UC Irvine Extension Confers 838 Certificates and Recognizes Outstanding Student Achievements

IRVINE, Calif. – June 2002 – UC Irvine Extension awarded 838 certificates and recognized the outstanding achievements of 5 students and alumni at the 2002 Certificate Awards Ceremony in the Social Science Lecture Hall on the University of California, Irvine campus. Keynote speaker was Gary Matkin, Dean of Continuing Education at UCI.

"We congratulate you for taking charge of your careers and your lives," said Matkin in conferring the awards.

Matkin added, "This has been such a difficult year in America and in so many parts of the world. I personally applaud you all for your dedication to continuing your education despite the many obstacles you face, that multiplied this year. You did not choose the easy path. For many months, you came to class in the evenings and worked on projects on the weekends."

Certificates were awarded in 55 areas. It takes an average of 1 to 2 1/2 years of part-time study to earn a UC Irvine Extension certificate. The top five certificate programs, based on the number of certificates awarded were Project Management (172), Global Operations Management (88), Human Resources Management (78), Advanced Software Technologies (66), and Teaching English as a Second Language (40).

Recipients of an individual award in each category were as follows.

OUTSTANDING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
Karin Conroy, Design and Digital Arts with an emphasis in Internet Design. Karin was already creating websites when she began the design and digital arts program, but reports that she loved learning about the design process. After she completed her classes, Karin had the opportunity to move to Thailand, and on a volunteer basis create a web presence for a non-profit, eco-tourism company. She traveled all over Thailand collecting information on all the eco-tourism locations, most of which are off the beaten path of typical tourist spots. Once home, Karin then had to organize all the data and make it web-friendly.

Lu Zhang, Design and Digital Arts with an emphasis in Convergent Media. Lu has always enjoyed drawing and even took pencil drawing and Chinese brush painting classes as a child. These interests were put aside as she completed her law degree in Beijing. After coming to the US, she was entranced by the visual style of Hollywood films and their online web sites. She came across our digital arts program brochure and completed the Internet Design program. She then secured internships at Digital Media Online and another at Waterman Animation. After completing her studies, she landed a full-time position with STATmedia Limited, a multimedia production company. Lu then came back to us and has now completed her second certificate in Convergent Media.

Chang Gug Kim, Teaching English as a Second Language. Chang is a teacher from Korea who had to improve his own language skills by taking additional course work in order to master the academic courses here at UC Irvine Extension. With much determination and great enthusiasm, he persevered and was able to achieve a high degree of English proficiency. His professionalism and dedication will serve him and his future students well as he returns to his native country to teach English.

Candice Levenson, Screenwriting. Candice is a reconstructive surgeon here in Orange County who has been writing for quite some time. She wrote her first novel in 1992. In 1999, Candice enrolled in the Film Production Workshop then moved into the screenwriting classes. As a result of her hard work and dedication, CandiceÕs first produced feature-length film, Par 6, premiered at this yearÕs Newport Beach Film Festival. Par 6 was directed by Grant Heslov, an executive at Steven SoderberghÕs and George ClooneyÕs production company. Her most recent script, The Last Swim, is a supernatural thriller and is currently under consideration with an independent production company in Hollywood. Fulfilling her passion to write, she continues to develop both novels and screenplays.

OUTSTANDING ALMUNI AWARD:
Edith Glassey, Outstanding Alumni Award. Edith Glassey received her certificate in Fund-Raising in 1993. She is now the Director of Development for MamaÕs Kitchen, a non-profit organization in San Diego, that prepares and delivers three meals a day, seven days a week to about 400 men, women and children affected by AIDS. The meals provide clients with 100% of the daily nutrition recommended for people living with AIDS. Founded in 1990, at the height of the devastating AIDS epidemic, MamaÕs Kitchen also provides additional groceries each month to other AIDS service agencies in San Diego, and services clients from Oceanside to the Mexico border. Edith was a stay-at-home mom when, in 1992, she enrolled in our Fund-Raising program. She hadnÕt worked in a few years and was seeking a new career. She drove to Irvine from San Diego at least three times a week to pursue her education. She credits her professional success to the skills she acquired and says that she still refers to her notes from those long-ago classes.

UC Irvine Extension is the non-profit, continuing education branch of the University of California, Irvine. It is self-supporting and offers life- and career-enhancing programs in many areas, including over 50 professional learning pathways. To request a UC Irvine Extension catalog, call (949) 824-5414 or visit www.unex.uci.edu.