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Hancock Conversations
Welcome to Hancock Conversations, the official Allan Hancock College podcast! Join Hancock President/Superintendent Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D., as he invites past and present Hancock students, staff, faculty, and community members to discuss important issues and share their stories.
Episodes
21 episodes
Ep. 21- Samantha Martinez
Samantha Martinez is a Hancock student and the president of the college's Associated Student Body Government. She is also the founder and president of the AHC chapter of Active Minds, a mental wellness club for students. Martinez is a Santa Mar...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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27:23
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Ep. 20- Greg Pensa
In this episode of Hancock Conversations, AHC Trustee Greg Pensa, a longtime supporter and alumnus of Allan Hancock College, shares insights into the college during the late '60s and early '70s, highlighting the area's close-knit sense of...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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27:51
Ep. 19- Alejandra Enciso
Hancock Conversations is back! In this episode, we kick off 2024 with AHC Trustee Alejandra Enciso. In this episode, Trustee Enciso (a first-generation Latina American and a Hancock alumna) shares her journey from a migrant farmworker fam...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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24:49
Ep. 18- Industrial Hemp Research Program
Hancock's Industrial Hemp Research Program is producing important research and preparing students for careers in a growing job sector. In this episode, we explored this exciting program with AHC Professor Dr. Anjali Misra and students Leticia S...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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22:04
Ep. 17- Robert Martinez
In this episode of Hancock Conversations, we sat down for an interview with Hancock graduate Robert Martinez, also known as BobbyBeenFresh. Martinez has been making and releasing music since high school. His style is described as...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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50:02
Ep. 16- Kevin Boland
AHC photographer and videographer Kevin Boland has worked to document life at Hancock for nearly a decade. In this episode, we sat down with him to talk about his career at Hancock and his family's close ties to Hancock and Santa Maria.
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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23:07
Ep. 15- Dr. Ann Foxworthy Lewellen & Dr. José Ortiz
In this episode, we spoke with former Hancock Superintendent/Presidents Dr. Ann Foxworthy Lewellen and Dr. José Ortiz about how their leadership helped shape AHC and its mission to serve students in Northern Santa Barbara County.
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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40:45
Ep. 14 AHC Fire Academy
Allan Hancock College's Fire Academy has trained generations of highly skilled firefighters. In this episode, we spoke with Associate Dean of Public Safety Mitch McCann, retired Fire Academy coordinator Andy Densmore, and acad...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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31:45
Ep. 13- Veronica Van Horn
After working as a salon manager and stay-at-home mother, Veronica Van Horn decided to pursue her passion for cooking and baking, going back to school and enrolling in Hancock’s culinary program. After graduating from the program, she started h...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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7:06
Ep. 12 Heidi Mendiola
Heidi Mendiola is a 2020 Hancock graduate and former Class of 2020 AHC student trustee. In this interview, she shares her journey as a Hancock student and talks about the challenges she and other 2020 graduates faced during the COVID-19 p...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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11:41
Ep. 11- Chris Hite
Hancock film professor Chris Hite joins us to talk about his new documentary, Firestorm '77. The film chronicles the true story of a deadly fire near Vandenberg Air Force Base that took place in 1977. Learn more about the film at fi...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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17:52
Ep. 10- Marilyn Cronk
As Hancock prepares for the graduation of its centennial class, we talked about the college's history with AHC class of 1954 alumna Marilyn Cronk. Cronk is an art curator and painter who served as the executive director of the Elverhoj Museum o...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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15:08
Ep. 9- Tyler Little
2020 changed the world for everyone, including Hancock's students. In this episode, we spoke with Hancock 2020 alumnus and former Associated Student Body Government president Tyler Little about the challenges and triumphs of graduating during t...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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27:26
Ep. 8- Roger Welt
In this episode, we talk about Hancock's history with retired vice president of student services Roger Welt. Welt retired in 2009 after 17 years at Hancock. He is also a Vietnam veteran and holds degrees from Idaho State, Cal Poly in San Luis O...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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23:56
Ep. 7- Wally Ajanel
Join us as we speak with Hancock alumnus Wally Ajanel. Ajanel is the founder and owner of Wally’s Bicycle Works in San Luis Obispo. In this episode, he shares the story of leaving his home country of Guatemala in 1994, coming to Santa Mar...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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12:55
Ep. 6- AHC Student Ambassadors
2020 was an unprecedented year for Hancock students as they learned to adjust to the "new normal" of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we hear from AHC student ambassadors Ana Rosas Pacheco, David Bautista, and Francisco Avila...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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26:36
Ep. 5- Arturo "Cheech" Raygoza
In this episode, we talk with Arturo "Cheech" Raygoza, a 2020 Hancock graduate and a co-founding member of the college's Beyond Incarceration Greater Education (BIGE) Club. Raygoza shares his journey as a formerly incarcerated student, and how ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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18:44
Ep. 4- Shannon Seifert
Join us for a spirited interview with Hancock alumnus and Santa Maria Valley YMCA CEO Shannon Seifert. Seifert, a fifth-generation Californian, shares the stories of her farming roots, her educational journey at Hancock, and her deep conn...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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21:33
Ep.3- The Legacy Of AHC's Dance Program
This week, we learn more about the past, present, and future of Allan Hancock College's dance program from three generations of instructors. Guests include Agnes Grogan, who started her career at the college in 1965 and founded the women's danc...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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31:00
Ep. 2- Ray Snowden
In this episode of Hancock Conversations, we hear from retired AHC welding instructor Ray Snowden. Snowden began his career at Hancock in 1982. Over the next 29 years, he played a key role in building the college’s welding technology program an...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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18:55
Ep. 1- Hilda Zacarías
On the inaugural episode of the Hancock Conversations podcast, Allan Hancock College Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D., sits down with Board of Trustees member Hilda Zacarías to discuss her work on the board and her passion for ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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26:39