VENTURA COUNTY — Moorpark College, Oxnard College and Ventura College are offering a variety of classes this summer from general education to career technical education, basic skills and transfer courses, the Ventura County Community College District reported in a media release.
Summer classes provide an opportunity for students to catch up, get ahead or attend community college for the first time. Registration for new and returning students begins April 6, and open registration starts April 27. Classes start on May 26 and June 22 at Ventura College and Moorpark College. Oxnard College classes begin May 26 and June 15. Students can register online or in person. Academic counseling and student services are available.
All three colleges are offering classes in the areas of Anatomy, Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communications, Economics, English, Geography, Health Education, History, Math, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Physiology, Sociology and Spanish. Ventura College and Moorpark College are offering other classes in the areas of Astronomy, Child Development, Criminal Justice, Computer Science, Dance, Kinesiology, Microbiology, Music, Photography, Physics and Theatre Arts. Oxnard College is also offering classes in the areas of Accounting, Addictive Disorders Studies, American Sign Language, Automotive Technology, Computer Applications/Office Technology, Culinary Arts/Restaurant Management, Dental Hygiene, Early Childhood Education, Emergency Medical Technology, Fire Technology, Learning Skills and Paralegal Studies.
The Ventura College Santa Paula site is offering 10 classes during a six-week summer session, including Medical Terminology, Introduction to Business, Communication Studies, Art Appreciation, Dance Appreciation, English Composition, Critical Thinking and Composition, Health and Wellness, History of the Americas and Computer Assisted English as a Second Language. Parking is free for summer class attendance at the Ventura College Santa Paula site.
A complete listing of summer classes for each college is available online at moorparkcollege.edu, oxnardcollege.edu, and venturacollege.edu. With California resident fees at just $46 per unit, California community colleges are still the best value in higher education, officials reported.
VENTURA — The Ventura College Foundation is helping 28 adults get one step closer to achieving their career goals by returning to Ventura College to study. The foundation will award a total of $28,000 Phoenix Scholarships to re-entry students with minimal or no financial resources to cover the costs of their education, the organization reported in a media release. The students will each receive a scholarship of $1,000 at the 16th annual scholarship ceremony from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at the Wright Event Center on the Ventura College campus, 57 Day Road. The event will be hosted by the foundation’s staff and board of directors. Stan Weisel, a Ventura resident and founder of the Stan Weisel Endowed Scholarships, is sponsoring the event this year and has pledged to do so for the rest of his life.
“I didn’t know that this was the treasure that I was looking for all my life — to help other people,” Weisel stated in the release. “Most people would love to make people happy.”
The Ventura College Foundation board of directors started the program in November 1999 after learning about the special needs of Ventura College re-entry students. Re-entry students are defined as people who return to school to learn new skills in order to be competitive in the marketplace or who are returning to school after an extended break.
“Each year, I am inspired by the scholarship recipients’ tenacity and their unwavering determination. These students are driven to overcome financial and personal challenges to be in school so they can upgrade their skills and make a better life for themselves and their families,” Richard Taylor, Ventura College Foundation board member and one of the Phoenix Scholarship program founders, stated in the release. “Finding the money and the time to pay for and attend college when you’re already working a job and/or caring for a family requires commitment and sacrifice. I am so glad to see the efforts of these students acknowledged with a Phoenix Scholarship.”
Weisel is a retired math instructor who taught at East Los Angeles College for a quarter century. He volunteers at the Stan Weisel Tutoring Center at Ventura College, helping students as they study for finals. To be eligible for a Phoenix Scholarship, students submit an application and essay, and obtain recommendations from counselors, faculty and employers. Recipients are chosen based on their academic goals and progress, along with their financial need.
Food Share & Friends Moble Pantry. Courtesy photo.
PORT HUENEME — Ventura County dignitaries joined FOOD Share President and CEO Bonnie Weigel, as well as the regional food bank’s staff, donors, volunteers and supporters, during the launch of the FOOD Share & Friends Mobile Pantry program to get a first glimpse of the vehicle that will deliver food and support services to people living in underserved areas of the region who don’t have nearby access to one of FOOD Share’s 180 traditional food pantries and programs. FOOD Share and Friends was made possible through a partnership with the Port of Hueneme and Wells Fargo.
“This program will enable us to go to places we haven’t been before. Without the Port of Hueneme and Wells Fargo, this simply would have remained a dream,” FOOD Share Chairman of the Board Bryan Murphy stated in the release.
Although FOOD Share currently serves 74,500 individuals in need, Weigel said the Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study shows that there are actually about 95,200 people in Ventura County who are food insecure.
“There are so many misconceptions about hunger in our county that we need to dispel. There are still people out there who need our help, and believe it or not, almost all of the people we serve work multiple jobs, full-time jobs, and just cannot make ends meet,” Weigel stated in the release.
In addition to providing nutritious foods and healthy cooking demonstrations, FOOD Share collaborates with a host of social service providers, such as Ventura County Health Care Agency and the County of Ventura Human Services Agency, to connect people with a network of essential services through FOOD Share and Friend. Those services include healthcare, dental health and employment training. Susan Haverland, FOOD Share’s vice president of Programs and Services, announced the mobile pantry will begin serving the community in April, visiting two sites per day, three days per week.
“FOOD Share and Friends’ vision is so much deeper and profound than delivering food,” said Reza Razzaghipour, Wells Fargo regional president of Pacific Coast Community Banking. “What you see is a vessel for hope — it’s going to bring people to stability and self-sufficiency. At Wells Fargo, we pledge to send our financial experts out to these communities to educate the underserved on financial literacy. We are proud to partner with an organization that has a major impact on the community.”
CENTRAL COAST — The Young Writers Camp, sponsored by the nonprofit South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP), will accept registration applications for its 2015 summer camp through June 26. The camp offers a fun and stimulating environment for children entering grades 3-9 to explore the craft of writing, organizers reported in a media release. All skill levels are welcome. SCWriP’s credentialed, experienced teachers will work with each camp participant to build confidence, increase motivation and provide tools that improve writing fluency and inspire creative thinking.
The camp meets Monday through Friday in half-day sessions for two weeks. Each day young writers engage in crafting a variety of writing forms (poems, journals, autobiographical sketches, short stories, nature observations, etc.) and thus become familiar with the writing process. Campers develop a writing community and support each other through feedback and collaboration. Each camper chooses a piece or pieces of writing for publication in the camp anthology, and during graduation on the last day of camp, campers celebrate and read their work to family and friends in attendance. The camps will be held from 1:30 to 5 p.m. July 20 through 31 at UCSB for grades 3 to 9; from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 20 through 31 at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks for grades 3 to 9; and from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 27 through Aug. 7 at Mesa Union School, Somis for grades 4 to 9.
SCWriP has presented Young Writers Camp for the past 24 years. “Every year it’s amazing to see the creative two-week curricula put together by SCWriP’s talented teacher consultants, and the powerful work produced by students of all ages and backgrounds,” stated Nicole Wald, Young Writers Camp co-director. The cost of Young Writers Camp per camper is $295. A 10-percent discount is offered for siblings, and scholarships discounts are available for families needing financial assistance. Classes fill up quickly, so register soon.
Application materials are due June 26 and can be downloaded from the SCWriP website ~ http://www.education.ucsb.edu/scwrip/youth-family-community-programs ~ or by clicking the following link: 2015 YWC Application For more information or help with registration, call Young Writers Camp Co-Directors Nicole Wald or Ariella Sneh at 805-893-5899 or email youngwriters@education.ucsb.edu