LACCD Chancellor awarded with Ohtli District leader recieves highest civillian award from Mexican government

JOSHUA MANES Editor-in-Chief @TheManesEvent

LACCD Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez was honored on Tuesday, Sept. 18, by the Mexican government, receiving the Ohtli Award.

The Ohtli is one of the highest honors that can be given to a civilian by the Mexican government.

“Not something I expected, but I'm incredibly proud of and humbled by this,” Rodriguez said. “I'm very proud of my roots, my parents and my heritage and my language and my culture and my essence my being if you will.”

According the the official Ohtli website, the award is given “to people who have dedicated most of their life and professional activity, to open a gap abroad, so that the younger generations of Mexicans who have followed them find a relatively easier path walking. According to a press release from LACCD, in his acceptance speech Rodriguez “focused on the district’s efforts to support undocumented and DACA students, and reaffirmed LACCD’s commitment as a place where all students can enroll and achieve their educational goals, regardless of their immigration status.”

Rodriguez received the award in a private diplomatic event hosted by the Consul General of Mexico Carlos

Garcia de Alba.

“It first and foremost is a reflection of my family and my ancestors and those who had a dream that at some point the next generations would be better than the ones before,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is the son of immigrant parents, and recognizes the sacrifices made to get him to where he is.

“My own family that adapted to a new language, a new culture and new society all with the off chance that the next generation will be better than the one before,” Rodriguez said. “I say so proudly that I'm proud son of immigrant factory workers. And I say that to students in particular because I want them to know the power of education and what it can do in a single generation.”

This honor is not just a personal

Getting paws-on experience

Students get involved in animal spay and neuter

ANGELICA LOPEZ Reporter @ angietography

Dogs and cats may not be leaving Pierce College smiling, but their owners will be thanks to the Veterinary Technology program performing three spays/neuters a week every friday.

Students majoring in Veterinary Technology will assist in animal spay and neutering as part of the Clinical Procedures in Animal Laboratory class at Pierce College.

Director of the Veterinary Technology program, Dr. Jennifer Adelini, instructs and performs the surgery while her students care for the animals before and after the procedure.

Adelini said it’s one of the advanced level courses in the program that the senior students take to learn about helping in surgical procedures.

“They learn how to administer medications, help with surgery and help with the recovery after the surgery of the patient,” Adelini said.

“It gives them the chance to learn the skills that they learned earlier and apply them to a real patient.”

After students finish the Veterinary Technology program they are able to take the exam that will allow them to attain their veterinary technician license. Once the students get their license they can use these skills to work by assisting veterinarians and helping care for animals in need of medical assistance, Adelini said.

Instructional Assistant for the Veterinary Technology program, Angela Killips, has been assisting the class for 10 years now. Killips provides the students with any assistance that they may need.

“I help all the students prepare the catheter and the other nursing care that they do while Dr. Adelini does the surgeries,” Killips said. “If a student can’t place a catheter or draw the blood, they’ll have a certain amount of attempts before I’ll take it for them.”

Ariana Banuelos, who majors in Veterinary Technology, said this is as close as it gets to the real thing.

“We do from step A to step Z,” Banuelos said. “I call the client and make sure they bring their animal. We do the physical exam, we get the IV in, we’re doing every single thing that we would be doing if we were in practice.”

Banuelos said even students who are already in practice don’t get to be as involved in the process as they get to be in the class.

“Some of us are just at a clinic and all we do is watch as the workers, that have been there, do everything,” Banuelos said.

The schedule for the semester gets filled by patients that are found by advertising in the community or by students in the class. However, Adelini said there are certain requirements when scheduling in a patient.

“They need to be relatively young,” Adelini said. “They need to be pretty friendly because we have students handling them and we want them to feel comfortable with the animals. They need to not have any other health problems.”

Banuelos said getting to work with real animals in the class helps those who are fearful.

“If you haven’t done it before, you don’t really want to do it,” Banuelos said. “You’re scared; you don’t want to hurt the animal. Doing it here with Adelini and Angela guiding you, they seem more confident of what you’re doing. It gives you the confidence that you need, so that when you go to practice outside then you’re like ‘okay I got it, I’m more comfortable with it.’”

The class will be performing the three surgeries a week, every Friday, throughout the semester. To schedule your pet in or for questions, contact Angela Killips at killipsa@ piercecollege.edu asaldate.roundupnews@gmail.com