Professor Rick Arellano: our December/January Faculty of the
Month
December 11, 2013
By Christine Bolt, Professor
Faculty Professional Development Coordinator
Business, Technology and Learning Resources Division, Ohlone
College
There is just so much to write about this recipient that I didn’t
even know where to begin!!! You will
understand my predicament once you have read this announcement.
Our December/January recipient is a mega multi-tasker who is friendly and willing to help everyone, and I mean everyone. Just look at his community/college service and leadership:
Coordinator STEM College for a Day at Ohlone College
(2011-present)
Co-Advisor, Ohlone College Chapter of the Society for the
Advancement of Hispanic/Chicano and Native
American Scientists (2011-present)
Board Director, Ohlone College Foundation (March 2011 –
September 2012)
Board member, City of Newark Senior Citizen Advisory
Committee (January 2011-present)
Board Director, Life Eldercare, (February 2013 - present)
President, AARP Newark Chapter (January 2012 - present)
Secretary, Toastmasters Newark Chapter (July 2011 - present)
Member Newark Rotary Club (2010-present)
Board member Avanzando (2009-2012)
Initiator of the Ohlone College-City of Newark Senior Center
partnership
Member of the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce (May,
2013-present)
This list includes just his most recent activities, but this
level of involvement is nothing new. This is just how he lives his life.
He is dedicated to advancing the underserved and
underrepresented, but as the above list demonstrates, he is particularly passionate
about advancing the success of the Latino community in education, science and
technology, as well as educating older adults. His dedication is both tireless
and inspiring. But then he knows something about going against the odds and the
determination it takes to succeed. Read on.
He graduated from high school in Lima, Peru at age 16. With
just a little bit of savings from odd jobs, he flew from Lima to Miami,
Florida, where he boarded a Greyhound bus for the exciting (and long) seven-day
trip to San Francisco. Once in California, he supported himself by working in
the fields and in restaurants (dishwasher, waiter AND cook!).
He enrolled in English as a Second Language classes in the
adult schools in San Francisco and just six months later he entered City
College of San Francisco where he majored in math. Two and half years later he
graduated with honors. He then earned a B.A. in mathematics from San Francisco
State and a Master’s of Science degree in Computer Systems. That takes
determination and hard work!
I know it is really neat to get a special parking place and
a mug as the Ohlone College Faculty of the Month recipient, but take a look at
a few of his other awards and who presented them to him:
Latino Heritage Leadership Award (2013): Assembly member Bob
Wieckowski, 25th Assembly District
Latino
Heritage Leadership Award (2013): Member of Congress Michael M. Honda:
Latino Heritage Leadership Award (2013): California State
Senator, District 10, Ellen Corbett:
Latino
Heritage Leadership Award (2013): San Jose City councilmember, District 4,
Kansen Hu
Special Congregational Recognition (June 2010): U.S. House of
Representatives -
Certificate of Recognition (June 2010): California State Legislature
Ohlone
College Outstanding Educator of the Year (June 2010): Avanzando Award
Now that is an impressive list of honors – and I just
included the highlights of all his awards!
And now for some fun tidbits:
Twenty five years ago he responded to a newspaper ad placed
by a lovely lady; they married three months later. Love was in the air and
still is! Now he and his wife have four children and two grandchildren.
He likes cats a lot and is especially fond of his two black
cats Mona and Lisa. (I bet they are just as cute as their names!)
When you see him, ask him about the time he was a model for
Men’s Wearhouse.
His hobbies include hiking (Machu Pichu), walking (almost
every East Bay Regional Park at least once), and traveling the world (China,
Peru, Morocco, Europe to name just a few of his destinations. )
But he has another hobby that sounds really neat: video
graphing. At this writing 43,644 people have seen his videos posted on YouTube!
Personally I don’t know where he finds the time for any
hobbies, given his dedication to his students, to Ohlone College, to the senior
citizen community, and to the Latino Community.
Our December/January Faculty of the Month is truly
exceptional.
Please congratulate Rick Arellano, Professor, Computer
Applications and Occupational Technology (CAOT) Department
