From the Tower of Babel
Professor Christine Ersig-Marcus has been teaching for 20 years, first in Switzerland, then in the United States. Ersig-Marcus was born in Switzerland and learned how to speak Swiss-German from birth.
“I make a point of that because Swiss-German can only really be understood by Swiss-German speakers,” Ersig-Marcus said. “For a Swiss person this is a very strong identity marker because...
Living a life of music
James Elza Domine is a San Fernando Valley born conductor and well-established musician. He teaches a number of string and guitar courses at Pierce while also playing a large selection of instruments including piano, guitar, violin and viola.
“Most people’s lives, where you end up, is a combination of where your parents are to start with and where your education...
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,...
The mechanic who almost wasn’t
Professor Alex Villalta in the Automotive Tech Lab at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Photo by Ginina Pulcinella.
On a sunny Tuesday morning in March, about 10 students wearing black and red coveralls worked at several stations in the Auto Tech shop....
The upkeep of the Pierce College aquatic center
Many students on campus may not know this but there are classes that start before 7 a.m.
If you think that’s way too early to be on a school campus consider this. The swimming pool on campus opens at 5:30 a.m. Deborah Hefter, 28, has been the swimming pool supervisor at Pierce College for past five years and those early...
Tracie Savage
Wedged between a newsroom and an administrative office, on the Pierce College campus, survives the Media Arts room. Nebulous on the outside and unwelcoming on the inside, a gray cubicle a quarter of the way down stands out from all other surroundings. Professor Tracie Savage, former actress and journalist, is seated on a typical rolling desk chair, wrapped in...
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...
Finding culture through Anthropology
Erin Hayes holds a Russian nesting doll, surrounded by other cultural items in her office on Mar. 16, 2019 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif.
The saying is to always take the road less traveled. This mantra is often found on coffee cups and bumper stickers with good intentions that are rarely...
Persistence makes perfect
A Spanish professor walks into the Pierce campus to begin teaching every day on time, without fail. Even though some Pierce professors can relate to this experience, many may not relate to the two hour commute this professor has taken for the last four years.
Ever since Spanish professor...