Mesa College Alumna, Rose Servida, who earned two degrees during her time at Mesa College, including a Bachelor’s degree, had her senior project article, recently published in the California Health Information Association’s (CHIA) Journal for their July-August 2020 “Focus on Education” issue. The industry journal publishes articles regarding current issues and best practices in Health Information management (HIM), on a variety of timely educational topics, and can include tips, strategies, techniques, case-studies, opinions and commentary.

Today, San Diego Mesa College announced the renaming of their Humanities Institute to the Dr. Constance M. Carroll Humanities Institute. The Institute, which was originally established in 1990, was generously supported by Dr. Carroll upon her appointment as President of Mesa College in 1993, and has continued to be in the forefront of her work during her tenure with the San Diego Community College District.

On July 23, 2020, San Diego Mesa College’s Teacher Education Pathways Program was honored with a League for Innovation’s 2019-2020 Innovation of the Year Award. The Mesa Teacher Education Program (Program) and the recognition via this award, positions Mesa as one of the premiere colleges for aspiring teachers, and prepares the next generation of educators to bring necessary racial and gender diversity to the current teacher work force. The Program was awarded, in part, not only because of the focus on diversity, but because it also offers free tutoring, smaller classes, stipends and a direct path to earning a Bachelor’s degree - all to help ensure student success.

Mesa College still has classes available this Fall, and is also providing supplies, kits and equipment for nearly 20 academic programs to ensure that students succeed. Students taking science courses such as Biology and Zoology will have access to take-home microscopes and dissection kits, sewing machines are available for fashion classes, culinary will supply pots and pans, music students can receive guitars and keyboards, art classes will be offering pottery wheels and clay, and geology students can get rock and mineral reference sets.

Each year, the League for Innovation in the Community College hosts the Student Literary Award competition, showcasing some of the best original poetry, fiction, drama, and personal essays composed by community college students from its 19 board member colleges. For the second year in a row, the San Diego Community College District has a national winner – Troy Bernardo – a Mesa College student whose One-Act Play entitled Three River Thieves has garnered him the first-place prize for a literary drama

"It takes bravery to protest during a pandemic," a student said. After years of seeing social media posts about police killings of black people, many San Diego students say they are fed up.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the San Diego Community College District to transition to online and distance learning, Mesa College journalism student Lance Nelson saw an opportunity to make a difference. He sold virtually all his possessions and flew to New York — the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak — where he has been volunteering since April 1 with food banks and pantries that feed struggling residents.

The Mesa College Fashion Department’s students, alumni, and faculty have teamed up to address the issue of mask shortages in the healthcare industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are mobilizing sewists and manning their machines, with some putting their own businesses and operations on pause to support the needs of hospital workers and their patients. Together, they have already managed to sew and distribute hundreds of masks throughout the community.