The day was hot from the word go; public address speakers blasted rock ‘n’ roll; hungry show-goers gobbled tri-tip hoagies and hot dogs, while others cooled their bones in the shade talking with colleagues and friends over a cold drink.

THE CARS

Roughly two dozen show car entries and a handful of sponsors showed their support for the student club’s effort to raise money and awareness for their program. The event even drew walk-up students and those driving by, like Roland Horovitz and his family.

Aspiring demolition expert in practicum at home, Horovitz, 11, said that he asked his mom to park the car after driving back from a swim tryout where he placed as an intermediate.

“My favorite car was the old one that’s older than my dad,” Horovitz said.

That truck belongs to F.A.S.T. member Kerrie Gordon’s dad, Kelsey. It’s a stock 1949 Chevy pick up truck that took Best in Show at the fundraiser, the club’s Public Relations Officer Dan Poppell said.

Several other awards were given at the show but an official list has not been provided to the Roundup by the time of publication.

F.A.S.T. Club President Chase Williams, 21, signed in show cars as they rolled up.

“We are accepting cars from your Hondas to your rat rods,” he said. “For our first car show we’re pretty pleased with it. We weren’t planning on anything big; we just wanted to get our name out there [and] get everyone interested in next year.”

The cars ranged from a low-rider tweaked to starboard on hydraulics, off-road trucks, sports cars and modified Honda race cars and others still.

Doug Sofio, a retired studio carpenter from Arleta, “the Beverly Hills of Pacoima,” found a flyer on the windshield of his 1923 Ford “T-bucket” he has had since age 14, he said.  He backed up the 17-inch wide tires in between a red Triumph TR6 and a glittering blue Chevy Camaro race car owned by Pierce adjunct instructor Mark Schatkun.

Sofio went to Pierce for a few years from 1969, he said. Though he was never a professional mechanic, Sofio said he has raced boats, top-fuel funny cars, and pro stock street racing cars and his son, Junior, raced open-wheel in Long Beach.

Schatkun’s Camaro is a well-built and tested race car that has won him many races at local tracks, he said.

“They call me Shotgun. I used to race that Camaro right over there for 20 years at the Los Angeles County Raceway.”

THE REASON

Isabel Alvarez co-founded F.A.S.T. Club, and is their vice president. Alvarez, 27, said the club has about 20 members and this is its first fundraiser after being formed only a few months ago.

“Everything is to help the Auto Department because we’re one of the most neglected departments on campus. We don’t even have grass in front of our facilities,” she said.

While many people were happy to talk about their cars and racing, numerous club members and faculty mentioned the disappointing condition they find their department in, despite the gleaming buildings just over the horizon along the campus Mall.

“Tom Fortune, [Mike] Van Dyke and [Tom] Rosdahl–they are always arguing for us. They care a lot. They are trying to help us out. They can only do so much. Students need to step up,” Alvarez said.

Fortune, department chair of Industrial Technology, doesn’t hold back on his criticism of the school administration but does give praise where it’s due.

“Our dean has been very good about getting grants. But we have no wireless in our building. I’ve got a fellow over there who is an instructor at Van Nuys High School–sends us a lot of students–they’ve had wireless for eight years. I just came back from East Los Angeles Auto Program and they’ve had wireless for three years. We need it. It’s ridiculous. There’s no excuse for it. You can go to McDonald’s and get wireless,” Fortune said.

Fortune is also F.A.S.T. Club’s adviser. He said the club formed during a few classes that integrate shop management.

“They said they wanted to do it, so I said, ‘You guys need to learn how to be managers. You need to go out and meet some people in the community that are in the automotive business and let’s do this car show,’” he said.

Kenneth Leavitt, 31, an automotive major in his third year at Pierce echoes the feeling of nickel and diming to death.

“It’s hard for us to get soaps, rags and whatever else we need for the auto shop repairs–lifts, machines stuff in the engine lab–parts for shop cars,” Leavitt said.

