Category: Student Life at VC

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Arts & Entertainment Student Life at VC

Diversity in Culture Festival

The Ventura College Diversity in Culture Taskforce is committed to recognize, celebrate, and promote awareness and appreciation of the value of diversity at our college and in our community.

Diversity in cultural festival is an event that takes place every year at the Ventura college some time around april. The festival’s main goal is to create and provide awareness as well as understanding of diversity both globally and locally. This festival enables the opportunity to promote, connect, present, display, and to engage with staff, faculty and the students. Diversity stands for including people from a range of different ethical and social backgrounds and genders. Diversity is a space for equality amongst each and everyone one of us. Culture means the different ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of groups that get passed down from generation to generation. All of these concepts together create diversity in culture.  

Arts Department: Ceramics Class selling pottery at the festival

What was your experience throughout the festival and what did you enjoy the most? 

Cory: “Our experience was positive throughout the festival. We had a good time walking through and saying hello to the vendors ,and decided on 2  booths that we wanted to do interviews for.”

Sydney: “My experience was positive and I believed I learned more about the community surrounding me in Ventura County. I enjoyed interviewing 2 vendors who were selling their unique products that were handcrafted by them. It was not that crowded so it was easier to guide my group through the different vendors and have our chance to interact with them.”

Mixtli: “My experience at the diversity and cultural festival was a good experience. I enjoyed walking around campus while listening to the different poetry slams presented at the festival by different participants. As well as looking and appreciating the vendors at the event that bring out their unique art pieces to sell. My favorite part of the festival was probably seeing the participation of the community that actually took the time to stay at the festivals and also the ones that participated in the festival. Furthermore in future festival i would really like to see more vendors.”

Bella: “My experience at the Diversity in Culture Festival was an overall great experience. I was able to fully enjoy the event at Ventura College and get an understanding of how important it is on being informed in different cultures through music and dances. Also experiencing my first poetry slam and heard people’s personal writing was inspiring. My favorite part of was being to see how lively the campus was during the festival as well as seeing vendors show support to our school.”

IG: @francescopalmieri_us

What will you anticipate for the future festival at Ventura College? 

Cory: “I am hoping for many more diversity festivals in the future that include different cultures in a more intimate way by solo events that highlight different nationalities.”

Sydney: “I anticipate more diversity festivals that have more vendors with even more cultures to highlight more ethnicities and other groups at the college. I think it will be a great opportunity for the college to have more exposure to, as we could perhaps get an even more inclusive and accurate representation of the county’s community.”

Mixtli: ” Furthermore, in future festivals I would really like to see more vendors.”

Bella: “Overall from a student perspective it was a fun way of learning and getting to know more about the different cultures. As well as getting to see more vendors in the future”

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Podcasts Sports & Leisure Student Life at VC

Student Athlete Talk

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vc-social/episodes/Student-Athlete-Talk-w-Jennie-Jacinto-and-Jillian-Smith-e2hlid9/a-ab45827

On this episode of Student Athlete Talk, I spoke with VC Softball Catcher Jennie Jacinto and VC Women’s Soccer Midfielder Jillian Smith on what life is like as a Student Athlete. They go into depth of the trials and tribulations of dedicating the majority of their life to their sport. From making the best of friends, to the sacrifices their families have made for them to continue their sports careers. We discuss why they chose to continue their sports to the collegiate level and what their lives look like doing so.

Cast:

Jennie Jacinto IG: jenniejacinto

IG: VC Athletics

Jillian Smith IG: jilli._.smith

IG: VC Womens Soccer

Jessica Gomez IG: gomez.jessicaa

Podcast Link:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vc-social/episodes/Student-Athlete-Talk-w-Jennie-Jacinto-and-Jillian-Smith-e2hlid9/a-ab45827: Student Athlete Talk
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Student Life at VC

Just Turn on the Mic

No Responsibilities. Creating Possibilities.

Click Here to Stream

VC Social⁠ contributor Nick Lerma⁠ touches on the past 20 years in 20 minutes and how he shifted his focus from internal to external.

This solo episode covers how recent life events motivated him to return to college to finish his A.S. in Social Media Marketing.

