Over the last several years, the Cerritos College
intercollegiate teams have done
exceptionally well, winning six state
championships in the last 2 1/2 years
and finishing first in the Southern
California Supremacy Award and second in
the state last year. But while the
team's are succeeding on the fields,
they are also excelling in the
classrooms. This year alone, two
Cerritos student-athletes have received
state awards, and were honored last week
at the 12th Annual COA/CCCAA Convention
in Ontario.
Gutierrez, who spent two years on the women's tennis team
(2007-08), will be transferring to the
University of California-Berkeley in the
fall of 2009 to finish her undergraduate
degree. She will be majoring in
anthropology and her goal is to go on to
graduate school, obtain a Ph.D. in
Forensic Anthropology, and become a
university professor and medicolegal
consultant. She has already earned an
A.A. in Liberal Arts & Sciences with
highest honors and will receive her A.A
in Anthropology in May, 2009.
While on the tennis team, Gutierrez won the South Coast
Conference singles championship as a
freshman while posting an 18-4
record. She also advanced with her
doubles partner to reach the
conference finals as a freshman and
sophomore. Additionally, Gutierrez
is the Vice President of the Beta
Alpha Beta Chapter of Phi Theta
Kappa International Honors Society
and is also in the Anthropology
Club, as well as the Feminist
Majority Leadership Alliance.
As a result of her success in the classroom, Gutierrez has
also been awarded the 2008 UC
Berkeley/Jack Kent Cooke Summer
Undergraduate Research Fellow, 2009
Phi Theta Kappa All-California
Academic Team, 2009 Coca-Cola Silver
Scholar and 2009 Academic Excellence
Award in Anthropology.
As for Garcia, he was nominated for the 3C3A Award by
athletic counselor Virginia Romero,
and it recognizes those that have
overcome obstacles and their stories
are moving. As a young student,
Garcia and his best friend were
assaulted by a small gang and then
had to deal with a gang shooting
after school. His parents
transferred Garcia to St. John Bosco
High School, where he became
involved with organized basketball.
A natural to the game, Garcia was
eventually offered scholarships to
numerous four-year universities. But
before he could accept any, he
collapsed on the court at practice
and was eventually diagnosed with a
heart condition that appeared to end
his career.
After several years, his health improved and he made the
Falcon basketball team. He was
looked upon as a possible starter
until the condition flared up,
ending his season prematurely. In 16
games for the Falcons, Garcia
averaged 4.2 points a game and
connected on 11 three-pointers.
Despite being unable to suit up,
Garcia remained an integral part of
the Falcon team and helped his
teammates out every day with his
encouragement and willingness to
push them in practice every day.
Garcia plans to transfer to Chapman
University and major in business
management with a minor in art. He
will also look to keep his
basketball dream alive and intends
to try out for the team.