THE GRADUATES

One of the event sponsors was SuperTuning Performance out of Van Nuys, who bought a tent space, donated items to the raffle and had six cars in the show.

“We’re having a great time at the Pierce College car show,” Koko Ohan, the owner of STP said. “We’re friends with R3 Racing. We’re always looking to help out the guys. It’s a good program here and I heard about what’s happing here and it sucks.”

Road Race Revolution (R3) and A-Spec-Racing (ASR) are both race car-inspired companies founded and run by a current student and 2006 graduate, respectively.

“Our main focus is to get the guys that are just trying to get into the scene and haven’t really experienced a racetrack.” R3 co-founder Marcel Masoumi said. “To get them off the streets, to teach them the right place. The right time to do it is on the racetrack.”

Charlston Ong, founder of ASR, jumped at the chance to be an event sponsor of the F.A.S.T. fundraiser.

“When I came to Pierce, Tom Rosdahl helped me develop a product for my Civic and I took it to the next level,” Ong said. “I have to come here. I want to visit the shop again and meet all my professors.”

Alvarez said F.A.S.T. Club didn’t expect too much of a big event because it’s their first, but they hope to keep growing it every year.

“I think they’re doing great. They only expected about 10 cars and they got way more than that; they got 20 or 30. It looks like everybody is having a good time. It’s a blast,” Schatkun said.

For more information about F.A.S.T Club visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/pcfastclub.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the Industrial Technology building by the Mason Avenue entrance on Brahma Drive.

The F.A.S.T. Club is looking to feature a variety of hot rods ranging from monster trucks to sport bikes, regardless of make, model or year.

“Hopefully, this fundraiser will put the [auto] club at the forefront of the school,” said Isabel Alvarez, F.A.S.T. Club’s vice president. “We are trying to get everyone to participate, even [Pierce College] staff.”

While free for spectators, anybody can showcase their wheels with a $20 registration payment on the day of the event and there is a reduced $15 fee for those who make a commitment by Friday, May 10.

All proceeds will go to the F.A.S.T. Club to help purchase updated equipment for the Automotive Service Technology discipline of the Industrial Technology department.

Already the F.A.S.T. Club has secured the participation of three local car companies whose representatives will be present to display automotive parts and products from their organization.

An acquaintance of club member Patrick Butler’s will be providing live entertainment for the event with help from his band.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to dig into some food, as grilled burgers and hotdogs will be made available for purchase.

“As of right now there are about 20 cars coming on Saturday,” said Alvarez. “We are encouraging people come out with their classics, muscles and imports to help support a good cause.”

Denim Day is a day devoted to raising awareness on sexual abuse and supporting survivors of sexual abuse.

The march for Take Back the Night began at the center of the Pierce College mall, where about 50 people, most wearing denim, congregated in support of the event.

One of those students was Michelle Borsco, president of the Feminist Club at Pierce College, who helped coordinate the event.

“Take Back the Night is a walk we do every year and it goes with the idea that we should be able to walk wherever we’d like at night,” said Borsco. “There’s a girl I know, she didn’t come because she was afraid to walk at home at night after this. It’s ironic in a really sad way.”

The walk started through Pierce College and took to the streets where students shouted and repeated chants in protest of sexual abuse, one of the chants being “Yes means yes, no means no, however we dress, wherever we go.”

One of the main leaders of the chants during the walk was Bernard Hanamichi, who has been participating in the event for  four years and is also the secretary of the Feminist Club.

“We tell women to watch out for rape, but we don’t tell the people who are doing it, mostly guys, not to rape,” said Hanamichi about the awareness Take Back the Night strives for.

As the walk continued students flashed their signs crafted for the event and cheered after each approving honk from cars passing by.

Holly Hagan, a textbook buyer at Pierce College, marched along three other generations of women in her family; her mother, daughters, and granddaughters in addition to her grandson and nieces.

