Doctor of Toxicology, DMC Alumnus to give keynote address at May 19 commencement ceremony

The end of the semester is here, and with it, graduation and commencement. To kick off the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of the approximately 782 graduating students, Del Mar College has invited Doctor of Toxicology and Del Mar College alumnus Natividad Roberto Fuentes Jr. to give the keynote address at the commencement ceremony this Friday. Fuentes graduated from Del Mar College in 2011 with an associate degree in biology and a certification in biotechnology. From there, he would go on to earn his bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and…

Studying anatomy in a virtual space

Student Success Center unveils new virtual reality headsets for student use Students studying anatomy and physiology got some high-tech help on April 26. The Student Success Center on Heritage Campus introduced five new virtual reality headsets for use as study aids. The set consists of five color-coded Oculus Meta Quest 2 headsets with two wireless controllers each. Each headset includes a program known as the 3D Organon Platform, which provides access to multiple life-like anatomy models for students to manipulate and examine at a fraction of the cost of physical models. The virtual models also include built-in labels and an…

Del Mar graduate earns praise as instructor 

Monica Martinez called ‘a voice of reason’ in college’s Dental Hygiene Clinic Shortly after starting a new job at Del Mar, Monica Martinez found herself having to work through the issues of the pandemic in 2020. Martinez, assistant instructor at the Dental Hygiene Clinic, remembers the experience well. “I started right before COVID hit and had to navigate a new career path in the mist of chaos,” said Martinez, herself a Del Mar alumna. “It was a challenging time but the stability and teamwork at the DMC Dental Hygiene Clinic overcame all the obstacles.” According to Martinez, patience and perspective…

Center promotes mental health

Del Mar College’s Counseling Center offers free and confidential services for individuals, couples and groups. The center also offers virtual services as well as Wellness Workshops, Suicide Prevention Training, Outreach & Consultation, Crisis Intervention and more. “Del Mar’s Counseling Center’s mission is to promote mental health, emotional resilience, and wellness throughout the campus community. They would also like to provide a safe, confidential place for students’ voices to be heard, while honoring their unique strengths and challenges,” stated Steven McFarlin of the DMC Counseling Center. “Our counselors are licensed clinicians who have a wide range of professional interests.” The Counseling…

 Author discusses her first novel 

E.M. Tran, a Vietnamese American writer from New Orleans, Louisiana, visited Del Mar College on April 20 to talk about her debut novel, “Daughters of the New Year.”  Sarah K. Lenz, assistant professor and head of the English Department, joined Tran on stage in Richardson Performance Hall at Heritage Campus.  The novel takes place in New Orleans in 2016 and talks about a string of Vietnamese women: the mom, Xuan Trung, a former beauty pageant queen and immigrant who lives in the U.S.; and her daughters Trac, Nhi and Trieu. The mom becomes obsessed with telling her daughters history about…