TALEFEST 2023
Last week, Kern Community College District hosted the inaugural KernCCD TALEFEST. The Teaching-and Learning Exchange Festival was created to celebrate and support Kern CCD educators through the sharing of teaching-and-learning stories and the discussion of strategic new directions in a festive, positive environment showcasing achievement and innovation, peer-learning opportunities, and building district-wide mutual understanding and connections – in support of the goals of continuous improvement toward ensuring student learning and achieving student success with equity.
Porterville College’s Bob Simpkins led the initiative. The festival featured special guest speaker Susan D. Blum.
The exchange continues on the KernCCDTaleBlog – check it out!
Good morning friends.
It is April 22, 2023.
The sun shines bright over Kern CCD.
Porterville College
The Porterville College Fine Art Department Presents The 2023 PC Student Art Exhibition
The Porterville College Art Department invites the public to view the 2023 Student Art Exhibition, featuring the best work of over 50 current PC art students in a variety of media from photography, painting, drawing, digital art, video, sculpture and more.
The PC Art Gallery is currently under renovation, so the show and artists’ reception is located in the Fine Arts Building in room FA-2 and in the Foyer (through the double glass doors). The space will be open for viewing the show Monday through Thursday from 12 am – 2 pm and 4 – 6 pm from April 20 to May 4, 2023.
Five student artworks are also available for viewing in the President’s Gallery (the reception area to the President’s office). And when classes are not in session, photographs and digital art are available for viewing in FA-1. Parking is free. Please contact Jim Entz at 791-2257 with any questions.
PC Job Fair Brings Hundreds of Job Seekers to Campus
Porterville College, in partnership with the Porterville Adult School and the Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County, presented the 2nd PC Job Fair this past Tuesday.
The event, held in the PC Campus Quad, was a huge success, bringing hundreds of job seekers out on the beautiful spring day to meet with potential employers and apply for over 1000 available jobs from employers including Amazon, Eagle Mountain Casino, The City of Porterville, the Kern Community College District, the Porterville Unified School District, and many others.
Bryce Telfer, the sales and marketing coordinator for OACYS Technologies was impressed with the job seekers he spoke with. “It’s interesting overall, and I like the diversity here and the atmosphere. Everyone is talking to each other and having conversations.” He said.
“The great thing about the job fair is people not only get great information about job opportunities, but they also get to network together,” said Cody Ridenour, PC Adjunct Counselor for Veterans Services.
When asked about the benefit of holding a job fair like this on campus, Roger Perez, PC Director of Communication and Community Relations said, “The benefits are immense. Not only are we providing a service for our students by giving them a way to attend a job fair with minimal interruption to classes, but we’re proving to our community that our students emerge from an education at Porterville College ready for the workforce.”
Commencement Excitement Begins at Grad Fair 2023
The excitement is beginning to build for Commencement 2023 at Porterville College.
The 2023 commencement ceremony will be held on campus inside Jamison Stadium for the first time after the completion of stadium upgrades and renovation. This will allow us to accommodate the largest crowd ever in the stadium to view the ceremony.
On Wednesday and Thursday, April 19th and 20th, the 2023 graduates were treated to their first taste of that graduate pomp and circumstance at the PC GradFair.
The event was created as a one-stop shop for commencement needs at PC. The event’s organizers hope to ensure that graduates have all of the information they need along with opportunities to properly commemorate their remarkable achievements with gear and accessories for the ceremony.
During the event, Grads visited the quad, the student center conference room, and the PC Bookstore for all things commencement. They were able to try on and order their cap and gown, take graduation portraits, pre-order event photo packages, and more.
For more information on this year’s commencement ceremonies, visit https://www.portervillecollege.edu/commencement
Cerro Coso Community College
Art Gallery Reopens
We are so thrilled to have the Art Gallery open again! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the opening of “Corrugated Space” by Artist Steve King. The gallery will be open until June 9th. Please feel free to come up any time to enjoy the artwork.
The Art Galley is located in the LRC at the Ridgecrest/IWV campus.
Middle School Students Take Campus Tours
Last week, Cerro Coso Community College welcomed students from Monroe and Murray Middle School’s AVID programs for a pair of campus tours.
Interested in Cerro Coso? Are you an educator that would like to afford your students the opportunity to visit a college campus and learn what it can offer them? Well, contact us to schedule a campus tour!
Aside from walking the beautiful grounds, we can offer informational overviews about our offerings, or invite faculty and staff to discuss specific programs and services. We’ll cater the experience to your needs. We hope to see you on a CC campus soon.
