News – Page 26 – Pima Post

Teeing off for decades for Pima Community College

2May

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Teeing off for decades for Pima Community College

By ALEXANDER LOPEZ One thing that you almost can always find around Tucson is an open golf course. With the endless Tucson sunlight and heat, almost every day is a perfect day for 18 holes, and for Pima Community College facilities employee Albert Quihuis, his life wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for one. Growing up in the Barrio Hollywood neighborhood on the West Side of Tucson, life wasn’t always the easiest or the safest. As the youngest of seven children, childhood became even more difficult when his father passed away and his mom was forced to take the reins of the family. With all of the craziness of life, Quihuis would find his serenity on the course, hitting round after round. He would hit buckets of golf balls until he had blisters on his hand, only to come back the n...

2May

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When foreign becomes domestic

By COSTA B. PAPPAS With Pima Community College being such a culturally inclusive school, it has brought in a wide variety of students with different nationalities from all types of cultural backgrounds. Some of these students speak fluent English, but for some English is not their first language. Many would believe that to go to college the student would have to be fluent in English to keep up with the classes. However, students thankfully have the resource of the ESL program, also known as English as a second language. Lisa Jurkowitz, the ELAA coordinator for Pima’s English as a world language program, she explained how Pima has two separate programs for non-native English speakers. There is a free non-credited English Language Acquisition for Adults for those who do not know how to s...

Preparing students for Pima’s ‘first year’

2May

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Preparing students for Pima’s ‘first year’

Photo and story by ALEXZANDRIA MARTINEZ Pima Community College’s First Year Experience is an umbrella program, which means it offers several different options for every student. Every student has different needs and interests and are in different areas of their lives. The program caters to students with at least 30 credits. At Pima, 30 credits classifies you as a freshman; 60 credits a sophomore. The program, which was founded in 2017, is targeted toward students who are on track for a two-year graduation. In lots of cases, most students haven’t completed the 30 credits needed for the first year. However, the First Year Experience has events that can benefit any student who is reaching or have first-year credits. “The program is ‘new word’ to the college and is growing, but it...

2May

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Upcoming sabbaticals for Pima staff

By COSTA B. PAPPAS Pima Community College has a way to give back to the hardworking staff through sabbaticals. A sabbatical is a paid leave granted by a university for the staff member to study as well as travel. The subjects of study range as do the locations necessary to complete them. Pima faculty members Jose Maria Menendez, Sandra Ley, Kris Swank and Lisa Wermer are asking for a sabbatical for the 2019-2020 school year. Jose Maria Menendez, a mathematical instructor, is asking for a full-paid fall semester sabbatical to write a book for pre-calculus teachers at the college institution level. According to the BoardDoc’s meeting, the purpose of this book is to prepare instructors to teach this subject with an “equity, diversity, and social justice perspective.” Durin...

18Apr

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Two distracted driving bills vie for passage

By KYLE KERSEY There are two competing measures passing through the Arizona legislature aimed at curbing distracted driving on a statewide level. The first is Senate Bill 1165, which would make it illegal to hold a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. Hands-free voice-based communication would be exempt from the law, but it would ban texting and driving on a state level. It also would ban drivers holding their phones during phone calls. An exception is made for contacting emergency services. The proposal, which passed through the Arizona State Senate by a 20-10 margin, is being pushed through by a bipartisan group of legislators. The bill was supported by all the Democrats in the Senate, while just 7 of the 10 Republican senators voted in favor of its passage. The impetus for th...

PCC holds Respiratory Care Conference at Downtown Campus

18Apr

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PCC holds Respiratory Care Conference at Downtown Campus

By DRAEDON LEDBETTER The Arizona State Society for Respiratory Care held a conference April 3 in the Amethyst Room on Pima Community College’s Downtown Campus. The event ran from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. “This is one of my proudest moments in my 14 years of affiliation with the respiratory therapy program at Pima Community College,” said Pima Respiratory Care Program Director Jeffrey Miller. Miller has left Pima as of April 5 to be the respiratory therapy manager at Tucson Medical Center. Russell Schmidt is taking over Pima’s respiratory care program. Opening remarks began at 9 a.m. A portion of the opening remarks were pre-recorded and the other portion was live at the event. Early on in the conference, there was job interview etiquette tips and how to be prepared for the interview compared...

PCC holds space for Team 18029’s weed-killing device

18Apr

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PCC holds space for Team 18029’s weed-killing device

By DRAEDON LEDBETTER Pima Community College has started a partnership with the University of Arizona’s ENGR 498 class. UA Engineering needed more space to work, which meant moving the initiative moved its operation to the Mechatronics lab at the Downtown campus. The capstone project that Team 18029 has been working on is a weed-killing device. The weed-killing device uses a pneumatic punch which pinches and can drill holes to kill to weeds and increase crop production. The device identifies weeds through its manual operation as well as a camera positioned on its surface as of right now the machine is operational. The pneumatic punch will position itself over the weed and stomp it. Its overall purpose is to work in shaping the new frontier of agricultural technology. The Cap...

Monaco takes lead as Pima’s athletic director

18Apr

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Monaco takes lead as Pima’s athletic director

Jim Monaco is the new Athletic Director for Pima Community College and spoke to the Press about his duties and his transition from football coach to the Athletic Director. He gave us insight on what it is that an Athletic Director does and how he will be performing these new tasks. Q: What was the first thing you did as Athletic Director? A: I took a look at this year’s budget and try to get costs like Kino (Sports Complex), under control and try to get (sports) things back here on West Campus. That was the first thing we actually sat down and did with Ray as a part of our staff, we kind of sat down and said, this is important and it saves the school money right away and let's get started doing that. Q: What has been the toughest thing you have had to deal with thus far? A: I thin...

18Apr

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How Pima and the UA kill the weeds

Story and photo By DRAEDON LEDBETTER Pima Community College has started a partnership with the University of Arizona’s ENGR 498 class. UA Engineering needed more space to work, which meant moving the initiative moved its operation to the Mechatronics lab at the Downtown campus. The capstone project that Team 18029 has been working on is a weed-killing device. The weed-killing device uses a pneumatic punch which pinches and can drill holes to kill to weeds and increase crop production. The device identifies weeds through its manual operation as well as a camera positioned on its surface as of right now the machine is operational. The pneumatic punch will position itself over the weed and stomp it. Its overall purpose is to work in shaping the new frontier of agricultural technol...

Giving prisoners a second chance at Pima

4Apr

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Giving prisoners a second chance at Pima

By COSTA B. PAPPAS Inmates can spend years inside county jails. When they are released into the world with their freedom returned, they often have little to no job experience or the necessary education. This is often compounded by the fact returning home can be a battle of its own. After all, spending time inside a jail does not look good on a resume, and rejoining society and reiterating oneself on the culture can take time. Many, without support, are forced to go back into the life of crime in order to survive. For many, this way of life is all they know. The MacArthur Foundation was started by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur to donate money to progress U.S. society, to help alleviate the social challenges that exist for those less fortunate. One of the plans Pima County has to u...