Southwestern College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

. Founded in 1961, Southwestern College serves approximately 19,000 students annually.

History

Current enrollment at all locations exceeds 19,000 students. Of the more than 1,100 community colleges nationwide, Southwestern College consistently places in the top 100 in the number of associate degrees conferred. The college mascot is the

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, changed from an

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

amid local and national concerns about using Native American peoples as mascots.

Academics

The campus is a

feeder school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

for students hoping to transfer to the two local public universities,

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, and also many other private institutions.

Athletics

Southwestern College is in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference and competes in 11 sports which include: *Baseball *Basketball *Football *Cross Country *Soccer *Softball *Tennis *Track and Field *Water Polo *Volleyball *Swim and Dive Southwestern College's football stadium hosts

Bonita Vista High School Bonita Vista High School (BVH) is a public, four-year (grade levels 9–12) high school located in the city of Chula Vista, California. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, and offers both Advanced Placement and International ...

's football games. The campus has many state of the art athletic facilities including: * artificial turf football field - artificial turf half football field * baseball stadium - dirt track - soccer field - softball field - Football stadium with weight room looking over the field - brand new indoor swimming pool - basketball gym - Five full-size tennis courts During the week and weekends these fields double as youth soccer fields from ages 6–18.

Notable alumni

Brian Bilbray Brian Phillip Bilbray (born January 28, 1951) is an American Republican politician who represented parts of San Diego County in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2013. Bilbray was Chairman of the House ...

, former Congressman *

Ammar Campa-Najjar Ammar Campa-Najjar (born February 24, 1989) is an American politician and former official at the United States Department of Labor. Campa-Najjar has twice been a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. He lost in the 2018 electi ...

(born 1989), Democratic politician * John Fox, professional football coach *

John Jaso John Edward Jaso (; born September 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Jaso mostly served as a designated hitter and catcher throughout his career, but had to stop catching due to concussion issues. He played in Ma ...

, professional baseball player *

Dan La Botz Daniel H. La Botz (born August 9, 1945) is an American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author. He was a co-founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and has written extensively on worker rights in the United Sta ...

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

activist/politician, historian, labor leader *

Ogemdi Nwagbuo Ogemdi Sharron Nwagbuo (born December 24, 1985) is an American football defensive tackle of the National Football League (NFL) who is currently a free agent. Nwagbuo was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played ...

, professional football player *

Ookay Abraham Laguna, known by his stage name Ookay, is an American electronic music producer, DJ and singer. Career Laguna is based in Los Angeles and his father is a bassist who performed a bass solo during Ookay's Father's Day set at EDC 2015. ...

, singer and DJ *

Rafael Peralta Rafael Peralta (April 7, 1979 – November 15, 2004) was a United States Marine killed in combat during the Second Battle of Fallujah during the Iraq War. In September 2008 his family was notified that he was awarded the Navy Cross, the secon ...

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

recipient * Oliver Ross, professional football player *

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

, writer and television producer * Julieta Venegas, singer * Yvonne Venegas, photographer *

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, singer, songwriter, musician *

Dominik Mysterio Dominik Gutiérrez (born April 5, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dominik Mysterio, and is a member of The Judgment Day. He is a one-time former ...

, professional wrestler

References

External links

Official website
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2011 California Community Colleges Universities and colleges in San Diego County, California Education in Chula Vista, California South Bay (San Diego County) Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in California Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Two-year colleges in the United States