MAY 16, 2019
El Yanqui
MPC Monterey Calif. Issue 10
Homeless Mom Finds Support, Foundation at MPC
More than $280,000 in scholarships awarded to 171 students MPC Yanqui Staff
With her young daughter Hazel spinning around the podium, Maggie Young tried to keep composed, but she was telling her story of her life spinning out of control a decade before. Maggie’s compelling narrative, in front of a standing-room-only crowd at MPC’s Scholarship Awards Ceremony, was one of big dreams as a star high school soccer player with a university scholarship promised, bad decisions and turns, dismissal by her family, then hitting rock-bottom as a pregnant homeless person. For nearly seven years, Maggie bounced back and forth in difficult situations, including living in a recreational vehicle she bought for $1,500 with financial aid money, camping at the Pinnacles, in Morgan Hill and driving the RV to MPC for classes, but then she found support in the MPC Athletic Department and Child Development Center. She secured an assistant’s position with football coach Mike Rasmussen, and she spun her world positively, now setting her sights on a bachelor’s and master’s of social work degrees at San Jose State University. “Maggie is a team player,” said Coach Rasmussen in an email. “Great work ethic. In spite of her work load as a Mom, student, and worker, she is not looking for a handout. Maggie will be a success in life.” Ms. Young, who has a second daughter named Onyx, was one of 171 students who were awarded a total of $286,000 through the MPC Foundation. And as Hazel spun around, playing with a flashlight given all scholarship recipients to help guide their paths, her mother said she would keep positive in this spinning world, with the help of her scholarship.
MPC’s Walt Tribley accepts role of president at Northern Wyoming College By M. Beck MPC El Yanqui “I never started out thinking I’d be a school administrator. I was into nature—camping, fishing, bicycling, scuba diving --I was enthralled with nature. I didn’t want to study genus, species, order. I wanted to know how it all works,” Walter Tribley, MPC’s departing resident reflected. For Tribley, molecular/cellular biology grabbed his attention in high school and never let go. It helped that he attended college in the great Northwest, first at the University of Idaho in Moscow, for undergraduate B.S. and masters work in Biology Natural Science and later 30 miles away, across the Snake River, in Pullman, Wash., for his doctorate in Biochemistry at Washington State University. His first job took him far across the country, ending up at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Fla. There he earned tenure as a professor and later still taught at the University of Central Florida. Part of a National Science Foundation Grant, his team did research on medical devices to screen and monitor cancers. Though not part of the BRCA 1/BRCA 2 or the Human Genome Projects, his team moved forward with the Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA) testing—a FDA medical device in affiliation with the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Tribley’s early administrative work came when he returned to the Northwest, to Wenatchee Valley Community College (WVC) in Central Washington, 60 miles north of Yakima, on the Columbia River. What better place for a nature lover? Over 11 years, Dr. Tribley graduated through administrator positions to Vice President Instruction and ultimately Chief Administrative Officer at WVC’s campus in Omak, Wash. He weathered the 2007-2009 US recession and dealt with the meltdown of college funding felt across the country. With a dramatic rise in tuition (and little state funding) and cuts to the administration and classified staff,
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Who will be MPC’s 11th president? MPC El Yanqui There have been 10 official presidents of MPC (and a myriad of interim presidents) in the past 72 years. Each one brought his own set of skills, each one met the qualifications the search team posted. What mattered most was their capacity and flexibility to deal with unforeseen issues. The past 25 years MPC has seen its share of “out of left field” challenges: • David Hopkins 1987-1995 --MPC had classes in Monterey, Fort Ord, UC Extension and Long Distance (Closed Caption) with San Jose State. In 1991, Fort Ord was chosen for deactivation and finally closed in 1994. • Edward Gould 1995-1997 -- offered change with his business approach “TQM” (Total Quality Management) which helped MPC partner with the emerging California State University, Monterey Bay. But it clashed in the educational setting. • Kirk Avery 1997-2006 -- was brought in for stability (having been a previous CBO at MPC). He had dealt with declining enrollment and lean times. Post-Graduate life learners were targeted to increase enrollment, reaching over 12,000 students and 8,000 FTEs. A unified governing board elected-at-large hailed from those communities. • Douglas Garrison 2007-2012 -- grappled with lost state funding from the 2006-2009 recession. Then in 2008, the California Community Colleges Board stopped funding repeat courses as well. Enrollment was reduced by 2,200 and funding by the State was reduced. Under pressure from the growing communities of Seaside and Marina, the Board of Trustees at-large elections were changed to district based. • Walter Tribley 2013-2019 -- had to wait for passage of Proposition 30 proposed by Governor Jerry Brown for emergency funding of K-14 education in 2013. The lack of funding kept MPC Faculty contract negotiations in limbo for five years. Accreditation Probation in 2017 and in 2018 CCC’s change to the Junior College model of Guided Pathways “Transfer In 2 years,” shifting the mission from “Student Access” to “Student Success”. in College. For students today at MPC, this history won’t mean much. In two years most will be attending school elsewhere. But for the faculty, staff and community, the next President of MPC will have a major impact. In the end, maybe all MPC needs is a President who will be “Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.” And, of course, transparent and flexible.
