Balancing fandom, fatherhood and full-time education

Share: Student Kevin Seavers grew up with a great passion for sports. He remembers a childhood filled with memories of himself playing baseball, basketball and football. His love for sports always filled his days, which included waking up to watch ESPN and re-runs that involved Pete Rose, a baseball player who he admired and could also relate to. “I liked him because he wasn’t as big as some of the other players, but he was tough and gritty,” said Seavers. “That’s how I felt about …

From Lakers to Lancers: Career Center announces new director

Share: Before being named the public address announcer for the South Bay Lakers and the Los Angeles Football Club, filling in for long time Lakers PA announcer Lawrence Tanter and before being hired as the Director of PCC’s Robert G. Freeman Center for Career and Completion, Jason Barquero failed to convince the San Diego Padres he was the voice for the job. Ever since he was nine or 10-years old, Barquero wanted to get into radio. He aspired to be like his idol Vin Scully, …

PCC’s Personal Counseling embraces next phase of student support

Share: This story has been updated to accurately reflect statements made by Jason Vasquez.  Zoom fatigue—it’s the idea that the sudden shift to virtual conferences has a more taxing toll on one’s mental health than in-person meetings. Home offices and bedrooms have been converted to makeshift workspaces, blurring the boundaries between work and personal life. As California moves into its ninth week in quarantine, the shock of the transitional period is weaning off for some. However, PCC’s Personal Counseling department is prepared for the emotional …

PCC extends excused withdrawals and refunds deadline

Share: After the Chancellor’s Office temporarily suspended student withdrawal regulations due to the global pandemic, PCC students can now drop classes through excused withdrawals (EW) and have their enrollment fees refunded through June 14, according to the campus website. Prior to the novel coronavirus shutting down campus life, students only had until the second week of the semester to drop with a refund. With this temporary change, refunds will be automatically allowed for each student that drops a course.  Currently, classes can only be processed …

Beauty and journalism: The makeup for a dream career

Share: When it comes to fusing her two biggest interests—beauty and journalism—student Isabella Lujan has set her sights high and is on the right track to land her dream job: a “The Devil Wears Prada” reality as a beauty editor  What once began as an ordinary hobby of playing around with colors, following the steps of beauty bloggers and adding cosmetic tools to her collection, makeup became the creative outlet to Lujan’s life from a young age. This unintentionally revealed a long term vision for …

PCC clubs expected to struggle with remote elections

Share: On April 28, Executive Vice President of Associated Students Christopher Theung released a series of guidelines for remote club elections to members of Inter-Club Council (ICC). These guidelines are intended to help clubs that plan to hold remote elections for the new officers that will be taking over in the fall. The guidelines contain recommendations about conducting an online election from planning to execution, including checklists, things to consider, and resources for voting. An example is also provided at the end of the document …

PCC’s new triage teletherapy: ‘You don’t need to be in crisis’

Share: Amid PCC’s coronavirus closure, the Personal Counseling department has shifted gears to help students cope through triage teletherapy appointments until the campus reopens. During normal times, students may access the department’s in-person therapy sessions up to eight times during the regular term and six during intersession.  “These telephone triage appointments don’t count towards people’s session limits,” said Jason Vasquez, a counseling psychologist for the department in a zoom call. “We know that people need extra support right now. So that’s why we wanted to …

‘Pain in the ass’: PCC exasperated by federal stimulus rules

Share: At their April 22 meeting, multiple members of PCC’s College Council expressed their frustration with new guidelines from the federal Department of Education (ED) regarding the disbursement of federal stimulus money. “Let me just go on record: Betsy DeVos is a pain in the ass,” said Dr. Michael Bush, assistant superintendent and vice president of business and college services. “The legislature passed this really neat thing for higher education and then the Department of Education got a hold of it.” PCC has received $15.2 …

PCC’s Queer Alliance zooms into the Spring semester

Share: Had the semester remained in person, PCC’s Queer Alliance (QA) club would be hosting weekly meetings every Thursday afternoon. The new reality of remote learning and social distancing led QA to come together virtually on April 25, where members talked about their favorite latest Netflix shows, share their thoughts on remote learning and keep up with each other while in quarantine.   QA is PCC’s club for LGBTQ+ students and faculty on campus. Since PCC’s campus is closed due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, QA …

Fantasy becomes reality for Courier lifestyle editor

Share: A passion for fantasy and imagination has driven PCC student Haley Risch to a love of writing. Whether it be writing short stories as a child or her reverence for nature as an adult, these interests have culminated into her current position as the lifestyle editor at the Courier.  Her aspiration is to write intriguing and enjoyable things that people can learn from. At the newspaper she has written how-to pieces on yoga and reviews on things such as alcohol delivery and museums. Follow: