Grossmont College’s Welcome Back Center prepares foreign medical professionals for their U.S. licensing

                                          Gail Patterson


EL CAJON, California -- Foreign-trained doctors, nurses and medical technicians may help fill the gap between the number of health care professionals working in the United States today and the larger number expected to be needed when the federal Affordable Care Act goes into effect on January 1, 2014.

Welcome Back Centers at Grossmont College and eight other locations around the United States help to coordinate local efforts to prepare the foreign medical professionals for their American licensing examinations. 

As project manager of Grossmont College’s Welcome Back Center, Gail Patterson, PhD., counsels the health care professionals about what they will have to do in the United States to resume the careers that they had to give up when they immigrated here.

Almost before they do anything else, she said, many health care professionals need to improve their ability to communicate in English.  To do that, they can take courses in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) in which they learn English-language medical terminology.

Improved English skills also helps the medical professionals do better on the written examinations they must take to qualify for licenses here, Patterson noted in an interview.

The Welcome Back Center is a division of the Health Workforce Initiative (HWI) program of the California Community Colleges.  Ann Durham, based at Grossmont College, directs the HWI program in behalf of nine community colleges serving San Diego and Imperial Counties.

To train foreign-schooled nurses, the Welcome Back Center contracts with San Diego Kaiser-Permanente Hospital.  Patterson said that Kaiser-Permanente teaches the nursing courses through the Welcome Back Center that prepares foreign nurses to become credentialed in the U.S.  Additionally, she said Kaiser-Permanente directly hires about 30 percent of the graduates to work at its hospital and various clinics once the nurses pass the Board Examination and when Kaiser is hiring.

For doctors, the road back to their chosen profession is bumpier, Patterson said.   There is no formal training program to prepare them for the three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE) that they must pass in order to qualify to become a resident in an American hospital.  So the doctors study on their own, sometimes eight hours a day, every day, in order to prepare themselves.   Others, however, cannot devote that kind of time to study because they need to earn money in the meantime to support their families.

Although they are medically trained, foreign doctors find many doors closed to them , commented Dr. Mozhdeh Shamshiri, who was a doctor in the intensive care unit at the university-affiliated hospital in Shiraz, Iran, for ten years before immigrating to the United States in 2009.

She was unaware of the Welcome Back Center for several years after she came to the United States, but now, having learned about it,  is studying for the Step One examination that will assess her knowledge of anatomy, microbiology, and other sciences that form the basis of a career as a doctor.  Dr. Shamshiri has been in touch by email with 14 other similarly-situated foreign doctors, with whom she shares study information.

Shamshiri said she has contacted several local hospitals in an effort to gain permission for herself and other foreign doctors to shadow American doctors as they make their rounds, but so far has been unsuccessful.  Although some American doctors are willing, she said, there apparently are regulations that preclude this avenue of study for the foreign doctors.

Notwithstanding the anticipated need for more and more doctors in a relatively few months as “Obama Care” goes into effect, Shamshiri said many foreign doctors become discouraged by the length of the process and because of  the necessity, in the meanwhile, to earn a living, often in fields totally unrelated to medicine.

Iraqi-born Dr. Inas Abdulridha immigrated first to Morocco, and then to Libya, where she received her medical degree.  When civil war broke out in Libya, she left to Tunisia, where she worked for one year as a doctor in a regional hospital for the Red Crescent.   Then, she resettled in the United States, arriving in San Diego not quite five months ago. 

Dr. Abdulridha is one of the doctors who currently receives email updates and materials from Patterson and Dr. Shamshiri about the first phase of study for the medical license.  Unlike some other doctors, she has been able to remain involved in the medical field by serving as an on-call interpreter for Arabic-speaking patients at a clinic operated by UCSD in Mission Gorge.

“By chance I was interpreting for my mother there, and a doctor saw me, and he liked the way I was able to answer the questions for my mother, and said that there is a vacancy for an interpreter,” said Dr. Abdulridha.  “This is why I found the opportunity.”

