In Spring 2022, Mesa College officially named Travis Nichols as full-time Head Coach for the upcoming 2022-23 Men’s Basketball season. Travis Nichols is going into his fifth season as coach at San Diego Mesa College, having previously served in a part-time capacity. The San Diego native and former Mesa star player was hired as the school’s first African American head coach. Nichols is the face of the program and it goes deeper than basketball.

San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery recently celebrated LatinX Heritage Month, with the exhibition In Lak’ech: Tu eres me otro yo (You are my other me), featuring Artworks by Maria de Los Angeles and Ryan Bonilla. Maria de Los Angeles is a Latinx artist and professor of painting at Yale University School of Art and started her education as a Dreamer at Santa Rosa community college. Ryan Bonilla is a Filipino-American fashion photographer that has worked for Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry and published in ELLE and other fashion magazines. They traveled from the East Coast to attend the reception. Maria de Los Angeles is based in New York.

San Diego, CA. – On Wednesday, September 28, San Diego Mesa College will hold a reception for In Lak’ech: Tu eres mi otro yo, featuring artworks by Maria de Los Angeles and Ryan Bonilla. The Reception will be held from 4:00-7:00 p.m., in the Mesa College Art Gallery (FA-103). In Lak’ech: Tu eres me otro yo (You are my other me) invokes a Mayan concept popularized by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez. This affirmation reflects a philosophy of caring and connecting with the human spirit of one another. This idea sets the tone for this two-person exhibit at the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month. Through evocative paintings, wearable dress sculptures and drawings, artist Maria de Los Angeles – a former Dreamer and community college student, who is now a Professor at Yale University - connects with America’s multiple selves: those of the immigrant, the refugee, the undocumented, the indigenous. She questions and breaks down racist stereotypes and tackles otherness and the concept of belonging. Sharing the space, Ryan Bonilla’s monotype prints and Polaroid installation titled “We are Misfits” are a celebration of alternative culture.

San Diego - On Sunday, September 18, 2022, San Diego Mesa College Athletic Trainer, Yuki Matsuzawa, along with two students and a coach, helped save the life of a 66 year old athlete, who collapsed on field after his event during the annual Senior Games Track Meet held on campus at Merrill Douglas Stadium.

San Diego, CA – Amidst nationwide declines in enrollment, San Diego Mesa College has recently seen an uptick in enrollments and registration in Fall 2022 short-term and late-start classes that are specifically designed to meet student needs. Mesa College offers over 100 courses that are short-terms (less than the traditional 16 weeks) and are also “late-start”, meaning that those classes begin weeks or even months after the traditional August semester start. Short term classes are a great option for working students, and allow student to earn units much more quickly. Many of these courses prepare students for local careers, which will have a direct positive impact on the local economy. California's community colleges such as Mesa College have added $128.2 billion in income to the California economy.

SAN ANTONIO – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is pleased to announce the 39 fellows who will be part of the fourth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo, which includes Dr. Isabel O’Connor, Vice President of Instruction at San Diego Mesa College. The program is designed to increase diverse representation in executive and senior-level positions in higher education. Fellows participate in an array of leadership development activities preparing them for leadership roles in the full spectrum of institutions of higher learning, with an emphasis on Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Emerging HSIs.

At Mesa College in San Diego, Vice President of Student Instruction Isabel O'Connor noticed something this fall that she hasn't seen in years. "As I was driving to campus, there was a lot of traffic," she says. "And I was just so thrilled to see that." Traffic issues aside, community college administrators across San Diego are thrilled to see enrollment numbers rise this year, following nearly five years of annual declines. "It almost feels like we're at a crossroads now and people are ready to re-enroll in college," says Dr. Mark Sanchez, the President and Superintendent of Southwestern Community College.

San Diego, CA. – Today, San Diego Mesa College will hold a reception for The Shape of Color, the Weight of Light, featuring artworks by Kaori Fukuyama, Christian Garcia-Olivo, and Melissa Walter. San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery hosts this exhibition of pictorial and sculptural investigations on color, light and texture, featuring recent artworks by San Diego-based artists Christian Garcia-Olivo, Kaori Fukuyama and Melissa Walter. The exhibition will run August 22 – September 8, 2022. Artist Kaori Fukuyama will hold a Gallery Talk on Friday, August 26 at 2:00 p.m., with Gallery walk-throughs and talks on Wednesday, August 31 at 3:00p p.m. and Wednesday, September 7 at 7:00 p.m.