Hagan is also a survivor of abuse herself who frequently shares her experience with students on campus and was pleased to share the important experience with the women and other member of her family.

“It’s for awareness, and as long as I have them be a part of this they’re not only aware of what I do, they’re also aware of what happens outside in our world,” said Hagan.

Students becoming conscious of what Denim Day represents and survivors of abuse on campus is a goal Hagan feels satisfied about achieving.

“It goes back to you’re making someone aware of what’s going on in this campus. I love to see when men are reading these shirts and they’re taking it in, they’re thinking and that thought may change how they have been thinking in the past,” said Hagan.

For more information of Denim Day please visit www.denimday.com and denimdayusa.org

Instructor and student, Sina Faaz teaches pierce college student Julieta Arce Philippine Martial Arts (Kali) for Denim day on the Mall at Pierce College Woodland Hills, Calf. April 24,2013. Photo: Carolyn Arredondo

Sexual abuse awareness events like Denim Day on campus Wednesday display victims grappling with life-changing emotions, present physical threats and the preservation of life through positive action like martial arts.

The spring drizzle complemented misty eyes of passers-by who read victim statements roughly scratched in indelible ink on colorful T-shirts from the Clothesline Project that Holly Hagan, event organizer, has collected since 2007.

The football field long clothesline of traumatic stories of molestation and rape, violence, abandonment and death served as the not-so-subtle backdrop for Reza Moazezi and his The Way of No Way martial arts students.

“We are out here to support Denim Day and raise awareness to self-defense for women,” Moazezi, 35, a prior Pierce College student said.

With the treble set by the click-clack of bamboo quarter-staffs and a heavy base of feet thudding and thumping hand-held punch bags, students file past. Some didn’t hear the music. Others were awakened and took one of the teal and goldenrod ribbon stickers handed out by volunteers.

Holly Hagan organizes events on campus for sexual abuse victims twice a year, one in April and one in October, she said.

“They are here to give some free demonstrations on self-defense,“ Hagan said. As a member of the Pierce (CVRT) Campus Violence Response Team she “absolutely – 100 percent” recommends self-defense training for students.

“The first thing is awareness, “Moazezi said. We teach people “how to avoid the problem, what to look out for and to listen to their emotions.”

Hagan has taken self-defense classes at Los Angeles Valley College and said it gives her confidence.

“I know that I know how to defend myself,” she said. “I am always aware of my surroundings.”

Becoming well-trained in martial arts takes time, Moazezi said, and they hold frequent seminars for women and children. But self-defense is about “saving lives.”

“We teach basic knee-strikes, palm-strikes, slaps, wrist escapes and eye-gouging motions,” Moazezi said. “It’s not pretty.”

One of Moazezi’s students and previous classmates, Richard Padilla, embraces the eclectic version of martial arts that his studio espouses.

“Each person has a different set of skills,“ he said. “They may be better at kicking than they are at punching. Because we teach this large array of martial arts, a person may benefit from one art over another.”

CSUN student Claire Torres, 22, interns at the Pierce College Student Health Center and helped organizers at Denim Day. Torres took martial arts classes as a youth, she said.

“Because all of these people have suffered from some type of abuse, [martial arts] could have been beneficial to some of the situations,” she said. “Practicing karate – it’s like riding a bike.”

The event will be centered in front of The Great Hall from 9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. with educational crafts, speakers, private counseling for victims and survivors of sexual abuse and culminates with a Take Back The Night march on the Mall beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Fliers distributed by the organizers of Pierce’s event say in Rome in 1998 a rapist was exonerated because the Italian Supreme Court decided the teenage victim’s tight jeans had to have been willingly shed. It so outraged many women in Parliament that they all wore jeans in protest.

In what started in 1999 by Peace Over Violence as a show solidarity with Italian women over that egregious high court ruling, Denim Day, a nationwide day of rape prevention and education event suggests participants “make a social statement with your fashion statement,” their website http://denimdayusa.org says.

