I am greatly saddened by the events of this week. The pictures and videos of violence with lives lost, have been difficult – though important – to see.
The days, weeks, and months ahead will be difficult as we move on from the deep divisiveness we are experiencing in our beloved country . But I am confident that we will get through this. As a nation we have gotten through previous times of turmoil – by joining together with our heads held high.
I wanted to share this post from our faculty librarian Mindy Wilmot:
And this photo of the sunrise over the US Capitol on January 7, from NBC News correspondent Leigh Ann Caldwell:
Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, January 9, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.
BC Website Survey
The Bakersfield College web team and the Marketing and Public Relations department are looking for student and faculty feedback about the Bakersfield College website. Your input will help the team make the right decisions as they look to improve the needs of students, faculty, staff and our community.
Fill out the BC website survey page by Wednesday, January 13, 2021 to let the team know your thoughts about Bakersfield College’s online presence, and please join us for our series of Opening Week videos to kick off the Spring 2021 semester.
Non-Tuition Certificate Courses Offered Through LaunchPad Program
We established the Bakersfield College Launchpad a few years ago to give local entrepreneurs the tools they need to successfully launch and market their business. In Spring 2021, BC is offering three courses that teach essential information to survive in the modern workforce, starting with Basic Internet Skills in February, Customer Relations in March, and Digital Marketing for Small Business in April.
For more information, visit the BC Launchpad website or talk to a representative at the Student Information Desk to get started with enrollment at the Home of the Renegades.
Reflections from Outside
we make packets of instructional material, and grade homework packets. It ends up being an organizational mess. I am now working from home, so my office is my bedroom, and I have to make piles on my bed
to figure out what goes where.”
– Sara Wallace
Sara Wallace, English Professor at Bakersfield College, has published another entry on her blog about teaching English in prison facilities.
The blog is published on Medium and has been retitled from “Reflections on the Inside” to “Reflections on the Outside” for all entries related to teaching incarcerated students while being physically outside of the prison facilities. She has been working as a full-time instructor at a total of five different prisons since Fall 2019. This blog is her reflections about doing this important work.
This program is only a few years old, but it has expanded to include ten prisons and a thousand students. It is expected to grow more in the future.
For this latest blog entry, go to this link: https://sarawallace-75158.medium.com/reflections-from-outside-f8cffa70955f?sk=562852871173a06ca3c0922e849dc71b
In The News
John Means earns top marks as longtime higher ed pioneer
Last Sunday, I saw this piece in the Bakersfield Californian highlighting the career of KCCD Vice-Chancellor John Means.
John’s career in higher education and public service highlights his innovative spirit and devotion to the important causes he has championed, including dual enrollment and serving children with developmental disabilities.
I especially enjoyed this quote from KCCD Chancellor Tom Burke:
“He has a way of bringing people together for a common goal, and getting it done. He has a way of cutting through angst and conflict, and bringing it to constructive resolution.”
Dr. Bhambi on the vaccine
I appreciated Dr. Bhambi’s piece in the Californian about vaccines and vaccination. Here is an excerpt
The thrust of vaccination has to be vaccination. Algorithms drawn to vaccinate people based on age, preexisting conditions, nursing home residency, socioeconomic issues, front-line and health care work, etc. are useful guidelines. These guidelines should be adhered to. But the thrust of vaccination has to be vaccination!
Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yx9rs4dj
Bakersfield Californian Highlights Inmate Education Successes
On Monday, January 4, Emma Gallegos of the Bakersfield Californian published a piece looking at the success of the Inmate Scholars program. The article highlights the story of Roberto Luca, who is being given a second chance at life through his experience with Bryan Hirayama during the pilot program at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano.
In Spring 2021, we’re offering 134 courses across the county’s five state prisons in a correspondence format. For more information about our Inmate Scholars program, which is now in its 7th year, visit the Inmate Scholars website.
Spotted on Social Media
Talita Pruett shared this photo of her kids celebrating New Year’s Eve:
Cheryl Scott shared this beautiful photo from a recent trip to the beach:
The Jones Art Gallery shared this untitled piece created by Ramon Cruz for Art B2:
BCSGA shared this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
And former BCSGA President Alex Dominguez shared some exciting news:
Congratulations, Alex!
Athletics
Marcos Austin Named New Renegade Head Wrestling Coach
This week Renegade Athletics announced the promotion of Marcos Austin to Head Wrestling Coach following the recent departure of former head coach Brett Clark. In addition to wrestling at BC as a student, Coach Austin had served as the Co-Head Coach of the wrestling program since 2010. In the last ten years he has coached, mentored and helped hundreds of Renegade wrestlers and has received numerous conference ‘Coach of the Year’ awards. We are excited for Coach Austin and want to congratulate him on the promotion!
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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, Sonya Christian
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