Cerritos College
Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

Cerritos College • Norwalk, Calif.

Talon Marks

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DSP&S attend Mentoring Day

Students from the Cerritos College Disabled Student Programs and Services came back from the 2009 Mentoring Day event with more than just certificates and notes.

A group of 10 students were taken to Loyola Law School on Wednesday by the Cerritos College DSP&S for a day of direct guidance and practical learning experience regarding their future careers from professionals related to various fields.

Aurora Segura, DSP&S counselor at Cerritos, was satisfied with the response from the students and proud of their dynamic participation at the event.

“Cerritos College students stood out from the rest of the groups because they were well-dressed and had a professional attitude,” she said.

Child development major Haya Rios,  who attended the event for the first time, plans on attending next year too because of her amazing experience.

Her mentor was Richard Ray, Deaf Services coordinator for Deaf and Hard Hearing Services for the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability, Disability Access and Services Division.

Rios asked him about the kind of services he offers to disabled people and how he manages to overcome his own hearing disability.

“It doesn’t matter if you are disabled, you still have the opportunity to serve others,” she said as an outcome of her meeting with Ray.

Maria Quiroz, psychology major, was paired up with the manager of career management at Los Angeles Job Corps, a free program to train and educate young individuals and assist them with acquiring employment.

Quiroz wants to work as a counselor at Job Corps and therefore her experience at the Mentoring Day was valuable for her future plans.

The level of dedication and organization she observed when she visited the Job Corps site with her mentor really impressed her.

“It was very interesting to see how well organized the Job Corps is and how it helps its students to get a career. It really cares about students and their needs,” she said.

Tammy Brillinger, liberal arts major, also visited the Job Corps site, but focused on the office and computer skills department as well as the technological supervision at the center.

Brillinger, who is interested in becoming an elementary school teacher, didn’t go to the Job Corps center with the idea of planning on joining it in the future someday, but now her experience has motivated her to reconsider her future plans.

At the site, she observed different kinds of classes going on and the various methods of teaching being applied.

“I think this experience has opened up more doors for me, and I am looking into the possibility of applying for a teaching position at Job Corps,” she said incredibly delighted with her experience.

At the end of the day, all the students gathered at Loyola for dinner and shared their experience.

Betty Wilson, director of Community Affairs with the City of Los Angles Department on Disability, and Theresa May De Vera, commissioner for the City of Los Angeles Commission on Disability, were the guest speakers at the event who motivated the students and shared their own experiences with disability issues.

Students were also informed about their rights in the society and in the workplace.

“I felt very welcomed, and I think there is a world out there waiting for me,” Quiroz said.

Overall the feedback from the students was positive, but Quiroz felt that the event needs to be advertised more extensively so that more students can benefit from it.

Furthermore, Brillinger believes that such a valuable event needs to go on for a longer period of time.

“At the event so many things go on, and if it is extended just a little bit more then it would be great. But (Disability Rights Legal Center at Loyola) still did an excellent job of trying to get us to sites where we had to go,” she said.

Contrary to the popular trend of budget cuts hurting departments at Cerritos, Segura believe it did not really affect this year’s Mentoring Day.

“The response level from the students were pretty much the same as last year, and the only issue we faced due to budget cuts was not being able to hire a bus instead of two vans to provide transportation to the students.  We want to be able to take as many students as possible to the event,” she explained.

 

 

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DSP&S attend Mentoring Day