The event on campus is organized by members of the Campus Violence Response Team, Holly Hagan and Kathy Oborn as well as members from the Pierce College Feminist Club.

“Show you care by what you wear,” the Pierce College flier reads.

Holly Hagan is a dual survivor of both sexual assault and domestic violence.

“There are so many people who sit right there in that moment – they can’t get past it – my hope is to help someone to move past that moment,” she said.

Links and resources:

Denim Day

http://denimdayusa.org/about/history/

Clothesline Project

http://www.clotheslineproject.org/

Take Back the Night

http://www.takebackthenight.org/

LAPC sexual violence webpage

http://www.piercecollege.edu/offices/compliance/sexual_violence.asp

Peace Over Violence, Denim Day in LA and USA, website

http://denimdayusa.org/

To bring attention to the diverse campus at Pierce College, the Diversity Committee (PDC), in partnership with the Associated Students Organization, will be hosting Diversity Day in the Great Hall on May 1 from 3 to 5 p.m.

The event is free and open to everyone.

“This event is for everyone because diversity is something that affects faculty, staff and students, and it’s something that should be encouraged in all of those levels,” said Christine Valada, co-chair of the PDC.

The idea to create a day to celebrate diversity at Pierce came from the PDC during the spring of 2012, according to Mitra Hoshiar, committee chair.

“In order to be as inclusive as possible we decided to have one Diversity Day so we could celebrate everyone,” said Hoshiar. “All different backgrounds instead of celebrating just one ethnic day per group.”

The purpose of the event is to bring all of the Pierce Community together and celebrate the differences that make each one of us unique, Hoshiar said.

While people usually assume diversity is just culture, English professor Maria Bates states that diversity also comes in age, sexual orientation, and gender.

“It is a coming together of different people in celebration of different ideas about diversity, not just culture,” Bates said.

Diversity Day is not only a festivity, but also an event that aims to educate students on what diversity really is, and the different meanings it has for individuals.

“Our objective is to showcase diversity at Pierce while educating attendees of the benefits of diversity,” said Hoshiar.

This is the second year the PDC is celebrating this day. Last year it took place in the Rocky Young Park, but this time it will be in the Great Hall.

“We are trying to find a way to celebrate and commemorate this special day in some kind of exciting fashion for the students,” said Bates.

On the day of the event there will be free food, dances, an open mic and tables gathered around the Great Hall, with each one of them representing a unique side of diversity, according to Hoshiar.

“We are going to set up a label table where people can go and take a label that shows [for example] ‘I am a woman,’” said Hoshiar. “We are going to attach the label on ourselves and show how different we are. Everyone is going to have minimum one label.”

The activities will range from cultural performances to open mics, according Bates.

“There is some open mic component to it, but there is also an exercise that is going to be done to demonstrate what the kinds of diversity are,” said Valada.

Different clubs on campus will be doing performances, and are also invited to speak about different subjects involving diversity, said Bates.

“We are getting clubs to perform. They will mostly be doing cultural performances, but we are also inviting them to speak of subjects that they feel could help other people,” said Bates. “We have some people involved who will be speaking about gender, specially sexual orientation.”

This day is about embracing diversity, Valada said.

“It’s going to be an educational day for students,” said Hoshiar. “Hopefully students can take something nice from that session and they can walk away with a different perspective.”

AGS, the academic honor society and service organization for California community colleges, hosts the convention every spring. The scholarships are awarded to students who excel in academics and/or community service, according to a press release provided to the Roundup News.

The Ed Walsh Award was given to student Krishna Lou Ayungao, who was recognized for her outstanding services to her college, her chapter and her local community.

The Robert Mantovani scholarship, on the other hand, was given to Zohal Ghulam-jelani, vice president of the Pi Chapter of AGS. This prestigious award is reserved for those who show combined academic and service achievements.

