Last weekend, all eyes were on Hollywood during the 95th Academy Awards. What fun to see a Indian Telugu song “Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR take the Oscar for the Best Original song. History making as the first Indian movie song to win an Oscar.

And, I absolutely can’t wait to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once with Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh winning Oscars — a total of seven Oscars for the movie.

Here is the trailer.

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And spring has arrived after a wet winter, with nature responding in all its glory.

Check out visitors in the backyard pool.

Over the last five years I have been watching a beautiful tree in our neighbors front yard go through the cycle of shedding leaves in the fall, going dormant in the winter, coming back to life in spring and providing glorious shade in the hot summers. I enjoy this tree every morning and evening during my Neo walks. This week, I thought I would snap a photo and chronicle its annual rebirth. Here is a first photo, March 15, 2023.

Here is a post from Nick Strobel bragging about the flowers in his front yard – African Daisies, and the first patch of poppies:

Good morning friends.
It is March 18, 2023.
The sun shines bright over Kern CCD.

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Porterville College

PC Writer and Poet Speaker Series Kicks Off Spring Events

The PC Writer & Poet Series proudly announces the next in its year-long series of presentations from some of the most amazing authors and poets working today.  On March 28^th, we will welcome Erika Sánchez for a virtual event.

Erika L. Sánchez is a novelist, poet, feminist, and cheerleader for young women everywhere. Her most recent book is “Crying in the Bathroom” which Publisher’s Weekly called, “another satisfying addition to Sánchez’s deeply moving body of works.” She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Young Adult novel, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter”, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the acclaimed debut poetry collection, “Lessons in Expulsion”, which the Washington Post called “a fierce, assertive debut”.

Sánchez’s poems have appeared in many literary journals, including Poets.org, Vinyl Poetry, Guernica, diode, Boston Review, the Paris Review, Gulf Coast, POETRY Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine.

When asked about her work, she states, “What I hope people gain from my work is a sense of beauty, a way of looking at the world that is different—a shift of perspective developing a sensibility in which beauty is the basis of your life. That’s how I approach writing, always: it’s all about the truth, and truth and beauty are one and the same for me.”

To register for this virtual event, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ywypwhfc

SAVE THE DATE: The Job Fair Returns to PC on April 18

We are excited to announce that Porterville College, the Workforce Investment Board, and Porterville Adult School are once again collaborating to bring the 2nd Annual Joint Job Fair to Porterville College!

This event will take place Tuesday, April 18, 2023, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in the PC Quad.

Over 1000 jobs will be available from a wide range of employers! This event will be held outdoors and is open to the public.

PC Students Tour UC Merced

This past week PC staff took a group of students for a tour of the UC Merced campus. Students got a full campus tour and then listened to a student panel on the UC Merced experience. They also learned about dorm life, student life, and the services available to students, among other things, as they enjoyed the beautiful day in Merced. The day was more than just a chance to get away from the rainy skies and flooding of Porterville, giving real insight into what could become the fruits of their success at Porterville College.

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Cerro Coso Community College

CC Marketplace addresses food insecurity

Have you checked out CC Marketplace? CC Marketplace was created to address food insecurity for students. It is Cerro Coso’s belief that no student should have to learn on an empty stomach. Bags of food and hygiene resources are for ANY student who may want it. There are no requirements to receiving a bag of food or hygiene resources, CC wants to make sure food and toiletries go to ANYONE who needs them.

We have the CC Marketplace program at all of our Cerro Coso campuses:

– IWV/Ridgecrest: room 145, across from the fountain on the first floor.

– ESCC Bishop/Mammoth: contact your counselor for more information!

– East Kern/Tehachapi: contact your counselor for more information!

Click here: https://www.cerrocoso.edu/studentservices/cc-marketplace for more information!

Cerro Coso Outreach Visits Burroughs High School

In between answering questions and letting everyone know about this week’s Virtual Open House, the Cerro Coso Outreach team challenged an endless string of brave burros to a few intense rounds of Roshambo.

Check out the video below!

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Bakersfield College

Delano Learning Resource Center Nearing Completion

Construction for the new Learning Resource Center at the Delano Campus is nearing completion! The new facility is expected to hold classes beginning in the fall, and the two-story, 40,000-square-foot multipurpose center will feature 9 lecture classrooms, 2 computer labs, and 2 HyFlex classrooms. It will also feature plenty of resources for students to take advantage of, like a library, writing center, tutoring center, and faculty/staff office space. The LRC will offer designated spaces for comprehensive student services including counseling, advising, DSPS, student employment, and financial aid to support the needs and future student growth throughout the Delano and Northern Kern community.

