Category: Student Life at VC

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Student Life at VC

5 Study Tips To Try Out

When going to school, it is likely that you will have to study so you are able to maintain your grades and pass your classes. Retaining knowledge through studying is one of the keys to being successful in college classes. Today, I will like to share you some tips that you should consider trying out in your study routine!

1. Plan Out Your Schedule

In college, some of us may have more obligations besides school, such as work and family. It is important to decide which time of the day and week is the best fit for you. With this, a planned study session chunk will help you be more productive and also play a role in determining your time management. You will also get used to having a routine for what you plan to go over for the study session the more you practice this habit.

2. Consider Studying in a Different Space

Many students may feel comfortable to use a singular space to study, whether its their bedroom, the kitchen table, etc. But sometimes, the too familiar surroundings might make you feel that you are not as productive as before. This can make some of us to feel sidetracked, such as looking at the comfy bed in your bedroom that you want to jump back into, or you see the television that’s sitting with its black mirror right in front of you waiting for you to turn it on. Picking a different spot to choose can be out of the comfort zone for many of us, and its okay to feel that way. You may feel emotions that you are not familiar with, but it can also be a good experience once you begin to adapt to the changes. Perhaps a visit at your local cafe or library can be a good starting place.

3. Have Short but Frequent Study Intervals

We can only absorb and recount so much information for a certain period of time, but sometimes it might be harder to recall if we prolong ourselves to study in a shorter period of time. Shorter intervals (i.e. 40 minutes per subject) but is done more frequently can be beneficial for us. This can be done for a few days per week, and you can still achieve the same amount of study time that a longer study session but what is done in fewer days has. Studying for too long for one session can end up becoming stressful, as you’re not only tiring yourself out but you may start to question what information from your notes or textbook is the most important. It may even feel more stressful if you studied for too long as a last minute option.

4. Pick the Right Study Music

Rather than in silence, some students choose to have some background music play as they study. Background music can be beneficial who may not feel comfortable in studying in silence for so long. This can vary from songs with lyrics or songs that are filled with only instrumentals. Choices can range from some soft piano music to even your favorite pop song. Experimenting with the right sounds will determine which works best to help studying can be beneficial to motivate yourself. 

5. Stretch in Between Your Studying Sessions

Sitting down for a long period of time can make some of us feel immobilized. Some ways to help yourself stretch include stretching your arms out, moving your neck left and right, shoulder stretching across the chest, spinal twist while sitting, or even giving yourself a hug. Our bodies can feel stiff after a while and the more as we study, the more your body may feel tired. When we stretch our bodies in between study sessions, it is a good reminder for us to not neglect our physical health as we need to be physically present in order to complete our tasks. This can also apply to other obligations such as work outside of studying.

I hope today’s study tips will be of good use of you! Happy Studying!

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Sports & Leisure Student Life at VC

VC Women’s Basketball Will Grind Stronger and Smarter

Ventura College Women’s Basketball team’s loss Friday night to Allan Hancock was a devastating, but spectacular battle of their regular season finale. The outcome of this game (final score 56-42) won’t overshadow their present and future accomplishments; as they gain experience in sailing turbulent waters together as a team. Tiernan Phillips jetted 12 points, Sam McKenzie 7, Elena Ferrara 4, Alexis Howery 7, Alexa Coubal 7. 

The Pirates are coached by Ventura College’s best women’s basketball head coach: Ned Mircetic. As an inductee of the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame, he is very humble and happy to share his chests full of priceless treasures: invaluable wisdom that has helped past and present players achieve their best in all aspects of their lives. In addition to his way of life philosophy of “basic fundamentals through team play to play hard,” he mentioned his focus is for his players to grind at life, and be at their best as they develop into adulthood. His passion to aid in their intellectual development individually and as a team has encouraged his current players to want to be better. According to Leslie Salazar, he expects them to show up early, be the smartest one, and work hard. Additionally, Alexa Coubal also praised his intelligence and ability to be a great teacher, something many coaches lack. 

It is also worth mentioning the pirates exquisitely demonstrated their philosophy “We Play Hard” both individually and collectively as a team. Before the game began, the pirates displayed an unifying force when they honored our flag during the national anthem. It was followed by the women’s basketball team honoring their 3 sophomores: Dani Henley, Alexis Howery, Tiernan Phillps, in a touching ceremony in which they received flowers, and in turn they took them to their families, who were in attendance and ready to cheer them on. 

Of course, defeating Allan Hancock would have meant everything to the Pirates, but let’s not forget they had a great season winning 9 out of 12 games. Friday’s defeat does not diminish their chance to be victorious (once again), since there’s another opportunity for our women’s team extend their playoff run this Saturday night against Moorpark College. Be certain coach Ned expects the Ventura College Women’s Basketball team to show up on Saturday, live life, and play with a high degree of intelligence.

