Community Proudly Celebrates New Hartnell College Soledad Education Center

Nearly 300 community members of the greater Soledad area came together Saturday morning, Oct. 23, to experience and celebrate a source of pride and a transformational new asset for the Salinas Valley – the Hartnell College Soledad Education Center. The Hartnell Community College District (HCCD) invited residents of all ages to watch as it formally cut the ribbon on the 16,750-square-foot center at 1505 Metz Road, which was completed this spring and began offering classes in August. Participants were able to tour the building and learn about becoming a student during the upcoming Spring 2022 semester, which starts Jan. 24. The center at the corner of Metz and Orchard Lane has a tutoring and study center known as the Panther Learning Lab, wet and dry science labs and three state-of-the-art classrooms. “This has been such a long time coming,” said Hartnell Governing Board President Erica Padilla-Chavez, who represents Soledad as the district’s Area 6 trustee. “I've spoken to so many folks who have lived here all their lives and who dreamed of one day having a Hartnell center right here in Soledad. Well, it’s here now, and it’s for you. Today's celebration is about our community coming together to make this happen.” As Padilla-Chavez cut the ribbon, she was joined by current and former elected and appointed officials from the City of Soledad, the Soledad Unified School District, Monterey County and the California Legislature, as well as fellow Hartnell trustees Candi DePauw, Irma Lopez and Alejandra Gonzalez. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta provided a certificate of recognition, as did State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-12) and Monterey County District 3 Supervisor Chris Lopez, who also attended in person, joined by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-30). Thanks to City of Soledad for project site Padilla-Chavez hailed the City of Soledad’s decision to provide 3.7 acres for the center for just one dollar, which allowed Hartnell to stretch its construction funds from the $167 million Measure T bond. Soledad plans to build Orchard Lane Park immediately north of the center within the next couple of years, creating a Wi-Fi-equipped green space right next door. Soledad Mayor Anna Velazquez accepted an honorary key to the center, and she thanked Padilla-Chavez personally for her “passion and commitment to making sure that we advance the educational opportunities for our community – and for your tireless commitment to making this happen today. “I know Hartnell’s motto is putting ‘students first’, and today we see that coming to fruition,” Velazquez said. Padilla-Chavez also thanked voters for their support of the bond ballot measure in November 2016, which has funded not only the Soledad center, but also an expansion to double the size of Hartnell’s 19-year-old King City Education Center and its new center in Castroville, scheduled for completion in January. Other Measure T projects include a new Center for Nursing & Health Sciences on the Main Campus in Salinas, expected to open in January. She gave special recognition to Hartnell’s former superintendent/president Dr. Willard Lewallen, who attended, for his embrace of building a satellite campus in Soledad, as well as other Measure T projects, as she did for former Soledad mayor Fred Ledesma, also a longtime supporter of the project. Students and organizations join in event Representing Soledad High School were its student band, which played the national anthem, and its Naval Junior ROTC color guard and drill team. The local San Vicente Dance Team put on a show, the Soledad Rotary Club provided and prepared a free hot dog and hamburger lunch, and the Soledad Historical Society exhibited photos and documents. Hartnell staff and students presented science demonstrations in the center’s parking lot, and a seven-minute video featuring Soledad-area leaders, parents and students played throughout the event. Hartnell’s Interim Superintendent/President Dr. Raul Rodriguez highlighted the center's Community Room, which he encouraged local organizations to use. “It's for you; it's for the public,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “Contact the staff to reserve it. We've already had Rotary meetings and other organizations meet here, and we want to have many more organizations from the community use this room.” The morning’s final speaker was Soledad center student Maria Godoy, who at age 41 has restarted her education to increase her business knowledge and strengthen her English skills. She and her husband own a sign company in Soledad. “I would like to thank all the supporters of the Soledad center for making it possible for students like me to receive the opportunities this new center provides,” Godoy said.  Families envision center’s possibilities Following the ceremony, families with young children walked the halls and stepped into classrooms, envisioning where their youngsters – and they themselves – may one day attend Hartnell classes. A common theme was the opportunity attend day and evening classes, avoiding the drive to Salinas or King City and the transportation and food expenses that come with that commute. “Instead of going straight to a university, they have the opportunity to come here, as I do myself,” said Soledad resident Pueblito Trujillo, who brought her daughter Ditza Dominguez, nieces Lupe and Lucia Alonzo and their brother David with her to the grand opening. Prior to the community celebration, the Hartnell College Foundation hosted donors and interested supporters at a breakfast reception inside the center to highlight funders who have helped raise nearly $3.2 million to help pay operating expenses at all three centers. Major donors to the Soledad center include Huntington Farms, Tanimura Family Foundation, Harden Foundation, Sally Hughes Church Foundation, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the Padilla- Chavez family and the family of Hartnell Trustee Margaret D'Arrigo-Martin.