Puerta Vallarta and soccer …. it does not get better than that.

The chant came from deep in one corner of the stadium, ringing out loud and clear for a few moments
before fading back into the general cacophony of the night.
“It’s called soc-cer!” the United States fans bellowed at their England counterparts. “It’s called soc-cer!”
Andrew Keh, New York Times.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yc8987f3

A week ago, I was fortunate enough to make my first visit to Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta lies on Mexico’s western coast and is bordered by the jungle-clad Sierra Madre mountains. It is an absolutely stunning location, defined by the natural charms of its beaches and the splendor of the mountains. In many ways, it reminded me of home.

Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico’s top tourist destinations – tourism accounts for roughly half of the town’s economic activity, and about half of the work force is employed in tourism. But beyond the numerous resorts, there is a beautiful countryside dotted with banana farms, mango farms, and avocado farms. Livestock and fishing also provide important contributions to Puerto Vallarta’s economy.

During my visit, I also had the opportunity to check out Las Caletas, a lovely beach hideaway in the middle of the jungle, accessible only by boat.

John Huston, father of Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston, was among the first foreigners to notice and enjoy this place. He was seeking isolation and time away from the business of daily life, and he leased the land in the 1970s – living there for almost 2 decades before his health forced him back to the United States.

Las Caletas is a gorgeous, 1000-yards-long beach, broken up into 4 smaller beaches.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

Happy Thanksgiving 20222. I have much to be thankful for.

Good morning, friends.
It is November 26, 2022.
The sun shines bright over Kern CCD.

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Porterville College

Porterville Scholarship Program

You’re not too late! It’s still scholarship application season! Porterville College is holding scholarship workshops this week to help you with the application process!

Applications are open until November 30.

Upcoming workshops:

• Monday, November 28: 2-3 pm
• Tuesday, November 29: 12-2 pm
• Wednesday, November 30: 2-3 pm

For more details on eligibility and scholarship workshops, visit www.portervillecollegefoundation.org/scholarships.

Become a Pirate in a Week

The Porterville Adult School is hosting two events this week to provide enrollment assistance to anyone who wants to become a Porterville College student.

On Tuesday, join us for in-person application and orientation from 10 am to 3 pm.

On Wednesday, check out the resource fair, which will have information about health careers, job development, financial aid, Extended Opportunity Program & Services, Next Up and more!

Don’t Miss Kirtley King Exhibition!

The public is invited to see the exhibition, Kirtley King: “Incomprehensibilities of Gallimaufry”, at the Porterville College Art Gallery.

Kirtley King describes his artworks in this way: “Visually this gallimaufry is exemplary of the emotive experiences of my object reality.” And then goes on to say, “This work is a project attempting to visually bridge the gap between the corporeal experience (sensual) and the psycho-emotive experience (emotional). These images begin to build structures that pull at the collective unconscious in interesting ways… through pattern, reflection, and surrealistic styled dreaminess. The source material for the images are flowers, landscapes, and cityscapes and they all end up feeling very different visually and that intrigues me. The flowers (both alive and dead) take on strong iconographic quality and tend to be the more sense relating pieces, the landscapes seem to breed the strongest dream quality, and the cityscapes have a very graphic quality where angles become monolithic… I hope you get close to these works to see the way image is constructed in your mind through the pattern, reflection, and dreaminess.”

Kirtley King is both an artist and an educator. Photography is usually his medium of choice.

There will be a video interview with the artist, available for viewing in the gallery during the times of the show (in lieu of an artist reception).

The show will run through December 1, 2022.

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 12 to 2 pm and 4 to 6 pm. Parking is free.

Please contact Jim Entz at 791-2257 with any questions.

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Cerro Coso Community College

Happy Thanksgiving from Cerro Coso Community College

I wanted to share the Thanksgiving message that Cerro Coso Community College President Sean Hancock sent:

Greetings,

Thanksgiving week is upon us.  For many of us, this is a time to embrace the wonderful people in our lives whom we cherish, and to reflect on our many blessings.  It also means that we are moving quickly towards the final academic push – projects, papers, exams, and end-of-the-year tasks. 

For many this is a time for simple pleasures like connecting with family, sharing a great meal, and enjoying some football rivalry.  For others it can be stressful, overwhelming, and lonely.  Please take this time to rest, reconnect, reach out, and engage in those activities that promote both mental and physical wellbeing.

The last two years have been challenging.  Yet, I saw this college come together for one another and for our communities in more ways than anyone could have imagined.  You transformed the institution to give our students the best educational experience possible, despite all obstacles. 

I am incredibly grateful to each of you for your courage, dedication, and support for our students and each other. The passion, tenacity, and resiliency that so uniquely defines the Cerro Coso community warrants joyful acknowledgement. To the students, thank you for choosing Cerro Coso, you give us purpose.  To our community members who have invested in Cerro Coso, thank you for your friendship, and your unwavering support of our programs and services.

The start of 2023 isn’t far away and it brings with it great promise! I look forward to working alongside you as we continue our mission to improve the life of every student we serve.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.

Coyote Spirit in Action

Thanksgiving is a time to express our gratitude for the good things in life, be it close friends and family, opportunities, good health, or even a healthy harvest.  It’s also a time when people like to give back. 

For Cerro Coso students it was a chance to help those in need have a nice holiday. 

Through the generosity of donors, the Coyote Cupboard held a food distribution on Friday afternoon at the Desert Dog Pet Store for the community.

One thing that every college campus wants is an environment of happy, engaged students.  Being involved in worthwhile community service projects, like the Coyote Cupboard, alongside earning a degree can help make that happen. 

