Alumni  Achievement

Allison Tyler Jones, Professional Photographer and Founder of Allison Tyler Jones Photography

The Allison Tyler Jones Photography Studio has been ranked as one of the USA Top Performing Studios, according to the Professional Photographers of America. Her portrait clients include many Who’s Who in the Valley of Sun, including some previous HOF winners. A mother of seven, she attended MCC in 1983 and 1984.  Allison has been featured by Professional Photographers of America, holds workshops and is invited to speak at seminars. She is an author and co­author of books including “100% Kid: A Photographer’s Guide to Capturing Kids in a Whole New Light,” “Designing With Photos,” “Photographing Children” and “Expressions: Guide to Taking Extraordinary Photos of an Ordinary Life.”

Robert Klee, Superintendent, Crane Schools (retired)

He dedicated his 40-year career to public education in Arizona, serving for nine years as a teacher and coach with the remainder of his career spent in educational leadership. He served as a principal for ten years before serving as an assistant superintendent for five years. The remainder of his career was spent as the superintendent for the Antelope Union High School District and the Crane Elementary School District both in Yuma County. A proponent of Year-Round Education, he received the 1996 Pioneer Award from the National Association for Year-Round Education, a 1997 nominee for the Outstanding Educator Award from the University of Arizona, and the 2017 June Pallack Excellence in Education Outstanding Leadership Award. A member of the MCC 1975 NJCAA National Championship football team, Klee graduated from MCC in 1975.

Sherri Thomas, Career Strategist, Owner of Career Coaching 360

Graduating from Mesa Community College in 1983, Sherri is the Founder and President of Career Coaching 360 and helps others transition into a more meaningful and purposeful career. She is the creator of the Maricopa Community College Foundation’s Pass-It-Forward scholarship fund for working women, and provides free coaching scholarships to women in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kenya. As an Intel employee, Sherri led the "She Will Connect" program in Kenya to teach women how to use the internet to further their education and career. Her award-winning book “The Bounce Back - Personal Stories of Bouncing Back After a Layoff, Re­-Org or Career Setback” was named 2013 Best Career Book by the India Book Awards, and her first book “Career Smart – 5 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand,” was No. 3 on Amazon’s Top 10 List for personal branding books. Sherri has been interviewed in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, New York Post and NBC. She speaks globally from Israel and Ireland to Singapore and Kenya.

Donna Wallace, R.N., M.S., C.P.N.P., Nurse Practitioner at Cardon Children’s Medical Center Neurosurgery

Donna graduated from MCC in 1979, has served in several interesting capacities in Neuroscience Nursing, including director­ at­ large for the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN). One of the awards that she is most honored to have received is the AANN Mary Decker Mentorship Award. Donna is co­editor of Nursing Care of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Patient, 3rd edition, which was chosen as one of the AJN 2017 Books of the Year. Additionally, she is the author of numerous other publications, including the Hydrocephalus chapter for Handbook of Neuroscience Nursing, and the Hydrocephalus and Pediatric Developmental Disorders chapters in the AANN Core Curriculum. She is currently a Neurosurgery Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and she has devoted her professional life to improving the care of at-risk populations. She has volunteered locally, and globally on medical missions to South America and Mexico.

Service Award

Arlen Sykes, Volunteer for Red Cross, National Kidney Foundation, Special Olympics, and various other organizations, retired elementary school teacher and U.S. Navy veteran

Serving in the United States Navy during the Persian Gulf War, he went on to become an accomplished educator and extraordinary volunteer, making important differences in the lives of many young people. Arlen has received a multitude of recognitions for his outstanding service including 2014-2015 Tempe Diablos Teacher of the Year Finalist; 2013 National ACE Education of the Year; 2012­ KNIX teacher of the month & 2011 Dairy Council Teacher of the Week; 2011 Congressional Recognition for Troops to Teachers; 2011 Civil Air Patrol Southwest Region Aerospace Teacher of the Year; 2011 KNEZ Teacher of the Month for Excellence in Education Award; 2006-2015 Civil Air Patrol Excellence in Education Award; 2010 ­2014 Civil Air Patrol Connections in Education Certificate of Appreciation. He has served as a counselor for veterans entering the education field; Broadcast Club Advisor; Aerospace Club Advisor; Red Cross Club Advisor; MCC Alumni Board Member; Chair Special Olympics Arizona most inspirational athlete award; Arizona Red Cross Shelter Manager during Hurricane Katrina, Boys and Girls Clubs of East Valley; National Kidney Foundation of Arizona; Troops to Teachers for Arizona; MCC Psi Beta Alumni President; MCC Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Board; and the Community Emergency Response Team. Arlen earned two associate degrees from MCC, and Bachelor of Arts in Education from ASU and a Master in Education from NAU.

