COLLEGE GRADUATES
The following students graduated from their respective colleges and universities: Haydn Peterson of Oceanside from Ohio Wesleyan University; Delaney Oliva Carolina Williams of Encinitas and Lucas Dulay Rowden of Solana Beach from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Benjamin Walker Hartley of Carlsbad and Chris Morales of San Diego from Harvey Mudd College; and Amy Lightner of Del Mar, Kevin Charoensri of Carlsbad, Patrick Hillier of San Marcos, Mara Davis of Oceanside, and Rohan Jha, Stephen Wang, Tanna Myerson and San Jun Park of San Diego from the University of Texas at Austin.
DEAN’S LIST
The following students were named to the spring dean’s list at their respective colleges and universities: Seren Johnson of Oceanside at Cedarville University in Ohio; Ricky Johnson of Oceanside at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois; Tyson Robinson of Oceanside at Lincoln University of Missouri; Jadon Bowen of Oceanside at Chadron State College in Nebraska; Matthew Goates of Carlsbad and Angelina Ruiz of San Marcos at Utah Tech University; and Arlette Alcocer and Anthony Lloyd, both from Oceanside, and Laura Enfinger of Encinitas at California State University, Stanislaus.
PRESIDENT’S LIST
Ellie Lofting of Vista and Ashley Glazer of San Marcos were named to the spring president’s list at Utah Tech University for retaining a GPA of 3.9 or higher while completing at least 15 credits.
NASA INTERN
Sophia Farber of Canyon Crest Academy has been selected for the NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science summer intership sponsored by NASA and the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research. Students will work with scientists to study air quality, land forms, mosquito-borne diseases, and astronomy.
C-SPAN STUDENTS
C-SPAN visited Community Montessori in Carlsbad on May 21 to honor students Devin Mingardi, Vincent Chase and Wesley Robson for their prize-winning entry in the annual student video documentary competition, StudentCam, titled, “The Price of Life: America’s Healthcare Crisis.” The project-based learning experience asked students to explore and analyze matters of personal, local or national importance.
WATER AWARENESS
The Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors acknowledged the winners of the 2025 North County Water Agencies Water Awareness Poster Contest, themed, “Love Water, Save Water.” The winners were fourth graders Kaiyan Beam of Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary School, and David W. Brand and Audrey Nam of Stone Ranch Elementary School.
STRATEGIC PLAN
The Clean Energy Alliance has adopted its first-ever Strategic Plan, a “major milestone” that will aid the agency’s mission to expand affordable, renewable energy in North County. The plan will serve as a roadmap for organizational growth, innovation and community programming over the next two fiscal years.
NATIVE STAR
San Diego’s first Native American store, Native Store, has opened in the Gaslamp District. Ruth-Ann Thorn, a member of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians — based in Valley Center — is the store’s founder.
ADMIN VP
MiraCosta College has appointed Elba Gomez as its next Vice President of Administrative Services in mid-June 2025 following a 40-year career in public education. She brings over two decades of leadership experience across education, public administration and finance, most recently serving as Vice President of Administration and Chief Administrative Officer at the Port of San Diego.
BOARD MEMBER
Longtime Encinitas Union School District Board Member Marla Strich has been named the 2025 Dede Alpert School Board Member of the Year, one of the most esteemed honors awarded by the San Diego County School Boards Association.
RAFFLE RESULTS
Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary recently held its annual scholarship raffle, raising over $42,000 in scholarships for local students. Leslie Brubaker of Carlsbad won $5,000 as the first-place prize, Jeff Weber of the Escondido After Five Rotary won a four-night stay at the Hyatt Sedona as the second prize, Will Stonebrook of Carlsbad won an e-bike as the third prize; and Vicki Prosser of Oceanside won two wine baskets as the fourth prize.
SPACE TECH
Parabilis Space Technologies, Inc., a provider of rapid, reliable and innovative propulsion technologies, announced that Enrico Attanasio was appointed president, chief executive and a member of the company’s board of directors, succeeding Dave Streich who stepped down after 10 years of service as CEO.
NEW OWNERS
Assisting Hands of Carlsbad, a homecare service provider in North County, is under new ownership from Tod and Colleen Mertes to Liam Dunfey and John Dzida. Dunfey has over 16 years of long-term care experience and will run operations while Dzida, who has over 10 years of financial experience, will focus on finances and strategy.
