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Meet Jerry Cellilo & Angie Rios
Online Advising Forum Moderators
Interview with Dean Sinou

Sinou: I don't recall how we got started with the Advising Forum idea. Is it meeting the student needs that you anticipated?

Cellilo: After a year or so of slowly building the question/answer database I really feel that the forums are finally getting off the ground. It could easily replace the "drop in" advising that most of us do as part of our counseling activities. More students should try it. More counselors should be there.

Sinou: Angie, how did you become such an integral part of our advising forum? How did you find out about it?

Rios: Honestly, I was drawn to the forum out of curiosity and later stumbled upon the opportunity. I basically woke up one morning and logged on to the FGA website to access my online class and noticed a new hyperlink titled online counseling. Out of curiosity I decided to check it out and post a question, but before I knew it I found myself replying. The following morning Jerry noticed that I replied to one of the questions and asked if I wanted to assist him. At first I hesitated, but after a couple of hours, I decided to accept and slowly started to learn. Now almost 15 months later here I am, still volunteering as a forum assistant and loving every minute of it.

Sinou: You are so dedicated and committed to online advising! What does it do for you? What is your motivation?

Rios: My peers are my #1 motivation. They keep me on my toes learning & remind me on a daily basis as to why I want to become a counselor. I can't even describe how great it feels to be able to help them ease the confusion of college by clarifying their degree requirements, or walking them through the registration steps. It's truly one of the most rewarding experiences for me. I am able to do something I love, while at the same time assisting my peers. It doesn't get any better than that.

Sinou: What is the future of "virtual" advising?

Cellilo: The future of advising is going to go the same way as everything else - 24/7.  I'm a numismatist and last night I read an article about an exciting coin from Canada. At 10:00 PM I merely walked over to a computer and bought it (at the http://www.mint.ca website). My daughter saw an ad for a computer game a week ago. I went the local Peninsula library system on-line catalog, found it, reserved it for 50 cents and when it gets delivered to my local branch I will get an e-mail. She can play with it for a few weeks until (like most kids) she gets tired of it. A student posts a message at 3 AM and Angie or I might grab it a few hours later the next morning. An e-mail sent on a Friday night might get picked up Saturday as I go through my "other" messages. Why not?

We are seeing a paradigm shift in how we look at work vs. personal time. With so many aspects of my life involved with being on-line the distinction between work and play gets fuzzy. The boundaries between work and play are leaking. Don't get me wrong, I protect my personal time but it blends very well with my work time. It is Friday morning. The kid is at school and the wife is at work and I am at home answering e-mails, and creating a new on-line course. I will break in a few hours, make a bowl of popcorn and watch a movie, later do a workout, later grade some assignments in Etudes, later see if I have any advising hits in the forum...

Sinou: You are a counselor for 50% of your load and you teach 50% in the CTIS Division. How to you balance the two? What is your "real" love?

Cellilo: I am a counselor. There is something in that hand shake as a student leaves your office with a plan for their future. It's better than the paycheck (and I like the paycheck). Plus I am never ever bored. When a student misses a counseling appointment and I have 1/2 hour open I go to the on-line advising forums or answer the many daily e-mails that I get directly from students or through the CTIS division or transfers from the Counseling division faculty. Researching answers to student questions just makes me a stronger counselor.

Still, I really look forward to the fun of my PowerPoint night class, the challenges of "getting over" the material in my Intro to computing class and the stimulation of the on-line classes.

Sinou: How did you get to this sort of assignment?

Cellilo: I was 50/50 for about 7 years and then went back to 75 counseling 25 teaching for 2001-2002 because of the increased demands of the IT students. It started when the previous CTIS dean Verley O'Neal saw the possibility of my teaching computing classes to students who might be computer phobic. I also had an interest in teaching some MIS and programming classes. I quickly saw that I could be a resource to the CTIS faculty in curriculum and program development. The counselor's role of involvement with other community colleges and the 4 year institutions makes for a great fit with division program development. I also saw that a close contact with the CTIS division allows for better counseling of the IT student. With the constantly changing curriculum of IT programs I meet with students to develop plans and strategies to assist with their achievement of academic career goals.

