WOMEN LEARN HOW TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES BY WORKING TOGETHER AT RIALTO CONFERENCE

State Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter with Rialto City Councilwoman Deborah Robertson. Photo by Ellen Porter

State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod addresses about 120 women, including Rialto Council Member Deborah Robertson, on the challenges of the state budget during the third annual State of Women: A Dialogue Between Women conference held March 7 in Rialto. Photo by Ellen Porter


(RIALTO, Calif.) “Santa Claus isn’t coming. The Easter Bunny is dead and the Tooth Fairy will take all your teeth.”

State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod (D-Rialto) might have added that Prince Charming isn’t looking for a new relationship, were the news not bad enough that she brought to a roomful of about 120 women and a few men who attended the Third Annual “State of Women: A Dialogue Between Women” conference Saturday, March 7 at the Rialto Senior Center.

This conference was hosted by Rialto council members Deborah Robertson and Ed Palmer and Rialto City Clerk Barbara McGee.

Senator Negrete-McLeod and Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) brought bad news about the state budget. Other speakers spoke of challenges women face in the education of their children, in maintaining their and their family’s health, and in other aspects of daily life.

Still, each speaker offered hope that by working together, women can get through these tough times and bring forth new solutions.

“The world has changed dramatically,” Senator Negrete-McLeod said. “Not just in California, but all over.”

The two state legislators were both fighting colds, each said they had contracted while the Legislature was in lock down trying to resolve the $42 billion state budget deficit. Since then, both said, they’ve had to face angry constituents who were upset either about taxes being raised, or their favorite social program receiving less.

“It was a budget we all hated,” Assembly Member Carter said. “There was something in it for everyone to hate.”

“We had very irate calls; we had curse-laden calls,” Senator Negrete-McLeod said. “They said ‘How dare you raise taxes? How dare you cut services to school children? How dare you cut services to seniors and disabled people? Furthermore, I want more services!”

With real estate foreclosures and high unemployment, there just isn’t enough money to give everyone what the previous state budget has promised, she said.

The two state legislators agreed, one good thing that will come from this financial difficulty is that it will force people to work together. Assembly Member Carter even suggested one way local groups, such as school boards and parents, could work together is by determining what state-funded programs they would most be willing to sacrifice until the state budget can be more generous.

“We have to develop ways we can work together,” Assembly Member Carter said. “We’re going to have to pool our resources and work together.”

Other speakers were:
• Fontana City Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren, who in 2010 will run as a Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 63rd District. She also urged people to work together for the common good, and to set goals for what they want to accomplish. She also talked about Healthy Fontana, a program that helps that city’s residents get exercise by joining one of the city’s walking groups and also promotes other healthy lifestyles.

• Rialto City Clerk Barbara McGee, who talked about how people can apply for passports or obtain forms for voter registration at Rialto and other city halls. She also discussed Healthy Rialto, which promotes healthy lifestyle choices in her city.

• Brenda Parker, the coordinator for Healthy Rialto. Just before the lunch break, Parker led the audience in exercise, singing and cheering, all designed to make people more aware of what they can do to promote a healthier lifestyle. She also used visual aids, such as a cardboard tube symbolizing an artery, stuffed full of paper scraps (symbolizing junk food) that clogged the artery until plastic fruit (symbolizing real fruit) came in and pushed the bad stuff out.

• Rialto School Board Member Joanne Gilbert, who advised parents on ways they can help their child to succeed in school. Her tips were to ask their children questions about school regularly, to develop a relationship with their children’s teachers and to be an advocate for their children by communicating first to teachers, then to administrators and school board members when they feel something is not right.

• Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare, Public Health Officer for San Bernardino County. He gave a Powerpoint presentation on health conditions affecting women in this county. Unfortunately, San Bernardino County, especially Blacks and Latinas, is higher than the nation in many incidences of health problems.

• Dr. Diane Woods, CEO of the African-American Health Institute of San Bernardino County. From 2003 to 2005, Woods headed a comprehensive county-wide study that also showed Blacks suffer disproportionately from many health conditions. That study, the African-American Health Initiative, also made recommendations for change. Woods updated the conference participants on what has happened since then. While there’s been progress, much more needs to be done.

• Beverly Powell, Regional Manager for Southern California Edison, who talked about her company’s goals for providing “green” energy.

• Sheriann Johnson, Manager of Countrywide Home Loans in Colton, who talked about programs to help people buy homes for the first time, modify their mortgages or refurbish their homes to increase its property value.

For more information about the “State of Women: A Dialogue Between Women” conference, call (909) 820-2519 or email bmcgee@rialtoca.gov.

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TEEN CULINARIANS, DESIGNERS AND COMMUNITY EDUCATORS SHOWCASE THEIR TALENT AT FHA-HERO REGIONAL COMPETITIONS

Arturo Rodriguez, eighth-grader at Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Bloomington, tells judges what his dream bedroom would have looked like as a preteen, for a Competitive Recognition Event held by FHA-HERO at Ontario High School.  Arturo and many other students from throughout California now advance to a state championship Competitive Recognition Event in Fresno on March 29.

Even at the regional level, judges for FHA-HERO's Competitive Recognition Events are among the top in the industry. At the regional held in Ontario, the Fashion Design judges included Sherry West, Director of Fashion for The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire, and Jessica Trujillo and Francheska Hughes, who are fashion design instructors at another university.

Travis Rothwell, a student at Sultana High School in Hesperia, competes in Commercial Food Preparation, a Competitive Recognition Event for FHA-HERO. Travis competed in a regional at Ontario High School, and advances to a state championship on March 29 in Fresno.
This cake was made and decorated by Randy Rodriguez of A.B. Miller  High School in Fontana for a Competitive Recognition Event regional competition in Ontario. He will create another one like it for the state competition on March 29 in Fresno.


(ONTARIO, Calif.) Nearly 900 of California’s most talented teenage culinarians, designers and community educators competed Saturday, Feb. 7 at seven high schools throughout the state.

The best of these will compete again on Sunday, March 29 when their school organization, FHA-HERO, hosts the state finals of Competitive Recognition Events as part of its State Leadership Meeting March 28-31 in Fresno.

