Chaparral 2017-2018: 26.5 Milestones

Mary Elizabeth Barrett’s (DSPS) son, Barrett Tuttobene, started an MFA program in Music Composition this February. His dad Richard Tuttobene, an adjunct Music Instructor here at GCC, is an amazing jazz pianist and glorious composer. So between the two of them, their son is on his way!

Rory Cohen (Journalism) has been gaining recognition for an underreported issue among American Jewish circles that involves the disappearances of thousands of babies during Israel's nascent years. She recommends that you read her piece for a syndicate service here. Through grassroots work, op-eds, and writing placed in various media channels, more Israeli politicians are pushing for greater transparency on a very sensitive issue. The power of journalism, Cohen says, cannot be underestimated.

Nancy Traynor’s (Curriculum) son, Dylan Traynor (age 10), was honored at the Sulphur Springs school district for receiving a perfect score on the State Math test. She is very proud of his accomplishment.

Maria Kretzmann’s (Biology) daughter, Ariana Sanudo-Kretzmann, is graduating from USC Law school this June, and was just awarded one of five Shattuck awards for "Significant Contributions to the Law School that demonstrate High Potential for Outstanding Service to the Legal Profession". In the picture she is the one on the left. Maria is particularly proud because she has been working in the Immigration clinic and interning with the LA County Public Defender’s Office, where she hopes to work one day.

In February 2018, the Department of Rehabilitation, State of California Employment Training Panel (ETP), and California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) released a Solicitation for Proposal (SPF) for the Summer Training and Employment Program for Students (STEPS) Grant. This grant is to fund services to students with disabilities, between the ages of 16-21, for pre-vocational skills training and paid work experience. The STEPS project provides job preparation training, including job exploration, workplace readiness skills training, and work-based learning experiences, as well as summer work experience, to students with disabilities.

As a results, three organizations in Glendale, Verdugo Workforce Development Board (Judith Velasco, Executive Director), Professional Development Center (PDC) of Glendale Community College (Kimberly J. Edelman, Executive Director and Ani Keshishian, Assistant Director) and Glendale Youth Alliance (Karine Grigoryan) came together and worked closely and applied for this grant. This grant is to service students with disabilities from Glendale Unified School District, Burbank Unified School District, and Glendale Community College this summer.

There were about 20 cities and applicant organizations from across the State of California, and our collaborative efforts have paid off and we were awarded one of the five grants that was given out this past week for a total of $300,000 to assist 60 disabled students with workplace readiness skills and paid summer work experience. All three organizations will be involved in administering the grant and providing training for youth.

There is an article in the Glendale News Press about this amazing project:

http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-me-workforce-grant-20180406-story.html

We would also like to mention that we are also working to build a field trip to GCC as part of the program to bring the students on campus and expose them to our credit courses and vocational programs.

This is amazing news for the City, GCC, and for our community and we wanted to be sure to let you know.

Valentin Babakhanian (Student Services) wants to share her success story as Glendale College alumnus and staff. Her educational journey and career milestone is her journey that started as an ESL student (at GCC), and she is now a counselor, soon with a 2nd Master’s Degree.