Orange Lutheran High School’s flag football coach since the program began in the fall of 2023, Sherman headed a squad that last year won the CIF Southern Section’s Division I championship, with a record of 23-2. By season’s end, the squad was named the No. 2 team in the entire country by high school sports-information source MaxPreps. For her success, Sherman was named CIF Southern Section For her success, Sherman was named CIF Southern Section Division I’s Coach of the Year and the OC Register’s All-County Coach of the Year.

Boasting some 7.8 million participants in 2024, according to global data platform Statista, flag football has undergone a surge in popularity since the early 2000s. The sport will make its Olympic debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, and it has been featured in the NFL’s annual Pro Bowl.

Here’s what bodes well for SCC’s future squad: The team representing the AFC in the inaugural NFL Flag High School Girls Showcase during the 2025 Pro Bowl was coached by none other than Sherman. This speaks volumes about her wide-ranging reputation as a proven winner and leader of student-athletes.

“The great thing about flag football is that it’s so accessible, especially at the lower levels,” Sherman said. “You don’t need a background in the sport to start, and it doesn’t require a lot of gear: just a mouthguard and cleats. … For so many girls and women, football has been something that they’ve watched men do for so long, and they’ve frankly been denied opportunities to do it themselves. It’s been great to watch girls learn the game. Seeing their confidence grow as they figure it out is pretty cool.”

SCC’s squad will compete in the Orange Empire Conference. OEC schools that are either competing in, or are interested in supporting flag football include, among others, Irvine Valley, Saddleback, Cypress, Golden West, Orange Coast and Santa Ana colleges, said Nicho DellaValle, SCC assistant director of Athletics and Sports Information. “We found that flag football is a great opportunity to increase female-athlete engagement, while increasing community involvement,” he said. “It’s a growing sport, and we want to be on the forefront of this growth.”

Top leaders at SCC are excited about Sherman heading the new squad. “For lack of a better term, Kristen Sherman is a stud,” DellaValle said. “She really understands what it takes to lead a very competitive and successful program. Her knowledge of flag football is impressive, and she really gets the best out of every student she works with.”

However, every first-year endeavor can have its challenges, DellaValle admits. “Starting a program from the ground up involves learning about the flag football environment and fine-tuning our recruiting tactics and the way we support the team,” he said. “Every sport has certain needs, so we need to identify those and figure out ways to support that unique cohort of student-athletes.”

Starting out, Sherman expects her experience at SCC to be similar to her first year at the high school level. “I’m thankful that I was able to start the program at Orange Lutheran since it gave me some insight into what it’s like to begin from the ground up. I’m excited for the challenge of working with older girls. Starting out at SCC will involve playing fundamentally sound football, then building on that in terms of complexity.”

While a flag football team may be new to SCC, the sport has already been part of the SCC environment, thanks to the Vince Ferragamo Flag Football League, a coed youth organization starting its second season this fall. Headed by former NFL quarterback Ferragamo, the league is run by retired NFL players in conjunction with SCC’s Community Education Program. Practices and games take place on SCC fields.

“Vince is on our board of trustees, and this is where our flag football conversation began,” DellaValle said. “His league has been a successful community engagement effort, and it’s one of the reasons why we added women’s flag football to our arsenal of sports.”

Sherman and DellaValle agree that the success of SCC flag football extends beyond wins and losses. “It’s important to create a sense of community and family, giving the girls a place to belong and making sure they’re productive students at the college,” Sherman said.

“Wins are great, but it’s not all about that,” DellaValle said. “It’s about providing a great atmosphere for the student-athletes, then trying to make their experience better and better as we continue down this path.”

“I was so exhausted, I slept throughout the entire day,” he said. “Now that I understand the health aspects of what I went through, it’s really shocking.”

While fighting for his life, struggling to breathe, Attalla formed a deep connection with the nurses who attended to him. “They were always with me, and we had many interesting conversations,” he said. “They cared for me holistically, far beyond just the physical aspect.”

The care Attalla received cultivated a deep sense of altruism. The result: Last month he graduated, summa cum laude, from CSUF’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing program, with accolades that go beyond his academic achievements. Altruism has been a guiding light throughout his professional development.

“The essential quality of a good nurse is altruism, and Anthony is driven by that,” said Jutara Srivali Teal, associate professor in CSUF’s School of Nursing and the program’s nurse coach. “In my experience as a critical care nurse, when a person isn’t sure if they can continue to breathe, they think deep, philosophical thoughts about life’s purpose. Seeing health care providers caring for Anthony when he was hospitalized with COVID may have sparked a plan to act on the path of caring for others. I suspect his appreciation of nursing came from his reflections while he was a patient and how nurses made him feel.

“Often, the nurse assumes the additional role of surrogate: a surrogate sister, brother, aunt, mother or father – wherever that love and caring energy can come from. And altruism drives many into leadership.”

For Attalla, that leadership came in many forms. In addition to acting as a peer mentor, assisting fellow students, he served as the cohort representative for his class.

“You’re there to advocate for the students,” Attalla said, “but you’re also there to advocate for nursing in general. At the end of the day, I have this responsibility, not only for the students but for the future patients we’ll be caring for.”

For his accomplishments, Attalla was accepted into the exclusive Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and he presented the commencement speech for his Accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing cohort at the May 14 graduation ceremony. In addition, he created the School of Nursing’s first-ever Chamomile Award (named after the calming effects of chamomile tea), given by each nursing grad to their faculty member of choice.