2023 Spring Play Festival at BC

BC’s Theater Program announced the details of the 2023 Spring Play Festival, featuring four contemporary plays directed by BC Theatre students. The festival will run from March 22nd to April 2nd with all shows taking place in the Edward Simonsen Indoor Theatre at Bakersfield College. 

The first weekend will feature the critically-acclaimed and widely produced play ART by Yasmina Reza, directed by Victoria Gomez, playing March 22nd, 24th, and 25th. Also showing in the first weekend is Neil LaBute’s contemporary classic Reasons to be Pretty, directed by Liz Bomar, on March 23rd, 25th, and 26th.

The second weekend will feature  Alan Ball’s comedy Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, directed by Marina Gradowitz, playing March 29th, 31st, and April 1st. Along with it, Diana Son’s Stop Kiss, directed by Manuela Torres-Orejuela, plays March 30th, April 1st, and 2nd. Please note that all four of these plays contain strong language, adult themes, and discussions of sensitive issues. No one under 14 is permitted.

Purchase your tickets and come support BC’s Theater students as they begin to explore directing early in their education! 

BC Outreach Hosts Workshops for Graduating High School Students

BC Outreach held a New Renegade workshop on campus for graduating high school seniors. During the event, advisors shared information with our incoming Renegades about successfully getting started on campus, including: Bridge to BC, Financial Aid, how to view their Starfish CSEP, how to register, and so much more! Over 40 students and their parents came to learn what BC has to offer during their educational journey.  Those who attended qualified for Priority Registration for summer and fall 2023! Outreach and over 100 BC staff will lead Registration Rocks at over 30 high schools, assisting students with registering for their courses.

Transfer Pathways Partners with CSUB

Transfer Pathways invited the CSUB Admissions and Outreach team to BC on March 8th to meet  with students and answer questions regarding admissions requirements, upcoming events, and programs available when the students are ready to transfer! 

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KernCCD Presents at Kern Tax Board

A team from KernCCD – including Romeo Agbalog, Kylie Campbell, and Steven Watkin – presented on Dual Enrollment and the Early College Program to the Kern Tax Board this week.

Here’s a note from KCCD Chancellor Emeritus & incoming Interim Chancellor Tom Burke, who is on the Kern Tax Board:

“Romeo, Kylie and Steven did an excellent job representing and presenting the program.  It was very well received by the Association with the District receiving many compliments for the success and effectiveness of the program.”

Kern CCD District IT Cloud Team Earns Award

Kern CCD DO IT Cloud team earns CISOA Technology Excellence award by moving all our applications to the cloud! We are the first district in the state to accomplish this task providing significant benefits in scalability, agility, security, and business continuity. 

Starting in 2018, KCCD’s Core Cloud Team consisting of Mike Arnold, Suyun Ding, Dana Tusaw, Joseph White, Patrick Ferree, Justin Wallace, Armando Martinez, Ian Mason, Hernando Mondragon, and Marco Galvez and with the help of additional team members, embarked on a Journey to identify as many on-premise IT applications and services as possible for migration to our AWS cloud.    

The team embraced and preserved through many challenges along the way including learning new skills, building out and optimizing KCCD’s AWS environment, automating deployment, addressing Security requirements, and optimizing costs all while managing day-to-day reactive duties such as Network/Systems troubleshooting and Help Desk tickets. 

The Journey culminated in June 2022 with a tally of 147 applications migrated and 13 new applications deployed to AWS cloud environment including AWS AppStream for remote Instructional use.   

In the News

Community Voices: Longevity — a wish come true

Dr. Brijesh Bhambi penned this Community Voices piece for The Bakersfield Californian.

“In a long-term Harvard study, a random variable demonstrated more power than a diet. A goal and passion in life, along with companionship, mattered more. It’s been correctly stated that the key to longevity is relationships, relationships, relationships.”

Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

Lincoln Day Dinner 2023 at the Bakersfield Marriott:

Check out these pictures from PC Day at Staffords – PC staff were on hand to answer questions and help those new students get started with classes this summer or fall.

And here’s the KernCCD team at the Chief Student Services Officers Conference:

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