Coconino Community College - News and Spotlights - Page #8

CCC alum finds calling in education

Wednesday, 7^th December 2016

CCC alum Melissa Klemp focuses on helping children in her job with the Flagstaff Unified School District. Flagstaff, Ariz. – Enriching children’s lives became her calling. Coconino Community College alum Melissa Klemp began attending the College because she wanted to achieve her goal of getting a degree and pursuing a career in education. “It was a personal goal, and I wanted to show myself and my loved ones that I could get a college degree,” Klemp said. “I come from a single-parent household and am the first in my family to graduate [...]

New veterans organization on CCC campus

Wednesday, 30^th November 2016

CCC student veteran James Tallant helped start a chapter of Student Veterans of America on campus. Flagstaff, Ariz. -- James Tallant joined the U.S. Army at 18 straight out of high school. He is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. He’s currently a student at Coconino Community College, and it is through his work and the work of others that a new student-veteran organization has come to the College. CCC was approved in late June as a chapter member in Student Veterans of America, a nonprofit that is a national coalition of veterans organizations at more than [...]

CCC grad to son: Never too late for a degree

Monday, 21^st November 2016

CCC 2016 graduate Annie Brewer is owner of 22 LeRoux, a T-shirt and gift shop in downtown Flagstaff. Flagstaff, Ariz. – Coconino Community College graduate Annie Brewer wanted to prove to herself and to her son that it is never too late to go back to school and get a degree. “I wanted to show my 3-year-old son that it doesn’t matter where you’re at in life, school is always important,” Brewer said. “Always do your best, even if you have to take a year or two off like I did. Going back and finishing is important and [...]

Alum puts power of experience into education

Tuesday, 15^th November 2016

Coconino Community College alum Alicia Brown will graduate from Northern Arizona University in December after her experiences volunteering her services in Haiti after a severe earthquake. Flagstaff, Ariz. -- Her experiences in Haiti fueled the fire to get busy on her education. CCC alum Alicia Brown started taking classes in 2003. However, shortly after beginning her college education, life’s obstacles caused her to brake and take her foot of the accelerator. It was not until 2013 that Brown graduated from CCC with an Applied [...]

CCC payroll class cashes in on success

Wednesday, 9^th November 2016

Pictured from left to right: Elizabeth Zanzucchi, Matthew Garcia, Cheryl Brothers, Shannon Lozano, MacKenzi Lozano, Ben Underhill, Jacob Gonzales and Uriah McCassalin celebrate passing a national payroll certification exam after taking ACC 298 at Coconino Community College. Flagstaff, Ariz. -- Jacob Gonzales smiled broadly as he made his way to the front of the banquet room to be recognized for his achievement. He, along with eight other people, completed the certification requirements to be payroll professionals after completing a semester-long class at [...]

CCC alum cooks up IT success at FMC

Tuesday, 1^st November 2016

Coconino Community College alum Stuart Todhunter works as an IT tech for Northern Arizona Healthcare. Flagstaff, Ariz. -- Computer equipment and tools filled the cart as he pushed it down the hallway. As hospital staff passed him, he would give a smile. Stuart Todhunter is a Field Services Tech for the Information Technology Department at Northern Arizona Healthcare. He landed the job after receiving his computer training at Coconino Community College. “I was a chef for 30 years,” Todhunter said. “I didn’t want to do that anymore. [...]

CCC alum's recovery from domestic violence gives life focus

Monday, 17^th October 2016

CCC alum Jill Griffin moves forward to advocate for those affected by the plague of domestic violence. Flagstaff, Ariz. - A tested journey through life has steeled her into a driven and passionate learner and teacher. Coconino Community College alum Jill Griffin survived the horror of domestic violence for more than 20 years. Before starting at CCC in 2010, Griffin did not see the success in herself that she exemplifies today. “After years of the abuse, I had no hope,” Griffin said. “I felt had no freedom to do anything.” [...]

Relishing the written word at CCC

Monday, 10^th October 2016

Acclaimed author Dagoberto Gilb will make a free presentation at Coconino Community College's Lone Tree campus on Friday, Oct. 14, as part of the Northern Arizona Book Festival. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Renowned Southwestern author Dagoberto Gilb remembers passing through Flagstaff when he was young. He was driving from Albuquerque, N.M. to Los Angeles, and he had just been to Chinle on the Navajo Nation. He noticed a crew on the highway. He needed a job, so he asked for work. “I dreamed I’d been living in Flagstaff for a time,” he [...]

Events of music, poetry and prose coming to CCC

Friday, 7^th October 2016

Poet Becky Byrkit will perform with Jerry Riopelle and The Actual Musicians Band at CCC on Friday, Oct. 7. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- This week and next week, CCC is fortunate to celebrate the College's 25th anniversary with two literary and musical events. This week will feature poet Becky Byrkit and The Actual Musicians Band (with Jerry Riopelle, Llory McDonald and John Willis) and readings by CCC's “OnCourse” student magazine contributors. The event takes place in the Lone Tree Campus Commons on Friday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. The band will continue the celebration at the Gopher Hole later that evening. Byrkit went to Flagstaff Junior High, [...]

