My mom has worked at Sierra College for as long as I can remember. I grew up here. I went to daycare here. I started as a student at Sierra while in high school. I also started working in the Computer Information Systems (CIS) department as an assistant in the computer lab and classroom. I became a tutor in the Learning Center. I then graduated with an AS in Business Administration from Sierra. I transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and got my Bachelors in Business with a concentration in Information Systems. I then went to work for the largest winery in the world as a Business Systems Analyst. Recently, I moved back to Roseville. I got a job teaching at Sierra! I now teach the same class I used to TA and tutor. My mother is my department chair! I am extremely excited to be teaching at the place where I feel at home.
Tag: Alumni
Donna Knifong: Communications Instructor at Sierra College Promotes Positive Change Through “The Listener Project”
My mother attended Sierra College and used to bring me to class, where I would read my Nancy Drew books while she took lecture notes from the professor. I, too, was once a student here, taking the courses that, as a faculty member now, I have the privilege to teach. Sierra College gave me this strong foundation to achieving my higher education, as well as many of my family members and friends throughout the years.
This institution continues to bless me with wonderful students who inspire and teach me every day, and colleagues who care deeply and actively strive for student success. The work that I do outside of the classroom, in relation to my field, Communication Studies, is fueled by a supportive campus climate centered on expanding minds and touching hearts. I call this work The Listener Project: Better Lives through Better Listening, because its purpose is to promote the importance of truly listening and understanding others on campus and in the community. It is work that I am not sure I would ever have done, much less thought to do, if I worked any place other than Sierra College.
Susan Kurnett: The Journey to Becoming a Full-Time Chemistry Instructor at Sierra College
I attended Sierra. This is where I took my first chemistry class, which was with Dan Burns. I then got a job in the stockroom as a student employee. After two years of chemistry at Sierra I received my Associate of Science and was awarded the “Chemistry Student of the Year” award. I was then hired as the Instructional Assistant (IA) in chemistry. After five years I went back to school to get my Master of Science and returned to Sierra to be hired (again) as the IA and a Part-Time (PT) instructor. A few years later I did a year as an LTT, then back to a PT instructor. This year I was hired Full-Time!! And I now have Dan’s old office….full circle.
My older son went to school here and now is at University of Nevada, Reno. My younger son has begun class here this fall. I remember when they were just toddlers, pushing them around Sewell Hall in chairs on wheels. They grew up in this museum.
No grandparents/grandkids attended….yet!
Sarah Sanders: Building Community While Studying and Working at Sierra College
In 2009, I found myself in California as a transplant from the Northwest and a newly single mother. I had no job and no idea what I would do for school, but I did find my way to Sierra College. It was close to where I lived, a beautiful campus, and easy to register for. I had a wonderful counselor that helped me navigate my scholastic pursuits, but also helped me along the road to settling into my new life.
Once I felt secure enough to work, I mentioned to her that I was interested in finding a job. She immediately walked me to the supervisor of the counseling center, sat me down for an interview, and by the end of the day I was hired as a student worker. It was very likely one of the best things that happened to me in California.
I loved working for the college! I felt truly supported academically and found a real sense of family and friendship. I worked for the counseling center in various capacities for almost four years, where I grew professionally and was trained with utmost patience. I was torn when I began looking for long-term careers and was offered a position with Placer County as a Child Support Caseworker. I knew how much I loved working at the college, but the idea of securing a position with the county was appealing. I left with a heavy heart into my new endeavor.
After exactly one year with the County, it was clear to me that I did not want to spend my days there. But THAT’S a long story! As I looked for a new job, I was still in touch with my friends and coworkers from Sierra, and decided to apply for the temp pool in hopes that I would be able to return to an environment that was nurturing and not draining. After only a few months, I was called in for an interview, and the rest is history! I started in a new division as a temp, then found myself in the permanent position.
In the few short years that I have been here, I have seen many, many changes implemented, but there is something that always stays the same—the sense of community.
