Rohndell Goodwin

Rohndell Goodwin is a Cañada College Alumni and former member of the 2014-2015 Cañada Men’s Basketball team. At Cañada College, Rohndell led the Colts to their first California Community College Championship Final-Four appearance since 1998 and has been recognized as the Northern California Junior College Player of the Year. Rohndell says, “My Cañada teammates and I had the opportunity to build strong relationships on and off campus and I know I can always count on my Cañada community to cheer me on as I continue to pursue my lifelong dreams.” 

 

 

Besides athletics, Rohndell also enjoyed the academic resources on campus such as the Learning Center, one-on-one tutoring and personalized academic counseling. Rohndell says without these incredible resources, and the surplus of help on campus, he would not have been as successful as he is today. The aid and kind people at Cañada College motivated Rohndell to work tirelessly so that he could fulfill his dream to transfer to a prestigious four-year university and play professional basketball. Rohndell says, “Once you join Cañada you become part of this amazing close-knit family. I recommend Cañada College to anyone who needs unequivocal support throughout the challenge that is pursuing higher education. The faculty and staff at Cañada College are truly invested in their students and make it their mission to help all Cañadians achieve their goals and for that I am incredibly grateful. Cañada College says from here you go you can go anywhere and I can testify this is undoubtedly true!”

Rohndell graduated from Cañada College with an Associates of Arts Degree in 2015 and accepted a full-ride scholarship to Chaminade University in Honolulu where he played Division II basketball. In 2016-2017, at Chaminade, Rohndell was named All-Pacific West Conference First Team selection, National Association of Basketball Coaches and Division II Conference Commissioners Association, Second Team All-West Region. Rohndell also earned all-tournament team honors in the PacWest/Great Northwest Athletic Conference Challenge, Maui Jim Maui Invitational and the PacWest Tournament. Rohndell was also named Chaminade's Male Student-Athlete of the Year. In June 2017, Rohndell signed his first contract to play professional basketball with the Bristol Flyers in the British Basketball League. Rohndell has since played for the VfL Kirchheim Knights and Eisbären Bremerhaven in Germany.

When asked what were some of the biggest challenges he faced during his academic and athletic endeavors, Rohndell responded, “Some of the biggest challenges that I faced was staying focused on my goals in the classroom. My athletic endeavors included not giving up on myself due to injuries, and to just focus on looking at the whole picture, not just a certain part of it.” Rohndell advises incoming Cañada students with similar goals to himself “Don't give up on your dreams, make a plan and set goals and take it step by step, make sure you have the right people in your corner that won't give up on you. Don't listen to the people who say you cannot obtain the things you want to do.” Rohndell says, “If you would have told me 10 years ago today that I, a young man from Oakland, would earn an Associate’s and Bachelor's Degree and would play professional basketball overseas I would have told you that you're crazy!” He added, “Cañada College made that dream a reality for me. Today, more than ever, it is so important that selfless institutions, like Cañada College, continue to help students who are in tremendous need. For these students can, and will, be great.”