Highlighting the amazing Administration, Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Students that make up our pirate family.
This month's highlights include:
Lara Kassab (student), Marisol Luna-López (classified), Yvonne M. Corral (administrator), the Jeff Wood (faculty)
Name: Lara Kassab
Role at VC: I'm a student at VC, a Mathematics and Chemistry tutor, and MESA member.
Major: Chemical Engineering
Years at VC: 2 years
Family life: We're a family of 4
Hobbies: cooking, singing and playing trumpet.
Favorite Food: It's a Syrian dish, and it's called cabbage rolls
Favorite Movie: The Swimmers
Something Fun, interesting, and/ or unique about you: I was born and raised in Homs, Syria. My family and I moved to the US about 5 years ago. Before then, I never thought that I would be studying Chemical Engineering or anything engineering-related. I thought I was going to study music. My family is known for their love for music, which is where I inherited my love of music from. Since I was in first grade, I have participated in many Middle Eastern music bands as a soprano singer. I practiced playing guitar, piano, and Oud, but eventually, I picked the trumpet and joined St. George Scout in Zaidal in 2016. St. George Church is where my second house was, and before that, my mom and dad's second house! It's where I met all of my For-Life friends, learned a lot, and made unforgettable memories.
Name: Marisol Luna-López
Primary role at the college: Student Outreach Specialist
Years of Service: 4 months
Family: Married, 2 children
Hobbies: I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, going to amusement parks and hiking.
Favorite Food: Enchiladas and Pasta
Favorite Movie: I love comedy, one of my favorites is White Chicks.
Favorite Song: I enjoy listening to a wide range of music, so it’s hard to just pick-one, but lately I have been listening to Ramon Ayala.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I played the accordion.
Name: Jeff Wood
Role at VC: Professor of Physics
Years at VC: 11
Family: Wife, son, and two daughters
Hobbies: Hiking/camping, auto mechanics, art
Favorite food: Seafood with roasted vegetables
Favorite Movie or book: Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Favorite Song: The Planets Orchestral suite
Something unique or interesting about you: Schooling and various jobs in industry and academia have afforded me opportunities to experience life in Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, New Mexico, and California. Ventura is a wonderful community and place to live!
Name: Yvonne M. Corral
Role: Bursar
Years at VC: 1 month
Family: Married 22 years with 4 amazing children
Hobbies: Spending time with family, sporting events, movies, dancing, travelling & trying new foods/restaurants
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite Movie: Fast & the Furious Franchise
Favorite Song: Too many to just choose one.
Something unique or interesting about you: I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie…one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life was skydiving! I am also a VC Alumni and 1st in my family to go to college.