Respiratory Therapy Program at ELAC

05/21/2025

📸✨ HUGE congratulations to our incredible student, Eira Tanda, for being awarded the Academic Senate Scholarship! 🎉 We are bursting with pride witnessing all your hard work, dedication, and brilliant mind pay off. You truly deserve this recognition for your outstanding academic achievements, dedication to the profession, and enthusiasm in learning. So excited to see all the amazing things you'll continue to accomplish!

East Los Angeles College
Respiratory Therapy Program at ELAC
American Association for Respiratory Care - AARC
CSRC (California Society for Respiratory Care)

05/08/2025

🎉 40 Years of Respiratory Care Licensing in California! 🎉

The East Los Angeles College Respiratory Therapy Program proudly celebrates a historic milestone — 40 years since the very first Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP) licenses were issued in California.

A special congratulations to the 705 active RCPs who have been licensed since 1985! You are more than healthcare professionals—you are the pillars of respiratory care in our state. 💙

Your lifelong dedication, compassion, and leadership have built the strong foundation our profession stands on today. You’ve inspired generations of therapists—including our own students and graduates—to lead with purpose and pride.

Thank you for all you’ve done—and continue to do—for our patients and our profession. 🫁

Let’s celebrate your legacy and continue to build a bright future together!

American Association for Respiratory Care - AARC
CSRC (California Society for Respiratory Care)

05/02/2025

ELAC Respiratory Therapy Professor survived the Cambodian genocide, he now found success in a career in education and healthcare.

Bunnarith Chhun, an associate professor of Respiratory Therapy at East Los Angeles College (ELAC), survived the Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge, which killed up to 3 million people, including his family, before escaping with his aunt through the jungle and spending three years in refugee camps. After gaining political asylum in the U.S., he settled in Savannah, Georgia, overcame language barriers to finish high school, and later moved to California, where he pursued respiratory therapy at ELAC, inspired by a Ronald Reagan video. Now a full-time professor, Mr. Chhun supports students by funding scholarships, reflecting on lives lost in Cambodia, and remains committed to a positive life, honoring his parents’ memory by rejecting drugs and crime while giving back to healthcare and education.

Online Editor May 1 2025 0 Comment FEATURES NEWS Professor survives Cambodian genocide, finds success in healthcare By Brigette RamirezStaff writer Associate professor Bunnarith Chhun of the Respiratory Therapy Department is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide that killed up to 3 million Cambodians...