For updates on new episodes follow Nick Lerma on IG ⁠@nicklermadotcom⁠

Life as an Artist & Student – VC Social

A dive into the challenges, positives, and everything in between that come with being a full time student and an artist simultaneously, specifically in the lanes of music and fashion. Topics covered include time management, accomplishments and more. Special Guest appearance by TyeDye!Follow me on IGCheck Out my Blog
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Podcasts Student Life at VC

Successfully Managing Parenting, Going to College, While Also Working

Deseray and Nancy discuss how they manage to be parents, full time college students and work full time. We provide valuable information on how we have been able to manage a full schedule, find support (financial and mentally), and share advice on time management tools and study habits. We hope to empower other parents to take the leap to pursue a higher education if that has been something on their mind. By having the right support, self care, time management, and healthy study habits we strive to set the example of being able to set and achieve goals that improve and elevate our lives as we are called to become business executives. Deseray has a son and a daughter and they are all going to college at the same time. Nancy has three sons (14 year old and 8 year old twins). Both have a full student schedule and also work.

⁠https://vcsocial.biz/nancy-olascuaga/⁠

⁠linkedin.com/in/nancy-olascuaga-6520177a⁠

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⁠https://www.instagram.com/my_fourlegged_furballs⁠

Music

⁠https://click.pstmrk.it/3s/uppbeat.io%2Ft%2Fandrey-rossi%2Fseize-the-day/vZub/BAW0AQ/AQ/187c28c2-428e-4cfc-ad62-4c6e02aa7798/4/jSUpJenczN

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Podcasts Student Life at VC

Post-COVID World

Five students go into depth about how COVID-19 would impact their high school experiences and how learning online would become more of a chore. The lack of motivation would impact every student differently as well as learning to adapt to their situation. Now in the present time they speak about how going back to school is a struggle to overcome social anxiety after not being able to communicate with others face to face for almost 3 years. Professor Nick speaks on his behalf over his experiences teaching during and after Covid-19. He speaks about differences he has noticed.

Follow Yahaira’s Instagram 

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Student Life at VC

Beauty Industry Affects On Female Identity

The beauty industry negatively affects female identity along with the contribution of social media. Women are constantly being reminded of what is considered beautiful in our society with standards that for the most part aren’t realistic. These standards put a lot of women in a state of mind that prevents them from appreciating their true worth. Along with this, it leads them to develop mental health problems such as low self-esteem, social anxiety, psychological stress, eating disorders, and others along with having the wrong perception of beauty.

For a long time, the industry of beauty’s main purpose has been to develop, sell, and promote cosmetics, perfume, skincare, and hair products they don’t really care about the damage they are causing when promoting unrealistic standards for the most part and although we see more divers promoting along with body positivity nowadays the industry still negatively affect women. Social media is a big contributor to the negative effects when it comes to product promotion. When it comes to social media platforms society is the one that decides what is true beauty and what it isn’t. Truly our own society is at fault for having high standards that for most are unrealistic. As for most females seeing these standards change drastically very often swifts the perception of beauty.

Women are only trying to fit into the crazy beauty industry standards but the standards are constantly changing. Therefore most females feel like they are never going to be good enough when it comes to their physical appearance. Unfortunately these standards not only affect the older females they start affecting the younger ones as well. As they enter the beauty industry world along with the social media world at a young age they start to notice the wave of what are true perceptions of beauty according to the industry and its contributors. At such a young age this will have a big impact on new generations of females by affecting their identity on what a woman should look like.

The beauty industry for the most part affects women negatively although there are sparks of hope that have positive effects on some women. There is still a lot that the beauty industry needs to do to truly focus on helping women prevent mental health problems as well as help the ones who have developed severe mental health problems along with the help of social media platforms. In the end, true beauty goes beyond just appearance it’s your own perception along with your true worth.

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Sports & Leisure Student Life at VC

Taking the “JUCO” Route: Here at Ventura College

I was able to get an exclusive interview with Aiden DeMello, a right-handed pitcher for the Ventura College baseball team, where we got the opportunity to get important information about the route and the diversity collegiate athletes face. While we conclude the interview with keys of keeping the electric team rolling into a successful year.

Question: What inspired you to pursue baseball at Ventura College?

Answer: Since I could remember, my number one goal in life was to play baseball at the collegiate level. Unfortunately, coming out of high school I received very little attention from 4-year universities. Feeling like my childhood dream was slipping away, I decided to pursue the “JUCO” route. I have always admired the dedication and sacrifice that junior college athletes go through. It takes a competitive mindset and a winning culture to be successful. I felt Ventura College embodied these exact things and that is what inspired me to pursue Baseball here.

Question: What major are you pursuing and why? How do you balance academics and athletics and a college athlete?

