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Ashanti Hands, Ed.D.

@prezhands

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Proud Prez of @sdmesacollege. Joyful Warrior committed to creating conditions that matter for students to succeed. #GoodTrouble
#EquityandExcellence

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Art is everywhere, telling stories about who we are and the places we call home. 🎨

Discover the artists shaping San Diego and Baja in Insights Into Art with Alessandra Moctezuma, a new KPBS digital series exploring the people, places, and ideas that inspire their work.

First episode: Link in bio.

#ArtAndCulture #SanDiegoArt #BajaCalifornia #KPBS #ArtsAndHumanities

Image desciption:
Alessandra Moctezuma portrait by Katie Ruiz by @prezhands

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18 hours ago

San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery presents A-Dress: Power and Belief, featuring artist Irma Sofia Poeter.

📅 Exhibition Dates: October 5–29, 2026
📍 Artist Conversation: Wednesday, October 21, at 6 p.m.

In the exhibition A-dress: Power and Belief, artist Irma Sofia Poeter considers the dress as a sculptural language, a second skin where personal and collective narratives meet.
Repurposing industrial textiles, recycled, and artisanal fabrics, Poeter creates dresses, capes and soft sculptures that trace how meaning is stitched into what we wear, and how the act of wearing becomes a form of expression. Here, the dress operates as both object and argument. It asks how identity is armored or softened, how beliefs are worn and sometimes unraveled. This creative approach to the garment reflects several decades of exploration by Poeter.

Image description:
Art piece, Huipil Woman, huipiles and fabric. by @prezhands

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20 hours ago

Happening Now! Transfer Day at Mesa. Join us at the Mesa Breezway 10:00am-1:00pm

Connect with College Reps. from CSU’s, UC’s, Private and Out of State Colleges and Universities! taken in San Diego Mesa College by @prezhands

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2 days ago

My eyes could barely contain the beauty of tonight’s gallery opening!

A-Dress: Power and Belief by Irma Sofia Poeter transforms garments into powerful works of art, weaving together stories of identity, culture, femininity, and the power of what we wear. Absolutely breathtaking!

📍 San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery
🗓️ On view through October 26
🕛 Mon–Thurs | 12–5 PM (or by appointment)
Closed Fridays, weekends & holidays.

🔗 www.sdmesa.edu/art-gallery
📞 (619) 388-2829

@sdmesacollege_gallery
@sdmesacollege taken in Mesa College Art Gallery by @prezhands

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2 days ago

Joy in the Journey: Reclaiming What Was Ours All Along!

What a joy to share the keynote at this year’s conference and spend time with colleagues who believe deeply in the transformative power of education!

My message was simple: The hard is real. And so is joy. Joy isn’t something we have to earn or wait for. It is a lens that allows us to see what is good, what is possible, and what is still ours, even in challenging times.

Together, we explored what it means to Reconnect. Refocus. Revolutionize. And to reclaim joy along the way!

Loved seeing our @sdmesacollege team! 💙 Especially proud of our very own Professors Smith and Motelab, who co-presented “Reimagining Work-Based Learning: Embedding Career Exploration in Non-CTE Courses.” Such a wonderful example of the innovative work happening at Mesa to connect learning, career exploration, and student opportunity.

Grateful for the learning, laughter, connections, and reminders of why we do this work.

Joy was never waiting for us at the destination. It was ours all along.
@the.rpgroup @3csn_events @careerladdersproject taken in Hyatt Regency Orange County by @prezhands

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2 days ago

The Mesa College Theatre Company celebrates its 5th annual New Play Festival.

A curious and inventive collection of new plays and monologues written by Mesa College students & performed and produced by the Mesa College Theatre Company.

General Admission $20
Military/Senior discount $15
SDCCD students and staff $10

Thursday, October 8, 7:00 pm
Friday, October 9, 7:00 pm
Saturday, October 10, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Sunday, October 11, 2:00 pm

Tickets: link in bio taken in San Diego Mesa College by @prezhands

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3 days ago

📚 Spring 2027 Registration is Coming Up!