The events in early February were the Competitive Recognition Events Regionals. These were held at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, Westmoor High School in Daly City, San Juan High School in Citrus Heights, Buhach Colony High School in Atwater, Golden West High School in Visalia, Santee High School in Los Angeles and Ontario High School in Ontario.

Competitive Recognition Events showcase the talents middle and high school students have learned in their Home Economics Careers and Technology courses. FHA-HERO is a career technical student organization open to all who are or have been enrolled in a HECT course.

“Competitive Recognition Events showcase the development of the participants’ career skills,” said April Rosendahl, who coordinated the FHA-HERO Region 10 Finals at Ontario High School, and who teaches HECT courses at Chino High School. “Students enrolled in HECT courses and pathways are developing professional skills for their future as well as skills for living.”

There are 21 competitions within the Competitive Recognition Events. These include commercial food preparation, six categories of culinary art, salad preparation, apparel construction, fashion design, interior design, child development, public speaking and more.

In the Interior Design competition at Ontario High School, college instructors serving as judges were impressed to see middle school students using Auto-CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to create their entries. Auto-CAD is a program a least one of those colleges teaches its third-quarter students.

But for the young teens who did this, learning Auto-CAD from family members was just one of the many ways they have enriched their lives through learning. To create entries that showed the judges their concepts of an ideal room for a pre-teen child, the students also relied on freehand drawing, math and public speaking to create entries that included display boards, cost and materials analyses and five-minute speeches.

“It was fun,” said Arturo Rodriguez, an Interior Design competitor and eighth-grader at Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Bloomington. “I designed the room I would have wanted at that age.”

Rodriguez, like many of the competitors, started work on his presentation months in advance. FHA-HERO members learned the theme in October, he said, so he began designing the bedroom shortly after that.

Students in the Commercial Food Preparation competition had to rely on only one skill – cooking. Their competition required them to prepare pork chops, cabbage, salad and a fruit compote within a time limit of less than two hours.

“We assume they learned how to cook this recipe in school already,” said Ontario judge Eyad Joseph, academic director of the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. “And, hopefully, they have been practicing all year.”

As high school juniors and seniors, most of the students taking part in the commercial food preparation competition have been studying cooking for at least three or four years. Many of these students dream of careers in the culinary industry, which is exactly for what an advanced high school cooking course is designed to prepare them.

“I’ve always loved cooking,” said Commercial Food Preparation competitor Spencer Horton, an 11th-grader at Silverado High School in Victorville. “It is something I would like to get into as a career, and this competition gives me an idea of what it’s like to work in a restaurant.”

Another 11th-grader, Angie Mungia of Chino High School, hopes to open her own bakery after high school. With that focus, she has been involved in FHA-HERO for two years, and competed both times in the culinary arts categories of the Competitive Recognition Events. She always gives herself an extra challenge – whatever she makes complies with her strict vegan diet.

Last year, as a 10th-grader and first-year FHA-HERO member, Mungia won second place at the state Competitive Recognition Events for a display of vegan breads. This year, she instead made a vegan patisserie (pastry) display.

“It was much harder to make than the bread,” she said. “And I am working now, so I had less time to prepare. I took the last two weeks off work to get ready for this. I wanted to do so much more, but school got in the way.”

Her dedication paid off. She not only won her Region 10 competition and will head again to the state level, she also won the “Best of Show” award, given the best entry in all six of the Culinary Arts categories.

The “Best of Show” award was especially gratifying, as before it was announced, Mungia started to walk away with her first place medal. Then upon hearing her name again, she turned around and pumped her fist into the air. Many other teenagers who won their events displayed similar emotion. Some hadn’t expected to win anything.

At the regional level, three winners in each competition receive a first, second or third place medal. Two others per competition receive “honorable mention,” which gives them the right to travel with the place winners to the state level event.

At the state level, more medals are in store for the top three winners. But these students will also receive prizes, including kitchen knives, chef’s jackets, sewing machines and scholarships to some of the top schools in the culinary and fashion industries.

A first-place win at the state level allows a competitor to further advance to a national FHA-HERO competition. However, these are held in summer and often on the east coast, so for most west coast FHA-HERO members, participation in the State Leadership Meeting will be a highlight of the year.

The program now known as HECT has undergone a transformation over the last 40 years. Prior to the 1960s, the program focused on training women in skills they would need as wives and mothers. But, as more women began working outside the home, California changed its home economics curriculum to reflect this, and added the career component.

As all professions, including those in home economics related industries became more dependent on technology, so did the courses offered in secondary schools. To reflect this change, California renamed its home economics program Home Economics Careers and Technology in the 1990s.


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NOTE: A list of winners, including awards earned, is available on request for the competitions held in Chico, Citrus Heights and Daly City. All students earning first through fifth place advance to the state finals. For the competitions held in Atwater, Visalia, Los Angeles and Ontario, a list of students advancing to the state finals is available on request.

Ron Berglas Named New Host of KVCR TV Show

Ron Berglas is the new host of "A Conversation With..." on KVCR, local PBS Station.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) - Actor and educator Ron Berglas is the new host of “A Conversation With . . .” on PBS television station KVCR.

He made his debut March 4 by interviewing Chris Botti, who hosts “Chris Botti in Boston” a show running on all PBS Stations. His next guest will be Fiona Kennedy of Highland Heartbeat, who has produced her own show that will soon run on all PBS stations.

Berglas worked as a professional actor in Great Britain for 25 years before moving back to the United States nine years ago. The Highland resident also has a full-time job teaching in the Fontana Unified School District and works as an adjunct theater professor at a local community college.

Although Berglas worked as an actor primarily in Great Britain, he may be familiar in the United States for his appearances in numerous films. These include Highlander, Ishtar (which starred Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman), Death Train (starring Pierce Brosnan) and Eye of the Storm with Rob Lowe.

Although his focus is usually on the academic world these days, he jumped at the opportunity to audition for the role of “A Conversation With…” host.

“I love public television and public radio,” he said.

Berglas doesn’t expect to be in the limelight as he hosts “A Conversation With…” Rather, he sees himself as one who will craft creative, thought-provoking questions to help his guests tell their stories.

Berglas is a native of New York City and got his start in theater before moving to London in 1975. He has appeared extensively in BBC radio productions, more than 20 commercials, American and British television shows and many, many plays including his one-man show The Double Bass with which he won the International Edinburgh Festival Critics Award for Best Play.

