free, vape free. Community

colleges are the only public campuses that do not have a system wide smoke-free policy.”

The Council voted to approve Action 4 of the Sustainability Committee’s smoke-free policy at Pierce with nine yes votes, one no vote and two abstentions. A vote was also conducted whether they should adopt language from the neighboring colleges and universities saying that the main motive is education and being 100% smoke-free.

This policy is not going to be punitive but seeking compliance on the campus according to Robb.

Pierce Interim President Ara Aguiar thanked everyone for all their support despite challenging times ahead, and said she is looking forward to the great things planned for the college.

To continue reading, visit www.theroundupnews.com.

Brahma Blotter

Crime Log

No crimes were reported between May 20-26, 2024.

The crime log is made publicly available at the Pierce College Sheriff’s Office.

Pierce College Sheriff’s Office General Information 818-719-6450

Emergency 818-710-4311

Campus Incidents

May 26, 2024

A single vehicle came to a stop after striking the white vinyl fence along Victory Boulevard, which is considered Pierce College property, according to the Pierce College Sheriff’s Office. The office clarified that the traffic collision investigation will be handled by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The term “certificated employee” or any similar term used in reference to community college employees shall be deemed a reference to academic employees of the community colleges, according to the LACCD Human Resources Glossary. Academic employee refers to a person employed by a community college district in an academic position.

from LACCD Board of Trustees documents.

Reporting by Christian Castellanos.

Infographic by Delilah Brumer. Information compiled by Raquel G. Frohlich and Delilah Brumer

Get ready for some eligible bachelors

Pierce College is developing a four-year program in biomanufacturing

Raquel G. Frohlich / Roundup News

Marcelo Cabrera (L) and Maya Refua (R) work on their research projects during a biotechnology course in the Center for the Sciences at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 11, 2024. Cabrera is working on insect barcoding and Refua is doing plant barcoding, which helps determine what family or species the insects or plants come from.“It was kind of the first time we’ve ever done anything with plants, let alone DNA barcoding,” Refua said. “I’m a really big fan of ecology—I mostly chose it because I wanted an excuse to walk around in the garden during class time. That’s been a lot of fun for me. I also got to learn a lot about plant DNA, which has been really interesting.”

By Raquel G. Frohlich Editor-in-Chief

After coming to the United States in 2003 and enrolling at Pasadena City College, a young man from Indonesia didn’t yet know what career path to take. After discovering the college’s biotech program, he became aware of other careers in life science and worked his way to places he never imagined.

Now at Pierce College, Director of the ASPIRE Biotech Program Aron Kamajaya wants the same opportunities for his students.

“If you asked me before, as a community college student coming from a poor family in Indonesia, ‘What’s your American dream?’ I would just tell you, ‘If I can get a full-time job, put food on the table, send some money back home to my parents, that’s my American dream,’” Kamajaya said. “That [biotech] program took me from low-income into sort of middleclass, and then when I got into this tenure position here, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to build the same program that helped people like me.’”

Pierce College has been developing a low-cost baccalaureate degree in biomanufacturing. The price per unit would come out to about $130 to $134, according to Pierce Interim President Ara Aguiar, and would not be substantially higher than the $46 per unit for regular classes.

Senate Bill 850—signed in 2014 by then-Governor Jerry Brown—authorized a baccalaureate degree pilot program at 15 California

community colleges, according to cccco.edu, and in 2021 Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 927 to expand the program. Following California law, these bachelor’s programs cannot duplicate programs already available at a UC or CSU, according to EdSource.

Following an “optimistic timeline,” upper division courses for the baccalaureate program are estimated to begin in the Fall 2025 semester.

Nine units of upper division, non-biotech classes are also required for the degree, said Kamajaya. Pierce faculty are working to develop courses across their departments, such as bioethics with the philosophy department, organizational communication and data literacy

“I think that the role of baccalaureate degrees will be a game-changer for many of our students.”

Ara Aguiar Pierce Interim President

with the communications department and technical writing with the English department.

In the meantime, cohorts of students have been learning, researching and working in weekend biotechnology classes.

