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Learn About La Fiesta de los Vaqueros
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Learn About La Fiesta de los Vaqueros

By Lynessa Corrales & Mike Korchmaros Image courtesy of Mike Korchmaros Okay, buckaroos and buckarettes. Get ready for this year's Tucson Rodeo. The La Fiesta de los Vaqueros (Festival of the Cowboy) is celebrating its 99th year here in the Old Pueblo. It runs from Feb. 17-25. This year’s parade will follow a new route. The new route will begin at South 12th Avenue and West Drexel Road. The route will head east on Drexel to South Nogales Highway. Then it will head north until it reaches East Irvington Road, just before reaching the rodeo grounds. The parade starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22. It is free for everyone. but grandstand seats are available to purchase. There is also a parking charge. La Fiesta de los Vaqueros (or the Tucson Rodeo) has been a long-loved eve...
A Night of Remembrance: Tucson’s 34th annual All Souls Procession
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A Night of Remembrance: Tucson’s 34th annual All Souls Procession

The horn of a conch shell signals the beginning of the procession, led by women in ghostly white garb chanting and dancing to deep drumbeats. Urn ambassadors preparing to lead the procession. At first, the procession is relatively slow, stopping and starting to allow onlookers to write notes to be deposited into the large urn behind the leaders. One woman silently holds out a basket, an offer to accept a slip of paper inside; a memory, or perhaps a prayer, or a simple, “I miss you”. One of the Urn's attendants collecting notes from the crowd. The procession snakes its way up Grande, the quiet footsteps punctuated by the beats of participants’ loved ones’ favorite music or occasional teams of dancers. One woman dances relentlessly to a stream of Latin hip hop, a lit photo of a wom...
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Pima Alumni Showcase: Danyelle Khmara

By RUTH BEHRPima Post Danyelle Khmara is a Pima alumnus and, for nearly a year, a journalist at the nonprofit group Arizona Public Media. Since her graduation in 2015, she has dedicated herself to making an impact through a career in journalism. “I was at Pima and trying to figure out what I wanted to make a career in. I took my first journalism class and fell in love with it. I loved the idea of telling people’s stories, holding those in power accountable and informing my community.“ Khmara’s focus is usually on the U.S. – Mexico border, typically involving topics such as the environment, migration, human rights, culture, economics, crime and politics. But while her work tends to take her far from home now, Khmara began at Pima as a student writing for the Aztec Press, including ...
Pima student voices: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
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Pima student voices: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

GOURMET GIRLS5845 N Oracle Rd "They're gluten free and won best in Tucson twice in a row; it's great!"-Tony Trejo TUMERICO2526 E 6th St"I'm not vegan, but I love it. Their food's not trying to be meat, it's just good food made from plants."-Aiden Larson ROLLIE'S5473 S 12th St"They're known for their birria. Whenever anyone/s looking for a good Mexican spot, I recommend it."-Xitlaly Linam SUSHI LOUNGE4802 S 6th Ave"The environment's really nice, it has good lighting and ambience. And the food's amazing, it seems authentic."-James Bradburn El Berraco2960 N 1st Ave"It's Colombian seafood, pretty different from what you usually see here. I like their octopus."-Orlando Tadeo
Second-degree learns: Hector Rodriguez returns to Pima for another degree
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Second-degree learns: Hector Rodriguez returns to Pima for another degree

Hector Rodriguez poses for a photo in the Arizona desert. (Photo courtesy of Hector Rodriquez) By QUENTIN AGNELLOPima Post Many students that graduate from Pima Community College with associate degrees go on to follow their careers.  Surprisingly, some students choose to return for a second degree. Hector Rodriguez is an alumnus at Pima and currently is studying Archaeology. A storied man and a hard worker for a local Home Depot, his presence on West Campus that day was confident. His cowboy hat matched his Southwestern attire.  “When I first began studying at Pima, I was not ready for college,” Rodriguez said. “I did well in school but I was not prepared for college life, but Pima prepared me academically and helped me grow up.” Rodriguez’s first associate degr...
Suzanne Roy: from singing the high notes to putting planes in the sky!
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Suzanne Roy: from singing the high notes to putting planes in the sky!

Suzanne Roy (Tanner Grammar/ Pima Community College External Relations) 2nd-year aviation student, Suzanne Roy shares how her decision to enroll at Pima has secured her a brighter future By KANIKA SAMRAPima Community College External Relations Suzanne Roy, Suzi to peers and faculty, is a second-year student at Pima’s Aviation Technology Center. She will graduate next summer with an Associate of Applied Science degree (AAS) in Aviation Technology. Suzi’s enthusiasm and passion for all things aviation is instantly noticeable and works like a magnet. If you aren’t already curious about what makes a plane fly or the work that goes into maintaining one, a conversation with her will change that. Suzanne Roy (Tanner Grammar/ Pima Community College External Relations) According to S...
Funny-footed critters are waiting for you at Funny Foot Farm
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Funny-footed critters are waiting for you at Funny Foot Farm

A kangaroo enjoys the shade at Funny Foot Farm in Tucson, Arizona.Two emus sit by the fence at Funny Foot Farm in Tucson, Arizona.This capybara waits to meet guests at Funny Foot Farms who have paid the extra $6 for the "exotic tour." Story and photos by QUENTIN S. AGNELLOPima Post When you picture a petting zoo, you imagine docile animals like goats and pigs, and not unusual species like capybara or emu. At the Funny Foot Farm in Tucson, you can see them all – including ducks, porcupines, warthogs and even a kangaroo. This place is abundant with animals that some people have never seen before, let alone up close. Kenneth McNeal, the owner and operator, says he started his business on a single purchase.  “We used to own a lizard and bug shop and one day we saw a wholesa...
Lizbeth Mora found her calling in Nursing at Pima
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Lizbeth Mora found her calling in Nursing at Pima

Lizbeth Mora, 2022 Nursing grad, switched tracks and graduated debt free. She wants to empower all students to pursue a path of financial freedom. By Kanika SamraPima Community College External Relations From dreaming of being a superhero with healing powers to turning it into reality, Lizbeth Mora has come a long way and is proud of her achievements. More so, she says, she is proudest of the fact that she’s been able to graduate debt-free. Had she followed her initial path, she wouldn’t have been able to say that.  Lizbeth, from the May 2022 cohort of Pima graduates, received multiple job offers from local hospitals this summer. With nurses in high demand and no debt to worry about, she took her time to decide and is now working at Banner Health. She hopes to gain experience...
Making a bold mid-career move: from business to cybersecurity
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Making a bold mid-career move: from business to cybersecurity

For Tauty Sanchez, choosing Pima was easy – she knew she'd feel represented and supported By Kanika SamraPima Community College External Relations Tauty Sanchez is amongst a group of student-interns gaining hands-on experience at the Center of Excellence in Information Technology/Cybersecurity (IT CoE) on PCC’s East Campus. As an intern at the Cybersecurity Operations Center –CSOC for short– Tauty is working on an Elasticsearch project that looks at incoming cybersecurity threats, such as attacks on an institutions’ firewall, and parses them for information. Parsing, she explains, helps to identify relevant information from long and complicated data feeds which contain strings of numbers and characters. Making sense of incoming traffic and then taking appropriate decisions is key. ...