Saturday, July 12, 2025

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...

Mini Profile: Angela Belden

Professor finds purpose in and out of the classroom It was 2010 in Stillwater, Okla., when Angela Belden sat in front of a three-member panel at Oklahoma State University defending her dissertation about the cumulative effects of TV on body image. As intense as the moment was, her mind was also...

Smiles from cover to cover

English Professor Darren Borg reads "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad in his office at Pierce College on April 12, 2023. Photo by Drew Hokama. His love of literature is reflected in the shelves that line the walls, full of new and old books. Posters of sci-fi movies and original artwork are hung...

The adventures of a photojournalist

Gerard Burkhart poses in the Los Angeles Valley College studio room in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 26, 2023. Photo by Alexis Guevara. Gerard Burkhart’s photography journey has taken him on countless adventures filled with adrenaline and passion.  Born in 1958 in Altoona, Pennsylvania; Gerard Burkhart moved to Los Angeles...

Assistant joins the Media Arts team

Morgan Keith organizes the Roundup News archive room in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Oct. 25, 2023. Photo by Benjamin Hanson. A University of Missouri alum, journalist, dog mom and crocheter enters the Roundup News room. She is excited for the next task on her to-do list. Pierce College Instructional Assistant...

Leading the new generation

Tracy Hovsepian holds a children's book in the Child Development Center at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on May 21, 2024. Photo by Ashley Shellmire. Tracy Hovsepian knows firsthand what the struggle to navigate different cultures entails. Hovsepian’s family are ethnic Armenians, part of a Christian minority who lived peacefully in Iran,...

Mini Profile: Shalice Gonzalez

Shalice Gonzalez. Photo by Emil Rizkalla. Shalice Gonzalez is the new administrative assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs at Pierce College.She has a long history of helping people in various jobs. Before coming to Pierce, Gonzalez worked in lawfirms for over 20 years, handling many different responsibilities. However, after years in the...

Mini Profile: Michael Sande

Michael Sande. Photo by Icy Smith. Since starting at Pierce college 21 years ago, Theater Department Managing Director Michael Sande has guided more than 100 productions. "I also find that often the most fulfilling to work on when you see they have sort of sparked in interest in...

Mini Profile: Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones. Photo by Melanie Somoza. Long before Brandon Jones became a biology professor, he was a curious boy roaming the sun-soaked hills of Orange County, where the rustle of leaves and the scurry of insects beneath his feet sparked a fascination with the natural world.   Whether chasing lizards or...

Mini Profile: Ken Windrum

Ken Windrum. Photo by Tyler Hale. His love for cinema started when his father took him to see a double feature of Lawrence of Arabia and Marooned at an early age. Most children would be restless watching the former movie—clocking in at over three hours and forty minutes—but Ken Windrum remembers being mesmerized...