dec_17_2007_email_news

December 17
NEWS
NVC graduate
honored for heroism
2007
News for Students, Staff & Faculty
WWW.NAPAVALLEY.EDU
Storm Report
Fall Sports Review – Winter Sports Preview Pages 7-13
Photo by William Foster/Office of the Governor
Governor Schwartzenegger congratulates NVC Psych
Tech graduate Scott Nixon after awarding him the state
Medal of Valor.
Scott Nixon was the 2005 valedictorian for
the NVC Psychiatric Technician Program. Now
a psychiatric technician in the Department
of Mental Health at Napa State Hospital, he
was honored with a state Medal of Valor presented by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The
ceremony was held in Sacramento Dec. 4.
“I am proud to award the Governor’s State Employee
BRAVERY Continued on BACK PAGE
Students support bond
campaign with donation
At the Napa Valley College Board of Trustees
meeting Dec. 13 it was announced that the ASB
has voted to support the campaign for Measure
L with a 15,000 donation. The college facilities
bond measure will be on the Feb. 5th ballot. It was
also announced that more than 40 students have
already signed up to help with the campaign.
In this Issue
AlertU......................................Page
2
Donald Macky dies ...........Page
3
Food Drive .............................Page
4
Police Academy Grads.......Page
4
Mexican Govenor visits ...Page
5
Classified Corner ................Page
6
NVC Athletics .......................Pages 7-13
Tennis Club.............................Page
14
Faculty Profile ....................Page
15
BRAVO ......................................Back Page
PHOTO BY RICHARD BRUNS – THIS PHOTO ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE NAPA VALLEY REGISTER
No. 2 Mat Jenkins draws a foul the hard way during the Storm’s NVC-hosted Wine Valley Tournament
in late November.
Stop the hate
By Greg Miraglia, Dean, Criminal Justice Training Center
Congratulations to Briana Morgan
from Nadine Wade-Gravett’s Health 106
class! Briana was the November winner
of the Napa Valley College Stop the Hate
t-shirt. Briana submitted her pledge
to stop hate by visiting the “10 Ways In
Ten Months To Stop Hate” web page.
The theme for December is “Name It,
STOP HATE Continued on BACK PAGE
NVC graduates 51 new police recruits
Napa Valley
College graduated 51 new police
recruits from the
67th and 69th Basic
Academy classes
on Dec. 8. The
graduates will head
for work at police
departments and
A color guard
sheriff’s offices that
from the Napa
include the Napa
Police Department
made their first
County Sheriff’s
public appearance
Department, Napa
at the NVC
Police DepartPolice Academy
Graduation.
ment, Vacaville
Police Department,
Fairfield Police Department, Woodland Police Department, Stockton
Police Department, Richmond Police
Department, San Pablo Police Department, Mill Valley Police Department,
Pittsburg Police Department, Walnut
Creek Police Department, and the
California Department of Fish and
Game. These graduates will help fill
some of the over 8,000 vacant police and sheriffs jobs in California.
The police academy includes over
880 hours of intensive training covering
42 different areas of knowledge. The
recruits have passed more than 86 tests
and have met some of the highest graduation standards in the State of California. Napa Valley College is home to
one of only 39 police academies certified by the California Commission on
Photos by Betty Malmgren
Graduating members of Police Academy Classes 67 & 69 stand at ease during traditional inspection by Academy faculty, mentors and guest officers.
Peace Officer Standards and Training.
The graduation ceremonies
started with a formal inspection of
the academy classes by Chief Ed
Dadisho of the Suisun Police Department in front of the Gymnasium.
The graduates
Class 67 – Aauio Bezayiff, Stephen
Blomstedt, Cody Carta, Kyle Dearmon, Kenneth Doughty, Lester Flynn,
Charles Hankins, Carlos Lare-Masters,
Thomas Letterman, Reynold Malan,
Christopher Mraz, Brandon Neison,
Nathaniel Rico, Scott Roozen, Omar
Salem, Doug Shoaf and Jesse Velez.
Class 69 – Brooke Bash, Justin Berkenstock, Ryan Brace, Carly Broaddus,
Thomas Brown, Cliff Calderan, Joseph
Coffin, Ryan Daley, Cory Decker, Brian
Donahue, Jason Drobish, Kyle Eddle-
man, Saukwan Fung, Noah Hayes,
David Herrera, Patrick High, Adam
Kraft, Nicholas Law, Nicholas Leland,
Stephen Lindsey, Michael Molina,
Benjamin Murdoch, Brad Philpot,
Jonathan Platzner, Tyler Quinn,
Jonathan Rico, Carey Richardson,
Justin Rist, Chad Rowlett, Ravinder
Singh, Jon Stone, Damion Underwood,
Mark Werdon and Andrew Yetter.
ÔÔÔ
The next entrance exams for the
police academy are January 5, 2008,
and February 2, 2008. A full-time
class starts in January and April.
A part-time class starts in March
2008 for the convenience of those
who are employed and want to earn
the certificate in the evening.
For more information, see www.
nvccjtc.org or call (707) 253-3250.
Making the holidays brighter
by Betty Malmgren
Food Drive volunteers
from back to front,
Dann Solomon, Shannon
Difilippo, Mary Manning,
Barbara Paul (retired),
Vanessa Mullaly and
Christine Bettencourt.
NVC News Page 4
Thanks to all those who donated to the 18th
annual Campus Community Holiday Food Drive
organized by Community Relations. This year 25
campus families nominated by Financial Aid are
receiving food boxes, with additional food going
to the Napa Food Bank and Salvation Army.
Mary Manning in Financial Aid works with the
recipients. Thanks to support from the Facilities
staff, especially Dann Solomon, who is vital to this
effort since we “invade” the warehouse to do the
sorting and packing. He also helps student families claim their boxes. Mary, Dann, and Barbara
Paul, Stacy Hitchcock, Christine Bettencourt,
Shannon Difilippo, Vanessa Mullally and Betty
Malmgren worked on the sorting and packing.
