This past week had its doses of difficulties and its doses of sparkles… it made me realize just how glad I am to be at the Home of the Renegades not just when times are energetic and exciting, but also and especially during the difficult times. The clouds certainly bring us the rain and the rainbow. Talking about clouds – let me drop the concluding stanza of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Cloud as we wrap up the National Poetry Month.
I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.
Good morning, Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, April 25, 2020… A great day to be a Renegade.
BCSGA Prez Samantha Gonzalez Pulido takes CA by storm
Dapper Day with the Gerholds
Disneyland’s Dapper Day was canceled this Spring, but that did not stop the Gerhold family from bringing joy to all! Our own Performing Arts Faculty member Dr. John Gerhold along with his wife, Wendy, and daughter, History adjunct professor Kelly Gerhold, shared a song that is sure to put a smile on every face.
Celebrating Earth Day
On Wednesday, April 22, people all over the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which is recognized once a year on April 22 to bring awareness to challenges facing Earth and its natural resources.
At BC, we offer all kinds of programs to encourage sustainability and environmental studies. Our Forestry and Natural Resources program gives students the chance to work at some of the most beautiful places in California while protecting our environment. If you love growing plants, consider a degree in Environmental Horticulture.
Happy Earth Day, BC Renegades! I hope you were able to spend time marveling and enjoying the beauty Earth provides.
Virtual Seminars
Here are some of the videos from our student panel on March 31, 2020. Karen Cid Ibanez, Emma McNelllis, and Maria James
Karen Cid Ibanez
Emma McNelllis
Maria James
#BCGoesOnline
The MPR department has been tracking via social media how our BC community is reacting and adapting to remote working in the COVID-19 environment. While we are not able to be physically close to each other, we are still maintaining our social relationships and continuing to work together, interacting virtually as one Renegade community.
Our Student Health and Wellness Center is offering a slate of physical, mental, and COVID-19 related telehealth support services. Students have access to one-on-one or group sessions with mental health providers who offer services on a flexible schedule.
Thank you to the Student Health and Wellness Center for providing this important resource to our students. Read more about our telehealth services, or access services on the BC Telehealth page.
On April 22nd, The Career Education Department Hosted its Virtual Recruitment Day. Close to 150 registered attendees had the chance to meet with 16 different employers.
A big thanks to Freddie Rodriguez, Job Development Specialist, for coordinating the event.
Looking ahead, on April 29, the Office of Outreach and School Relations is offering a chance for members of the community to complete their enrollment at BC in just one day. For more information about Virtual Express Enrollment, visit the Registration Rocks website. You can also sign up for the event.
I also want to share a roundup of some of the social media posts our students, faculty and staff have shared this week:
Umoja Students Learn the Healing Power of Music
Students in Dr. Paula Parks’ Umoja community had the chance to access the healing power of music during a Zoom presentation with Dr. Terence Elliot, a professor of music at Diablo Valley College and founder of the college’s African American Male Leadership Program. Dr. Elliot beat a djembe drum while demonstrating the ways that music encourages ourselves and others.
Dr. Parks put together a wonderful write-up about Dr. Eliot’s appearance that you can read for more information. Thank you, Dr. Parks, for all you do to support our students. For more information about Umoja, visit the Umoja website.
Our California Story
History professor Oliver Rosales is continuing to explore local history on his tv show, “Our California Story,” airing Sundays at 12 pm on Bakersfield CW 12.
This week, he talks with Mika Thornburg and Francisco Beltrand. Mika is a UCSB public humanities fellow working with the Digital Delano project at Bakersfield College. Francisco is a visiting assistant professor of history at San Francisco State University, and our former UCSB IHC public humanities fellow.
If you missed last week’s episode, you can watch it on the Our California Story website.
Archives Throwback
In 1965, Bakersfield College students got together to tutor disadvantaged elementary and junior high children. The Bakersfield College Tutorial Project is mentioned briefly in the 1966 Raconteur, and you can read a full survey and case study about the program through the Educational Resources Information Center archive.
