Jack Holden 鈥 鈥18 B.A. Biology &
Alexis Mumford 鈥 鈥18 B.A. Communication
By Pamela Dean
Alexis Mumford and Jack Holden were local high school and college sweethearts who attended 海角社区CI together.
Both grew up in Oxnard and went to Santa Clara High School where they began dating as sophomores. They just married in October.
Mumford knew from a young age she would attend 海角社区CI. Her mother, Monica Rivas, works at the University and helped steer her daughter in that direction.
Holden felt attending the University was his best option: 鈥満＝巧缜鳦I is local, affordable, and offers a great education,鈥 he said.
The pair graduated in 2018, Mumford with a degree in Communication and a minor in Psychology, Holden with a degree in Biology.
Mumford now works as a media strategist for Salem Media Group in Camarillo, strategizing digital and radio marketing campaigns for businesses.
As a student at 海角社区CI, she was extensively involved in Student Government, serving as Director of Events for two years before becoming Vice President for Student Government. While Vice President, she was chosen to participate in the American Committees on Foreign Relations Young Leaders Initiative in Washington D.C.
As a commuter student, Mumford saw getting involved at school as a way to make friends and build connections.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e part of something, you want to stay on campus and try new things,鈥 Mumford said. 鈥淎s Director of Events, I wanted to give students real chances to connect, be informed, and get involved. My first year taught me how to market creatively, to get commuters to stick around and encourage housing students to step out of their dorms. I once had students dress up as breakfast items to market an event.鈥
Holden knew he wanted to follow in both his mother鈥檚 and father鈥檚 footsteps and become an optometrist.
鈥淚 have a science mind and growing up around optometry, I saw early on that it was an enjoyable field to be a part of,鈥 he explained.
After earning his optometry degree in 2022 from the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall Ketchum University, he joined his parents' practice, Family Optometric Group in Oxnard.
In addition to providing primary and specialty eye care for adults and children at his parents鈥 office, Jack and his brother Patrick, also an optometrist, have learned to perform an innovative new post-op procedure adjusting the lenses of patients who have had cataract surgery. They have partnered with a local ophthalmologist to provide this groundbreaking procedure to patients in the area.
Whether it鈥檚 expanding the frontiers of optometry, taking over the family business or starting a family, the future is certain to be bright for the newly married couple.