Highlighting the amazing Administration, Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Students that make up our pirate family.
This month's highlights include:
Ariana Cheng (Student), Susan Royer (College Services Supervisor), Mea Brink (Accounting Professor), Janeene Nagaoka (Marketing, Communications and Web Design Coordinator)
Name: Ariana Cheng
Major: Natural Science & Anthropology
Years at Ventura College: 1.5 years
Family Life: I am the oldest of two siblings and grew up in Manila, Philippines
Hobbies: Graphic design, Fashion
Favorite Food: Any kind of pasta dish
Favorite Movie: Life is beautiful
Favorite Song: People I Know by Boombox Cartel
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I have been learning to play the kalimba which is sort of a handheld piano, I love the calming tone of the instrument.
Name: Sue Royer
Primary role at the College: College Services Supervisor – this includes Civic Center (facility rentals), auxiliary services (such as bookstore, vending, food trucks, copy center), safety (keep Emergency Operations Plan updated, coordinate meetings/training for Emergency Operations Team on campus), logistics (screening at 9 locations, campus vehicle reservations), work closely with FMO on various projects and appropriate use of resources, oversee main switchboard, schedule/supervise Evening & Weekend Activities Attendants at main and East Campus.
Years of Service: I started as College Bookstore Manager in July 2008 which was a great opportunity to meet and work with faculty re: textbook adoptions. Moved into College Services in July 2015.
Family: Became a grandmother in 2020! I have two amazing daughters, Molly and Rose (and equally amazing sons-in-law) and a wonderful husband, Keith, (who’s a saint, obviously).
Hobbies: Spending every possible moment with my family.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: Did I mention I have a GRANDDAUGHTER? Bess lives in London and we “talk” almost every day on FaceTime. Actually, I talk and she runs through the house holding the phone. It’s my favorite thing.
Name: Mea Brink
Primary role at the college: Full Time Accounting Professor in Business Department
Years of Service: Part time 3 years, Full Time 1 1/2 years
Family: Husband, 4 adult kids, ages 31, 27, 23 and 22
Hobbies: Pickleball, gardening, camping , playing with my dogs.
Favorite food: Strawberry Spinach Salad
Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I am a Renaissance woman with many very different interests: I am a long Star Trek and Sci Fi fan, was a Sgt in the Marine Corps, was a missionary in Thailand & Singapore, and I love mysteries.
Name: Janeene Nagaoka
Primary role at the College: I have a very fancy title: Marketing, Communications and Web Design Coordinator! Haha! My primary role is creating graphic design for marketing materials and social media. I also assist people with their web page design. I also do some photography and video editing. Recently I've been creating short little videos for social media, which is really fun.
Years of Service: I have been at Ventura College for a whopping 3 months! But, I have worked at the district for 16+ years. I started at MC (7 years) and then worked at the District Office (9 years). I am so excited to be back on a campus!
Family: I live in Ventura with my husband Foster and our daughter Kendall.
Hobbies: Hanging out with my family, doing just about anything outdoors, watching movies, gardening, cooking, playing board games. During the majority of 2020-21, we had game night with one other family nearly every Friday night! We love Catan and Ticket to Ride.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: My husband and I have owned a tandem bike for over 25 years. We took a trip to France and rode for 28 days all over the southern region. We've ridden down the coast of California a few times, toured the East Coast and have done lots of Century and Double Century rides. They say that a tandem either "makes" or "breaks" a relationship. It seems to be working for us!