THE GRADUATES: Arzoo Sadiqi finds strength in courage of her mother
Arzoo Sadiqi has few memories of her years living in Kabul, Afghanistan. But there is one terrifying day that she can still describe in detail. It was the day the Taliban seized control of the country’s capital, and poured into the city driving four-runners and began imposing new laws that forever changed her life. “I [...]
THE GRADUATES: Globetrotting senior follows his own artistic path to graduation
Skyler Greene makes his own experiences. He doesn’t let his surroundings, his teachers or even his age dictate the outcome of his situation. As a freshman in high school, he remembers having a terrible photography teacher, so he decided to teach himself. “I was so excited to learn about film and cameras that I [...]
THE GRADUATES: Idrissa Fofanah builds new life after escape from war-ravaged country
Idrissa Fofanah was born in Sierra Leone, Africa, just before the Civil War. The second child of three, he was not able to come to America until 1999. Despite this, he has worked at the EOPS office at Merced College since 2008 and will be graduating this semester with degrees in Business Administration and Accounting. [...]
THE GRADUATES: Esther Verrinder makes her own way and her own music
When Merced College trimmed orchestra from its budget, Esther Verrinder was a violinist without an outlet. The music major, who will be transferring to Fresno State in the Fall, took matters into her own hands and created the Verrinder String Quartet and put on her own production to earn ensemble credit. The quartet is made [...]
GLTSO kicks off busy summer with Cap & Town performance
It’s great looking back on work from years ago. Some of it’s really good, other parts … not so much. But when I found the piece I wrote about the Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit from more than two years ago, it brought back a flood of memories I have about the band and my [...]
Lab Tour: Marco Valesi’s Urban Art Research
“What intrigued me the most about Urban Arts is that it has no boundaries in social status,” says Valesi. “Urban Arts is just like the internet, it doesn’t matter if you are wealthy, or what is your nationality, but what matters is that you have something to say and you want to be heard.”
Science and Art
They came to Merced for a job. What they found was a home. Christopher and Lisa Viney and their two children Christine and Charloette have lived in three countries and more cities than numbers in a zip code. When Christopher Viney joined the eight-member founding faculty at UC Merced in 2003, this town was just [...]
