San Diego State University Associated Students

Seasons Greetings!

December 2017 Newsletter



Article 1 Thumbnail

Holiday Message

Article 2 Thumbnail

Student Employee Spotlight

Two Children’s Center Attendees Return “Home”

Article 3 Thumbnail

The Daily Aztec Wins!

San Diego Press Club EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS

Article 4 Thumbnail

Finals Study Space

Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union

Article 5 Thumbnail

A.S. Staff Awards Recap

2017

Article 6 Thumbnail

Look in Your Kitchen Cabinets

Article 7 Thumbnail

Fun Facts:

A.S. Graphics

Article 8 Thumbnail

College Area Community Garden

15 Questions Thumbnail

15 Questions

Dawn DiNardo, Office Supervisor

Calendar Thumbnail

Calendar

December 2017

A.S. News Archive

Archive

A.S. News


Holiday Message

A.S. Happy Holidays
Dear A.S. Family,

Happy Holidays! As this year comes to a close, I am reflecting on what I am grateful for and what brings me joy.  Certainly being a part of the A.S. family brings me so much joy! Each day I look forward to coming to campus as part of a team that makes a positive impact on students' lives and the entire SDSU community. I am proud of how we support and work with students and each other every day. You make the A.S. culture the positive, caring and productive environment that it is, which is what makes us special. I am so grateful for you all.  Thank you for daily effort and dedication to our organization.

My wish for you is a holiday season filled with much joy, laughter and warmth with friends and family!

With cheer and much gratitude,
Christina


Student Employee Spotlight
Two Children’s Center Attendees Return “Home”

Larissa Lopez, Lee Ann Chavez, Abby Castro

From left: Larissa Lopez, Lee Ann Chavez, Abby Castro

Two SDSU students who attended the SDSU Children’s Center are now employees at the Center. We asked them to share some of their memories of the Center.

Abby Castro came to work at the SDSU Children’s Center in July 2017. She currently works with our Toddlers. She was an incoming freshman looking for an on campus job. Since she loves children, working at the Children’s Center was a place she thought was a good fit.

From late 2001 through fall of September 2004, Abby was a child enrolled in our program. She moved with other children from the previous off campus Faculty/Staff Childcare program in December 2003 when we opened our new Center.

Abby remembers the Pirate Ship in Memory Park — although she remembers it being much bigger. She remembers Miss Lee Ann, and an Associate Teacher named Miss Tiffany because she had beautiful long blonde hair. She also remembers that her family often got together with other families from the Center to get together outside of school.

Abby’s mother, Janet Castro is the Director of Testing Services at SDSU Student Services.

Larissa Lopez never attended the new Center. She and her twin sister, Anissa were enrolled at the Faulty/Staff Center from fall of 1999 through fall 2001. She came to work with us in August 2017 in the Transition Cottage.

Larissa remembers how good the food was. She remembers lots of activities, specifically when they were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. “While we were napping, I guess Miss Lee Ann painted the bottom of her feet green and walked around on the playground. When we woke up, we were sure a leprechaun had visited!”

Larissa still has some of the same friends she met while in Preschool. During our routinely scheduled Speech and Language evaluations, it was determined that both Larissa and her twin sister were partially deaf. She attributes this discovery to our program.

Larissa said she always knew she wanted to work here. She said it was her dream to work at the Children’s Center.

Larissa’s mother, Pamela Lopez, works in the SDSU Financial Aid office.

Submitted by Jane-Ann Carroll, SDSU Children’s Center Assistant Director of Programs


The Daily Aztec Wins!
San Diego Press Club EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS

The Daily Aztec

On Oct 28th, The Daily Aztec took home several awards at the 41st Annual San Diego Press Club’s Excellence in Journalism Awards. These awards honor outstanding work in print, broadcast and online journalism.