Longtime MPC Supporter, Community Volunteer Lynn Davis Receives President’s Award MPC El Yanqui Staff
Lynn Davis, a retired attorney, former MPC governing board and foundation board member, and former longtime grocer (Forest Hill Store, now the Trader Joe’s site) was honored with the President’s Award on April 26 at the Monterey Marriott Hotel. A graduate of Pacific Grove High School (’59), MPC (’62), San Jose State University (BA in Marketing), and Monterey College of Law (JD ’84), Davis has long been involved in supporting local education, legal services for seniors, and working tirelessly as a community volunteer. He and his wife of 58 years, Lydia, have been inducted as distinguished alumnae into the MPC Lobo Hall of Fame. They have two daughters, Jani and Cindy, and a grandson, Xanti. In accepting the award, Davis said, “Forget what you give or have given, remember what you receive.”
Lynn Davis, left, with previous President’s Award Honoree Vicki Phillips
Page 2 • El Yanqui • May 16, 2019
Opinion
Passing The Baton
Cartoon by Amelia Phelps
MPC El Yanqui Staff Report
Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) is not a ship being steered. Nor is it an arcane ivy-covered institution living on past laurels. Rather it is a living, breathing entity that seeks to grow and prosper. The main duty of the President/Superintendent is to move MPC forward, to prosper, to continue to shine as a jewel in the California Community College (CCC) system.
This is actually her last semester at MPC; Amelia is finishing up my certificate in Graphic Arts and then transferring to the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Oregon to study Illustration this fall! Her main focus is children’s art, picture books, etc., but she enjoys editorial work as well. Amelia Phelps amelia.phelps@gmail.com The contract between MPCTA and the College District is currently scheduled to expire at the end of June. Although this is most obviously a concern for MPC faculty, it should matter to students as well. What is (and is not) in the faculty contract helps to shape the experience that students will have while in the classroom. In the current and ongoing negotiations, a topic has arisen that makes this point clear. According to the current contract, part time faculty are not guaranteed payment for office hours. As a result, a student might find themselves in a class without scheduled office hours- and only because they chose one section over another. Just as it is unfair to ask part time faculty to work without pay for office hours, it is unfair to students to not have the opportunity to receive additional guidance during office hours. MPCTA has presented this to the Governing Board as one of our most important priorities during the new contract negotiations, and the state of California has indicated that it is a priority by providing new money to fund changes like this a CA community colleges. Part time faculty teach half of the classes at this college, they mentor our students and are essential to the many programs, it’s only to pay for all their work. Every student deserves the chance to ask a question or check on a grade during scheduled office hours. What’s fair for faculty is fair for students! Lauren Blanchard
El Yanqui Staff
Production: Vanessa Ramirez Faculty Adviser: Alex Hulanicki President / Chair: Katie Shain Vice-President: Elizabeth Secretary: Valentina Montaro Treasurer: Mike Beck ICC Representative: Donald Brown Members in good standing: Cody Arvidson, Frederick Visser
Before 1995, MPC rode the crest of the wave: full time Equivalents were bountiful and steadfast, state funding for K-14 was expected and stable and student tuition costs remained minimal ($10/credit). Since then, MPC governance has become more complicated. Pressing financial issues are now paramount and filter into all administrative decisions, due to: Fort Ord and MPC’s second campus closed in 1994 and the emergence of CSUMB. Repeat Courses in 2008 no longer state-funded, (20% of MPC revenues from repeat PE/Art). FTEs drop 2,200 and MPC loses $3-5 million in funding. Tuition rose from $10 to $46/credit. The demographic surge of Hispanic and First Generation students from Marina and Seaside brought on the transformation of the Board of Trustees from at-large to specific district elections in 2008 and MPC eligible for Title V Hispanic Serving Institution Grants in 2014, securing a joint grant with CSUMB in 2018. Accreditation probation in 2016--partially due to an ancient software system that inadequately tracks student progression with the need for replacement and new ancillary staff. Guided Pathways in 2018, brought back the ‘junior’ college model--a strict two-year program pathway for transfer to a four-year college. In 