Chaparral 2022-2023: 31.2 Milestones

Nare Garibyan’s (Counseling) self-published children's book arrived at LAX from Armenia on Thursday October 13, 2022. Due to cost effective book printing in Armenia, she chose to print the book in her homeland. The book is in English and maybe one day it will be translated into many languages as the message of the book resonates in any language.
The title of the book is A.Z.'s Adventures to the Sugar Tree Forest. Nare wrote the story about her friend's son who lives with a rare disease, Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation (CDG). The disease impacts various functional tasks from speech, mobility, to sight, and various issues with cognition. There are at least 120 variations of CDG. Her friend's son is a curious 9-year-old who is mischievous, loving, expressive in his own way, and determined to redefine what it means to live a fulfilling life.

The story is in first person, allowing A.Z. to speak his story even though his speech in reality is impaired. A.Z. goes on adventures with his teddy bear (which represents his brother) and his car-shaped bed that comes to life. The book project came to life due to the support of organizations that focus on CDG research, including the non-profit organization A.Z.'s parents founded to help contribute to the research efforts. They also received support from friends and family through an online fundraising campaign. The illustrator is Meri Vardanyan, a GCC student, who transferred to CSU Fullerton last year to major in illustration.

A.Z.'s first impression of the completed book is so telling. He kept pointing to his image and when he saw his red bed in the story, he went to his bedroom and said, "Same." One of his aunts said his confidence has been boosted tenfold. The message of the book is that people come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and abilities and that each variation of this human existence matters.

They are working on organizing events around the book, and Nare will share information regarding how to access the book soon. All proceeds from the book will be allocated towards CDG research.

Emeritus Professor Dennis Doyle (English) has published a collection of musical arrangements “50 Tunes by Turlough O’Carolan” available on Amazon as an e-book or print edition. Steve Taylor and Dennis will be leading a Study Abroad program to Ireland Summer 2023. Spread the word to your students. See the video on the Study Abroad site.

Joanna Parypinski’s (English) latest novel When the Night Bells Ring (published under the name Jo Kaplan) is now available! The book received a starred review in Booklist, which called it “delightfully creepy,” and it also received a glowing review in Library Journal, which had this to say: “The constant unease of each story line is broken only for the brief second it takes to turn the page from one narration to the next, as the tension builds relentlessly until the novel’s shockingly horrific conclusion. VERDICT Seamlessly blending Western, ancient evil, and climate horror tropes, Kaplan (It Will Just Be Us) has created an immersive, chilling, and compelling tale that fans of Christina Henry and Camilla Sten will devour.”

GCC is in the final stages of completing its Cross Enrollment Phase 2 process through the California Virtual College (CVC) Exchange and will launch as a CVC Teaching college in the spring. Online asynchronous courses aligned to the CVC-OEI Course Design Rubric will appear first in the CVC Exchange’s search engine to highlight their excellence in standards normed by the State. We would like to recognize the following GCC faculty who have aligned their asynchronous courses to the OEI rubric and have received a quality reviewed badge.
Jessica Groper-ENGL 130
Carley Steiner-MEDIA 110
Nune Dervishian-SPCH 103
Sarah Mecheneau-FRENCH 102
Amy Oliver-PHOTO 130
Robert Liddiard-LING 101
Sanja Morris-PHILO 101
Sarah Mecheneau-FRENCH 101
Nune Dervishian-SPCH 108
Piper Rooney-ENGL 101
Alexa Schumacher-ESL 156
Piper Rooney-ENGL 111
Julie Gamberg-ENGL 101
Amy Oliver-PHOTO 160
John Lynch-ENGL 102
Julie Gamberg-HUMAN 115
Lynn Dickinson-MCOMM 101
Nune Dervishian-SPCH 101
Luis Flores-CS/IS 101
Alexa Schumacher-ESL 136
Julie Gamberg-HUMAN 125
Alexa Schumacher-ESL 146