Cerro Coso Partners with Women’s Center-High Desert
On any given day—in our pop-up “kitchen” in the Student Center—you can find Starbucks sandwiches, bagels, and pastries, chicken from KFC, and other donated items from numerous business in the Ridgecrest community. If you’re hungry, come on by! Sign in, grab something from our labeled cooler, and enjoy, friends.
Bakersfield College
Garden Fest Returns to BC
BC’s Horticulture, Ag, and Culinary departments were on full display as they hosted Garden Fest 2023. Community members of all ages came to campus to enjoy vendors offering everything from plants and gardening gear, to prepared food, handmade goods, and local resources. Culinary faculty and students gave a cooking demonstration, while the Ag and Horticulture department offered community members a chance to ask a panel of experts all of their home gardening questions. This was an excellent opportunity to show off the new Edible Education Garden and various programs the community can engage in.
Graduate Spotlight
Jasmine Martinez is a single mom of two while double majoring in Sociology and Psychology at Bakersfield College. She is part of EOPS, CARE and CW, and maintains a 4.0 GPA. Aside from caring for her two children, Jasmine has struggled with depression and anxiety throughout most of her adult life and never imagined returning to college at the age of twenty six to obtain a degree. Against all odds, Jasmine is on track to graduate in the Spring of 2023 and plans to attend CSUB following graduation.
BC Receives NASSSP Grant
BC has been selected as one of 20 California Community Colleges to receive the Native American Student Support and Success Program Grant (NASSSP). This grant is provided to community colleges to establish Native American student support through integration of peer mentorship, development of cohorts, and provision of culturally responsive resources. Congratulations to interim VP of Student Affairs, Imelda Simos-Valdez, and her team for the hard work that led to BC’s success in receiving this grant.
Dave Seymour Leads the First Student Support Fair
Dave Seymour is the senior mental health clinician for BC where he has served for more than 7 years as a counselor and mental health provider. Dave’s goal with the Student Support Fair was “simply familiarizing students with the different supportive services that make up the safety net that is necessary…for a successful outcome in their academic career, and to create a positive and fun association for students who tend to stigmatize supportive services”.
The Student Success Fair was attended by hundreds of people, with representatives from over a dozen BC departments, clubs and other campus groups.
“The Student Support Fair is exemplary of Dave’s work at BC,” said Charles Collum of the Student Health and Wellness Center. “It was student centered, effective, and fun. All things we associate with Dave.”
======================
This week, I traveled to the ASU + GSV conference in San Diego, a collaboration between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley. It’s always a pleasure to connect with colleagues, policy makers and leaders in higher education and tech as we share ideas.
I then headed to Sacramento, to the CCCAOE (California Community College Association for Occupational Education) spring conference .
Check out more of the KernCCD team at CCCAOE:
In between all of the activity, I was able to do a few long walks on the boardwalk.
moments that take your breath away.
In the News
Garden Fest Returns to Bakersfield College
23ABC published this piece about last weekend’s Garden Fest at BC.
“It’s great to get back to a normal cycle again and getting out in the sunshine, it’s just a gorgeous day here in Bakersfield,” said Professor of Ornamental Horticulture Lindsay Ono.
10 Minutes With Tipton: PC’s Olmedo-Hinde
Check out this feature in The Porterville Recorder featuring Porterville College General & Transfer Counselor and Student Services Division Chair Stephanie Olmedo-Hinde.
“I love that I get to help students figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives and I get to watch them do it. Working with students from when they first get here to when they graduate and move on to bigger colleges is the best part of my job. I am very lucky to get paid to talk with and guide people on what to do to accomplish their long term academic goals. I am thankful for my job every day.”
Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media
John Harte shared this photo when we met at the KCCD Leadership Academy awards luncheon.
Cerro Coso Anthropology students in Tehachapi had a study session with tutors in the library:
And Happy Birthday to Kylie Campbell, who shared this post yesterday:
“What an awesome birthday!! I had the honor of moderating a plenary panel on #dualenrollment at
@CCCAOE, my AMAZING coworkers spoiled me, and @devon_hauser even flew up to celebrate with me! What more could I ask for?!”
******
That’s a wrap for now.
See you next Saturday!
The future is bright at Kern CCD.
-sonya
a joyful and grateful Chancellor
#KernCCDDaringMightyThings
Tagged: #KernCCDDaringMightyThings, Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso College, Kern Community College District, Porterville College, Sonya Christian
Leave a Reply