Highlighting the amazing Administration, Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Students that make up our pirate family.
This month's highlights include:
Cathy Bojorquez (Vice President, Business and Administrative Services), Jamie Harmon (Faculty, Communication Studies), Rhonda Carlson (Classified, Foster Care Project Specialist), Alyna Zarate (Student)
Primary role at the college: Vice President, Business and Administrative Services. Oversee the areas of Information Technology, Student Business Office, Financial Aid, food services, college budgets, purchasing, facilities, maintenance, grounds and custodial services.
Years of Service: 5 years with VCCCD, 21 years in education
Family: My husband, Dan, and I have been married 35 years. We have two sons, Frank and Michael, who have attended Ventura College. We also have several “adopted” kids that have lived with us over the years (Ethan and Jacob the longest). From all these kids I have been blessed with 8 grandchildren!
Hobbies: I love puzzles, especially jigsaw and Suduko. They help quiet my mind after a busy day. I also like to play board and card games with my grandchildren or friends.
Favorite Food: Italian. Growing up with an Italian mother, there was nothing better than homemade pasta!
Favorite Movie: The Sound of Music
Favorite Song: Any song on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I love to travel! My family had a little motorhome when I was a child and we spent many summers driving across the country to visit relatives in other states. My favorite part was camping in national parks along the way. I’ve visited 30 states so far and would like to try to visit all 50. About 10 years ago, my husband and I started to travel outside the country. I like to spend time researching locations and have a travel “bucket list” I daydream about. My goal is to take a “bucket list” trip at least every two years until we retire, then hopefully more often.
Name: Jamie Harmon
Primary role at the college: Faculty – Communication Studies
Years at Ventura College: 4
Hobbies: I love solo traveling! Every year, I try to visit at least one new place and find that I meet more people when I travel alone. My last solo trip was to Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. Besides traveling, I’m really social and love spending time with friends, reading, taking classes in interesting subjects, golfing (I started learning this year), binge-watching shows, and anything involving water (wakeboarding, lake trips, pool time).
Favorite Food: Pineapple Pizza (yes, I’m one of “those” people). Honestly though, I love most food. Goat cheese and lamb are the only foods I can think of that I really, really don’t like.
Favorite Movies: Across the Universe, Into the Wild, Bohemian Rhapsody
Favorite Musical Artist: I can’t possibly choose one, but I adore live music. In the last couple of years, I’ve seen Hozier, Leon Bridges, Avett Brothers, Pepper, Blink 182, Iration, and Blue October. I love seeing concerts at Santa Barbara Bowl – the best venue around!
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: When I was growing up, my family had a lot of pets. I didn’t realize how unusual it was at the time, but it seems pretty awesome now! At one point or another, I had a pet rat, iguana, snake, pony, horse, cockatiel, duck, peacock, chicken, hamster, guinea pig, St. Bernard, cat, bunny, and goat. Now, I just have a parrot named Darwin.
Name: Rhonda Carlson
Primary role at the college: Foster Care Project Specialist
Years of Service: I have been here 18 years last November, always in the same position.
I will expand upon my role a little more since my role on campus is not well known.
I serve as the Instructional Specialist for our Foster & Kinship Care Education Program (FKCE), a categorically funded program through the State Chancellor’s Office. The program is unique in that our program participants are not students. Our target population is the caregivers of children or youth who are in formal foster care or informally being raised by extended family members. Resource parents (the new and current term replacing “Foster Parent”) are required to get ongoing training to maintain their license. However, we also support all those families who just open their homes to help raise children who are not theirs by birth. Often this is grandparents raising grandchildren, but it can be a non-familial connection as well. Many of our classes are now in Spanish so that we can better serve our monolingual Spanish-speaking families. More information and a list of classes are on our website.
For many years, each campus had an FKCE program and Specialist. Now just Ventura and Oxnard have programs that must serve the entire County. As of about a year ago, I became the Instructional Specialist at Oxnard College as well (My time is split 50/50.) I am thrilled to share that we are in the process of bringing on a Bilingual Office Assistant to help both programs!
Family: My family includes James, my husband of nearly 15 years, Anjelica, our 26-year-old daughter by way of foster care, Sofia, our 6-year-old granddaughter and Max, our 13-year-old Golden Retriever. Anjelica and Sofia moved out last year, but recently, my Mom has been staying with us, so no empty nest just yet!
Hobbies: Currently, I am reading a lot, taking long walks, listening to music and streaming movies on our (quite big) pandemic purchase TV. I also love to arrange flowers. Looking ahead to when more of us are vaccinated and we embark on the “next normal,” I am excited to again go wine tasting, attend concerts, travel and just spend some time relaxing with friends.
Favorite Food: I love cheese, any and every kind, except for processed cheese, which I really don’t like at all.
Favorite Movie: Of any genre? That’s too tough. I will say that my favorite movie as a child that I still love as an adult is E. T. The Extra Terrestrial and of course, almost any animated Disney movie.
Favorite Song: Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I prefer to engage with the world through non-technological ways. I like reading from the printed page, writing notes on paper, and talking to people in person. I‘ve never had any social media accounts. An ideal day for me would involve no screens whatsoever. However, I’m not afraid of technology and I have become fairly adept at learning, using, understanding and even teaching others how to do everything needed in this virtual environment. That being said, I do chuckle every time I get an accidental message meant for the other Rhonda on campus, Rhonda Lillie, from the IT department. Even with my newfound skills, I do not think anyone wants me solving their IT problem!
Name: Alyna Zarate
Major: Biology
Years at Ventura College: 1
Family Life: I was born and raised with one younger sister and one older step sister. My older step sister was adopted by my parents when she was only a year old. She is now 32 years old with a family of her own. My family and I had lived in Camarillo for nine years of my life and then moved to Oxnard. We have one dog. My younger sister is in the 11th grade attending Santa Clara High school right now and once she graduates, she will be attending Ventura College as well.
Hobbies: Whenever I have the time, I love to spend my time playing sports such as running and volleyball. I also like playing the piano and reading on cold days. I love spending my time volunteering at my church as well.
Favorite food: My favorite type of food is Italian, but more specifically pasta and fettuccine alfredo. I like to try all different types of food, and sometimes I even prefer Chinese food over Italian.
Favorite movie: My favorite movie is definitely What About Bob. It is quite a comedy and always brings a smile to my face. It’s been my favorite for a while and every time I watch it, I laugh uncontrollably.
Favorite song: As of right now, my favorite song is Here Comes the Sun, by the Beatles. It has so much meaning behind it and potential as well.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: Whenever I have the time, I love spending my time with the nuns. I would choose to become a nun if I ever considered changing my career path. It’s just something so special about them and the connection we have formed. They’ve helped me to grow closer in my faith.