Sarah Sanders
I could not be happier to be back! Sierra is the type of institution that invites you to stay. The environment and comradery is unlike any other I’ve experienced in a work place. On hard days, you can laugh things off with those who understand you. On good days, you feel inspired to lift others up. In the few short years that I have been here, I have seen many, many changes implemented, but there is something that always stays the same—the sense of community. Here, I feel that people are rooting for me. With other employers I have felt like an intruder, just waiting for my day at the chopping block. I take great pride in working for the college and speak highly of it always.
Rob Willson: 2006 Sierra College Baseball Team Defeated Santa Rosa Under Incredible Circumstances
Sunday May 21, 2006 Saratoga/San Bruno, CA
Santa Rosa Junior College vs. Sierra College
FINAL SCORE: Sierra 7 Santa Rosa 6
The game takes place in two different cities almost an hour apart on the same day. The stakes were very high for this game. The two teams were competing in the 2006 Super Regional with the winner advancing to the state Final Four. Sierra College and Santa Rosa Junior College would play one of the most incredible games ever witnessed under the most uncommon circumstances ever seen at the college level of baseball.
It was May 21, 2006. Santa Rosa had the easier road as they only had to beat Sierra College once to advance. The Wolverines would have to sweep a doubleheader from the defending state champs to reach the Final Four. In anticipation of a long day, and this being the third night in a hotel, Sierra College declined to take pre-game batting practice on the field and gained an extra 30 minutes of sleep.
The game started at 10:00 am with Sierra College arriving a little before 9:00am. The weather called for a chance of light rain later in the day, but the game began on time without any precipitation, but the temperature was unseasonably cold for late May. Sierra would send 5 game winner, freshman Kellen Wirth to the mound. All season long, Kellen provided quality start after quality start for Sierra. He was cruising in the top of the third inning with the score tied at one, when he felt a sharp pain in his throwing elbow and asked to see the coaches and trainer. After a discussion and a couple of practice pitches to prove nothing was too wrong, Kellen continued. He finished the top of the 3rd inning with no damage to his arm or the scoreboard. In the top of the 4th inning, Kellen again called for the coaches and trainers, this time realizing his elbow was too injured to continue. The fact that he continued after the first visit indicates how tough he is and how bad he wanted to win. Sierra would have to make a pitching change much earlier than they had hoped with expectations to play two games in one day. They chose another very reliable pitcher in David Martin. Martin was also very experienced as a 7 game winner on the season and he was allowed to warm up on the game mound due to the injury to Wirth. He was allowed whatever time he needed to get warm and used about 15 minutes.
The game continued with the score tied heading into the top of the 4th inning. The Wolverines scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the 4th inning as the rain began to fall. With the score 3-1 heading into the top of the 5th inning and Santa Rosa batting, the rain began to increase and the field was becoming unplayable. The umpires decided to stop the game with the score 3-1 in favor of Sierra. West Valley College does not have a field tarp and could only cover the pitchers mound and homeplate areas with their small tarps.
The rain was steady for 40 minutes thus making this field unplayable for the remainder of the day. The umpires, both coaches and the site director all decided that the game would have to be cancelled here today. There were two options; the normal one when a baseball game gets rained out is to go home for the day and resume the next day. With limited Community College budgets and both teams needing lodging, the decision was made to attempt to find a field that was playable on this day and finish. This would save each school over $1,500 in hotel fees. Both coaches and the site director decided to call three colleges approximately one hour north of West Valley College.
It was a Sunday afternoon and most schools were out for summer vacation already. The schools contacted were Canada College in Redwood City, College of San Mateo and Skyline College in San Bruno. The committee was unable to reach Canada and San Mateo but did get a hold of Skyline Head Coach Dino Nomicos. Dino is considered one of the classiest and most accommodating coaches and he agreed to open his field on a Sunday evening so the game could resume. Remember all the time the coaches were attempting to find an alternative location; the players from both teams were trying to stay dry and warm in the dugouts. There attempts really didn’t work as all the players, their travel bags and equipment got soaked.