CCC, Sheriff's Office train detention officers

Tuesday, 27^th September 2016

Detention Officer 2 Tony Innerbichler, left, and Sgt. Paul Baze of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office graduated from the Basic Detention Academy, which is held each semester in partnership with CCC. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Paul Baze and Tony Innerbichler stand in a hallway of the Coconino County Detention Facility. Doors clang shut. Keys and chains rattle. Inmates move with detention officers to other parts of the jail. Baze and Innerbichler are detention officers, and both went through a Basic Detention Academy, made possible through a partnership [...]

CCC alum finds calling in critical care

Monday, 19^th September 2016

Coconino Community College graduate and Registered Nurse Chelsea Brumbaugh works for Northern Arizona Healthcare at Flagstaff Medical Center in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. For a video of Brumbaugh's experience, visit CCC's YouTube page here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Chelsea Brumbaugh’s idea to become a nurse took form at 13 years old. Chelsea’s mother went into a diabetic coma, and she studied how the nurses cared for her mother, and comforted Chelsea and her sister Ciara. “After that, I knew I wanted to be a nurse,” Chelsea said. Her dream came true in 2013, after she [...]

Free talks at CCC to uncover ancient cultures

Wednesday, 14^th September 2016

Dr. Dudley Gardner, CCC's Vice President of Academic Affairs, will give a series of lectures on recent archaeological digs he was a part of at locations across the globe, including Mongolia. (Courtesy photo) FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Ancient cultures of the Colorado Plateau, Fiji, Mongolia, New Zealand and Easter Island will be the focus of free talks at Coconino Community College for the next five weeks. A. Dudley Gardner, Ph.D., and CCC Vice President of Academic Affairs, will present a free lecture series at the Lone Tree Campus to share some of his [...]

CCC students flock to Resource Fair

Wednesday, 31^st August 2016

More than 300 Coconino Community College students received information about resources available to them at the College during the Resource Fair on Aug. 31 at the CCC Lone Tree Campus in Flagstaff. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Hundreds of students, many of them at Coconino Community College for their first semester, milled about the booths at the Lone Tree Campus. “This is all new to me,” said Chandler Leonard, a Flagstaff High School graduate in his first semester at CCC. He, like more than 300 other CCC students, took advantage of the CCC Resource [...]

Community's help brings CCC student's dream closer to reality

Wednesday, 17^th August 2016

Andrew Hatch received a scholarship from the Pinewood Property Owners Association to attend CCC. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The small community of Munds Park has taken the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child” to heart. Coconino Community College first-year student Andrew Hatch received a scholarship from the Pinewood Property Owners Association to attend college. “It’s the first step to my dream,” Andrew said. “I won’t have to worry about money and I can work on academics. It makes the financial burden so much [...]

Scholarship helps CCC student's plan to give back

Wednesday, 10^th August 2016

CCC student Ciara Scott will graduate from CCC in December and transfer to NAU for the spring semester. For a video of Scott's experience, visit CCC's YouTube page here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The word “education” comes up often in Ciara Scott’s family. Her grandmothers, mother and aunts were all teachers. When she graduated from Tuba City High School in 2014, Scott set her sights on college, and with the help of the Raymond Educational Foundation, she will be able to do so without having to worry about finances. Scott was a recipient of one of the Raymond Educational Foundation scholarships to [...]

CCC helps father-son team network for success

Wednesday, 3^rd August 2016

CCC alum Scott Tabako, right, started Flagstaff Computer Guys in 2008 after a career in the automotive industry and now works with his son, Stephen, who also takes computer networking classes at the CCC. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- It was the time of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs hitting it big when Scott Tabako graduated from high school in Minnesota. “I’ve always been interested in computers,” Scott said. But at the time, the market was flooded with computer people, so Scott did the sensible thing. He went into the automotive-repair field after [...]

CCC grad creates recipe for success in city she loves

Wednesday, 3^rd August 2016

Kerry Kurtz continues to attend Coconino Community College to hone her business skills in Flagstaff. For a video of Kurtz's experience, visit the CCC YouTube page here. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Kerry Kurtz moved to Flagstaff in the 1980s to attend Northern Arizona University. She received a degree in music education. She fell in love with Flagstaff, but not the career. “I wasn’t cut out for it,” Kurtz said, adding that during the summer break after student teaching, she drove a school bus. Not long after that, she took a job with a building contractor. “It turned out I was really good at [...]

Alum finds continuing education at CCC

Tuesday, 19^th July 2016

Coconino Community College alum Shawn Davis, Chief Information Officer Information Technology at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, checks on computer hardware at the Navajo Nation-based hospital. TUBA CITY, Ariz. - Shawn Davis was born and raised in the small community of Chinle, Arizona, and he didn’t really have an idea of what he wanted to do with his life after he graduated from high school in 1994 and began attending NAU. “For me, it was too much at that time because I came from a small community,” Davis said. He [...]

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 [...]