Spring — 2005

Claudia Rivas

Physical Therapy / Science

“The backgrounds of the instructors at SMC are just amazing. I’m incredibly impressed with the caliber of these people.”

If you want to get to know Claudia Rivas a little, it’s best to join her studying science in night classes. To get to know her during the day, you’d better bring your track shoes, swimming goggles, and an alloy-frame bike. We’ll let Claudia explain. “Night classes give me the flexibility I need, because I’m a triathlete,” which for the sedentary among us is beyond comprehension. “The events are 1.2 miles swimming, a 56-mile bike ride, and then running a half marathon: 13.1 miles. I just finished my first Half-Iron Man event, so I’m a Half-Iron Woman,” she says with a laugh. “But someday—and I don’t care if I’m 60 years old—I’m gonna do that big Iron Man Kona championship in Hawaii.” But Claudia’s most recent training at SMC has a certain ‘iron man’ quality to it as well.

“I’m going into Physical Therapy after I finish up at USC or Mount St. Mary’s College,” she says. “I was gonna get my MBA at Pepperdine, but then I did some soul searching. And because I’m an athlete and like dealing with the human body, therapy seemed like the right fit for me.” She adds that “there’s nothing easy about the sciences at SMC, and they’re getting me prepared for transfer, big time. I’ve had amazing teachers like Paul Wissmann for physiology and for anatomy. Very challenging,” she adds. “But when I found out that I needed some help because of the workload, I stumbled upon the Science Tutoring Center. You can get tutoring on any subject: biology, physics, chemistry, anatomy, and they have videos and access to the Internet. It’s always good to know those resources are there when you need them.” Claudia? See you in Kona….

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