A Place to Pursue Career & Tech Education Gilroy Early College Academy operates on Gavilan’s
Denée Pescarmona highlighted Career & Tech Ed programs
at Gavilan and their value as pathways to opportunity for
Gavilan students.
“Our Aviation Maintenance Tech program located at
San Martin Airport is full with a waitlist. It’s a two-year
degree program,” Pescarmona said. “Our students go on
to work for major airlines and earn salaries of 60,000 to
70,000 dollars out of the gate.
“We had the ribbon-cutting for our HVAC program in
Gilroy this year and it’s already full. Career opportunities
in this area also have strong earning potential.”
Gavilan also offers one of the region’s few Water
Management programs, with apprenticeships sponsored
by Valley Water (Santa Clara Valley Water District).
Another program in the works is Construction
Management. “Along with commercial and residential con-
struction, workers are needed to build new local schools.
“Every campus needs an anchor program. Construction
Management or Agribusiness could be anchor programs for
the San Benito Campus. Construction industry partners are
eagerly stepping up to sponsor, provide internships, and
teach in this program.”
Communities everywhere are experiencing a shortage
of skilled nurses. “Gavilan is developing an accelerated
Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) program, and partnering
with Cal State University/Monterey Bay for a bridge program
for students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
(BSN) degree.
“We partner with Valley Medical Center, Saint Louise,
Hazel Hawkins and Kaiser Permanente, on internship and
work-study opportunities and scholarships for our students.
“Gavilan can also play an important role in preparing
students for rapidly-emerging fields such as Health Tech and
Health Informatics” which are driven by major trends such as
population health and adoption of electronic health records.
Digital media skills are now in demand in every industry.
Pescarmona noted that the Chancellor’s Office recently
approved Gavilan’s new Associate Degree for Transfer in
Film, TV, and Electronic Media.
“It’s easier now to transfer into Media Arts programs at
CSU schools. Gav students traditionally have made their
way into top schools for Media Arts.” main campus. The Facilities Master Plan calls for permanent
integration of the Academy into the Gilroy main campus.
Every high school student graduating from GECA has gone
directly into four-year college programs, or into Gavilan
College to complete a degree program prior to transferring.
GECA has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report
as being an outstanding high school program; ranking 42nd
in the Nation and 3rd in California.
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Education & Economic Vitality, Hand in Hand
Rose described Gavilan as “a connecting factor” for the
community college district, in which all the cities have diverse
needs and approach economic development differently.
Her commitment to this connecting role is reflected
in her service on the boards of the Gilroy and Hollister
Economic Development Corporations.
“We contribute to the education and socio-economic
vitality of our region, providing local jobs and workforce-
based training in noncredited industry-based partnerships,”
Rose said. “We do these things well. We’d like to host an
economic summit in the spring and bring folks from across
the district to connect with our faculty in economics,
business, and social sciences; and talk about the impact of
housing, transportation, and quality of life and how we can
be innovative. We should be a foundational thinktank. I’d
like see Gavilan leveraged in this way.”
FALL/HOLIDAY 2019
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