Berchman "Kenny" Melancon, instructor in the Heavy/Medium Duty Diesel Truck Technology (Diesel) program, was recently recognized by the Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium with the Excellence in Teaching award for his dedication to expanding vehicle technology, and developing course curriculum to help students get career ready for the long haul.
Melancon has worked diligently to motivate student success by expanding course offerings and obtaining state-of-the-art equipment.
In the past four years, he's raised approximately $750,000 in donations and grants. Recently, he and others met with representatives from Rio Hondo College, which teaches courses in hybrid and electric car, along with Volvo to talk about their next steps in electrification. SBVC and Rio Hondo received the Volvo Lights grants, part of the Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions, a project to create a zero-emission goods movement system from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
"We're getting $200,000 from Volvo this month to write the curriculum, and buy some components for training in the classroom," Melancon said. "We're the only two colleges in the state that got part of the Volvo grant."