Biotech 3 student Marcelo Cabrera, who is pursuing

Inside Higher Ed. In California, community colleges that offer a bachelor’s of science in biomanufacturing include Los Angeles Mission College, Moorpark College, Mira Costa College and Solano Community College.

One continuous challenge may be funding. Some equipment that have been purchased for the program include bioreactors and flow cytometers.

“But you know, if we do good work, this is something my Ph.D adviser told me, ‘Good science never starves,’ which means like, if you do good science, you will always get funding,” Kamajaya said.

For the fiscal year 202122, Pierce was allocated $212,367 in Strong Workforce Program funding, which could be used to help develop a biotechnology training program, and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $520,304 to establish a protein biomanufacturing training program on campus. This month, another $648,000 was granted by the NSF through the Illumina Genomic Discovery of LA.

associates degrees in political science and law, public policy and society, as well as a certificate in biotechnology, sees the biotech program as a huge opportunity for students.

“Dr. K likes to talk about [how] a lot of these jobs require experience, which the lab training you get here does count as actual lab experience because they hold you up to lab protocol,” Cabrera said. “Once you get those certificates, or you get the associates, or the bachelor’s, whatever you decide to get, the pay scale just increases more and more. It’s not something you would know about unless you happen to go somewhere that specializes in it, and it’s a growing industry.”

Biotechnology and biomanufacturing are like two sides of the same life science industry, explained Kamajaya.

Pierce offers an associates degree in biotechnology, which involves research and development. For the baccalaureate program, the focus will be on the manufacturing and production side.

“In manufacturing, it’s more like you have to do exactly what has been written in the protocol,” Kamajaya said. “There’s a lot of regulation from the FDA, then you learn about the business aspect of it like Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, supply chains, something you never learned if you’re purely a life science major. So our baccalaureate degree program is more focused on that production side and all the regulatory principles behind it.”

Currently, 23 states allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, according to

for four years. It’s just unheard of, that tuition.”

When Aguiar was Vice President of Academic Affairs at West Los Angeles College, she supported and worked on the baccalaureate program in dental hygiene that started in 2016.

“There are many AS degrees that we confer, that the units are above the 60 standard,” Aguiar said. “You need 120 for a baccalaureate, so I always felt that it was unfair that a student is spending four years—or more— obtaining more than 120 units and only obtaining an AS degree, because we’re investing time, money to be there. Because of that, I was really a champion of baccalaureate degrees.”

As an example, one main difference between a dental hygiene associate’s at a twoyear college and a dental hygiene bachelor’s at a fouryear university is money and accessibility, explained Aguiar.

In an April interview, Aguiar said she sees Pierce as wellpositioned to develop a great pathway to the biomanufacturing industry for students.

“I think that the role of baccalaureate degrees will be a game-changer for many of our students,” Aguiar said. “Granted, we have CSUN and we have UCLA that are relatively close, but I think that one of the things that the baccalaureate in our community college does is one, it allows for the students to stay home because they may be geographically bound—they have families, they can’t move their jobs. So that’s one, it’s accessibility. Secondly is the cost—we are looking at $10,000

“You’re still graduating, you’re taking the same national exam, or taking the same state exam, you’re required to study the same number of hours and patient contact hours, and the same technique that you have in a baccalaureate program,” said Aguiar, noting that students graduating from the four-year university can jump straight into a master’s degree in a related field, but students from the twoyear college would first need to put in an extra two years at a university.

Cabrera, whose goal is to work in politics and law, had an open mind to try out the biotechnology classes with a friend.

“I have the mindset of, ‘I need to experience things before I can make a decision on it,’” Cabrera said.

To continue reading, visit www.theroundupnews.com.

Martha Godinez, who will be receiving her biotechnology certificate in June and is pursuing an associates degree—and a job—in the same field, works on a research project during a biotechnology course at the Center for the Sciences at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 11, 2024. “The professor explains you something, and they let you feel like you could work on your own—to figure out what to do, what project,” Godinez said. “They train you and they try to prepare you with the basics in biotech. And with that, you try to apply it, especially when you do your research for your project.”

