Roland Estrella, Medical-Surgical Nursing Instructor

Roland earned his bachelor’s degree in Nursing at San Diego State University and his master’s degree in Nursing at University of Phoenix.

Roland has taught part-time at Grossmont College, as part of the “Welcome Back” accelerated nursing program for foreign trained medical professionals, and at Southwestern College.

Roland was employed for 13 years at UCSD Medical Center Post Anesthesia Care Unit, serving initially as a technician and nurses aide and then as a registered nurse. He also was an operating room technician and field medic while in the US Air Force Reserves for 8 years at March Air Force Base.

While a student, Roland was an active participant in the SDSU Asian American Nurse Student Association. Since graduating, he also has served as a member of the Board of Directors and associate editor of publications for the Philippine Nurses Association.

References consistently identify Roland as a leader, an active participant, and a person who brings a calm and caring approach to what he does. He has been seen as a very positive influence with his nursing students.
 

Robert Henry, History Instructor with Emphases in World, Western and Asian History

Robert attended Palomar College and then transferred to UC Riverside, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History and minored in Political Science. He completed his MA in History at SDSU.

Robert has taught full-time for the last four years at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA. Prior to that, he taught part-time at Mira Costa, Riverside and Palomar Colleges.

Robert was an active committee member while at Skyline, working with his colleagues on initiatives related to cultural events, education policy, Title III grant-funded activities and History Department program review.

He reports that his first college major was Film Studies. Robert’s interest in story telling led him to History as the discipline of his academic degrees. It is no wonder, then, that he views teaching and learning history as more than the rote memorization of dates and facts; more importantly, it is developing an understanding of the incredible human drama, full of triumph and tragedy. This is how he motivates students’ interest in studying his discipline.
 

Tara Jacobson, Exercise Science/Health Education Instructor (Temporary, Full-time for 04-05)

Tara earned her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from SDSU. She also holds numerous professional certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine, the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, and the Aquatic Exercise Association.

Tara has served for seven years as a part-time instructor for a diverse collection of courses at Grossmont, Mesa, and Miramar Colleges, SDSU, and Chula Vista Adult School. She was an intern at the Cuyamaca College Fitness Center, where she provided instruction and Center orientations. Tara has worked in the fitness industry for ten years, primarily as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and aquatics instructor.

Tara brings to her position an impressive versatility, being equally well-suited to assignments in health education and a variety of exercise science activity courses. Additionally, Tara’s degrees, certifications and experience will serve the Exercise Science/ Wellness Department and the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) effectively as we launch two new Certificates of Proficiency programs this fall semester—Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Leadership.
 

Janice Johnson, Articulation Officer

Janice earned her first college degree from Grossmont College and went on to earn her BS in Behavioral Science/Personnel Management and an MS in Educational Counseling from National University.

She has been employed at Grossmont College since 1977 in the division of Student Services and has just completed more than 10 years as Associate Dean, EOPS. In addition, she has taught courses at Grossmont College for 13 years.

She has been involved in many aspects of the campus both on the local and state-wide level. She is a first generation college student and recognizes the importance of access to education and has a particular interest in the issues of transfer as it becomes more and more challenging and complex for students. Grossmont College recognized the importance and need for a full-time Articulation Officer and Janice was named to the position as of July 1, 2004.
 

Michael Jordan, Exercise Science Instructor/Football Coach

Mike is a Grossmont College graduate, earning his associate in arts degree prior to transferring to San Jose State University. He completed his degree in Geography at SJSU and went on to complete a master’s degree in Physical Education at Azusa Pacific University.

Mike has been a part-time instructor at Grossmont College for 12 years, teaching a variety of Exercise Science courses. He has served as an assistant football coach since 1992, with leadership of quarterbacks and offensive coordination.

Mike’s academic pursuits have included the publication of a strength training manual. He has also been involved in the community, both personally and with his team, through participation in activities related to the College’s grant, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and Adopt-A-School Program.

His perspective on the cycle of coaching is that it has three phases: Recruiting, Retaining, and “Decruiting.” Mike recognizes that last phase, “Decruiting,” as one of the most important steps in coaching—i.e., seeing that student athletes successfully transfer to the university level and obtain a bachelor’s degree. The transfer statistics for Grossmont College’s football student athletes certainly bear that out.
 

Spring Semester

As many as eleven new faculty, including one counselor—five instructors and one counselor—will begin their service with the College with the start of the Spring 2005 semester. Recruitment and selection processes are at various stages of implementation at this time.