2012, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), Hartnell College in Salinas, and MPC sought new presidents. For the academic year 2019-2020, only President Eduardo Ochoa with CSUMB remains at the helm. Both Hartnell and MPC are searching for new presidents. MPC’s next president/superintendent will need to expand on-line classes, the cohort CSUMB-bound students at MPC, the 2+2 High School early college courses, the loss of remedial skills classes and rise of tutors and summer school demands due to Guided Pathways. How to service the true, historical ‘community’ college student: part-time, working, parenting, re-entry students, older adult learning and First Responder remains unanswered. The President will have to be collegial, transparent, a negotiator and a grant writer and the ambassador extraordinaire for MPC in the community. MPC has been blessed with a superb, dedicated faculty (truly student focused), the continued deep community pride in this jewel in the CCC system, and a transparent, district-elected Board of Trustees. Even then, the new President will be taxed to meet the challenges now and yet to come. MPC El Yanqui wishes him/her the best.
Who, What We Are: We, at the El Yanqui, are members of MPC student body. Our journalistic values include integrity, honesty, creativity, and our local culture. We are here to reveal truth, encourage understanding and to share information both nationally and internationally with the communities of Monterey County. We aspire to be active and determined members of the media, inspiring our readers to take action in our communities. El Yanqui, which began in 1947, was the campus newspaper until the late 1980s. Again in 2014 we reinitiated it and are extremely happy to present to Monterey Peninsula College a paper that is made by students, for students, for the purpose of bringing community together. This issue is a culmination of stories and projects by MPC Journalism Club, offered Thursdays, from 3 P.M. to 4 P.M. Contact us at mpcyanqui@gmail.com. We are the news in your pocket. www.medium.com/@elyanqui Like us on Facebook, Twitter @yanqui_el, Instagram El Yanqui News
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Humanities Division Celebrates Top Students with Book Awards Instructors’ nominees range from English learners to computer geeks MPC El Yanqui Staff Report Nominated by Humanities Division faculty, 26 students have received Book Grant Awards, which are meant to help defer textbook expenses, are unique on campus because they are supported by the Humanities Division faculty itself, not by donations from other sources. This year marks the 42nd anniversary of these awards, which were initiated by English instructor Elliot Roberts in 1978 and chaired by French instructor and Humanities Division Chair Allye Hobson-Robinson until her retirement. The awards are intended to recognize, honor, and encourage students that demonstrate a range of talent that is often newly discovered, who have shown courage in surmounting obstacles, and who have rich potential. English instructor Beth Penney coordinates the program. The students have, in the estimation of their instructors, demonstrated academic excellence, exceptional achievement, and promise for future study in the humanities. Fourteen of these awards are Memorial Awards, in the names of Margaret Koenig, Eleanor Szaszy, August Armanasco, Idelle Sullens, Raylyn Moore, DeForest Sweeney, Bertha Hutchins, Ray Fabrizio, Jim Hinton, Carol Taylor, Rod Holmgren, David Gitin, Carlos Robaina, and Maureen Girard, whose lives, teaching, and scholarship we wish to remember and celebrate. In nominating Sheannah Guillemette, English instructor Keith Eubanks wrote: “Sheannah comes to MPC from Canada and is interested in theater. She
also maintains a blog where she shares her thoughts beautifully in writing. She is also active as a student ambassador for the college. Sheannah wasn’t the most confident student when we first met, sitting in the back corner of the room, but she shared her concerns with me and we were able to create a supportive relationship, and a friendship, I think, as Sheannah worked through the transferlevel courses. I noted in English 2 that she had moved up to the front row. She is an insightful, talented, academic writer, and Sheannah’s contributions to these courses, through her leadership and participation, have made for a more productive learning environment for the rest of the class. I am very proud to know her, and to have worked with her as she continues her endeavors toward her goals. I am confident she will make her own unique contribution to our community and our world.” About Sampa Kombe, English instructor Beth Penney wrote: “Sampa, a mother of three, returned to school last year to pursue a career as a labor and delivery nurse. A student in both my online English 111 and English 1A classes, Sampa exhibited the dedication and intelligence that I know that career will need. Her work, which was good to start with, continued to improve over the academic year she was in my courses, and she finished my 1A course with almost perfect scores. She was also helpful at catching typos and other errors in my online information! Sampa is the first recipient of the Margaret Koenig Memorial Award. Margaret earned degrees in English from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and taught high school in her native Mississippi for a