West Valley has very small dugouts so space was an issue. At approximately 12:50pm the decision was made to travel 1 hour north and continue the game at Skyline College. It took a while to gather all the equipment, and then both teams boarded their buses and headed north. So did the umpires, the site director, the protest committee and all the very loyal fans in attendance. One very loyal fan (probably the most loyal fan of Sierra College Baseball, Ernie Pippen) got word that the game would resume at the College of San Mateo so that is where he headed.
Unfortunately, there was no one at San Mateo and Sierra’s favorite fan, one who rarely misses any games, including road games, missed the greatest game in school history. The Skyline baseball field has a surface called “FieldTurf” which is a synthetic turf and sand based, new drainage field that has amazing drainage. So without rain, the game would continue. The problem was that the rain didn’t stop and the entire drive north, it appeared that the game would have to be played the next day, Monday. Sierra stopped in San Mateo and ate lunch. Each team arrived at Skyline at approximately 4:30 pm. The umpires, fearful of darkness setting in, attempted to hurry both teams to start. As the Wolverines were stretching for the second time today, their pitcher Dave Martin attempted to throw more and realized that the four hour delay and very wet and cold temperatures were too severe for him to continue.
It is now 15 minutes before game time and Sierra, already very thin on pitching was searching for a fresh, healthy arm. Rod Scurry, the pitcher who threw 107 pitched the previous day that held #1 seed West Valley to 3 runs in 7 innings said he would love to pitch. The coaches turned to each other, worried about Scurry’s health, considered the request and decided to allow him to pitch. He would have no other answer but yes from the coaches. Rod really wanted the ball and wanted to compete. They figured it would only be for one inning and then re-think the situation. Scurry pitched two innings on pure grit. His fastball after the first one he threw was far below his normal velocity of 86-90, but he competed with his mind and his heart. He carried the Wolverines into the top of the eighth inning with a 4-1 lead.
Sierra went to one of their closers Cory Kahn to start the 8th inning. Kahn was dominant in the 8th and appeared to be unhittable on this day. Sierra did not score in the bottom of the 8th inning, so the score was 4-1 Sierra College entering the top of the 9th inning. This is where it gets extremely interesting.
Santa Rosa started the 9th inning with a single and a strike out. Their light hitting #8 hitter came to the plate and doubled just out of the reach of leftfielder Eric Deragisch. This put runners on 2nd and 3rd with only one out and brought the tying run to the plate. The #9 hitter grounded out to shortstop for the second out of the inning and the Bear Cubs scored one run on the play, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Wolverines. Now Sierra was only one out from advancing to the final game of the Super Regional.
The top of the order are all tough outs for Santa Rosa and they proved it again today. Leadoff hitter Danny Pignataro came through with a two out single to extend the inning and now bring up the go-ahead run. Sierra closer Cory Kahn then walked the #2 hitter to load the bases for the best hitter on the Bear Cubs, their three hitter, Andrew McCall. The intensity was off the chart as both teams were fighting for such a big prize; a trip to the State Final Four. With a 1-1 count, McCall hit a high flyball to right-center field. Off the bat, it looked like a routine flyball, but we were now playing at Skyline College where the right-centerfield wall is 350 feet from home plate. It really doesn’t take much to hit the ball out of that part of the park considering the distance and the fact that the wind blows to that part of the field. The ball cleared the wall by approximately 3 feet for a dramatic grand slam to put Santa Rosa ahead 6-4. Santa Rosa head coach Damon Neidlinger (who coach Willson feels is one of the best coaches in the state) thought the game was over and the homerun was hit in the BOTTOM OF THE 9TH inning, but it was the top of the 9th.