VC Women’s Basketball Team Schedule & Tickets

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Student Life at VC

The Art Professor Impacting Students at Ventura College

When asking students around the VC Art department what professor has had the most impact on their education, it all points towards one direction. This professor has a great way of teaching his students because he takes his time with everyone individually to help improve their art. He provides useful critique as well as demonstrates how easy it can be to draw certain things that many people find themselves struggling with, like a foot or a weird angle of something.

Introducing David Young

To those who may not recognize him, David Young is one of the art professors who has given his students useful advice when they are looking to improve their art.

David has over 40 years of drawing experience, and he has had several jobs involving art since he was 16 years old, like sketching caricatures at Six Flags for 4 years. He studied at Trinity University, receiving a Bachelor’s in Art and Math at age 21, for which he would get an illustration job after his degree. He worked at this job for two years, and he quickly realized he didn’t like the people working around him; the job itself wasn’t challenging, which ultimately made him bored. This motivated him to go back to school for his master’s, and he landed at Georgia University for free.

He studied Italian for 6 years, which allowed him to travel abroad for a summer and teach in Italy for a year. He would go backpacking across Europe, paired with his school, and would return home once his money ran out. He taught at the University of Tennessee for 10 years and moved to New York to teach there part-time. When he married, he had his first child, and he decided it was time for him to get a full-time job, which he landed by teaching at Ventura College. 

Working at Ventura College as a professor has not only allowed him to spend time with his children during the holidays but has also given him the opportunity to impact the future of students who are looking to pursue art as a career. Students who have had him as a professor would say that he gives honest critiques about their work, and David will then demonstrate what improvements are needed. Honesty in art can be a great way for many students to grow, especially when told why and how they can improve their skills.

Want to learn more about the Art Department at Ventura College and its various pathways? Click the link below:

https://www.venturacollege.edu/departments/academic/art

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Sports & Leisure Student Life at VC

VC Social at the Ventura College Women’s Basketball Game

I was able to go behind the scenes and interview some of the women that played in the basketball game last Friday February 23rd, 2024 at Ventura College. There are two in particular that stood out to me and would like to share their stories. I was able to speak with them pregame and I even managed to attend one of their team practice sessions where I got to do the interviews. I hope you enjoy their story as they are some very nice and friendly people that have also had their struggle to be where they are today.

This is Alexis Howery. She has been playing basketball her entire life. Since childhood, she would go to Ventura College with a friend of hers and play basketball together practicing their shots. Today both her and her friend, Tiernan Philips, are on the women’s basketball team at Ventura College. Alexis is a sophomore, and a shooting guard for the Ventura College basketball team. This year they got many new members in their team, and they seem to all get along well and have grown a pretty close friendship with one another. 

Alexis is part of the first generation in her family to go to college and it seems to be a big driving factor for her to do good in school. She has four siblings, three brothers and one sister. Alexis didn’t want to be part of the basketball team at first. She wanted to join gymnastics or do another sport, but basketball ran in her family so she kind of fell into it. She still enjoys playing basketball and takes it very seriously. 

This is Daphné LeBrun, she is a point guard at Ventura College. During one of her more recent games she was injured and will need surgery. She was in the middle of a game when she miss-stepped and ended up tearing her ACL. Due to the severity of her injury, not only will she need surgery, but she also won’t be able to play for the rest of the season. Despite her situation she remains cheerful and keeps cheering for her teammates at the games. She also said, “it’s harder to see them at practice because I want to join them and participate when they are in a game it’s easier for me because I can just cheer for them”. 

Daphné originally came to America from France and was planning on staying here for another four years. She wanted to do all of her school in the United States but since she was injured, she will be returning to France next year to recover. One of her main concerns besides the surgery itself is her not being able to play basketball the way she used to. She will most likely stay in France for the rest of her schooling and potentially play basketball over there when she recovers. 

This Wednesday February 28th, 2024 they will have their last playoffs game at (time of the game) you are all more than welcome to come and show your support at the game click below for more details!!!

https://www.vcweplayhard.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/schedule

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Business Social Media Student Life at VC

Apex Mobile Tires

I took some time to highlight a local business that a dear friend created and is loving what he does by servicing the community and helping people in their busy day to day lives. Everyone gets busy from time to time, so i can speak for myself and admit I don’t have that much free time anymore. I work a 9am – 5pm weekday job so trying to get errands done can be a hassle but having one less thing to worry about like you’re tires can be a life saver, Kyle has personally come to me and serviced my vehicle and it didn’t take any time out of my day. If you’re ever in need, reach out to Kyle on his Instagram page and you can get back on the road in no time!

https://www.instagram.com/apexmobiletires/?igshid=ymmymta2m2y%3D

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Student Life at VC

Spring 2023: As Another Semester is Coming to an End…

Another semester at Ventura College is coming to an end, and I’m so proud of how far the Social Media Marketing program students have come. This is now just the third time that I’ve taught the Digital Content Marketing class, BUS V52, and the VC Social brand has evolved so much in the past couple of years.