Earl Parsons compiled the passage from the 1966 Raconteur, which shows how the Renegade passion for giving back to our community continues to this day.
Today, we have our Renegade Pantry to make sure our students have the nutrition they need to stay on the path to finishing their education, and our Foster Kinship and Care Education program works with our foster students and their resource parents to support them in their future.
Some fun pictures
Neo, April 18, 2020 
Bessie, April 25, 2020
Athletics
Remembering longtime BC team doctor Bob Sheldon
One of Bakersfield Colleges most faithful fans, Dr. Robert Sheldon, has passed away at the age of 91. Bob’s association with BC goes back to 1936 when he was an All-Conference tackle for Bakersfield Junior College. He was in medical school at Stanford in 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He promptly joined the US Navy and was assigned to Oak Knolls Hospital in San Francisco. In 1946 he was released and returned to Bakersfield where he offered to help his old friend Dr. Romain Clerou, who was the team physician for BJC. In the next year, however, Bob moved on for further medical training at Harvard, Sloan-Kettering Hospital, and St.Louis, before returning to Bakersfield in 1953, only to soon be called back into service for three more years, this time in Guam.
In 1957 finally back in Bakersfield to establish his medical practice, Bob Sheldon volunteered to assist Dr. Clerou as team doctor for the Renegades, now playing in the beautiful Memorial Stadium on the new campus. Those two doctors, Sheldon and Clerou, attended all home games and many away games, provided medical exams and medical help for all BC athletes. In 1979 Dr. Bill Baker became the official team doctor, but Dr. Sheldon and Dr. Clerou remained and continued to help him. In 2012, Dr. Clerou at age ninety-eight and Dr. Sheldon at ninety-three were still sitting at field level with Dr. Baker at Renegade home football games.
Dr. Bill Baker was honored at the 2020 Sterling Silver.
In 2013, at Bakersfield College’s Centennial Celebration, Dr. Robert Sheldon was named one of Bakersfield College’s One Hundred Stars.
Thank you to Coach Bob Covey and Jerry Ludeke for providing information about Dr. Sheldon’s long career with Bakersfield College.
BC Athletics is Grateful for Our Local Sports Media
Now is as good a time as any to recognize our local sports media who dedicate so much time and coverage to our Renegade Athletics teams. There is no other community college in our country who receives as much attention from the local sports media as do our student athletes and coaches and for that we are extremely grateful. Special thanks to the following reporters and media outlets that give us so much coverage:
- Gregg Kerr, ESPN Radio & KBAK
- Jon Singh, KBAK
- Clay Cunningham, The Bakersfield Californian
- Ron Stapp, The Bakersfield Californian
- Kari Osep, 23ABC
- Matt Lively, 23ABC
- KUZZ Radio
- American General Media
- Bakersfield Sports News
Lastly, we’d like to give a huge thank you to Nick James, formerly of KGET, who just took a new job in his hometown of San Diego this last month. We will miss him and his humor in covering Renegade Athletics, but we wish him all the best in his new position.
Next Level Gades
It’s that time of year when we continue to see our student athletes commit to further their education and athletics careers at four-year colleges and universities. This week was no different as we saw Janaye Herron from Women’s Basketball and Zach Lockwood from Men’s Soccer announce their next move.
Janaye is headed to the University of St. Katherine in San Marcos, CA and Zach is headed to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salinas, KS.
Janaye, a sophomore from Highland High School, played just the last season as a bounce-back for Coach Paula Dahl. She finished the 2019-20 season averaging 220 total points (7.9/game), 146 total rebounds (5.2/game), 68 total assists and 43 total steals.
Zach, a sophomore forward from Bakersfield Christian HS, played just the 2019 season at BC, appearing in eight games. We know these two will go on to great things and represent BC well into the future!
That’s all for now.
Until next time.
With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya –
the luckiest and happiest college president ever
Tagged: Bakersfield College, Bill Baker, Bob Sheldon, Sonya Christian
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