“I think it’s going well…The first few days have been very busy. Lots of meetings, there’s a lot of new faces. I have enjoyed pretty much every meeting that I have had with everyone at the college, ” President Jose Fierro said about his first days as the new president/superintendent of Cerritos College.
He has meet with several students and faculty around campus and it has all been positive and everyone has been welcoming.
Cheryl Thury, administrative assistant, said that the first couple days have gone well and that they have been busy.
“His calendar is booked and he has been meeting and greeting a lot of people,” she said.
As for having any surprises on his first days, he says that there hasn’t been any and everything is going how he expected, there have not been any curve balls.
“No surprises yet, I would say things are going as expected,” Fierro expressed.
Fierro said that he met with Student Trustee Victor Villalobos and they discussed how the president would get involved with the different student leaders around campus.
“One of the things that I asked [Villalobos] to help me with, is to start getting around to meet the different groups of students and organizations and start building a relationship and personal relations with the different groups, so I can better understand what is happening on campus and the needs of the students,” he said.
He is planning to reach out and collaborate with all the different student groups around campus.
Thury said that, “He is getting to know the place, he is getting to meet a lot of people and trying to figure out what is going on.”
He has not met with any student leaders, but will start scheduling appointments with them.
“I don’t want to just come out with a plan… and say this is what we’re going [to do],” Fierro said.
“I want to go out and meet people and build relations, gather some data and then invite people from the different groups to help me to set a vision for the institution.”
His ultimate goal for Cerritos College is to one day have it become an Aspen Award-Winning Institution or at least be close.
“It has been great so far, I really enjoyed my first few days. Busy but, I enjoyed them,” Fierro said.