In today’s society, it is easy to get wrapped up in the material aspects of the season.  What is truly important this Thanksgiving is not only to be thankful for all the things we have – but to give back to those who many not be as fortunate. 

Serving Up Thanksgiving

Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, the Coyote Cupboard at the Ridgecrest campus offered up a heartwarming reminder of what this season of giving is all about.

Every Thanksgiving, student volunteers gather at the Coyote Cupboard to serve a community Thanksgiving dinner, all free of charge for students and employees.

Student volunteers helped serve up the feast complete with turkey and all the fixings.

“We appreciate how hard our students work, and the staff that work hard to support them. This is a small gesture in light of all that, but it comes with our heartfelt gratitude,” said Outreach Director Katie Bachman.

Men of Worth Entertain Local Audience

In 1986 Scotsman Donnie Macdonald and Irishman James Keigher came together to perform Scottish and Irish Folk music, combining traditional and contemporary styles.

The two have been performing at Cerro Coso Community College for 16 years.  It was a real pleasure for the CCCC Foundation to reengage with the residents of the Indian Wells Valley on Friday, November 18^th, at the first concert to return to the college since the pandemic. 

Men of Worth did not disappoint.  It’s clear that after 30 years these two are still enjoying what they do.  They’re funny guys – not only expert musicians but extremely engaging performers; spiking their traditional tunes with wonderfully told tales about their homelands and plenty of unscripted comic interplay.

Donnie Macdonald comes from the Isle of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland.  Writing tunes and original songs in both his first language Gaelic and in English, Donnie presents the music from his native Scotland with passion and humor.  Donnie performs on vocals, octave mandolin, tenor banjo, concertina, and bodhran.  James Keigher comes from County Mayo in the west of Ireland.  He is a singer, writer and collector of traditional and contemporary folk music.  James was raised in Charlestown, a small rural community, steeped in traditional music and stories.  He performs on vocals, guitar, mando-cello, and bodhran. 

The name “Men of Worth” was chosen from the title of a Scottish Folk song written by the legendary Scots singer/songwriter Archie Fisher.

Performing concerts and festivals, with 12 albums to their credit, Men of Worth continue the very tradition from which they’ve evolved.  Men of Worth are an international act and have earned much respect and success in over 30 years of touring together.

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Bakersfield College

National Communication Association Conference

Last weekend, Dr. Chris Cruz-Boone (aka Dr. CCB) and Professor Chris Holland presented papers at the National Communication Association (NCA) Conference in New Orleans. Dr. CCB’s paper about our department’s shared stories of hope during the first two months of the COVID-19 crisis was awarded “top paper in the community college division”! Chris Holland presented her analysis about queer, specifically asexual, representation in video games. Both also volunteered for the Kendall Hunt Publishing’s Day of Service at NCA and assembled boxes of classroom supplies with notes of encouragement and decor as well as giant size Scrabble boards for teachers.

The Scars You Can’t See: Breaking the Stigma 

On November 5th, BC’s Health Science and Public Safety Training Pathway collaborated on a successful event, “The Scars You Can’t See; Breaking the Stigma”.

This seminar was a great show of commitment to forging a path toward mental stability and mental health education for our first responders and frontline workers. Speakers representing law enforcement, firefighters, and nurses spoke about their internal struggles and the tools they used to overcome them.

Attendees heard from Brian Smith (Retired Assistant Chief, California Highway Patrol), Jason Sautel (Retired Lieutenant, Oakland Fire Department), Ben Vernon (San Diego Fire-Rescue Engineer), and two of BC’s very own – Jennifer Arrington (Nursing Clinical Instructor) and Derek Robinson (Program Director, Public Safety Training Programs).

Industrial Automation Hosts Kern VEX Robotics Competition

In early November, Industrial Automation hosted the Kern VEX Robotics League Competition – a worldwide robotics competition held year-round that gives high school students the opportunity to compete at the regional, state, and national levels.

Over 200 local high school students competed in this match hosted by BC as their teams tried to advance to the league finals.

Students and their families had the opportunity to explore the new Industrial Automation Robotics Lab and learn more about the Bachelor of Science degree program.

Young Women Empowered for Leadership Fall Forum

On November 4th, Dr. Paula L Parks collaborated with KHSD educational partners and served as a panelist for the third annual Young Women Empowered for Leadership (YWEL) Fall Forum.

YWEL is a gathering of young ladies throughout the Kern High School District focusing on education, support, and encouragement. This year’s theme “It’s in Our DNA: Women in Education” was presented to over 140 KHSD students.

The collegiate panel also included CSUB’s Dr. Tracey Salisbury and BC adjunct faculty Ms. Kalisha McCabe.

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In the News

Porterville College Band shows versatility in concert

Jamie A. Hunt wrote this article for The Porterville Recorder about the Porterville College Band:

“I’m excited and thrilled to get the opportunity to direct the ensemble at PC,” said [adjunct band director David] Green. “It’s a challenge to rebuild the band program coming out of the pandemic, but I couldn’t be prouder of the work and efforts of the ensemble members.”

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

Here’s PC President Claudia Habib, Cerro Coso President Sean Hancock, and Kern CCD Trustee Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg at the Community College League of California Annual Convention:

Norma Rojas-Mora hosted the Latina Leaders academy:

Nora Dominguez presented at the Latina Leaders Academy:

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Tagged: #KernCCDDaringMightyThings, Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso College, Kern Community College District, Porterville College, Sonya Christian