ORANGE COUNTY, CA, April 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
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The growth and popularity of college esports have rapidly been on the rise and in no small way. Colleges are implementing esports as a tool to recruit and enroll students to their schools and engage students with student campus life activities, as well as providing a guided pathway to completing higher education and fulfilling careers. Coastline College has joined this phenomenon, but with a caveat. The people leading the development of esports and the curriculum associated with esports at the college are women.
Although gaming and esports are generally considered a male-dominated industry, at Coastline College the three people leading the esports program and career pathways are women and women of color. Dana Emerson is the Dean of Instruction and President of the Esports Board. She had the foresight to bring esports to the college and hired Katherine Amoukhteh, an expert in the field to help establish the esports program at the college. Stephanie Bridges is a Professor of English at Coastline College but has also been a gamer herself since she was young and is a faculty advisor for the esports program. Even the president of the esports club at Coastline College is a woman.
Curtesy of Dana Emerson
They are developing and designing innovative and flexible academic courses, short term, 4-week, and 8-week long, both non-credential as well as certificate programs for esports and in doing so building a pathway to complete higher education, garner postsecondary scholarships, and ancillary careers associated with the industry, such as marketing, event planning, apparel industry, product manager, communications, game designing, etc. Additionally, many gamers gravitate to the STEM ecosystem and follow career paths in engineering and computer science.
“Coastline has made tremendous strides in using esports to engage and support their student population. In three semesters, we have begun to provide academic scholarships and direct pathways in esports through partnerships with other academic institutions such as Westcliff and Bay State University.” Katherine Amoukhteh
Curtesy of Katherine Amoukhteh
“Coastline’s esports program seeks to increase opportunities for our students through the non-credit programs. These programs align with the different career pathways within the gaming industry, and the skills-based classes enable students build their portfolios and resumes.” Stephanie Bridges
Research shows that participating in student campus life activities improves student performance, success, and overall well-being. Playing and being a part of esports, students improve cognitive skills, such as attention and focus, strategic thinking, and planning. Additionally, students learn valuable skills through esports such as teamwork and collaboration which fosters inclusion and equity, which is intrinsic and highly valued at Coastline College.
This weekend Coastline will have two tournament events on April 24th and 25th. To learn more information about esports and events at Coastline College, please contact Katherine Amoukhteh at kamoukhteh@coastline.edu or Stephanie Bridges at sbridges@coastline.edu. Please also check the following link: https://www.coastline.edu/search-results.php?q=esports
About Coastline College:
Coastline College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. For eight consecutive years, Coastline College was selected as one of the top 150 colleges by The Aspen Institute for Community College Excellence which is considered the most prestigious designation for community colleges. Coastline delivers flexible courses and services that cultivate and guide diverse student populations across the globe to complete pathways leading to the attainment of associate degrees, certificates, career readiness, and transfer to four-year colleges/universities.