In hopes of attracting students with a complexity of goals, CCC is offering a variety of exciting new courses and programs this semester, including classes in social justice, public safety, real estate and even a new guitar class.

Students can now graduate with a transferable associate’s degree in Social Justice: Latino + Chicano Studies for the first time.

Within the La Raza major is its newest class, La Raza 131 — Introduction to LGBTQ Studies, taught by professor Maya Chinchilla.

“I saw that there was a need for it,” Chicano/La Raza studies department Chairperson Dr. Agustín Palacios said. “The La Raza program is interdisciplinary and I saw that there was not a class like that at CCC. I wanted to create it.”

The Introduction to LGBTQ studies class will focus on the history of the LGBTQ social and political movements in the U.S. It will also examine LGBTQ literature, film, theory and an LGBTQ look into biomedical and racial topics.

The Introduction to LGBTQ studies course is still able to be added for students.

It starts on Oct. 22 and takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:45-4:05 p.m. in GE-225.

A brand-new paramedic program is also being offered, which started in June 2019.

The entire program takes about 12-15 months to complete and its current students are expected to graduate in summer 2020.

“At the completion of the paramedic program, the students will receive a completion certification and be allowed to take the national registry exam — so they can get licensed,” public safety department chairperson Troy Hess said.

Hess created the new paramedic program along with workforce and economic development Dean Kelly Schelin.

Next semester, students will be prepped to work in hospital environments and then will work in ambulances for several months.

The real estate program at CCC is in high demand and though the department currently only offers two classes, there are plans to expand the program with more professors and more sections, including online sections.

The program also supports business office technologies, accounting as well as real estate.

Currently, students are able to get both an associate degree and a certificate of achievement in real estate.

This semester is the first time there will be applicants for the associate degree in real estate, though the associate degree was offered for the first time in spring 2019.

For a few years, the real estate program was actually dying out as demand for it was at its lowest, but recently, its enrollment numbers increased as more and more students wanted to take those classes.

“We just reinstated the certificate of achievement and an associate degree in real estate,” business administration professor Robert Borgognoni said. “Most community colleges do offer the certificate, but not many have an associate degree.”

The program is designed to provide varied opportunities for students to succeed.

Business professor Dr. Joe DeTorres said, “If students participate in the real estate program, they can take the state exam which then authorizes them to buy and sell property.

They can do a number of other things — become real estate agents, work as independent agents, as well as work in larger firms. They can even become the boss of their own programs or firms.”

The real estate program recently received over 10 classes approved for online enrollment for the spring 2020 semester. It’s done so more students will be able to take those classes.

The newest addition to CCC’s music department is the guitar class, a combination of Music 158 – Beginning Guitar, Music 159 – Intermediate Guitar, Music 258 ­— Advanced Guitar, and Music 259 — Advanced Guitar Ensemble for Performance, taught by professor Zachary Mattocks.

The class takes place on Wednesday nights from 5:50-10:05 p.m. and can be taken by guitar players of any skill level.

In class, students learn how to read music notation for guitar and focus on classical and jazz styles. Even folk songs and popular music entice new students and encourage them to learn more.

“Because we have such a long class period, I am really able to dive in and tailor make the class to the set of students, so I may not necessarily do the exact same thing every semester. It will be based on the skill level of the students in class,” music professor Zachary Mattocks said.

The course plans to grow in the coming years and just like CCC music majors can currently focus on voice or piano, students can also become guitar majors.