He is available for speaking engagements by calling Ellen Porter at (909) 888-0017.

Communicating with Legislators for Educators

Carl Dameron, center, has forged relationships with his local Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter, with Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and with many other elected officials. He will tell educators why these relationships are important and how to develop them when he speaks to members of the Home Economics Teachers Association of California, Region 10 on Saturday, March 7 in Temecula.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif) – Public relations professional Carl Dameron, founder and creative director of Dameron Communications, will discuss “The Importance of Communication With Legislators” at a meeting of Home Economics Teachers Association of California, Region 10 on Saturday, March 7.

This presentation and lunch meeting takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Carol’s Restaurant at the Bailey Vineyard & Winery in Temecula. It is open to members of Home Economics Teachers Association of California and their guests.

Dameron Communications is the public relations agency for the California Home Economics Education Foundation, which supports Home Economics Careers and Technology, a statewide educational elective program focusing on preparing students for home economics and technology related careers. The Association members participating in this Region 10 meeting teach this program in middle and high schools in Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Imperial counties.

“I want to help these educators communicate to their elected officials how important Home Economics Careers and Technology training programs are to California high school students,” Dameron said. “These programs build teens’ skills so effectively they could begin working in a good paying field immediately after graduation, or they could be admitted to a college or university that will further prepare them for some of the most lucrative, interesting and high-demand careers anyone could have.”

After it began working with California Home Economics Education Foundation in 2008, one of Dameron Communication’s first projects was to build state legislative support for filling an already funded advisor position, allowing the program to hire an adviser to work from Los Angeles, primarily with schools in southern California. This effort also increased state and local legislators’ awareness of the program.

California Home Economics Education Foundation is a privately funded organization, which supports Home Economics Careers and Technology. This program offers training in Food Service & Hospitality; Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation; Food Science, Dietetics & Nutrition; Fashion Design, Manufacture & Merchandising; Interior Design, Furnishings & Maintenance; Child Development & Education; Consumer Services and Consumer & Family Education.

For more information about the California Home Economics Educational Foundation, call Carl Morrison at (760) 724-9580.

For more information about Home Economics Teachers Association of California, Region 10, call Louise Zaki at (951) 845-4575.


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10 High School Seniors vying for Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire Honors

Who will receive the next gold medal and inherit the title of Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire from Kevin Agra? One of 10 current high school students will be so honored when The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire holds its Best Teen Chef 2009 competition. This year’s winner receives an all expense-paid trip to Charlotte, NC for the national competition, and a chance for a full scholarship. Local first, second and third place winners receive scholarships of up to $3,000.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – Ten local high school seniors will show off their culinary expertise Saturday, April 12 as they vie for the honor of Best Teen Chef at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

Students entering the 2009 contest, and their high schools are Anton Pishchanellsky of Adelanto (Silverado High School, Victorville), Christopher Crawford of Hesperia (Sultana High School, Hesperia), Alex Shaffer of Yucaipa (Yucaipa High School), Ashlee Keane of Highland (Redlands East Valley High School), Brittain Madrid of Fontana (A.B Miller High School, Fontana), Jasmine Cervantes of Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley), Theresa Marquez of Fontana (Fontana High School), Angelo Cordova of Victorville (Sultana High School, Hesperia), Melissa Meza of Rialto (Eisenhower High School, Rialto) and Briannah Clark of Claremont (Options for Youth, Ontario)

This year, those participating in the Best Teen Chef competition are only half of those who entered. As part of their entry, contestants submitted their own original recipes and a high school transcript. Chef Eyad Joseph, academic director of The International Culinary School, considered the grade-point averages and the quality of these submitted recipes to narrow the field from 20 contestants to 10.

This is the third year The International Culinary School has held the competition, and it has grown each year, to the point this year that The International Culinary School selected 10 finalists from the total of 20 entries.

“This is in part fueled by The International Culinary School’s Passport to a Tasty Future program for high school students, but also reflects the growing popularity of Culinary Arts as a career choice,” said Chef Joseph.

The winner of this annual competition earns a trip to Charlotte, NC on May 9 to compete in a national Best Teen Chef competition sponsored by The Art Institutes. That winner will receive a full-tuition scholarship to the International Culinary School of his or her choice.

“The top prize is worth more than $75,000, which would make a promising culinarian’s dream come true, to one day become a professional chef,” said Chef Joseph. “The process is hard and long but promising for an up and coming culinary student.”

Each student will cook from the same menu, Chef Joseph said. They will demonstrate how well they can use certain basic cooking techniques to make shrimp cocktail, sautéed chicken breast, rice pilaf and broccoli.

The competition is an all-day event, lasting from 8 a.m. to about 4 p.m., Chef Joseph said.

The Art Institutes have sponsored a Best Teen Chef Competition for nine years. The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire first participated in 2007, a few months after opening its culinary program.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. It offers an Associate degree in Graphic Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design.

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers an Associate degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Management. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start a new term at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin April 6 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information, or to arrange a tour, call The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire at (909) 915-2100 or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire .

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of the Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu /InlandEmpire), a system of more than 40 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
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Who will receive the next gold medal and inherit the title of Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire from Kevin Agra? One of 10 current high school students will be so honored when The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire holds its Best Teen Chef 2009 competition. This year’s winner receives an all expense-paid trip to Charlotte, NC for the national competition, and a chance for a full scholarship. Local first, second and third place winners receive scholarships of up to $3,000.

Riverside County Still Building Assets

Robert Byrd

(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) - Even in these tough economic times, Riverside County continues to spend less than its revenue, thus putting more money into its coffers to help residents.

County of Riverside Financial Highlights for Fiscal Year 2007-2008, a 28-page, full-color report recently released by the Riverside County Auditor Controller’s Office, shows this financial picture. It’s available on the Web at http://www.auditorcontroller.org.

The report reveals that Riverside County took in more than $3.5 billion in revenue from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008 but spent just under $3.2 billion. Thus, it added $322 million to its net assets at the end of the fiscal year, bringing the total of net assets to $3,351,697,000.

