As I was preparing for Opening Week of activities prior to the start of the fall semester, I enjoyed this video which was put together for the #LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation production. Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” is such a powerful piece. Enjoy!

Thank you to web content editor Valerie Urso for the care in producing this video.

Good morning Bakersfield
It is Saturday, August 8, 2020…A great day to be a Renegade

This week, I headed out to our physical campus, to check out the Measure J construction work.

Express Enrollment

Bakersfield College is holding an extended One-Day Virtual Express Enrollment Event for new and returning students on August 12, 2020 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Counselors and support staff will be available to assist students with their registration process, placement, enrollment and financial aid.

Thank you to Ashlea Ward, Program Manager for Outreach and Early College, and our entire Outreach team for your hard work in ensuring students are still able to easily register for courses while we continue our social distancing.

John Lewis

On Wednesday, July 29, Bakersfield College and Danny Morrison teamed up again to celebrate John Lewis and his legacy of #GoodTrouble.

Today, I will begin to share the videos from that production, starting – naturally – with the opening segment.

Steve Watkin, Executive Director of Outreach & Early College, provided the opening remarks:

Danny Morrison of Danny Morrison Media also provided opening remarks. (And a special thank you to Danny for using his Facebook to livestream the production.)

Julian West, Program Lead for Racial Equity, recited the speech John Lewis gave at the 1963 March on Washington.

Community member Nina Grae performed “We Shall Overcome”:

You can learn more about the production, and see all the videos, on the Bakersfield College website.

#LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation

As you may know, Bakersfield College created a multi-day #LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation series of programs back in June. I am continuing to share videos, today from the June 17 production.

Assembly Member Vince Fong shared his remarks:

And Kern County Board of Supervisors Chair Leticia Perez also shared a message:

Please visit https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/aai/lightacandle-a-juneteenth-conversation to see all the videos from each day of the #LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation programming.

Immigration Clinics Full for August

Bakersfield College has partnered with the UFW Foundation to provide free legal consultations for BC students, faculty and staff who need assistance with immigration legal aspects. These free clinics are held monthly, on the 2nd Tuesday and Friday and the 4th Thursday and Friday of every month. 

August has already been fully booked – the next available session will be held September 11, 2020. In order to schedule your appointment, fill out the request form. All appointments are conducted virtually via Zoom for the duration of the pandemic. 

BC Nursing Students help pass out PPE

Ema Sasic of The Bakersfield Californian wrote a wonderful article about how BC nursing students helped pass out PPE to about 155 Kern County medical practices on Thursday.

The California Medical Association partnered with the California Office of Emergency Services for the event, and more than 40 BC students volunteered to help out.

Commencement

I’m continuing to share the video segments from the 106th Commencement, which aired on July 11.

As part of the programming, we shared a feature on Bakersfield College’s Industrial Automation program:

And then, of course, we celebrated this year’s recipients of our Baccalaurate Degree in Industrial Automation:

All the videos from our special 2020 106th Commencement Televised Event can be seen at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/admissions/2020-commencement-ceremony.

Early College

Our Early College Celebration was held virtually this year. I’m sharing some more videos from that production today.

Elysa Vargas, Director of Ag Prep at The Wonderful Company, addressed our graduates:

Emily Phelps, Associate Director of College Readiness at The Wonderful Company, also shared a message:

Transfer Graduates

Did you know Bakersfield College also has a virtual Transfer Celebration web page?

This week, I’d like to share a few of our transfer students:

Kayla Wilson will be studying Political Science and History at CSU Sacramento.

Andrew Raymond will study Mechanical Engineering at CSU Fresno.

CSU Mid Year Transfer Workshops

For all students interested in transferring and starting at a CSU in the Spring of 2021! Join for CSU application help and transfer advising! All workshops will be online, please fill out an interest form to receive Zoom details, visit the Bakersfield College transfer website for more information or email bc_transfer@bakersfieldcollege.edu.

Workshops will be held on:

• Tuesday, August 11, from 2-3 pm
• Wednesday, August 12, from 4-5 pm
• Monday, August 17, from 5-6 pm
• Thursday, August 20, from 2-3 pm

Closing Week

On Tuesday, IT Director Todd Coston (and his pet tiger) concluded our daily production:

On Wednesday, the Budget Committee received a President’s Leadership Award:

And the COVID-19 Response Team also received a President’s Leadership Award:

Also on Wednesday, Academic Senate President Steven Holmes honored our faculty retirees:

And this is the last of our stretch break photo rolls, looking back at the 2019-2020 academic year:

You can see all the videos from Closing Week 2020 at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/president/events/closing-week-2020.

We are coming up quickly on Opening Week 2020, which will also be virtual. Opening Week 2020 will be Monday through Thursday, August 17-August 20.

Spotted on Social Media

BCSGA’s Facebook page sent out a congratulations to our CDC Graduates:

“Congrats to our youngest BC grads of the Child Development Center who will move on to kindergarten next year! 27 families participated in the curbside graduation.

We can’t wait to see you back in 2033!”

Performing Arts Department Chair Jennifer Garrett shared on Facebook that her family got a new puppy:

“Today was the greatest adventure! We have a puppy! We arrived at the house and played with the puppies for a little while. They immediately fell in love with her. Each of them carried her around and watched as she wrestled with her brother. When we told them she was our puppy they did not believe us. … Meet the newest member of Team Garrett: Remi!”

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Lesley Bonds, Director of Student Success & Equity, also shared a photo of her dogs this week:

Shannon Musser, who has returned to BC to work with the Marketing and Student Success & Equity departments, was able to take a break last week and go houseboating on Lake McClure with her family:

I loved this quote that Bill Moseley shared on Twitter:

I also wanted to share this photo of Norma Rojas, Director of Communications and Community Relations, reminding everyone to #WearAMask while supporting BC! #WeAreBC!

Athletics

Men’s Basketball Program Coaching Change

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Last week Coach Rich Hughes stepped down temporarily from leading the men’s basketball program for one year. As the winningest coach in program history, Coach Hughes has lead the men’s basketball program for the last 15 seasons and successfully guided many student athletes to the next level. Long-time assistant coach Aaron Chavez was hired in his place to be the interim head of basketball operations. We are excited for Aaron to lead the program and know he will bring about much success.

To read the release on Coach Hughes stepping down click here: http://gogades.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200730rznau4

To read the release on Coach Chavez being named the head of basketball operations click here: http://gogades.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200805izsxgf

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Tagged: Bakersfield College, Maya Angelou Still I Rise, Sonya Christian, Valerie Urso