Outstanding Athletes

Shea Hillenbrand, MCC Baseball 1993-1996, Professional baseball player 1996-2007

This Mesa native graduated from Mountain View High School and attended MCC 1993-1996. He played for the Thunderbirds 1994-96 where he was First Team All American and 1996 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Shea played Major League Baseball for seven years from 2001-­2007 including with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was the 10^th-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox in 1996, was Player of the Year three of his five years in MLB and played in the All-Star games in 2002 and 2005. In the prime of his athletic career, he left to be with his family in 2008 he founded the Against All Odds Foundation with a mission to assist athletes of all ages with life transitions through preparation, inspiration, and education and to inspire children from many backgrounds through baseball. He is a national motivational speaker and trains baseball coach leaders. In 2004 he donated “The Shea Hillenbrand Field” to the Boys and Girls Clubs in Chandler. He founded a baseball academy in Mexico in 2016.

Dan Manucci, MCC Football 1975 NJCAA Champion, Professional football player 1979-1987

A quarterback for McClintock High School, he played at MCC in 1975 and 1976 and was a member of the 1975 national champion football team and played baseball his freshman year at MCC. He earned a football scholarship to Kansas State University where he led the Big 8 in passing his senior year and was named 1978 All-Big 8 Honorable Mention. Dan was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 1979 NFL Draft. He played three seasons with the Bills and returned in 1987. He also played for the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts (1981) and the United States Football League's Arizona Wranglers (1983). For more than a decade, he has been co-host of the Phoenix sports radio talk show "Roc and Manuch." He is on the Advisory Board of National Football Foundation Valley of the Sun Chapter, participates in the local NFL Retired Players Association.

Neville Myton, MCC Track & Field 1968 NJCAA Champion, 1964 and 1968 Olympics

His distinguished high school athletic career in Jamaica began in 1963. He set records at countless local and national meets. In 1964, he ran the 880 yards in 1.47.2 seconds, becoming the first Jamaican Junior World Record Holder, a title he holds to this day. In 1965, the British magazine World Sport awarded him a Certificate of Achievement and the local newspaper dubbed him The Indomitable Distance Man. Graduating high school, he came to Arizona and helped what was then the Hokams (before we became the Thunderbirds) win a National Junior College Athletic Association Track and Field championship. Neville won three NJCAA individual national championships, twice in the 880-yard run and once in the 440-yard hurdles. At San Jose State College in 1969, he ran on a sprint medley relay team at the Fresno Relays that clocked the second fastest time in history, missing the world record by one-tenth of a second. Graduating San Jose State College in 1971, he earned a Bachelor of Social Science and another in Physical Education. In 2016, Neville was inducted into The San Jose State University Hall Of Fame. He competed for Jamaica in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968; twice in the Commonwealth Games; and once in the Pan American Games. After graduation he returned to Jamaica to teach and coach several Olympians. Neville was manager of the JAMALCO Sports. In recognition of his unselfish contribution to his community and nation, particularly in the field of sports, in 2006 Jamaica awarded him the Order of Distinction, Officer Class.

Vance Wilson, MCC Baseball 1993-1994, professional baseball player 1994-2008

A graduate of Red Mountain High School, Mesa, this Arizona native played for MCC 1993-94. He was Second Team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American and 1993 and 1994 All- Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. Selected in the MLB draft by the New York Mets in 1993, he signed after his 1994 season at MCC and made his major league debut in 1999 as a defensive replacement. He played parts of six seasons for the Mets as a catcher and two years with the Detroit Tigers as was part of the 2006 Tigers' American League championship team. Vance became a manager in the Kansas City Royals minor league system in 2011 and was named Bull Pen Coach for the major league team in 2017. He and his wife Bridget and their daughter Peyton reside in Arkansas where they helped raise $150,000 to build a Children’s House for abused youth.

Distinguished MCC Staff

Nora Amavisca Reyes, Ed.D., Vice Provost MCC Red Mountain Campus

Currently the Vice Provost of the MCC Red Mountain campus, Nora is known for her strategic planning as well as tireless efforts mentoring staff, leading initiatives at RM and engagement in helping students succeed. She began as a second grade bilingual teacher and then joined MCC as a residential Education faculty member. She has been assistant chair and chair of Education Studies Department, acting dean of Innovative Learning and Academic Affairs, and chair of the MCC Department Chair Association. Nora has served as Education Instructional Council and Articulation Task Force chair; Guanajuato and Xalapa Study Abroad director; and project administrator for a two million dollar US Department of Education grant supporting professional development for teachers of language learners. Nora graduated valedictorian from Antelope Union High School in Wellton, Arizona and from ASU she earned a Bachelor in Education, an M.Ed. in Multicultural/Bilingual Education and an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction, Bilingual Education.