Sinou: What are some of your other professional or personal interests?

Cellilo: My current professional interest is in biotechnology. My wife, a scientist at Genentech told me about bioinformatics 7 years ago and I have been intrigued by the topic ever since. I even helped to bring a bioinformatics program to Foothill. While I have a good sense of the "informatic" component, I feel I need to better understand what goes on inside that double helix and my wife gave me a textbook in molecular biology which I am struggling through.

Family comes first. My daughter gets as much quantity and quality time as possible. I spend 5 hours with her one on one both Sat. and Sunday outside of the house and at least 1 hour weekdays, (outside of regular family time stuff like homework). I still have the Harley and Lotus but don't get to use them too much. Since "grandma and grandpa" live in Key West, FL I try to do some underwater photography once a year. It is funny but while most people like to cover lots of distance with SCUBA , I get a tank of air and sit on a rock while the fish swim by. Great for meditation!

Sinou: How about you, Angie? What's in the future for Angie? What are your career goals?

Rios: My career goals are simple. I will start my career as college counselor working with at-risk and on-line students. Followed by seeking a position as a clinical psychologist at a large county hospital, while conducting research. After a couple of years I plan to open my own software company (as a side project) and develop educational & psychological software.

If things go as planned, I see myself as a CEO of a large software corp. with a corner office, making a couple of million a year after winning numerous awards. Maybe a mansion and a vacation home at the Bahamas where I could go and relax with my extremely handsome "future" husband who BTW will be an excellent cook. I'll probably have 5 kids (3 boys, 2 girls) & 3 beautiful puppies. <laughing> Hey, it's possible! :-)

Sinou: What do you do when you are not logged on?

Cellilo: Life is life. For me it is a blend of being on-line, off line. There is plenty of time for me. I'm pretty organized.

Rios: I've been able to maintain a "life" but I have to admit that it's hard sometimes because the days are way too short. Being on-line is a part of my job, and when you combine it with on-line classes it can become overwhelming. Sometimes I honestly feel like I am having a relationship with my PC and find it hard to remove myself. However, when I finally find some free time (usually on weekends) I am just like any other 21 year old. I love nightclubs, concerts & movies. I especially love sports events and am a big L.A Laker Fan!! Goooo Kobe!!

Sinou: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Cellilo: Yesterday I was in San Diego working with a group of counselors and by all indications I believe that we be seeing more on-line advising throughout the state. It may be that one of our future forums will have postings from students from ANY CA high school or community college with replies and feedback from ANY California counselor.

Rios: Just one thing. Always believe in yourself and stay strong. I know that college can be a confusing time, especially at the beginning, but believe me it does get a little easier. Remember that Foothill has many great counselors who are more than willing to help in a heartbeat. Not only with educational matters, but career and personal matters also.

____ Dr. Jerry Cellilo: Counselor and computing teacher at Foothill College. When he gets a break from work, Jerry spends any free time he can at his folk's place in the South Florida Keys SCUBA diving and doing UW photography. When he's "stuck" here in California he tries to take advantage of the ocean and mountains. He has a little motorcycle which helps for fast getaways up Highway 1 along the coast (or Highway 4 through the Delta and up to Lake Alpine in the Sierras where he has a cabin). Jerry is married and has a daughter who he uses as an excuse for not being totally "with it" at times.

____ Angie Rios was born, raised and still lives in Southern California.  She is currently completing a double A.A in Psych/Social Science (on-line from FH) this summer and anticipates transferring to CSULA where she will major in Abnormal Psychology.  Angie has been an FGA student for the past 3 years, loves pets and has the most adorable and spoiled puppy.  She is working as an office manager while finishing her undergrad studies. She comes from a large Latino family and she is the first one to go to college. Angie is an only child, 21 years old (a libra), and describes herself as "responsible yet somewhat of a troublemaker. "

Past Weekly Features:

Sandi Watkins
Lyn Paulos
Jerry & Angie
Rick Martinez
Dolores Davison
Mimi Will
Academic Dishonesty

11/30/2006