Taft College
November 2012
EOPS STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Nancy Gipson
Nancy Gipson has been an EOPS
Student since Fall 2011. She was
accepted into the CARE program
the same semester.
Inside this issue:
* EOPS Students of the Month
*Bernard Osher Scholarship
Recipients
*EOPS/TRIO Students go to
Washington D.C.
*Former EOPS Student Success
Story
*CSUB EOP Director talks to
TC Students
*Important Information and
Announcements
Iam“Mom”tomysixyearoldson,
buttomyfamilyIam“Pinta”,or
“Pantalones,”toeveryoneelseIam,
NancyGipson.Recently,Ibecamea
singlemomduetodomesticviolence,
endingasixyearmarriage.Theselast
twoyearshavebeenthemostdif icult
formyfamilyandI,yetalsothemost
hopeful.MysonandIhaveendureda
majoradjustmentmovingtoTaftfrom
SanDiego;butwecontinuetofallin
lovewiththekind,helpful,and
peacefulpeoplethatresidehere.I
startedTaftCollegeinOctoberof2010,
fourmonthsaftermysonandI
underwentintensetherapytorecover
fromtheordeal.Iwillbegraduatingin
thespringof2013withanASdegree
inAdministrativeServices.Iamnotthe
irsttoreceiveacollegeeducation
withinmyimmediatelyfamily,butI
willbethe irsttocompleteadegree.
Additionally,IhavebeenontheVice
President’slistthe irstsemesterand
haveremainedinthePresident’slist
sincethen.Iwillbespecializingin
PhlebotomyandIplantoreturntothe
medicalsettingwhereIhavemostof
myworkexperience.
WiththisopportunityIwould
liketoexpressmygratitudetomy
counselors,suchasNancyArtigafor
holdingmyhandasIstartedhere,to
JuanaEscobedoforlendingmean
empatheticearwhenIneededitmost,
toCandaceforher lexibleavailability
throughthesetwoyearsand
knowledgeableguidance,andalsoto
thecaringEOPSstaff.Also,Iwouldlike
tothankthefriendsIhavemade,
particularlyinthecafeteriathathelped
methroughmydif icultemotional
journeyatthattime.Finally,Iam
gratefulforthelovingsupport,inevery
senseoftheword,tomyfamilyas
withoutthemIwouldnothavebeen
abletoreachmygoal.Lastbutnot
least,myLil’guy’sforgoing
understandingofwhen“Mom”hadto
doherhomeworktoo,deservesmajor
recognition.
‐NancyGipson
EOPS STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Tonya Pantalion
I am so excited to be chosen as
EOPS student of the month. I would
like to thank everyone who works
with EOPS, without your support
and guidance I would not be able to
accomplish my goal of completing
my degree.
Tonya Pantalion is a recipient of the
2012‐2013 Bernard Osher
Scholarship.
With the support from EOPS I have
been able to overcome many barriers
that most students face trying to
navigate college for the first time.
Not only am I a full time student, I
am also a mother of three, and a
student worker. The decision to
I currently hold a 3.875 GPA and I return to school has been difficult.
There are many challenges that we
am also the president of Phi Theta
Kappa. My major is nursing with an face being full-time students, but the
emphasis in emergency and trauma. rewards outweigh the sacrifices and
with the support from EOPS I know
I hope to complete my units and
graduate in the spring and transfer to that I will be successful. Thank you
CSUB’s nursing program in the fall so much!
to obtain my bachelor’s degree in
-Tonya Pantalion
nursing.
TheBernardOsherScholarship
In May, 2008, the Bernard Osher Endowment to the California Community College System was
established-the largest community philanthropic program in the nation’s history. Mr. Osher, in his
philanthropic generosity, provided the lead funding of $25 million to create the California
Community Scholarship Endowment bearing his name.
Based on full time enrollment numbers, each of the 110 colleges with the system was given a
matching target per capita dollar amount that had to be raised by June, 2011. Upon completion of
this fundraising amount, each college thereby instituted and created a scholarship program that would
exist in perpetuity.
