Official SLCC Blog

Samuel Ortiz. Mentor and higher education leader, Samuel Ortiz will give the keynote address at Salt Lake Community College’s (SLCC) 2022 Commencement Ceremony, scheduled for May 6 at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. Ortiz will inspire graduates by detailing his own story on how he uses his education to lift up those around him and to change society for the better. He will emphasize the importance of challenging inequities, promoting justice, taking a deeper interest in those around you, and caring for your mental and physical wellbeing so you can better serve others. As the son of immigrants who struggled financially, Ortiz had no roadmap or even an understanding of how college might work or look for him, but he was determined. My dad dropped me off for my first day of class at SLCC and told me that I was getting this degree not just for me but for our entire family. W...

Faculty Development Director Liz Rogers is excited to hold SLCC’s first Symposium on Equity and Inclusion on April 1. The symposium, which was put on hold when the pandemic struck, provides a space for students, faculty, staff and administrators to share their experiences related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, or JEDI. Liz says the format is designed to help participants make new or stronger connections and share ideas surrounding JEDI work. She says storytelling is a good way to focus on transformation. “Stories acknowledge the struggle it takes to do this work while still being able to celebrate good outcomes,” she says. Liz says there is always more we can be doing and hopes participants come away inspired to take action towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone at SLCC. The symposium, titled “Stories of Transformation,” is a hybrid event; participants can attend the all-day event in person or online. Registration is required f...

  Maria Moea’i     Pronouns: She/Her/Hers    Age : 20    Residence: Taylorsville    From: American Samoa    Major: Business management, because I want to be my own boss in doing what I’m passionate in doing.     Academic goals: Finish general courses and earn at least a bachelor degree in business management.   Dream job: Owning/running my own business in something that I’m passionate about - so far I have not decided on what, but I know that it should be something that I love doing and that helps others at the same time.     Plan B: Go back to plan A.     Why higher education: To get higher chances of success.    Why SLCC: I chose SLCC because I heard that it was cheap, it’s way closer to home, and I didn’t want to rush into a bigger school such as university because I wanted to start small to grow big.     Wh...

Pi is a mysterious mathematical value used to help find the area and circumference of a circle. Still, its homophone "pie" is easily favored by most. March 14, also known as Pi Day, is an annual celebration that combines an appreciation for mathematics with an appetite for baked goods. A hunger for constructing pastry, cakes and bread is easily found in Salt Lake Community College's Culinary Institute, which offers the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs. Brittani Crane and Ellie Black, students at the institute, employed the Culinary Arts program's learning outcomes of innovation, learning and trust while completing their coursework. The pair utilizes their experience gained through the institute’s rigorous curriculum and approach assignments with a passion and flair that cannot be learned in the classroom. In celebration of Pi Day, the pair share their experiences in the Culinary Institute and two unique pie recipes . Brittani Crane graduat...

Dr. Emmanuel Santa-Martinez. Pronouns: He/él Title: Assistant Professor School of: Science, Mathematics and Engineering Department: Biology What he teaches: Introduction to Biology Dual Language: Introduction to Biology Intro to Plant Biology Intro to Plant Biology Lab College Biology II College Biology II Lab Number of years teaching at SLCC: 3 Undergraduate degree: Universidad de Puerto Rico, Humacao Doctorate: University of Wisconsin, Madison Why working at SLCC matters: I love the diversity of students at SLCC. At a community college with small classrooms, I have the opportunity to make a change and help our students succeed. Our students come with different backgrounds and experiences, which makes the classroom more enriching and place where everyone can learn from each other. As an Afro-Latino queer man, I have experienced similar challenges many underrepresented students feel, and it is now a privilege to be faculty, where I...

  SLCC alumna Rose Gomez in 2014 at the South City Campus pantry. From humble beginnings in 2013, operating out of an upper-floor hall closet at South City Campus, to locations at four campuses, the Bruin Pantry has grown into an impactful operation that addresses food insecurities for students and employees at Salt Lake Community College. As Mike Braak leaves SLCC for the next chapter in his life after leading the Pantry through a pandemic and, more recently, into an era of record high food prices brought about by historic inflation, he sees the pantry’s role as more important than ever, and in more ways than you might think. “There is a lot more to do,” says Braak, who started at the Pantry in 2019 as an Americorps Vista volunteer. Identifying a need Once the presence of a supply for free food was established at South City, demands upon the pantry grew. Started by the SLCC Social Work Club, the Bruin Campus Cupboard eventually expanded and moved into a larger first-floor space t...