“In Fiscal Year 2007-2008, our county continued to grow, thus easing the financial strain locally,” Riverside County Auditor-Controller Robert Byrd said. “Furthermore, Riverside County has been prudent in its fiscal management over the past years. While we are not experiencing double-digit property-tax revenue growth as in the past, revenue has not decreased as much as in many other California counties.”

However, Byrd cautions that next year’s financial report likely won’t be as glowing as this one.

“Our county, state, country and world are experiencing a financial crisis,” he said. “Issues involving mortgages, foreclosures and the collapse of banking institutions, as well as corruption and unethical behavior, abound. Riverside County is not an island unto itself; it has been impacted by these global problems. Now, more than ever, it is essential we do everything possible to ensure county operations are efficient and that safeguards are in place to identify and stop wasteful spending.”

This year’s Financial Highlights shows how Riverside County will spend some of its assets.

Not all of it is money in the bank, Byrd explained. About $872 million was the value on June 30 of capital assets the county owns such as land, buildings and furnishings.

Another portion of these net assets is restricted to certain purposes, as the county received this money through loans, grants or donations for specific uses, such as community development, paying off old debts, public protection and others. Some money is also restricted because of certain laws.

This leaves more than $1.6 billion in unrestricted funds available to the county for any purpose its leaders deem to be in the public interest.

Financial Highlights also lists some of the major construction projects Riverside County embarked on during Fiscal 2007-08. These include:

• $24.6 million for improvements to roads and traffic signals
• $5 million to build fire stations in Cabazon, Lake Riverside and Mead Valley
• $9.6 million for Mission Boulevard streetscaping
• $6.3 million for street improvements and a storm drain at Armstrong Road and Sierra Avenue in Sunnyslope
• $14.1 million for additional storm drains throughout the county
• $1.6 million for the Siemens Hospital Information System
• $15.2 million for the Rubidoux Fleet Operations Center
• $56 million to build the Riverside Centre
• $5.1 million for the Cabazon Fleet Facility

There are many colorful graphics in this report, including a “dollar bill" chart showing that for every dollar of property tax collected, 48 cents is spent on schools, 25 cents on community redevelopment, 12 cents on Riverside County itself, eight cents on the county’s special districts and seven cents on the cities within Riverside County.

Additional color pie charts and bar graphs further break down how money is spent and received by Riverside County. And for those who want even more detailed information, the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report provides 206 pages of information about the state of Riverside County’s finances. . This report is also available on the Web at http://www.auditorcontroller.org.

In 2002, Robert Byrd became the county’s elected Auditor-Controller with more votes cast than in the entire history of the office. In so doing, he was California’s first African American elected to that office. He was subsequently re-elected to a second four-year term in June of 2006.

Byrd virtually revolutionized the office of the county’s Auditor-Controller by restructuring it to provide optimum customer service while improving the quality and flow of information to the county’s management. He adds, “We refocused Riverside County’s audit function to not only serve its regulatory mandates, but also to incorporate flexibility to audit proactively,” thus bringing fresh standards to the county’s processes and functionality.

He sees his professional contributions as going beyond what’s expected of his office, however. He has been chair of the Riverside County Employee Campaign and the Legislative Chair for the State Association of County Auditors. Additionally, Byrd has been a commissioner on the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission, and members of the Society of Municipal Finance Officers, the Government Finance Officer’s Association and the State Association of County Auditors.

Committed to his community, he’s a member of Riverside Rotary, board member of the Next of Kin Registry, is on the International Relations Council for Riverside and performs as Finance Chairperson for La Sierra Academy’s Board of Trustees.
For details on the Riverside County Auditor-Controller's office call (951) 955-3800.

The Office of the Auditor-Controller is headed by Robert E. Byrd, CGFM, who is elected by the voters of Riverside County. The Auditor-Controller staff and management teams are dedicated to providing sound financial accounting, auditing and reporting in order to serve the citizens of Riverside County. More information is available on the Web at http://www.auditorcontroller.org.

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Art Institute Instructor Winning Biggest Battle

Robert Delgadillo at one of his art shows with the likeness of Julie Newmar, who became a famous "pussycat" when she played Catwoman in the orignal Batman. 

Photo by Alan Mercer

Penelope Cruz portrait by Robert Delgadillo

Julie Newmar portrait by Robert Delgadillo, depicting her role in Batman

Amy Winehouse portrait by Robert Delgadillo

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – His advertising art, layout and design for the Beverly Hills boutique Kitson have appeared on billboards across the country, on E! Entertainment News and The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nichole Richie, and in such high-profile publications as Vogue, In Style, People and Vanity Fair. Clearly Robert A. Delgadillo, recognized best as “RAD,” knows what he’s doing.

Aside from his talented success in the ad industry, Delgadillo has had a long career with celebrity portraiture, including pieces for Paris Hilton, Demi Moore, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Ashton Kutcher and Nicole Richie. “I use my art to pay homage to the very people who inspire me,” he says. “My work is a fusion of Hollywood, fashion and contemporary design.”

His work of art, “Temptation,” for instance, depicts Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as Adam and Eve, garnering Delgadillo international coverage in Hello! Magazine, National Ledger and In Touch Weekly. “I strive to capture the essence of the celebrities I chose to draw. My work is an embodiment of what’s hot, but it’s not purely about aesthetics.” “Temptation” was auctioned off at Kitson in 2005, raising “tens of thousands of dollars” from an anonymous collector, the funds benefiting cancer research.

“Years from now,” he continues, “my art will serve as a time capsule that chronicles all that was popular in mainstream culture.”

The 37-year-old artist/instructor will bring his years of detailed experience and hard-won knowledge back to the Graphic Arts Department of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire when he rejoins the faculty in January. Rejoins, after intensive chemotherapy.

Last September Delgadillo was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A tumor was removed, but by then the disease had spread to his stomach and was poised to move throughout his body. “It was serious, and spreading fast,” he says. There are four chemotherapy
cycles for him spread out over twelve weeks; his current final cycle is what he calls the toughest.

“Chemotherapy kills all the body’s cells, good as well as bad,” Delgadillo explains. “We’re in the home stretch now, and I’m feeling pretty well. My doctor says the cancer cells are almost undetectable, and that’s a welcome relief. There’ll be follow-up exams and treatment for years to come, though.”