Mr. Osher requested that the program beneficiaries be second year students only, with the intended
outcome of encouraging students to complete their AA degree fields of study, a technical training
program of study, or matriculation to a four year college or university.
BERNARD OSHER SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Yesenia Ayala
MynameisYeseniaL.Ayala.I
wasborninHouston,Texasandwas
raisedinTaft,IgraduatedfromTaft
UnionHighschoolandcompletedthe
OilTechnologyAcademy.TaftCollege
hashelpedme indmycareer:to
becomeanEarlyChildhoodEducator.
Mymother,asingleparent,hastriedher
besttomakesurethatIgetwhatIneed
tosucceedincollegeevenwhenitis
dif icult.Also,mycousinJohnnyandmy
Aunthavehelpedmeallmylife,ifit
weren’tforthemIwouldbelost.Itis
sometimesdif icultbeingafulltime
student,havingtwopart‐timejobs,and
takingcareofmyyoungersiblings.With
everyone’ssupportIhavebecomewhoI
amtodayandIamverythankfulforthat.
Juana Espinoza
MynameisJuanaEspinoza.Iwas
borninMexicoCity,Mexico.Icametothe
stateswhenIwasseventeenyearsold.My
parentsareimmigrants,whohaveworked
inthe ieldssincetheyarrivedtotheU.S.A.
Eventhoughmyparentsdidnothavea
formaleducation,theywantedtheir
childrentoattendschoolinordertohave
abetterfuture.IattendedArvinHighand
graduatedin2002.Aftereightyears,I
decidedtogobacktoschoolin2010.Iam
currentlyenrolledatTaftCollegemajoring
inCriminalJustice,andminoringinSocial
Sciences.Beinga irstgenerationstudent,
Iamdeterminedtoworkharderto
accomplishmydreamofobtainingmy
AssociateDegreeinCriminalJustice.
ThisismythirdyearatTaft
Collegeandsofarhaveparticipatedin
TaftCollegehasbeenagreat
EOPS,PTK,andTRIO.Ihavebeenonthe
help inanciallywithprogramssuchas
PresidentandVice‐President’slistsince
EOPSandFinancialAid.Iamcurrentlya
my irstsemesteratTaftCollege.Iam
studentworkerattheEOPS
motivatedtocontinuewithhigher
department.IamanActivities
educationbytransferringtoafouryear
CoordinatorforASBandthePresidentof
university.Attendingcollegehasbeena
ECEClub.Inthefallof2013,Iam
realchallengeformebecauseIdonot
consideringtransferringtoCSUB.I
havethe inancialsupportrequiredto
wouldlovetobeanelementaryteacher
accomplishmyeducationalgoal.Bybeing
orasupervisorforachildcareprovider.
awardedthisscholarship,Iwillbeableto
Thisscholarshipwillhelpmeto
pursuemycareerinCriminalJustice
continuetoachievethegoalsthatIwish
whereIwillbeabletohelppeopleinmy
toaccomplishinmylifeandbene itme
community.
greatly.
Luis Lopez
MynameisLuisLopez.Icome
fromahumble,immigrantfamily.I
havemyfathertothankforwhereIam
now.Myparentsworkinthe ieldsand
Igrewupworkingwiththem.They
neverattendedschool.Iamtheonly
childinafamilyofeightchildren
attendingschool.Myfavoritesubjectis
mathematics.I'mstudyingtobeamath
teacher.Ireturnedtoschoolfouryears
aftergraduatingfromhighschool.I
decidedtoreturntoschoolbecauseI
wanttobesomeoneinlifeandnot
workinthe ieldslikemyfamily.Ialso
wanttohelpmyyoungersiblings
understandhowimportanteducation
is.
Iwillgraduateinspring2013
andtransfertoCSUBinthefall.My irst
languageisanindigenousdialectcalled
Mixteco,soIhadtolearnSpanishand
Englishasasecondaryandthird
language.Ihaveovercomeandlearned
alotinthepastyears.Manystudents
makeit,andIknewIcoulddoittoo,it
justrequirestimeanddedication.My
specialthankstotheEOPS/CARE
programwhohaveguidedmethrough
eachstepIneededtostayontrack.We
allfacemanyobstacles,buteverything
ispossible.
