Campus Spotlight – Pomona, California

Welcome to the first in a series of campus spotlights – this month we’re going to discover a little more about our Carrington College California Pomona campus. Rebecca Appell, the Executive Director of the Pomona campus, was kind enough to share some of her time and give us a little insight into life at Carrington in SoCal!

The Pomona campus opened just 15 months ago in October 2010 after an extensive remodel, and is now ‘home’ to about 120 Carrington students studying 5 different programs – Dental Assisting, Medical Assisting, Medical Billing and Coding, Pharmacy Technology, and Veterinary Technology, which is the most popular program at the school.

Not only is Pomona the first Carrington campus in southern California, but it’s also the first California campus to be situated in a co-location with DeVry University. The two colleges share a beautiful 98,000 square foot facility, of which Carrington students have access to almost 60,000 sq feet, including shared use of the DeVry Academic Success Center.

There is a real college feel to our Pomona location, as Rebecca explains; “The campus forms part of a wonderful ‘college community’; in addition to our neighbors at DeVry University, Cal State Poly is just down the street, and Citrus College and Mount San Antonio College, known locally as Mt. Sac, are not too far away. We try to offer our students a true ‘college experience’ through the services and facilities we offer. Our students get to share activities with DeVry students; and we also have quarterly events on campus, as well as monthly student appreciation days!”

Thanks to our proximity to the I-10 and the 57 freeway, the Pomona campus is easily accessible from LA County, Orange County, the Inland Empire, and the desert communities. In fact some of our Vet Tech students commute from as far afield as Burbank (40 miles west) and Palm Springs (75 miles east)! 

Veterinary Technology is currently the most popular program at our Pomona career college; as with all the facilities at this relatively new campus, the Vet Tech lab is world class, filled with industry current equipment as Rebecca explains. “We have a very large, well equipped lab; we have a beautiful surgery suite, a dog run, and a vet pharmacy; in fact our Program Director, an experienced veterinarian, has mentioned that he believes that our Vet Tech lab is bigger than some animal hospitals.”

But the great facilities aren’t limited to the veterinary technician program; “I believe that we are the first career college in California to have a Simulation Theater for a Medical Assisting program; many Nursing programs have simulation theaters, but not exclusively for MA students. All our facilities really are world class; students get to train using industry current equipment that prepares them for real-world experiences.”

The city of Pomona has a history as rich as the fertile soil it is built upon. Pomona became known as an ‘urban garden’ in the early 19th century, and the arrival of the railroad later that century spurred the growth of the agriculture industry, which in turn influenced the citrus community to adopt the name “Pomona”, in honor of the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards.

Rebecca explains how Pomona faculty and students are keen to be an active part of their community through a vibrant outreach program that includes bi-annual blood drives, food and toy drives to benefit children’s centers and the homeless, as well as regular ‘Carrington Cares’ events; “In November we held the ‘Careathon Marathon’ for U.S Veterans. We offered complimentary services to veterans and their families, including flu shots, vital checks, dental exams, oral hygiene kits, flea applications for pets… Every program was involved.”

“And on February 15th, we are hosting ‘Paw it Forward’, a free event open to the public with local area animal shelters and pet supply stores invited to attend. We will be offering complimentary veterinary and pet spa services like teeth brushing, ear cleaning, nail trimming, grooming and flea applications; we want to pamper dogs and cats in honor of Pet Dental Health Awareness month. Our Veterinary Technology program director, faculty, and students will be on-hand to share tips with owners on proper dental care including how to brush to combat plaque and tartar buildup.” For more information about ‘Paw it Forward’, or to schedule your pet’s spa time, contact the campus at (909) 868-5800.

If you would like to find out more about Carrington College California Pomona campus, or if you have friends in southern California who may be interested in the programs at our Pomona career college, please visit https://carrington.edu/schools/pomona-california/ for more information. Classes will be enrolling soon!

©2012 Carrington Colleges Group. All Rights Reserved. Program availability varies by location.