There is an incentive for the American medical system to have bilingual doctors like Abdulridha who can speak the same native language as the patient and who also can be sensitive to cultural differences, Patterson noted. 

Patterson said Step 2 of USMLE  is a test of the foreign doctor’s clinical skills and knowledge.  Using actors (who often are students), the licensing agency will simulate situations to determine the foreign doctors’ diagnostic ability.

For example, said Patterson, “in one simulation there was a big guy who had muscle problems but was very combative.   In another, there was a shy immigrant woman who needed to be examined.  So the simulations helped determine both their clinical skills and knowledge.”

USMLE Step 3 is also very challenging. It puts a doctor in front of three television monitors, each showing a different venue where they might encounter a patient.  The situations on the screens develop quite quickly, and the doctor must decide what is happening and determine a prompt course of action.  On one of the screens, for example, a new patient on an office visit might be breathing shallowly and be having chest pains.  “There are multiple scenarios, and the doctor must be able to quickly know the best courses of action to take.”

Patterson recommends that doctors apply for their residencies before taking the USMLE Step 3. That is because once they have been accepted for residencies, the hospitals will want to protect their investments by providing time and study materials to help them pass the exam.  Studying on their own, on the other hand, can be quite expensive for the foreign-trained doctors.

One of the larger problems facing foreign-trained doctors – even those that pass their exams – is that there is a marked preference in American hospitals for U.S. trained doctors.  Patterson said approximately 98 percent of the doctors graduating U.S. medical schools are accepted for residencies, while only 40 percent of foreign trained doctors are accepted.

Patterson said she tries to prepare foreign-trained doctors for this fact of life by suggesting that they consider other careers in the medical field, for example as physician’s assistants, who under the law can perform many of the functions that once were reserved to doctors.

The third category of medical professionals helped by the Welcome Back Center are technicians of various sorts.  Patterson said she gives people in these fields career counseling, information on schools and education, and information on job placement agencies .

On the wall of Patterson’s office is a poster showing people arriving at Ellis Island, which once was the major New York City depot for immigrants from Europe.  She said that her grandparents on one side of her family were from Scotland, who initially immigrated to Canada, and later the United States.  On the other side of her family, she said, were Russian Jews, who actually did go through Ellis Island.

She said the brother of her grandfather kept a journal about his experiences coming to America, and at one point wrote that he hadn’t uprooted himself from Russia for himself but rather for the sake of his “children’s children” – in other words, for Patterson, herself.

If grandfather Beryl and his brother Mitchell hadn’t made the journey, Patterson would not have been born in the United States, and would not have had the opportunity to receive an American PhD and to get the kind of job she loves, Patterson said.

Helping new immigrants to this country, she added, is a way for her to repay all the kindnesses that America extended to her own forbearers.  - DHH-

###
 
Photo caption:  Dr. Gail Patterson in her Welcome Back Center office at Grossmont College

Grossmont College nursing students share pride in 'Stand Down' participation

Nursing students from Grossmont College participated in the annual Stand Down event at which homeless and needy veterans on July 12-14 were encouraged to receive free medical checkups, legal advice, job counseling and other services intended to help them transition back to civilian life. Two of those nursing students shared their impressions of the event:

By Heather Airy

Have you ever seen a veteran standing on the side of the road holding a sign asking for help and wished there was something more that you could do for them? I think many people feel compelled to help and yet dismayed that they can’t do more, or do something that could actually give more than just a meal or temporary fix. If we could just give them the boost they need to get out of their difficult situations and back on their feet. I’ve had thoughts such as: Will this really make a difference? Is this person safe to approach? Will they use this money to further any addictions they have and actually dig themselves deeper into the bad situation they are in? Well, volunteering for Stand Down is an excellent answer and solution to all these questions and concerns.