Special thanks to Nadine Wade-Gravett’s
class, Panama Club, ASB and Phi Theta Kappa.
Generous donations also came from the Administrative Senate, SEIU, Bonnie Thoreen, Jill
Schrutz, Richard Bruns, Christine Bettencourt
and Linda Hunter.
Angels are happy
ASB sponsored another successful Angel
Tree Project to make the holidays brighter for
community children. Thanks to all those who
“adopted” an angel.
Cats are fed
Thanks to all those who responded to a request for donations to help with the campus Feral Cat Rescue Project. The project traps, spays
and neuters, and adopts out campus cats, and
now also helps those maintaining the colonies
on campus.
Governor visits Napa Valley College
By Diego Hernández
The Michoacán Celebration took
place in Napa Valley College’s Cafeteria Dec. 2 and lasted for a full five
hours. The long length of time did not,
however, concern those attending, for
they listened with great interest and
focus. The Cafeteria was filled to the
brim during the event, and most of the
those attending were Hispanic Americans. Men, women and children, both
young and old, made up the participants.
The event started with Governor
Lazaro Cardenas Batel of Michoacán,
Mexico, discussing the purpose of the
celebration (to discuss proposals of the
newly formed Federation of Michoacanos of Northern California intended to
assist Mexican immigrants). Rigo Castillo, president of the Michoacanos of
Northern California, spoke about immigration, the conditions of it and how
he and his comrades were dedicated
to helping Mexican immigrants in the
U.S. This way, they would be helping
the Mexican immigrants provide for
their families, especially the ones residing back in Mexico. He also spoke
of the Mexican federal government attempts to help, especially through the
planned “3 for 1 Program.”
Preceeding Castillo was Sr. Reis,
a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and a
lawyer and consultant for the Mexican
government. Reis talked about how in
Chicago scholarships and money were
raised for disadvantaged Latino youth,
and how those very same youth became more active in the community as
a result. Because of this, Reis said that
he and his partners were committed to
expanding the federation, and thus its
positive impact.
The Mariachi Tarasco came up next
and played a few songs. The mariachis and the audience all sang “Happy
Birthday” at the end, directed to Napa
Mayor Jill Techel, who was present.
Both Mayor Techel and American
Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia addressed
the crowd, and spoke of how their cities
were attempting to become sister cities
with Michoacán. However, Techel also
commented that due to regulations regarding sister cities, Napa would most
likely become a “friendship city” with
Planning for a VIP visit
By Diego Hernández
Photo by Diego Hernández
Governor Lazaro Cardenas Batel of Michoacan, delegation member Rafael Herrera, American Canyon Mayor Leon Garcia
and Napa Mayor Jill Techel are pictured
at the event held on campus Dec. 2. Vice
President for Student Services Oscar De
Haro, his staff and students helped work
on the visit.
Michoacán.
Students of the Latino Student Leaders club began to speak with Governor
Batel, with some saying which Michoacán village they were from. All spoke
on how to keep the culture alive and
well. Graciela Rodriguez, a NVC student, proposed a student exchange
program to the governor; the program
would not only allow students from
Napa to learn about Michoacán while
living there, but would also permit
Michoacán students to do the same in
Napa.
The author Carlos Monseváis
praised the efforts of the federation.
Monsiváis told the audience that although he was not a native of Michoacán, the movement stemming from
there was so “contagious” that he felt
like he was becoming a part of it.
Governor Batel returned to the
stage, and emphasized how wonderful
it was for the authorities of Napa and
American Canyon to come together
and help the Federation with their
plans. He added that California is not
the only state to have helpful programs
directed towards Hispanic immigrants
via the Federation; such programs now
exist in Washington, Alaska, Texas and
Illinois, among other states. Governor
Batel also thanked the audience for
their consideration, explaining that the
government would only act on the issue of immigration if people were organizing and making their voice heard.
The governor closed his speech declaring that he was proud of all involved
for preserving their cultural ties.
A cluster of students and faculty gathered
in Room 1138, listening to Rafael Herrera and
Juan Carlos Lopez speak about the upcoming
Michoacán Celebration. The students present
were from the CHA, MESA, and Puente
programs, all Latino students interested in the
celebration, scheduled for Dec. 2.
Rafael Herrera, one of the men
responsible for the existence of the
Michoacán Celebration along with his partner
Lopez, explained that the point of the meeting
and the subsequent celebration was to build
the federation for Michoacán. Specifically, it
would be a federation for former Michoacáns
currently residing in Napa. It was also
confirmed that Michoacán Governor Lazaro
Cardenas Batel and renowned author Carlos
Monseváis would be attending the celebration
and lending their support for the construction
of the federation.
Herrera and Lopez went into more detail
regarding the federation. Its full title is to be
the Federation of Michoacanos of Northern
California. One of the goals of the federation
is to “preserve cultural ties” by establishing
a student exchange program. Napa students
would be able to travel to Michoacán and
learn, while Michoacán students could do
the same in Napa. Napa students would
also be able to participate in community
service while in Michoacán, although it was
not illustrated whether or not Michoacán
students would be able to do the same while
studying in Napa. What was revealed to be
definite was that both areas would focus on
their own history as learning material for the
students. The current goal for this student
exchange program is to have four to five
students attend during the summer, and to
have a list of those students by March. There
was little doubt in the room that Herrera, who
has already successfully enacted similar
programs in Illinois, Texas and Washington,
and Lopez could fulfill their objective.
Beside the student exchange program,
other issues were discussed. The “3 for 1
Program” was explained as a charity with a
twist: for every one dollar that an individual
contributed to a low-income Michoacán
emigrant living in the U.S., the Mexican
government would match that donation
with three dollars of its own. The idea of a
community cultural center in Michoacán was
brought up, and compared to how Israel has
Jewish cultural centers.
