Sonya Christian
I routinely communicate with all employees at Bakersfield College through a message I call Renegade Roundup. Here is the Renegade Roundup I sent to campus on August 4 regarding our annual all-staff meeting called Opening Day.
Colleagues:
It is August 4th which means fall Opening Day is around the corner. As we did the last two years, the college will be closed to the public on August 20th to give us the entire day to come together as a BC community—faculty, classified staff and administrators. Remember, during spring Opening Day we are still open to the public although there are no classes; so many of our classified staff and administrators find it difficult to attend spring Opening Day since they are providing office coverage. This makes fall Opening Day very special and therefore please plan on attending the entire day, using this time to get to know colleagues from other departments as we continue to strengthen our connections and build relationships across the campus to do the work of transforming our students’ lives.
As we prepare to greet and work with our students in 2015-2016, let’s pause and think about what we would like the year to look like. The theme of Fall 2015 Opening Day is Wonder. Could we make this year, as Michael Wesch puts it, a year of Wonder?
Wesch did two talks when he was with us:
A public lecture the evening before the conference titled: The End of Wonder and the Age of Whatever and the keynote on February 5th at the conference titled: Nurturing Wonder in the Age of Whatever.
In preparation for Opening Day and the year ahead I ask you to take time to watch these two talks. Each is about an hour long and through our day together, presenters will refer back to the big ideas presented by Wesch.
Schedule for Opening Day:
8:00 a.m. – Breakfast Burritos served by Chef Sabella and the Food Services staff outside the indoor theater.
8:20 – Gather in the indoor theater to see a photo-roll of images from 2014-2015—BC in Action
8:30 sharp – Clayton Fowler, SGA President for 2015-2016 will welcome us to the new academic year
The morning session will include our traditional items:
State of the College address
Presentations from our employee group leaders as well as the Academic Senate President
Introduction of new employees
In addition to these items, we will unveil version 2.0 of the Renegade Scorecard and BC’s strategic directions for the next three years. In order to fully appreciate version 2.0, get familiar with version 1.0 which can be found on the Bakersfield College website.
Also, the strategic planning team has maintained a detailed and up-to-date website.
Stu Witt
The featured speaker of the day is Stu Witt, a local Bakersfield boy who graduated from Kern Valley High School and then went on to be a TOPGUN—remember Tom Cruise. His military career took him to sea as a carrier based F-14 Tomcat pilot with VF-14 and as a FA-184 project pilot at the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, California. Witt is currently the CEO of the Mojave Spaceport the nation’s first inland spaceport that gave birth to the first commercial space program in the world. I met Stu when he was a member of the Kern Community College Board of Trustees. Let’s pack the indoor theater to hear Stu Witt.
Breakout sessions are being planned by the Professional Development team and will start at approximately 2:00 p.m. and go all the way until 5:30 p.m.
I am looking forward to seeing all of you on August 20th.
2015 Commencement Photos
If you were not able to join us for the 2015 commencement in May, you missed a great event. Our photographer captured all the sights and sounds, and some of the most amazing images of Bakersfield College’s class of 2015. The photos are posted online on our commencement website, along with the full video of the ceremony, and our student’s blogger’s first-person video from a camera mounted to his mortarboard. Enjoy!
Student Involvement Festival
The Office of Student Life is planning a Student Involvement Festival during welcome week activities, and all Bakersfield College departments and services are invited to host a booth to tell our students about the services you provide. This event will help students learn about our campus, and become engaged and active members of the Bakersfield College community. Community partners are also invited to participate. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Nicky Damania, or visit the Student Involvement Festival website.
Mark Your Calendars
August 4 – It’s Possible event. In one day, you can complete all of the BC matriculation steps
August 4 – Squared Away in a Day, Panorama Campus. A Veterans Event
August 13 – It’s Possible, 7:30 a.m., Delano
August 20 – Opening Day, 8 a.m., Indoor Theater
August 20 – New Student Convocation, 6 p.m., Outdoor Theater
August 22 – Find Your Classrooms Event, 7:30 a.m., Administration Building
August 24 – First Day of Fall Semester
September 2 – Bakersfield College Involvement Festival, 10 a.m., Campus Center
September 5 – Volley Ball at 10:00 a.m. in the gym
September 5 – Renegade football at Memorial stadium at 6:00 p.m.
September 17 – Alumni BBQ, 5 p.m., Fireside Room/Cafeteria
That’s all for now….. Until next time.
With Renegade pride and collegiality,
sonya
See all issues of Renegade Roundup online
Tagged: Opening Day, Renegade Roundup, Sonya Christian, Stu Witt, Student Involvement Festival
Ah, the first day of classes. I remember vividly my first day. Recently discharged from the U.S. Army, after a tour of duty in Vietnam, I arrived at the doorsteps of BC, to enroll. Because I arrived so late, the class selections were limited. Nevertheless, I was able to fill my schedule with a full load. Thus began my two years at BC.
My time at BC were one of the greatest periods of my life. The faculty was more than exceptional. The extracurricular activities were varied, contributing immensely to college life. I had the opportunity to become an active member of the Veterans Club and ASB, where I swerved as Vice President. I remember, too, the excitement on Friday Night football.
Eventually I transferred to CSULA, majoring in history. After a successful career in municipal management, I retired. During that time I was elected to the Governing Board of the Chaffey CCD, where I serve today.
I owe much of my success to my BC experience. For that fact I wll remain eternally grateful.
Paul J. Gomez
BC Class of ’61
Paul: what an honor to meet a Renegade with such great credentials. And you took the time to write. I am so glad you are serving on the Chaffey Board. Plz say a hello to my colleague Henry Shannon. with much Renegade pride and collegiality, sonya.