Alumni Success Stories

Student Success Series

Sandra Gallo

Sandra Gallo, a 2008 Sierra College graduate and last year’s Associated Students of Sierra College President, was selected to receive the California State Systems Office (CSSO) Annual Student Leadership Scholarship Award. The CSSO Executive Board awards two annual scholarship awards of $1,000 to a student leader who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and abilities at the campus, regional, or statewide level.

A letter of recognition that accompanied Gallo’s application, submitted by Vice President of Student Services, Mandy Davies, stated “I must begin by stating that in the sixteen years that I have been an administrator at S.C., I have not worked with such a poised, articulate, passionate, inspirational and truly gifted student leader as Sandra. As this year’s president of our 20,000 plus student body, Sandra will leave behind a legacy that will be next to impossible to follow.”

Sandra Gallo has a lot to be proud of. As a reentry student Sandra initially had fears that she was too old and too far removed from the riggers of school to accomplish her goals while raising her six year old daughter alone. But since she began attending Sierra College in August of 2006 her life has taken some dramatic turns in the right direction. Maintaining a solid 4.0 GPA, Gallo’s confidence strengthened and she began to step out into other areas of interest on campus. She got involved in student government, with the desire to be an advocate for other reentry students like herself. She also held the seat as Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees.

In her role as the ASSC president Gallo made vast improvements for the organization. She managed the relocation and renovation of the office and improved the financial status of the Association by paying off a large loan, leaving the books in the black for the new president. She oversaw the largest Student Senate in the history of Sierra College and became adapt at conflict management. She worked with the Senate to forge new and lasting relationships with faculty, staff, and management.

This fall Sandra Gallo has transferred to Sacramento State where she will pursue a BS in Finance. Her goal is to one day have a career on Wall Street, and with her talent and ambition, everyone who knows her is certain she will accomplish great things.

“I am no longer a frightened re-entry student;” said Sandra Gallo “I am now a person who understands the importance of goal setting, an education, and civic responsibility.  My greatest desire is to be a role model to my daughter.  I want her to look at me and see a woman who turned adversity into opportunity. I also want her to understand that it is never too late to start over and to be a success in whatever endeavor one sets their mind to achieve”.

Student Success Series

Luis Ramirez

After three years at Sierra College, working and studying hard, Luis Ramirez, 22, is ready to take on an education at California Polytechnic State University, San Louis Obispo. He will be leaving Sierra with his A.A. in Architecture, but for Ramirez, this is only the beginning.

“Sierra College really prepared me for the future,” he said. “They helped get me an internship and encouraged me to do well.”

Ramirez grew up living in a small trailer in the town of Kings Beach, on the shores of Lake Tahoe. A gifted student with a lot of drive, Ramirez enrolled in the Engineering Support Technology program at Sierra College, and did very well. He received a Computer-Aided Drafting Specialist-Architectural certificate on May 11, 2007. He is currently working for a local engineer and preparing to make the move to San Luis Obispo to begin the next step in his education.

“Sierra offers a lot of opportunities,” he said. “All the instructors and counselors are there to help out.”

Ramirez will always remember the feelings of excitement and anticipation he had during his first semester on campus. “It was great just being able to come to Sierra College,” he said. “Now that I have my A.A. degree, it feels amazing to be going to Cal Poly to be a part of their architecture program.”

Ramirez also credits the financial aid he received at Sierra College for making it possible for him to get an education. Applying for FAFSA helped to pay for tuition and he was also the recipient of a Dave Ferrari Scholarship. Dave Ferrari is a current and long time member of the Board of Trustees of Sierra College. He grew up in and represents the Tahoe/Truckee region. He runs Ferrari's Crown Motel, a business founded and built by his parents in 1955. Mr. Ferrari, a community activist, founder and board member of the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe; also serves on the board of the Family Resource Center; and the Grants committee with the Tahoe/Truckee Community Foundation. Ferrari is proud of Luis Ramirez’s accomplishments and suggested to the P/R Department that his story is worth telling.

Ramirez has many goals for the future and the education he has received at Sierra College has helped him to realize what he wants to do. “I had a unique experience at Sierra College,” Ramirez said. “My advice to incoming students is to relax and to work as much as they can with the counselors.”

“Really, I just want to be someone that my peers can look up to,” he said.

Student Success Series

Sasha Pelletier

As a Technical Assistant in the Marketing Department at Sierra College, Sasha Pelletier is a single mother who does it all. From answering phone calls, handling the department’s event calendar, and making posters, she is a secret weapon within the Marketing Department.

After just graduating this last spring with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts, Pelletier is now on her way to attaining a Fashion Merchandizing degree to better solidify her career aspirations.

“I’ve always known I’ve wanted to go into the fashion field,” she said. “It’s been in my blood since I was four years old.”

