Chaparral 2013-2014: 22.1 Milestones

Marina Adamian (Non-Credit ESL) is now a grandmother!  Here is her reflection on this, and other Milestones in her life:

The first milestone had a simple writing on it, “follow the road!” And it wasn’t the color you’re thinking, my road was painted with many different colors, and by many different people. The distance between the first stone and the 2nd stone was the longest. Then there were cobble stones, sand, potholes, mud, dams, bridges, and people that I had to dodge and cross over or under. Sometimes the milestones were covered and I couldn’t see which direction to go, sometimes there were additional signs to guide me to my destination. As I kept walking the road, I learned to explore every inch in depth, I became a keen observer, and I leaned to listen to many passengers with whom I shared the road.

There were times that the road changed color, it became dark and gloomy, but then the golden rays of sun goddess brushed the air graciously, so I could see its many joyous colors. There were many days of ach and pain, both bodily and mentally, and not to forget the bad advice I would get from the strangers, and then the friendly faces that kept cheering up and encouraged me to continue, like a marathon champion.

It is not easy to stop and decide at what point in time or at what stage of this lengthy walk any of these milestones became more significant than the other. I see how I’ve grown, and I’ve acquired human skills that make me sensitive and understanding of others’ needs and wants.

The day I received the call from my department supervisor to start teaching ESL at Garfield was one of the significant moments in my life. As I turned and looked back, I smiled and my road and it changed its color; it turned into a glorious pink! A very long distance had been completed. From a student at GCC to an instructor at my beloved school was THE MILESTONE! Then came the day that I earned the highest promotion available in the human life, I entered the honor society of grandparenthood, what a milestone! This tiny person who arrived into our lives and took our breaths away coined a golden mark on my road.

Monika Deukmejian, daughter of Karen Deukmejian (Non-Credit ESL), spent three weeks at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth's Civic Leadership Institute in Baltimore at the Peabody Campus this summer. In late July she spent ten days in Chicago as an Ambassador at the HOBY World Leadership Conference where she worked on the Sandy Hook Promise and Rachel's Challenge among others. In between, she worked as a kindergarten camp counselor at the local YMCA. A busy summer indeed!

Image: Monika,(with yellow sunglasses on her head) with her HOBY group in front of "The Bean" in Chicago.

Evan Doyle, GCC Alumni and son of Dennis Doyle (English) earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration last June from California State University, Northridge.  He says he got through GCC with the help of Dave Mack, Michael Ritterbrown, Steve Marsden, Steve Taylor and countless others who taught him how to think and write.  Evan works as a recreation leader for the city of Burbank.

Do you have any milestones to share with us?
Send them to: jgamberg@glendale.edu

Wendy Fonarow (Anthropology) was invited to give a seminar in Oslo, Norway on the new developments on the use of Smartphones by audiences at concerts. An interview appeared with her in the national newspaper, Klassekampen, in conjunction with her talk and participation in the Oya Music Festival.

Kyla Hansen (Studio Arts) was included in Modern Painters Magazine’s, “24 Artists to Watch in 2013.” The issue was printed in December 2012 and featured 24 international emerging artists to watch in the coming year.

In April Kyla's work was included in the exhibition BIG MESS: Margaret Griffith, Kyla Hansen, Christian Tedeschi, at Western Project Los Angeles, CA. 

Gabriel Haraldson-Decker, son of Emily Haraldson (Art History), was just accepted to the Southern California Youth Philharmonic for violin. Gabriel is 8-years-old and this is the first time he's played with a large ensemble string orchestra.

Image: Gabriel playing violin with his teacher at a recital.

Kerop D. Janoyan, son of Daniel Janoyan (Non-Credit ESL), has been appointed Director of Distance Learning at Clarkson University.  

From: News & Events, Clarkson University "An associate professor and executive officer of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, [Kerop] will coordinate marketing, policy, licensing and technology, as Clarkson increases its distance education offerings... [Kerop] will also head a University-wide MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) Task Force, which will observe the ongoing development of MOOCs and provide recommendations as to how the University should proceed in this area." 
http://clarkson.edu/news/2013/news-release_2013-08-16-1.html

Jeanette Stirdivant (Student Services) became a grandmother for the first time.  Daughter Kimberly gave birth to Sebastian Hawke Wason on Monday, September 2, weighing in at 7 lb 15 oz and 23 ½ inches.  Sebastian puts the real meaning in Labor day.

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