(Sisepuede).
EOPS/TRIO STUDENTS GO TO WASHINGTON D.C.
NancyLandreth
RaulRomoJuanaRangel‐Escobedo
LeadershipdevelopmentinHigherEducationwasthecentralfocusofthisyear’sHispanic
AssociationofCollegesandUniversities(HACU)conference,andTaftCollegesupportedthis
visionbysendingNancyLandrethandRaulRomotoWashingtonDCasourstudentambassadors.
HACUisanon‐pro itorganizationwhosemissionistopromotethesuccessofHispanicsinhigher
education.HACU’sAnnualConferenceprovidesauniqueforumforthesharingofinformationand
ideasforthebestpracticesintheeducationofHispanics.
TheconferenceStudentTrack,encouragestopundergraduatestudentsfromcollegesand
universitiesthroughouttheU.S.tobecomeactivelyinvolvedininternships,studyabroad
programs,andcommunityserviceasapartoftheundergraduateexperience.
ForNancy,theconferencechallengedhertoraisethebar.Herpriorgoalwastocompleteher
Associatedegreeandgetoutintheworkforce.Shesharesthatthisconferenceempoweredand
remindedheroftheimportanceofhighereducationandthat“weshouldneverlimitourselves
whenitcomestoeducationandthethingswetrulydesireinlife”.
AhighlightforRaulwasthathehadtheopportunitytotalktocollegefacultyfrommany
universitiessuchastheCSU’s,HarvardandColumbia.Heisexcitedaboutsharingwhathe
learnedfromtheconferencewithhispeers.
Ofcourseweincorporatedalittlefunduringourtrip.ForRaul,thefactthatHACUallowedhimto
gettoknowtheamazingcityofWashington,DCwasaninvaluableopportunity,speci ically
visitingtheCapitalandtheWhiteHousewiththebuzzoftheupcomingelections.Hesharesthat
“thenationalisticspiritmotivatedhimtokeepexcelingandpursuinghiscareergoals.”
JuanaRangel‐Escobedo
TrioDirector,Veteran’sCounselor
FORMER EOPS STUDENT SUCCESS STORY
Gracie Mickelberry
GracieMickelberrywasaTC
EOPSstudentfromFall
2001untilthetimeshe
graduatedinSpring2004.
“Iencourageallof
youtonevergive
up,butmost
importantlyto
believeinyourself.“
Hi,mynameisGracie
currently,workatTaftCollegeas
Mickelberryandasaformer
aBilingualAcademicAdvisor,but
EOPSstudent,itismyhonorto myultimategoalistobecomea
contributetotheNovember
schoolcounselor.WhenI irst
2012EOPSNewsletter.During
startedTaftCollegeIwas
mytimeatTaftCollege,theEOPS undecidedonwhichcareerpath
departmenthelpedme
totake,butworkingasastudent
tremendouslyandwastrulyan workerintheCounselingCenter
importantpartofmysuccessful Ilearnedthatbecominga
academiccareer.Throughtheir counselorwastheperfect
assistanceandsupportIwasable professionforme.AlthoughIam
toattendcollegeandobtainan currentlynotacounselor,being
AssociatesofArtsinLiberalArts. anAcademicAdvisorhas
IthentransferredtoCSUB,
de initelypreparedmefora
whereIlaterreceiveda
counselingrole.Inaddition,Ifeel
Bachelor’sofArtsinSociology
thatasanAcademicAdvisorI
andminorinPsychology.After havehadtheopportunityto
graduatingfromCSUB,I
assiststudentsandguidethem
transferredtotheUniversityof throughtheircareerpaths,which
LaVerneandinMarch2012,I
issomethingItrulyenjoy.
graduatedwithaMaster’sof
Thishasbeenalongroad,but
ScienceinEducational
wellworthit.Ithankmy
Counseling.
husbandandallthestaff
Iammarriedtoawonderful
manwhoisverysupportive,but
mostimportantlybelievesinme.