This year’s convention, held at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, had 545 attendees and represented 43 college chapters. A total of 49 student members of AGS were awarded scholarships totaling $36,500.

According to the Pierce College AGS website, applicants for the scholarship must meet a minimum GPA of 3.75, be a current member of AGS and be enrolled in classes at the community college for the entire 2012 to 2013 academic year.

For more information, visit http://pierceags.webs.com/scholarships.htm.

The two-day Open Study Hall event began 11 a.m. and ended 8 p.m. and included helpful studying workshops, 10-minute exercise breaks hosted throughout the event, and snacks.

Tables were spread out with students working on assignments and studying.

One of the students in attendance, civil engineering major Stephanie Morales, said she preferred the Open Study Hall to her usual setting.

“I usually go to the library,” Morales said. “At the library, you have to be quiet. Here, you can have study groups.”

Mayra Neri, a California State University, Northridge student and intern for Pierce’s Center for Academic Success helped coordinate the event and also took part as a Spanish tutor.

In conjunction with the Associated Students Organization (ASO) and honor society Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) at Pierce College, Neri started the first Open Study Hall in the fall 2012 semester as a part of Pierce’s Mentor-Mentee program.

“Because we started around that midterm time, that finals time, we had decided with faculty and the other administrators and other interns that this is a good opportunity to give to open up the Great Hall for students, have them come in and give them snacks, cookies, and coffee,” said Neri.

Open Study Hall served as an opportunity for students to not only ask questions about homework, but about college applications, transferring, and other available mentoring programs, too.

“It’s more than tutoring,” Neri said. “It’s having that professional guidance and help that students need.”

AGS president Afsatu Metzger recounted her experience with Open Study Hall that her club helped assemble as a positive experience for students.

“I stopped by at this year’s Open Study Hall. It’s good. From what I can see, people are there studying,” Metzger said.

Open Study Hall will start again in Great Hall during finals, from May 27th through the 30th from 2 to 8 p.m.

For more information on Open Study Hall and related events, visit “Pierce Mentor” on Facebook.

Increasing numbers of students from foreign cultures help make Pierce College an ethnically-vibrant campus, matching a 20-year trend in other community colleges across the state.

One such Pierce student is Shelly Ann Jagroop, a 22-year-old psychology major from Chaguanas, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jagroop recalls her childhood in Trinidad flying kites, playing hide-and-seek, fishing with cousins and schoolmates and eating mangoes, guavas, coconuts and tangerines.

“One of my favorite childhood memories has to be playing in my grandfather’s huge garden with all my cousins,” she said. “It was more like a mini jungle and we would climb every tree, play games and eat all the fruits.”

Jagroop is a middle child flanked by brothers eight years her junior and senior. Her elder half-brother immigrated to the United States and then helped the family follow sooner than they expected.

“There were certain gangs and people that targeted my father because we owned businesses,” Jagroop said. “Threats to kidnap my brother and I were made, [and] there were bombs thrown at our house.”

So right after graduating high school at 18 years old, Jagroop and her family moved to the U.S. to begin a new life. She currently lives in Santa Clarita with her father, mother and younger brother.

Jagroop notes there are big differences between the community of her small island country and the vastness of the United States.

“In Trinidad not only are you familiar with most places, but also with most people, and in the U.S. it’s very big and there is so much diversity,” she said.

While looking for schools, Jagroop’s sister in-law, a Southern Calif. native, told her that she should consider Pierce.

The International Student Admission actively seeks to add to the enrollment number of international students like Jagroop. There are currently 157 international students at Pierce, according to Abigail Sandico, director of the ISA.

The ISA gives prospective international students some reasons to attend Pierce, such as a high transfer rate to universities within the state, campus safety, a glamorous location and pleasant weather, according to their website materials.

Jagroop said she “felt very safe, even after night classes” on campus and agrees that the standard of education at Pierce is “very high.” However, she does note that current class sizes are big but that instructors are handling things well.

