In this issue:

“Always In Our Hearts”
Alumni Couple Remembers SDSU With Gift

Sherrill and Ben Amador

After 40 years Ben Amador (’61, ‘71) remembers like it was yesterday his first encounter with the pretty young business instructor freshly arrived at Grossmont High School.

“I was trying to be friendly and I approached her and said, ‘Welcome to Grossmont,’ he recalls. “She didn’t even look up at me. That really upset me, so I said, ‘Well, forget it.’

Fortunately for Ben, then a junior varsity football coach, he was persistent. It wasn’t long before he won her over. “I got Sherrill to help me scout opponents,” he laughs. “She would help me on the split ends and the formations and that kind of stuff.”

Sherrill Amador chuckles at the memory. “He knew what he wanted to do,” she says of the young man who wasted no time checking her out shortly after she had landed her first teaching job. “He’s really a sincere person – a lot of fun. He has a good sense of humor and a good set of values.”

Plus, they shared the common bond of being Aztec alums. “You talk about where you went to college and we found out we went to San Diego State,” Sherrill remembers. “A year and a half later we were married.”

A good experience

Both eventually pursued careers in education administration and even took classes together at SDSU toward advanced degrees. “We both love education and we both feel that it has benefited us,” explains Sherrill. “We both got our start at San Diego State. I had good instructors and I left San Diego State feeling that it was a good experience. Ben has the same feeling.”

It’s those enduring feelings after more than four decades that led the Amadors to make a $25,000 gift to the new SDSU Alumni Center. Both Ben and Sherrill are lifetime members of the SDSU Alumni Association and Sherrill currently serves on the organization’s board of directors. She believes the new Alumni Center is key to linking alumni with the SDSU campus.

Sherrill and Ben Amador

“That’s one thing that’s always been lacking; there is not a place where the alumni can associate that’s their place,” says Sherrill, who held several college administrative positions during her career. “You go to universities all over the United States and everybody has an alumni center. I think it’s really important and I think you get more involvement in the long run when people can connect with a place.”

Helping SDSU

The Amadors definitely plan on staying connected. “Now that we’re retired we have time and we want to get more involved in San Diego State,” says Ben. “Even though it is a great place, we feel we can contribute a little bit and make it an even better place.”

“We feel it’s a payback,” he continues. “SDSU was good to us. It’s a great school. We want to help SDSU in any way we can.”

The sentiment fits considering the Amadors’ ties to SDSU have outlived the life they’ve shared since that first awkward greeting at Grossmont High School. As Sherrill sums it up, “San Diego State has always been in our hearts.”

Aztec Aquaplex Set to Open
New $10 Million Facility to Host Recreation, Competition

Head swimming and diving coach Deena Schmidt (l) with junior Brittany Daly SDSU Athletics photo

By the end of the month the new Aztec Aquaplex will open on campus and no one is more excited than SDSU swimming coach Deena Schmidt. “It’s unbelievable,” Schmidt marvels. “I think it’s just going to be an amazing, wonderful adjustment.”

The adjustment to which the coach refers is the permanent home her team will enjoy after training and competing at off-campus facilities for almost eight years. They’ll move into the $10 million complex funded by The Associated Students and operated in conjunction with the Aztec Recreation Center.

Both Aztec men’s and sixth-ranked women’s water polo teams will now train and compete at the Aquaplex along with the swimming and diving team. SDSU’s aquatic athletes have been without an on-campus home since Terry Pool closed in 2000.

The off-campus adjustments were a particular challenge for Schmidt’s swimmers. “We train primarily at City Heights Recreation Center,” she explains. “Then we have our meets at (the Ray and Joan) Kroc (Community Center).” Schmidt says San Diego city pool schedules resulted in occasional upheaval.

“When that (City Heights) pool has been closed we’ve been displaced,” Schmidt says. “We’ve been at a number of places. The people at that pool are great to us, but it’s not ours to run. We’re at the mercy of everybody else.”

multi-purpose design

No more. Even though the Aquaplex is primarily intended as a recreational facility, it was designed with competition in mind. Schmidt had the opportunity to offer input for its construction.