After jumping up and down the entire time McCall rounded the bases and after giving him a very enthusiastic high five, Neidlinger walked to a very dejected Sierra dugout and gave Coach Willson a hug. Coach Willson’s voice was almost gone after such a long weekend of intense baseball games, so he couldn’t communicate with Damon that there was still some game left to play. Coach Neidlinger continued through the dugout and tapped each player on the head and back, complimenting our team for such a great season and told each of them that they were tough as heck and very talented and very tough to play against. The entire time, the Bear Cub players were jumping and screaming at home plate with the belief that they just earned a trip to the Final Four. They were confident because they have the best closer in California in Wil Morgan. Morgan had 18 save on the season in 18 chances. He had an ERA of 1.05 with 88 strikeouts and 5 walks in 58 innings pitched. As Neidlinger returned to his dugout he screamed to his team to meet down the right field line for what he thought would be a post-game speech and what the plan was for their trip to Fresno. This is when one of his assistant coaches told him that it is only the top of the 9th inning and they still needed three outs to finish the game. Neidlinger, very embarrassed, walked past the Sierra dugout and profusely apologized to Coach Willson and his players over and over.
The other ironic situation was that Wil Morgan was the next hitter so he would not have much time to warm up. Morgan besides being a great pitcher also serves as the DH. Morgan flied out to right field for the third out and then rushed to the bullpen to get as many throws in off a mound as possible. It took much longer than normal for their team to take the field and the Sierra coaching staff was yelling at the umpires to hurry them up. They were giving Morgan much needed extra time to warm up. He only was able to throw 7 to 8 pitches in the bullpen and then another 8 on the game mound.
Sierra still shocked would enter the 9th inning down two runs and would have to pull off a minor miracle against Morgan. They got a leadoff single and then a walk to leadoff hitter Chris Hopkins and #2 hitter Josh Thompson was hit by a pitch. This loaded the bases with no outs for the Wolverines best hitter, Mickey Weisser. Weisser hit a line drive single to left field on a 2-2 slider which scored two runs to tie the game. On the play, Josh Thompson was thrown out at third base. This created a situation of runner on 1B with one out and Eric Deragisch up. Deragisch leaned into a fastball and got hit on the shoulder. Now with runners on 1B and 2B and one out, Sierra chose to pinch-run a much faster runner than Weisser at 2B, Jerry Lynch. Now batting was Andy Launier. Launier hit line drive up the middle on a 0-2 pitch for a single. Lynch was waved home and the throw was just late and the Wolverines completed one of the most improbable, miraculous comebacks in baseball history. To give up 5 runs in the top of the 9th and trail by two entering the bottom of the 9th inning and face the toughest closer in California and score three runs off him was simply amazing. The intensity and noise from the Sierra College dugout was off the chart the entire 9th inning. This victory forced a final game of the 2006 super regional.
The normal thing to do would be to play the next day, however Santa Rosa claimed that they had to take final exams the next day. The coaches, umpires and game administrators spent over an hour discussing this on the field as the sun set and it was extremely cold. Sierra wanted to continue their momentum and play the next day so Coach Willson spent much energy arguing to finish the regional on Monday. It was so hotly contested that the state commissioner had to be called to discuss the situation and at 10:30pm there was a decision made. The game would be played on Tuesday at Vacaville Stadium which was centrally located to both teams. Sierra had spent two and a half hours waiting at the TGI Friday’s eating dinner when they received the news. Sierra and their many loyal fans traveled to Vacaville on Tuesday and behind the brilliant pitching of Kevin Hammon who pitched a complete game and struck out 10 while walking none, the Wolverines beat the Bear Cubs 9-7 to earn their first trip to the California State Final Four. This was Hammon’s 12th win of the season.
This story brings back many great memories and anyone who was lucky enough to witness this day would have to agree that this was “One of Baseball’s Most Incredible Days Ever”.
Jason Roberts: Sierra College English Professor Recalls Kay Glowes, His Sierra College English Professor
I’ve been a full-time faculty member in English at Sierra since 2007, and I started work as a part-time faculty member in 2001. But prior to that, I was a student from 1990-1992.
