Everyone at 吃瓜头条 owes a daily dose of appreciation to the Information Technology Services (ITS) team for keeping the campus鈥檚 brain and connective tissue healthy and secure.
The campus doesn鈥檛 function without them. Students don鈥檛 learn without them. No one here succeeds without them.
The college was thrilled, then, to share that two ITS team members have recently earned kudos for their work and expertise in ways that are bringing recognition and respect to the 吃瓜头条 name.
Senior Programmer Analyst Sandi Goudy received the 2025 Chief Information Systems Officers Association (CISOA) Technology Excellence Award for her longstanding work shaping a technology platform used in higher education and mentoring others in her field.
Director of Information Security Jagadeesh Reddy Bhimireddy has been appointed to serve on the California Community Colleges Chancellor鈥檚 Office (CCCCO) Data Governance Advisory Workgroup (DGAW). Bhimireddy was also appointed for a two-year term to serve on the CISOA Scholarship & Awards Selection Committee.
鈥淪andi and Jagadeesh stand out because of their deep commitment and expertise,鈥� said Arlis Bortner, the college鈥檚 Vice President of Technology and Institutional Effectiveness. 鈥淭hey approach their work with dedication, self-motivation, and a clear understanding of its critical impact on the district. Their skills are highly regarded, not only within 吃瓜头条, but among peers across the state.鈥�
These successes serve as powerful endorsements.
鈥淲hen individuals such as Sandi receive public recognition, 吃瓜头条 gains more than just a moment of celebration,鈥� Bortner said. 鈥淚t elevates the college鈥檚 visibility and signals to state agencies, peer institutions and industry partners that we cultivate and support excellence here.
鈥淭hen when leaders like Jagadeesh serve at the state level, 吃瓜头条 has a direct voice in shaping policies and standards that guide all California Community Colleges.鈥�
Goudy鈥檚 award is also a wonderful valedictory for a professional who has dedicated herself to ITS work.
鈥淚 was kind of blown away to receive the award,鈥� Goudy said.
She is scheduled to retire in late December after spending 28 years becoming an expert on Ellucian鈥檚 Colleague platform, and after 13 years representing 吃瓜头条 overall.
The CISOA Scholarship & Awards Committee said it was impressed with Goudy鈥檚 thorough knowledge of Colleague, which is software for handling Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)鈥攊.e., managing student information, financial aid, human resources, finance, and more. The committee praised Goudy for the consistent mentorship and support she has given to other ITS professionals across the CCC system.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 just doing my job,鈥� Goudy said. 鈥淐olleague by Ellucian is a widely used platform in higher education in the U.S. When I started, I had help from all kinds of people throughout the country. I have just been paying it back this whole time, and now I got an award for it. I don鈥檛 feel deserving.鈥�
Goudy, a lover of puzzles who came naturally to computer science and technology management as a career, has also written code that enhanced how the Colleague system functions, then shared her work all over California.
鈥淚 had to share to help others,鈥� Goudy said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to reinvent the wheel if we鈥檝e already built the car. The truth is I have learned just as much in my community as I have shared with my community. And I am still learning.鈥�
Bhimireddy, for his part, represents new 吃瓜头条 leadership in cybersecurity, educational technology and data governance in state circles.
As part of the DGAW with the CCCCO, appointees like Bhimireddy will be standardizing policies for how the 116 state community colleges govern and protect their data.
鈥淲ithin the CCC system, we hold student and other data in multiple phases, so we鈥檙e asking how we govern that data at each phase,鈥� Bhimireddy said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be the point of contact for 吃瓜头条 to raise our issues there.
鈥淭he entire system needs data-sharing transparency, and how we do that isn鈥檛 yet consistent across CCC. There is no common language, so the standards aren鈥檛 fully defined. We鈥檙e working on how to democratize how we handle data.鈥�
Bhimireddy grew to love cybersecurity early in his career, gaining experience working for multinational companies in the financial technology and automobile sectors as a young professional in India. He wanted to grow and saw the U.S. as a frontier he wanted to explore.
He moved to the U.S. to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in cybersecurity at CSU Dominguez Hills. Two years ago he joined 吃瓜头条 in the director position, a responsibility that includes acting as the chief information security officer.
鈥淚n India, I could work on some projects, but I would never have a way to work on the biggest challenges in technology and information systems unless I was physically located in the U.S.,鈥� Bhimireddy said. 鈥淚 wanted to grow as a leader, so I came here.鈥�
After two years on the job, Bhimireddy is most proud of the work the college has done in leveraging more automation and AI-based tools to defend the campus network.
Bhimireddy will also be helping CISOA recognize achievers in the field as part of the scholarship and awards committee. He also serves as the Educause ambassador at 吃瓜头条; Educause is a national nonprofit supporting the tech community in higher education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always good to get recognized; it motivates you to do more,鈥� Bhimireddy said. 鈥淚 seek that out. It puts pressure on me, too, but in a good way. The responsibility is on me, but I鈥檓 representing 吃瓜头条, so I鈥檓 not alone.鈥�
In another sign of the ITS team鈥檚 expertise, Help Desk Technician Michael Lara will present a workshop on 鈥淐olleague UI Basics鈥� to a state audience at the upcoming 4CUG (California Community Colleges Colleague User Group) Virtual Conference in October.
The accomplishments of the ITS group at 吃瓜头条 are having 鈥渁 powerful impact on campus,鈥� Bortner said.
鈥淭hey affirm the value of the work being done by ITS and related departments. It鈥檚 boosting morale and reinforcing a culture of innovation, collaboration and pride within 吃瓜头条.鈥