Last Thursday the Gazette's publisher had the pleasure of meeting with Patti Blair, Administrative Officer to the Chancellor and Board of Trustees, VCEC Assistant Dean Dr. Jesus Vega, and Sarene Wallace, VCCCD's marketing department, at the East Campus in Santa Paula.

Dr. Vega's unique experience as a first-in-family college graduate was discussed. A more complete personal biography will be published in the Gazette next week.

The Ventura County Community College District (Moorpark, Oxnard, Ventura, and Santa Paula) is experiencing significant growth these days. The East Campus in Santa Paula now has 123 students. Courses leading to certificates in areas such as medical assistant, child development, sociology, criminology, agriculture business and Ag economics are popular.
The campus also provides hybrid courses in arts and humanities.

Online courses are becoming more popular, and high school-college courses are available.

The visit was very informative concerning the growth, popularity, and availability of courses. We agreed that college education is available to students at any age today. The college is also focusing on studies and professions which have a significant financial benefit on all students.

Many thanks to Patti Blair, Dr. Vega, and Sarene Wallace for making the visit possible. Expect to hear more, in greater detail, from the growing Santa Paula East Campus in the near future.