College Print, Best College Newspaper
The Daily Aztec Staff, San Diego State University, The Daily Aztec – 1st Place

College Print, News
Will Fritz, SDSU Faces Questions About Sexual Assault, The Daily Aztec – 1st Place

College Print, Opinion/Commentary/Opinion
Andrew Dyer, Like Spencer, He Did Nazi It Coming, The Daily Aztec – 1st Place
Cassidy McCombs, The True Costs of Cheap Eats, The Daily Aztec – 2nd Place

College Print, Column
Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, Grabbing Back, The Daily Aztec – 2nd Place

College Print, Cover Design – Newspaper
Hannah Lingle-Veale, Hillary vs. Trump, The Daily Aztec – 2nd Place

College Print, Reviews
Andrew Dyer, Indie Icon Returns with Ambition, The Daily Aztec – 2nd Place

College TV, Feature Reporting
Adriana Heldiz, Cami Buckman, The Daily Aztec Does: Marching Band, The Daily Aztec — 2nd Place

College TV, General News Story
Adriana Heldiz, Mackenzie Boss, SDSU Community Members Among Thousands in San Diego Women’s March, The Daily Aztec – 3rd Place

The San Diego Press Club is one of the largest clubs of its kind in the nation with more than 400 members in the news communications field. Offering a blend of social and professional growth activities, SDPC seeks to foster a community where the relevant professional and social needs of news communications professionals can be met in an environment of integrity and high ethical standards.


Finals Study Space
Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union

Student Lounge at Aztec Student Union

As finals fast approach, the Aztec Student Union looks to be the most comfortable spot on campus to cram all that knowledge. Students will have the ability to utilize all the study areas including all outdoor areas, Montezuma Lounge, Harvey Goodfriend Lounge, Cafe' Dining and The Student Lounge. This year, the Aztec Student Union Board will be providing free snacks, energy drinks, Scan-trons, and other test supplies during the 24 hour expanded study hours.

The expanded hours in The Student Lounge are:

December 14th - 7am-12am
December 15th - 24 Hours
December 16th - 12am-11pm
December 17th - 7am-12am
December 18th - 24 Hours
December 19th - 12am-10pm
December 20th - 7am-10pm

All other spaces in the Aztec Student Union will be open from 7am-10pm, Sunday-Wednesday and 7am-11pm, Thursday-Saturday now until December 22nd. For more information on the expanded study hours please contact the ASUB Vice Commissioner of Operations, Cat Kricorian at asub.operations@mail.sdsu.edu. Please let any of your staff in need of a place to study know about this awesome program.

Submitted by Kyle Zive, Aztec Student Union Assistant Director of Operations


A.S. Staff Awards Recap
2017

Homecoming 2017

Front row from left: Adrian Muñoz, Lee Ann Chavez, Raven Tyson, Fran Hasterok, Julio Piña.
Back row from left: Christina Brown, Chimezie Ebiriekwe, Kevin Waldick, Jennifer Esquivel-Parker, Tim Ripke, Turran Price, Kevin Straw.
Not pictured: Laurie Buffington

On Tuesday, November 14, more than 80 full-time A.S. team members came together to celebrate over 180 years of combined service. This was my very first A.S. Awards (full disclosure: I missed last year’s event because I was new and couldn’t figure out how to access the Mezzanine in Viejas Area!), so I didn’t truly appreciate the purpose of the event. However, as we all came together in the ballroom at the Alumni Center, it only took a moment for me to understand the greatness of the afternoon.

The laughter and energy was so invigorating…it’s always wonderful when all of us can be together! Of course what truly made the day so special were the 11 inspiring people we were there to honor and the stories their co-workers shared.



For those of you who could not attend, let me share a little something I learned about each of the amazing honorees:

  • 10 Years
  • Raven Tyson - I had no idea you didn’t like public speaking…you seem natural at it!

  • 20 Years
  • Julio Piña - thank you for making all of us smile!
  • Turran Price - how special to learn that you are such a family man
  • Lee Ann Chavez - thank you for taking care of our children AND our students
  • Tim Ripke - (that guy hasn’t met a microphone he doesn’t like!!)

  • 15 Years
  • Laurie Buffington - thank you for knowing all of the children’s names…what a special connection you have with them
  • Fran Hasterok - I can’t wait to ask you what destinations are still on your list to visit
  • Kevin Straw - please remind me to never tell you a secret...
  • Kevin Waldick - It was truly wonderful hearing your co-workers describe you as being so talented
  • Jennifer Esquivel-Parker - As Chimezie said, you are a “smooth operator”
  • Adrian Muñoz - evidently you work very well under (water) pressure!!