At the end of the meeting, several
students volunteered to suggest ideas to
the Mexican officials at the Michoacán
Celebration.
NVC News Page 5
Classified Corner
By Jan Schardt and Edward Beanes
Happy Holidays from the Classified Staff. We hope that everyone has
a relaxing and safe holiday season.
Who’s Who in the classified organizations?
Napa Valley Association of Classified Professionals (NVC-ACP) officers :
Jan Schardt, president; Dixie
Larson, vice
president;
Kathy Franco,
secretary; Juell
Fullner, treaSchardt
Beanes
surer; Tereasa
Snowder and Kathy Baird, delegates;
Malia Palu, clerical steward; Catalina
Martinez, child care steward; Dann
Solomon, facilities steward, Valerie
Exum, instructional steward; James
Weston; rotational steward; and Gopal
Chandrasekaran, technical steward.
Napa Valley College Classified Senate Officers:
Edward Beanes, president; Cari
Roughley, vice president; Victoria
Estrella, secretary; Donnelle Estrada,
treasurer; Margarita Ceja, senator
of ad hoc committees; Ian Holbrook, senator of fundraising; Bob
Lortz, senator of social committees;
Vicki Tevlin and Jan Schardt, senators of professional development.
Summer International Education classes announced
Learn French in Paris, Spanish in Spain or Anthropology in Mexico
The world can be your campus
with Napa Valley College International Education programs. This
summer you can study Spanish
in Salamanca, Spain; Anthropology in Yucatan, Mexico; or French
at the Sorbonne in Paris.
The popular summer French in
Paris program is celebrating its 10th
anniversary. It is a total immersion
opportunity where students study
at the Sorbonne and can earn five
transferable units in French. It will be
held July 1 to August 1, 2008. Different levels of French are available, and
optional day excursions and cultural
activities are part of the program. The
program is coordinated by Anne-Marie McEligot, who teaches all levels
of French at Napa Valley College.
For more information, call AnneMarie McEligot at (707) 224-3931.
The Spanish in Spain program with
instructor Maria Villagomez will be
June 28 to July 19. Students will stay
with host families, learn about the rich
history of the Iberian Peninsula and
enjoy excursions, in addition to classroom study. Salamanca is known as La
Dorada because of the golden glow of
its sandstone buildings. Nine different levels of Spanish are offered from
Spanish 110 to Fourth Semester Spoken
Spanish to Spanish for Educators.
For more information, call the
instructor at (707) 253-3178.
The Anthropology class in Mexico
with instructor Jessica Amato will be
June 4-June 17. Students will leave
SFO and fly into Cancún, then on
to Merida. In addition to instruction, there will be several excursions.
Students will visit Ruta Puuc, El
Corchito ecological reserve (including a boat ride) and Progresso Beach,
Chichen-Iza, and Tulum and Xel-Ha,
among other sites. Call the instructor for more information at 253-3183.
Spring classes start Jan. 23 – Registration in progress
Online registration is in progress for
Spring semester and a special walk-in
registration for continuing, returning and new
matriculated students will be held Dec. 17–19.
Online registration for new nonmatriculated students will be Jan. 8 – 29.
Walk-in registration for all students will be
Jan. 8–18. Late registration is Jan. 23–29.
Spring classes start Jan. 23. See the
Spring schedule online at www.napavalley.
edu.
Examples of Spring classes
Interpersonal Communications
Instructor Eric Zell is teaching
Interpersonal Communications Tuesday/
Thursday 9:30 to 10:50 a.m., Section 51197/
Speech 120. According to Ann Gross, “This
is a fun, interactive class that develops oneon-one communication skills with a mixture
of theory and plenty of applied exercises.
We cover everything from listening to selfdisclosure to conflict resolution to developing
NVC News Page 6
relationships, and much more. Eric Zell
is a high-energy, experienced instructor
who brings the topics to life with examples,
personal experiences and humor.”
Creative Writing
Three levels of Creative Writing are
offered Monday at 6:30 p.m. taught by Aaron
DiFranco and Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
taught by Lisa Yanover.
Students who have already taken the
200 (introductory) level are given greater
freedom in the course. They are expected
to share their writing in workshop, whereas
introductory level students are expected to
try out each genre (memoir/personal essay,
poetry, and the short story, and/or possibly
drama). All are encouraged to try their
hand at each; intermediate and advanced
students are free to choose the genre they
write in. These workshops are made up of
a community of writers who come together
in a supportive environment to nurture and
stretch one’s writing abilities. The course
focuses equally on inspiration and revision,
according to Lisa Yanover.
Spanish
Spanish can by a passport to the world!
Spring Spanish courses include Spanish 120,
121, 241 (fourth semester Spanish) and Spanish
281 (Spanish for native speakers). For more
information contact Mary Shea at mshea@
napavalley.edu, mvillagomez@napavalley.
edu or adelagarza@napavalley.edu. Day
and evening Spanish classes are available. A
cleaver “passport” to promote Spanish classes
has been distributed.
Physical Fitness
Looking for a new career? Physical
Education 255, Foundations of Physical
Fitness, taught by Susan Deicke at 7 p.m.
Tuesdays is a transferable class. It involves
planning a personalized physical fitness
program and can lead to a career as a
physical fitness personal trainer. Phye. 200
is Coaching and Athletic Administration, a
short-term class from Jan. 23 to March 21.
Team Storm Volleyball 2007
Cinderella Season for Storm Spikers
Storm
Coaching
Staff
Head Coach
Kelly Van Winden
Assistant Coach
Lauren Meanza
Assistant Coach
Josh Diaz
Finishing the
regular playing season with
a Bay Valley
Conference
perfect record
of 14 wins, no
losses, the BVC
announced that
Storm freshman
Danielle Magnuson was voted
the conference’s
Most Valuable
Player.
In addition, freshman
Jacqueline
Domecus and
sophomores
Heather O’Neill
and Tiffanie
Christensen
were named to
the All-Bay Valley Conference
Team.
