MESA Schools Program, Sonoma Field Station

UPDATES December 12, 2002

Here are some of the activities that the MESA Schools Program has been involved in so far this year.

· The first MESA Advisor's meeting of the school year was held Friday, September 6, 2002. At that time Celso welcomed the new advisors and outlined the goals and activities for MESA for the 2002-2003 school year.

· Students from Healdsburg High and Windsor High were fortunate enough to hear a pre-med student panel presentation and take a campus tour of the Stanford University campus on October 25, 2002. All the students and the MESA advisors appreciated the campus visit.

· Recent visits to local businesses included Triformix, a designer and manufacturer of precision molded optical components for the communication and instrumentation markets. Triformix has a beautiful, high-tech facility near Windsor. (Thursday, November 14)

· One of Sonoma County's largest wineries played host to MESA students on November 26, 2002. Gallo Sonoma employees gave students and advisors a very through look at many aspects of the company from hospitality and sales to soils engineers, surveying, landscape management, viticulture, wine bottling, and wine storage. A half-dozen different Gallo employees spoke to students about the preparation for their careers, training they received and the education they needed to work for a first class winery in Sonoma County. Gallo receives over 5,000 applications each year but only hires about 500 new employees out of that pool of applicants

· On Saturday, December 7, Roberto Ramirez took several students to University of California, Berkeley for a presentation at the Lawrence Hall of Science. A former student of Mr. Ramirez's provided the presentation

Upcoming events for Windsor and Healdsburg MESA Students include:

Parents' Night for HHS MESA students and their parents: January 17
Parents' Night for WHS MESA students and their parents: January 31
WHS AVID students to visit the Santa Rosa Junior College: January, 2003
Pre-MESA Day at Santa Rosa Junior College on Friday, March 14.
MESA Day at Sacramento State on Saturday, April 26
MESA Banquet on Friday, May 30

Don't forget the MESA Advisory Board Meeting and Appreciation Dinner to be held this year at Charlie's Grill at the Windsor Golf Course on December 18, 2002.