Fall Baseball

By Mark O’Connor

Typically the beginning of the fall college season means the end of the Major League Baseball season. However, that is not the case with the Taft College baseball team who just played their first fall exhibition of the 2016-2017 season.

“This is sort of like an audition. All the freshman need to work hard and give us a good first impression,” Coach Vince Maiocco told his team after they played the Bakersfield Dodgers.

On Saturday the Cougars took on the Dodgers from Bakersfield, a travel ball team composed of mostly high school players who are looking to be recruited by college coaches in a 14 inning exhibition game. The main purpose of this game was to get live game-like conditions for pitchers and hitters.

Every freshman on the roster for the Cougars got to see the field and had a chance to make that first impression. There are a combination of 19 freshman on this year’s team from various areas. Nevada, Utah, Canada, and even Puerto Rico are some of the places where this year’s rookies are from. Maiocco even recruited a local player from Taft High, Cameron Anderson, who is fighting for an outfield position.

One player that made a very good impression was Brandon Stevens (fr Las Vegas, Nevada) who had an outstanding day at the plate. He went 4-5 with 3 round trippers, a single, and a walk. “I was just having one of those days where the ball looked like a beach ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand,” he said after the game.

By the look of the freshman at Saturday’s game, it seems like the Cougar coaches have a lot of positive things to build on. The upcoming season for the TC baseball team is promising.

Lu Chi Fa Returns

The Great Shake Out

TC 9/11 Ceremony

By Denae Ayala

Taft College ASB  held a 9/11 ceremony on campus Monday, Sept. 12, to
honor the memories of those lost on September 11, 2001.
Nancy Reynaga, president of the ASB, said she helped prepare all week for the ceremony by making posters and setting up for the event.
“A lot of people here on campus can relate to that day, and we wanted to make sure
we show our appreciation to all the heroes who have passed,” said Reynaga.
Every year TC’s ASB committee hosts a 9/11 memorial, but this was the first year where they actually had someone sing the National Anthem, Martha Lopez. As people were coming in and out of their classes, most of the staff members, along with students, stopped to gather around for the ceremony.

9/11 posters were set up for students and faculty members

People gathered around to view the posters

ASB Presdient Nancy Reynaga speaking to the crowd

Martha Lopez singing the National Anthem

Reynaga spoke a few words to the crowd before Lopez grabbed the mic to sing the National Anthem.
“The victims of the attack and the heartbreak of all the American lives that were lost that day is what was going through my mind as I sang the National Anthem,” said Lopez. When she was done singing, everyone took a moment of silence and bowed their heads in remembrance.
Dr. Debra Daniels, new TC superintendent/president said she felt sadness and was emotional when she heard the terrifying news of the terrorist attack that took place on 9/11.
“When the first plane hit, I thought it was a terrible accident, but when the second plane hit, I knew it had to be something else,” Daniels said. “It is unbelievable what happened to our nation that day;“I cannot even imagine what it must have felt like for the people who were involved.”
The message seemed to be very clear to everyone who came out Monday morning for the ceremony, to always remember and never forget 9/11.

Taft College Offers Golf as a New Sports Team

Golf team members practice at Buena Vista Golf Course

By Bailey Vega

It’s been many years since Taft College last had a golf team, but this school year the athletic department is proud to offer the sport once again. There will be both men’s and women’s teams with the first season for the men’s team starting this upcoming spring semester for which they have already begun practicing. Since women’s golf is a fall sport, however, its first season as a team for Taft College will begin in the fall semester of 2017 in order to allow adequate time for team recruitment and other necessary start-up preparations which will take place this spring.

Chad Sorensen, a Class A Professional of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA of America), heads the men’s team and is aided by assistant coach Tony Thompson who serves as the academic advisor for athletes at Taft College. The team captain, Vance Milwee, will lead the six other members of the team: Anthony Starbuck, Blake Burrell, Brandon Pinuelas, Tanner Leikam, Garret Hay, and Ryan Roodzant.

Coach Sorensen said to get ready for their first season, projected to begin sometime this January, each of the members of the team are working hard by coming out to the BV Golf Course where they practice on their skills and focus on improving things like their 30 and 40 yard shots. The team is making an effort to make it to the course every single day, dedicating time even outside of scheduled practices. In addition to being a member of the team, Thompson says the boys are also required to take a two unit athletic education class that meets three days a week.

