Grossmont College leadership, students and alumni gathered together Feb. 15 for the unveiling of the newest building on campus: Building 36. A public ceremony was held outside the finished building featuring a series of speakers and certificates before a ribbon-cutting. Afterward, attendees had the opportunity to explore the new facilities and enjoy the celebrations at their own pace.

Building 36 will now serve as the new home for Grossmont’s Math Department, Veterans Center and MESA Program among other purposes. The completion of the project represents not only the culmination of years of effort but also millions of East County taxpayer dollars, as the construction was funded by voter-approved bond measure Proposition V.

As guests settled into their seats, the event began with a few words of welcome from Ernesto Rivera, Grossmont’s director of College and Community Relations. Following Rivera’s remarks, the audience heard several speeches from a variety of academic and political figureheads. The event brought together several notable members of the community, from El Cajon City Council member Phil Ortiz to Grossmont College President Denise Whisenhunt. Several certificates were presented during the opening ceremonies, including a Certificate of Recognition from the office of Senator Brian W. Jones, honoring the opening of the building.

Whisenhunt delivered a speech emphasizing the role of countless individuals in making Building 36 a reality, offering several acknowledgments and words of encouragement for the students and faculty to make the most of the new space.

One such student is Yoosif Gaboola, a Math and Science Center Tutor as well as a speaker at the opening event. Following the cutting of the ribbon and the official end of the opening ceremony, Gaboola offered a few thoughts on the significance of finally having Building 36 on campus.

“It’s a place where students can come together and solve problems, but also build off each other, right?” explained Gaboola, “Some students know some things, but then they have trouble with others. That’s where having a community helps you the most.”

Community became a central theme as the night went on, with many guests flocking to the building’s second-story terrace to enjoy complimentary refreshments and each other’s company, all soundtracked by the smooth tones of Grossmont’s Jazz Club.

For others, however, it was time to get back to work inside the building and prepare to answer student’s questions or teach classes. In one of Building 36’s new classrooms, Adjunct Math Professor Alejandro Ortega reflected on the newfound “accessibility of learning” offered by the room.

“From the instructor perspective, I would say that this new building with all the boards and all the lighting here, really does create a different atmosphere for students that’s more conducive to learning. Now, with the students having all the boards and screens there, they’ll feel more inclined to participate,” Ortega said.

He also spoke of a newfound ease in performing group activities and encouraging student collaboration, citing the new resources of Grossmont’s math rooms.

Building 36 is also expected to provide students with more convenient math and science tutoring, due to the centralized nature of having the STEM Tutoring Center in the same facility as the Math Department. Grossmont’s Dean of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Exercise Science and Wellness, Shawn Hicks, spoke on the “student-centered” space the new building offers to students.

“If a student is sitting working with a tutor in the center, and they get stuck and need more help, they have that access to their faculty member or instructor right next door. It’s all the resources that a student could need or want at their fingertips,” Hicks said.

Even as the festivities continued outside, the tutoring center was alive with the chatter of students and their tutors, with equations and guides written across the countless whiteboard surfaces of the busy room. In addition to several tutors, students are aided by many computers and other teaching tools available to them during the center’s hours.

STEM disciplines have been one of the guiding forces of the vision for the new facilities in Building 36. The building will be home not only to the math department and STEM tutoring, but also Earth Science, Anthropology and MESA.

The Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (commonly known as MESA) is designed to offer students support in STEM disciplines. The program is a new arrival to campus, as explained by Brodney Fitzgerald, MESA director at Grossmont. Fitzgerald said the new MESA facilities at Building 36 will be a computer lab and social area for students interested in the program.

As for future goals, Fitzgerald said, “We’re hoping to get hundreds of students that are in this MESA program that transfer to four-year colleges and get STEM careers.”

However, in the quietest part of these premises, the community is not found in academics but rather in a mission to serve those who served. Building 36 is now the newest location of Grossmont’s Veterans Center, an office designed to aid current and former members of the US military, as well as their families. David Doyle, a worker at the center, delved into the professional and personal significance of the new workspace.

“This new building for the veterans, it’s a new place for us to gather and be ourselves, and to unwind,” he said. “While we’re veterans, we can’t just stay idle… it’s also a place where we get a lot of work done.”

Doyle continued: “Most of us are still getting used to being ‘normal,’ so this is a place where a lot of people that normally would be lonely outside, in the normal world, can gather, get together and not feel so lonely.”

Wherever one looks, one can see the mission statement of unity and helping others already at play in Building 36. Whisenhunt provided an expression of gratitude for finally seeing the project completed.

“Now that this building is now open, it means so much for the community, because we are promoting the sciences and math and veterans, all under the same roof. This is incredible, the faculty have worked so hard tirelessly, as well as classified professionals and student input, to make it an extraordinary day.”

It’s clear that to many at Grossmont, Building 36 opening its doors has also opened several new doors of opportunity.