Happenings
Merced College Alumni, Employees Aim to Serve After Election Wins
By Luciana Chavez Special to Merced College
Merced College’s motto is “Students are our focus, and we are known by their success,” and the success of Merced College graduates can be seen in their many contributions to our communities.
Those contributions extend into the political arena, where many Merced College alumni and employees have served on local boards and commissions. That success has now moved to the national stage, as Merced native Adam Gray became the first Merced College alumnus to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2024.
Standard set.
Today, we chat with other newly elected or reelected officials with Merced College pedigrees about what motivates them to serve.
Sarah Boyle
Merced City Council District 5, reelected Social Media Coordinator, UC Merced
After graduating from Merced College, Boyle spent five years in Fresno, finishing her BA at Fresno State and working, while enjoying local shopping, food and entertainment options.
But when she moved home to Merced in 2015, she found a city that had not revived itself from the 2008 recession. It felt nowhere near as vibrant to Boyle, especially for local businesses, as Fresno did.
“I was like, ‘What is going on?’ or more accurately ‘What is not going on?’” she said.
While attending a political fundraiser, Boyle found herself eagerly joining conversations seeking solutions. She began tracking city council meetings online to learn the issues. She also found time to complete Leadership Merced, a leadership training program with the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce.
Motivated and prepared, Boyle then ran for and won the District 5 slot in 2020.
Merced College Experience
Business? Design? Liberal studies? Boyle dabbled in all of it.
As a high school senior, Boyle completed the college’s Customer Service Academy. She attended part-time as a college freshman so she could care for her mother as she fought breast cancer. Boyle took online and summer courses. She retook courses. She even went back to complete real estate courses in 2020.
As a city council member, Boyle needs to be conversant in many disciplines. Thanks to her college experience, she is.
Looking Ahead
“We have term limits, so this is my last term in District 5,” said Boyle, 36. “I’m planning a wedding. I want to get my master’s. I’ve contemplated running for mayor and other positions. We’ll see. So much can happen in four years, but I will always stay involved in my community. I was raised here. My family is here. I love advocating for local businesses. I’m very optimistic about the future.”
Darin Dupont
Merced City Council District 1, newly elected Associate Attorney, Robbins, Browning, Godwin & Marchini, LLP
DuPont, 28, earned a BS in Public Administration at George Mason University. He graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge Law School with a Juris Doctorate. That JD came with concentrations in Water and Environmental Law and Public Policy/Government Law.
DuPont said he decided years ago to seek that learning so he could enter public service.
“And the skills I have and continue to grow was something I thought my district needed,” DuPont said. “I’ve always felt moved to serve my community. Being in this city council position now inspires me to empower people throughout my district and the city.”
Merced College Experience
DuPont said his education beyond Merced College was only possible because he began here. He stopped playing baseball to focus on government and public administration. He completed two internships—with former State Sen. Anthony Cannella and Merced County Supervisor Daron McDaniel.
“It was the perfect first step for everything I’m doing now,” DuPont said.
“I even ran for student body president. I lost, but that was one of the first things I did. And Professor Richard Randall’s background fascinated me. He talked so much about his experiences covering the Soviet Union. I still think about that, and about his passion for government and history.”
Looking Ahead
“Merced is poised to be the best city in all of the San Joaquin Valley because we have opportunity,” DuPont said. “We have Merced College serving the community and UC Merced raising the area up as a research institution. The city has the opportunity and the land to grow economically. I believe this city council can advocate for that through new development and new investment, without losing our foundation.”
Kalisa Rochester
Atwater City Council District 2, newly elected Retired Chief Probation Officer, Merced City PD Merced College Instructor
Rochester, an Eastern Kentucky University graduate who moved to California in 1998, worked for 25 years as a probation officer. After she retired, she began teaching criminal justice courses at Merced College in 2022 and finally had the time to attend city council and county supervisor meetings to learn more about local government. It energized her.
“And I felt that you could get things done more quickly with the city council,” Rochester said. “I wanted to get involved with some of the challenges that Atwater District 2 faces. There’s a wide socioeconomic gap between some of the areas in the district, but I want to make sure I represent everyone equally. Considering that gap, I have to think about so many quality-of-life issues. Doing all of that keeps me grounded.”