The first time I taught this class was in Fall 2021, in the midst of the pandemic. There were only 11 students in the class, and when we met, we were all wearing face masks. The second time was last year in Spring 2022, and that course was fully online with 12 students.

This semester, we’ve been back in-person again, without masks (hooray!), with a classroom filled with 24 students. Considering the nature of this course, I’ve had to adapt and make some significant changes in order to keep up with the number of students compared to previous semesters. For example, I’ve had to give up some control over the social media profiles and draft vs. publish status of posts on the website, needing to trust that the students will follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics we studied in week 1. As you can imagine, this was a bit nerve-racking, as the blog and social media profiles are public. And I have to give it up to the students, they handled this responsibility with respect and professionalism. Not that I’m surprised.

Perhaps the biggest change I made, though, was giving control of the final project to the students. Rather than assigning a topic and making rules about groups, we agreed collectively to let the students decide what type of content they wanted to create and with whom. Some students decided to work in groups, while others opted to go solo. Content ranged from reviewing local businesses to showcasing artistic skills, with a variety of multimedia created for the blog, Instagram profile, and YouTube and podcast channels. From a quality standpoint, I didn’t micromanage, but instead asked students to push their boundaries and create something they could be proud of five years from now. This led to some incredible articles, graphics, videos and more.

I could ramble on about this semester forever, but since I know the students reading this are waiting for their prompt to reply to, I’ll bring this to a close by saying that I think Spring 2023 has been a huge success, and while I know I have a lot of work to do to continue making this class and program of value to the community, I believe this cohort of students is so incredibly talented and will go on to do great things in life. I only hope to be able to keep in touch with them over the years so I can continue celebrating their achievements. 

Now here’s the question that I’d like students to answer in the comments section…

What is the one thing you learned from that class that you’ll take with you to the next stage of your career and/or education?

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Student Life at VC

3 Easy Ways to Decorate Your Graduation Cap

Graduation season is just around the corner! Decorating your graduation cap is a fun way to add a personalized touch to your big day. Let’s talk about 3 easy ways to decorate your grad cap, so that you can get inspired and make your cap your own!

The items needed to make each cap can be found at your local craft store or even on Amazon, so they are all easily accessible. Customize the colors and design to your liking… let your imagination run wild!

1. Photo Cap

Items needed:

  • 3-D Stickers
  • Alphabet stickers
  • Polaroids or other small photos
  • Double-sided tape
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Our family and friends play a huge role in our success as students. What better way to honor them and their support than on your grad cap?

Grab some Polaroids or print out small photos and get to work! This one is super simple. Arrange the photos however you’d like, leaving room for text or other decorative elements. You can stick the photos onto your cap with double-sided tape or using a hot glue gun!

Note: Your stickers should stick right on, but feel free to use some hot glue if they don’t feel secure. You don’t want to be worried about them falling off during your graduation ceremony.

2. Cardstock Cap

Items needed:

  • Glitter Cardstock Paper
  • 3-D Stickers
  • Alphabet stickers
  • Scissors
  • X-ACTO knife
  • Double-sided tape

Add some personality to your cap! Show off your interests or academic major with a design like this. Grab a piece of glitter cardstock in a color of your choice and use your scissors to cut it into a square that fits your cap (mine was 9.25” x 9.25”). Then, use an X-ACTO knife to cut out a circle in the center of the cardstock that fits the button on your cap (mine had about a 1″ diameter). This will be the base of your cap. 

Now for the fun part! Add a phrase or quote using alphabet stickers and decorate using 3-D stickers. You can find a variety of colors and designs at your local craft store, so the options are truly endless. You can even go with patterned cardstock paper instead of glitter, if that’s more your style! Attached the decorated cardstock to your cap with double-sided tape and you’re ready to go.

3. Flower Crown Cap

Items Needed:

  • Alphabet stickets
  • Artificial flowers
  • Hot glue gun and glue sticks

This flower crown design is simple but adds a fun element to your graduation day outfit.

Pick out some artificial flowers in your favorite color. You should be able to pull them right off of the stems, but trim off any excess parts of the back side of the flowers if needed. Add some hot glue to the back side of the flowers and press them firmly against the bottom of the mortarboard (square part on the crown of the cap). 

When you’re done, feel free to add a phrase with the alphabet stickers or other decorative elements on the top of the cap. I kept mine simple with a short phrase, but let your creativity flow!

Final Note

Before you attach anything onto your graduation cap, don’t forget to check the inside of your cap! Most caps will tell you which side is the front of your cap. This will help you make sure your design is right-side up.

Have fun creating and congrats, grad!