10 – Ashleigh Gray
14 – Chelsea Butts
15 – Emily Pahk
It must have
been a tough choice because
by all accounts, including
the opinion of Head Coach
Kelly Van Winden, the entire
seven-woman team performed outstandingly well
through the whole season.
The final regular season Bay
Valley Conference volleyball
matchup against Contra
Costa College wrapped up
an almost storybook season.
The Storm finished their
regular BVC match schedule
undefeated when they took
out Contra Costa in three
games with scores of 30-17,
30-11 and 30-15. By doing so,
the Storm earned automatic
placement in the NorCal
playoffs. The placement represents their first postseason
since 2003.
The Storm
started and
finished with
only seven players with whom
to populate a
six-woman team.
That meant if
there was one
single injury
there could be
no substitutions;
one player out
sick – no substitutions. And the
hope of dominating a league
in which teams
were able to put
10 to 12 players
on the court,
allowing rest
breaks for starters and giving incoming freshman
valuable playing experience
seemed, at best,
unrealistic.
Coach Van Winden
credited an unusually strong
chemistry between the
players coupled with welldeveloped volleyball skills
and a drive to play hard and
competitive volleyball as
some of the keys to the team’s
success.
Seeded #10 in the 16-team
draw, the Storm faced #7
seeded Fresno City College.
Alas, the Cinderella season
ended in a three-game sweep
by the Central Valley team
with scores of 30-28, 30-27,
31-29.
Head coach Kelly Van
Winden told the Napa Valley
Register “Games 1 and 2, we
had opportunities to win, but
we simply didn’t. We didn’t
capitalize at the right time.”
Team Storm
Standouts
Danielle Magnuson
Bay Valley Conference
Most Valuable Player
Tiffanie Christensen
Bay Valley Conference
All-Conference Team
Jacqueline Domecus
Bay Valley Conference
All-Conference Team
Heather O’Neill
Bay Valley Conference
All-Conference Team
NVC News Page 7
Team Storm – Soccer 2007-2008
Head Coach Les Carroll
is from Liverpool, England. He
has an honors degree from
Liverpool University and a
master’s degree in Exercise
Physiology from UC Berkeley.
He has coached and played at
the highest semiprofessional
level in both England and the
USA. He has played with and
Head Coach
Les Carroll
coached several World Cup
players and former players of
the US National Team.
Before joining the NVC
coaching staff, Coach Carroll
was named All-Western United
States High School Coach of
the Year by the NSCAA.
Coach Carroll believes
soccer is a simple game only
made difficult by players and
coaches. Fitness, discipline,
organization, hard work and
dedication coupled with some
skill, pace and flair are a
winning combination. Combine
these attributes further with
a little luck and you have a
winning formula.
2007 Solid Season for Storm Soccer
The 2007 Storm Soccer Team nailed a Bay
Valley Conference third place with a record
of seven wins, four losses, and one tie. Team
Captains Jake Enemark and Edward Olvera
were named to the All-Conference First
Team, and Aaron Dickey and Luis Martin Del
Campo were named to the All-Conference
Second Team. Olvera was also named as BVC
All-Conference Defensive Most Valuable
Player.
Team Storm Standouts
Assistant
Coach
Omar Diaz
Edward Olvera
Team Captain
All-Conference First
Team; All-Conference
Most Valuable
Defensive Player
Jacob Enemark
Team Captain
All-Conference
First Team
Luis Marin-Del
Campo
All-Conference
Second Team
Aaron Dickey
All-Conference
Second Team
Assistant
Coach
Cezar Escobar
1/GK – Jose
Leon
12 – Eric Bell
15 – Miguel
Olvera
2/GK3 – Daniel
Arana
16 – Pablo
Rodriguez
Not Pictured: 17 – Rafael Vargas; 11 – Luis Garcia
NVC News Page 8
3 – Ali Alkadi
18 – Brean
Duncan
4 – Renzo Valle
20 – Luis
Aguinaga
5 – Alvaro
Camacho
22 – Michael
Carenvale
6 – Carl
Hernandez
9 – Ballentine
Davis
23/G3 – Hugo
Garcia
24 – Anthony
Brown
Ann Burchill
Linda Collison
2007 Storm
Most Valuable
Player
Barbara Schwenk
Michelle
Salley-Davis
Connie McGreger
Susanne Harrison
Head Coach
Jim Wiechers
Team Storm
Women’s Golf
Fall 2007
Susan Voshell-Bax
Barbara Schwenk
Susan Voshell-Bax
The Season
The Coach
The Storm Golf Team is allowed to play in the Big-8 Conference rather than the Bay Valley Conference primarily due
to insufficient teams in the BVC for a competitve season.
They finished sixth in the conference with Linda Collison as
the Storm’s Most Valuable Player, with a 95.1 scoring average.
Lorna Wray
Coach Jim Wiechers caps a 13-year career on the PGA
Tour with his appointment as head coach for both the men’s
and women’s golf teams at Napa Valley College.
His coaching philosophy targets improvement in his players both physically and mentally as each season progresses.
NVC News Page 9
Team Storm Women’s Basketball Outlook 2007-2008
Head Coach
Chris Kvidahl
embarks
upon his
second year
as head
coach of the
Napa Valley College’s
Women’s
Basketball Team.
His first year as head coach was
admittedly a struggle, as seen in
a zero-for-12 Bay Valley Conference recorded by a hustling team
possessed of tremendous heart.
With a recent change of direction for the Basketball Program,
and the resulting period of flux that
resulted, Coach Kvidahl looks to put
last year behind him as he continues
to rebuild the program this year.
His background includes three
years as Men’s Basketball assistant
coach under Coach Bruce Chavka.
Kvidahl is bringing to the game
a “positive, passionate and energetic process. I expect these qualities to show in our team. I want
the women to learn how to work
together and work hard for each
other as well as for the team.”
This photo originally appeared in
the Napa Valley Register.
