Coconino Community College - News and Spotlights - Page #9

CCC alum finds new life path after injury

Wednesday, 6^th July 2016

CCC grad Danielle Pastor enjoys her work as a paramedic with Guardian Medical Transport in Flagstaff. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Coconino Community College graduate Danielle Pastor ate, slept and dreamed soccer. But a career-ending injury in the spring of 2008 took her life in a new direction. Pastor is now a paramedic with Guardian Medical Transport in Flagstaff. She was born and raised in Flagstaff, which is why the community holds a special place in her heart. Her journey to her new career began when she took an EMT course, co-taught by paramedics with the ...

Flagstaff business is 'Apple' of CCC grad's eye

Wednesday, 29^th June 2016

CCC graduate Drake Louks stands outside his Apple-certified store, Arizona Tech Advisors, in Flagstaff. For a video of Louks' experience, visit the CCC YouTube page here. Flagstaff, Ariz. - Cracked screens, blinking lights and iPhones fill the room as you enter a door labeled “Apple Certified Technicians Only.” In that room you will find Coconino Community College graduate Drake Louks fixing technology that has transformed as much as CCC since the College opened its doors nearly 25 years ago. Louks’ relationship with CCC began as a high school student going through the CAVIAT program at CCC from ...

CCC grad helps Page community in many ways

Wednesday, 22^nd June 2016

Page Mayor Bill Diak became an EMT assisted by Coconino Community College after his first retirement. For a video of Diak's experience, visit the CCC YouTube page here. PAGE, Ariz. -- He’s more than the Mayor of Page. Just ask the people he’s helped as an Emergency Medical Technician on an ambulance or as an Emergency Department Technician at the hospital. Bill Diak has had a number of callings while living near the shores of Lake Powell. He moved to the city in 1980, but his relationship with far northern Arizona began even before that when he was a young boy. His father would take Boy Scouts on trips to ...

CCC gives helping hand to veterans

Tuesday, 14^th June 2016

Tom Stinde, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and VA student worker, is one of many veterans in the CCC community who have received guidance from CCC Veteran Services. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - CCC Veteran Services has been an immense help in U.S. Marine Corps veteran Tom Stinde’s return to school. “CCC’s Veteran Services not only helped me realize the benefits I can receive for serving my country, but they have also helped guide me and keep me on track in my schooling after 25 years,” ...

CCC alum graduates from NAU

Wednesday, 1^st June 2016

Kiara Weathersby graduated from NAU in May with a bachelor's degree in business management and psychology. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- At one time in her life, Kiara Weathersby was a rebel who dropped out of high school because she didn't believe in herself. That has changed. Coconino Community College graduate Kiara Weathersby graduated May 8 from Northern Arizona University with bachelor's degrees in business management and psychology. Born and raised in Flagstaff, Weathersby traveled a long road to reach that day. The journey began in 2008, when she was ...

CCC celebrates Career & Technical Education

Monday, 23^rd May 2016

Nursing and Allied Health Director Lori Edwards shows area high school counselors Trauma Hal during a visit to the CCC Fourth Street campus last semester during a Programs of Study session at the College. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- They came from all over the county. Their intent was to learn all about what Coconino Community College has to offer high school students who are on a Career and Technical Education path. More than 20 area high school counselors and teachers attended the CTE Programs of Study Coconino Consortium meeting at the CCC Fourth Street Campus ...

CCC graduate keeps promise to sister

Tuesday, 17^th May 2016

CCC graduate Julie Drinkard graduated from Northern Arizona University on May 14. She has already landed a job as a social worker for Catholic Charities in Flagstaff and thanks her sister for her success. For a video of Drinkard's experience, visit CCC's YouTube page here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Her sister made her promise back in 2008 to at least give college a try. “So, I promised her,” said Julie Drinkard. “That was my last conversation with her. She died four days later.” Drinkard’s sister died of complications associated with leukemia. Drinkard had been a bone-marrow donor ...

CCC construction students get hands-on training

Wednesday, 4^th May 2016

CCC Instructor Ken Myers, center, talks construction to students at an affordable rental home in Flagstaff being built by Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. The build was deemed a "CCC Instructional Site." For a video of the program, visit CCC's YouTube here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Crews poured the foundation. Carpenters pounded nails and framed. Drywall went in. Up went the roof, and the shell stood ready for the new home to come to life. During that time, dozens of Coconino Community College students in the construction trades got the chance to see what it takes to build a home from top to ...

CCC student overcomes her fears

Thursday, 28^th April 2016

CCC alum Danielle Butler is currently studying for her bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice at NAU. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- She grew up on the Navajo Nation and graduated from Tuba City High School in 2010. With high hopes, Danielle Butler went straight to Arizona State University the next fall. “My first semester at ASU, I felt very lost on a big campus and didn’t know what would be expected of me,” she said. She left after a semester and returned home. “When I came home, my grandfather would ask me when I would be going back to ...

CCC ASL grads: All for one, one for all

Wednesday, 20^th April 2016

From left to right, American Sign Language students Hope Brosseau, Loriann Gigous, Geoff Smith, Roberta Estala and Eve Hansen show off their ASL skills before they all graduate from CCC on May 13. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- They let their hands do the talking for the benefit of Deaf people. It’s why they went to Coconino Community College. Now, five students in the American Sign Language program will graduate from CCC with their associate’s degree on May 13. “I had no idea what I was going to learn when I started, but I’m very happy with ...

