By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
College of the Mainland hosted the long anticipated meet and greet for the community to learn the vision of COM’s new president, Dr. Helen Castellanos Brewer.
Brewer’s vision reflects her own history as a community college student who, as she shared, had many hardships along her path to becoming a woman who is now the president of a community college.
“My vision for the college is that we will elevate every student’s life through transformative education,” said Brewer.
Brewer expressed her commitment to all students’ success.
“We want every student to keep going, even on the days they don’t think they can,” said Brewer.
While Dr. Brewer’s vision took center stage, she wasn’t the only star of the evening. Stealing the spotlight, as supporting actors often do, was the team of students from College of the Mainland’s Culinary Arts program and their deliciously crafted fare of charcuterie cups, peach cobbler shooters, and lemon berry cookie treats.
Guests eyed the table with its offerings from a distance as they walked into the room at College of the Mainland (COM). After greeting a few individuals, guests then made their way over to the irresistible table and made comments such as, “These look so good, and I just have to try one of these.”
The culinary arts students couldn’t have been happier, as one student explained.
“Food makes people happy, and we love to make people happy,” said first-year student Hayden Shafer.
Sharing the spotlight with the Culinary Arts department served to highlight Dr. Brewer’s vision and leadership style.
President Brewer became the ninth president of COM on July 1 and has begun leading the college in its commitment to students, staff, and the community, along with the newest expansions.
COM will include a Bachelor of Applied Science in Operations Management by the fall of 2026. Also, three new buildings are on the horizon: a corporate training center, public safety careers building, and a library and learning center.