number of years before moving to the D.C. area. It was there that she met and married Colonel Robert Koenig, who was appointed to command the Defense Language Institute in the late 1970s, bringing Margaret to Monterey. Her first job at MPC was in the English Center, which was where I first met her when I was a student tutor in the evenings there in the early ‘80s. Her assignment later changed to the English Department, where she taught all levels of English and served as Department Chair for seven years. Margaret died unexpectedly in 2018. Sampa is the kind of stellar student that Margaret would have recognized, embraced, and encouraged. Mark Ramirez, English, was nominated by Alex Hulanicki who wrote: “Mark didn’t have a flawless attendance record in English 111 (Intermediate Composition and Reading) but he more than compensated with his extra effort in doing his homework. By homework, I mean the legwork needed to gather information, think about its credibility and to present it in a logical manner. Although Mark has not indicated an interest in journalism, he would have made Rod Holmgren, who was a journalism instructor at MPC, proud of Mark’s tenacity in collecting details and piecing them together in a meaningful manner. Mr. Ramirez was relentless in his research and analysis of historical sources of the infamous bandido Tiburcio Vasquez. He gladly shared the pile of books he found in libraries with his classmates. And, when the class went to San Juan Bautista, Mark paid attention to the town’s details and went inside the mission for more information. In his final presentation,
Mark not only received an A+ but he also won the Agatha Christie Award for best scenario. A swim instructor in Seaside, Mr. Ramirez is a re-entry student who says he is gathering more confidence and is enthusiastic about his next classes – English 1A and Speech. We hope he continues to feed his academic curiosity. The 2019 Rod Holmgren Memorial Award, usually given to a journalism student, honors a longtime journalism instructor at Monterey Peninsula College, in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. A native of Illinois, Rod was a graduate of the Medill Graduate School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and a reporter in the Midwest before moving to the Monterey Peninsula. He published two books on media: The Mass Media Book (1972) and Outrageous Fortunes, Media Billionaires and How They Change World Culture (2001), authored with his second wife, Alma, who was a journalism instructor in Oakland. Rod died, at the age of 100, in 2015. Other recipients and their instructors are: Gemma Riera, French, Lisa Danielle Gonzales; Kayleen Roussin, Speech, Rebecca Genauer; Clara Sánchez Sulca, Spanish, Borja Dorsch; Shihadeh Sami, Spanish, Borja Dorsch; Makena Silva, Spanish, Sonia Lozano; Jürgen Sottung, Spanish, Sonia Lozano; Vaelyn Vulpe, English, Jeannie Kim; Nicole Weber, Speech, Diane Boynton; Ignacio Martinez, English, Jeannie Kim; Arthur Mitropolis, Spanish, Sonia Lozano; Sophia Moreno, English, Jeannie Kim; David Haney, Spanish, Rebecca Genauer; Claryssa Henry, English, Jeannie Kim; Adriana Juárez Isidro, Spanish, Borja Dorsch
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MPC SPRING EVENTS Le Cercle Français MPC’s French Club
This semester, Monterey Peninsula’s French Club - Le Cercle Français - has sprung up as an oasis for the 24 francophiles, French speakers and students wanting to have a little more exposure to French than what the MPC French Courses have to offer. The newly-minted French Club strives to practice conversational French and to promote exposure to French culture. The Club usually meets on Thursdays at 1 p.m. on a biweekly basis. Besides the meetings, the Club aims to engage its members and the community in French culture by offering French conversation activities at French-style eateries (Crêpes of Brittany in Monterey, Les Gourmands in San Francisco), learning about French artists such as Claude Monet and Paul Gaugin through guided tours at the De Young Museum in San Francisco (May 4th), and attending the annual Defense Language Institutes’s Language Day (May 10th). You may have already had a chance to meet our Club when we held our first successful French Bake Sale in front of
