The Anthony & Jeanne Pritkzer Foster Youth Initiative has recently awarded the LAVC NextUp/Guardian Scholars program with a $25,000 grant. In addition, the Pritkzer Initiative's Foster Care Counts has awarded a $5,000 grant plus an additional $1,000 for student scholarships through the LAVC Foundation. The funds will be used to help support current and former foster youth at Los Angeles Valley College. Congratulations!

LAVC waved goodbye to a few of its old 1950s bungalows on campus. Bungalows 50-52 were torn down in December 2018 to make way for a new thermal energy storage tank on campus. A crowd of faculty and staff gathered in Lot H as Dr. Endrijonas climb into a bulldozer to ceremoniously mark the beginning of the removal of these now-abandoned bungalows. The onlookers cheered once the bulldozer began leveling the bungalow structure to the ground. The remaining bungalows in the area are scheduled to be demolished at a later date.

LAVC faculty and staff got into the holiday spirit at the "Grinch-Mas" themed Winter Wonderland Holiday Party on December 4. More than 170 faculty and staff donated $430 as well as a mountain of toys to "Operation: Santa", which brings holiday presents to low-income families in the San Fernando Valley. This annual event brings together faculty and staff to enjoy the joys of the holidays with a tasty holiday lunch, raffle prizes, and to see who wins the annual musical chairs competition. This year, it also included a "Grinch-Mas" costume contest.

LAVC warmly welcomes Luiza Minasyan, its new Graphic Designer. Working under Professional Development, she will work on college-wide projects as well as can assist college departments and programs with various graphic design projects.

LAVC Professional Development is excited to offer several professional development activities for faculty and staff this Winter! Classified staff are invited to learn how to use their personal strengths in work and life at the "Strength Finders Workshop on January 18 at 8:30 a.m.; lunch is provided for those who RSVP. The college leadership team are also participating in the "Strength Finders Workshop" on January 17. If any faculty and staff want to learn new ways to incorporate technology in their work at the Winter 2019 Tech Fest on January 28-29. Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities this Spring!

LAVC honored Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian for his help in securing a $800,000 California State Budget Carve-Out to enable the LAVC Family Resource Center to expand its services for students who are parents. In addition, the LAVC Foundation established The Adrin Nazarian Scholarship & Endowment to help student parents at LAVC. 

Congrats to LAVC Monarch Football, Women's Soccer, Men's Water Polo, Women's Water Polo teams for a successful Fall season. Men's Water Polo Team earned its 5th consecutive WSC Championship title and is ranked #2 in the state, Women's Soccer is 13-6-2 and made it to the first round of the So Cal Playoffs, Football finished 7-3, and Women's Water Polo was 16-10. #GoMonarchs

LAVC welcomes Maria Calpito as the new Program Director at Valley College for the Title V Cooperative Program: Engaging for Student Success. In this new role, she oversees the 3-campus cooperative program (at LAVC, East LA College, and LA Trade Tech) that is designed to improve retention, persistence, and completion rates of students, including managing LAVC's Teaching Innovation Academy (TIA) program for faculty.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Winter/Spring 2019 professional development activities for faculty and staff. Classified Staff Professional Development Day is January 18, TechFest is January 28 & 29, and the first B.U.I.L.D. Series meeting will begin in early February. Professional Development is continuing to work on expanding and improving professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. The implementation of the IEPI plan will begin soon, and a revised New Employee Orientation Program for classified staff and faculty will be piloted starting in February. Keep your eye out for emails and tweets with details on our upcoming Professional Development events!

Congratulations to the Men's Water Polo team being ranked #2 in California! The defending WSC Conference Championship team made it all the way to the CCCAA Men's Water Polo Championship.