As the Regional Director of Philanthropy for ARC, thank you for being a part of the Alumni Association! I’m a proud Sacramento City College alum and I love hearing the stories that our alumni across the district have to share.
Tell me more about yourself! I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at advincR@losrios.edu. You could be our next feature!
-Ryan Advincula
We’re proud to celebrate our second annual of American River College Homecoming in decades! From Monday, October 19 to Saturday, October 24, join our campus-wide festivities featuring spirited community events, showcases of our student life, and a thrilling Homecoming Gameday.
Friday is Alumni Day and we are excited to highlight two exclusive opportunities centered around you and your fellow alumni:
Beaver Tales and Trails: Alumni Panel 3:00 – 4:00 PM American River College Student Center
For our alumni across all Los Rios colleges, you are invited to alumni panel featuring some of our go-getters across the Sacramento and Bay Area. Join our students for a discussion on alumni journeys since ARC.
We’re eager to share more information on the lineup as we get closer to Homecoming week.
Alumni Homecoming Reception & Mixer 4:30 – 5:30 PM The Oak Café
Following our alumni panel, we will host an alumni reception at the Oak Café on campus! Join your fellow alumni for drinks and hors d’oeuvres catered by students in our Culinary Arts program.
Wine is provided courtesy of the Amador Vintner’s Association.
100% of ticket proceeds will go to our ARC Beaver Scholars to directly support student scholarships.
American River College President Dr. Lisa Cardoza continues to make an impact both at ARC and throughout the Greater Sacramento community. This year, she was honored by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Sacramento Valley Chapter with its 2026 Executive Woman Award, recognizing her leadership and community involvement. She was also named one of the Sacramento Business Journal’s 2026 Women Who Mean Business honorees, celebrating her accomplishments and impact across the region.
In addition to leading American River College, President Cardoza is actively engaged in organizations supporting education, youth development, health and civic advancement. Among her many community roles and affiliations are the Greater Sacramento Urban League, Street Soccer USA Sacramento, Girl Scouts Heart of Central California, the Dignity Health Board of Community Advisors and Improve Your Tomorrow.
Together, these recognitions reflect President Cardoza’s continued leadership both at ARC and throughout the Sacramento community. Her work across the region reflects a broader commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders and strengthening the connections between American River College and the community it serves.
More than 35 years ago, Sheila Bollenbach was a working student squeezing night and weekend classes into an already busy life. She wasn't entirely convinced she belonged in college. Today, the ARC alumna helps students pursue their own college dreams as a volunteer scholarship reviewer for the Los Rios Colleges Foundation, primarily focused on applications from American River College students.
“I didn't think I was smart enough to go to college,” she recalls. Algebra was a particular challenge, and because she needed to pass it to earn her associates degree, Sheila wasn't sure she could do it. Then she met Gene Sellers, a math instructor at Sacramento City College. Through Sellers' guidance and teaching, Sheila not only passed algebra, but began to see her own abilities differently. “Attending community college and receiving so much support gave me the confidence that I was smart enough to go to college.”
That newfound confidence would carry her far beyond community college. Sheila worked while attending American River College, Sacramento City College, and Cosumnes River College, then went on to the University of San Francisco, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Organizational Behavior and graduate degrees in Public Administration and Counseling Psychology.
Today, Sheila can look back at an American River College campus that is very different from the one she knew as a student. There was no parking structure then—making parking a challenge she remembers well—and familiar places such as the Oak Café, STEM building and Career Technical Education facilities had yet to become part of the campus. But while the campus has changed, Sheila believes something much more important has remained constant: the ability of community colleges to change the trajectory of a student's life. “The community college system makes such a difference in the lives of so many students, as it did for me,” she said.
Her work as a volunteer scholarship reviewer now gives Sheila another perspective on the difference community colleges can make. She attended community college at a time when students weren't charged tuition, and she recognizes that the financial realities facing today's students can be very different. When she was invited to participate in the scholarship review process, she welcomed the opportunity.
