The community got a preview of the new $25 million Oakhurst Community College Center at a public forum this week in Oakhurst. Darin Soukup, Oakhurst Community College Center director, and project architect Paul Halajian were both on hand at the meeting to provide updates and answer questions from community members about progress on the project. Halajian also brought a scale model of the proposed 21,450-square-foot building to show around at the meeting. “This is what it’s going to look like, he said. “But it’s still a bit of a work in progress.” The current design features seven classrooms — one for biology/chemistry lab plus a “prep” room, one art studio/classroom, one computer lab classroom and four general education classrooms that will also allow for 2-way simultaneous broadcast of courses from other locations in the District.
A local valley school is offering students a fast track to start their careers in nutrition. Digging into a career in nutrition isn’t always easy, but Merced College is serving up a solution for its students. In Fall 2020, the foods and nutrition program will offer several certificates as a fast track option. “It allows students to have the time to get right through it and working and going,” said former student Evan Fimbrez. In just two semesters, students can earn a ServSafe Manager Certificate – the first step to a wide variety of jobs in the nutrition field.