Mesa College professor Catherine LaRocca died on Aug. 21, 2006.

LaRocca was 36 years old, and taught Business Law, Business Communications and Accounting classes. Her death caught faculty, students and staff members by surprise. Dean Otto Lee from the Business, Computer Studies and Technologies Dept. shared his thoughts.

“It was tragic and sudden. She wasn’t ill,” he said. “We were shocked. Nobody expected it.”

LaRocca was originally from Massapequa, New York, where she received her education at State University of New York and at Yeshiva University, to become a lawyer. According to Lee, about six years ago she decided to move to San Diego to pursue a career here.

“She was single and she was the only one of her family out here,” Lee said. “She was a practicing attorney, a lawyer on the East Coast and then decided to take a position out here in San Diego, with a San Diego law firm.”

Lee said that about two years later, and still working for the law firm, LaRocca started teaching part-time at community colleges such as Grossmont and Mesa.

“She taught at my school in part-time evening classes in Accounting and Business Law, and just turned out she really enjoyed teaching,” said Lee. “She was just a very enthusiastic, cheerful person with just a lot of good experience. We spoke about how she conducted her class, and being a practicing lawyer, she brought in a lot of real world cases-what’s happening right now. She was dealing with them, and shared those stories with her students.”

About two years later, in 2004, the business department opened a position for full-time faculty member and LaRocca applied. She was selected to join the full-time faculty in the Fall semester of 2004.

Lee appreciated the attitude of the newcomer.

“I think what was special about Catherine was that she showed her dedication to teaching,” he said. “Before she got the job, she had a very successful private law practice. Then, after she accepted our position full-time, she realized she wanted to spend all of her time teaching and working at the community college, so she basically closed down her private practice. I think that was very special.”

Lee said that colleagues and students could understand why that choice made sense for her.

“That was something she really enjoyed doing along with spending more time on campus,” he said. “I know she advised and coached a lot of the students because she knew what meant to work in the business world. Obviously, she was interested in business, in law, so [this one time] there were three or four students lying down outside and I overheard her saying something like, ‘You know, if you want to be an accountant here are some magazines and things you need to read up to give you an idea of what’s happening now in that particular field.’ So, her advice to students for their career and their plan were very helpful.”

LaRocca’s students contacted Lee to express their satisfaction.

“I got a lot of feedback from many of the students who said, ‘Wow, her class is just terrific, she tells us about what’s happening in the news today and help us to understand some of the business ideas, law ideas in the classroom,'” he said.

Neil McCarthy took a class with LaRocca last summer.

“I just received news that she passed away recently. I could not believe it when I heard this. She was a great person and one of the most inspiring, kind and knowledgeable teachers I’ve had,” McCarthy told Lee through e-mail.

Lee said that the department received several e-mails from students who said that they wanted to send notes for LaRocca’s family. The department also wants to pay tribute to her.

“We still do no know all the details,” he said. “The funeral arrangements were happening in Massapequa. We [here] are putting together a little service that we will have for the whole campus probably later on this month, a little memorial service.”

A scholarship under LaRocca’s name will also be created by the department.

“A lot of faculty wanted to contribute, so we will have that in place,” said Dean Lee. “That will be part of the scholarship banquet in the Spring.”