March 11 is World Plumbing Day, established by the World Plumbing Council (WPC) in 2010. The council designated the day to build connections and find opportunities to improve the quality and access of fresh water and safe sanitation. Trade services help maintain the comfortable conditions we experience every day. We tend to forget that almost everything — buildings, food establishments and production, services and more — requires clean water and safe sanitation; this continued need for plumbing services translates to stable job opportunities. As of May 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics listed Utah as having a higher share of employment than average in plumbers. Utah plumbers’ make a mean annual wage of $54,070 and a mean hourly wage of $26. SLCC Plumbing Programs SLCC offers the Plumber Independent and Plumber/Pipefitter JATC programs for professional licensure through the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL). Both programs foster collaborati...

  Everyday Entrepreneur graduate Richard Sasa pitches his business idea at The Mill. An entrepreneur program that began in 2017 under Jon Beutler’s role as director of the Park City Business Resource Center has turned into courses taught at Salt Lake Community College designed to quickly turn small business ideas into revenue streams. Called the Everyday Entrepreneur Program (EEP), a cohort of Congolese students recently celebrated their graduation at The Mill on SLCC’s Miller Campus by making mock pitches to investors in front of judges with the hope that their ideas will soon morph into businesses that include trucking, clothing, child care and the food industry. “The pitch is the final project, but it’s just the beginning,” Beutler said. “When you finish the class, you are just beginning at The Mill. Our real job is to support and provide resources to all small businesses.” Graduate Richard Sasa’s impassioned pitch impressed the judges, who awarded him top prize for the day. S...

The Grand Theatre is thrilled to announce its first show of the new year, Noises Off, called “the funniest farce ever written.”   Performances run Wednesdays through Saturdays, March 23 through April 16, 7:30 p.m., with an additional 2 p.m. showing on Saturdays. The beautiful Grand Theatre is located at 1575 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Tickets can be purchased at  www.grandtheatrecompany.com   or by calling the Grand Box Office at 801-957-3322. Noises Off is a play within a play that presents a manic menagerie of itinerant actors rehearsing and performing a play called Nothing On. There’s the actual play, Noises Off, which is the story of the on- and off-stage shenanigans surrounding the play Nothing On. Every actor plays two characters, their role in Noises Off and the people they play in Nothing On. Slamming doors, intrigue onstage and off and an errant herring all figure into the plot of this hilarious and classic comedy. Tickets are $27 and senior tickets are $...

Salt Lake Community College is one of many Utah-based colleges and universities participating in Healing Out Loud , the Huntsman Mental Health Institute's social media short film contest. The contest encourages students to use filmmaking to create inclusive and open conversations surrounding their emotional, psychological and social well-being. All SLCC students are eligible to enter the contest. Winners will receive prizes and have their videos featured at a Mental Health Awareness Month event and a suicide prevention awareness campaign. Deadline April 5 Submission Parameters Submissions should be 30-seconds-long (or shorter) video that is creative and in a format suitable to share through social media. Acceptable forms of content are original music, dance, spoken word, art, poetry and speech. All types of video production are welcome, including videos shot through a cellphone camera. However, please avoid all use of brands, meet all copyright standards, and do not include...

  Salt Lake Community College is excited to announce its new Hall Sales Program and the accompanying Certificate of Proficiency (CP) in Professional Sales, thanks to a partnership with the Alan & Jeanne Hall Foundation. The first group of Hall Sales students within the SLCC School of Business will begin classes in fall 2022. “I am excited about the opportunity we have, to make this program available for those interested in pursuing a career in sales as well as those who see the value in further developing these critical life skills,” says Dennis Bromley, Dean of the SLCC School of Business. With support from the Hall Foundation, the college is able to offer scholarships to aspiring sales professionals interested in the new program. More broadly, the Hall Sales Catalysis Initiative is donating $10 million, spread out over 20 years, among 10 Utah System of Higher Education institutions, including SLCC, to create a pipeline of sales talent within Utah’s dynamic economy. SLCC, thr...