​WHAT:

Santa Ana College buries time capsule to launch its Centennial Celebration
On Friday, February 6, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. Santa Ana College faculty, staff, Orange County elected officials, and community leaders will join to publicly launch the 18-month celebration of the college’s centennial. Santa Ana College (SAC) President Erlinda J. Martinez, Ed.D., will highlight the Santa Ana College’s “Celebrated Past and Boundless Future.” She will also invite the guests to attend special events at Santa Ana College that are slated in the coming months. At 11:15 a.m., guests will walk to the area in front of the Administration Building where the time capsule will be buried.

The time capsule’s contents include: an iPod Touch with recorded interviews with Martinez, SAC Academic Senate President John Zarske, Division Administrative Secretary and CSEA-Appointed Representative to College Council Pam Hernandez, and Associated Student Government President Raquel Manriquez; Centennial lapel pins; photos of staff, students, and campus buildings; a copy of the college’s Master Plan; patches and medals worn by students in the college’s Criminal Justice Academies, Fire Technology Program, and other key programs; and copies of the award-winning el Don student newspaper. Some items that were in the earlier time capsule, originally buried in April 1992, will also be included: a video of the previous time capsule burial, a 1975 college pin, an aerial photo of the college in 1992, a 1992 employee salary schedule, and a 1992 class schedule.

The Centennial Time Capsule will be buried under a plaque designating its location. The time capsule is intended for exhumation in 25 years in 2040.

At 11:45 a.m. a group photo will be taken to commemorate the historical milestone.

WHO:

A guest of honor will be Tustin resident and Olympic Gold Medal winner 100-year-old Evelyn Furtsch Ojeda. Ojeda was a member of the Gold Medal winning 4 x 100 meter relay at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She and her teammates Mary Carew, Annette Rogers and Wilhelmina von Bremen set an Olympic and World Record of 46.9 seconds. After the Olympics, she attended Santa Ana College for two years and played basketball, field hockey and baseball as the college did not have women’s track and field at that time. She was elected into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. She is the oldest known living Santa Ana College alumna.

Additional expected VIPs include: Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee (RSCCD) Claudia C. Alvarez; Ed Arnold, retired KOCE broadcaster and SAC alumnus; Bill Cheney, president/CEO of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union and Centennial Scholarship donor; Bruce Gelker, SAC Athletic Hall of Fame member, SAC alumnus and Centennial Scholarship donor; Assemblymember Matthew Harper; Vera Jimenez, KTLA meteorologist and traffic reporter and SAC alumna; Rueben Martinez, activist, businessman, Chapman University Presidential Fellow; County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Al Mijares, Ph.D.; Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) Superintendent Rick Miller, Ph.D.; SAUSD Board President John Palacio; U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez; City of Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Vince Sarmiento; Mayor of Orange Teresa “Tita” Smith; RSCCD Trustee Jose Solorio; and Mexican Counsul Alejandra García Williams.

MEDIA STORY:
Although the launch event is not open to the general public, it marks the beginning of an 18-month observation of the many contributions that Santa Ana College has made to the community, the state, and the nation. The college has come a long way from the fall morning in 1915 when Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors on the grounds of Santa Ana High School to 24 students and 11 professors. One hundred years later, SAC serves nearly 30,000 students each semester from a 65-acre campus at 17th and Bristol Streets and at three educational centers. From its Orange County Regional Sheriff’s Training Program and Fire Academy—the first Accredited Regional Fire Academy in California—to its Centennial Education Center, one of the largest providers in the California Community College system of non-credit adult education programs, and its Career Technical Education program, which supplies the community with high-demand specialists in auto and diesel technology, welding, manufacturing technology, speech language pathology and more—SAC has always had its finger on the pulse of what employers need to flourish. In keeping with the college’s “Boundless Future,” SAC, one of 15 California community colleges selected to offer baccalaureate degrees, is awaiting final approval for providing a four-year degree in the high-demand field of Occupational Studies. The public is invited to SAC’s Centennial Birthday Party on Saturday, September 19, 2015.  Festivities will include entertainment, children’s games, food, fireworks and birthday cake.

WHERE:

Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
10:30 a.m. The Spot, U-102
11:30 a.m. In front of the Administration Building, adjacent to Parking Lot #3

HOW:

For additional details about the Santa Ana College Centennial, please visit www.sac.edu/100.

About Santa Ana College
Santa Ana College (SAC), which is turning 100 years old in 2015, serves about 18,000 students each semester at its main campus in Santa Ana. The college prepares students for transfer to four-year institutions, provides invaluable workforce training, and customized training for business and industry. In addition, another 11,000 students are served through the college’s School of Continuing Education located at Centennial Education Center. Ranked as one of the nation’s top two-year colleges awarding associate degrees to Latino and Asian students, the college is also recognized throughout the state for its comprehensive workforce training programs for nurses, firefighters, law enforcement and other medical personnel. SAC is one of two comprehensive colleges under the auspices of the Rancho Santiago Community College District. Visit www.sac.edu to learn more. For information about Santa Ana College’s Centennial, please visit www.sac.edu/100.