Home is where the art is
The afternoon sun is high, the breeze strong, creating a scenic and relaxing atmosphere in the Fine Arts Plaza at Pierce College. Art history professor, Ramela Abbamontian, sits at a bench in the middle of native Californian plants and metal sculptures, a mauve puffer jacket protecting her from the wind.
Her eyes are bright, glancing around the plaza that...
Mitra Hoshiar
Sunset at the Malibu Beach shore is a dance of color and light. Birds fly in coordination with ocean waves like a window to paradise. The wind conquers the weak waves of late winter and the sun sinks to the ocean. Playful children run away from their parents while trying to reach out to the waves. Seagulls fly freely,...
Knowledge lights the way
Perhaps you missed his office because it was obscured behind a brick wall with a sign reading Platform 9 3/4. Maybe you weren’t looking for a train station leading to a magical institution, but the entrance to English instructor Mickey Harrison’s office bears an uncanny resemblance to the place.
Harrison has only been a full-time instructor at Pierce College for...
Zarrin Paidor
Story by: Jonathan Pineda
Sitting in her comfortable black desk chair with her arms out in front of her as she types away at the front desk of the Center for Academic Success, Zarrin Paidor, an educational counseling senior office assistant at Pierce College, is focused on her computer, booking students for their tutoring sessions for later on in the...
Q&A with Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins
Photos & Interview by Lynn Levitt
The late 1990s was a special time for drummer Taylor Hawkins. He had landed a gig with Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. And soon after, Dave Grohl, the former drummer of Nirvana and founder of the Foo Fighters, asked Hawkins if he knew anyone who could fill his recently vacant drummer spot in his new...
Teaching progression through chord progression
David McGarry sits at the reception desk at the Center for Academic Success at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 15, 2019. (Photo by: Chelsea Westman)
David McGarry poses with the English and ESL tutoring schedule at the Center for Academic Success at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May...
From pulling garments to doing fittings
Neither the lively swish of a dress nor the furl of a coat can come to life upon stagewithout a creative mind to guide the process. Pierce College's theater department enjoys a bevy of beautiful costumes through the combined efforts of the costume department, of which Katherine JuDay is a part of, as the costume shop manager. She's a...
His infectious love for theater
A man stands with a group of students, informing them safety precautions about using a table saw in the workshop. His salt and pepper hair reflects some of the light overhead. His off-white facial hair scatter across his face, down to the underside of his chin as he speaks about what the table saw can do when it comes to making interesting...
Dig in, let your voice be heard with Loy
As professor Robert Loy’s students trickle into his small group communication class, they are greeted with upbeat and colorful music playing from his laptop speaker.
The eclectic playlist includes music from diverse genres which he uses in his regular karaoke performances.
As a new full-time faculty member, Loy is the assistant director and advisor of the Pierce College Communications...
Teaching students on what they can do as welders
Photo by: Diego Barajas
As he stands tall wearing Celtic wristbands laid under his skin, grey facial hair, and brown leather work boots, he has returned to the campus with familiarity. Teaching on the Pierce College campus for nine years, Gary Wheeler, certified in L.A. city structural steel, L.A. city reinforcing steel, and California State certification, is a welding instructor...