Jagroop said that it’s difficult for her to connect with some people in the U.S. and although she is not a member of the International Students Club, she gets why such clubs are important.

“My biggest struggle has to be repeating myself to people, because not a lot of people understand my accent at first,” she said.

The ISC has roughly 40 active members of the group this semester ,while their website notes more than 125 members and thousands who successfully achieved their goals, according to Kameni Ngahdeu, the current president of ISC.

“I think Pierce satisfies the needs of international students,” Jagroop said “Through clubs and events they have a chance to socialize and have found an identity.”

Nelson Funes, a domestic student taking a political science class at Pierce, sees the camaraderie firsthand.

“About 90 percent of my class is international students,” he said. “They talk a lot between themselves.”

Even though Pierce works with many Calif. universities, Jagroop will transfer across the country to Regent University in Virginia when she finishes her education here.

“It’s a Christian university and I would actually like to get into ministry,” Jagroop said.

After three years of community college Jagroop is looking forward to her transfer but muses her time at Pierce.

“What I will take from my experience is definitely my academic success but also the faculty, counselors, and students who have helped my throughout,” Jagroop said. “Pierce definitely made me focus and has reignited my passion for learning and pursuing my goals.”

These written starch-like quotes reflect nothing of her relaxed and rhythmic cool Caribbean drawl. Despite some jarring experiences, Jagroop is a proud delegate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Trinidad and Tobago’s culture is very big, rich and diverse. It will blow your mind,” she said. “From the beaches to the people and our world-renowned Carnival celebration, the fun will never end.”

[End of Revision]

Increasing numbers of students from foreign cultures help make Pierce College an ethnically-vibrant campus, matching a 20-year trend in other community colleges across the state.

One such Pierce student is Shelly Ann Jagroop, a 22-year-old psychology major from Chaguanas, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jagroop recalls her childhood in Trinidad flying kites, playing hide-and-seek, fishing with cousins and schoolmates and eating mangoes, guavas, coconuts and tangerines.

“One of my favorite childhood memories has to be playing in my grandfather’s huge garden with all my cousins,” she said. “It was more like a mini jungle and we would climb every tree, play games and eat all the fruits.”

Jagroop is a middle child flanked by brothers eight years her junior and senior. Her elder half-brother immigrated to the United States and then helped the family follow sooner than they expected.

“There were certain gangs and people that targeted my father because we owned businesses,” Jagroop said. “Threats to kidnap my brother and I were made, [and] there were bombs thrown at our house.”

So right after graduating high school at 18 years old, Jagroop and her family moved to the U.S. to begin a new life. She currently lives in Santa Clarita with her father, mother and younger brother.

Jagroop notes there are big differences between the community of her small island country and the vastness of the United States.

“In Trinidad not only are you familiar with most places, but also with most people, and in the U.S. it’s very big and there is so much diversity,” she said.

While looking for schools, Jagroop’s sister in-law, a Southern Calif. native, told her that she should consider Pierce.

The International Student Admission actively seeks to add to the enrollment number of international students like Jagroop. There are currently 157 international students at Pierce, according to Abigail Sandico, director of the ISA.

The ISA gives prospective international students some reasons to attend Pierce, such as a high transfer rate to universities within the state, campus safety, a glamorous location and pleasant weather, according to their website materials.

Jagroop said she “felt very safe, even after night classes” on campus and agrees that the standard of education at Pierce is “very high.” However, she does note that current class sizes are big but that instructors are handling things well.

Jagroop said that it’s difficult for her to connect with some people in the U.S. and although she is not a member of the International Students Club, she gets why such clubs are important.

“My biggest struggle has to be repeating myself to people, because not a lot of people understand my accent at first,” she said.

The ISC has roughly 40 active members of the group this semester ,while their website notes more than 125 members and thousands who successfully achieved their goals, according to Kameni Ngahdeu, the current president of ISC.