NVC News Page 10
New to the Storm, Assistant Coach Haidi
Arias served as Assistant Varsity
Coach for
St. Helena High
School
Women’s
Basketball 2002
through
2007 and
coached
Antigua’s
National Women’s Team in 2004.
She served in the Peace Corps in
Antigua, Eastern Caribbean.
“I want to be a positive, motivational coach for the Storm. I
like to think I coach with a lot of
heart and passion, giving these
young women all the tools for success, both on and off the court.”
Outlook
The 2007-2008 Women’s Basketball
Team is embracing an exciting uptempo style of basketball to the Napa
Valley College boards. A unique blend
of local talent unites the Storm’s three
returning players and seven dynamic
Assistant Coach Chris Morrison has a
year under his belt as a Storm
assistant
plus four
years as
a Napa
Optimist
Basketball head
coach.
“I try
to bring
a positive attitude and a lot of enthusiasm
to the team and to the game
each day, whether in practice or in actual competition.
As long as we play aggressive
‘D,’ rebound the ball well and
communicate with each other,
we will win a lot of games.”
new players. The team will focus on
working hard while competing and
improving as a team throughout the
season. We will enjoy playing for each
other, having fun in everything we
do, and providing you with an exciting, competition-filled evening.
Thank you for supporting the Storm!
Team Storm Men’s Basketball Outlook 2007-2008
Head Coach Steve Ball
2005-2006: 9 & 21 overall 5&11 BVC
2006-2007: 10 & 20 overall; 7 & 9 BVC
Napa Valley College’s Head
Coach Steve Ball is in his third
year at the helm. After taking over the program for the
2005-2006 season, Coach Ball
has steered the program into
improvements each year. Storm
Basketball is now respected as
a hardworking program that
competes hard for 40 solid minutes.
Coach Ball came to NVC from San
Diego City College, where he was the
assistant coach. San Diego City won
the Pacific Coast Conference title for
the 2004-2005 season and earned
their way to the second round of the
state playoffs before losing to Los
Angeles City College. San Diego City
was 18-10 overall, 12-2 in the conference in Coach Ball’s only year on staff.
Ball is originally from Humboldt
County and went to South Fork High
School. He played his college basketball at Sonoma State University, where
he was a team captain and selected as
“Most Inspirational Student-Athlete”
in 1998. Coach Ball earned both his
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in kinesiology from SSU. Coach Ball was an assistant coach for SSU in 1999 and 2000
when it was a top 20-ranked NCAA
Division II program. He then guided
El Molino High School to a dramatic
turnaround. He guided the program
from a 1-25 record in his first season
to a 22-8 record and the 2004 Sonoma
County League title. El Molino made
back-to-back CIF North Coast Section
This photo originally
appeared in the Napa
Valley Register.
playoff appearances in
Coach Ball’s final two
seasons as head coach.
Coach Ball feels
that the community
is going to be proud
of the group of players he recruits. “I
don’t recruit lowcharacter people.
I recruit highly
talented, high-character student-athletes. They’re going
to play hard, and it’s going to be a
fun brand of basketball to watch.”
Outlook
The 2007-2008 Napa Valley College
Men’s Basketball team is entering
the finishing phase in the rebuilding
process. Last season saw the Storm
finish at 10-20 and fourth place in
the Bay Valley Conference (BVC).
Their best finish in nearly a decade.
With an influx of talent and
athleticism this year’s team looks
to be much improved. Look for the
Storm to dictate the tempo of the
game with their defense and transition game. Led by returning All-BVC
point guard Andy Medeiros and a
number of other talented newcomers the Storm will be a force in the
BVC. Other talented guards include
last year’s second leading scorer
(10.5 ppg), Justin-Sienna graduate
and 3-point threat Chad Lichau,
2006 MEL MVP Aaron Trigg and
red-shirt freshman Jeff Hurd. The
Storm also will enlist the talents of
three very dynamic forwards in Matt
Assistant Coach
Tony Prescott
Tony Prescott is a graduate of Vintage High School
where he was a standout
in basketball. After high
school Tony played college
basketball at Yuba College
and Diablo Valley College
before finishing up his collegiate career at Chico State
University. Tony was a very
skilled guard and helped the
Wildcats to back-to-back
Conference Championships
in 1993 and 1994. As a youth
Tony was the ball-boy for
the NVC “Super Chiefs.”
Tony’s understanding
of the game, patience and
ability to teach the finer
points of guard play will be
invaluable to the program.
Jenkins, Ashton Foster and Max
Frise. All three have a very strong
skill set and compete very hard.
PHOTOS BY RICHARD BRUNS
NVC News Page 11
Team Storm – Women’s Basketball 2007-2008
32–Misty Lee; 22–Melissa Thornton; 12–Vanessa Priest; 14–Cherish Bustos; 21–Caitlin Schmitz; 10–Brittney Thompson; 33–Tasha Jackson; 30–
Jacquie Willis; 11–Erika Hornsby; 15–Jessica Zeller. – Recent additions to the team not pictured: 3–Paige Cruz; 23–Sharmel Daniels.