It was an honor to be part of the efforts to make a difference in the lives of our veterans. I worked in the medical tent where we saw patients for a wide variety of ailments.  Through the combined efforts of doctors and nurses, we were able to help people get lab tests and ultimately the medications they needed. Patients with complex medical issues were assisted in getting the medical care they needed beyond what was available at the event. While volunteering at Stand Down, I felt safe and was pleased to see the organization of skills and resources to provide the needed services which I am certain can and will make a difference.
At this event I was impressed with the positive and caring attitudes of individuals in a well organized group.  The sincere appreciation I received from the veterans was also meaningful. Stand Down is a well organized event and I am looking forward to being part of it next year.

*
By Michelle Antunez

In order to receive my volunteer credits for my first semester of nursing school, I decided to volunteer my time to serve our veterans during this annual 2013 Operation Stand Down. This was my very first time attending Operation Stand Down, and I believe it is such a great cause, and greatly helps our needy veterans. I found that most veterans were homeless, and needed much help since they cannot provide these resources for themselves. Operation Stand Down allows all veterans to receive help, as well as provide resources that veterans don’t have access to. My main goal at Operation Stand Down was to provide the best care and attention I could to our veterans who have done all they could to serve our country.

During my volunteering, I spent most of my time triaging patients, followed by taking them inside the hospital tent for further treatment. I spend several hours calling patients into the triage area, and asking them questions to find out the reason they needed to get checked by a physician. I also took the veterans’ vitals, which included their blood pressure, pulse, and temperature and asked for any previous medical history. After their initial assessment, I took patients back into the hospital tent and took them into a room for a nurse to do further assessing.

It had been several years since I had done vitals on patients, but being around our veterans, I felt very confident and comfortable getting back into the swing of taking vitals. During the time I volunteered, I was able to interact with many different patients, from alcohol withdrawal patients, to high blood pressure patients. I was able to learn a lot from other fellow volunteers and nurses. One thing I noticed during this event is how happy and positive all the volunteers were. The veterans were also very happy they were receiving help and I could tell that many were very grateful. It was a true honor and learning experience to volunteer at Operation Stand Down, and I look forward to volunteering in the years to come as a registered nurse.

(DHH)

Grossmont College class hears Holocaust survivors

                                         Max and Rose Schindler at Grossmont College


EL CAJON, California -- Holocaust survivors Max and Rose Schindler related to a group of incoming freshmen at Grossmont College on Monday, July 22, that after enduring such horrors as the death of family members, near starvation, and constant humiliation at the hands of the Nazis, they finally were liberated from separate Nazi concentration camps in 1945, when they were still younger than the students in their audience are today.

Now both in their 80s, the Schindlers were not yet 16 when Russian troops liberated the former Rose Schwartz of Seredne, Czechoslovakia, and Max Schindler of Cottbus, Germany.  Students in the Grossmont College audience, who had read Night by Elie Wiesel as part of their Summer Institute Program and will be traveling this week to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, crowded around the couple to see the numbered tattoo that Rose had received at Auschwitz and the KL  (for Konzentrationslager, or “Concentration Camp.”) that had been tattooed on Max’s arm.

Rose said that when the tattoo was administered to her, two people had to hold her down, because she fought so hard against it. She said it was very painful.

The students asked such questions as whether the Schindlers ever can forgive their German persecutors –“No,” responded Rose—or whether they had ever taken revenge.  Max said after he was sent in a youth transport to England, he one day saw some German prisoners being transported in a lorry by British soldiers.  He said he followed the truck and took satisfaction in yelling at the German prisoners.  But other than that, he said, no revenge.

Another student asked if, as victims of persecution, they had been particularly empathetic to the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s and 1960s.  Max responded that while they were aware what was going on—and knew that many fellow Jews were aiding African Americans in Freedom Rides and other actions – they themselves were too preoccupied with trying to rebuild their shattered families to personally participate.

The students asking the questions were either first generation Americans or the first in their economically disadvantaged families to attend college.  The Summer Institute Program is designed to orient such students to American college life and to give them a head start in their studies.

