A.S. Students Honored
Student Employees Honored
Spring 2021
Congratulations to all of the Spring 2021 Performance Award and Part-Time Student Employee Scholarship recipients. Your work and contributions to Associated Students this semester have been exceptional and have not gone unnoticed. We truly appreciate each and every one of your efforts, and impacting A.S. and the campus community so greatly!
Performance Award Recipients
Aztec Recreation
Jacob Smith, ARC Videographer
Aaron Tenner, Member Services Representative
Thomas Knopf, Member Services Representative
Chris Czarnecki, Group Fitness & ENS Instructor
Cindy Solomon, Group Fitness Instructor
Dom Santos, Aquaplex Member Services Representative
Erin Mossette, Aquaplex Member Services Representative
Dan Schmitz, Aquaplex Lead
SDSU Children's Center
Louis Pre, Associate Teacher
Jonatan Lopez, Associate Teacher
Evannia Pekarek, Assistant Teacher
Rachel Gaynor, Assistant Teacher
Holly Lynd, Assistant Teacher
Aztec Student Union
Kudzai Kachingwe, Operations Assistant
Hannah Peeters, Operations Assistant
Kate Walsh, Operations Assistant
Josh Eley, Operations Assistant
Kaito Takagaki, Operations Assistant
Evelyn Tran, Operations Assistant
MBAC
Connor Hagen, Dockmaster
Cat Tarantino, Paddle Instructor
Isobel Hall, Sailing Instructor
Thomas Fiato, Surfing Instructor
A.S. Part-Time Scholarship Recipients
Moheb Beshay, Operations Assistant, Aztec Student Union
Caitlin Hayden, Teacher Assistant, SDSU Children’s Center
Zachary Felton, Maintenance Lead, Aztec Student Union
Virtual Art
A is for Art 2021
A is for Art, a program of the SDSU Children's Center, showcases the amazing potential for creative expression by children between 6 months to 5 years of age. Each year the Children’s Center holds an exhibition and live auction showcasing the talents of the children who attend the Center. This year the event was held virtually via a Zoom kick-off event and an online silent auction and raised $6,132 for the center.
At the kick-off, Johnny Dutra, a Center parent, provided insight on the creation of the 10 collaborative paintings created by the children and their teachers. He shared the techniques, materials and processes that were used by each classroom. Acrylics, watercolors, painter’s tape, cotton balls, paper cups, paint rollers, brushes (many sizes), pipettes, gel gloss and pouring medium were used on 24” x 36” stretched canvases — all made available through very generous donations by the “Friends of A is for Art.”
After the Zoom event, bidding was open for 24 hours on an auction page on the Center’s website. Even though the auction was not live, the bidding was heated, with every painting going for much more that the opening bid.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend the event or see the auction page, here are the paintings created by the children:
PAINTING TITLE: Another One
CREATED BY: The Otters - 3 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Wiggly Wobbly
CREATED BY: The Seals - 3 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Our Circle
CREATED BY: The Dolphins - 4 & 5 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: The Great Divide
CREATED BY: The Koalas - 2 & 3 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Swoosh, Springtime is Here
CREATED BY: The Chicks - 1 & 2 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Radioactive Space Jam
CREATED BY: The Pandas - 3 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Class of 2021
CREATED BY: The Giraffes - 4 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Volcano, Volcano I Love You
CREATED BY: The Elephants - 3 & 4 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Rainbow Phone
CREATED BY: The Whales - 3 & 4 year-olds
PAINTING TITLE: Rainy Days
CREATED BY: The Ducks - 1 & 2 year-olds
A special thank you to The FrameMaker, for donating the professional framing of each painting and a big thank you to all our A is for Art donors!
Summer at MBAC
After a long year where staying home has become the norm, new guidance has made it clear that outside is the place to be. And there is no better place to experience outdoor recreation than at A.S.’ Mission Bay Aquatic Center (MBAC)! The center provides a wide array of watersports and programming to access Mission Bay and San Diego coastal activities.
Equipment Rentals
Last May, during the height of COVID closures, the County of San Diego deemed outdoor recreation to be an essential service and MBAC led the charge to reopen with restrictions to safely meet the needs of the community. Since then, many students, as well as the public, have accessed these opportunities through stand up paddleboard and kayak rentals. Rentals include a short orientation to help you feel comfortable and confident when heading out on the water. A low cost Paddling Membership is an amazing option to hit the water on a regular basis. Last fall the Center reopened additional rental options to include sailing, surfing, and windsurfing options. Learn more about pricing and qualifications at mbaquaticcenter.com/rentals.