Raquel G. Frohlich / Roundup News

Beating drums, building community

Multicultural Center hosts AAPI Heritage Month Celebration

By Taj Robles Reporter

As the Los Angeles Taiko Collective performed their drum set, the sounds of each hit echoed across the LLC Courtyard, attracting more and more people with each swing of their drumstick as people walked by with curiosity.

Multicultural Center Student Services Assistant Kimberly Onaga was happy with the larger-than-anticipated turnout at the AAPI Heritage Month Celebration on May 23, where free meals were also provided to attendees.

“I’m really happy with today’s event, I think it was really

“It also really creates an opportunity to create community success.”

Juan Carlos Astorga Dean of Student Engagement

successful,” Onaga said. “The performers were excellent. They were able to catch people in the moment, so even if students didn’t know about the event they quickly learned from all the noise and sound. We had a good turnout—over 100 people.”

Community engagement is one of the main goals of the Multicultural Center and it is a reason they work hard to bring the best to its student body, according to Dean of Student Engagement Juan Carlos Astorga.

Astorga mentioned how he also loved the turnout of the AAPI event and how he noticed the community involvement at the events held on campus.

“The Taiko drummers were fantastic,” Astorga said. “It also really creates an opportunity to create community success.

I love the fact that people are still gathered here, just hanging around talking.”

Student Jeremy Covita enjoyed his first time attending an AAPI event and sees himself coming to future events next semester.

“This was my first time actually,” Covita said. “I loved the drums, they were very upbeat. It was pretty interesting to try something new, you know if you want to hang out, get some fresh air, and see what’s up with the culture.”

Student Amaar Siddiqui found a new interest while attending the event.

“I have been to an event similar to this for Black History Month. I was here for the last performance and I really enjoyed it,” Siddiqui said. “I honestly think this courtyard was the perfect place to do it. It was really interesting to see and I want to look more into it [Taiko].”

Walter Nishinaka, Lee Cavacungan and Kaz Mogi are the three members that form the Los Angeles Taiko Collective and mentioned how they were thankful to be able to spread their love for Taiko.

“So I started playing Taiko when I was four-years-old and heard it at a parade once,” Nishinaka said. “At my church they were starting a Taiko program and ever since then I never stopped.”

Dance concert springs into motion

By Fabiola Carrizosa Reporter

Pierce College presented the 2024 Spring Dance Concert “In Motion,” featuring performances by Pierce dance students and guest performers of CHAMPS High School of the Arts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Performing Arts Mainstage.

“In Motion’s” artistic director was Denise Gibson, and the dances were choreographed by faculty choreographers Denise Gibson and Brian Moe, as well as alum Melaney J. Garcia.

“In Motion” featured a variety of dancing styles, including interpretive, salsa and burlesque.

Dancers performed to music from the 1980s to present day, from Rick James to Kendrick Lamar.

CHAMPS Charter High School dancer Cari Mayfield danced in many of the group numbers along with her peers, and said she thought the performance was good.

Mayfield also choreographed one of the pieces, called “Celebrity,” accompanied by music titled “Ain’t No Celebrity” by Jungle.

“I’m really happy because I choreographed a piece,” Mayfield said.

She explained why the process of choreographing was difficult.

“I have a certain movement that a lot of my peers can’t really move the same way as me,” Mayfield said. “It was difficult, but it came together.”

The CHAMPS Charter dancers brought youthful, hip-hop energy and contemporary style to “In Motion.”

Moe was in attendance, and he choreographed “My Last 3 Brain Cells” featuring “The Sound of Japanese Drumming” by Pulse Percussion Ensemble and three interpretive dancers.

“I’m very proud of the work that both the faculty and the students have done, as well as CHAMPS,” Moe said.

Since it was Gibson’s turn to direct, she was more hands-on with the show and the student choreographers.

“For me, the surprise in the spring is that I don’t know what’s going to be on the stage until I get to see it,” Moe said. “It’s always a wonderful surprise to see it work because a lot of them have really grown as choreographers.”