New Aquaplex features competition pool (foreground) and recreation pool (background)

“I’ve been very fortunate that when I’ve found something that seemed to be not in the best interest of competitive swimming, recreation has been supportive in getting it changed,” she says. “Our athletic director has been good about getting it changed and even went so high as the university administration on a couple of things that just needed to be fixed to make it a really competitive facility. So I’m very pleased with the way it’s turned out.”

It turned out to be a complex with three heated pools. One is an Olympic 50-meter pool for lap swimming and diving. Another is a 7,200-square-foot recreation pool with a zero-edge gutter and beach entry for recreational swimming and water volleyball/basketball. The third pool is a 20-person hydrotherapy spa.

The facility on the west end of campus near Tony Gwynn Stadium is designed to evoke images of ancient Mayan pyramids. It’s architecture includes an 8,000-square-foot water heating panel that acts as a shade structure for participants and will help offset energy costs.

So striking is its design that Schmidt says even in its construction phase, the new complex has helped her recruiting efforts. “That was just dirt being pushed around, so now that it’s done we feel like recruiting is just going to take a tremendous jump,” she says.

“best facility in the conference”

Even with its new Aquaplex, SDSU won’t be able to host conference championships or NCAA events. Facilities with roofs are required for those. “On the other hand, we feel like there are plenty of other things that we will be able to host.” Schmidt says. “Water polo is going to be hosting their championships, so that’s a good thing.”

“In my opinion, this is going to be the best facility in the conference,” she continues. “There are things that make a pool fast and we’ve got them.”

Like what?

“The depth,” Schmidt answers. “You want a pool that’s deep. There’s less movement in the water in this pool. It’s 17 feet at one end. Then the other end is seven feet, so it’s exceptionally deep.”

The coach hopes the new location on campus will help draw crowds to her team’s meets. “It’s an outstanding complex for spectators,” she says. “There’s a large shade area. There’s a sunny area and we’re in the process of ordering bleachers.”

Members of the Aztec Recreation Center may begin using the Aquaplex as soon as it opens. A grand opening ceremony planned by Associated Students is scheduled for March 21.

It can’t happen soon enough for Schmidt, who sees tremendous possibilities in her team’s new home in terms or competition, recruiting, and on-campus visibility for her sport. “Every year will get better for us,” she predicts. “It’s exciting.”

Alumni Scholarship Winners
Two Students Earn $4,300 Awards

SDSU freshman Hans Wesselink

A car crash that almost took his life may be the very thing that will ultimately ensure Hans Wesselink’s success. “I began to think about the future that I almost did not have,” wrote the SDSU freshman in his Alumni Association scholarship application essay. “The car accident made me look at my life from a whole new perspective. I did not want to waste my second chance.”

He hasn’t. Since that crash during his freshman year in high school, Wesselink, who is now 19, has applied a new energy to everything he does. He was a high school athlete maintaining outstanding grades. He took an active role in student government and became involved in his church and community.

Now he is an aerospace engineering major enjoying the new challenges presented by SDSU. “It’s been great. I love it,” Wesselink says of his college experience. “I came from a small school. This is a big school. It’s kind of interesting to see the differences and meet new people.”

Wesselink is one of two students to win an Alumni Association Scholarship this year. The other is 25-year-old nursing major Ana Mejia. Each will receive $4,300 to help offset education costs.

balancing act

Mejia says the award couldn’t have come at a better time for her. “I work part-time at Children’s Hospital and I go to school full time, so it’s pretty hard,” says the senior of the balancing act between her studies and the need to pay for her education.

SDSU senior Ana Mejia

At the hospital, Mejia works in an orthopedic surgery rehab unit. “We also get brain injury kids or kids who’ve had strokes or anyone who has had any type of brain injury,” she explains. “We put them in the kind of care that includes occupational therapy, physical therapy and regular nursing care so that they can get all their functions back.”

Although she finds the work fulfilling, Mejia is also planning for her future. She intends to get her master’s degree so that some day she may either teach nursing students or become a nursing administrator.

A first-generation college student, Mejia wants SDSU alumni to know how appreciative she is for helping to make her education possible. “They have my utmost gratitude for providing that kind of money for individuals like me who are struggling because everyone’s there at one point in their life,” she says.

