Six Golden West Alumni Honored for Contributions

HUNTINGTON BEACH —  Six former Golden West College students will be added this year to the community college’s Pillar of Achievement, college officials announced.

The honor, similar to induction into a hall of fame, involves having engraved likenesses of outstanding former students placed on a pillar at the college. A committee each year selects the honorees.

The alumni to be added to the Pillar of Achievement in ceremonies Nov. 3 are:

* David DiLeo of San Clemente, an author and educator. DiLeo, who graduated from Golden West in 1974, is the author of the historical analysis titled, “George Ball, Vietnam and the Rethinking of Containment.” The critically acclaimed book focuses on former Undersecretary of State George Ball’s questioning and dissent of the Johnson Administration’s Vietnam War policies.

* Lisa Hill of Orange, a registered nurse, entrepreneur and corporation chief executive officer. Hill graduated from Golden West in 1977 at the age of 19, becoming the college’s youngest student to complete the nursing program. In 1992, she developed a new kind of heel tips for women’s shoes, and this became the foundation of the Adcor Products Co., a multimillion-dollar supplier of shoe-care accessories.

* Steven Longacre of Tustin, educator and administrator of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program in the Santa Ana Unified School District. A 1975 graduate of Golden West, he won the college’s Outstanding Student Award that year.

* Dr. Adrian Ramos of Fresno, a physician who graduated from Golden West in 1979. Ramos has received an “Outstanding Family Physician” award from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

* Linda White-Peters of Newport Beach, director of corporate and community relations for UCI. A 1978 Golden West graduate, she is the former director of the Women’s Opportunities Center of UCI Extension.

* Jerome A. Zack of Reseda, a medical researcher and educator. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at UCLA and is doing research on a possible cure for AIDS. He graduated from Golden West in 1974.