Instructional Classes
If you’ve been dreaming about getting out on the water and learning a new sport, MBAC has reopened both credit and non-credit instruction classes in a variety of watersports. A two-day Basic Sailing class will start you on your path to becoming a true sailor and to sail your own 8-foot, single-person Sabot sailboat. Successful completion of Basic Sailing allows you to progress to bigger and faster boats in the Advanced Sailing and Hobie Cat Sailing classes. You will be eligible to rent a different type of boat and take your friends sailing at the end of each class.
The Moonlight Paddling excursion offers a unique outing to explore Mission Bay guided by the moonlight. If you’ve never seen Mission Bay at night, the calm waters and reflecting city lights are a truly beautiful and serene experience. Instructional Clinics offer a way to fine-tune your paddling skills or participate in unique sessions such as Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga.
Summer Camps for Kids
The Watersports Camp is a popular day camp hosted at MBAC for kids ages 6-17. In this week-long program, campers participate in a specific watersport every day for a week including stand up paddling, kayaking, wakeboarding, sailing, marine science, or surfing. While many camp options are already sold out, there is still a selection of half-day camps if you are flexible on dates and activities.
Group Events
As restrictions are eased, MBAC Group Lessons and Party Packages are a perfect way for groups to get together to bond and share a common experience in a safe, outdoor setting. Check the MBAC Events page for updates on the status of these programs.
A.S. Book Club
Summer Break
Thank you to those who have participated in the book club since the beginning of this school year! It is hard to believe that another school year has flown by!
The Book Club will take a hiatus this summer through August. Monthly meetings will begin again September 2021. An official September Book Club date will be announced in the September newsletter.
Check out the books below for some fun summer reading suggestions!
Anxious People
by Fredrik Backman
A poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.
Have a fabulous Summer!
15 Questions
Luis Navarrete, MBAC Surfing Instructor
- What is your name, job title and major?
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Luis Navarrete, Surfing Instructor, Aerospace Engineering
- Which A.S. department do you work in?
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Mission Bay Aquatic Center. To make it simple, I get to teach people how to surf. It's basically the best job ever!
- How long have you worked for A.S.?
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I started my employment in February of 2021.
- What is your favorite part of working for A.S.?
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My favorite part about working for A.S. is the work culture. My office is basically the Pacific Ocean and all my coworkers are some of the coolest human beings I have ever met. Since the start, it has been such an enriching experience.
- What was the last movie you saw? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
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Captain Fantastic. BIG thumbs up. It is very funny and it gives you a unique point of view on today's society.
- If you won $5 million what would you do with it?
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First thing I would do is pay off all of my family and friends’ debt. I would also invest quite a bit of it into the stock market. Next, I would love to take my family on an awesome vacation around Europe. I would take the opportunity to travel around the world with some friends. Finally, I would put my engineering skills to the test and start a company that makes some awesome camping/backpacking gear. I would probably do a whole bunch of other things in between but I would say these are the main stuff.
- What is your favorite dessert?
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I have a major sweet tooth, so I love a good chocolate lava cake.
- Which three people (living or dead) you would like to have dinner with?
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Bill Nye the Science Guy, we share the same birthday and he is just a legend.
Elon Musk, I would love to hear about all the ideas he has for the future.
Walt Disney, he had a vision for the happiest place and Earth and it would be awesome to hear what else he had planned for the future.
- Would you rather build a sandcastle or a snowman?
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Snowman because I haven’t visited the snow as much as I have wanted to.
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
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Ever since I was a kid, I really wanted to become an astronaut. I have always been so curious about the vastness of space and what could be out there.
- What type of pets do you have and what are their names?
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My family has a dog named Daisy. She is a white Maltipoo.
- What three things are always in your refrigerator?
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First would be milk, specifically for cereal and chocolate milk. Next would be tortillas and cheese for quesadillas because they're my favorite snack.
- What’s the best concert you’ve been to and why was it so good?
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Coachella. It's a whole weekend of mini concerts with my favorite artists. Car camping makes the whole experience better too!
- What is your favorite new stay-at-home activity?
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I love music so I have been playing a lot of ukulele and I am currently learning to play guitar.
- During stay-at-home are you ordering more take-out? What's your favorite restaurant for take-out?
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I didn’t order too much take out but my favorite would be Chris’s Ono Grinds Hawaiian BBQ. I highly recommend it!