Before coming to Sierra College, Pelletier had never considered that she would graduate college. It’s been two years, though, and with her degree in hand Pelletier is now more comfortable pursing bigger dreams. “I want a better life for my daughter and Sierra is giving me the tools I’ll need to fulfill my dreams.”

“You should do something you love,” she said, “and my experience at Sierra College has been amazing. With help from the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services I am able to work on campus and go to school while raising my five year old daughter.”

With the counseling and advice she received from EOPS, Pelletier encourages other students to take advantage of all the resources available at Sierra College.

“Ask questions and utilize the counselors that are there to help,” she said. “It’s important to keep an open mind.”

Once she has completed her schooling at Sierra College, Pelletier intends to pursue her career with hopes of one day running her own fashion boutique. With the skills she’s gained by working in the Marketing Department, Pelletier looks forward to the next step.

“Sierra College helped me through everything,” she said. “I’m very thankful for that.”

Cameron Ray

After leading the Sierra College Wolverines to their first-ever baseball state championship in 2008 and finishing up his third year at Sierra College, Cameron Ray is setting his sights on the future and turning his baseball dreams into a reality.

Ray, 20, will be attending Sonoma State University in order to pursue a kinesiology degree as well as continue to play baseball. His dreams of playing professional baseball haven’t changed since he was five and his perseverance has paid off. Just this year, Ray was named the state championships Most Valuable Player and the Big 8 Conference Pitcher of the Year.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to go pro,” Ray said. “Sierra College really helped to accommodate my dreams and I knew it was the right choice for me.”

Ray also earned All-American honors and he gives credit to his athletic counselors for helping guide him down the right path.

“Somebody was always willing to help,” he said. “I couldn’t have gotten anything better then what I found at Sierra.”

Ray also found inspiration in Sierra College’s head baseball coach, Rob Willson.

“He really helped me out,” Ray said. “He is someone who fights for every player and I looked up to him. He became my hero and someone to remember.”

As he continues to further his baseball career, Ray would also like to attend Sacramento State University someday and attain a master’s degree. His experience at Sierra College has even made him dream of coaching college baseball one day.

“Sierra College meant a lot to me,” Ray said. “It has been unbelievably rewarding.”

Name	Occupation	Attended Sierra College
James L. Sorenson	James LeVoy Sorenson is a renowned American entrepreneur who invented and produced many ingenious medical devices that are standard equipment in health care today. He is known foremost for developing the computerized heart monitor, which was the first device able to accurately monitor conditions inside a living human heart. Among Mr. Sorenson’s other inventions are the first disposable paper surgical mask, the first plastic venous catheter and the first blood recycling system for trauma and surgical procedures. With more than 40 medical patents, it is likely that a Sorenson medical innovation is at work in every operating room and intensive care unit in the United States. More of his biography.	1940-42 (Placer Jr. College)
Ken Tokutomi	CPA	Graduated 1975
Mike Doane	Roseville Police Officer	Graduated 1984
Lisa Ralston	Director, Sutter Auburn Faith Emergency Services	Graduated 1987
Bob Koch	Bob graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a certificate degree in Traditional Character Animation in 1998. His first job in the industry was with Walt Disney, primarily working with Euro Disneyland in France. He has since worked for a number of different gaming and animation studios including: Atari Games on “Bevis and Butthead”; Wild Brain on the TV show “The Twisted Tails of Felix the Cat”; Pixar Animation Studios on such projects as “Toy Story 2” and “A Bug’s Life”. Bob then worked for PDI/Dreamworks in their commercial and effects division as Senior Animator and Designer. While with Pixar Bob heard that Moebius, the French comic book illustrator was making a film in China. As a huge fan of Moebius, Bob applied and went to work for him. Since that work as the Character Animation Supervisor, Bob has worked with Mondo Media, Electonic Arts, and is currently working for LucasArts on the “Indiana Jones Next-Gen game as Animation Lead.	1985
Josh Reis	Josh currently owns JRLAB in Southern California, a Motion Graphics, DVD Authoring and Short Form Online Finishing Studio. He graduated from USC in Fine Arts and Cinema-Television in 2003. Josh attended Colfax high school and Sierra College. Film credits include: Nomad Traveller, India, with Elizabeth Hurley; Johnny Polygon “Bag” music video directed by Nathan Morse, and “Speed Dating”, a short film directed by Crystal Liu. Other work includes Motion Graphics and After Effects animation for Sony Playstation 3, N, and for Red Bulls Major League Soccer Team commercial. Go to http://www.joshuareis.com to see Josh’s portfolio of work.	1999-2000
Travis Howe	Travis left Sierra College in 2003 to pursue an education at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA. While attending, he worked with a group of 6 others to create the opening visuals for the 2005 VES Festival in L.A. and began mentoring at Pixar under senior animator Dan Mason. Upon graduation he was offered a job at Perpetual Entertainment in San Francisco, making a World of Warcraft style game (a genre known as Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games, or MMORPG's) called Gods and Heroes. Check out http://www.godsandheroes.com.	2003