Fast Track Newsletter
May 2001
Greetings to All Fast Track Students!
by Dena Taylor, Program Manager
A big welcome to all new
and returning students in the
Fast Track program! As you
work your way through the
construction and confusion this
semester, just remember that
Fast Track and all other student
services are here to make your
time at Cabrillo as pleasant and
as meaningful as possible.
As many of you know, Fast
Track offers personal counseling
by Debbie Breen and job-search
counseling by Renee DeMar.
A nd o ur t w o a c a de m ic
counselors, Shelly Skye and
Claire Rubach, will help you
with your educational plans. Our
Human Resources Agency
worker, Elva Reza, is here to
provide HRA services and
answer your questions about
CalWORKs eligibility. We are
also proud to have Catherine
Lachance on board as the
Services Coordinator.
When you walk into our
front office in room 802, you’ll
be greeted by Alicia Hernandez,
Susan Cas tellano, Angie
Mendez, Stephanie Garcia, or
Dora Anaya — all of whom are
ready to help you! Se habla
español tambien.
And we now have the
RAMP Project, coordinated by
Paul Beisser and assisted by
Susan Castellano, to provide
services after you leave Cabrillo
College. See Paul’s article in this
newsletter.
We are very excited that
our program and Cabrillo have
been chosen as one of six
programs in the country to be
studied by the Manpower
Demonstration Research
Corporation from New York to
see how successful we are at
recruiting and keeping low
income students.
We have also collaborated
once again with the Cabrillo
Children’s Center to provide
summer childcare for
CalWORKs students’ children.
Our immediate goal here at
Fast Track is to provide
friendly, helpful service to our
students. This includes help with
registration, academic and
personal counseling, access to
HRA workers, jobs on and off
campus, preparation for getting,
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keeping and advancing in a job,
and money for childcare. Our
long-term goal is to help our
students into jobs and careers
that pay family supporting
wages. We’re here for you, and
we welcome your comments and
suggestions.
We have many upcoming
events, contests, and workshops
planned. Look for them here or
stop by our office. We’re in room
802, open 8-5 Monday through
Friday. Our phone number is
479-6344. We look forward to
seeing you!
Come celebrate with us
on June 2 from 11-3 pm
at the Cabrillo
Amphitheater for our
graduation and picnic!
There will be games for
the kids, prizes for the
grown-ups, and food for
everyone! Call 479-6344
Fast Track needs a new
logo. Submit entries to room
802 by June 18 for a chance
to win prizes. Call 479-6344
for more info or stop by the
office. Good luck!
EOP&S/CARE
Program Update
by Annie
Lechtenberg
Congratulations to all of our
gr a dua te s a n d s c hola r s h ip
recipients! We will be honoring
those of you that have completed
certificates, transfer requirements,
AA, and AS degrees. Come
celebrate at our annual end of the
year BBQ/Picnic. All EOPS/
CARE students are invited.
Remember the date: Friday, May
25th at noon at the Football
Field. Celebrate with us the
completion of yet another semester
of hard work and dedication. You
certainly deserve some fun after all
the hours that you have spent
juggling hours of study time,
homework, class time, labs and, for
many of you, work. Bring your kids
and kick it with us for the
afternoon. Let us entertain you
with: ee
live music, games,
poetry reading, and a raffle with
cool prizes! We hope to see you
there!
As many of you are aware the
end of the semester is “Grant
Time” which means $$ for those
of you that have completed all of
your program requirements.
Please come to the office in room
907 to check your file and to be
sure that all your childcare and
workshop verifications are in
your file for the Spring 2001
semester. CARE grants will not
be recommended if your file is
incomplete. Without your
progress report, your EOPS
grant may not be recommended.
