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MILESTONES
Sarah
Black
graduated with honors from Mt. St. Mary’s College Los Angeles with a
bachelor’s degree in English on May 10. Fanshen DiGiovanni (Noncredit ESL) is the co-founder of the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival. The annual, non-competitive event celebrates storytelling of the mixed experience: that of interracial/cultural relationships, transracial adoption and anyone who identifies as having mixed, biracial, multiracial or Hapa heritage. The festival is free and open to the public, with activities for all ages and interests. It takes place on June 12-13 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Please visit the website: www.mxrooots.org for more information.
Nancy Getty became a grandma on April 20 and is oh so happy to welcome Wiley Cooper Gibson to her family! Peter Green reports that three of his piano students here at the college placed in the CAPMT (California Association of Professional Music Teachers) Sonata competition last week. Elya Hovhannisyan won first place, Varand Toros-Adami won second place, and Leo Thomasian won second place in their age categories. Cynthia Dorroh writes from Health Sciences: Kohar Kesian (Nursing faculty) was elected and has been serving this year as the president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Armenian American Nurses Association. Michelle Ramirez (nursing faculty) has been appointed to the Board of the local chapter of Red Cross. Ben Salazar (ADST faculty) received a Recognition award from the Armenian Relief Center for his contributions and support of their programs. Congratulations are in order for Jennifer Krestow. Jennifer was recently notified that she has completed all of her doctoral requirements for her Ph.D. from University of Toronto. She is now Dr. Krestow. Michael Reed and Shannon Clark are thrilled to announce the birth of their second daughter, Sydney Michelle Clark-Reed. Sydney was born healthy and, seemingly, happy on the evening of April 26, 2010. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. Someday soon they hope to take her to Australia so she can see her namesake firsthand. Nick Garnik Sahakyan, Assistant Professor of Armenian, published his second novel in March: Treasures of the Temple Gisaneh (written in Armenian)—a philosophical journey in both Armenia and America. A local television appearance and lecture will take place in May to promote his work. Richard Seltzer has just become a proud great-uncle for the seventh time. Ben Jordin Seltzer was born in New York on April 25. Patrick Shahnazarian’s daughter, Talin Shahnazarian, 11 and a fifth grader at Mark Keppel Elementary School in Glendale, won the "Why I Love My School" video competition with her one-minute video on Keppel. She created her submission with iMovie and GarageBand, and it can be seen at http://ajfaieta.blogspot.com/. Maria Shufeldt (Learning Center/Writing Center) is serving on the founding Board of a city-wide community garden program in Pasadena. If you are interested in what they are doing (and especially if you are a city resident), see the “growing” website: http://www.pasadenacommunitygardenproject.org. Future plans include educational programs and establishing non-profit status. Orly Reine Sibony, daughter of Marcia Walerstein-Sibony and Nessim Sibony, will graduate from Wellesley College this May. She plans to spend the next year in France, working as an assistant to an English teacher in the French public school system. It's part of a program that brings thousands of young people from English-speaking countries to work in English language classes at all levels through high school. Melissa Randel reports that the GCC Theatre Arts Department had three successful productions this year: A Streetcar Named Desire, Little Shop of Horrors and Life Is A Dream—all responded to by the Kennedy Center, American College Theatre Festival. For Little Shop of Horrors, the department re-instituted its night of Free Theatre to all local High Schools and had a terrific turnout. The non-traditional casting was a highlight of the event. In February, our students participated in the regional festival held in St. George Utah in the Irene Ryan Scholarship Competition. The regional festival presented the best students in the areas of Acting and Technical Theatre. Students participated in many workshops and had the opportunity to see 9 fully mounted productions during the week-long festival. Jeanette Farr-Harkins, Theatre Arts Instructor, was one of three theatre educators in the nation who was selected to participate in the 2010 National Selection Team for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The team visits all eight regions and determines which productions will be performed at the National Festival in April. Jeanette visited the Kennedy Center in April and was invited to speak on the Kennedy Center stage. Kara Vadman, daughter of Roberta Vadman (Parent Education Instructor) will graduate in June from the Science Magnet at Reseda High School. She will attend Colgate University in the fall, where she plans to major in geology and become involved with the school's Outdoor Education Leadership program. Kara started her education at GCC at age two weeks, while attending Parent Ed. classes with her mom when Roberta was a student in the program. Kara also spent many hours over four summers volunteering for Parent Ed. Jan Young is the proud parent of two college graduates this month! Her daughter Lindsey is graduating from Wellesley College with a major in political science and environmental science. She has accepted a position working for the Natural Resource Defense Council in Washington D.C. as a legislative analyst. Her twin sister, Hayley, is graduating from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in psychology. Hayley will work as research assistant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in its autism research center. & |
Stela Fejtek