5 Things to Love about De Anza College

With a forward-thinking faculty, staff to help students' quests for financial aid and quality eats, and perks like a massage therapy clinic, Cupertino's community college has a lot to offer.

1. Math instructor Lenore Desilets was  honored recently by the Council of Mathematics of California Community Colleges (CMC3) for helping keep De Anza's curriculum current with 21st-century technology. In bestowing CMC3's award for excellence in teaching on Desilets, Ekaterina Fuchs, math instructor at City College of San Francisco and CMC3 awards chairwoman, noted that her students praise her for her accessibility both inside and outside the classroom.

"She has been at the forefront of using technology in education and is always willing to try new technologies," Fuchs said. "She recently completely revamped De Anza's distance learning intermediate algebra course to make it more interactive for students."

2. It's not just De Anza students who use the Internet as a learning tool. Valerie Taylor, who teaches "Computers and the Internet in Society," helped develop a Technology Supported Learning workshop for community college faculty. MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching) recently published its peer review of the workshop, written by faculty from some of the 27 institutions of higher learning that support the project.

3. It's well documented that the best learning is done on a full stomach. To that end, De Anza's dining services director Patrick Gannon and executive chef Paul Figlomeni devised a "World Risotto" menu Gannon says is quite popular with students.

This new twist on an old pasta earned Gannon and Figlomeni a write-up in On-Campus Hospitality magazine. “Basically, we take risotto and tour the world, visiting places such as Thailand, Lebanon, Spain, China and Morocco and blend the cuisines of those countries, giving it the twist of its life," Gannon told the mag. The menu features items like chicken tiki masala and Thai coconut chicken risottos.

4. To figure out how to afford to take innovative classes with engaging teachers—and eat well while on campus—you can go to a scholarship workshop on Wednesday, 10-11 a.m., in Room 109 of the administration building. Check out available scholarships here first, and contact Sarah Corrao at corraosarah@deanza.edu for more information on the workshop.

5. Anybody with stress—school-related or otherwise—who needs to be kneaded can sign up for a session at De Anza's massage clinic. You can make an appointment for Tuesday or Thursday mornings from now through March 17 by contacting Deb Tuck at tuckdeborah@fhda.edu or 408-864-8205. Rates are $15-$25.