Today is the last day of finals for our students so you may be seeing some smiling faces today as we wrap up the Spring semester.

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1 Good Monday morning to you, June 5 th, Just a reminder: The Academic Senate meets today from 1:30-3:30pm in Aspen Hall TE 101 and the Work Environment meeting is today from 1:15-3pm in Mariposa Hall MA03. Today is the last day of finals for our students so you may be seeing some smiling faces today as we wrap up the Spring semester. I have to thank all of you for making this yet another solid semester at LATTC. This summer will be a time of some change. We have 20 longtime Trade Tech faculty and 20 long-time staff retiring; all 20 faculty and 13 of the staff are retiring on June 30 th; 7 staff are choosing to retire on December 31 st. Our best wishes go to all of you and we thank you for your many years of service to this college and our students. We have some new folks coming in including a new Vice President of Instruction, some changes in assignments, and some office movements. For those faculty who will be away from campus during the summer, we hope the time off is invigorating. You can keep up with the campus through this blast. This year will always be etched in my memory for the accomplishments, the partnerships and the reputation that LATTC continues to build. For me personally, it has been a year of blessings. So many of you were part of my comeback through your prayers, your thoughts and your support. I want to thank you for that and I am looking forward to our summer sessions and the Fall semester on the horizon. Don t forget that classes resume next Monday, June 12 th for our first Summer Session. We are still pushing enrollment, so, please encourage students to take classes this summer and to enroll for the fall. The Week Ahead Not too much going on this week. In addition to the last finals, along with the Academic Senate and WEC committee meetings today, we will have our College Council Retreat this Thursday and Friday, ALAS and Workforce trainings, STEAM Orientations, and a couple high school graduations on campus. The Week that Was It was an inspiring weekend as Los Angeles Trade-Technical College celebrated its 92 nd graduation ceremony on the North Quad. The crowd numbered over 4000, as we gathered to honor the graduating class of Joined by LATTC Board of Trustees President Scott Svonkin and Chancellor Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, with a keynote address from LAUSD Board Member Monica Garcia, and a record amount of faculty and staff, I looked out at a sea of Trade Tech graduates. Nearly 800 students participated in the commencement. You could feel the pride and the happiness coming from our graduating class. For many, they are the first in their family to earn a college degree or certificate. For many, the journey to get to this graduation

2 included barriers and challenges that might have stopped other folks, but not them. For many, this day and what it means will change the course of their lives. Graduation is my favorite day of the year, and this Saturday s celebration was extra special for me, since my battle with cancer prevented me from attending last year s ceremony. It was a great day, full of hope and accomplishment, and thank God, for me too. It was another chapter in the beautiful tradition of this community college.

3 This is a link to our Facebook where Social Media student worker, LaWanda Myers, captured part of the chancellor s graduation speech on video. The event would not be possible without the work of so many on this campus. Scores of people invested huge amounts of their time and energy into this celebration, so that it will be unforgettable for our students. But I have to single out Dean Dimitrios Synodinos for his leadership of the Commencement Committee. He put in months of effort to make sure the preparations were complete and extra hours over the last few days, to make sure all of the details were completed. My deepest thanks go to Dimitrios and the entire team for making this one of the best graduations in my short memory. And I want to add one last note. We honored longtime Advanced Transportation & Manufacturing faculty member George Perez, because back in 1971 when George earned his A.S. degree from LATTC, he was unable to attend his graduation. George had to go to work that day. Forty-six years later George was given the chance to walk the stage on Saturday. I think he loved it at least as much as we did. A very special day indeed. I don t know if you noticed the beautiful and huge LATTC letters on the Olive Street Parking Structure, facing Grand Avenue. Sign Graphics students, led by faculty

4 member Carlos Aguilar, designed and painted an unmistakable presence for LATTC on Grand Avenue. Great jog. And the new work on Sage Hall facing Washington Blvd. is still coming. We have a friend and a fan named Scott Budnick. He became well-known as the writer of the Hangover movies. But his abiding passion is working to support incarcerated individuals upon their release, and towards this dream he built the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC). He came to us proposing that we focus some of our apprenticeship preparation classes on the formerly incarcerated. He brought case management support and he helped bring the full support of the LA County Federation of Labor and the Building Trades to the placement front. I know you ve seen these individuals running around the South Quad, lifting tires and doing pushups. This past Wednesday, the second cohort of students graduating from this boot camp were honored. Scott Budnick, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, County Fed Secretary/Treasurer Rusty Hicks, and Chris Hannan, the Building Trades #2 in command, were all present to celebrate the 27 new apprentices. With the help of our college, the large majority of these reentry students will secure a job as an apprentice in the Trades. Thanks to the Apprenticeship-Prep Construction Maintenance and Utilities Workforce Team of for the success! The following day, the team from Mayor Garcetti s Office of Re-Entry led by Kimberley Guillemet and our Councilmember Curren Price, held its celebration for the 160 residents who completed its Fair Chance Job Preparation Academy at LATTC s Work Source Center. The program worked with formerly incarcerated adults preparing them for entrance into the workforce through resume-building,

5 improving interviews skills, dressing for success and making themselves employable. The mayor s office then gathered more than 50 employers in the North Tent, giving these individuals an immediate chance of acquiring employment at the Fair Chance Job Fair. More than 400 interviews were conducted by these employers with these job seekers. It is inspiring to see LATTC as the truly open door on our logo. One of the graduating students, Emiliano Lopez, who spoke at the opening session, said it best: Trade Tech puts community into community college. And I am part of that community. One of our great college rites of passage took place last Wednesday evening as our nursing students took part in the annual pinning ceremony. The tradition marks the entry of nursing students into the nursing profession. Thank you to Department Chair Joe Ratcliff, Nursing Interim Program Director Paula Johnson and the entire nursing faculty for another successful year.

6 It was a treat last Thursday evening to have one of the ALAS cohorts put together a display of their talent and hard work. If you recall, our Adult Education ALAS program is designed to reach out to the immigrant community surrounding our college. One of the ALAS cohorts is in fashion design, and the students decided they wanted to present a runway show. So, last week they created a venue in the Fishbowl and these students, who are here working to acquire English and a pathway toward a career, put together a fashion show. Thanks goes to our entire ALAS team! And speaking of the Gold Thimble Fashion Show, guess who made the front page of the fashion industry publication leader, the California Apparel News? That s

7 right, our runway show along with the donation from Gregory Annenberg Weingarten was featured in the publication thanks to the efforts the entire Fashion Design faculty and Public Relations team. The best part is that more than 30 photographs of our student designs made Page 6, so the whole world is going to see how talented our students are. This is great visibility for the Trade Tech fashion program. Click the link and take a look. Southern California Edison s Linemen Rodeo took place at Prado Dam Regional Park in Chino Hills this past weekend and our utility linemen were there to represent. LATTC students took home awards in several categories including a first and a second. These students are competing against linemen ALREADY working in the field. So big kudos to our students and faculty member Anthony Ant Sylvers. From right to left: Brian Woods, Gerardo Garcia, Kent Gallegos, Hector Saldivar, and Anthony Ramos We visited two more churches Sunday morning. Ayesha Randall and her team visited Southern St. Paul Baptist and I got a chance to speak at historic Ward A.M.E. with three of our students.

8 And for a good read about USC and community college transfers. One of our students is featured. Please keep up the enrollment effort as we push to maintain our base enrollment. We are headed into the summer with some great momentum. Thank you for making this college so vital for our community. Larry Larry Frank President, LATTC College to Career-It s All Here L. A. Trade Technical College