After the show, Nattaly Leon, mother of dancer Alejandra

Leon, said the show was nice. She has been attending the dance recitals for a few years to see her daughter dance.

“She loves it, and she enjoys dancing so much,” said Leon, as she held a flower bouquet.

Alejandra Leon danced to the 80s aerobic opening number “Kitty Purr” choreographed by Garcia and to the burlesque “Dollipops” choreographed by Gibson.

Auditions for the Fall 2023 Dance Concert will be on Saturday, Sept. 7 at noon in the North Gym 5601 Dance Studio.

(L to R) Lee Cavacungan and Walter Nishinaka of the Los Angeles Taiko Collective perform at the AAPI Heritage Month Celebration in the LLC Courtyard at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 23, 2024.

Melanie Jurado / Roundup News

The Pierce Latin Dance Team dances to “Vienes,” by Luis Figueroa, during the Spring Dance Concert in the Performing Arts Building at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Calif., on May 25, 2024.

Benjamin Hanson / Roundup News

Allen Mirnyy peforms to “The Sound of Japanese Drumming,” by Pulse Percussion Ensemble, during the Spring Dance Concert at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Calif., on May 25, 2024.

Benjamin Hanson / Roundup News

Come for the books, stay for the tour

Child Development Center hosts open house and book fair for the community

Karla Delgado / Roundup News

Four-year-old Asher Rubio smiles as his mom gives him books to choose from during the Open House and Book Fair at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 22, 2024.

By Raiden Vazquez Reporter

Blink and you just might miss the Child Development Center to the right of Lot 7 at Pierce College.

Because the Center’s existence may not be well known to many who frequent the campus, they held an open house and Scholastic book fair to draw the community in on May 22.

This marks their third semester hosting an open house, and the second doing a book fair, according to Child Development Center Director Melissa Brisbois.

“We are doing this to try to help get the word out to campus students that we are here,” said Brisbois, noting that many on campus are unaware of the center. “We encourage a lot of faculty and staff to come just to walk

Powwow

around and kind of get a context for what we are over here.”

The open house tour of the Child Development Center allowed for staff and students to preview the environment the children would be in on campus.

For assistant life sciences professor Crystal Ng, this was her first time visiting the Center and said she was glad they had an open house.

“The thing I liked the most actually was that the classrooms looked like homes,” assistant life sciences professor Crystal Ng said. “I had a very stereotypical view of how development centers are, which is the very bright neon. I really like that they have the more muted tones and they have a lot of natural things in the classroom.”

The Scholastic book fair was being run at the same time as the open house, a separate room

News Briefs

at Pierce

Pierce College will be hosting its first Powwow at the Equestrian Center on June 22, 2024. The event opens with Gourd Dancing at 11 a.m., Grand Entry at 1 p.m. and closing at 8 p.m.

The event is sponsored by Seamless Transfer of Ethnic Studies Grant, Pierce College Guided Pathways and American Indian Studies.

Summer sessions

The summer 2024 session begins on Monday, June 10, according to lapc.edu.

Session A is from June 10 to July 14, Session B from July 15 to Aug. 18 and eight-week classes from June 10 to Aug. 4. The last days to enroll in classes with a permission number are June 12, July 17 and June 17, respectively.

Veterans Club event helps students de-stress ahead of final exams

Art major Sevn Naivaa Fine loses a game of Jenga as law and teaching major Johnathan Block reacts during the De-Stress with Vets event in the LLC Courtyard at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 22, 2024.

By Marcus Nocerino Reporter

The Pierce College Veterans Club hosted a De-Stress Event on May 22 in the LLC Courtyard, where students participated in different activities a week before finals.

Some students decorated special rocks and others played games such as Jenga, Connect 4, hula hooping and cornhole.

filled with books for two to five year olds.

“This is more than I expected, to be honest,” Sign Language Interpreter Tricia Pellegrini said. “And I was a fanatic about when my kid went to book fairs. They would just hand me the scholastic forms that we filled out when they were a kid. They would just hand them to me because if there was one thing I would spend my money on, it was books.”

“Instead of just handing you the Scholastic form, the books are right here where you can touch them. And then when you bring the kids in, they give you like, ‘Mommy, I want this.’