Trauma Hal makes debut at CCC

Wednesday, 13^th April 2016

David Manning, CCC’s Fire Science and Emergency Medical Service Program Coordinator and Instructor, and Lori Edwards, CCC Director of Nursing and Allied Health, make a diagnostic check on Trauma Hal. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- He can blink his eyes. He can talk, and he can bleed. You can give him shots, ask him questions, and you can find out what ails him just like any human. Except he’s not human. Meet Trauma Hal, the newest state-of-the-art addition to the Coconino Community College team in the Career and Technical Education department for the Nursing, Fire ...

Turning up the heat on Fire Science students at CCC

Thursday, 7^th April 2016

Fire Science students at Coconino Community College learn about fire behavior during a recent drill. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The fire burned, smoke and heat billowed from open doors, and then the students entered the building. “It was very exciting, definitely gets the adrenaline going,” said Justin Roederer, second-year student in Fire Science at Coconino Community College. “I’d never been in a structure on fire before. It’s a lot different than a wildland setting.” Roederer and 15 other CCC students participated in a live fire ...

CCC grad set to finish studies at NAU

Thursday, 7^th April 2016

Former CCC2NAU student Belinda Ayze will graduate from Northern Arizona University in May 2016. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Her path to success took a while, and she ventured down dark places before she arrived. But she has arrived. Former CCC2NAU student Belinda Ayze will graduate in May from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Indigenous Studies and a minor in Visual Communications. “That’s been my focus ever since I started, and it’s going to happen,” Ayze said with a smile. Ayze currently serves as an intern for the ...

CCC alum dedicated to helping her people

Tuesday, 16^th February 2016

Former CCC2NAU student and NAU graduate Jewel Honga aspires to great things in the future. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Former Coconino Community College student Jewel Honga has dedicated herself to helping her people. As a member of the Hualapai Tribe, Honga understands how important it is to represent her people and help young people go to school. Honga began college at Portland State University in the fall of 2008, but she injured her knee and needed and recovery time. “There was no way I could have done it in Oregon, so I had to stay,” she said. ...

CCC student success: From darkness to light

Friday, 15^th January 2016

CCC2NAU student Justin Wilgus graduated from NAU in December after making a challenging journey. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- In his own words, he could have turned a difficult upbringing and destructive choices into excuses why he couldn’t succeed in life. Instead, he fought tooth and nail from a dark path to find purchase on sunny bedrock on which to build a successful life. On Dec. 18, CCC2NAU student Justin Wilgus graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s degree in geology and a minor in math. He is also a Gold Axe and President’s ...

CCC Peer Advising helps student retention

Wednesday, 16^th December 2015

Peer Advisors Katherine Radics, Darnell Joseph and Aleina Myers stand in the Commons at the CCC Lone Tree Campus. For a video of the Peer Advising program at CCC, visit the CCC YouTube page here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Darnell Joseph walked in front of the Fourth Street Campus of Coconino Community College on that fateful day two years ago. He had no idea what he was going to do after he closed his restaurant on Fourth Street. Joseph worked as a chef for years and was thinking about going back to work when he looked in the window of CCC and wondered what it would be like to go back to school. He was about to walk away when somebody ...

CCC2NAU student to graduate from NAU

Wednesday, 16^th December 2015

CCC2NAU student Eldred Nez will graduate from Northern Arizona University on Dec. 18, 2015. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- One of his dreams is to help his community to become healthier. He also wants to help the environment by growing food. Eldred Nez, 31, hails from Jeddito on the Navajo Nation. He graduated from Hopi High School in 2002, and began attending Coconino Community College in 2010. As a CCC2NAU student, Nez began attending Northern Arizona University full time in 2013. He graduates on Dec. 18, with a degree that includes two fields of study to make a major – ...

Teacher scholarship goes to CCC2NAU student

Monday, 26^th October 2015

CCC2NAU student Cathleen Goodell, now at NAU, is a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship recipient. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Since the first time someone asked her, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” former Coconino Community College student Cathleen Goodell’s response has been “A teacher.” Since high school, Goodell has studied childhood development and worked with children. When she returned to school in 2009, she helped teach fellow CCC students. “I found myself regularly helping other students with comprehension and ...

CCC student helps Navajo Nation children reach for the stars

Monday, 21^st September 2015

CCC student Kiril Kirkov (left) and astronomy instructor Barry Malpas prepare a telescope for photography as part of the "Stars for the Future" project designed to expose Navajo Nation students to space sciences. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Fourteen young students from the STAR School in Leupp ate pizza and listened as Coconino Community College Astronomy Instructor Barry Malpas explained photographs of the moon and the planets on the wall of the classroom. “You can expect to take pictures like these,” he told the students. The ...

CCC instructor features exhibit at MNA

Monday, 24^th August 2015

CCC instructor Joe Cornett stands with his exhibit, "Roundball Religion," at the Museum of Northern Arizona. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The hoop and the backboard: They are symbols of the sport of basketball, and they prevail through time and across culture. Joe Cornett, part-time digital photography instructor at Coconino Community College, focuses on the hoop and the backboard in his work called “Roundball Religion.” The work is on exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona from June 25 through Sept. 30. “It’s appreciation for ...