Wesselink, too, refers to his struggle – the one between life and death that forever changed his point of view. As he explained in his essay, “after the car accident I was forced to stay home and had to give up things that I used to take for granted. The doctors said I was very lucky to be alive, and from that moment on I realized I wanted to do something important with my life.”

An SDSU education, he believes, is something important. As for the Alumni Association Scholarship, “basically, it will allow me to go here,” he matter-of-factly states.

And his message to the Aztec alumni who made it possible? “Thank them,” he says, “for everything they did for me.”

Los Aztecas Ski & Snowboard Weekend Getaway
Location: Snow Summit at Big Bear Mountain Resorts
For information visit the Los Aztecas Web page
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Aztec Basketball Championship Reception
Location: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
Time: TBD
For information visit http://alumni.sdsu.edu/mwcbasketball.htm
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SDSU Month TV Spot Will Move Audiences This March

By Gina Speciale

What moves Aztec running back Lynell Hamilton or SDSU alumna San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarman? When SDSU Month begins, thousands of TV viewers will find out thanks to two television spots produced by KPBS Video Services.

One spot features Hamilton, alumna Lara Segura and professor Mark Sussman. Other spots feature Jarman, Aztec basketball's Brandon Heath and professors Greg Talavera and Walt Oechel.

The spots, exhibiting this year’s theme “What Moves You,” will run throughout the month of March on KPBS. In addition, they will run more than 1,500 times on Cox and Time Warner Cable networks.

“SDSU Month is a great opportunity to demonstrate the importance SDSU puts on connecting with the San Diego community as a whole,” said Jack Beresford, assistant vice president of Marketing and Communications. “Our students and faculty are doing great things and we want to be able to share that with our neighbors.”

TV spots featuring SDSU Month and its various events will also be seen on NBC 7/39 and its Spanish station Mi San Diego TV 43.

These spots are part of a larger media campaign for SDSU Month 2007. Visitors to the SDSU Month Web site will have the opportunity to say what moves them and have the chance to win a European vacation courtesy of STA Travel. More details about all of the SDSU Month events and special offers are available now at www.sdsumonth.com.

SDSU Month 2007 sponsors include: Associated Students, Aztec Shops, The Daily Aztec, KPBS, Mi San Diego TV 43, NBC 7/39, Pepsi, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill, San Diego Magazine, The San Diego Union-Tribune, SDSU Alumni Association, SDSU Research Foundation, STA Travel, Time Warner Cable, Univision Radio, U.S. Bank and Woodstock’s Pizza.

View the SDSU Month TV spot at http://sdsuniverse.info/Multimedia/sdsumonthvid.mpg.

The Scoop on Cooperstown
Travel Packages Available for Tony Gwynn Hall of Fame Induction

You can be part of the celebration when Aztecs baseball coach and former Padres standout Tony Gwynn is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The big event will take place the weekend of July 27-30 in Cooperstown, New York.

In addition to the festivities surrounding the induction ceremonies, the SDSU Alumni Association will host an Aztec celebration reception Friday night July 27th at the Marriott hotel in Albany, New York. Travel discounts are available to SDSU Alumni Association members.

To arrange a travel package contact:

Ultimate Sports Adventures, Inc.
Contact Bruce Johnson at bruce@ultimatesportsadventures.com or call (619) 270-2276

or

San Diego Travel
Contact Arleen Albi at aalbi@sdtg.com or call (858) 450-4060

For more information visit http://alumni.sdsu.edu/cooperstown.htm.

Associated Students 75th Anniversary Weekend
Events Scheduled for March 2-3, 2007

AS is inviting back all former student leaders in celebration of 75 years of student accomplishment and service to SDSU with a weekend of special events for the whole family. If you have not sent in your RSVP yet, it is not too late to get it in! If we didn’t have your address but you would like to attend, please contact us at (619) 594-6555 and we will give you all the details.

Student Fulbright Grants
Alumni Finalists Chosen

Seven SDSU alums have been selected as finalists for Student Fulbright grants for academic year 2007-08. Final decisions will be announced in late spring. Three finalists have applied to teach English (Argentina, and two to Germany). The others are to Brazil (biology), Ecuador (sociology), Egypt (psychology), and Mexico (education). Two are veterans, a priority for Fulbright.
Recent alums are encouraged to attend a Student Fulbright workshop for this year's cycle (grants for 2008-09).

