First visit here for the Black Entrepreneurs Leaders & Learners Business Summit…read more Great location. Beautiful facility. Abundance of space. Clean restrooms. We spent the majority of the time on the 3rd floor in room 319. Design of the space provided for maximum tabling and networking.

What a beautiful facility! Warm and inviting atmosphere. Love the architecture. UC San Diego puts…read morein a nice function for prostate cancer patients and their caregivers.

First off, Maureen is the best! She helped me to identify my strengths and rectify my weaknesses…read morefor the MBE, essays, and the performance test. I signed up for the 1-on-1 sessions with Maureen in addition to the "mastering" set of zoom group classes, and I also got her PT, essay, and MBE books. The books were half as thick as the standard prep materials but chock full of templates and examples, all of which help you to figure out what the examiners are looking for! The "mastering" group classes are on zoom, and include mastering essays, mastering CA pt, and mbe minutiae. These were definitely worth it to get acquainted with the different approaches to certain topics, and common MBE slip ups. As for the 1-on-1 sessions, some weeks included more essay practice, and some weeks had more PT practice, but all of it is tailored to you. MBE practice is constant throughout the whole prep, and the amount of practice sets will ramp up once the first two weeks or so has passed. The workload can be mid to high intensity depending on the schedule you adopt, but overall as long as you follow the initial schedule Maureen provides you with it will definitely be manageable. Also she keeps it real with you. If you ask her if she feels whether or not you'll pass she will be straight up with you to let you know where you stand. And if something popped up like you had to go to the doctor or something she will work with you to reschedule a session. Last note, the black letter law quicksheets are a lifesaver when it comes to memorizing the rules!

Apparently, this review was a long time coming because it has been sitting in my draft box since…read more2/9/2021. I wish I could give this place a higher rating as Maureen MacManus is knowledgeable in her method and approach in teaching. It is also evident that she tries to stay up-to-date with the latest information for the CA Bar. As background information, I signed up for the 10-pack graded essays and the "Mastering Essays" class. In the "Mastering" class, she thoroughly goes over an essay and her method of how to approach it from start to finish. She also provides access to old recordings of other essays she has gone over as she chooses different essays to review each bar cycle. The website is a bit disorganized and hard to find specific things. The recordings are not labeled to let you know which essay is being covered so you just have to click through them. With the already limited time I have, this is a bit frustrating. My biggest gripe is the turnaround time for the essays. While Maureen does provide meaningful and detailed feedback, I have had to follow up on an essay that I submitted two weeks ago. This is an inconvenience as the test is fast-approaching, and it would be helpful to know what I can change and practice this approach rather than practice it incorrectly several times. Moreover, I did not even receive an apology for this. I just got a "here is your essay" message. From the comments and date stamp on my essay, it looks like my esssay was graded within a week. So I assume it was just lost among other assignments to be returned, but I find that this is still inexcusable. I think I would be forgiving if I was at least given an apology instead of a short email.

San Diego Mommy and Me was an absolutely essential part of my motherhood journey. I found a warm,…read morewelcoming community where I could be vulnerable and real about the changes and challenges of becoming a mom. Reilley, the facilitator, is incredible: compassionate, grounded, and totally gets it. Each week felt like a wellness check-in for my soul--I called it my "weekly therapy." Moms talked, related, laughed, and showed up just as we were, messy buns and all. Many of us would grab coffee after and keep the conversations going. I never felt lonely or isolated like I'd heard so many postpartum moms describe, and that's because of this group. I recommend starting around 3 months--it's such a helpful time for connection and perspective--but sign up when you can. If you're a new mom in San Diego, don't miss this. Make time for yourself--you deserve it!

I found this Mommy & Me class (hosted by Reilley!) incredibly helpful, especially the space it…read moreprovided to process my birth experience. Having the opportunity to connect with other first-time moms who are going through the exact same stage at the same time (with babies approximately the same age) felt so special. Reilley did an excellent job facilitating our weekly discussions and quickly helped foster a trusting environment. It was such a unique and niche experience, and also very eye-opening. The support and shared understanding made the transition into becoming a new mom feel less overwhelming and much more supported.

This club is so different than other clubs. It's diverse and young and professional and has a warm…read morefeeling. I would definitely give it a shot.

