The Learning Resource Center opened its doors on April 5th for students and faculty to celebrate the 20 years of its services.
Dr. Pamela T. Lester, San Diego Mesa College’s President, thanked everyone for coming, and to all the faculty involved in making the LRC what it is today. Lester explained how proud she was of the building, from the artitecture, to all the new services it offers, such as the writing center, the language center, the audio/video center, and the tutoring and computing center.
District Chancellor Constance Carroll also gave a brief speech to the attendants. Carroll has been apart of the Mesa College board since 1993 when she was hired as president. She described the celebration as “an emotional moment, being able to see all the faculty that she worked from the beginning, and seeing the major improvements in the LRC.”
Carroll explained, “this celebration is a celebration of dreams of students, faculty, librarians, and everyone else who put effort and heart into our structure, and here we are celebrating it 20 years later, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
They presented a film titled, “That was Then, This is Now.” It presented a slideshow displaying the evolution of the LRC, with photos from when it was first built, to the present day.
The faculty offered tours of the LRC, and listeners had the chance to enjoy cake, made specially by the culinary arts program. The students had baked three different cakes, one being the exact replica of the LRC building.
Upon asking Lester where she sees the LRC in the next 20 years, she responded with, “the LRC is serving what the students’ needs are. The reason this building has changed over time is because we have really listened to students’ needs. When we started to see the more and more students needed a place to do their writing, and it wasn’t just about trying to figure out where to find a writing tutor on campus, they wanted a place for it, so we opened up a writing center. So, I think the LRC will evolve as the students needs evolves, as technology evolves, but this will always be a part of this campus.”
The LRC encourages students to stop by and utilize its services, whether that is to get help with an assignment, grab a snack at the new vending machines, or just a quiet place to study!
Cheers to 20 years!
