2015 About the Authors
Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays
A Publication of San Joaquin Delta College
2015
About the Authors
These biographical statements were written for publication in 2015.
Jessica Driver is a California native, residing in Lodi with her husband, dog, and cat. Jessica graduated high school from Venture Academy in 2006. She is an English student at Delta College and hopes to transfer to a university in the spring of 2016, where she will pursue a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Christina Teed is a 19-year-old girl from California. She has six cats and enjoys reading. Her plans for the future include graduate school and winning the lottery.
Kayla Sabella Weaver, eighteen years old, is in her second semester at Delta College. She will be a mother at the end of February. She plans on continuing her education to provide an example for her son by transferring to a four-year college to become a registered nurse (or if that doesn't work out, an English teacher). She wasn't so sure of her goals until she took English 1A last semester with Phil Hutcheon, and wrote an essay about her interests in her career choice. It gave her the confidence to keep moving forward. She would like to thank him for being so supportive and encouraging.
Eloisa Garcia was born and raised in Mexico until the age of 13, when her parents decided to come live in the US. She remembers wanting to get an education ever since she was little, but the experiences of her transition from one country to another almost made her abandon that goal. She states, "I became very insecure about myself and what I was capable of. Luckily, my mother has always been my most prevailing example of perseverance. Her example is what made me come back to school, after a four-year absence, to pursue a degree in biological sciences and become a dentist someday."
Born in 1956, Thong Duc Cao first visited his grandparents' rural village in 1969. In this essay, he recounts the experiences that left such a deep impression on him. In Vietnam, Thong worked in herbal medicine, making traditional remedies with native plants. He completed a five-year degree in herbal medicine from a university in Saigon. After waiting fifteen years to come to the United States, Thong arrived in California, where he studied ESL in Stockton's School for Adults. He then enrolled in Delta College's ESL program and now is taking classes in English and math. He hopes one day to practice traditional Chinese medicine in the United States in order to help those in need.
Abdul Goleima Juana was born on January 12, 1994, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He passed away on July 30, 2014, in Stockton, California. As the father of Abdul, I am proud to say something about him. Abdul was calm, caring, determined, humble and humorous. He had a readiness of heart and a teachable spirit. During his primary school years, he used to get up by 5 a.m. to revise his schoolwork, and by 7 a.m., he was on his way to school. There was not a single day that he was late for school. If he had an assignment due, he would not give anyone rest until he was finished.
Brianna Webb sates, "I had a rather unconventional childhood. Coming from a split family, I needed an outlet, and writing was it." She decided to pursue writing and will be majoring in English at UC Davis in the fall. She is excited to see what the future holds.
Candy Lin is a seventeen-year-old attending Benjamin Holt Academy. She has lived in Stockton her entire life. She is currently a high school senior who is excited for college but whose college destination is still unknown. Her plan is to have a minor in literature or English along with majoring in biology. Her long-term goal is to become an optometrist, but she has always had a very strong passion for art. As she says, "I draw and create art in my free time, have a heavy appreciation for film and TV, and reading, so I want to have a healthy balance of art and science in my life. I have very varied and eclectic tastes, so I hope to both bring this passion to others and be able to further my interests." In addition to reading and watching films and shows, she enjoys playing the piano and jogging. Being published in Delta Winds will be the first time she will appear in print. "I am excited about this accomplishment! It'll also be the first time any writing piece of mine will receive an audience aside from an English teacher, so I no longer completely feel like a secret, unread, underground writer."
Tenille Packer is a communications major with a passion for traveling the world and learning about new cultures. She has been to seventeen different countries so far and has lived in Ohio, Texas, Nicaragua and throughout California. She is a single mother of two boys, and her educational goal is to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to obtain a Bachelor's degree.
Kayla King, 19, is currently attending San Joaquin Delta College and plans on transferring to UCLA. While she has always been fond of writing, her real passion is in the visual arts. She is grateful for the support and encouragement of Dr. Phil Hutcheon, as he is the one who convinced her to submit her pieces to Delta Winds.
Jonathan Bethards was born in Lodi, California, but raised in Stockton. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Stockton in 1996. He went to Delta after graduation but as he states, "I was burned out on education so I went to a vocational school of sorts and got my EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certificate/license and was hired on with a small ambulance company." He worked on a 911 ambulance in Stockton (mostly downtown and northwest) in 1999 until he was hurt on the job in 2003. He came back to Delta College when his workers compensation case was settled to start his reeducation in the fall of 2013. "I struggled to adapt at first but now maintain a GPA of 3.23. I haven't decided on a major yet, trying to find a career that I can do physically and won't crush my soul (haha). I'm a big-time sports fan—Raiders, A's and Lakers . . . also big time into the Thunder and Ports and go to the games a lot." In his free time he enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, and photography with his family, his girlfriend Evan, and his springer spaniel Budd. "I owe my current success at Delta to the great staff, especially Mr. Powell and Dr. Hutcheon of the English Department and Señora Ciccarelli—a superb Spanish teacher. I never really enjoyed writing, but love to read and I believe this has helped immensely with my writing skills."
Marla Jenkins is my pseudonym; I am a re-entry student, born in Mexico, but raised in Chicago. I have resided in Stockton since 1997. I am a proud mother of two children. My son is a junior at UC Davis and my daughter, a senior at Bear Creek High School, plans to attend UOP. I am now focusing on my own education, with plans to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a Registered Nurse. I am a devoted student and determined to excel in any educational area I am exposed to. I wrote this narrative essay in my English 1A class and shared it with my classmates in order to raise awareness about domestic violence. My professor, Dr. Phil Hutcheon, played an important role in my academic success, because he believed in me. I now realize that we all have potential, but sometimes we need a word of encouragement. I am thankful because Dr. Hutcheon guided and enhanced my writing skills.
Alex Chellsen, born and raised in Antioch, California, is currently working towards finishing his English AA and General Education at San Joaquin Delta College and plans to transfer to a UC school after completion. Alex loves to write short stories, poetry, and literary analyses, and uses the skills he has learned from composing class essays and research papers in writing the Young Adult Fiction novel he is working on, which he hopes to publish in the near future. In addition to being a full-time student at San Joaquin Delta College, Alex also works as a tutor at the Reading, Writing, and Learning Center on campus and raps and produces music under the stage name "AIA." Alex is deeply honored to have one of his essays published in Delta Winds, and he hopes this is only the beginning of a publishing career.