NEW BOOK
Ellen Wier, a North County-based, board-certified music therapist, has released her new book, “Waking Up in Heaven: Living with Purpose through Afterlife Wisdom,” which details her journey beginning as a child in the ICU where she woke up from a coma to music beside her bed.
TOP GOLFER
Cal State San Marcos student Madison Murr was named CCAA Golfer of the Year. Head coach Greg Hutton was named CCAA Women’s Golf Coach of the Year.
BIOLA GRADS
The following students have graduated from Biola University: Alexandria White, Jasmine Cacho, Lily Wolfe and Christopher Hall of Oceanside; Hannah Larson, Eliana Cote and Danielle Gmyr of San Marcos; Hannah Richards, McKenzie Justus and Caden Svendsen of Carlsbad; and Eliana Mihlik of Vista.
STUDENT SYMPOSIUM
Haydn Peterson of Oceanside presented original academic work titled, “Cuban Migration, Food, and Identity in Louisville,” at Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2024 Spring Student Symposium on April 18.
ACCEPTANCE RATE
MiraCosta College holds the highest transfer acceptance rate – 84% – to University of California campuses among community colleges in Southern California, according to recent data from the UC system.
RANCHO WATER
The Rancho California Water District is expanding its Regional CropSWAP program into the cities of Oceanside and Escondido, Fallbrook Public Utility District, Rainbow Municipal Water District and Valley Center Municipal Water District. The program, started in 2016 as a response to severe drought conditions in the Temecula Valley and a struggling local agricultural economy, offers significant financial incentives for implementing sustainable practices with the goal of using water more efficiently.
HOMETOWN HEROES
MainStreet Oceanside has opened nominations for the 2024 Hometown Heroes program, which celebrates individuals who go above and beyond their daily responsibilities to foster positive community development and improve the neighborhood. Nominees must be Oceanside residents. The selected Hometown Heroes will be honored in the annual Oceanside Independence Parade.
STUDENT CONTEST
The Vista Irrigation District awarded college scholarships to three high school seniors and selected three fourth grade students as winners of two separate, district-sponsored contests. Elizabeth Fellars and Juan Paz from Rancho Buena Vista High School and Ilona Medina from Vista High School each received $2,000. Bailey Backer from Empresa Elementary received first place and $100 for her 2024 Water Awareness Poster Contest entry, and Juliette Stoiloff and Skylar Burtner from Tri-City Christian School received second ($50) and third place ($25).
SCIENCE ACADEMY
Salk Institute Professor Susan Kaech has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which is considered one of the highest honors accorded to a scientist in the nation. Kaech is director of the NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis and holder of the NOMIS Chair at Salk. Her discoveries have contributed significantly to the modern understanding of long-term immunity and how memory T cells form.
ADVANCEMENT OFFICE
The MiraCosta College Office of Advancement was recognized for its contributions to community college communications with several awards at the 2024 Community College Public Relations Organization awards ceremony. The awards include a bronze award for the college’s Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 arts and events brochure series, a gold award for the Transforming Lives magazine, another gold award for the “Ghost Ship theater promotion video, and another bronze for the “Dancing at Dusk” manipulated photo.
