2002 About the Authors
Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays
A Publication of San Joaquin Delta College
2002
About the Authors
These biographical statements were written for publication in 2002.
Honorato Menezes, a student at Delta College, became disabled at the age of 47, and life seemed to stand still. His wife was attending classes at Delta College, trying to finish her degree in Print Technology and asked, "Would you like to attend some fun classes with me?" The answer was "yes" and thus began the return to school and an attempt to get the degree he'd never tried to finish before. His goal is to graduate and find some meaningful work.
Sarah Popeis studying to become a mechanical engineer. She hopes to graduate from Delta College and then attend the University of California at Davis. She has been married for four years, and she has two children.
Branimir Ciricis an international student from Serbia. At the University of Belgrade, he studied engineering and psychology. He also took some private lessons in acting, and he has performed in several drama/opera productions in Serbia. In spring 2001, he appeared in a drama production "Prelude To A Kiss" at Delta College. Branimir is now majoring in computer science, but after undergraduate school he intends to pursue the field of cognitive science. This is his last semester at Delta, and he plans to transfer to either UC Berkeley or UCLA.
Raulyne Kenfackcame from Cameroon, Central Africa, in 2000. This is her first college experience. Her goal is to graduate in 2004 from the nursing program. She enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
Steven Pricelives in Lodi with his wife of 20 years and their two children. Steven has a career in law enforcement and has worked for the City of Lodi for 18 years. He enjoys golf, water-skiing, and travelling.
Jennifer Hallumhas attended Delta College since 1998 and is working towards her general education. She works full-time and enjoys spending time off with her husband of three years. She also likes working in her flower and vegetable garden in her spare time. She is pursuing a degree in physical science.
Linda Mangrumwas born in 1952, and raised in Sonora, California. She is a wife, a mother of three, a grandmother of six and a foster mom. She likes to crochet and work in her garden in her spare time. She moved back to Sonora after being away for 26 years. She says, "Being raised in a small town almost always makes you want to hurry and grow up and leave. Then once you are gone, you realize just what you have left. Sonora is still a very friendly, cozy, slow-paced town. True, it has grown into a thriving middle sized town, but the family businesses that are still here are still as friendly, helpful and much more personal than the big stores and I still shop them."
Kenneth D. Valdezis 23 years old and a native Californian. He has lived in Rio Vista for most of his life. He completed his courses at Delta College last semester and he has since transferred to U.C. Irvine. He is pursuing a degree in Computer Science and hopes to go on to graduate school.
The writer of "Our Differences" has chosen to remain Anonymous.
Tiiu Newlinmoved to California from Estonia five years ago, and now lives in Lodi with her husband Dennis and two teen-aged sons. She works full-time in a bank as a service specialist. She is pursuing a business degree at Delta College.
Melody Nelsonwas born and raised in Hayward, California, but has lived in Utah until last summer. She and her husband, Rick, recently moved to Stockton (after all the kids left home) to finish school and enjoy the milder climate. Melody has raised six children and is a grandmother of four. She is currently a student and Graphic Artist here at Delta College, and a music teacher at Pianos Plus Midi. She plans to transfer to UOP in the fall and will be majoring in music therapy. She is also the graphic artist for this volume of Delta Winds.
After graduating Delta College with an A. A. degree, Michelle Cox graduated from U.C. Davis with a degree in English Literature. After some haphazard soul searching, she ran off to Thailand where she lived for a year teaching English and traveling throughout the area. She spent another three months traveling through India and Sri Lanka and two months hiking the Everest trail in Nepal. Since then, she has settled in Oakland, California, where she works as an accountant for a small property management company. Currently, she is taking accounting classes to earn a CPA and she is taking glass blowing classes to keep her sanity.
After graduating from Delta College in 1998, Shafeeq Sadiq transferred to University of California, Davis. There he completed a bachelor's degree in economics in 2000. He then worked as an accountant in the Bay Area for one year before returning to his education. Shafeeq currently is enrolled in the University of California, Hastings College of Law, one of the premier law schools in the nation. He finds law school challenging, but he dedicates himself to his studies and intends to focus on tax law or immigration law.
Cathy Anne Murtha, self-employed as an Access Technology Trainer on the Internet, is a pioneer in her field. Her company website can be found at http://www.accesstechnologyinstitute.com. She teaches trainers from around the world in her online classes. She was the first Access Tech Trainer to bring training of blind and visually impaired computer users to the Internet.
Cathy works in many areas: Cathy writes and sells textbooks on CD and in Digital Audio, making her textbooks totally accessible. Up until her first release of a CD textbook, all recorded textbooks for blind consumers were on cassette tapes. Her series of classes for ACB Radio aired recently. In May of 2002, she will begin a regular column in Access World, a magazine published by the American Foundation for the Blind. She takes a rather unique spin on the needs of blind computer users. As she states, "Access World has given me an opportunity to press for better quality training for our community and to voice concerns that are well known within the community but rarely expressed."
Her children are all grown, are attending American River College and doing very well. About her guide dog Shadow, Cathy states, "Shadow is still with me, she is growing older and although we still work together, it isn't as often as usual. She is still healthy but slowing down. At nine years old, she now enjoys casual walks and playing in the yard. Her personality is still sweet and loving, she still loves to catch a kid at 'dog level' and smother them with kisses. In short, she is still the same sweet-natured little thing who is very loved by the family."