Golf’s return to Taft College has had a significant impact on the young men on the team, both as athletes who now have the opportunity to play the sport they are passionate about and as scholars furthering their educations. Brandon Pinuelas spoke of the importance of the sport to him and the impact it has had on his education: “I wasn’t going to come back to TC this semester, but this [motivated] me to come back to school.”

There is great anticipation for the potential the team holds and for what they will accomplish going into their initial season. “Everyone here believes we have a really good team,” Leikam said, speaking on the mutual enthusiasm amongst all of his teammates and their coaches. According to Sorensen, the team hopes to set a high standard for golf now that the program is back and aims to make the sport “a dominant force” at Taft College.

Meet the Interim Vice President

By Bailey Vega

Primavera Arvizu, who was originally hired as a dean last April, is now the new Interim Vice-president of Student Services at Taft College. She has a master’s degree in counseling with a concentration in student affairs as well as twelve years of experience in higher education at both two and four year institutions. Before coming to TC, she worked at Bakersfield College for nearly a decade, and over the years her career has involved various responsibilities such as working with state and federal funding, engaging in advisory and outreach professions, and working as a program director and an administrator. In every job position, Arvizu’s goal has always been “to make sure students are successful,” she said.

Supporting students and ensuring their comfort and success is Arvizu’s highest priority. She describes herself as a “student advocate” and is passionate about connecting with the people who attend and work at Taft College. She strongly feels that she can associate with and provide assistance to students because she recalls very clearly what it was like to be one on a college campus for the first time. “I remember being a student on the BC campus and feeling so lost,” she said, noting that this feeling even brought her to tears at times. Because of this, one of her main goals as the vice president is to help students who may feel similar to the way she did, which inspires her to makes an effort to say hello to students on campus and to open conversations with those who may be feeling unsure of themselves in a college setting.

Our interim vice president really has a heart for working with people as further evidenced in her response to being asked what her favorite part about working at Taft College is: “The people here.” Since the responsibilities of Arvizu’s job center on student services and advising and supervising other faculty who head programs at the school, she takes advantage of the opportunity she has to make personal connections with others.

Although Arvizu’s position is interim, meaning she is the vice president until the college finds a person to fulfill the position permanently, she fully intends on building productive momentum in order to keep things going forward smoothly for Taft College students now and in the coming years. Concentrating on “moving the dial of student success,” “always asking what comes next” as well as being aware of the “student life-cycle” (what Arvizu describes as the different stages of being a student) are key points in her aim to continue making effective and positive progress at Taft College.

Arvizu’s enthusiasm for aiding and encouraging students on their various educational paths is summed up well in her statement of what her mission is for the school: “My vision for Taft College within student services is to focus on student success and moving the dial. And how do we do that? Well, we have to understand the student life-cycle; we have to understand their momentum points and which points in time in their student life-cycle we can enhance. [We also have to understand] barriers and obstacles we can try to remove so that students can be successful on campus. It’s the community, it’s the students, and it’s the people; it’s the staff and it’s the support that we provide to make it happen.”

Tough Loss for Women’s Soccer

By Denae Ayala

It was a tough loss for the Lady Cougars’ Soccer Team Sept. 16 as they fell to Long Beach City College, 2-0.

As game day approached, Head Coach Myisha Cutrona prepared her soccer players by reviewing the game strategy and going over each player’s role on the field.

LBCC scored its first goal within the first 20 minutes of game time. Before halftime they went on to score again.

During halftime the TC Women gathered around their coaches before heading into the second half of the game.

“We have everyone open we just have to give it to them,” said Cutrona. “We need the urgency to move the ball forward.”

Although goal keeper Alexandra Benevidez allowed 2 goals, her main focus for the upcoming season is to better communicate with her teammates and always stay focused.

TC freshmen Aliya Chapman (attacking defender) and Rileigh Hutchins (marker) stood out in Friday’s game. Both striving for the same goal, winning a conference title!

When asked what it takes to win a championship for the women’s soccer team head coach Cutrona replied, “Team unity, working hard, communicating on the field, and representing that TC jersey”.

Cutrona has spent the last four seasons coaching the women’s soccer team. In the past two seasons her team took second place in the Valley Central Conference.

The Lady Cougars will have a chance to bounce back from the LBCC loss as they prepare to play Antelope Valley College on Friday, Sept. 23, at home.

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Tejon Indian Tribe 2nd Annual Pow Wow