Public speaking? Ew. But why then am I looking up speech…read moreclubs? I've always been fascinated with public speaking, but darn scared of people... and speaking... which creates a difficult situation. I finally pushed myself to attend a Toastmasters meeting. And it was pretty cool. And then I went out and tried some other clubs. And... they were pretty cool too. And in April 2014 I went out to Career Builders Toastmasters. And it BLEW MY MIND. --- 3 things: Timely. Positive. Diverse. What stands out to me about Career Builders is its respect for time. I've been to many groups who don't take time into consideration - don't start on time, end on time, etc. I think timeliness shows a lot about a club's professionalism and the kind of environment they create for their members. Though it is a timely group, Career Builders does not suffer from any rigidity and remains energetic, positive and relationship-oriented. Many guests are impressed by the attitude of the members there. Everyone wants to be there?! The energy that is present at every meeting is really not something you see often anywhere else. As an ethic-minority, I am also sensitive to a group's diversity. I've seen that Career Builders creates a safe place for people of all kinds to practice their skills, gain confidence, and receive warm support. --- I've attended meetings and been a member of other Toastmasters clubs, and I can say with certainty that Career Builders performs among the top 5% in San Diego. I love this group. I love love love this group. Most weeks, I still feel like Career Builders is too good to be true. And in the end, you have to see it to believe it.

I thought the baby sign classes were great. My baby went to two classes and wasn't expressing a…read morelot. I honestly didn't think she would ever sign much, but decided to keep taking her for the socialization. By the third class she really started showing interest and now she knows about 40 signs.

I have been recommending this class to all of my friends who have little ones! My son started this…read moreclass when he was 12-months-old, and it was one of the first social things he was able to do after COVID cases started to slow down. I am so glad we found this class. My son completed all three sessions, as well as the storybook 4 week class during the summer. At 20-months-old, he can sign about 47 words, and about half of those are words he signs regularly (i.e. more, food, water, milk, diaper) and the other half are words he signs occasionally (i.e. crocodile, owl, flower, stars). Not only did this class help with socializing (for both of us!) but I noticed that once he started signing, he also started to speak some more as well, and is now up to about 25 words verbally. And now that my son is almost 2-years-old and becoming more "moody," signing has helped to decrease a lot of the frustration he feels since he is able to communicate what he needs and I can pick up on it faster than had we not taken this class. For instance, one day he was inconsolable and finally signed "pain" and pointed at his foot, and sure enough, there was a cut underneath his toe. I was able to take care of it and soothe him, which helped the crying to stop. We completed all of our classes outdoors at Morely Field in North Park which our family really enjoyed, but I believe the classes will eventually transition back indoors. If you are wondering if this class is for you and your baby, wonder no more. Monta's Baby Sign Language class is a great investment of your time and money, and being able to communicate more with your baby is absolutely priceless. Here is a list of what my son can sign: More Food Water Please Sorry Ouch/pain Up Down Play Diaper Owl Bird Sleep Milk Dirty Piggy Crocodile Hot Cold Juice Monkey Dog Yay Elephant Crocodile "No" Thank you/you're welcome Flower Tree Stars Dad Phone Again Hi/Bye (wave) Plane Happy Book Stop Help Listen/Hear Stars Sleep Hat Baby Apple Go Cat

This was my first time stopping by Spanish Village Art Center, and I thought it was a fun place to…read morewalk around for a bit if you've never been here before. What stood out to me right away were the colorful tiles covering the ground throughout the village. They make the whole area feel bright and cheerful as you walk around. The place itself isn't very big, but there's quite a bit to look at. I saw a lot of artwork and paintings displayed in the different studios, and some of them were really beautiful. It's easy to spot because of the colorful tiled walkways and the small colorful shops scattered throughout the village. There's also a cute coffee cart tucked in the back with a nice selection of unique drinks. For parking, I noticed there were some spaces near the front, and you can also find parking along the roads nearby. It may take a little looking around depending on when you visit, but I didn't think it was too difficult to find a spot.

Fun village to explore, in the northeastern part of the park. Note that the village opens at 11, so…read moreif you want to see artists in action, the earliest I would arrive is 12, 12:30. One studio's sculpture garden was my favorite. The sculpture used a lot of mirror shards in his pieces. Got some unique necklace pendants etched using technology originating with NASA. Enjoyed talking to some artists as well. Lessons for children and adults available. A lot of work is pricey, reflecting handmade work. The village has an unexpected history, too. It is common knowledge that the park was the site of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. During World War II, the park also served as training grounds for soldiers and the Spanish Village were barracks. Fun time here with a good coffee place here as well.