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Student Life at VC

Dolores Huerta Speaks at VC Diversity Festival

It’s not very often that Ventura College gets paid a visit from a legend in American civil rights history. However, fortunately for us, this was the case last week at the VC Campus as a part of the annual Diversity in Culture festival. On April 13th, at the center of VC’s campus, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta was welcomed to the outdoor stage to address the community of Ventura.

The Diversity in Culture website gives a brief bio of the iconic activist:
“Dolores Huerta is a celebrated Latina, labor leader, activist, and community organizer. She has worked for civil rights and social justice for over 50 years. In 1962 sheet and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers Union. She served as vice president and played a crucial role in many of the union’s accomplishments for four decades”.

If you remember the campaign slogan, “Yes, we can!” used by President Obama in the 2008 election, you may have heard the original Spanish version, “Sí, se puede!”. Huerta was the one who coined the phrase in 1972 when told by people in Arizona that she could not get the farm workers to organize there. Her response to people saying –originally in Spanish– “you can’t do that here”, was “Yes, we can!”. This phrase became a staple of the Latinx community and is still used to this day as we continue to fight for equity for all.

During her time speaking at the VC festival, she encouraged us to keep our heads up despite the current political state of this country, which has left many Americans discouraged. Still, at 93 years old, Huerta continues her activism and doesn’t plan to stop any time soon. One of her biggest pieces of advice to listeners was to VOTE! She reminded us to stay politically informed, vote, and get everyone we know to vote. This is one of the greatest ways we can use our voice to make the change we want.

At the end of her speech, a handful of VC students and club leaders were able to conduct a Q&A with Huerta. Here, she told more about her early life and her years spent organizing. One piece of advice that she gave especially stuck out to me. It was her urge for us to be patient. Huerta told about the tireless hours going house-to-house of the farm workers and explained to them her and Chavez’s goal. This required a huge amount of patience, however, this work is what ultimately led to the great success of the United Farm Workers campaign.

Lastly, at the end of her Q&A, attendees got the chance to do a quick meet and greet with Huerta and stop by her merch table to get some items. We here at VC and the city of Ventura are so lucky to have had the opportunity to have her in our presence. Especially since so many residents of Ventura County have strong ties to the farmworker community. This is an event that we will remember for a lifetime.

*All photos used in this article are property of the author.

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Student Life at VC

Danza Azteca Xochipilli

Diversity in Culture Festival

Live Dance

The Traditional Aztec dance performance presenting the Culture, Color, Spirit, and Rhythms of Native MesoAmerican Culture. Danza Azteca Xochipilli performance will introduce our special quest, Dolores Huerta including the close out of Dolores Huerta event with a special performance.

I loved seeing the Danza Azteca Xochipilli dance for Dolores Huerta. She is one of the most influential labor activists of the 20th century and a leader of the Chicano Civil rights movement, this is why we celebrate Diversity in culture Festival.
The Danza Azteca Xochipilli welcoming and blessing Dolores Huerta. It was a honor to feel apart of this day by capturing this moment I will forever cherish I hope one day I can share this story.

Closing

Thank you Ventura College for opening your community, I always look forward to this event! I hope you all enjoyed this post as much has I did, I hope you all get a chance to join us next year. Thank you Dolores Huerta for all that you did and still doing for our people. I’m happy to witness this moment and to be up close capturing this, making history.

Socials down below..

Danza Azteca Xochipilli

Ventura College

VC Social Brand

Elena De La Mora

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Student Life at VC

The Ventura College DREAM Department

DREAM is the acronym for Drafting, Rapid prototyping, Engineering, Architecture and Manufacturing

This department has instructors with real world experience, and many years of helping student reach their educational goals, right here at Ventura college. Talking with these instructors can give students a sense of direction in their career choices

There are classes that introduce 3D design software to student, like AutoCAD, Revit, and SolidWorks. These 3D design and engineering applications are standards in the Drafting, Rapid prototyping, Engineering, Architecture and Manufacturing industries.

Once students are introduced to different 3D CAD Computer Assisted Design applications, they can choose to continue in one or more fields offered and continue learning their choice of design and engineering software.

The DREAM Department also features wide format printers, Laser cutter, Waterjet cutter, CNC machines, 3D printers and other power and hand tools available to student to learn to work with this equipment to complete their assignments.

The DREAM Department is unique among Community colleges.

Experienced, enthusiastic, well informed, insightful instructional staff and a well-equipped learning and design, shape and assembly, environment. Not surprisingly, learning to operate the different 3D CAD applications and exporting to 2D and 3D semi-automated shaping equipment, allows students to discover that by going through the certificate, transfer and degree programs they can design anything.

The motto in this department is “We are here to make you a success” 

See your counselor and come by the department located in the 1st floor of the MCE building, on the VC campus. Speak to Ralph Fernandez and any one of the other instructors in that department.