Rose had been able to tell in an unemotional voice of the indignities, hardships, and family losses that she had suffered but her voice quavered when she told of returning to Seredne after the Holocaust and finding jewelry her father had hidden away before the family had been taken prisoner by the Nazis.  The gold chain of her murdered father’s pocket watch was converted into a thin necklace, which she said, as she touched it, she has worn in his memory almost every day since.

Max had been forced to work at a factory in Dresden, and was there when the city was firebombed by the Allies.  From there he was herded on a winter “death march” to Theresienstadt In Czechoslovakia, under orders to keep moving or to be shot.

Because they were teenaged orphans, Max and Rose were given the opportunity to resettle in England under a program sponsored by British philanthropist Leonard Montefiore.  They met in England, and were married in 1950 with Montefiore walking Rose down the aisle.  A year later, the Schindlers immigrated to the United States, spending five years in New York City before moving onto San Diego, where he worked on General Dynamics space and defense programs. The couple, now living in the Del Cerro area of San Diego, have four grown children and nine grandchildren.

Noting that many of his contemporaries are dying, and that is only a matter of time before all Holocaust survivors have passed on, Max urged the students to remember their meeting with two Survivors and to recount what they heard and saw if anyone in the future should try to deny that the Holocaust had occurred.

In addition to the  students, some faculty members, staff and administrators of Grossmont College sat in on the talk, which was held in the Griffin Gate meeting room. --DHH

Some health tips for the summer

                                                   Tiffany Gans-Lewis demonstrates skin
                                                   care product in Griffin Center 



EL CAJON, California -- Here’s a true-or-false question from the Grossmont College campus.  If you have dark skin, you still need sun screen.

It’s true, says incoming nursing student Tiffany Gans-Lewis, who recently volunteered at Griffin Center to teach students about protecting their skin from the summer sun’s rays.

“It doesn’t matter what skin tone you are,” she said.  “Everyone needs to wear a minimum of at least 30 SPF (Sun Protection Factor.)  Although
people with fair skin tend to burn most easily, all skin tones are at risk.

“There are a couple of tips when you are applying sunscreen,” the nursing student told passersby at the student center.

“You want to apply it at least 15 minutes before you go out in the sun and you should reapply it two hours afterwards, because it does wear off.  And when you are applying it to your body, you should actually use the equivalent of a shot glass full of it on your skin, and at least a teaspoon of it on your face.”

Lewis, who holds a bachelor’s degree, has returned to student life after six years as a social worker in order to study in Grossmont College’s two-year
program to become a Registered Nurse.

She says that she wears sun screen all the time, not only on her face but on her “arms, ears, toes.”

“I am particularly concerned because my mom is a survivor of skin cancer, so that is why I volunteered to staff this table,” she said.  “For me, this is a subject close to home.  I have been protecting myself from the sun for years.  I have kids, and I put sun screen on my kids like crazy.  I lather
them up.  They are darker than I am and they go out of the house looking like ghosts. But people should protect their kids too because skin problems can start at a very early age.

Another myth about the sun, she said, “is people think that if they only go out in the sun for five minutes, they don’t need protection. But really they do
need it because the UV (ultraviolent) rays are so strong, they can damage skin within five minutes.”

Similarly, she said, people need to apply sun screen even on cloudy days.

At her information table, Gans-Lewis gave away packages with little towels inside that are suffused with sun Sunx30 screen lotion.  “They’re great,” she said, “because a guy can carry them in his pocket or a gal in her purse, and if you don’t have your bottle of sunscreen, you can just towel it on."

She noted that among the first 23 people who stopped at her table, only four had actually applied sun screen before going out that morning, and 19 had not used any.