Merced College Experience
Rochester finds nurturing budding law enforcement officers just as life-affirming as helping people go from “their worst moment” while incarcerated to becoming self-sufficient on the outside.
“Teaching students how to work with justice-involved individuals has allowed me to reach young people in a different way,” Rochester said. “And I’ve received a great big breath of fresh air in the process.
If I can get a few of the students interested in being a probation officer by the end of each semester, I’ll have done my job.”
Looking Ahead
“I’ve been so busy already,” Rochester said. “I’m still trying to learn this role. I’ve been digging deeper to learn even more about what’s coming to Atwater, the different available revenue sources.
“I have to think outside of the box to make things happen. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing my whole adult life. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to serve.”
Kurt Kollman
Merced Union High School District Board of Trustees Area 5, reelected Merced College Assistant Coach, Men’s Swimming and Water Polo UC Merced Instructor
As a retired Merced High principal and former Golden Valley High teacher, Kollman already had the playbook and the motivation to run for the high school board.
“At Merced High, we were ahead of the state in a lot of areas, like dual enrollment,” Kollman said. “No one was doing the numbers we were doing, and our board was asking, ‘How is that possible?’ Well, it was organic. I was allowed to go out to Merced College and build that relationship and arrangement.
“There are a lot of good ideas in our high school district. When you see the good ideas in action and see how they impact students, you want to continue to work for students and families, so you should run in that direction.”
Merced College Experience
Kollman—who has an AA from Merced College and a BA, teaching credential and MA from Stanislaus State—tips a cap to Merced College swim and water polo legend Bob Pollitt. Pollitt recognized Kollman, the student, had a unique set of skills and encouraged him to coach and teach.
“He always told me I was going to be a really good administrator someday,” Kollman said. “That’s my Merced College. There are great relationships to be had there. It’s an absolutely awesome place to start a college career.”
Looking Ahead
“As a board member, I represent families who send their kids to our schools, so I always make sure I get the family input,” Kollman said. “We talk a lot about making sure students are ready to join the workforce. We're working to make sure students have solid math and reading and writing skills to be productive members of society. That’s my vision for our district, and we’re on a great pace.”
Michael Amabile
Los Banos Mayor, newly elected (also served previously) Owner, Españas Southwest Bar & Grill
Inspired by two other mayors—his father and uncle—Amabile knew what to do when his business was seeing too much traffic thanks to a stoplight issue at Highways 152 and 165. He spoke to the city manager about it, called the county supervisor, and was assured by both that they were working with CalTrans.
The problem persisted. When Amabile called CalTrans directly, they told him they hadn’t heard from anyone in Los Banos in a year.
“And that’s when I decided to run for mayor,” he said.
After serving six two-year terms, Amabile was appointed to several state boards by the last three California governors. Feeling again that Los Banos City Hall wasn’t being as transparent as it could be, Amabile again ran and won the mayoral election in 2024.
“I’m in the restaurant business,” he said. “With hospitality, there are always issues, and I enjoy fixing problems. You do that as mayor. I already knew the job. Luckily people thought the same.”
Merced College Experience
Amabile attended Merced College in between two-year stints at San Jose State, where he played trumpet in the band and studied music, and Fresno State, where he finished his bachelor’s degree.
One of the first courses he took at the college’s Los Banos Campus was English 1A, with the highly respected John Spevak. The student teacher in that class was a lovely young woman
named Michelle, who is now Amabile’s wife of 43 years. “It changed my whole life!” he said. “I learned more about life and education at Merced College than any other school I attended.”
Looking Ahead
“Los Banos has a really bright future,” Amabile said. “We want to bring in more good paying jobs. We want to coordinate with K-12 schools and the college even more than in the past. We need a new elementary school, so we hope to find developers who want to build here and will provide free land for that.
“We have a railroad corridor that we’ll develop. I’m working on a local bypass for 152, because it gets so congested every summer and holiday. Los Banos financially is in a good position. It has so much potential, and we want to make it great for future residents.”
“It changed my whole life! I learned more about life and education at Merced College than any other school I attended.”
Mike Amabile | Mayor, City of Los Banos