SBCC Administrator Honored by Mexican Consulate

Rogelio Flores Mejia, who represented the consulate and Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal made the presentation to Dr. Arellano on September 16 at the Mexican Independence celebration at the Santa Barbara Court House.

The annual Latino Excellence award recognizes an outstanding Latino from the Tri-Counties (Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties) who has contributed to improving the quality of life for area Latino immigrants.

As lead administrator for SBCC’s Continuing Education Division, Dr. Arellano was cited for having helped establish a very strong and positive relationship between SBCC and the Mexican government in promoting education. She was recognized for Continuing Education setting up basic education programs in Spanish for immigrants with followup transition to English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and obtaining the General Education Diploma (GED or high school equivalency). The Mexican Consulate also acknowledged Dr. Arellano and Continuing Education for the range of student services programs for local-area immigrants such as the Community Education Center, Bilingual Education, and the promotion of U.S. citizenship.