March 20, 2-330 p.m. Storm Hall 136
April 18, 3-430, Presidential Suite, Aztec Center
April 19, 4-530, West Commons 201
April 23, 3-430, Scripps Cottage
Reserve space: fulbright@mail.sdsu.edu

Students should begin the process this spring. SDSU applications will be due on Sept. 27, 2007 for grants for academic year 2008-09.

Thank you for your support of this challenging opportunity to spend a year in another country. For more information, see www.fulbrightonline.org or contact Dr. Pat Huckle at huckle@mail.sdsu.edu.

Computational Science Curriculum Development Forum and ACSESS for Industry
Event Open to Alumni

The annual Computational Science Curriculum Development Forum and ACSESS for Industry event will be held at Montezuma Hall, San Diego State University on Wednesday, March 7 from 12:00- 5:00. This half day event is open to alumni, students, faculty, and industry professionals interested in the field of Computational Science.

The program includes a panel discussion with industry executives on the training and curriculum required by academia to meet the demands of a dynamic workplace. There will also be a poster session where current Computational Science students and faculty display cutting-edge research across all scientific disciplines using a computational approach. Lunch will be provided to all attendees. The event is free but preregistration is required at: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/compsciwork/ACSESS2007/.

For more information on the Computational Science Research Center at SDSU visit: http://www.csrc.sdsu.edu.

Alumni Association Approves New Chapter
Special Bond Unites Engineering and Science Alumni

MEP/MSP Alumni Organization president Kevin Deal

Growing up, a college education wasn’t something Kevin Deal (’99) thought much about. No one in his family had ever gone to college. There was no clear example for him to follow.

“I was the first generation in my family to go to college, so I didn’t have my dad or my mother telling me ‘Oh, yeah, college is great. You need to go to school,’” he says. After high school “it was basically, ‘Ok, you’re on your own. Do your own thing. Whatever you feel is right.’ I really had no guidance.”

That’s why, when he eventually found his way to SDSU, Deal was grateful for the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program. “MESA is a program that helps low-income, disadvantaged students by providing them with the tools they need to succeed; tools that they might not otherwise have,” Deal explains.

One of its components is the MESA Engineering Program (MEP), which assists university-level students who are majoring in engineering or computer science. As a mechanical engineering student, Deal discovered MEP to be an indispensable asset to his education.

“I had nobody to look toward for guidance and that’s where MEP came in,” he remembers. “That’s why I’m so excited about MEP. It’s helped me a lot.”

A good move

As an expression of his gratitude, Deal helped organize a new alumni chapter for MESA students. It includes graduates who were assisted by MEP and its counterpart, the MESA Schools Program (MSP), which supports pre-college students interested in math and science. On January 18, the new MEP/MSP Alumni Organization was unanimously approved by the SDSU Alumni Association’s board of directors.

“We’re really happy,” says Deal, who is president of the new alumni chapter. “It’s a good move.”

Other officers include the chapter’s vice president, Dontay Young (’02), treasurer Lien Huynh (’03), and secretary Maria Victoria Charles (’04). “Our goal is to get our membership up and to start planning events that will work towards helping MEP/MSP alumni outside of their college education,” Deal explains.

“Throughout my career as a student at San Diego State University, MEP was there for me to help me not only in tutoring, in college subjects and the like, but also in my personal life,” he continues. “It helped me to cope with such things as the loss of my father, which I had during my college years. I’ve always felt a strong necessity to give back to MEP.”

Alumni Association Chapter Coordinator Diane Barragan says she expects the MEP/MSP Alumni Organization to be a strong chapter from the outset. “They’re very committed,” Barragan says. “The fact that they all feel so strongly about giving back to a system that helped them forms a solid base for a very strong alumni chapter.”

Chapter leaders have already identified interest from at least 30 prospective members. Deal believes the number will quickly grow. “I think a lot of MEP/MSP alumni feel the same way I do about MEP,” he says. “We’re a great organization and we welcome everybody. We’d be proud to have them as members.”

For more information on the MEP/MSP Alumni Chapter visit http://chapters.sdsu.edu/mepmsp.