Some of her other tips for staying healthy during the hot summer months included:

1.  Drink lots of water to make sure that you are hydrated.

2.  Stay in the shade

3.  Wear a hat

4.  Wear protective clothing like long sleeves and pants, even though it may be hot out.

5.  Wear sunglasses

6.  Keep food safe from spoiling by storing at the right temperatures (40 degrees F.)



--DHH--

Holocaust survivors to speak on campus Monday, July 22

Editors:  Holocaust survivors Rose and Max Schindler will address students, staff and faculty at Grossmont College at 11:30 a.m., Monday, July 22 in Griffin Gate, Building 60.

Incoming freshmen from immigrant and economically disadvantaged families get a head start on college in the Summer Institute Program (SIP).   {See http://www.grossmont.edu/eops/sip.asp}

This year, as part of that program, the students have been studying the Holocaust, reading Night by Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, and planning to make a class trip to Los Angeles to visit the Museum of Tolerance.

Holocaust Survivors Max and Rose Schindler of San Diego will address the class as part of this program.  Both Rose and Max were imprisoned as teenagers by the Nazis and survived the ghettos and concentration camps.   Max was sent to the ghetto of Theresienstadt, and Rose is a survivor of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. 

The couple met in England after the war, when they were both 16, and were married several years later, eventually immigrating to the United States.

Reporters are welcome to cover what promises to be a moving presentation.  To arrange for campus parking, please contact Donald H. Harrison, acting director of college and community relations, at (619) 644-7840, or via email, donald.harrison@gcccd.edu. 

Sheriff’s deputies train at Grossmont College for emergency situations

EL CAJON -- Squads of sheriff’s deputies and sworn personnel from other law enforcement agencies serving East County practiced at Grossmont College on Tuesday what they would do in the event of an emergency situation on the campus

As news media and college officials watched, the deputies practiced what they would do in an active shooter situation, how they would respond if students were taken hostage, and what measures they would take if an officer were wounded and on the ground.

The three scenarios unfolded one right after another, simulating the confusion and tumult that might occur if the horrible situations had been real.  Grossmont College students had been alerted in advance to not be alarmed by the law enforcement drill, and also to keep their distance so as not to interfere with it.  In the simulation, teenagers from the sheriff’s Explorer’s unit played the role of frightened students who suddenly were confronted by a gunman in their classroom.

The drills began shortly after 2 p.m. when a deputy involved in the scenario began firing blank rounds from a mock firearm.  Alerted to the gunman’s whereabouts, a team of deputies in protective formation advanced toward the gunman, who fled. The deputies followed and confronted him.

Explaining the drill, Melissa Aquino of the Sheriff’s Public Affairs unit said, the teams will be “practicing how they would track down a gunman. After neutralizing the threat, deputies will check the classrooms and proceed with evacuation procedures.”

Aquino added: “An active shooter by definition is someone who displays the ability and willingness to shoot people indiscriminately without regard to his or her safety. It’s a scenario that no one wants to think about, but law enforcement is ready to respond in the event a real emergency occurs.   The goal is to practice positions in entering and clearing a room, communication via radio or hand signals, locating and removing victims, providing security for paramedics, finding evacuation routes, establishing a rescue plan and what to do when a team member is down.”

Unit after unit of sheriff’s deputies, El Cajon police officers, and California Highway Patrol officers ran through the scenario, one after another, in the exercise that had been scheduled from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, and will be repeated during the same hours on Thursday.  Evaluators took notes, and gave feedback to the various teams.

Among the college officials monitoring the exercise were Chancellor Cindy Miles of the two-college Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and Grossmont College President Sunita V. Cooke, as well as Dean Agustin Albarran, whose division includes English and the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 

Dean Albarran said that the drill was useful to Grossmont College because it familiarized law enforcement officers with the campus, while giving college officials some experience in what to expect had this been a real emergency.

During the current summer session, 3,747 students attend Grossmont College, of whom 1,602 were enrolled in classes meeting on a Tuesday and Thursday schedule.   There were 163 students whose classes ended in the building block minutes before the hostage-taker scenario
unfolded.