Women’s Basketball
Fall 2007 Game Schedule
PHOTOS BY RICHARD BRUNS
NVC News Page 12
DAY
DATE
OPPONENT
TIME
LOCATION
Tues
Fri
Sat
Fri
Sat
Fri-Sun
Fri
Thur
Fri
Sat
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
13-Nov
16-Nov
24-Nov
30-Nov
1-Dec
7-10 Dec
14-Dec
20-Dec
21-Dec
5-Jan
9-Jan
11-Jan
16-Jan
18-Jan
23-Jan
25-Jan
30-Jan
1-Feb
6-Feb
8-Feb
13-Feb
15-Feb
20-Feb
22-Feb
Modesto College
Butte College
Hartnell College
Skyline College
Mission College
East Bay Classic
Shasta College
Mesa College
Mira Costa College
College/Redwoods
Contra Costa College
Solano College
College of Marin
Yuba College
Los Medanos College
Merritt College
Mendocino College
Contra Costa College
Solano College
College of Marin
Yuba College
Los Medanos College
Merritt College
Mendocino College
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
TBA
5:00 PM
6:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
5:30 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:30 PM
7:00 PM
5:30 PM
7:00 PM
5:30 PM
7:00PM
7:00 PM
6:00PM
Napa
Napa
Salinas
Napa
Napa
Oakland
Redding
San Diego
San Diego
Napa
San Pablo
Napa
Napa
Marysville
Napa
Oakland
Napa
Napa
Suisun
Kentfield
Napa
Pittsburg
Napa
Ukiah
Team Storm – Men’s Basketball 2007-2008
FROM LEFT: 31–Chad Lichau; 2–Matt Jenkins; 32–Alan Magee; 11–Varian Thurman; 0–DeAndre Clark; 15–Terry Aryee; 33–Max Frise; 13–Fidel Alva; 22–
Aaron Trigg; 1–James Crockett; 23–Jeff Hurd; 4–Aaron Magee; 21–Ashton Foster; 3–Andy Medeiros.
Men’s Basketball
Fall 2007 Game Schedule
DAY
DATE
OPPONENT
Thur-Sat
Fri-Sun
Fri-Sun
Fri-Sun
Fri-Sun
Fri-Sun
Fri
Sat
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Wed
Fr
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Wed
Fri
Nov. 8-10
Nov. 16-18
Nov. 23-25
Nov. 30-Dec 2
Dec 7-9
Dec 14-16
Dec. 21
Dec. 29
Jan. 4
Jan. 9
Jan. 11
Jan. 16
Jan. 18
Jan. 23
Jan. 30
Feb. 1
Feb. 6
Feb. 8
Feb. 13
Feb. 15
Feb. 20
Feb. 22
Santa Rosa J.C. Tourney TBA
San Diego City Tourney TBA
Wine Country Classic TBA
Cosumnes River Tourney TBA
Skyline Tournament
TBA
Delta College Tournament TBA
Yuba College
6:00PM
Merritt College
6:00PM
College of Marin
7:00PM
Mendocino College
7:00PM
Contra Costa College
7:00PM
College of Alameda
7:30PM
Los Medanos College 7:00PM
Solano College
7:00PM
Yuba College
5:30PM
Merritt College
6:00PM
College of Marin
7:00PM
Mendocino College
7:00PM
Contra Costa College 7:30PM
College of Alameda
7:00PM
Los Medanos College
7:00PM
Solano College
7:00PM
TIME
LOCATION
Santa Rosa
San Diego
Napa
Sacramento
San Bruno
Stockton
Marysville
Napa
Kentfield
Napa
San Pablo
Napa
Napa
Fairfield
Napa
Oakland
Napa
Ukiah
Napa
Alameda
Pittsburg
Napa
NVC News Page 13
The Little College That Could:
Napa Valley College
Story below excerpted with permission from the United States Tennis
Association Northern California Tennis webpage at www.norcal.usta.
com/campus & article writer Fred Allemann, Communications USTA Northern
California.
Submitted photo
Napa Valley College Club Tennis Team at Stanford, Left to
Right, Back row: Paul Ryan, Aaron Ignacio, Alliver Verzon,
Michael Leyto, Nebil Salah, Jason Callejo, Darren Aliga
(Team Captain).
Front Row: Sue Hanson, Ashley Jorgensen, Lauren Lasch,
ZeeJay Samonte.
Dr. Rebecca Thompson, adjunct instructor at Napa Valley
College, brought 11 students to this year’s USTA Campus
Championship. This is the third year she’s brought a team, but
only two of the 11 on this year’s team have been to the USTA
Campus Championships before.
“We’re a junior college, and it’s a challenge to get a team
together for the championship. We don’t have our kids as long
as a four-year university. About five or six years ago, our varsity
tennis team was cut, due to budget restrictions.”
Rebecca is a neuropsychologist who has taught at Napa
Valley College for 20 years now. Also in private practice, Rebecca
goes above and beyond the call of duty by volunteering to run the
campus tennis program.
A little over three years ago, Napa Valley College replaced
their dilapidated courts with eight brand-new courts. The new
courts kick-started Rebecca’s recreational Tennis on Campus
program. She teaches tennis in the evenings and on Saturdays.
“I’m really excited about this year’s team,” said Rebecca. “Over
half of them are freshmen; and since we no longer have a varsity
tennis program at Napa Valley College, our Tennis on Campus
program is the only way these kids can continue to play tennis.
Most of them played on their high school varsity teams. They’ve
got so much energy and enthusiasm; I just love working with
them.”
The Napa Valley College team wins the award for the best
team shirt, as team member Darren Aliga and supporter Paul Peña
designed their fierce embroidered logo and white shirts.
Another team member, Zee Jay Samonte, posted a blog about
his experiences at the USTA Campus Championships.
“We may not win this championship,” Rebecca concluded, “but
I know our team has the best etiquette and sportsmanship. My
kids know the rules of tennis, inside and out, and always are polite
and considerate on and off the court.
“We got portable nets from USTA Northern California after we
joined as an organization member. In the winter time, we practice
indoors.
“Our first year at the Campus Championship, about half the
teams were from junior colleges. I think this year, we’re the only
one.”
NVC News Page 14
NVC Tennis Club juniors
tournament players fair well
By Rebecca Thompson
Just a note to share the exciting results of the first USPTA
Junior Tennis tournament played on the NVC campus the last
weekend of October.
Three Napa Valley College Tennis Club team
members were young
enough to compete in
the 18-year-old singles
division. This is the first
time the Junior Championships have offered
this division locally, and
the tournament was the
first of its kind on the
college tennis courts.
Napa Valley College
received rave reviews
Photos by Richard Bruns
Aaron Ignacio sets up for a forehand
for the new courts from
the October Juniors Tennis
all of the parents, coaches during
Tournament hosted by Napa Valley Coland players who attended lege
the two-day event.