It’s fantastic, a great way to get people to buy,” said Pellegrini, while pointing out a copy of the book “The Worst Teddy Ever.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m going to buy that book. It’s an adorable book.”

Juneteenth event

Zawadi Cultural Collective and Umoja at Pierce College will be presenting the 7th Annual Juneteenth Community Celebration at Rocky Young Park on the Pierce campus on June 15 from 1 to 6 p.m., according to Eventbrite.

The event will include music, food, vendors and awards.

Copy by Raquel G. Frohlich.

“As a veteran myself, what we want to do is overcome the stigma of feeling like the other,” Veterans Resource Center Lead Charles Johnson said. “We wanna make sure that our veteran students and even other students become a part of the Pierce College family and work as one team.”

Students also had the opportunity to work on activities such as coloring and writing letters to future veterans.

Criminal justice major Evelyn Chau talked about her favorite parts of the event.

“Mainly to adopt a rock, but to also hopefully write a letter to a veteran,” Chau said.

Chau said in the past she has

been stressed out during finals, but has a different experience this year.

“This year specifically, I don’t mind it as much because I feel a lot more confident,” Chau said. Some beverages and snacks that were available at the event included chips and sandwiches from Corner Bakery, water and grape juice.

Basic Needs Intern Cedrice Webber was at the event, representing the basic needs program.

“The Basic Needs Program is teaming together with the veterans program and their students to build community,” Webber said.

Webber also mentioned her favorite part of the de-stress event.

“I absolutely love seeing all of these different students come together from different backgrounds,” Webber said. “I see people from Umoja, which is amazing. I see people from the different Basic Needs Program, staff and faculty, and I’m really proud of the Veterans Club this semester because they had an idea to have all of the community come together.”

Rodrigo

Owen Meza-Vandermeer / Roundup News

Chemistry major

Juarez paints a pet rock during the DeStress with Vets event in the LLC Courtyard at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 22, 2024.

Owen Meza-Vandermeer / Roundup News

The pups are here to cuddle

Ready, set, decorate

By Alfonso Vargas Social Media Editor

Graduation decorations packed the walls where the Dream Resource Center (DRC) held an end-ofyear celebration in the Library and Learning Crossroads last Wednesday.

The event was held to celebrate all graduates part of the DRC, and caps and food were also provided to the students.

“Our program supports undocumented students’ success, and we just want to celebrate their achievements,” DRC Lead D’arcy Corwin said. “We still want to celebrate everyone’s hard work. That’s part of our program and this is a fun time.”

Communication major Marcelo Asan Ortiz came to support the DRC event.

“I’m here to support the DRC community, the dreamers and the family we have here,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz said his culture was the inspiration behind designing his cap.

“I’m an Ecuadorian-born child, so I wanted to do the LWO, which stands for Latino World Order, as support for the Latino community,” Ortiz said.

For biology major Bryan PerezBado, his friends and memories inspired his cap design.

“I’m thinking of doing a mosaic of just my friends and people here at the DRC,” PerezBado said. “Really just trying to capture the moments we’ve all shared together.”

As students grapple with the stress of finals week, Pierce College’s Dream Resource Center and the Undocu-Brahmas club brought some “pawsitivity” to campus.

The two organizations hosted a therapy dog event on May 23, allowing students to spend the afternoon decompressing with furry friends. The event also featured art, games and

Sophie Lotterstein / Roundup News Sampson, a Golden Retriever, enjoys behind-the-ear scratches at Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 23, 2024.

Dream Resource Center hosts celebration for graduates

Myraneli Fabian / Roundup News

Bryan Perez-Bado (L) and Marcelo Asan Ortiz (R) create grad caps based on memories they had with the Dream Resource Center during the DRC End of Year Celebration at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 22, 2024.

President of Alpha Gamma Sigma Dia James (L) presents the 2024 Golden/Red Apple Award to Umoja coordinator and counselor Kalynda McLean (R) during the AGS Faculty Appreciation Tea & Golden Apple Awards Event in Building 600 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 14, 2024.