In mid January, at the first quarter of the new year at The Art Institute’s Inland Empire campus, RAD steps into a teaching load with three classes instead of his usual five or six, as a way to tip-toe back into the school’s workforce, though as a member of the Graphic Design faculty he could be facing around 30 students. “Three courses is a great way to return to teaching, but by spring of 2009 I expect to be back to my former course level,” the Los Angeles native feels.

His parents, of Mexican and Chilean descent, have supported Delgadillo’s art/illustration interest since he was a child. “He was drawing before he could walk,” they say.

Delgadillo began his career in art as a Production Assistant with Walt Disney Feature Animation in Burbank where he aided the layout, story and editorial departments on the feature film, “Treasure Planet.”

He then spent several years with a high end fine art printing company where he supervised and trained artists, headed department meetings and oversaw the art firm’s quality control department.

In 2005 in Beverly Hills Delgadillo had his first solo exhibition, including works based on such contemporary pop idols as Gwen Stefani and film legends including Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. This was the same year he launched a nation-wide ad illustration campaign for the well-known boutique Kitson. His fashion illustrations for the store, especially a large mural, have been displayed at Glendale’s popular Americana outdoor shopping center. As Kitson’s Fraser Ross says, “Robert is this generation’s Andy Warhol.”

In 2006 RAD accepted the complex assignment of developing branding for the popular Los Angeles-based talent agency Sutton, Barth and Vennari (SBV Talent), including redesigning the company’s corporate image. His work for SBV was also featured in the printed programs that year for the Hollywood Reporter’s Key Art Awards for the best in motion picture marketing efforts and the Golden Trailer Awards event for top movie previews.

The following year saw the summer issue of Warning Magazine’s cover featuring Delgadillo’s portrait interpretation of the recording artist and fashion designer Gwen Stefani. At the same time, in addition to media coverage throughout Europe and Japan, the Mexican newspaper La Reforma chose him for the cover of their Famous People section, including a lengthy interview, with photos of him and his celebrity-based artwork.

This past June, the artist debuted a new direction in his work. A collection of prints titled “The Pussy Collection” featured portraits of actress Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman from the mid-‘60s “Batman” television series that starred Adam West and Burt Ward. A highly successful autographing party with Newmar and Delgadillo was held at A Different Light bookstore in West Hollywood.

In 2009, the art world will see Delgadillo’s celebrity portraits from 2004 to the present collected in a lavish coffee-table book. “This is something,” he says, “that has been requested by my collectors for years. I’m very excited about this new project. I’ve been involved with it all year.”

It’s been non-stop ever since; ever since, that is, until September of 2008.

But RAD is ready now; ready to jump back into the classroom. As The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire President, Emam El-Hout says, “We are grateful to have (Robert) working with our students. His talent and experience will show students many hands-on, practical ways to have a career in graphic design.”

Delgadillo explains, “One of the great things about this school is its focus on not just learning for the sake of learning, but its goal of guiding students toward being employable in a career they can love.”

And who better to lead graphic design students in that direction than a man with Disney studio experience, with award-winning ad agency work on his resume, with international recognition for his art, with illustrations appearing in many of America’s biggest magazines and on major TV shows. A man who is winning one of the toughest battles anyone could face.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start the new year at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin April 6 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information or a tour, call The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire at (909) 915-2100.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
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RIALTO COUNCIL MEMBERS & CLERK HOSTING THIRD ANNUAL WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod - Keynote Speaker

State Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter - Keynote Speaker

Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare, Public Health Officer for San Bernardino County - speaker

Sheriann Ferguson, manager of Countrywide Home Loans in Colton - speaker

Rialto Unified School District Governing Board Member Joanne Gilbert - Speaker

Fontana City Council Member Acquanetta Warren - speaker 

Dr. Diane Woods, president and founder of African-American Health Initiative of San Bernardino County - Speaker

Rialto City Councilman Ed Palmer - Host

Rialto  City Councilwoman Deborah Robertson - Host

Rialto City Clerk Barbara McGee - Speaker and Host

Beverly Powell, Regional Manager for Southern California Edison - speaker

(RIALTO, Calif.) Three Rialto city leaders will observe Women’s History Month (March) with a focus on women of today.

Rialto City Council members Deborah Robertson and Ed Palmer and City Clerk Barbara McGee are hosting the third annual “State of Women: A Dialogue Between Women” conference Saturday, March 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rialto Senior Center, 1141 Riverside Ave., Rialto.

The main speakers for this event are State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod and Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter. These women are two of only a few women in the Inland Empire holding state elected offices, and both representing Rialto.

“In November of 2006, for the first time, we finally had a woman representing us in the State Senate and another woman representing us in the Assembly,” Robertson said. “I thought then it was time to tap into a wonderful resource, to highlight during Women's’ History Month in March of 2007.”

As they did the previous two years, State Senator Negrete-McLeod and Assembly member Carter, as well as other speakers will provide information about issues that are important to women.

There will be other speakers in the areas of health, employment, education, politics, family and finances. These speakers include:

• Rialto City Clerk Barbara McGee
  
• Rialto School Board member Joanne Gilbert
  
• Southern California Edison Regional Manager Beverly Powell.
  
• Dr. Diane Woods, director of the African-American Health Institute of San Bernardino County
  
• Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare, Public Health Officer for San Bernardino County
  
• Sherrian Johnson, home loan consultant/sales manager of Countrywide Home Loans in Colton
  
• Acquanetta Warren, Fontana City Council member

Lunch will be catered by the Complete Health Food Store, owned by Barbara Frenard, a woman-owned business in Rialto. Healthy Rialto, San Bernardino County Public Health, Brothers and Sisters in Action (BASIA), the South Coast Air Quality Management District, The Gas Company, Southern California Edison and the Rialto Redevelopment and Housing Agency will have information available.

Seating is limited, so those who wish to attend should RSVP as soon as possible by calling (909) 820-2519 or emailing bmcgee@rialtoca.gov

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KD CONSEIL BRIDGES CULTURAL GAPS BETWEEN MULTINATIONAL EXECUTIVES

Kathleen Dameron

(PARIS, France) - Think all people are alike?

That’s not necessarily true, especially when you are an executive with a multi-national corporation and must deal on a regular basis with employees or customers who are based in another country.