NVC students Alliver Verzon, Aaron Ignacio, and Jason
Callejo, who played in the 18-year-old
division, are freshmen. The week previous to the juniors event, they competed with the team at UC Davis in both
men’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Alliver played a tough match against
teammate Jason in the first round on
Saturday and was
the victor. Alliver
Alliver
Verzon continued on Satholds his Championship Trophy for urday and played
an exciting match
his juniors victory.
against Javier Garcia,
a former member of our tennis program who is attending UC Berkeley this
semester. Alliver forced split sets and
won the third set tie-breaker 10-8, a win
which took him to the finals match.
Rising to the occasion, he took
his game up a notch, finally earning the championship title in three
sets, with a tie-break score of 10-6.
Aaron’s first round went 2-6, 3-6, and
then he played Jason in the consolation round on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
If you have these students in your
classes, please congratulate them
for their hard work and dedicaJason Callejo returns a forehand
tion to their sport and their team.
during the Juniors
Anyone interested in joining the
Tournament hosted
Napa Valley College Tennis Club
in October by Napa
Valley College.
can contact Rebecca Thompson at
rthompson@napavalley.edu.
A look at – Sean McCann
By Tamera Melvin
(Editor’s note: this is the first in
a series of faculty profiles.)
This semester Napa Valley College
welcomed several new full-time faculty
members including Sean McCann.
McCann is now the new full-time
instructor for the Administration
of Justice program. He is currently
teaching five different Administration of Justice courses. McCann is a
retired police officer with his bachelor’s
in Japanese language and literature
from the University of Maryland. He
is completing his master’s in Criminal Justice from Sacramento State.
He is by no means new to teaching. McCann explained, “The first job
that I had out of college was teaching
English overseas for two years. I taught
for a junior college and a college in
Japan.” He also taught at various police
academies, including a year of teaching
classes on police use of force in defensive tactics at the NVC Police Academy,
as well as regional training centers and
Western Career College. However, until
he received this full-time position, he
had always been an adjunct professor.
He became interested in teaching
after being forced to retire from the
police force due to his dependence
on insulin as a result of having adult
onset diabetes. McCann said, “I had
thought at the time that was my career
and I could retire as a cop, but the rug
got pulled out from beneath me. So
I thought back to my first job out of
college, which was teaching English
overseas, and I thought, I liked teaching and I liked being a cop so why not
teach criminal justice-related stuff.”
After applying for the position twice,
McCann was hired a mere 10 days
before the semester began. McCann
explained, “I had five separate courses
to get ready with textbooks already
selected. One or two of them I had
used before, but for the most part they
were new textbooks for me. I have
had to read and prepare as I am trying
to teach. This semester I am staying barely one step ahead, and next
semester I will be swamped as well.
After this year things should be alright.”
McCann was born in Delaware but
lived all over the United States, partly
due to his parents getting divorced
when he was five years old. However,
he explained that his relationship with
his parents has remained good. Currently he lives in Concord and admits
that there is a bit of a commute to
deal with at times. He lives with his
Japanese wife (they met in Berkeley)
as well as their two young children,
a four-year-old daughter named Aya
and a two-year-old son named Lucas.
His wife works part-time as a translator out of their home. McCann said,
“Japanese is the first language that we
speak in my house.” He also explained
that his daughter is beginning to pick
up English at the preschool she attends.
McCann said that he does enjoy
the Napa Valley. “It’s pretty, but the
cost of living is no better than the
Bay Area; so it isn’t a feasible option
to move here.” He also said he loves
teaching at NVC. “I have been in the
hiring process for a couple of different
junior colleges and often got turned
down at the end of the hiring process.
Quite honestly, I am glad that I did.
NVC is by far a much nicer place to
be; the campus is nicer and the people
February 13 – American Canyon College Night. Watch for more information.
World AIDS Day observed
World AIDS Day was observed on campus
Dec. 5 with information tables arranged by
ASB. Several community agencies were represented. Above, Ashley Sage and Jose Carrillo, ASB Senator of Natural Sciences, staffed
a table and distributed information.
tion with the 3rd Annual NVC Solar
Celebration. Contact Community
Relations for details.
Save the date
February 13 – Andrea’s Voice presentation on eating disorders by
Tom and Doris Smeltzer. Call Student
Health for more information. Details
TBA.
are nice and easy to work with.”
Although he says that his hobbies
disappeared when he had children, he
does enjoy martial arts. He spent a year
in Japan before teaching English living
with a martial arts instructor. He also
enjoys miniature war gaming as well,
though he claims that he stays away
from online gaming since it is addictive
and time consuming. He mostly listens
to rock music and likes to watch the TV
shows Smallville and Supernatural.
McCann said, “I am glad that I won’t
have any night classes next semester. I
like the schedule for next semester so
far.” He said that his courses are going pretty well. “I just had the student
evaluations, and the students were
quite kind. They must like the courses,
because I got quite a few compliments.
They know the situation I came in
under and probably see a little disorganization on my part sometimes;
but we’re hitting the topics well, and I
think we are doing interesting stuff.”
April 2 – Spring Job Fair, Gym. Call
the Career Center or watch for future
announcements.
May 1 – Annual High School Breakfast. Call Student Services for more
information.
April 10 – Napa Valley College
Founder’s Day.
May 3 – Healthy People, Healthy
Planet, American Canyon Community
Center. Details TBA.
April 19 – Napa community Earth Day
celebration will be held in conjunc-
NVC News Page 15
Bravo to Robert Brady, Napa Valley
College Police Academy June 2005
graduate, who was honored as San
Pablo’s “Officer of the Year.”