Karla Delgado / Roundup News

music.

Copy by Delilah Brumer.

Sophie Lotterstein / Roundup News

Kylo, a Labrador Retriever, hangs out at Rocky Young Park at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 23, 2024.

May 29, 2024

CONGRATULATIONS TO PIERCE

COLLEGE’S 2023-24 GRADUATES

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Daniel Rastegar

Swati Rastogi

Methara Rathnasiri

Susana Ravelo

Angelina Ray

Nicole Ray

Nick Recinos

Robianna Reece

Sophia Reed

Jamie Regula

Sebastian Resendiz

Alicia Reshes

Kristen Retreagecoons

Reina Reveles

Fanny Reyes

Gabriel Reyes

Isai Reyes

Joshua Reyes

Ricardo Reyes

Rafaela Reyes Andrade

Jessica Reyes-Carreno

Mitchell Reyna

Katie Rice

Tiffani Richardson

Heidi Ricketts

David Rittenhouse

Daniel Rivas

Ricardo Rivera

Jayden Roberson-Martinez

Stefan Roberts

Hannah Robinson

Irene Robinson

Khristian Robinson-Campbell

Alejandro Robledo

Alondra Robles

Alejandra Rodriguez

Alejandra Rodriguez

Cynthia Rodriguez

Minerva Rodriguez

Erika Rodriguez Rivera

Dahlia Rojani

Pamela Rojas

Paola Rojas

Samantha Rojas

Sofia Romay

Lynette Romero

Marlene Romero Mejia

Alexandra Rosales

Gabriela Rosales

Karen Rosales

Shaila Rosas Sandoval

Eden Rosen

Kylie Rothman

Alexis Rubio

Anna Rull

Aidan Russell

Alexa Ruvalcaba

Lorena Ruvalcaba

Valeria Ruvalcaba

Lea Saab

Avidon Saadatfar

Erik Saakyan

Tyler Sacks

Erfan Sadri

Arya Saei

Jessica Safaiyeh

Elham Safdari

Gor Sahakyan

Lilit Sahakyan

Franklin Salamanca

Crystal Salazar

Shirley Salazar

Allison Salazar

Dipa Salim

Dylan Salzberg

Rafael Samano

Leora Samouha

Edward Sampson

Hanna Samson

Alma Sanchez

Emily Sanchez

Erika Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez

Kimberly Sanchez

Sylvia Sanchez

Walter Sanchez

Bhavnek Sandal

Tanveer Sandal

Alex Sandoval

Angel Sandoval

Lisseth Sandoval

Alec Sant

Nathalie Santamaria

Jesus Santillan

Miguel Santoscoy

Jesse Santoyo

Emily Sarafian

Valerie Sarmiento

Romina Sarubbi

Rihana Sarwari

Bryan Saucedo

Julia Sayao Lobato Zepka

Madeleine Schade

William Schebeck

Kennedi Schreiber

Keysha Selders

Anita Semsarha

Jorge Sevilla

Sean Shaffa

Solmaz Shaghaghisahzabi

Maahir Shaheed

Tasjanae Shahid

Rosie Shak

Nahal Shakeritehrani

Mirtemur Shakirov

Bryna Shamtoob

Summer Sharaga

Kristina Sharava

Iram Sharif

Haley Sharma

Marcus Shaw

Shahan Shayesteh

Jessica Sheffield

Zarina Sheikh

Sonya Sheikh Hosseini

Ashley Shellmire

Irena Shipley

Nathan Shirazi

Noam Shmoel

Andre Michael Siapno

Alicya Silva

Frank Silva

Teresa Silva

Hannah Simadibrata

Taylor Simmons

Dvir Simon

Liron Simon

Joseph Sinaie

Rajvir Singh

Roan Singleton

Mia Sirivisut

Larissa Siswanto

Lisa Skinner

Anna Smith

Kristina Smith

Paula Smith

Robert Smith

Ilia Sohrabi

Arsema Solomon

Jonathan Solouki