KD Conseil, a French organization owned by Kathleen Dameron of Paris, seeks to help multinational corporations work through cultural barriers to deliver the best goods and services possible. KD Conseil helps multi-national firms understand the different cultures within their organization. By understanding and working through cultural differences, KD Conseil helps the firm develop “shared practices” that will be highly efficient ways of delivering their services and products in a global market.

“A lot of what I do is help people to understand that they have a culture,” she said. “When you are in your own culture, everything goes more or less the same way. When you go to work with a different culture, they will do the same things for very different reasons. And sometimes they will do things very differently.”

“You can have some surprises,” she said. “Some of them will be pleasant, some of them unpleasant.”

While differences between countries can be quite pronounced, people within the same country can also have different cultures based on the type of work they do.

“Marketing people have a certain way of doing things,” Dameron explained. “Engineers have another. So if you put into a room, people who are all American marketing people, they would have a lot in common as to how they do things. If you are in a room with different American people, such as marketing people, engineers and sales people, there are some things that will be different. And if you put together people who are French, American, German and Indonesian then they might have very different ideas about everything.”

For instance, Dameron has worked with a multi-national company that does business in about 80 countries. When the company first started working with her, it wanted all the subsidiaries to do all things the same way. She is helping them to envision a company-wide plan that addresses the need for flexibility in how things are done.

“Their practices were creating real issues within this organization. It led to things being done partially. They wanted things done that don’t work in the French market, that don’t work in the American market.”

For instance, this company wanted all of their offices to use the same insurance forms. But on a German insurance form, it is natural to ask the customer to state his or her religion. That is because of a difference in how Germany and other countries handle the issue of giving money to churches.

“In Germany, when people pay taxes, the government sends a portion of the tax money to a church, based on the taxpayer’s stated preference,” Dameron explained. “In the United States, if I want to give money to my faith, I’ll do it myself.”

“The Germans didn’t see a problem with that question,” she said. “But if their subsidiaries started sending that form to the United States, we could have had a lawsuit. All the subsidiaries did was argue with headquarters and then do what they wanted to.”

With Dameron’s help, the company and subsidiary managers were able to see that it would be more effective to develop a “shared practice.” That is, they would agree on a form with questions that all could ask, and each subsidiary could then send a supplemental form with additional questions that would be helpful where they did business.

As she did with this insurance company, Dameron works with each of her clients to help them develop a unique solution to whatever problems culture clashes could cause. She calls this “decoding” the other culture.

“A lot of firms want a list of what to do and not to do. You can find those things online,” she said. “My added value is how I can help you learn how to understand and work with the differences within another culture.”

“People want a list of what to do and what not to do because makes them comfortable,” she added. “Some of that is really useful and helpful. Some of it is giving yourself a crutch so you don’t have to learn about other people’s cultures. What you really need to do is learn how to decode the other culture.”

Dameron offers her assistance in decoding cultures primarily by presenting one- to three-day seminars to company executives in retreat settings. She is also a public speaker who has given presentations on multicultural competence to the French multi-national defense company Theles, executive MBA students at French business school Essec and to the French organization Societa Frances de Coaching, which is an organization for business coaches and life coaches.

Her recent clients include:
• AGF of the Allianz Insurance Group
• Rio Tinto Alcan
• BNP Paribas
• College de Polytechnic, which is the premier engineering school in France, she trains management/leadership executives enrolled in the continuing education program
• ESSEC, the premier business school in France, she trains students enrolled in the Masters of Business Administration and Master of International Affairs programs for executive management
• Thales
• KCI Laboratories
• Thomson Multimedia
• Tyco Electronics
• Veolia Water
• Vuitton

To reach KD Conseil, phone (331) 4221-0073 or email info@kdconseil.com. French speakers may obtain information about the company through the website www.kdconseil.com and English speakers will be able to do so soon.

Kathleen Dameron was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and also lived in southern California. She graduated from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands in California. She also has a degree from the Universitè de Paris. She resides in Paris, France, where she established KD Conseil in 1992.

KD Conseil helps multi-national firms understand the different cultures within their organization. By understanding and working through cultural differences, KD Conseil helps the firm develop “shared practices” that will be highly efficient ways of delivering their services and products in a global market.

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FORMER MTV, BET CHOREOGRAPHER HOLDS ONE-WOMAN SHOW IN RIALTO

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Danielle Hobbs is adding a new twist to her motivational one-woman show “Hero” show this year. This year’s show, scheduled for 8 a.m., Friday, Feb. 27, at Frisbee Middle School in Rialto, features cultural heroes such as Cesar Chavez, Selena and Amelia Earhart.

Hobbs started the Hero show, named after the Mariah Carey song, “Hero,” to empower local youths and show that they can be a positive part of American history and future heroes. “I have been doing this African American heritage program since 2004,” Hobbs said. “The new show adds a little more cultural diversity. The show raises African American awareness, but it’s more about American triumph.”

“I want youths to walk away from this show knowing they can be whatever want to be,” Hobbs said. “I like empowering youths to be better and to have big dreams.”

Hobbs has a long and diverse history in the entertainment world. She first started dancing at the age of 4 , as an after-school hobby. She showed so much promise that she eventually graduated from high school two years early. Hobbs went onto to tour the world with a dance troupe.

After graduating from Long Beach State in 1998, Hobbs turned her dance skills to the music world working on music videos for artists such as Chico DeBarge, Usher, Will Smith, Master P, Snoop Dogg and the East Side Boyz. She later graduated to choreographing awards shows for BET and MTV and doing promo tours for Mariah Carey, Eve and Missy Elliot.

More recently Hobbs has worked with A-list star Beyonce, choreographing the “B-Day” video and working with Beyonce and Shakira on the video for “Beautiful Liar.”

Hobbs is currently working on a book titled “I Dance: A Simple Handbook for Starting a Successful Dance Career” scheduled to be published later this year. The book shows aspiring dancers how to make it in the entertainment world. “I’m so happy to have the opportunity to share my experience with upcoming dancers,” she said. “There are many young people who have the talent to succeed in this industry, but they just need someone to steer them in the right direction.”

