Good Morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, July 4th … a great day to be an American … a great day to be a Renegade.

I enjoyed this photo essay in The New York Times of past Independence Days. I think you will as well.

Even though we must alter many of our usual traditions and festivities to maintain social distancing and stay safe this year, I know that we will all find ways to celebrate our great nation this weekend.

Take a moment to ready my blog post from last year: https://sonyachristianblog.com/2019/07/07/fireworks-family-and-fun-happy-4th-of-july/

Class of 2020

Special Televised Commencement to Cap Week of “Painting the Town Red” to Celebrate BC Grads

We are excited to announce the 2020 Special Televised Commencement event this year on KGET and Telemundo, Saturday, July 11, 2020 at 7 p.m. 

We are kicking off a week of celebrations prior to the televised Virtual Commencement Event. To honor our 2020 BC graduates we are “Painting the Town Renegade Red” with yard signs and spirit flags. 

Do pick up a 2020 Graduation Yard Sign to proudly display at your home. Yard Signs are free on a first-come-first-served basis to the first 2,000 people. We also have BC Spirit Flags (pictured below), which you can purchase to display on your car or home windows to show off your BC Spirit!

Order BC Spirit Flags or to request your free 2020 Graduation Yard Sign with the Office of Student Life Commencement Swag Order Form. You can pick up your items in-person or home delivery is available for a small charge. All proceeds go to fund the BCSGA Scholarship fund. 

As a reminder, be sure to tell your family, friends, and neighbors to tune in on Saturday, July 11 at 7 p.m. to KGET Channel 17 or Telemundo Valle Central Channel 13 (or with antennae, 17.3). This event will also be live-streamed on the Bakersfield College Facebook page.

Honoring BC legends

On Tuesday, we honored two of our Bakersfield College legends as they start their retirements: Dean Cornelio Rodriguez and Athletic Director Sandi Taylor.

The hour-long celebration featured many videos from colleagues and friends. I will showcase them in weekly blog posts over the next few weeks.

Corny and Sandi also got the chance to share some of their memories from their time at Bakersfield College. Thank you to Manny De Los Santos and Brandon Urry for their work in producing these videos:

Corny Rodriguez:

Sandi Taylor:

Outgoing BCSGA President Samantha Pulido also announced a new scholarship:

Videos from the event are posted on the President’s Events page on the BC website (click on “Staff & Faculty Events”).

You can also view the full YouTube playlist.

Virtual Express Enrollment: Become a Renegade in One Day!

Bakersfield College is holding an extended One-Day Virtual Express Enrollment Event for new and returning students on July 8, 2020 from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Counselors and support staff will be available to assist students with their registration process, answer questions and give one-on-one guidance. 

Students are asked to register for the event ahead of time at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/registrationrocks.  For more information, contact Outreach at outreach@bakersfieldcollege.edu or (661) 750-2684.

#LightACandle — A Juneteenth conversation

As many of you know, in light of the recent political demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, Bakersfield College engaged in a series of diverse and important discussions about race and law enforcement around Juneteenth, a day celebrated as the end of slavery in the United States.

I am continuing to share videos from our Juneteenth celebration.

This week, I am focusing on reactions – from Reggie Bolton and Julian West on the Danny Morrison #RealTalk on Race; and from Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry and Assistant Chief Joe Mullins. I’m also sharing a look forward – an introduction to the Transformational Policing Model from Tommy Tunson.

#RealTalk on Race with Danny, Julian, and Reggie

BPD Chief Greg Terry & Assistant Chief Joe Mullins

Tommy Tunson on Transformational Policing

Free Immigration Clinics Add Two More Sessions

BC has partnered with the UFW Foundation to provide free Immigration Clinics to BC students, faculty and staff. They are prioritizing DACA renewals at this time, with assistance available for general immigration questions, visa questions and more. 

Starting in July, they’re adding two more clinics to the monthly schedule. The next two sessions are on Tuesday, July 14th, and Friday, July 17th, from 9 AM to 6 PM, via Zoom. Connect with ab540@bakersfieldcollege.edu to sign up.

Levan Institute – “Be Red Cross Ready”

Next week starting Tuesday, July 7 through Thursday, July 9, the Levan Institute for Lifelong Learning is partnering with the American Red Cross on a series of free virtual lectures about health and safety.

Visit the Levan Institute page to register and find out more information about the “Be Red Cross Ready” presentations focused on survival tips for fires, earthquakes, COVID-19 and more.

Community Voices

Norma Rojas, director of marketing and communications, wrote a piece in the Bakersfield Californian about how we must all do our part and have the difficult conversations about race and inequity in order to facilitate real and lasting change.

“While we used to have these conversations in private or within the comfort of our closest circles, we have now been given permission to share the experiences with a wider audience. It is acceptable to discuss the care we must take as professionals, as parents, as community leaders when we walk out the door wanting to embrace our culture, yet understanding that it will make others uncomfortable to do so.”

Fun social media

Kalina Hill, Program Manager, Testing and Placement Center, is staying safe while getting active:

Reference librarian Mindy Wilmot is celebrating her boys:

Our Academic Technology department kept busy with workshops to keep our faculty and staff up to speed:

Closing Week Videos

Continuing the videos from Closing Week in May.

On Thursday of Closing Week, we looked back at the opening of the Vernon Valenzuela Veterans Resource Center:

Athletics

Isayas Aris Headed to Nyack College

Isayas Aris from Renegade Men’s Basketball announced this week that he is headed to play basketball at Nyack College this coming year. Isayas played the last season for Coach Rich Hughes and made a tremendous impact on the team in just one year. At the end of the season he was named to the WSC South Honorable Mention Team. Congrats Isayas!

Reggie Bolton Named Interim Dean of Kinesiology/Athletics Director

On Wednesday we announced Reggie Bolton as our new interim Dean of Kinesiology/Athletic Director. Reggie is no stranger to Renegade Athletics having been an assistant football coach for 12 years and kinesiology department chair the last seven years. We are excited to welcome Reggie into this new role and know he will do great things. To read the release on GoGades.com click here: http://gogades.com/general/2019-20/releases/202007010n6w9c

Tagged: Bakersfield College, corny rodriguez, Sandi Taylor, Sonya Christian