the library on April 9th. Through funds raised by our fund-raisers and the generosity of the Inter Club Council (ICC), Le Cercle Français is able to promote a language with important historical and modern value in a fun and captivating way. If you are interested in attending our meetings and/or coming along with us on some amazing adventures, please stop by our Facebook page entitled Le Cercle Français MPC to learn more about our upcoming events. You may also contact French Instructor Lisa D Gonzales at lgonzales@mpc.edu, or the Club’s President, Kevin Navarro, at kevin.u.navarro@gmail.com . Vive le français!
Dear MPC Students, Please mark you calendars for the forums scheduled for Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21 at 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm in Lecture Forum 103. The finalists for the position of Superintendent/President will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and address questions. More information regarding the candidates will follow later this week. We hope to see you there!
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MPC DACA “Dreamer” Awarded $15,000 Robert K. Bullock Journalism Scholarship By Katie Shain Ever since Carlos Rene Castro received a “point and shoot camera” from his father when he was12 years old, Castro has been documenting life around him, from lifestyles and successes to traumas and dramas. Castro, a 21-year-old Monterey Peninsula College “Dreamer,” originally from Honduras, now a well-established Salinas resident and MPC student, has been awarded one of the larger scholarships offered through the MPC Foundation, the Robert K. Bullock Journalism Scholarship. The Bullock scholarship was established in 2014 by a longtime Monterey Herald editor and bequeathed to MPC for the purpose of supporting American journalism on the MPC campus. Castro received a $15,000 Bullock scholarship to pursue a degree in photographic journalism at California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita. Castro is being recognized for his notable photographic contributions.
“Life is Art” Castro said in a recent Herald interview. So far, he has predominantly used black-andwhite photos to convey his observations of the world. After attending MPC for 2-1/2 years Castro is right on schedule with current California State mandates, “Guided Pathways.” Guided Pathways intends college students to enter, graduate and transfer, ideally within a two-year timeline to an institution of higher learning. MPC applauds Castro as he moves on in his artistic career. An art exhibit of Castro’s photos, taken in East Salinas, opened May 3, at the Pacific Grove Art Center, 568 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove.
MPC Music Events Monterey Peninsula College String Ensemble Directed by David Dally Monday, May 20, 7:30 p.m. MPC Main Stage Theater Monterey Peninsula College Concert Band Directed by Robert Aguilar Thursday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. MPC Main Stage Theater Monterey Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble Directed by Dr. Alan Durst Tuesday, May 28, 7:30 p.m. MPC Main Stage Theater Monterey Peninsula College Choir Best of Broadway Directed by Dr. Cyril Deaconoff Sunday May 18, 7:00 P.M. Ist Presbyterian Church El Dorado Street, Monterey Music in the Stacks November 15, 2019
Ten Honored at Lobo Hall of Fame Banquet Students Lampreda and Bynert Receive Cutino Awards MPC El Yanqui Staff Lobo volleyball player Sharon Lampreda and golfer Mitchell Bynert have received the Peter J. Cutino Athlete of the Year Awards. They were among 10 MPC alums honored at the 28th Annual MPC Lobo Hall of Fame Banquet in March at the Monterey Marriott Hotel. Lampreda, of Los Banos, amassed a perfect 4.0 grade-point average at MPC along with stellar play on the volleyball court. She is pursuing studies in psychology and anthropology and will probably transfer to a University of California campus. Bynert, a native of Manchester, England, and who lived in Spain before coming to Monterey, has a 3.7 grade-point average in business studies and is likely to transfer to Westmont College in Santa Barbara or California State University Monterey Bay. Distinguished alumni recipients were Charles Brown, a retired police office and former MPC governing board member; US Army Col. Raymond Burden and US Army Col. Peter Garibaldi. Also inducted were: John Karsten, basketball; Tricia Martin, softball and men’s golf; Lamarce “Marty” Moore, basketball; John Wade reed, track and field and basketball; R.C. Schwertfeger (posthumously), football and baseball; and Cora Wells, volleyball.
