Los Medanos College celebrated its 50th anniversary Oct. 5 with an outdoor community wide festival from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to kick off the homecoming football game against De Anza College. The party featured clubs offering food and beverages, music provided by FM radio 102 Jam’s DJ Chuy Gomez, games and activities and a mist tent to help everyone cool off from the extreme heat.
The party was open to the public and people were encouraged to bring along family and friends to celebrate on campus. Some faculty in attendance brought along children and others had booths promoting their clubs and programs.
Professor Nick Garcia dressed in a “Beetlejuice” costume and entertained his children and Drama Club members by hosting a pretend game show involving other attendees.
Astronomy professor Katie Berryhill’s booth featured a telescope pointed directly at the sun, where attendees could get a glimpse of its detail on screen.
LMC student Christian Cabiguen’s booth encouraged people to come and make shaved ice to help raise money for the Games Club.
Director of Marketing and Media Design Juliet Casey planned this event with the purpose of involving the community surrounding LMC to help build a stronger bond between the two.
“We try to be as much as possible a great community partner and a touchpoint of cultural pride,” Casey said. “I think when we bring everyone together to celebrate that it’s a chance to reconnect, to strengthen those ties and really look forward to the next 50 years.”
Vice Mayor of Pittsburg Jelani Killings attended the celebration and shared that same sentiment.
Killings said he sees LMC as “a representation of community empowerment in terms of education, upward mobility for people and also leading in innovation.”
As a member of the city council, Killings highlighted the importance of the partnership between Pittsburg and LMC . He praised the skill-up initiative which offers free short-length programs both online and in person that helps people learn new skills and enter the workforce which, in turn, helps increase economic development for the city. Looking to the future, Killings hopes to see more growth in terms of the college enrolling more students and people taking advantage of what LMC has to offer.
“The resources that are available to you, you’re not always going to have at your fingertips,” said Killings. “So while you’re a student, use it to your full advantage, as you’re looking to find out what your passion is and where you want to go in your career.”
Halfway through the festival, Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh got on stage alongside Killings and LMC President Pamela Ralston for a proclamation by the city of Pittsburg congratulating the college on this achievement.
“You know, I want to see more dancing,” said Casey. “I want us to be a school where people can let loose and like, really just enjoy always knowing that it’s a safe place to be yourself. Everyone’s welcome, we embrace diversity, it wouldn’t be as much fun if everyone just liked the one thing.”