“I think Pierce satisfies the needs of international students,” Jagroop said “Through clubs and events they have a chance to socialize and have found an identity.”

Nelson Funes, a domestic student taking a political science class at Pierce, sees the camaraderie firsthand.

“About 90 percent of my class is international students,” he said. “They talk a lot between themselves.”

Even though Pierce works with many Calif. universities, Jagroop will transfer across the country to Regent University in Virginia when she finishes her education here.

“It’s a Christian university and I would actually like to get into ministry,” Jagroop said.

After three years of community college Jagroop is looking forward to her transfer but muses her time at Pierce.

“What I will take from my experience is definitely my academic success but also the faculty, counselors, and students who have helped my throughout,” Jagroop said. “Pierce definitely made me focus and has reignited my passion for learning and pursuing my goals.”

These written starch-like quotes reflect nothing of her relaxed and rhythmic cool Caribbean drawl. Despite some jarring experiences, Jagroop is a proud delegate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Trinidad and Tobago’s culture is very big, rich and diverse. It will blow your mind,” she said. “From the beaches to the people and our world-renowned Carnival celebration, the fun will never end.”

### END OF UPDATE ###

International Student Admissions office, L.A.P.C. – http://www.piercecollege.edu/offices/international_students/index.asp

International Students Club – http://www.lapierceisc.com/

Hundreds of current international students, with and without F-1 visas, tie Pierce College to a 20 year statewide trend of growing ethnic diversity in California community colleges.

One international student, not on an F-1 visa, is Shelly Ann Jagroop, a 22-year-old psychology major from Chaguanas, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jagroop moved to the United States at the age of 18, where she  currently lives in Santa Clarita with her father, mother and younger brother.

“I came to Pierce College after graduating from high school [2008] in Trinidad,” she said.

Jagroop’s sister in-law, a Southern California native, suggested Pierce to her, saying it is a top community college.

Pierce boasts one of the best transfer rates of community colleges in California with destination universities like UCLA, USC and Pepperdine, according to the International Student Association Office.

However, Jagroop will transfer across the country to Regent University in Virginia when she finishes at Pierce.

“It’s a Christian university and I would actually like to get into ministry,” Jagroop said.

A list of top ten reasons to attend Pierce College from the ISA homepage includes

• High transfer rates within California
• Established relationships with major universities
• Depth an breadth of educational programs
• Campus safety, glamorous location and pleasant weather

Jagroop said she “felt very safe, even after night classes” on campus and agrees that the standard of education at Pierce is “very high.”  However, she does note that current class sizes are big but that instructors are handling things well.

The International Students Club at Pierce has roughly 40 active members of the group this semester while their website notes more than 125 members and thousands who successfully achieved their goals, according to Kameni Ngahdeu, the current president of ISC.

“I think Pierce satisfies the needs of international students,” Jagroop said “Through clubs and events they have a chance to socialize and have found an identity.”

Nelson Funes, a domestic student taking a political science class at Pierce, sees the camaraderie firsthand.

“About 90 percent of my class is international students,” he said. “They talk a lot between themselves.”

After three years of community college, Jagroop is looking forward to her transfer but muses her time at Pierce.

“What I will take from my experience is definitely my academic success but also the faculty, counselors, and students who have helped my throughout,” Jagroop said.  “Pierce definitely made me focus and has reignited my passion for learning and pursuing my goals.”

These written starch-like quotes reflect nothing of her in-person relaxed and rhythmic cool Caribbean drawl.  Jagroop is a proud delegate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Trinidad and Tobago’s culture is very big, rich and diverse.  It will blow your mind,” she said.  “From the beaches to the people and … our world-renowned Carnival celebration, the fun will never end.”

Links:

International Student Admissions office http://www.piercecollege.edu/offices/international_students/index.asp

International Students Club http://www.lapierceisc.com/