SPRING ATHLETICS BRIEFS
Lobo Softball Team Top 30 wins for season, advance to second round of state playoffs MPC Yanqui Staff
MPC’s women’s softball team was still in the hunt for the California state community college championship last week when the 33-5 Lobos traveled to Stockton to play San Joaquin Delta College. MPC finished second in the Coast Pacific Conference with a 12-3 record, behind San Jose City College (14-1). The Lobos, which swept a two-game series in the first round of the state playoffs, with 10-3 and 10-6 decisions over Cosumnes River, were seeded No. 6 in the playoffs. San Joaquin Delta, 34-5, were seeded No. 3. Led by pitcher Jesse Dupuis and sluggers Alexia Torculas and Malia Visesio, who were named to the All-Northern California team. DuPuis and Torculas were named co-pitcher and co-player of the year in the Coast Pacific Conference. Selected to all-conference, in addition to DuPuis and Torculas, were Malia Visesio, Diana Hughes, Kaylin Donovan, andOlivia Pino. Named to the second team were Juliette Guerra and Chloe Falciani.
Baseball Lobos finish third in Coast Pacific Conference Colby Hirano batted .380 and had 21 runs batted in to lead the Lobos to a 22-20 overall and 9-9 conference record. Daniel Farfan batted .349, and Jordan Crisp and Ryan Moreno hit .323 each. Pitcher Spencer Davis had a 5-2 record with a 3.29 earned run average. Pitcher/ first baseman Sam Beecher belted four homers.
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Photography Helps MPC Student Focus Sociological Studies Alex Chown finds more women get “inked” than men By Alex Chown For MPC El Yanqui in sociology, here at MPC, and will be transferring to Humboldt State in the fall to major in sociology. I’m grateful to have a proper outlet now to express some of the things I’ve seen or think about. After high school I hit the road for a few years and saw many different lifestyles and social scenes. Photography helps people communicate the things they are thinking about without relying on words so heavily. I gravitate towards certain topics or concepts, usually the kinds of topics that would be intriguing to me in my sociology classes. In my Research Methods class, I am doing a project researching how women who are heavily tattooed view their own bodies, and why it is that more and more women are getting tattooed. There are many very interesting details about the history of women in tattooing, but I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that more women get ink done, when there is also an active women’s movement. During the 1920s, women started getting Inked, and then again in the ’70s there was a major spike in tattooed women, now again during the “Me Too” move-
ment, we have another spike in tattooed women; in fact, more women have tattoos than men now. This photo project spotlights female tattoo artists. Through this project, I’ve found that tattoo artists and photographers have many similarities. Tattooing has been a male-dominated field since it has come to the western world. Women have been excluded from the field until recently. Even now it is fairly difficult to find female tattoo artists. All but one of the women in my project are actually tattoo apprentices (people apprentice for one or two years before becoming an artist). Even with how much equality in the work space we think that we have now, there are still some fields that are guarded and discriminatory towards women. I wanted to spotlight some of those women who have fought to be in a career that they love despite discrimination.