-DHH-




 

Grossmont College colleagues mourn Dr. Curtis Stevens, plan blood drive in his memory

EL CAJON – Colleagues on the Grossmont College campus are planning a special blood drive in conjunction with the Bloodmobile’s regular visit to the campus on Sept. 10.  They are urging blood donations in memory of Prof. Curtis Stevens, who was such a regal man that in joking awe they called him "His Royal Highness, The Emperor Curtis Stevens."

Blood donations in Dr. Stevens’ memory may be made not only on campus, but also at any of the six blood donor centers throughout San Diego County by mentioning his name and reference code CS42.  Addresses of the centers may be found  at http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/donor-centers

Stevens’ “empire” was the Grossmont College library, and one of his favorite areas of his realm was the history section.  Besides serving as chairman of the library department, Stevens also taught courses in American history. He remained an active academician into his late 70s.  Dr. Stevens retired from Grossmont College in June 2012; in April 2013, he was bestowed the honor of Professor Emeritus.  He died June 27 under home hospice care at his Mount Helix home.

In the 42 years that Stevens taught at Grossmont until 2012, he mentored many students, often multi-generational, including former student Barbara Farina and her daughter Nadra Farina-Hess, the current library department chair who began her career as a student worker under his tutelage.

She said a familiar sight at Grossmont College's library was a gathering of students and faculty near the reference desk listening to Dr. Stevens telling stories both from his life and from the books he read. 

Stevens would tell about his life growing up in Florida, raised by grandparents who made him understand early in life the importance of an education.   He spoke with the glow of fond memory about the accomplishments of the Civil Rights movement, in which he participated.  Stevens graduated from Lincoln High School in Bradenton, Florida at the age of fourteen, earned a Bachelor of Arts at age eighteen, and a Master of Science at age nineteen with degrees in History, Sociology, and Secondary Education from Florida A&M University.  Later he earned the Master of Arts degrees in History and Library Science at the University of Denver and in 1976 he competed his Doctorate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Dr. Stevens maintained a lifetime interest in African studies and African-American studies.  One of the courses he taught at Grossmont College was U.S. History from a Black Perspective.

A sworn devotee of books, Stevens would often say that computers had their purpose -- for looking up specific information -- but for the sheer joy of serendipitous learning, there was nothing like a book.  "He would often flip through a book and start reading at a random page, and take joy in coming across a new idea or fact," said Farina-Hess. "His interests were so far-ranging that as recently as 2012 he gave speeches at UCLA and at UCSD Freshmen Experiences about quantum physics."

Stevens sometimes would walk back to his office lost in an interesting book and then when daily business would demand his attention, put the book down, forgetting to return it to the shelves.  Farina-Hess said she and other librarians would make occasional sorties to his office to find, and re-shelve, some of his treasures.

The professor is survived by his wife of 48 years, Dolores; a daughter Danielle, son Anthony, and one beloved grandchild, Evelyn.

-DHH-

Holocaust studies prepare new college students for academic challenges

EL CAJON – Some of the students who will attend Grossmont College this fall are the first members of their families to go beyond high school in their education.  In many instances, notes Michael Perez, director for Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS), these students are part of a six-week summer bridge program known as the Summer Institute Program (SIP).  Primarily, it serves immigrants to the United States and members of economically disadvantaged families.

This summer 28 such students enrolled in two classes for a combined credit of six units to burnish their English writing skills and to learn strategies for studying in a college environment.  A considerable portion of their English course will focus on the Holocaust.   The students will read Night in which Elie Wiesel told of his experiences at the Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps.  They will also meet Holocaust survivors Max and Rose Schindler of San Diego on July 22.  Two days later, SIP students will travel to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

“We have a really culturally diverse group here,” said English instructor Joey Lepetri, who team teaches with counselor Pearl Lopez.  “The idea of respecting other cultures, other religious traditions, is so very important given the variety of religious traditions that are here on campus. Night provides a perfect vehicle for engaging those issues and topics.  When we bring the students to the Museum of Tolerance, it brings those issues to life for them.  They recognize how intolerance, hate and ignorance can lead to horrible, unbelievable tragedies.”

