Student Success Stories

Denyce Leeds

Hhhhmmmmm......What freeway will get me to my Composite Technology class taught by Terry Price @ Cerritos College by 6:00pm? Why even entertain the question you wonder...because the commute from the Antelope Valley to Cerritos College can be called an adventure at times...

Will it be the 14 South to the 210 East to the 2 South to the 5 South to the 710 South to Alondra?..or will I challenge the 14 South to the 5 South...and fortunately one dilemma was out of the way as my Dodgers were out of the running early on and that did eliminate some of the traffic...but then where too? ...the 110 South? Continue to the 710 South or take a risk to the 605 South? And yes, carry my trusty Thomas Guide when I have had enough of the freeway traffic.

So traveling from the Antelope Valley, Palmdale/Lancaster, makes this adventure of a commute an even more desire to lean to ride a Harley ever so much worth it in order to be on time for my Composite Technology Course I attend Wednesday evenings from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

Am I the only one who feels this Wednesday adventure is ever so worth it...no, my fiancé who took this Composite Course taught by Mr. Terry Price over 20 years ago attends with me. My fiancé finds us parking, provides me with my shop coat, and positive support as he owes bring employed in the aerospace industry and the working knowledge of composites all to Mr. Terry Price and this course offered by Cerritos College.

So rain or shine, radio or not, a bag of sunflower seeds, and a Pepsi I eagerly leave work early to set my cruise control for the 83 miles one-way commute. My anxiousness, eagerness, and desire to learn more from this course makes every reason to make this my Wednesday thing I WANT to do.

Thank you Cerritos College and Mr. Terry Price for being the reason and purpose for all of this.

Regards,
Denyce Leeds
Antelope Valley
Palmdale, CA

The Monday Adventures
By: Haig Pogosyan
Fall 2011

Books? Check. Cell phone? Check. Gas card? Got it. I look at the corner of my windshield to find my parking permit is missing. You can hear a screech from my sudden breaking as I make an illegal U-Turn right before the 99-S freeway. Well it wasn't too big of a mistake. I'm only 5 minutes from the freeway. I picked up my parking permit and off to class I went. I go with my girlfriend. She comes along so I can drive in the carpool lane. Hey, every minute counts when you're driving 5 hours to get to class. Especially like the time my tire blew on the I-5 and I had to call a tow truck to bring a wrench that the car was so conveniently missing. On top of that the trusty aluminum rim cracked and it cost me $180 to get a new one. I was only an hour late to class. Or the time my car ran out of gas and I had to push it to the nearest gas station that was about 500 ft away. Yes, every Monday I drive 5 hours from Fresno, Ca to Cerritos, Ca to attend Terry Price's PMT 64 - Plastics Production class, Monday from 6:00pm-10:00pm. Why, you ask? Because Cerritos College is the only school that offers this course on the West Coast. I paid about $225 for the course-fee, book, and parking permit and I will be receiving my certificate of completion in December 2011. I was completely worth it because of all the neat information Terry Price enlightens the class with on Plastics galore. That's what rejuvenates me for my 5 hour drive back. Hey at least traffics not an issue on the way back. Wait, except for the 5 mile road construction going on in the Grapevine. Oh well, back to my 7 day business operation work week. Only to blink my eyes and it's Monday again.

Haig Pogosyan and Girlfriend

This is Matt Gaskill, President/CEO of Cobalt Horizons Corporation.

Matt has gone through our program and has earned his Degree in Plastics Manufacturing Technology and, as an alumni, is now developing new products for his company that require Rapid Prototyping.

He has validated his proprietary designs using Cerritos Colleges newly installed Rapid Prototyping machine located in the Plastics Department.

His new products are low-profile antennas designed for law enforcement vehicles which are unobservable to the eye from the street. These productssupport severalfrequency bands with physical sizes ranging from 3" to 7" in diameter and only about an inch tall. This is a big advantage to police, detectives, and undercover officers as well as being practical for Public Safety Vehicles, like Fire Engines or Ambulances, since existing antennas are often destroyed by a variety of factors such as trees, carwashes, and vandals.

Matt has developed trial packages in his marketing campaign which are currently deployed with the LAPD and is anticipating law enforcement nationwide to embrace his new products due to the ease of installation, incredible performance characteristics, and "stealth" feature. In addition to UHF and 800MHz antennas operating in the common Law Enforcement and Public Safety frequency bands he has developed a new antenna that is specialized to support lower frequency VHFradios.

Matt's Projects

William C. Soriano, after completing four of the quality courses and an Injection Molding class offered within the Cerritos College Manufacturing Dept., reported he was hired on at Hydrabaths in Santa Ana as a Quality Manager

After an 8-week Composites course, Felicia Vallejo has landed a job with Northrop Grumman, El Segundo. Felicia was able to use her "hands-on" knowledge to gain a long-term career.

Vinicio Aguuyo, ROP and Senior at Norwalk High School "I recently acquired a job at a Plastics Company called Bondline Productions. Before this job I was working for McDonalds, in the grill area. But because of the class I'm taking at Cerritos, I got the new great job working with vacuum sealing bags. I now get to put my skills to work" at Bondline Products, Inc. "Not to mention the new great pay. Thanks Cerritos.

"Enrique Siercke's education at Cerritos College landed him a job working to repair and extend the lives of molds using techniques he learned at the Composites Training Center. In addition he provides his employer with, "new ideas and information...of new equipment and techniques in tooling.

Wynard T. Thrower, (W.T.) stated that he gained valuable "hands-on" experience through focused composites classes taken at Cerritos College. W.T. recently accepted employment with Hitco Mtg. in Gardena.

R.O.P. Student with Nowalk High School
“I had no idea how big the plastics industry was, 'til I got into the R.O.P. plastics class. Now I know that plastic goes from car to space ships." "I was bored at work (McDonalds) the same hours and doing the same thing over and over making $6.75." His new position offers him the freedoms of self-management and on-the-job growth in his skills and knowledge along with at pay increase of approximately 35%

STUDENT PROJECTS
Yugen Lockhart is currently constructing, Project Modulous, a composite motorcycle chassis which can alter it's appearance through attaching a variety of interchangeable stylized bodyworks.

Asami Tachikawa, Carlos Mendez, Craig Shoji, and Fabian Lacey won 3rd Place for their paper snowboard.

After four semesters, "I finished three associate (degrees) in plastics, fiberglass, and composites..." "For more than 30 years working in the manufacturing industry, I had not placed myself in a better job position without education"... "that I found than in this college." "As a result of taking classes in Cerritos College, I obtained a job in Pelican Products Co. as a Plastics Processor Technician." Jose plans to come back to Cerritos College to take his lower division classes before transferring for a B.S. degree in Engineering at CSULB, where he plans to graduate with honors. Jose also said, " Thank you Cerritos College Professors and fellow students."