Grants will be mailed. Check
your file - don’t miss out. If you
haven’t applied for the EOPS/
CARE program come to room
907 fill out an application. If
you are determined eligible you
too can reap the benefits of our
programs such as: priority
registration, application
assistance, use of our computer
lab, ongoing support from
academic counselors and peer
a dvis or s , fie ld trips to
universities, free tutorials and
a c a de mic s ur viva l s kills
workshops. The CARE program
sponsors presentations by
college and community resource
programs such as: the Santa
Cruz County Family Law
Facilitator (free family law
assistance), Stress Reduction and
Crisis Intervention, CalWORKs
time clock understanding and
management, Santa Cruz Family
Loan Program, subsidized
housing assistance information,
and ongoing Low Income
Resource Advocacy Group
sessions that meet in room 833
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at 2:30 every other week
where college and community
advocates share information
and resources. Every one is
welcome to attend and share
your story. The EOPS/CARE
office will be open throughout
Counselors’
Corner
by Claire Rubach
and Shelly Skye
Is this a busy world or
what? It can seem virtually
impossible to try to fit one more
thing into our already packed
schedules. However, believe it or
not, you may actually save
yourself some sorely needed
time and energy by making and
appointment (yes, I said another
appointment!) with one of the
academic counselors at our Fast
Track To Work office. We can
assist you in a variety of areas
such as career explorations,
updating you about new changes
to your major or certificate
program, transfer questions,
financial aid/scholarships and
any other ways we can be of
help. Plus, we are just a couple
of fun time counselors! Come by
Beyond Graduation
by Paul Beisser
When you complete your
educational objective at Cabrillo
College and enter your chosen
career, we at Fast Track To
Work want to continue to assist
you. Our success is measured by
the continued success of each
participant. We have created the
RAMP Project to provide
additional assistance to former
FTTW participants by
providing information and
services. You will be contacted
at the completion of your
program to discuss services we
can provide to enhance your
ability to increase your earning
potential and advancement in
your chosen career.
As Project Coordinator for
RAMP, I would like to take this
time to introduce myself. I’m
Paul Beisser, a single parent of a
great son and have lived in the
Santa Cruz area for the past ten
years. I came through the Fast
Track To Work program at
Cabrillo College myself and
understand first hand many of
the obstacles faced by many of
you to balance family, school,
and work. I look forward to
helping each of you succeed as
you embark on your new career.
Feel free to contact me at the
Fast Track To Work office,
(831) 477-5627, e-mail:
pabeisse@cabrillo.cc.ca.us.
From the
Job Quest Corner
by Renee DeMar
Are you ready to go out and
get that job of your dreams?
If your answer to that
question is no...We strongly
encourage you to enroll in the
JOB SEARCH Readiness
Summer Institute 2001.
This fun and interactive
course gives you the tools and
techniques to take specific field
expertise and target the
employer you would most like to
work for. The techniques in
getting a good job have changed
dramatically in the last few
years. Santa Cruz County
demands that you market
yourself effectively to rise above
the competition. The Summer
Institute gives you all the skills
you need in identifying what
type of job in your field to go
into, how to choose the best
employer-fit for your work style
and how to successfully get that
job. Topics such as Negotiating
Techniques will teach you how
to get more money, BehaviorBased Interviewing Techniques
will allow you to answer the
3
most stressful interview
questions, and Creating a
Portfolio to help articulate your
talent scan open up endless
opportunities. Here at Fast
Track To Work we would like
all students to have the best
chance of connecting with the
job of their dreams. This is one
of the ways in which you can
easily do that for yourself. If you
have any questions about this
course (CG 190C, section
#17987), please don’t hesitate in
coming into the FTTW office.
We would love the opportunity
to interact with you. By the way,
class starts on June 18. See you
Hello!
by Catherine
Lachance
Hi, all Fast Track students!
I just want to say how
much I have enjoyed
working with you over the
past year. It has been really
great, and I am looking
forward to continuing to
see you. I would like to
meet with each of you to go
over your plans and discuss
any services you may need
to make your Cabrillo
experience as successful as
possible. Please call the
front desk (479-6344) to
schedule an appointment to
Fast Track to Work
Cabrillo College
6500 Soquel Drive
Aptos CA 95003
A New Name for
Fast Track?
by Dena Taylor
What’s in a name? Well, quite
a bit, as we all know. We choose
names carefully when it comes to
our children, our pets, our favorite
things. And names of programs are
also important. So we’re thinking
that maybe “Fast Track to Work”
doesn’t get the message across of
what this office is all about. We
want all students, faculty, and staff
at Cabrillo - and in fact the
community at large - to understand
that this program is open to all of
them and that our focus is on work
readiness, job retention, and career
advancement.
So give us your ideas!
Whoever comes up with the
winning name will win a prize.
Bring your entry or entries to room
802 by June 30.
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 6
Important Dates
May 18-August 29: Hawktalk
Registration
May 25: EOPS/CARE Student
Recognition Day
May 28: Memorial Day
Holiday
June 18: Summer 2001 session
begins
June 18-19 & July 16-17:
In-Person Late Registration
for Summer 2001
May 29-June 2: Final Exams
August 27: SLV Registration 4-7p.m.
June 1: Cabrillo College
Graduation Ceremony
September 3: Labor Day
Holiday
June 2: FTTW
Graduation and
Picnic: 11am-3pm at
the Amphitheater
September 4: Fall Semester
begins
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