The next time you see them, congratulate them on their incredible honor.
And please thank them for all that they do for A.S. and our students!!

Submitted by Stephanie Dathe, Aztec Student Union Director


Look in Your Kitchen Cabinets

Food Boxes for Box Tops


When you get home tonight, open your kitchen cabinet — do you have...

  • Lucky Charms
  • Ziploc Storage Bags
  • Betty Crocker Brownie Mix
  • Wheaties
  • Ziploc Freezer Bags
  • Cheerios
  • Progresso Soup
  • Mott’s Applesauce
  • or
  • Green Giant Canned Vegetables?

If so, each of these items has a “Box Tops” on it’s packaging that is worth 10¢ to the SDSU Children’s Center. There are hundreds of products in the Box Tops for Education program, visit childcare.sdsu.edu and click on “Box Tops” for a complete list of eligible products.

Here's how it works:

  • Find a Box Tops on any of the hundreds of products.
  • Clip the Box Tops from the package.
  • Send the Box Tops to the Children’s Center.
  • The Children’s Center gets 10¢ for each Box Top.

It’s that easy!

The Center will use these funds to purchase much needed supplies that the children use everyday, art supplies, library books, garden seeds and much more.


Fun Facts:
A.S. Graphics

A.S. Graphics Trophy

We have an Office Traveling Trophy to recognize design excellence or whoever eats the most bagels in one day. Current record holders, Lyubov Horne and Jay Brest, are tied at 5 bagels each.

A.S. Graphics Programs

21 different design related computer programs/languages are used everyday in Graphics: Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Word, Excel, Acrobat Pro, Acrobat Distiller, Spinetix, Font Book, Image Capture, Compliance Sheriff, Virtual Box, Muse, html, php, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, SQL

A.S. Graphics Eye Chart

We have an eye test chart in our office, stop by to test your eyesight.

A.S. Graphics Microwave

In our office we can smell everything A.S. Office staff members are having for lunch. (A wall separates us from the employee lounge.) So we are always extra hungry at lunchtime.

A.S. Graphics Golf Putting

We have a putting green in our office, stop by and try to beat Chris “Tiger” Blakemore’s record of 50 putts in a row.

A.S. Graphics Pantone Color

To decorate our office, we have 8 large (3’x4’) Pantone color swatches on our walls. (Pantone is a universal ink color matching system used in commercial printing.)

A.S. Graphics Vegas

Last year we completed 2,400+ graphic design projects, or about 9 projects each business day. That is enough creative power to light up the Las Vegas strip for 17 days*.


*Just an estimate.

Submitted by Quentin Skaggs, Graphics Coordinator


College Area Community Garden

The College Area Community Garden

The College Area Community Garden opened in 2013, allowing community members the opportunity to rent one of the 84 garden plots that are located on three quarters of an acre stretch of land behind the SDSU Children’s Center. Members of the Garden include local residents, university students, faculty, administrations and affiliates.

Throughout the past 4 years, the community garden has grown and evolved into a place where members can tend to their plots, yielding organic sustainable produce, contribute to composting and overall decreasing their emissions footprint.

Composting collaboration with the SDSU Children’s Center has eliminated 2¾ tons of food scraps and 1¾ tons of tree trimmings from the landfill. This equates to eliminating 6 metric tons of CO2E emissions, which is the equivalent to removing 15.5 cars from the road.


Learn more about the garden or to rent your very own plot at visit collegeareagarden.org.

