![](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/l3DlaquWV10/default.jpg "Spring was in the air at Shasta College and the trees were in bloom in the South Parking Lot near the Shasta College Theater. The Fantom Penguin caught up with Robert Soffian, Chair of the Shasta College Theater Department and asked him how long he'd been in his job. "I think it's twenty-five years, Joe. I think it is." During which time Soffian has influenced uncounted numbers of students and actors. "I get a lot of letters now from students who say, oh they remember me or that, you know, I helped them or that I changed their lives. It seems . . . It's kind of a weird feeling, I mean it's very complimentary but it makes me feel weird in a certain way. You know what I mean? I think, well if I was really famous, I mean those famous people must really get letters all the time, like Jennifer Aniston, right? Somebody'll say, oh how you really inspired me or something like that and she's like, you know, brushing her teeth or something." "No, it's nice. It's just a funny feeling. I can't explain it. Because the thing is what they . . . it's like I'm different than . . . you know, I'm not who they think I am." Modest perhaps about his effect on his students, he was less shy about his current production. "It's called Circle Mirror Transformation. It's written by Annie Baker, a young woman, an American. She's twenty-? I don't want to make her too old. I think she's twenty-eight and she's a very prominent young playwright. This is maybe, I don't know, maybe her third or fourth play ...")
Published
May 06, 2013
We explore the reasons behind the recent probation of Pima Community College, and what the Arizona school plans to do to bring their credentials back up to par once again.
California Community Colleges Release New Scorecard System
We examine the new scorecard system developed by community colleges in California, which provide data on student performance in community college and after. How do California schools stack up?
Culinary Arts Programs Exploding at Community Colleges
We look at an interesting new trend, as more students pursue culinary arts degrees at community colleges. Could popular television programs be fueling the interest?