Get ready Olympians! Here are the important dates you need to know:

Oct. 16: New student application & priority registration deadline
Oct. 19: Spring class schedule posted online
Oct. 21: Check your registration date and time in mySDCCD

Nov. 2–30: Priority registration period for eligible students.
(DSPS; EOPS; CalWorks; Homeless or Foster Youth; Parents of underage child, Active
Duty Military & Veterans; Intercollegiate Athletes)

Dec. 1: Open registration for Spring/Intersession begins

For more information visit the link in bio.

Plan ahead, check your registration date, and get ready to enroll in your Spring classes!

#SDMesaCollege #WeAreMesa #Spring2027 by @prezhands

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3 days ago

New signage is being installed at entry points across San Diego Mesa College reinforcing that immigration enforcement activities are prohibited on San Diego Community College District property.

The signs state that SDCCD property may not be used for immigration enforcement staging areas, processing locations, or related operations.

This installation is part of a Districtwide effort across SDCCD colleges.

California law restricts federal immigration enforcement officers from entering nonpublic areas of college campuses, questioning students, or accessing personal student and family information without a valid judicial warrant or court order. SDCCD policy also prevents District employees from assisting federal immigration officials. taken in San Diego Mesa College by @prezhands

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5 days ago

New issue is OUT!
If you wanna check out cool events where you can get free food, meet college reps and job recruiters, enter giveaways for Visa gift cards, and more, subscribe to our newsletter. Link in bio📲👾🌀

#sdmesacollege #sandiegostudents #campuslife #fallsemester taken in San Diego Mesa College by @prezhands

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5 days ago

A few moments from a meaningful journey at Cañada College.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as Chair of the ACCJC Peer Review Team and to spend the day alongside an incredible team listening, learning, asking questions, and connecting with students, faculty, classified professionals, administrators and community partners.

From our first conversation of the morning to our final reflections as a team, the day was a powerful reminder of what accreditation is really about….institutional reflection, continuous improvement, and an unwavering commitment to student success. Peer review gives us the opportunity to look deeply at our practices, learn from one another, celebrate what is working, and strengthen our institutions so that we can better serve our students and communities.

Thank you President Lopez, ACCJC Liaison Karen Engel’s and everyone at Cañada College for the warm welcome, thoughtful conversations, and opportunity to serve. taken in Cañada College by @prezhands

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5 days ago

✨ NANDI 2026 — Somebody’s Gotta Do It! ✨

What an incredible two days of sisterhood, joy, reflection, and transformative action at the Annual Nandi Conference, October 1–2 at Paradise Point Resort & Spa in beautiful San Diego. 🖤

Grounded in this year’s theme, “Somebody’s Gotta Do It: Transformative Action as Radical Resistance,” we brought together Black women and allies, faculty, classified professionals, students, administrators, and community leaders, to move beyond conversation and into action.

And what a gift to be poured into by our phenomenal featured speaker, Dr. @yabablay, whose brilliance, truth-telling, and powerful reminder of who we are and how we show up challenged and affirmed us.

We laughed. We learned. We rested. We connected. We danced. We healed. We held and made space for softness, sisterhood, and resistance.

Because somebody’s gotta do it… and we’re doing it together ….but we are NOT doing everything, because it’s not all ours to carry. 🖤✨

#Nandi2026 #SomebodysGottaDoIt #BlackWomenInHigherEd #Sisterhood taken in Paradise Point Resort & Spa by @prezhands

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7 days ago

🏆 WE ARE MESA PEP RALLY 2026! 🏆

Get ready to celebrate Mesa spirit! Join us for an afternoon of free food, games, prizes and so much fun as we cheer on our Mesa community and student-athletes.

📅 Wednesday, October 21
⏰ 12 p.m.
📍 Mesa Quad

🎃 Show your spirit this Halloween! Everyone is invited to dress up.
Everyone is welcome.

Sponsored by Associated Student Government, Athletics, Interclub Council, Student Affairs and The Stand.

#SDMesaCollege #WeAreMesa #GoOlympians #PepRally

Image description:
The flyer has a dark blue and gold color scheme with orange and purple elements. The design features photos of Mesa student athletes playing basketball, football and softball, a halloween themed section at the bottom encourages everyone to dress up and show their spirit. by @prezhands

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8 days ago