During these times of COVID (everything is online, even PE - and Mira Mesa, Miramar and City are…read moreconsidered one combined entity, which I really like) I decided to quit my job and go back to school after decades since graduating high school. At the beginning of the semester I was fortunate enough to start chatting with a classmate who is going for the same degree as I am. We are trying to match our future core classes up so we have each other to lean on during this adventure over the next 2 years. I am just finishing up a semester here and so far have found the classes interesting and the professors competent and mostly communicative. I am looking forward to continuing my education here. I think, under the circumstances, this school has made reasonable adjustments to move 100% online. As a result, though, the website is pretty clunky and sometimes difficult to navigate, but you can more or less get what you need if you set aside a day and go through it thoroughly. There are a lot of self-tests and videos to watch to get you acquainted of how things are done. If you are pursuing a degree, you are required to speak to a counselor (online of course), and making an appointment with one is pretty much impossible via the website without assistance (search engine is useless); you have to call the school for advice on how to set up an online appointment with one. Someone got back to me the following day. Finally, after a couple weeks' wait, I ended up with a pleasant counselor, who helped me with my education plan via Zoom. Come prepared for this appointment by writing up a list of all your questions so you do not have to get another appointment. Besides the eye-rolling liberal vibe here, nothing can be more ridiculous than the staff who handles transcripts. I have never encountered such incompetence in my life. I took online college for a certificate in Internet and Website Development back in 2004-2005. Unfortunately the college I attended had closed sometime over the past 15 years so it was a cluster to track down my transcripts. SDCCD denied my transcripts because they keep asking me for a "missing" transcript from another state. The college I went to was online and had like 800 campuses and my profs were from all over the country. Apparently my one set of transcripts is not enough; they want the same set from another state(??!) and I am not completely sure why that is, and I do not think they know, either. I told them more than once I am unable to provide transcripts I never had; I gave them everything that exists in my name and what they are asking makes zero sense. I resubmitted my request to have them re-evaluated and was promptly denied again. This did not discourage me from continuing my education here (transcripts that ancient are probably not worth much), but it has definitely left a bad impression. I received zero assistance in rectifying this and gave up. Other than that, I am happy here so far and am (kinda) looking forward to putting in the sweat to get this degree. Go to a site like ratemyprofessor and research reviews of your future professors before signing up for courses. You will also have to move quickly as seats fill up fast. Good luck.

I've taken classes at three of the four San Diego Community College District's schools. Of them,…read moreSan Diego City College has been my worst experience by far. Safety: This is the biggest concern. The open campus is located in a high traffic area (due to the trolley being right next to it). Anyone can come and go from the campus with little issue. There has never seemed to be any campus police presence. I've never felt safe walking to and from campus, even during the day. Atmosphere: SDCCD's family of schools like to promote that they're inclusive and "safe-spaces" for marginalized groups. And while I've gotten that feeling from City's sister schools, I constantly see vandalism on City's campus targeting racial and sexual minorities. Combined with the fact that the campus is kept up about as well as the surrounding downtown area (in other words: not kept up very well at all), this does not feel like a welcoming and inclusive space. Faculty: Every professor I've taken at City College has fallen into one of two categories. Either they use the class to espouse their personal beliefs (often on topics not related to the class), or they just don't care about their students' success at all. On one occasion, both. Teachers who brag about their fail rate on the first day of classes, smugly saying that they expect 70% of the class to drop by the end of the semester, need to reassess their teaching styles. 70% of your students should NOT be dropping or failing your class. Administration: If you have any problems with a teacher, you'd be better off just dropping and taking the "W" on your record and retaking the class at Mesa or Miramar. Attempting to get an appointment with a counselor is next to impossible, unless you have all day to wait around for a possible drop-in. If you try to reach out to deans or department heads, expect to wait a long time before you hear back--if you ever do. No one at that school cares about student success or well-being. If you need to register with a service like VA, EOPS, or DSPS, you basically need to go to campus and force them to schedule you, because they won't respond to calls or emails. Disabled Students: The campus is a network of hills, with very few elevators. It was clearly not designed with disabled students in mind. Unless you're in an electric wheelchair, it's nearly impossible to get around quickly. As I said above, attempting to register with DSPS is fruitless unless you physically go in to schedule. Campus Layout: The campus is a labyrinth built into a mountain. The buildings are laid out in a toggled grid pattern and labeled with letters that sometimes correspond to the subject(s) being taught in those buildings ("MS" being "Math and Social Sciences" and "S" being "Science"), but also sometimes not ("D" being the campus store and "L" being the "Academic Success Center"). The buildings aren't laid out in any sort of alphabetical order ("A" building is on the opposite corner of the school from "AH" and "B" buildings), so it's next to impossible to figure out where you need to go unless you have the campus map in front of you. The Library (what they call the "Learning Resource Center") is located at the far front corner of the campus, as far from classroom buildings as you can get, which makes it extra difficult to study between classes, and there are limited study spaces inside the classroom buildings. You either need to schedule your classes with no time between, or an hour or more between, or get comfortable with studying while sitting on the floor or outside. Programs: Since City is part of the same District as Mesa and Miramar, they have a lot of the same classes. So even if your specific certification/degree isn't offered through Mesa or Miramar, you can still take your classes there and get your degree through City College. The major exception are vocational programs, like Cosmetology or the AIRE program. If those are the directions you want to go, you'll either need to tough it out at City or look into alternatives (private institutions, Palomar, Grossmont, etc). Overall, San Diego City College is just a mess of a school. It's worth the extra hour or so to commute to Mesa or Miramar instead. Both of those campuses, while not without some administrative flaws, are much better, safer, and just generally care more about their students.