For more information about the Hero show please call Dameron Communications at (909) 888-0017.
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'MEDAL OF HONOR’ VIDEO GAME ANIMATION DIRECTOR COMES TO I.E.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Sunil Thankamushy has what most young men would consider to be the dream job. He gets paid to design and play video games like “Call of Duty: Finest Hour.”

Thankamushy, founder of the video game studio Spark Unlimited, is a guest speaker at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, located at 630 E. Brier in San Bernardino, at 11:50 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25. He is talking to students about how to break into the video game industry. Everyone is welcome. Please check in at the front desk.

“Sunil is a veteran insider of the video game industry,” said Santosh Oommen, Academic Director for Game Art and Design at The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire. “He offers our Game Art and Design students valuable tips on how to break into this business.”

The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire’s Game Art and Design program prepares young people for jobs as video game designers and animators.

Thankamushy was one of the first animators selected by Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Interactive Studio. Thankamushy was one of a handful of people chosen to create the best-selling World War II video game “Medal of Honor.” As animation director of “Medal of Honor,” Thankamushy helped turn Spielberg’s ideas into a multi-billion dollar video game franchise.

“Medal of Honor” is loosely based on Spielberg’s Oscar-winning movie “Saving Private Ryan.” Imagine Games Network (IGN), a web site covering the video game industry, ranked “Medal of Honor” as one of the top 25 games of all time for the PlayStation console.

After leaving DreamWorks Interactive, Thankamushy also worked at video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) before starting his own studio, Spark Unlimited. The studio has launched two originals games, “Turning Point: Fall of Liberty” and “Legendary.”

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. It offers an Associate degree in Graphic Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design.


The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers an Associate degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Management. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start a new term at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin April 6 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information, or to arrange a tour, call The Art Institute at (909) 915-2100 or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of the Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire), a system of more than 40 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

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ART INSTITUTE ENROLLS 1,000TH STUDENT

Pictured from left to right are Alex Alonso and his father Alonso Alonso.


Alonso Alonso stands in front of the entrance of The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire



(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire recently enrolled its 1,000th student, a benchmark of the school’s recognition as a major force in creative college-level education.

The 1,000th student is Alonso Alonso, 34, from San Bernardino. He’s a culinary student and a single father of Andrew, 6.

“I did not have any background in the culinary field,” he recalls, “but even in junior high the Home Economics class fascinated me. Then when I got to high school I became hooked on cooking classes. So, that’s six years of culinary background before I even thought about college and a degree.”

Alonso entered quite a few local baking competitions while attending Calipatria High School in Imperial County, as well as drafting contests since he was also interested in architecture at the time.

He went on to enroll at California State University, San Bernardino, majoring in psychology. However, he dropped out to find a job in order to support his son.

After 13 years at an Ontario distribution warehouse, Alonso was laid off this past September. “I knew the company was in trouble,” he says. “There were around 40 layoffs, all without warning. I had to do something. I could go back to school and finish my degree in business administration, but I’d soured on the distribution thing. It was time to do what I really loved.”

What he loved was cooking and food preparation, and though he did consider various colleges, it became clear The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire’s award-winning culinary program could provide exactly what Alonso wanted and needed with a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Management.

“My focus was too spread out,” he remembers. “I couldn’t narrow down where I should concentrate for my education. But now, with The Art Institute’s culinary program, I’m on target.”

This 1,000th student has his sights set on being a chef after graduation in 2011, and with a B.S. under his arm.

“Alonso Alonso will do well here at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire,” said President Emam El-Hout. “In his first term here, we have seen his dedication to learning the basics of culinary arts so that he can provide a better life for himself and his son. We know his dedication will ultimately result in him managing or owning a fantastic restaurant where we can all look forward to enjoying gourmet meals.”

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion Marketing & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion Design. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start the new year at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin Feb. 19 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information or a free tour of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire call (909) 915-2100 or go on line to artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

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ART INSTITUTE FACULTY AND OTHER INDUSTRY LEADERS JUDGE

Sandra Hugh, an eighth-grader at Ruth O. Harris Middle School in Bloomington, presents “Fashion Passion,” her concept of a pre-teen’s dream room, to judges in the Interior Design portion of the student organization FHA-HERO’s Region 10 Competitive Recognition Events held recently at Ontario High School. Judges included Sara Sandoval (left), academic director of Interior Design program at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire and Susan Thomas (right). Some of the drawings on Sandra’s presentation board were created with Auto-CAD (Computer Aided Design) software. Photo by Chris Sloan


(ONTARIO, Calif.) Before a young person commits to obtaining a college degree at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, something sparks their creativity.

For students who are pursuing degrees in Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Fashion & Retail Management, that spark of creativity is often an organization they belonged to in high school, FHA-HERO. With that in mind the academic directors of these Art Institute of California – Inland Empire programs, Eyad Joseph, Sara Sandoval and Sherry West, helped judge a regional FHA-HERO competition held recently at Ontario High School.

Just as they would be able to continue doing at The Art Institute after high school graduation, the teenagers gain from FHA-HERO an opportunity to learn about and succeed in home economics-related fields. In fact, the HERO part of FHA-HERO means “Home Economics Related Occupations.”

The FHA part of the organization’s name means “Future Homemakers of America,” but that’s a tribute to their long history as an organization for students enrolled in home economics. Its only bearing on the home economics curriculum in 21st Century high schools in California is that a portion of the curriculum strives to prepare youth for personal success at home and in a career.

This curriculum is officially known as “Home Economics Careers and Technology.” It heavily emphasizes preparing students for careers in home economics, which is what
The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire also wants to do for its Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Fashion & Retail Management students.

Educators at both levels agree. The Home Economics Careers and Technology program is a great first step, but college is also important for those who seek more than an entry-level career in these industries.

“These students are looking for educational opportunities in the local colleges,” said Sara Sandoval, academic director of the Interior Design program at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. “Competitions like the one sponsored by FHA-HERO influence students entering The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. They come to our school having already experienced an opportunity to positively influence other people’s lives through their skills, and are ready to take those experiences to a new level.”

As an Interior Design instructor, Sandoval was impressed to see middle school students using Auto-CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to create their entries in FHA-HERO’s Interior Design competition. Auto-CAD is a program The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire teaches its third-quarter Interior Design students, after they first take two quarters of paper and pencil drafting.

