Fall — 2005

Arthur Nava

Teaching/Associated Students

“I was fortunate to have my night class in astronomy with one of the best teachers at SMC, Professor Simon Balm. He really makes those three hours just fly by.”

He’d managed to spread his studies at SMC over three years, taking only classes he loved. But now it was time for Arthur Nava to pay the piper. “Yeah, this semester’s been kind of heavy, because I have to take a lot of IGETC classes to get myself ready for transfer,” says Arthur. “But hopefully, I’m going to make it into UCLA.” With the goal of becoming a teacher in either art or English, Arthur says that he’s found many strong role models among SMC’s faculty.

“I had Ms. Mammarella for Art 10, and she was very, very good. She told us about her perceptions of the way art works, as opposed to just the textbook stuff. She just had a really involving approach to art, which made it very enjoyable and interesting.” One of the results of Arthur’s studies in art became a sort of passion with him. “I really dedicated myself to creating a small online comic book called ‘Fur-Piled,’ but I’m also doing a lot of art for friends as well.” Chief among the many friends Arthur has made at SMC are his colleagues in the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), one of SMC’s approximately 60 student clubs organized through the Inter-Club Council of the Associated Students (AS).

“I’ve been the Inter-Club Council Liaison for the GSA, and that’s helped me to meet a lot of people and to learn how the government of the school works. Plus, it looks good that you’ve been involved when you apply for transfer. And my advice to students who really want to max out when they get here is: Get involved! Pay attention to both the social and the scholarly life,” he says. “We’re the best community college around, so don’t take it lightly. We’ve got overseas programs, internships, and the AS in general. Plus, there’s a ton of activities for all the diverse groups here. We’re a very multicultural school, and there’s something happening for everyone.”

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