This last week I took Neo see his vet and as it turned out there was a substitute vet in for the day. The substitute spent over 15 minutes, talking and interacting with Neo and me.
While he was alternately examining and spoiling Neo we had a relaxed conversation, covering a range of topics from the Corona virus outbreak in China that has reportedly spread to cases now in the US, to how dogs who have an upset tummy eat grass which can get stuck on their tonsils that can end up with respiratory type symptoms….. I found my energy uplifted as I talked to Neo on the short drive home, and I realized the substitute vet reminded me of James Harriot the vet I loved reading about growing up in Kerala and devouring his four books — All creatures great and small, All things Bright and Beautiful, All things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Even today these books are a true feel good read for youngsters and adults alike…. I promise you!
Also this week, I was saddened to hear that PBS NewsHour co-founder Jim Lehrer had passed away on Thursday. This article from PBS describes how Jim and his partner Robert MacNeil covered the events of the day with a steadfast integrity that laid the foundation for broadcast journalism. Years before CNN and the Internet created the 24-hour news cycle, Lehrer and MacNeil provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Watergate hearings for public TV stations across the country. MacNeil retired from PBS in 1983, and Lehrer would continue to host the show for another 25 years, helping TV viewers across the country make sense of the ending of the Cold War, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and countless presidential election cycles.
Robert MacNeil’s described Lehrer as a man of considerable cognitive and moral intelligence.
Good morning, Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, January 25, 2020… A great day to be a Renegade.
There’s a Pathway for Everyone at Bakersfield College
Monika Scott, Tamara Baker and Joseph Hernandez put together an awesome new video –There’s a Pathway For Everyone. The video premiered at last week’s Opening Day and features Athletics, Industrial Technology, Culinary Arts and more. Check it out.
Welcome Week at BC
The Office of Student Life (OSL) and the Bakersfield College Student Government Association (BCSGA) are kicking off the Spring 2020 semester in spectacular fashion as part of Welcome Week, which actually stretches across two weeks, January 22-31.
To make sure that our Renegades’ first day of classes runs smoothly, they’ve been hosting Welcome Tents at the Administration Building, Outdoor Theater and the Gym Huddle to pass out maps, help students find their classes, and provide information about what is going on during the first two weeks of school.
On the first week of classes, BCSGA officers gave out hot cocoa and cookies, invited mentalist Richard Aimes to campus, and screened the movie “Zombieland: Double Tap” at the Panorama and Delano campuses. Next week, Welcome Week continues with a Super Smash Bros. tournament and Churros with President Samantha Pulido event hosted by BCSGA on Monday, a jumbo boxing ring in the Gym Huddle on Tuesday, a scavenger hunt across the Panorama Campus on Wednesday, and the BC Got Talent: Entertainment Gauntlet competition on Thursday. For more information, visit the Welcome Week page.
Danyel Harris from the Office of Student Life encourages students to stop by Levinson Hall to connect with their student government representatives and find out more about what they do to provide a hospitable environment on campus. Levinson Hall is also home to the Renegade Pantry, which provides snacks and fresh bread to our students every day during the semester.
As part of the Welcome Week festivities, mentalist Richard Aimes returned to the Gym Huddle on Wednesday to blow people’s minds.
Richard Ames and his assistant Marielle perform at college campuses across the country as “the MindSurfers”, using their skills of perception to entertain audiences and demonstrate the power of suggestion.
Students interested in getting involved with BCSGA for the 2020-2021 academic year can visit the BCSGA File for Elections page to learn more about the requirements. The application window for filing opens on Monday, February 3. Faculty are also encouraged to nominate students who they feel are especially qualified for office.
Thank you Nicky Damania, Benny Balderrama and all of the Office of Student Life staff for providing leadership to our ambitious student government representatives. The first week of classes went by very smoothly, and that wouldn’t be possible without everyone on the campus coming together to work for our students, including Food Services, Public Safety, the staff in the Welcome Center, and of course the faculty who are getting their students ready for the start of the semester.
Fun Photos: Renegades Come Back to School
Student intern Juan Reyes from the Marketing and Public Relations Department snapped these photos. Thanks Juan!
Women’s March
The Women’s March Kern County 2020 inspired thousands last Saturday at Mill Creek park. This highly anticipated event saw fabulous vendors, music and incredible speakers such as Dolores Huerta and our very own Andrea Thorson. Andrea gave a powerful speech about the struggles that women face, as well as people with disabilities.
Thank you to all of the Renegades who came out to support BC at the Women’s March. Check out more photos from the event below.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast
BC faculty and staff also showed up to support the 20th-annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee Community Awards Breakfast last Monday, honoring Dr. King’s legacy and influence on our community.
This year’s keynote speaker was Brenda Lewis, was absolutely fabulous. BC’s own Steve Watkin and his wife Kim emceed the event.
Two important members of the Renegade family were recognized at this year’s banquet, including child development professor Josephine Triplett and community service organizer Polly Warren, whose
Department Spotlight: Supplemental Instruction
Supplemental Instruction (SI), is one of the variety of academic support services available to our students. In contrast to tutoring or other types of academic support, SI is structured as a series of interactive group study sessions led by one of the students’ peers.
Students who excel in a particular class are recommended by their professor to serve as an SI Leader for that class the following semester. The SI Leader attends class with the students and gets to know the professor’s teaching style and curricular structure directly, and taps into the power of the peer group to challenge, inform, motivate, and inspire a student’s perspective on the lecture materials.
