OK, OK… the Memorial Day Weekend passed, and you didn’t get to fly on a fantastical jet with security, lounges and wet bars to a sprawling playground estate near Florida waters on Air Force One, at taxpayers’ expense: Oy.
Still, the summertime holds many little-known opportunities ahead – at nearby Diablo Valley College, for all ages.
Here’s a sampling:
www.dvcvikings.com/camps/Summer_Camps — For students grades 4 to 12 wishing to step-up their skills in various sports (soccer, volleyball, football) during an accelerated week-long skills-building summer camp program. Participants experience different skill levels, strategies and approaches to the sport, while sampling the college atmosphere and meeting new, nearby friends.

http://ccconlineed.org – For those of us who wish to take an accelerated online course inexpensively in either weekend, 3, 6 or 9-week formats, while speeding up their time to degree-  or certificate- completion. (College unit costs –at $46 per unit are 1/6 that of a CSU campus, and 1/10 the price of a UC school, while private schools are usually far higher…).  Courses are also listed as to what G.E. area they will fulfill. As a joint project with the CSU system, their summertime offerings are also included!  From Anthropology to Biology, from History to Communications Studies to Computer Network Technology hundreds of options are offered, while traditional face-to-face courses also abound:   see the main home page for those at www.dvc.edu  These too come in 3, 6 and 9 week formats, and are – as always – taught by faculty hired primarily for their teaching skills and experience. Classes are small, fast-paced and diverse in the best sense:  students come from assorted age, travel and work experiences, ethnicities, cultures, academic skills and world-views.  What’s not to like?

www.dvc.edu/communityed –  Subscribe to their newsletter, as they host events of all sorts for a full range of ages including several no-tests/no homework seminars, trips and events for seniors. This summer there are several classes for  Grades 4 to 9 under the title of “College for Kids” at both the  main Pleasant Hill campus as well as the San Ramon campus.  In addition to learning, keeping their interests and activity-level high and meeting new friends, kids at that age get a chance to explore and utilize the many expansive facilities and resources of a publicly-funded college: helps dramatically with their post-high school plans since they develop a more grounded sense of what college offerings are like.

www.dvc.edu/career — And speaking of resources, don’t be left out by the staggering workplace changes and advances of macro- developments in technology, automation and – hold your breath fellow workers – (A.I.) artificial intelligence.   In the so-called “old economy” many factory, mining and assembly-plant employment have suffered or all-but-vanished.  In your- and our kids- lifetime,  big transformations at most occupations are here to stay – and increase in many instances. Whining and nostalgia-cizing only produce scapegoats and inept leadership:   Take charge:  start learning new skill sets, new ways of job searching, networking, and marketing your assets and experience.  Assess your current abilities, educational needs, and work-personality, while you get forecasts of median salaries, job growth and specific needs for industries and specialized credentials and licenses required.  The Career/Transfer Center site is the perfect, free starting point; and their services are available year-round to all. You’ll find me there working on Monday mornings come late August…

Rob Peters is a semi-retired counselor at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. He’s both taught and counseled students for more than 30 years.

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