Submitted by Lauren Hooley, Finance Manager


15 Questions
Dawn DiNardo, Office Supervisor

Dawn DiNardo

Dawn DiNardo, Office Supervisor

  1. What is your name and title?
    Dawn DiNardo, Office Supervisor
  2. Which A.S. department do you work in?
    I work at the Aztec Recreation Center. I assist my staff with payroll, new hires, trainings, orders, meeting set ups, scheduling, interviews, answer lots of questions and problem solve all day.
  3. How long have you worked for A.S.?
    I have been with A.S. for almost 5 years.
  4. What was the last movie you saw? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
    The most recent movie I saw was “Thor: Ragnarok.” I’d give this a thumbs up for sure, it had a mix of action along with some great humor.
  5. What is your favorite dessert?
    My favorite dessert is a good cannoli. I am very picky with them and have not attempted making my own yet.
  6. Which three people (living or dead) you would like to have dinner with?
    Can I have four, I’d love to spend time with all four of my grandparents again as an adult and for them to be able to meet my son.
  7. What city would you most like to visit or visit again?
    I would love to visit Denali, Alaska again (not technically a city). Seeing such majestic landscape and all the wildlife in their natural state was exhilarating. Not to mention the 23-ish hours of daylight in the summer was a very strange experience.
  8. If you had one free hour each day, how would you use it?
    I would spend it playing, hanging out with my son. For those of you who know me well, you know I adore my kid, who is growing up way too fast!
  9. Do you like to cook and what is your specialty?
    I really enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes. My specialty is baked ribs.
  10. What three things are always in your refrigerator?
    I always have cheese, tomatoes and eggs in my refrigerator. All three are great together or all by themselves as well as they are favorite foods of mine.
  11. When you visit the Zoo, which animal do you make sure you see?
    I always have to see the gorillas and giraffes. The gorillas because they are so human like and fascinating to watch and the giraffes since they are my nephew’s absolute favorite!
  12. Who is your favorite actor or actress?
    I love Sandra Bullock. She is great in all roles and seems like such a relatable and fun person in real life.
  13. If you could have a superhero power what would it be?
    I wish I could teleport to be able to save time traveling and be able to visit more places faster.
  14. What is one of your favorite things to do on the SDSU campus?
    I enjoy having lunch at the eateries on campus during the summer when it is peaceful and quiet.
  15. What do you like most about working for A.S.?
    I love getting to work with the students, watching them grow and mature into young adults is fascinating. I also truly enjoy getting work daily with such a great group of individuals.

Calendar
December 2017

12/1 - World AIDS Day

worldaidsday.org

12/4 - Music Appreciation: Azizi Gibson

aztecstudentunion.com

12/6 - Winter Wonderland

aztecstudentunion.com

12/7 - Aztec Rock: Battle of the Bands

aztecstudentunion.com

12/14 - Midnight Study Break

aztecnights.com

12/19 - JAY-Z

viejasarena.com

11/21 - National Crossword Puzzle Day


Solve the puzzle!
Click on each square to enter a letter.

First Crossword Puzzle
1
FUN
2 3
4 32 5
6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25
26 33 27
28 29
30 31
34


View the solution



By Arthur Wynne, December 21, 1913
from The New York World

  • 2-3. What bargain hunters enjoy.
  • 4-5. A written acknowledgment.
  • 6-7. Such and nothing more.
  • 10-11. A bird.
  • 14-15. Opposed to less.
  • 18-19. What this puzzle is.
  • 22-23. An animal of prey.
  • 26-27. The close of a day.
  • 28-29. To elude.
  • 30-31. The plural of is.
  • 8-9. To cultivate.
  • 12-13. A bar of wood or iron.
  • 16-17. What artists learn to do.
  • 20-21. Fastened.
  • 24-25. Found on the seashore.
  • 10-18. The fibre of the gomuti palm.
  • 6-22. What we all should be.
  • 4-26. A day dream.
  • 2-11. A talon.
  • 19-28. A pigeon.
  • F-7. Part of your head.
  • 23-30. A river in Russia.
  • 1-32. To govern.
  • 33-34. An aromatic plant.
  • N-8. A fist.
  • 24-31. To agree with.
  • 3-12. Part of a ship.
  • 20-29. One.
  • 5-27. Exchanging.
  • 9-25. To sink in mud.
  • 13-21. A boy.


On December 21, 1913, Arthur Wynne, a journalist from Liverpool, England, published a "word-cross" puzzle in the New York City newspaper New York World. (Original puzzle on left.) This puzzle is frequently cited as the first crossword puzzle, and Wynne as the inventor. Later, the name of the puzzle was changed to "crossword." Crossword puzzles became a regular weekly feature in the New York World and soon spread to other U.S. newspapers and even to other countries.

12/25-1/1 - Winter Break – Campus Closed


Archive
A.S. News

AS News Archive