Thank you to Eileen Pierce and all of our SI Leaders for helping out our students. For more information about Supplemental Instruction, visit the SI website.
BC Librarians Present at Regional Conference
Faith Bradham 
Laura Luiz
Renegade librarians Faith Bradham and Laura Luiz gave a presentation at CSU Long Beach last week as part of the annual Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL) conference.
Their presentation, titled “Please, I can assure you that The Onion is not a trustworthy source: What to do when active learning backfires”, focused on 4 solutions to problems that BC librarians have discovered while trying to help students with their research. A full description of Faith and Laura’s presentation is available on the SCIL website, along with a copy of all their slides.
Over the break, Faith also found out that her proposed chapter for a book about community college libraries was accepted by the publisher. The Academic and Research Libraries Association is developing a book on reference and instruction libraries at community colleges that will be published within the next year or two.S Faith’s chapter focuses on how information literacy courses can expose the power structures influencing how information is distributed. A significant amount of Faith’s research for this chapter will be included in her Levan Faculty Colloquium later this semester.
Thank you to Faith and Laura for all they do to point our students’ research in the right direction. It’s exciting to hear all of the great news coming out of the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library.
BC Jazz Students Perform in New Orleans
Ten students from the Jazz Studies program led by Professor Kris Tiner travelled to New Orleans last week to participate in the annual Jazz Education Network conference and perform their original music at the JENerations Jazz Festival. The JEN conference is a massive gathering of world-class jazz musicians, educators, and students from top jazz programs around the world.
Our students experienced four days of clinics and amazing performances while soaking up the culture of the French Quarter! On Friday they gave an incredible performance to a packed room, and received a standing ovation. Following their set, headlining clinicians Victor Wooten, Roy Wooten (aka Futureman), and Latin jazz star Jose Valentino gave them high praise and helpful advice on how to take their music to the next level.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible. Professor Tiner, Professor Kyle Burnham, Dean Manny Mourtzanos and the BC Foundation.
Emails Worth Sharing: Renegade Goes to Washington
Tracy Lovelace from Academic Technology shared a great email with me from Anthony Colin, one of the students in the Renegade Hub who went to Washington, DC over break after being selected to participate in the Dwight Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program.
As part of the 99th Transportation Research Board Conference on January 11-16, Anthony researched the implementation of HOV lanes in Los Angeles to see if they could help Bakersfield with its worsening traffic congestion. With help from MESA Directors Martin Perez and Connie Gonzalez, as well as faculty advisor Patrick Aderhold, Anthony submitted an abstract of his research in August of 2019 and presented a poster of his research at the conference.
Thank you to Anthony for beautifully representing BC at our nation’s capital. Thank you also to Marin Perez, Connie Gonzalez, Dr. Aderhold, Michelle Galaz-Miller, Dr. Stephen Waller, and BC for supporting the implentation of the grant. Finally, thank you to the MESA Alliance for inviting us to apply along with four other colleges for this student opportunity.
Renegade Athletics
Renegade football introduces new head coach
Our new football coach R. Todd Littlejohn met the local media during his second day on the job this Thursday. Attending the press conference with him was his wife Toiyan and parents Ron and Charlie May.
R. Todd’s mother was among the first BC class to graduate on the Panorama campus. She then worked on campus as the English Department secretary and was the first employee to serve BC for 43 years (from 1956-1999 – thank you Jerry Ludeke for the info!). We look forward to seeing coach Littlejohn out on the sidelines this season leading the Renegades!
R. Todd Littlejohn 
R. Todd and Toiyan Littlejohn
Renegade Athletics updates from this past week
- Women’s Basketball falls to Antelope Valley
- Men’s Basketball falls to Antelope Valley
- Women’s Basketball topples West LA
- Men’s Basketball can’t overcome West LA at home
Fun Photos: Baseball Scrimmage Vs. Merced College
Spring Sports Schedules
We have a huge spring semester packed full of Renegade Athletics. Make sure to catch any or all of our 10 spring sports in action in the coming weeks and months. Links to the schedules are below, so check your calendar and make plans to be in the stands wearing red cheering on our Renegades!
- Baseball
- Softball
- Beach Volleyball
- Men’s Golf
- Men’s Tennis
- Women’s Tennis
- Men and Women’s Swimming
- Men and Women’s Track and Field
Athletic events ‘On the Hill’ this coming week
Be sure to put on your Renegade Red and cheer on our student athletes as they compete this coming week. If you can’t make it in person, check GoGades.com to catch the livestream. Events include:
- Tue. 1/28 Women’s Tennis vs. Fresno, 2pm
- Tue. 1/28 Baseball vs LA Pierce, 4pm
- Thu. 1/30 M/W Tennis vs. Reedley, 1pm
- Sat. 2/1 Swimming hosts Alumni Meet, 9a
- Sat. 2/1 Women’s Basketball vs Santa Monica, 3pm
- Sat. 2/1 Men’s Basketball vs Santa Monica, 5pm
- Sat. 2/1 Baseball vs. Cerro Coso, 6pm
That’s all for now.
Until next time.
With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya-
the luckiest and happiest college president ever
Tagged: Andrea Thorson, Bakersfield College, Sonya Christian
[…] slate of events to keep students in the Renegade spirit. We wrote about the first Welcome Week in last week’s blog, along with a preview of what to expect from BCSGA and the Office of Student Life in 2020, so […]