Answer: My major is Sports Journalism with a minor in Broadcasting. All my life I have been in love with anything to do with sports. Whether it was a random Tuesday night baseball game or Super Bowl Sunday, I was always excited to watch. I have also always had a knack for arguing over sports topics. Because of this passion, I decided to make a career out of it.

Being a student athlete, it is definitely hard finding time for academics. It is often challenging and burdensome to cut time away from training to finish an essay or vice versa. It really comes down to sacrifice. Sadly, I have had to cut time away from friends and family to keep my grades up. No more friday nights out with the boys and movie nights with the family have been exceedingly hard choices I have had to make to make sure I keep a high gpa.

Question: Being in your sophomore year, what are your plans academic and athletics wise after Ventura College?

Answer: My initial plan is to transfer after this semester to a 4 year university and continue to play baseball. Last season I suffered a shoulder injury early in the year that effectively ended my true freshman season. Luckily, I was granted a Medical Redshirt and received that year of eligibility back. So if I don’t receive any offers after this season, I plan to come back next year and use my last year of juco eligibility.

Question: What are the keys for success this year as a team?

Answer: The number one key for success this season is limiting the mistakes. We dropped a crucial series to a rival in Moorpark College because of foolish mistakes. The week after we played the number one team in California and played a flawless game, earning us a win. We have an extremely talented and well rounded team this season. If we are able to limit our mistakes, you will see us in playoffs come May.

Question: Why should people go to a Ventura Pirates baseball game?

Answer: We have an exciting team this year. At every position we have athletes making plans and hitting home runs. Our guys on the mound are throwing gas and striking batters out at an elite rate. Before the week we were ranked inside the top 20 teams in California. There really isn’t a reason why someone shouldn’t consider coming to a game.

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Sports & Leisure Student Life at VC

The Ventura College JUCO Route

Julio Rey is a Ventura College alumnus who played two years for our college as a right guard offensive lineman. Most of our student athletes in Ventura college play here in a junior college school to get better opportunities to take their athleticism to a higher level. Julio is one of those athletes that wanted to take that route in his journey.

I always wondered why athletes take the JUCO route and if it’s the best decision for them. I had the chance to get a one on one interview with Julio and I asked him why did he take this route and if it a good decision. He goes on by saying, “hitting the JUCO route was the best decision I have ever made. Lots of people look down on JUCO, but to me it was a big step and it meant everything to me.”

A lot of athletes do look down on junior colleges and think they can’t get a future out of it but that’s not the case. Ventura College has had over a thousands transfers which went on to play for a division 1 or division 2 school. Jaylen Watson, a two time Super Bowl champion from the Kansas City Chiefs, was one of them.

We talked more about what can be the down side when going through a junior college route and he mentioned injures. Julio has recently came back from an injury which he fractured his tibia and fibula during a game which took a toll on him mentally. Athletes go through so many injuries so I asked Julio, “how do you manage injuries or setbacks that affect your ability to perform?” In our interview he mentions, “injuries come with the sport unfortunately, but it happens to everyone. Rest is the key component to manage an injury,” which he isn’t wrong about. Although sports can come with injuries that will bring a setback in your career they also bring more strength to one. After Julio’s injury, he worked ten times harder to get that scholarship he deserves to continue to play football in a higher level. During the offseason he got a few offers to take his athleticism somewhere else, which he committed to Northeastern State University this year.

Athletes get many opportunities to play somewhere else, but what makes that one school different than the rest. I go on and ask Julio what made him pick Northeastern State University (NSU). He mentions how the coaching staff made him feel this is the best decision for him, “They have successful coaches who joined this year that have NFL and division 1 experiences. The school previously had losing seasons, so seeing this and my head coach being successful, can change the program. Chaffey College is a JUCO in Southern California which previously had a losing seasons ranging from 0-10 record in one year. My head coach from NSU went to Chaffey and caused them to have a winning season record of 11-0. He also was the assistant head coach at Colorado as the offensive coordinator and played with the Browns. Now he has made his life as a coach changing programs and players lives.”

Seeing how junior colleges can change one’s life and take them far is the best part one can witness. Our Ventura College football team had a record of 8-4, which made it to the championship in their conference but came up short. Our offensive lineman pushed over 2,700 rushing yards this season which made history in our football program. I had the great pleasure to interview Julio Rey and learned how much a junior college can change one’s life when wanting to take your athleticism to a higher level. 

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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