Category Archives: Uncategorized

An evening to remember. Sterling Silver 2021

Uncategorized March 13, 2021 1 Comment

This week, while she was getting her vaccine at BC’s very own vaccination clinic, Jennifer Serratt stopped by to visit our culinary program. She sent me this photo:

Did you know our Renegade Room is back open for take-out service? Thank you so much to Christian Flores-Castaneda and everyone in our culinary arts program for all the work you’ve put in to making it possible for our students to serve our community.

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, March 13, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.

Sterling Silver

Last Saturday’s Sterling Silver broadcast on KGET/Channel 17 was an amazing celebration of our outstanding philanthropists. I hope you were able to tune in and watch as the BC Foundation honored Margaret “Peggy” Haight, Patricia Mettler, Greg & Mary Bynum, and Becki Whitson.

If you missed the production, or if you’d like to check it out again, please enjoy the following videos.

Thank you to KGET-17’s Tami Mlcoch, who served as emcee for the evening:

BC Foundation Executive Director Cheryl Scott:

My introduction:

KCCD Board of Trustees President Romeo Agbalog‘s remarks:

Of course, our honorees.

Margaret “Peggy” Haight:

Patricia Mettler:

Greg & Mary Bynum:

And Becki Whitson:

And finally, the conclusion of our production:

Thank you so much to our honorees; to Cheryl Scott, Heather Pennella and the BC Foundation team; Norma Rojas-Mora and the BC Communications team (especially video editor Valerie Urso); tp Tami Mlcoch and everyone at KGET; and to everyone who put so much careful time and effort into creating a memorable evening.

We are BC!

Previous Sterling Silver Celebrations

Sterling Silver 2020

Feb 29, 2020 Celebrating Leap Year & showcasing Sterling Silver 2020

Sterling Silver 2019

2019 Sterling Silver

BC Vaccination Clinic

BC’s Renegades have been dedicated to being a part of the solution to end this pandemic. Today, BC’s Student Health and Wellness Center hosted BC’s first vaccination clinic to distribute the Johnson and Johnson Janssen vaccine. THANK YOU to BC’s nursing students and faculty, the KC Latino COVID-19 Task Force, and all our partners who provided PPE, support, and guidance helping BC do our part to serve the community. #WeareBC!

You can see a photo gallery from the clinic on the BC SmugMug site.

Our updated vaccination clinic schedule is available on the BC website at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/studenthealth/clinic. Any any eligible individuals who meet the COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule per Kern County Public Health are able to attend these clinics.

Billie Jo Rice also shared with me these photos of our students giving vaccines at Bakersfield Heart Hospital:

Our BC community is continuing to get vaccinated, and I enjoy every time another photo comes into my inbox. Check out these recent Vaccinated Renegades:

If you have a photo of your COVID-19 vaccination, please send it to president@bakersfieldcollege.edu.

And be sure to check out our gallery of vaccinations.

Virtual Theatre Performance: The Book of Fairy Tales

Spring 2021 THEA B27: Acting Theatre Lab class produced a virtual performance of “The Book of Fairy Tales: Stories from Around the World.” The stories were adapted and directed by Cody Ganger and inspired by Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales.

Each piece was first discussed and rehearsed over Zoom before meeting in small groups to film. The actors and crew followed masking and social distancing guidelines for all in-person meetings, including being masked any time they were in the same space as other actors.

The cast of the performance is Vanessa Beltran, Connor Deming, Ivy Hasselbar, Alexxandra Lamacchia, Jason Land, Michael Morales, Serena Ornelas, Abraham Ortega, Abigail Putman, April Toelle, and Shane Young.

The stories include Kate Crackernuts (England), The Rabbit (Swahili), The Princess in the Suit of Leather (Egypt), The Letter Trick (Suriname), East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon (Norway), The Three Lovers (Mexico), The Wicked Stepmother (West Africa), The Werefox (China), The Armless Maiden (Russia), Nature’s Way (Armenia).

The performance will be available online until Sunday, March 21.