ÔÔÔ
Bravo to the students who performed in
the Voice Recital Dec. 8. The following
students were scheduled to appear:
Edison Castrillo, Kathy Chavez,
Kendall Crane, Dave Dunlap, Marie
Hernandez, Kaija Hillcrest, Ben Hillyer,
Monica Horstman, Gracy Lorenzana,
Lynette Lyon, Monica McCamish,
Midori Morgan, Grace Ort, Penny Pawl,
Craig Payne, Rosemary Richardson,
Rebecca Rosales, Suyuen Shoemaker,
Rosalina Sibal, Sheena Smith, Anne
New
Staff
Williams
Uemura, Nancy
Welty and Jason
Whaley.
ÔÔÔ
Tia Madison,
Sable Hughes, Jolie San Clair,
Ron Rhyno and Christina Rivera
attended an Umoja Conference in
October. Workshops were held
on instructional, student support
services, organizational, and administrative components of the program. In
addition, Umoja leaders had colleges
apply for the pilot project with a startup kit. The colleges selected have not
been announced yet, but NVC faculty
and staff met on Dec. 11 to discuss
the program and
possibilities.
ÔÔÔ
Janet Duffey, RN,
MS BC, APRN,
has just published a new book, Medical
Terms for Nurses–A Quick Reference
Guide. Janet teaches Mental Health and
Gerontology Nursing in the ADN program
and also teaches Medical Terminology
online.
ÔÔÔ
NVC faculty member Dr. Roberto
Juan-Gonzalez is artistic director
for the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay
Freedom Band and participated in the
Dance-Along Nutcracker, the band’s
Welcome to new staff. Jessie Williams is the new Instructional Assistant II, Basic Police Academy, Criminal Justice Training Center.
IT welcomes Support Specialist
Jose Sanchez, a former NVC stu-
BRAVERY from Page 1
Medal of Valor to these 31 amazing California citizens,” said Governor Schwarzenegger at the ceremony. “These professionals come from different departments
and agencies within our state government, but what they all have in common
is their incredible bravery. The men and
women we are honoring today are true
heroes in every sense of the word.”
Those receiving the awards were
also honored at the 76th annual State
Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony with an ornament hung on the
tree to pay tribute to each employee.
Last year, the Governor renamed the
Capitol Christmas Tree the “Tree of
Heroes” in honor of the Governor’s State
Employee Medal of Valor recipients.
The Medal of Valor, which started in
1959, is the highest honor that California bestows on its public servants and is
awarded to California state employees
who have performed an extraordinary
act of heroism above and beyond the
normal call of duty, at great risk to their
own personal safety or life, to save the
stop hate from Page 1
Know It!” The focus for this month is to
educate our campus on the definition of
“hate crime” and “bias incident.” We are
fortunate in California to have progressive and inclusive hate crime laws. A
annual holiday benefit, which was held
at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Roberto was quoted extensively in the
Bay Area Reporter on the web about
the event.
ÔÔÔ
Photographs by Richard Bruns were
selected for the juried national show
Your Wildest Dreams, which was held at
Studio II Gallery on Soscol Avenue.
ÔÔÔ
Betty Malmgren is among photographers participating in the Dollarhide
exhibit at St. Supery Winery. In addition,
one of her photographs was selected for
the Frye’s Printing 2008 Calendar, which
will be available soon.
dent who went on to a career in IT in
Southern California before working
at Sonoma State. He is back living in
Napa and working at NVC with his
wife, Marci Sanchez, who is an EOPS
counselor and dance instructor.
Sanchez
life of another. Award
nominations are made by
the employee’s department.
Nixon was honored for an
incident on Jan. 22, 2007.
The incident was deNixon with scribed: “Nixon performed
Medal
an act of heroism at risk to
his personal safety to prevent a car hijacking and an armed man from harming a
woman and her two children. He then
assisted law enforcement in apprehending
the suspect. At approximately 5:00 p.m.,
Phillip Scott Nixon was leaving a Target
store in South Napa with his 13-year-old
son when he noticed a man wandering around the parking lot looking into
cars. As Mr. Nixon drove by, he saw the
man pointing a gun at a woman who was
standing by her car with her two small
children inside. Mr. Nixon saw fear in the
woman’s eyes and immediately knew the
woman and her children were in danger.
The suspect walked away when he saw
Mr. Nixon. Fearing that this individual
was going to put another person’s life
in jeopardy, Mr. Nixon jumped into his
truck and followed him while he called
911 on his cell phone. Mr. Nixon re-
ported what he had witnessed to a police
dispatch. At about this time a California
Highway Patrol officer drove by, and Mr.
Nixon flagged him down. The suspect
took notice of Mr. Nixon and the CHP
officer and bolted across the parking lot
toward the highway. Mr. Nixon instructed his son to stay with the victims
until the police came, as he ran after the
suspect, crossing several lanes of traffic,
with the CHP officer also in pursuit. Mr.
Nixon was able to corner the suspect
at a dead end that was covered with
blackberry bushes until the CHP officer
arrived and apprehended the suspect.
Mr. Nixon’s heroic and unselfish act of
bravery prevented an armed man from
possibly harming a woman and her two
children, and greatly assisted law enforcement in apprehending the individual.”
Nixon was also honored locally. He
had been nominated by his boss Dr. Jim
Jones, chief of the Psychology Department at Napa State Hospital, and was
recognized by Napa Mayor Jill Techel.
Nixon, Cliff Zyskowski, Psychiatric Technician Program coordinator, and Dr. Jones will be guests on
the NVC Forum February show.
hate crime is any criminal act (a violation
of written law) that is motivated by the
victim’s actual or perceived nationality,
ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation,
religion or disability. A bias incident is
a legal act, motivated by hate, based on
the same victim criteria above. If you
witness either a hate crime or bias inci-
dent on campus, call the campus police
immediately. Our officers are trained
to investigate all types of hate and bias
events and will take the appropriate
report. For more information about hate
crimes and bias incidents, please visit
the “10 Ways In Ten Months To Stop
Hate” web page and submit your pledge.
Napa Valley College News – BACK PAGE