But for the young teens who did this, learning Auto-CAD from family members was just one of the many ways they have enriched their lives through learning. To create entries that showed the judges their concepts of an ideal room for a pre-teen child, the students also relied on freehand drawing, math and public speaking to create entries that included display boards, cost and materials analyses and five-minute speeches.

“Their thirst for knowledge and interest in developing lifelong professional skills also coincides with their interest in supporting the wellbeing of a community by becoming involved in a school organization such as FHA-HERO,” Sandoval said. “As industry professionals and educators, it is our responsibility to channel their great productive energy into well-rounded designers.”

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. It offers an Associate degree in Graphic Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design.

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers an Associate degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Management. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start a new term at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin April 6 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information, or to arrange a tour, call The Art Institute at (909) 915-2100 or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of the Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire), a system of more than 40 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

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Art Institute Awards $159,000 in scholarships

Every year, The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire hosts several competitions providing winners with scholarships. Here, current student Kevin Agra competes in the Best Teen Chef 2008 competition. For winning this competition he received a $3,000 scholarship. This was just one of many scholarships, totaling $159,000, the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire awarded in 2008. Robert Swapp Photo

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Fifteen Inland Empire residents are taking the first steps toward their dreams of careers in the arts, with the help of $159,000 in scholarships awarded by The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, located in San Bernardino, is a private university, which offers degrees in creative careers such as graphic design, interior design, culinary arts, culinary management, web design & interactive media, media arts & animation, game art & design.

“The Art Institute of California - Inland Empire feels that if people have the talent and drive, then paying for education should not be an obstacle,” said President Emam El-Hout. “The scholarships will help many Inland Empire residents receive an education that can help them pursue careers that they love.”

The scholarships include awards of $1,000 to $15,000. Four of the awards were for placing in the preliminary rounds of national competitions.

Alurra Hughes of Redlands won $3,000 in The Art Institutes Poster Competition for designing what was judged the best poster of all entries from The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire. Kevin Agra of Rancho Cucamonga and Scott Nerim of Riverside won awards of $3,000 and $1,000 by placing first and third in The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef competition, in which students cooked items on a set menu in a timed competition.

The remaining awards, for $5,000 to $15,000, went to first- and second-place winners in local scholarship competitions. There were two categories of award winners in most of these competitions, members of the Class of 2008, and adults who graduated from high school before 2008 and now wished to attend The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

These scholarship winners demonstrated excellence in a particular program of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire.

• Culinary - Students planned a menu, submitted the menu, its recipes and photos, and wrote an essay about why they wanted to be culinarians.
• Game Art & Design - Students sent their ideas for new games, along with drawings of a character and a set.
• Graphic Design – Students submitted a poster, two illustrations and either pencil or pen and ink drawings.
• Media Arts & Animation – Students submitted four drawings, a computer generated 3-D model and their own 15-second animated Quick Time movie.
• Interior Design – Students submitted a portfolio showing creative design ability, which included sketches, perspective drawings with hand-lettering and in some cases, floor plans and room elevations
• Web Design & Interactive Media – Students submitted a portfolio including a five-page interactive Website and a site map flowchart for the Website.

A $15,000 scholarship for Web Design & Interactive Media makes the college experience easier for Hector Franco, whose hometown is the desert city of Littlerock, near Palmdale. Unlike many students, who live close enough to The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire to commute from home, Franco and a classmate from Littlerock High School moved after their 2008 graduation to the Art Institute’s student housing and must pay room and board as well as tuition.

“We don’t have much money, and we didn’t get any grants,” he said about himself and his friend. “So I was really happy to get this scholarship.”

Franco believes the skills he’s learning in the Web Design & Interactive Media program could benefit him in a variety of careers.

“Besides, Web design is something I have always liked,” he said.

Ceara Alejo of Mira Loma is also studying Web Design & Interactive Media, qualified for a $5,000 scholarship to the program. Like Franco, she believes this course of study will give her valuable skills in any career she may later pursue.

“I didn’t have money, so getting a scholarship really helped,” said the 2008 graduate of Jurupa Valley High School. “I have always enjoyed drawing, and I really wanted to go to The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.”

Aldo Lopez of Upland, who received a $15,000 scholarship in Graphic Design, doubts he would have been able to attend college without this help.

“Money is a big problem, because of the economy,” he said. “And college is not cheap.”

The 2008 Upland High School graduate is now pursuing an associate degree in Graphic Design, which he could obtain in less than two years through The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire’s year-round schedule. The associate degree alone would provide opportunities he does not have with just a high school education, he said.

“I think it would give me an edge,” he said.

But Lopez’ future may also include pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire before he starts his career. Both Graphic Design and the newly established Fashion Design programs are possibilities, he said.

“I have always wanted to design my own clothing line,” he said. “I most like the graphic element of that, such as designing logos for T-shits.”

Scholarship recipients are:

Winners name City Scholarship Amount Program
Catherine Anderson Fontana $15,000 1st Culinary
Erik Goebel Hesperia $5,000 2nd Culinary
Alurra Hughes Redlands $15,000 1st $3,000 1st Game Art & Design
Poster Contest
Aldo Lopez Upland $15,000 1st Graphic Design
Josiah Serrano Rancho Cucamonga $5,000 2nd Graphic Design

Ziad Jabeguero Fontana $15,000 1st Media Arts & Animation
Hector Franco Littlerock $15,000 1st Web Design & Interactive Media
Ceara Alejo Mira Loma $5,000 2nd Web Design & Interactive Media
Kimbra Brown Riverside $10,000 1st Culinary
Jessica Hurst Mira Loma $10,000 1st Game Art & Design
Carissa Williams Victorville $5,000 2nd
Game Art & Design
Amanda Birosak Corona $10,000 1st Interior Design
Shalonda Jackson Moreno Valley $10,000 1st Graphic Design
Kevin Agra Alta Loma $3,000 1st Best Teen Chef
Scott Nerim Riverside $1,000 3rd Best Teen Chef

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion Marketing & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion Design. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start classes at The Art Institute of California–Inland Empire. Courses begin Jan. 12 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information or a free tour of The Art Institute of California–Inland Empire call (909) 915-2100 or (800) 353-0182 or go on line to artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

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