Hehasbeenmymotivatorand
mentorthroughoutmyentire
collegeyears.Wehaveatwoyear
oldsonwhoweadore.For
vacationweliketogotoLaguna
Beachandduringourfreetime
weliketowatchNet lix.I
membersintheEOPSof icefor
providingmetheresources
availabletoguidemethroughmy
educationandtohavegivenme
thecon idencetosucceed.This
hasde initelybeenanaspiration
inmylifethatIneverthoughtI
wouldaccomplish.Iencourage
allofyoutonevergiveup,but
mostimportantlytobelievein
yourself.
CSUB EOP DIRECTOR TALKS TO TC STUDENTS
OnOctober17th,CSUBEOPdirectorRockyMaraccini
gaveatalktoEOPStransferstudentsabouttheEOP
programatCalStateandallithastoofferthem.Healso
discussedthetransferrequirementsandthenextsteps
requiredafterstudentsareacceptedtoCSUB.
InformationabouttheEOPprogramcanbefoundbelow.
Purpose
Rocky Maraccini is
currently the EOP Director
at California State
University, Bakersfield
TheEducationalOpportunityProgramisdesignedtoimproveaccessandreten‐
tionofhistoricallylow‐incomeandeducationallydisadvantagedstudents.
Eligibility
 SubmitEOPApplicantInformationForm
 SubmitFASFAbytheMarch2nddeadline
 DemonstrateAcademicPotentialandMotivation
 BeaCaliforniaResident
 Meettheincomecriteria

Iftotalfamilyincomeexceedstheguidelines,youmaybeconsidered
onlyifyourExpectedFamilyContribution(EFC)doesnotexceed
$1,500
Services
 SummerBridgeAcademy
 AcademicAdvising
 Counseling
 EOPGrant
 WritingTutoring
 EOPComputerLab
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
ThanksgivingBasketsandChristmasTrees
EOPSissupportingtheASBCannedFoodDrive!PleasecomebytheEOPS
of icetodropoffyourcannedfood!
EOPS/CAREwouldliketogivespecialthankstoMyishaCutronaandtheASB
ClubforprovidingCAREstudentswith8Thanksgivingbasketsand3
Christmastrees.
EOPS/CAREPriorityRegistrationstartsNovember19th‐21st
ItistimetoregisterforSpring2013classes!!Studentsmayself‐register,make
anappointmenttoseeanEOPSCounselor/Advisor,ortheycanattendthe
EOPSPriorityRegistrationWorkshop(computerswillbeavailableinthe
CougarRoomonNovember19th).CalltheEOPSOf iceat763‐7723ifyou
haveanyquestionsorifyouneedtomakeanappointmenttoseeanEOPS
Counselor/Advisor.
November Birthdays
Graciela Dejulian
Claudia Garcia
Lauriesha Grovers
Carolina Lopez
Luis Lopez
Harpreet Moore
Anntone Morales
Tonya Pantalion
Dora Perez
Jose Rivera
Brenda Rodriquez
Jennifer Ryle
Victoria Worthy
EOPS/CARE Visit us at: EOPS/CARE website: www.ta college.edu/tcwp/eops/ EOPS/CARE Facebook: Eops Care Fall 2012 EOPS Counseling/Advising Contact Dates
1st EOPS Counseling Contact……………………………………………………Orienta on/EOPS Ed plan Workshop
2nd EOPS Counseling/Advising Contact………………………………...September 4th—November 15th
3rd EOPS Counseling/Advising Contact………………………………...November 19th—December 21st
Fall 2012 Ta College Academic Calendar
Veterans Day………………………………………………November 12th
Priority Registra on…………………………………….November 19th
Thanksgiving Day Observance…………………………………November 22nd—23rd
Final Exams…………………………………………………………...December 17th—21st
EOPS/CARE Staff
Lourdes Gonzalez
Coordinator/Counselor
(661) 763‐7830
lgonzalez@ta college.edu
Alex Castro
Secretary/ Advisor
(661) 763‐7723
acastro@ta college.edu
Chris Flachmann
Advisor
(661)763‐7858
cflachmann@ta college.edu