Lakeport >> For the very first time, past, present and prospective students will come together for a Mendocino College alumni reception at the Lake Center. The occasion takes place this afternoon. “It’s a reception for alumni and former students to network, to tour the Lake Center campus, to become aware of some of the programs that are available there,” explained Wilda Shock, chairperson of the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College.
The reception, which features guest alumni speakers, refreshments, campus tours, a spinning wheel and prizes, is a networking event as well as an afternoon to increase interest in Mendocino College. The community will “get together and meet and share our knowledge of how education can help,” said Lori McGuire, the chair of the reception committee.
The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College was inspired to organize the reception after hearing about many other colleges that put on alumni events. “It’s never been done before and we had noticed that other community colleges had done similar things,” explained McGuire. “We want to give them an opportunity to network and mingle and share their stories. Many of them have fascinating stories … They branched out and they’ve gone on and our hope is they can tell us how they benefited from Mendocino College.”
The three guest alumni speakers are Anthony Farrington, Michelle Wells and Lily Woll. “We decided amongst the governed council of the Friends that we hope to spotlight the successful graduates,” Shock said. “They come from very different perspectives and they’ve been successful in their personal and professional lives.”
Wells hopes many people will walk away from her talk with a newfound appreciation for the college. “My basic theme is going to be that community college made sense at the time financially but it subsequently really proved to be a smart decision in preparing for a four year,” she explained. “Just highlighting benefits that I didn’t see at the time being 17, 18, 19 years old, but really really helped out later on when I was in a four year and then grad school.”
Wells graduated from Mendocino College in 2007, after which she attended Chico State. Now, she works as an attorney in Sacramento. As someone who’s in the midst of a successful career, her message is simple: the community college is a good place to pursue higher education.
“I was invited [to speak] and I was excited to do it because I do know that a lot of kids kind of get turned off by the idea of going to community college,” she said. “They think it’s limited to kids who couldn’t get into a four year or couldn’t afford a four year.”
With an abundance of educational experiences, Wells’ has words of wisdom for those who listen to her talk. “I would say that it hopefully gives current students a little bit of insight that their current situation at Mendocino college could materialize into a great career. Maybe it wasn’t their first choice, maybe they’re working full time. It’s important for them to know that the time they’re investing could turn into something good for them, potentially, if they stay on that road,” she said. “I want kids to know and alumni to know that I appreciate Mendocino College.”
District 4 County Supervisor Anthony Farrington, a Mendocino College alumnus from the class of 1992, intends to encourage others to take advantage of the programs offered at the college. “I just hope that it impresses upon them what a really important and excellent resource the college is,” he said. “To have that resource here locally is of paramount importance. Mendocino College is valuable to our community and we’re lucky to have their presence here in Lake County.”
A former basketball player for Mendocino College who went on to graduate from UC Davis and then receive a law degree, Farrington has a lot to speak about. He said he will share “my experience as a student, as an athlete, the aspects of Mendocino college which I enjoyed and how it helped me lay a foundation to go on and obtain my bachelors degree.”
The first member of his immediate family to earn a degree past high school, Farrington’s talk may help to inspire people to pursue their education. “I’ll speak to that on Saturday as well as to how I got there,” he said. “Definitely the college served as my education conduit and got me geared up to obtain my bachelors … Education is, in my belief, the key to a successful life.”
The reception seeks to bring awareness to the many resources available at the Lake Campus. For the past few years, the Friends have been setting up a chemistry center and they plan to familiarize attendees with the new center, among other resources. “There’s a great opportunity for students,” Shock said. “There’s also concurrent enrollment that’s available for high school students for no fee. There’s many students who have taken classes concurrently and they’ve graduated from high school and almost from college at the same times, they’ve taken so many units.”
Not only does higher education help students academically, but it provides them with important and impactful life experiences. McGuire remembered an conversation she had with the mother of a former Mendocino College student. “[She said], ‘My son met his wife there at the Lake Center and they were both involved in music courses and they absolutely loved their instructors and their courses,” McGuire recalled. “You never know what’s gonna happen when you attend post secondary.”
Though the event hopes to highlight the benefits of attending the school, it’s also a place for former students to reunite. “I happen to be in charge of our 50th [anniversary] at Kelseyville High School and I was amazed at the outcome. It was really wonderful to meet and greet and to see what everyone is doing,” McGuire said. “It always amazes me that it can be a very interesting time.”
The Friends also hope to encourage people to support their efforts in Lake County. “That is another goal of having the reunion and that is to let these folks know how they can support our programs and these students,” McGuire said.
The Lake Center and the Lake County community are heavily intertwined. “There’s hardly an institution or a business in this county that hasn’t been affected by Mendocino college,” McGuire said. “It’s just so interesting how a community college can have that kind of effect.”
Mendocino College doesn’t have group for alumni as of yet, so the reception is an opportunity to look into the possibility. “There is not an alumni association and this is something that the foundation and the college have explored over the years,” said Shock. “We will be asking folks who do attend if they would like an alumni association … Whether there would be a separate alumni association is still to be determined.”
Though she’s not expecting a large turnout, McGuire is still excited about the event. “We’re starting very slowly,” she said. “Lake County people wear many many hats. That’s Lake County. We’re involved in many different things. Somebody told me once it’s not the numbers who attend, it’s the quality of time spent.”
The alumni reception is today from 2 p.m. -4 p.m. at the Mendocino College Lake Center campus. The guest Alumni speakers take the stage at 2:45 p.m. People can RSVP at www.lcfmc.weebly.com, though McGuire encouraged everyone to stop by the event. “It’s not too late, you don’t have to RSVP,” she said. “Just come on down and see the new center and have a good time.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