Two of the program’s alumni took a few moments from their volunteer duties at a recent SIP barbecue for new students to relate their experiences in previous years at the Museum of Tolerance.  That museum features a variety of interactive exhibits to interpret the phases of the Holocaust.  Typically visitors are issued a “passport” in the name of a real person and they follow that person’s fate as the Holocaust unfolds.  The visitors don’t find out until the end of the tour what happened to the actual person whose story they have followed.

Riyam Mansoor, who immigrated three and a half years ago with her family from war-torn Iraq, said the interactive tour was quite different from her experience at other museums where she had gazed at pictures, writings, and historical clothing.   At the Museum of Tolerance, she said, “I felt like I was living it, from the fear to the torture.”

Mansoor said that a comment was made afterwards that the Holocaust was in the past, and therefore not preventable.  However, in the future, other holocausts are possible.  She said she worries about the ongoing “war in Iraq which affects a huge population.”  She added that the museum experience helped motivate her to want to become an international lawyer, focusing on such issues as human rights.

Ulises Alarcon-Villaseñor, who has been serving as a teaching assistant in the SIPS program and is transferring in the Fall to SDSU, said he was “blown away” by the trip to the museum.  “It gave the students the opportunity to see what was going on in the world and the reasons why the world is the way it is today,” he said. 

The overall experience, he said, “makes you look at yourself and wonder why you complain about little things.  “The people who went through the Holocaust (in many cases) were tortured every single day, couldn’t eat for weeks, which resulted in the many deaths and the few survivals.  They literally went through hell on earth and today some of us complain about little things, like being so tired we don’t want to go to school, when really there is not an extenuating excuse to do so. 

“Many of these survivors after being liberated were so hungry to get educated that they went and got an education and succeeded at it,” added Alarcon, who immigrated nine years ago from Mexico.  “We should look at them as role models and great examples of determination to survive and to be educated.”

-DHH-

New Grossmont College V-P details her fact-finding tour of the campus

                                                                  Katrina VanderWoude

EL CAJON, California -- The day before she was to meet the Grossmont College search committee that would interview her for the job as vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Katrina VanderWoude, vice provost at Rochester College in Michigan, decided to do some interviewing of her own.  Visiting the Grossmont College campus incognito, she struck up conversations with students over lunch in Griffin Center, and elsewhere on the campus, to see if she could get a feel for the place at which she later accepted the job.

"I'm big on cultural diversity of all types, and what I was intrigued by most was that nobody asked me if I was somebody's mother," Dr. VanderWoude recalled in a telephone interview from Michigan.  "That told me that Grossmont College is used to a diverse student population.  It was assumed that I was there as a potential student, and in fact students were telling me who I needed to talk to, and I was really appreciative of that.  I was very impressed by the openness of the students."

Recalling two of those lunchtime conversations, VanderWoude said one student told her that she had been at three colleges since graduating high school, but Grossmont was the first one at which she really felt at home.   The other student told her she had only been at Grossmont and was well satisfied with the campus.

Wandering around the campus, while trying to stay under the radar, VanderWoude kept accidentally running into the people who interviewed her the next day for the position that she will start on August 5th.

As she stood near the Veterans Resource Center--a place where military veterans attending Grossmont College can find resources and a place to relax with other veterans-- a gentleman politely inquired if she needed help finding something.  "Oh no," replied VanderWoude, "I'm just looking around."  The next day, as she met with her interview committee of faculty, staff and administrators, she learned that polite man was Tim Flood, Grossmont College's vice president for facilities.