Paramee Songsang

Jasmin Soriano

Saveliy Sotnikov

Daisy Soto

Melvin Soto

Allison Soto

Donald Spencer

Monica Spoerl

Georgina St. Johns

Paulette Santa Maria

Danielle Stark

Miles Stein

Michelle Stern

Kaylin Stewart

Victoria Stickeler

Steven Stinnett

Maxwell Stolarz

Claudia Stringfellow Ortiz

Jacob Strong

Jorge Suarez

Kirsten Erin Suarez

Mark Sullivan

Celeste Sum-Ramos

Deomarie Mico Sy

Leonardo Tabarez

Hovanes Tagvoryan

Nazgol Tajalli

Samuel Talledo

Tina Tashtchian

Britney Taylor

Elby Taylor

Tynisha Taylor

Vahid Tayyar

Isabella Tedesco

Julissa Tejada

Juan Tejeda

Daphne Tenne

Ayax Teran Camargo

Ebert Terrones Rafael

Hannah Thangiah

Jacob Theiss

Amaya Thomas

Cheyenne Thompson

Desmond Thompson

Reed Thorne

Hunter Throop

Angelia Tjen

Leonard Tolentino

Brianna Tomasek

David Torres

Dayana Torres

Erika Torres

Giselle Torres

Julia Torres

Rashel Torres

Tatiana Torres

Viviana Torres

Danilo Torres-Garcia

Jacqueline Tovar-Reyna

Ethan Tran

Carmen Trejo

Yaroslav Tretiak

Erwin Trujillo

Maximiliano Trujillo Ponce

Ethan Truong

Thu Truong

Gabriella Tuchman

Daiyan Uddin

Yair Ugalde

Precious Ugbala

Onwuka Ugorji

Jose Umana

Kanjul Ummal

Francisca Urenda

Stephanie Urinstegui

Olga Ustiuzhina

Meline Uzunyan

Ralph Valadez

Evelin Valdez Pino

Alexis Valdivia

Shoushanik Valenzuela

Ashly Valiente

Carmen Valle

Yvonne Van Zandt

Natali Vancini

Matthew Vardanyan

Alondra Vargas

Estefany Vargas

Alfonso Vargas

Aren Vartani

Dania Vasquez

Fatima Vasquez

Aiden Vaynshteyn

Daisy Vazquez

Lesley Vazquez

Natalia Vazquez

Jesus Vazquez Torres

Wendy Vazquez-Villegas

Gisselle Velasco

Vyenna Velasquez

Dylan Venegas

Alyssa-Reese Verayo

Stephanie Viana

Graduates

Tarrance Vickers

Carmen Vilchis

Maria Villalobos Martinez

Mariana Villarreal Guerra

Kevin Viray

Christopher Vizcaino

Rosangelica Vizcarra

Heidi Vo

Long Vu

Estevan Vucetic

Elisabeth Wachendorfer

Jamie Walker

Victoria Wall

Kianna Washington

Carol Watkins

Maximilian Watson

Madison Weissler

Michael Wertenberger

Jada Williams

Jaden Williams

Whitney Williams

Carrington Williams

Kenneth Wilson

Jeanne Wiltz

Stacey Witz

Sara Wolf

Dylan Wood

Erica Woods

Diondre Wright

Jackson Wright

Wyatt Wynne

Heidy Xec

Monica Xochipiltecatl

Koulin Yadgaradeh

Josephine Yario

Nida Yarkhan

Daniel Yatskar

Henry Yax

Byron Yax Baquiax

Nahid Yazdanparast

Natalie Yechzkia

Lilly Yezegelyan

Anastacia Yolo

Jonah Younesi

Elinor Younessian

Parham Yousefinejadnouei

Amir Zabeti

Sam Zadeh

Margarita Zakharova

Lamya Zakiuddin

Fahim Zaman

Maria Zambrano

Ricardo Zamudio

Helen Zarayan

Nava Zarghani

Adam Zarovski

Gayane Zazyan

Britney Zelaya

Kaylie Zenan

Josue Zepeda

Ilyas Zhobin

Arya Zokaie

Noah Zollman

Sean Zolnoorian

Karla Zugarazo

Rosalia Zuniga