Theresa Olah already had a career when she started taking courses at IVC in fall 2019. She signed up for classes because it had been years since she earned her bachelor’s degree, and she was a bit rusty when it came to school. She wanted to be ready when she started the master’s degree program at San Jose State University the following year.

It turns out, IVC did more than oil off the rust for Olah. It gave her knowledge she could use immediately in her work and put her on the path to another degree she hadn’t been planning on.

Irvine Valley College alumnus and musician Nicholas Sitton has released his second album, Necessary Empathy.

Sitton says he wanted to create a piece of work that encapsulated and interrogated his personal experiences at this time in his life, but also takes into account the political and systemic contexts in which they occurred.

Learning new skills on a regular basis has become a necessity in our ever-changing world of work. The days of earning a degree and launching into a career for decades to come without earning any additional credentials along the way is a thing of the past. 

They say that great leaders are great communicators. Learn quick tips on how to improve your elevator pitch from IVC Professor John Russo, who heads up IVC's entrepreneurship program​, in our very first episode of the Flashcard Series.

​After she graduated high school, Shiva Maggard explored her career options before setting her sights on medical school. She enrolled at IVC and picked biology as her major. Maggard planned to transfer to a four-year college, and like the majority of American college students, she changed her mind along the way.

She decided med school wasn’t for her. She dropped out of college and found work in the restaurant industry, as a bartender. She made decent money in that job, she said, but after a few years realized it wasn’t what she wanted long term.

The Irvine Valley College Model United Nations (MUN) program overcame the learning and logistical challenges posed by the pandemic to have another outstanding semester, winning a total of 16 awards at two conferences. Students developed transformational leadership skills by learning how to negotiate and engage with students from around the country and world in a virtual environment.

In August, the Irvine Valley College entrepreneurship department​ partnered up with the College Leap organization​, a national non-profit founded by UC Berkeley students to increase the leadership opportunities for transferring community college students. The event they were hosting was their national business plan pitch competition.

The IVC Speech Team finally had a chance to test their skills at their first tournament of the academic year at the 2020 PSCFA Warm-Up Tournament held October 3 - 4. Twenty-four colleges and universities came together to compete at the event with 11 students representing IVC.​ Despite the usual challenges of being virtual, IVC Forensics came out ahead by winning 9 awards in debate, platform speaking, and limited preparation events. Among the most notable awards were the top speaker in Open Informative Speaking and the top speaker in Novice Persuasive Speaking.​

Have you found a polling location yet? The IVC Gym will serve as a designated Vote Center this election, starting on Friday, October 30. Orange County elections are being run differently than before now with Vote Centers, offering a full-service voting experience. You can cast your ballot at any location. 

If you visit the IVC Vote Center, please enter the campus from Irvine Center Drive and park in Lot 9. 

IVC's Vote Center Hours:

October 30 - November 2
8 am - 8 pm 

November 3- Election Day

Irvine Valley College welcomed new Vice President for Student Services, Dr. Martha McDonald to the college on August 24. With over 28 years of experience, Dr. McDonald has distinguished herself in leading, managing, and supervising student support programs in higher education. She is a champion for equity and inclusion and has dedicated her entire career to serving and supporting community college students.