“I felt there should be something to recognize the amazing work that the faculty put into educating us,” he said.

While Attalla had many nursing school options, he chose CSUF’s program because of its impressive number of resources, he said. This includes writing coaches and tutors as well as its Nursing Simulation Center and its nurse coach, the first-ever in the U.S. assigned to a nursing school, Srivali Teal.

“Nurse coaches are really unique and innovative,” Attalla said. “They help take care of the ‘whole you’ during the challenging times as a nursing student. … And once you walk into the Simulation Center, it literally feels like you’re in an emergency room. The nursing faculty here at Fullerton give the students every opportunity to practice in a real-world setting.”

Attalla stressed the critical role of student-faculty communication. “Nursing faculty really care about student feedback and how they can continually improve the experience for future cohorts,” he said. “The way they interact with you is far beyond just as a student. Once we graduate, we’re responsible for the lives of others. So they treat us as professionals and see nursing students as their future colleagues.”

Leaning toward working in a cardiac- or intensive-care unit, Attalla admits that he prefers a fast-paced environment.

“I don’t enjoy sitting down for long,” he said. “Every time I sit, I feel as though there’s something else I should be doing. Even in a chaotic setting, you have to stay calm, since critical thinking and precision are necessary.”

Attalla is also drawn toward a future in teaching. “I saw how amazing the professors and faculty are at Fullerton, touching our lives in so many ways,” he said. “They’re making a difference, not just in an individual’s life, but in the whole profession.”

Teal is certain Attalla will be successful in whatever direction he chooses. “He’s very thoughtful and embodies brilliance and humility at the same time, which is refreshing,” she said. “Many of our great graduates maintain high GPAs, but the intangible qualities are the ones that make a student like Anthony exceptional.”

“I feel indebted to nursing,” Attalla said, “and I want to give it everything I have.”

The more than 2,000 people who attended the 18th annual Community Science Night, a colorful assortment of hands-on activities, live demonstrations and interactive exhibits on April 25 at Santiago Canyon College, would happily concur. The engaging presentations invited all attendees — particularly elementary and middle school students — to celebrate the wonders of biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and engineering. The activities were led by instructors from SCC and the Orange Unified and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Districts.

“It’s a big circus and playground of science,” said Jeff Wada, SCC professor of chemistry. “The event really excited so many students and other little kids. At the end of the evening, when the families were leaving, they were either super excited to share with their parents what they played with or learned, or they were sad that the night was over.”

“We exposed a large number of students to many different sciences and gave them different kinds of experiences that they may not have at their schools or their homes,” said Rochelle Greenwald, a teacher on special assignment for the Orange Unified School District specializing in Career Pathways and STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). “Things like engineering-design challenges, using microscopes, observing animals, trying out robotics and more. They may not even know they’re interested in science until they’ve tried it.”

The exhibits, activities and demos, more than 50 in all, took place in Santiago Canyon College’s Science Center, Humanities Building and Gym, along with a few at outdoor locales on campus. They included:

• Push Car Derby – By building cars out of a LEGO Essentials kit to see which could be pushed the farthest, students learned about friction and force.

• Let There Be Light – Students explored the properties of light: how a light bulb contains a rainbow of colors, what happens when a beam of laser light is trapped in water, and more.

• Plushie Museum of Paleontology – Young kids played with new cuddly friends, in the form of stuffed dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.

• Magma-nificent Experiments – Future geologists discovered how trapped gases cause eruptions through several hands-on experiments that simulate the explosive power of volcanoes.

• Stuffie Stage – Students used clothespins and sticks to build platforms, at least 6 inches tall, to hold one of a variety of stuffed animals.

• Chemistry Magic Show – A comedic demonstration – featuring Dr. Solid, Dr. Liquid and Dr. Gas – explored the three phases of matter.

Wada, who wrote and performed in the latter exhibit, ran it with another SCC chemistry instructor and a student volunteer. “At this year’s event, we had over 200 SCC students who helped out,” he said. “They all talked about the event the following week. It helped reaffirm their interest in science. … In fact, I’ve had students who’ve said, ‘I started college because of Community Science Night.’ I’ve even had those who’ve told me, ‘I signed up for your class because I saw you there when I was younger.’ ”

Santiago Canyon College and the Orange Unified and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Districts partnered with several community organizations and companies that hosted their own room, booth or table, said Community Science Night’s chair, Angela Daneshmand, SCC associate professor and chair of Earth sciences. They included the OC Health Care Agency, The Cooper Center, Bricks 4 Kidz, the Environmental Nature Center, the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, Bio-Rad Laboratories and Amigos de Bolsa Chica, among others.

Wada noted that the event started 18 years ago through a grant that Santiago Canyon College received to benefit STEM-major students. Part of this grant involved a push to get elementary and middle school students in the community excited about science.

Wada also sang high praise for Daneshmand, who led the event’s planning committee. “She does an amazing job corralling so many different resources and people,” he said. “It’s like herding cats, as she often says. But she makes it all run.”

“Everyone likes to give me all the credit,” Daneshmand said, “but the event wouldn’t be the success it is without the energy, creativity and commitment of so many faculty, staff and students. It’s truly a team effort, and I’m incredibly grateful for the support.”

Greenwald, who also served on the event’s planning committee, noted that not just young students enjoyed the evening. “The kids had a great time, and sometimes it’s the parents who have more fun than the kids! … I hope that this event continues to grow and change each year, because it’s just about the best thing we can give to our students and the community.”