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Newsline In This Issue
An upset mind will create an upset body See Around VC - Page 2A
CI’s Henry L. Lacayo Institute Receives Edison International Grant See Education - Page 5A
Compton USD Member Fisher Vows to Keep Seat After Sexual Assault Arrest See State - Page 6A
The Tri County’s Only Multicultural Newspaper
In This Issue
TRI COUNTY
ENTRY
NO. 38
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014
First Annual Miss Plus 805 Pageant Crowns Its First Queen See page 14A
New Ventura College VP Has High Hopes
By Tim Pompey For Patrick Jefferson, recently hired as an executive vice president at Ventura College, it’s been a long road to get here. A native of north Houston, he grew up in a neighborhood filled with tough economic circumstance called Acres Home. “I grew up in a house with a tin roof on it,” he said. He credits his dad, a groundskeeper, and his mother, an administrative assistant, with keeping college front and center in his life. He remembers his dad telling him, “You’re never going to work as hard as I have.” And Jefferson didn’t argue with him. When he finished high school, Jefferson ended up at Xavier, a historically black university in New Orleans. He acknowledged that the academics and the student life at Xavier pushed him to improve himself. Even more important, students on campus were encouraged to help each other be successful. “The first day of college,” he recalled, “I remember the president of the college asking us to look to our left, look to our right, and make sure that they are there with you at graduation. It was about helping everybody to succeed.” And Jefferson did suc-
Patrick Jefferson, executive vice president at Ventura College (Photo Credit: Tim Pompey) ceed, receiving his bachelor’s degree from Xavier in 1996 in biology. Still, he admits that after graduating, it took him a while to find his footing. In fact, after moving to Los Angeles, he ended up selling televisions at Circuit City. That’s when he first considered the idea of teach-
ing. “A friend of mine told me that the school systems always need teachers,” he said. “That idea had never crossed my mind, but I needed a job so I thought I would teach until I figured this thing out.” Within a week of applying for a position as a substitute teacher in
the Compton school district, the city hired him. It quickly turned into a fulltime commitment. “I took a long-term temporary position at Dominguez High School,” Jefferson explained, “which turned into a permanent position.” While at Dominguez, Jefferson brought up some
of the student issues he dealt with, things like foster care, poverty, violence, malnutrition, and an attitude of nihilism. He admitted that it frustrated him. “I felt helpless as a teacher and I felt powerless to do something about it.” As a result, he left teaching to work on solving some of these issues. Initially, he was hired to work with The Youth Opportunity Movement, a joint partnership between the City of LA and the Department of Labor. Eventually he took a position at Pasadena City College as their director of Math/Science for Upward Bound. When he started his Master’s program at Loyola Marymount, he was fortunate to meet some influential people who pulled him into their orbit. As he tells it: “I found a really good mentor in Lisa Sugimoto, the vice president of student services. She encouraged me to go get my doctorate and told me, ‘It’s going to open some doors for you and get you the skills to get where you’re going.’” She also stated clearly, “You’re going to do this.” He described how the influence of a mentor can help someone see new things in a different way. “If JEFFERSON, See page 12A
Author Hammer, Baltimore North Korea threatens nuclear strike on White House natives Re-unite in Malibu
EDC-VC Launches an Enhanced Website See Business - Page 8A
News from the D.A. See Local - Page 16A
Savor at Olivas Adobe See Community Calendar Page 12B
This picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) inspecting a "rocket-firing drill" on July 26, 2014. A top-ranking North The threat came from ered US aircraft carrier, had Korean military official Hwang Pyong-So, director ramped up tensions. has threatened a nuclear of the military's General "If the US imperialists strike on the White House Political Bureau, during threaten our sovereignty and Pentagon after accus- a speech to a large mili- and survival... our troops ing Washington of raising tary rally in Pyongyang on will fire our nuclear-armed military tensions on the Sunday on the anniversary rockets at the White House Korean peninsula. of the armistice that ended and the Pentagon - the SEOUL: A top-ranking the 1950-53 Korean War. sources of all evil," Hwang North Korean military ofHwang, who holds the said in his speech broadcast ficial has threatened a nu- rank of vice marshal in the Monday on state television. clear strike on the White Korean People's Army, said It is not the first time that House and Pentagon after a recent series of South Ko- North Korea's rhetoric has accusing Washington of rea-US military drills, one included threats of nuclear raising military tensions of which included the de- strikes on the continental on the Korean peninsula. ployment of a nuclear-powKOREA, See page 12A
Cynthia W. Hammer, author of Iceburg, at Bank of Books in Malibu Cynthia W. Hammer, Lester Speight, a film author of Iceburg, gets and television actor, cosupport from good friends median, and also a high in her hometown of Bal- school friend of Cynthia’s, timore, MD, at Bank of showed up in Malibu at the Books in Malibu. HAMMER, See page 15A