I graduated from Colfax High School in 1990 without much enthusiasm for school and very little encouragement to attend college. I enjoyed playing my guitar and performing in rock bands (something I still do today, by the way), but academics I felt were not my thing. Still, I came to Sierra College hoping to be inspired. I floundered through classes and generally earned poor grades. However, during my second year I enrolled in English 1B. At this point I didn’t see much of a future for myself unless I could play the scales on my guitar much faster and become a famous rock guitarist. This is what I was thinking when Professor Kay Glowes’ class began.
I remember how nice and encouraging she was, but I also remember the huge literature anthology we purchased for the class—and how dull I found the reading. Then one day, Professor Glowes assigned a story called “Greasy Lake” by T.C. Boyle, and for the first time I was enthralled. Boyle’s characters were like me and the people I hung out with: lost, bored, making questionable decisions. So I wrote a paper about this. When Professor Glowes returned it, she wrote, “I think you would make a wonderful English major.” I had never considered this before and her encouragement stunned me. Me? An English major? I took that little compliment and carried it with me to a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in English.
When I finished graduate school, Bill Tsuji hired me for the part-time faculty pool at Sierra College, a destination I sought intentionally. During the first English department meeting, I saw Professor Glowes and I told her about her inspirational message. I recall that she was pleased.
She passed away from cancer shortly after I saw her.
That one comment inspired me, and it continues to today. I remember every day I’m in the classroom to encourage my students no matter their academic situation. Every student arrives in the classroom with a different story, and as I seek to understand their story, I remember Professor Glowes, and I remember to pull each student into this academic community with words of encouragement. Professor Glowes taught me about the need for that community, the need for kindness in a challenging and rigorous environment. She exemplified the Sierra College community, which is why I wanted to be a part of it.
Cheryl Maki: Sierra College Management Alumnus, Successful Business Owner for Over 30 Years
I started community college at Palomar Junior college in San Marcos, CA in 1966. Life certainly got in the way with my continuing education: marriage, babies, work and running a small business. I took classes at a couple of other community colleges along the way. It wasn’t until I took some small business classes at Sierra in the late ’80s that I felt comfortable with school again. The teachers, particularly Elaine Beinvenue, made learning so much more interesting.
Of course by this time I was able to apply what I was learning in my classes to my new business as well. After I received my certificate in Management at Sierra in 1990, I moved on and got my BS degree in Management from California Coast University in 1996. My husband Randy and I have been in the HVAC business for 31 years, and I credit my time at Sierra College with helping me learn about running a business successfully.
Barbara Vineyard: Former Sierra College Trustee Continues to Serve, Fundraise and Show Sierra Spirit
Barbara Vineyard may best be known for serving as a Sierra College trustee for 28 years, but her passion and commitment for Sierra extends much deeper than that. Barbara, like many in her family before and after her, also attended Sierra College. A shy, quiet gal in high school, Barbara was quick to embrace the jovial environment of Sierra College in the 50s.
“We were bussed in,” says Barbara. “It didn’t matter if you had a class or not, you were there till 4 p.m. If you had nothing else to do, you might as well do some fun stuff.”
And fun stuff she did. Morning announcement reader? Check. Inter Club Council President? Check. Ski Slide Dance organizer? Check. Bond measure parade leader? Check.
Barbara’s reputation as go-getter stuck. And when the Board of Trustees was looking to fill a vacancy, they knew just the right person to call. Twenty-eight years later and the rest is history. Barbara bore witness to many innovative developments during her tenure, including a Sierra College NASA project, the launch of the Mechatronics program, and the development of the Veteran Center.
Despite retiring from the Board of Trustees, Barbara’s Sierra Spirit won’t let her rest. She still serves on the Sierra College Foundation Board of Directors, the Sierra College Press Board of Directors and is the President of the Sierra College Patron’s Club, which has raised more than $350,000 for humanities programs at the college.
Asked why she does it, Barbara offers up five simple words: “I just love Sierra College.”
This is just a very special place. And it always has been, from the very beginning.
Barbara Vineyard, Former Sierra College Trustee