A Shot of Reality – Alcohol Awareness

The Office of Student Life held a zoom viewing of “A Shot of Reality,” an interactive alcohol awareness program presented by two professional comedians. A Shot of Reality has performed for the US Navy/Army and hundreds of colleges. The presenters have a realistic interactive discussion about the destructive and deadly consequences of alcohol abuse, assault, DUIs, health issues and more. This program was created with health professionals, local police, and members of various alcohol rehab programs. The two presenters not only use comedy to engage the audience, but they also attack the serious impact of this national campus epidemic.

You can view the “A Shot of Reality” video at https://vimeo.com/148129896

Tutoring Center – Open for Students

From an email from Tutoring:

Great news! The Bakersfield College Tutoring Center is open, available online and ready to support our students. The BC Tutoring Center offers free, one-on-one online peer tutoring with CRLA trained tutors.

Services offered:

  • Weekly 50-minute appointments
  • 15-minute drop-in tutoring (for Math and English)
  • Tutors available in many subjects

For more information and to sign up for tutoring, go to our website at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/student/tutoring.

The BC Tutoring Center is a proven student success service that provides FREE online tutoring to all currently enrolled Bakersfield College Students. Our one-on-one Peer Tutors, who are trained and certified, can assist you with many Bakersfield College courses. Whether for course content, assignments, required papers (at any stage of the writing process) and/or academic skills, assistance is available through drop-in and scheduled appointments for most BC courses. Please feel free to share this information with your students. Thank you so much.

Thank you to the BC Tutoring Center Team – Bradley Cramer, Monica Huyck, and Sonia Avila – for proving this important service to our students!

Community Voices

Political Science professor Allen Bolar wrote a piece in the Bakersfield Californian about using Discord – an app originally used by gamers – in the classroom to encourage connection and engagement.

“Text chatting on Discord allows students to show their personality as discussions segue from the pros and cons of upcoming ballot propositions to a movie recommendation to advice about scholarships to a question about the next quiz deadline. We even had a heated debate about what makes the perfect pizza. It’s much easier to respond quickly (and painlessly) to requests, and students benefit from seeing questions others ask rather than being isolated in an individual email silo.”

Spotted on Social Media:

Isabel Castaneda gave a shoutout to Carlos Medina:

EODAC shared a Zoom photo of a recent meeting:

Abel Guzman gave a radio interview to encourage the Latinx community to enroll at BC:

Nick Strobel shared some beautiful springtime poppies:

Athletics

Renegade Athletics Are Back!!

After much work and tireless coordination – Renegade Athletics became one of the first colleges in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) to return to sports competition this last week. BC is one of a handful of schools from the over 100 CCCAA schools that compete in athletics to 1) Opt-in for the Spring I season and 2) Have enough regional opponents to create a schedule of games.

Volleyball and Men’s Soccer started the Spring I season off with a bang by winning their opening games of the Spring I abbreviated season. Both teams played College of the Sequoias in their respective sports with Volleyball winning 3-1 and Men’s Soccer 4-2.

At the current time only Men’s Soccer, Volleyball and Men’s and Women’s Basketball are playing. All teams however are practicing and conditioning on-campus. While strict COVID protocols do not allow for fans in the stands at this time, it doesn’t mean you have miss out on the action – make sure to visit GoGades.com to know days/times for each sports and catch the live-stream’s through this link: https://video.ibm.com/channel/bc-renegades-athletics.

Action Photos

Seems like a dream that some of our student athletes are back in action, soon we’ll have more teams competing as well! Here are Volleyball and Women’s Basketball in action this week. Thank you Brandon Urry for getting these photos to me.

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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

BC – bold rhythms freely speak…so many riffs

Uncategorized March 6, 2021 Leave a comment

This morning, I thought I would start with a poem from Jack Hernandez:

Take Five

Going through the motions
in and out the same doors
working the usual chores,
life has closed his veins
stopped the blood that pours
like surf on unfamiliar shores.
movement now is confined
to thoughts circling his head
like flies above the dead.
But amid the chattering rhymes
his pulse begins to drum
a jazzy  jazzy   jazzy beat,
bold rhythms now freely speak,
hot sax    cool piano chords
swing him into the jostling street,
so many riffs    so much jive
take five   take five   take five.