Reading the applications has given her a window into the lives and aspirations of today's students.
“I find reading about the academic and career goals of the students rewarding, and often inspirational,” she said. Sheila is struck not only by students' ambitions, but by what many have overcome to pursue them. She reads stories from students who have faced financial, physical and emotional hardships, including those who have come to Los Rios from other countries and write about their gratitude for the opportunity to pursue an education.
Their experiences are not necessarily the same as Sheila's, something she is quick to acknowledge. “I didn't have the financial, physical, or emotional struggles that are the experiences of many of our students,” she said. But there is something in their applications that she recognizes immediately. “I do see that I had the same goals, and the same level of gratitude for the opportunity to attend community college.”
Now, when Sheila reads an application from a student working toward a degree, imagining a career and asking for a little help to get there, she knows just how consequential that support can be. “I believe offering financial assistance can make a real difference in fulfilling a student's academic goals,” she said.
For Sheila, it's an opportunity to help another student take the next step—just as community college once helped her take hers.
Every year, ARC community members assist the Los Rios Colleges Foundation in selecting scholarship recipients. We'd love for our alumni to participate!
Sign me up!
For many ARC alumni, athletics helped shape who they are today. At American River College, Beaver student athletes build the leadership, resilience, and determination needed to succeed in the classroom, in competition, and beyond.
The 2025-26 year was another strong one for ARC Athletics, with conference championships in men's and women's cross country, football, and men's water polo. These achievements continue ARC's proud tradition as one of California's premier community college athletic programs.
Behind every victory is a student balancing academics, practices, work, and family responsibilities. Athletics provides mentorship, academic support, transfer opportunities, and life-changing experiences that help students reach their goals.
On September 16, 2026, we invite alumni and friends to support the Los Rios Athletics Day of Giving, a one-day opportunity to invest in current and future Beavers.
Your gift helps provide:
As a valued member of the Beaver family, we hope you'll join us on September 16 and help the next generation of ARC student athletes succeed.
Thank you for championing Beaver Athletics.
Ready to Rally the Los Rios Alumni Community?
On September 16, alumni from American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake, and Sacramento City will come together for the Los Rios Athletics Day of Giving, a day dedicated to supporting student athletes and strengthening opportunities across all four colleges.
One of the most impactful ways alumni can participate is by creating a matching gift or challenge sponsorship. Challenge gifts inspire others to give, build momentum throughout the day, and help maximize the impact of every donation. Whether you choose to match gifts dollar-for-dollar or establish a participation challenge, your leadership can motivate fellow alumni, teammates, classmates, and friends to join you in supporting the next generation of student athletes.
Your support helps provide essential resources including equipment, travel, academic support, scholarships, and basic needs assistance ensuring student athletes have the tools they need to succeed in competition, in the classroom, and beyond.
Are you ready to inspire your fellow alumni and make a lasting impact? Contact athletics@losrios.edu to learn more.
Every year, ARC community members assist the Los Rios Colleges Foundation in selecting scholarship recipients. We'd love for our alumni to participate! Please click below to indicate your interest.
Once a Beaver, Always a Beaver
Join the ARC Alumni Association!
Remember how you felt when you first started college—possibly nervous, shy and a little apprehensive? Assess how you feel now—confident, eager and looking forward to the future? Join others who feel the same way and help those who are still working to get there! As an American River College alum, you are part of the ARC family and it is our goal to keep you connected once you transition to a career and/or transfer to another educational institution. Your relationship with ARC does not have to end after you leave. Learn more and join the Alumni Association! Membership in the Alumni Association is free.
Whether you officially graduated or just took a few classes that made an impact, we want to hear from you. Share your experience with us, and you could be featured in one of our student profiles!
Join the ARC Alumni Association!
Your gift to the ARC Alumni Fund supports college priorities that have immediate and lasting impact. Donations from ARC's Beaver Alumni help create, build, and sustain programs, ensuring that ARC continues to invest in our students and faculty.