VanderWoude saw that a television camera crew was interviewing a woman whom she recognized from photographs as being Dr. Sunita V. Cooke, the president of Grossmont College, and she circled around the interview, trying to remain inconspicuous.  She went to the upstairs lobby of the Health/ Physical Sciences Building which affords a fine view of the Grossmont College campus, and who should soon come in but Dr. Cooke and Congresswoman Susan Davis, who was visiting the campus that April 30 with an entourage that included Chancellor Cindy Miles and GCCCD board president Bill Garrett.  VanderWoude did her best to remain unnoticed as the VIPs toured the area where she had temporarily ensconced herself.

Leaving the area, she walked toward the Library and Tech Mall in the center of the campus.  "I particularly noticed that as I approached student groups they were always talking about academics, always," VanderWoude said. "That was very interesting. I had come across some informal study groups and some formal study groups and they were always talking about learning.  I thought that was phenomenal."


Inside the Tech Mall, she said, "I was very intrigued.  I saw over 100 computers and most of them were being used by students.  And as I walked around, I saw a tutoring area for assistance with math, and then another for English learning.   From there I walked around a balcony that is cantilevered from the top floor, and I saw the offices were there, so there is a tremendous accessibility to faculty support for students, which I think really can facilitate engagement."

The next day, Wednesday, May 1, VanderWoude had her finalist interview, and said she was impressed by the fact that the search committee was comprised by people from all segments of the campus--ranging from support staff to vice presidents.   Later, when she was taken in a golf cart on an official tour of the campus by none other than Tim Flood, he pointed out the groundscape, medicinal plants and talked to her about learning outcomes.  "It's unusual when an Administrative Vice President is that engaged," she commented.  "It was another affirming message for me."

VanderWoude met with members of the Instruction Administrative Council (IAC), and while some of the questions were probing, at the same time she felt "genuine warmth" and "completely at ease."  "I had to tell myself not to get too comfortable, to remember that this was, after all, an interview situation," she later related.

Drawing on her administrative experiences at such Michigan educational institutions as Jackson Community College, Wayne County Community College, Henry Ford Community College, Schoolcraft College and on-line teaching positions with Concordia University and Kaplan University, VanderWoude said that she considers herself a student of organizational behavior.

What impressed her, as she sat in meetings between President Cooke and other members of the Grossmont College community, she said, was the collaborative relationship that she witnessed. People didn't automatically defer to the top official of the college, waiting to see what she would say, VanderWoude noticed.  Instead, they expressed their opinions freely and felt secure enough to advocate differing viewpoints.  She added that she was impressed that Dr. Cooke welcomed such collegial exchanges.

VanderWoude has occupied a variety of positions since graduating from Michigan State University with dual degrees in social work and psychology.  Initially for the court system in the Lansing area she worked with abused and neglected children, but later gravitated toward college administrative work.  Her first position was at Jackson Community College helping to develop competency-based teaching programs for adults needing job retraining--a program in which she said there was a 95 percent job placement rate despite the ongoing recession.

She was recruited by Wayne County Community College and later by Henry Ford Community College to continue her career in competency-based training, which involved working in partnership with industry and business to design programs to teach skills needed by industry.  Along the way she became involved with various academic committees, which resulted in a contact leading to a position at Schoolcraft College as an associate dean dealing with programs designed for adults returning to education after long absences.

VanderWoude took maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Elyse, and decided to take a break from work to obtain a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University.  During this time she familiarized herself with online teaching, and gave instruction in this format under the auspices of Concordia University and Kaplan University.  However, her colleagues at Eastern Michigan University persuaded her that administration was where she was needed, and soon she was hired by Rochester University, where she became vice provost.

Following Dr. VanderWoude’s familiarization tour at Grossmont College, the search committee was sold on her and she was sold on the college.   After wrapping up affairs at Rochester College, VanderWoude and her daughter, Elyse, 13, who'll be starting ninth grade in the fall, plan to enjoy a Mediterranean cruise, and then to drive cross country with Lazlo, their shih tzu, to San Diego County, where they will stay with friends while house-hunting.

-DHH-