My very first experience with professional photography began when I was little and I would go with my dad to take pictures and report for the newspaper. I think that observing this style of photography has influenced my style of photography, as my photographs seem to be more action oriented, and centered around certain themes. In the context of art history, I think my generation will get a unique place in photography, because we will be the last (or one of the last) generations to learn film photography from teachers who originally learned in film first, when film was all there was in producing photographs. In a few generations, people may not really have the chance to interact with anyone who remembers a time before digital photography. We’ll be known as this first kind of transitional period, and probably the beginning of an even bigger movement. I am a Sociology Major so I feel like I look at everything with a sociological eye. I took my first photography class as a general education course over a year ago. I had Introduction to black-and -photography with Greg Mettler, and over a short time, I fell in love with it. I reconnected with my artistic side and have been studying photography ever since. I’m almost finished with my A.A. in photography, and
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hard bullets to take, the college staved off bankruptcy and the need to lay off faculty, knowing without those hard decisions the college would not have met payroll in May 2009. Those actions righted the course after one year. “When I applied for the President’s position at Monterey Peninsula College in 2012, I already knew of the excellent reputation MPC held in academic circles. It had deep community support, a renowned faculty” and served a similar size town like Wenatchee. And with the allure of the natural beauty of the Central Coast and the Monterey Canyon, I looked forward to the role,” Dr. Tribley said. He didn’t know he was headed into a perfect storm. The recession slashed K-14 funding in California, a time when music/arts/sports were sacrificed for student access to education toward careers. The loss of repeat courses (20 percent of MPC revenues) cut the legs out of MPC enrollment. Only Proposition 30, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012, and student tuition costs doubling to $46/credit staved off a similar ruin that Wenatchee Valley CC had faced as well. Leza Turner, the administration receptionist recalls Dr. Tribley as the youngest president of MPC and ‘strongly student-directed.’ “I’ve never seen a president like Dr. Tribley in the past 36 years come out to talk to the students.”
For the past six and half years, Dr. Tribley has sought ways to capture new student streams, new income sources, garner grants and scholarships for students and faculty alike, form partnerships with other higher education institutions in the tri-county area, encourage the dramatic rise of the MPC Foundation, grapple with balancing budgets, accreditation probation, faculty negotiations and in 2017-18, the rollout of California Community College’s (CCC) “Vision for Success,” and “Guided Pathways,” ultimately changing MPC from a community college to a “Junior College,” shifting from student access to student transfers and ultimately completion of degrees and livable wages. In 2018, Dr. Tribley notified the board of his resignation date of August 2019. “MPC continues to work partnerships developed with businesses: The Maurine Church Coburn School of Nursing/CHOMP connection, MPC Police and Fire Academy graduates that staff cities in the tri-county area and our Hospitality Certificate and Associate Degree Program, positioned to feed this vital industry on the Monterey Peninsula in years to come,” Dr. Tribley proudly stated. Midway through, he sought an extension to his contract to continue his work. When that did not materialize, he started to search for his next job: in 2017 Yosemite College in the California Central Valley, 2018 Chabot College in the San Francisco East
Bay and ultimately this yea at Northern Wyoming College, while on medical leave for a scheduled knee replacement. In 2018, Dr. Tribley had notified the board of his retirement date of August 2019. “Man’s feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell,” Jean Paul Richter MPC’s Spring semester is coming to a close. Dr. Tribley starts his next job July 1 as President of Northern Wyoming Community College, with campuses in Sheridan and Gillette. The college is very similar to MPC, started in 1948, student/ faculty ratio of 13:1, in a community similar in size to Monterey. But Walt has time for one last “Gizdich Pie Ride” this Memorial weekend with his fellow Velo Bicycle teammates. Then he’ll have to let go the amazing central coast and his beloved scuba diving as he heads to the majesty of the Bighorn Mountains in Sheridan and the high plains in Gillette. What better place for a nature lover to toughen up his new knee? “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Downtown Monterey welcomes students from Monterey Peninsula College Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Defense Language Institute Naval Postgraduate School CSU Monterey Bay
to dine, shop, play, and be entertained! And don’t forget to study! Old Monterey Marketplace and Farmers Market Tuesdays All Year Round 4 - 7 pm on Alvarado Street in Downtown Monterey
/oldmonterey
org y. re te on m ld .o w w w y re te n o m @old
(831) 655 - 8070