It was perfect timing, because just a few days before he sent this, I saw on Facebook that BC Jazz Studies shared their Jazz Combos have been able to start outdoor, in-person rehearsals.

BC Jazz Studies

These steps show that we are slowly returning to normal. Every new update, each part of our lives that we’re able to regain – even if it looks considerably different than last year – brings me such joy. Beautiful music, gorgeous weather, and finally being able to come together: it’s truly wonderful to take five and appreciate how far we have come.

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, March 6, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.

Sterling Silver on KGET

A little over a year ago – last February – we held our annual Sterling Silver dinner to honor and recognize our generous donors and community supporters. I didn’t imagine that night just how different this year’s event would look. But despite a pandemic and social distancing, our BC Foundation is still able to celebrate those that lift our students by supporting the college’s mission. This year’s event will be broadcast on KGET/Channel 17. Make sure to tune in tonight at 7PM!

This year, honorees include:

Patricia Mettler and Margaret “Peggy” Haight – Individual Philanthropists (posthumously)

Greg & Mary Bynum, Bynum, Inc. – Corporate Philanthropists

Greg Bynum, Sonya Christian, Mary Bynum

Becky Whitson – BC Foundation Service Medal (posthumously)

Becki Whitson

This annual event is usually an elegant dinner with proceeds helping to fund scholarships for students, providing vital opportunities to make higher education a reality for thousands of Renegades. In this unusual time, I hope that you will join me this year in watching the show while eating dinner.

BC Foundation Executive Director Cheryl Scott was on the KGET Sunrise program this week to talk about the event.

And BC Foundation Board Chair Marko Zaninovich penned this Community Voices piece about recognizing Bakersfield College’s supporters – the the important work those donations allow.

“These gifts are reason to celebrate and remind our community of the work required to educate students. Our donors have thoughtfully placed their resources, all to benefit students and our community. They share a pride in the community. The message is consistent: Invest in education today to develop thinkers and problem solvers for tomorrow.”

Thank you Connie Perez-Andreesen, Foundation Board Member, for your generous donation to #SterlingSilver2021.

Thank you Heather Penella for leading the planning effort.

Vaccination Schedule for next week

The Bakersfield College Student Health and Wellness Center is now hosting multiple vaccination clinics for any eligible individuals who meet the COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule per Kern County Public Health. This opportunity is voluntary.  

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 between 10am and Noon. Click Here to register for an appointment.

Thanks to our partners at VIPMD, we have a Moderna vaccine clinic on-campus in Levinson Hall next Tuesday, March 9, 2021 between 10am and Noon. Please note you will need to bring your photo ID, VIPMD registration packet, and your insurance card with you.

Thursday, March 11, 2021 from 2 to 4pm – BCSHWC’s First Clinic. Click Here to register for an appointment.

I am proud to announce that our known BC Student Health and Wellness Center has now been allocated the one-shot Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccines to be distributed on Thursday, March 11, 2021 from 2 to 4pm in Levinson Hall. Please note you will need to bring your photo ID.

Saturday, March 13, 2021 between 10am and 2pm. Click Here to register yourself for an appointment.

Thanks to our partners at Dignity Health, we have a drive-thru Moderna vaccination clinic on-campus at the Stadium Parking lot next Saturday, March 13, 2021 between 10am and 2 pm. Please note you will need to bring your photo ID and be able to drive through the clinic space. The BC Drive-Thru Flow Site Map will provide some guidance as to how the flow will work.

Monday, March 15, 2021 between 3pm and 6pm – Delano. Click Here to register yourself for an appointment.

Thanks to our partners at Dignity Health, we have a Moderna vaccination clinic at the Delano Campus on Monday, March 15, 2021 between 3pm and 6pm. Please note you will need to bring your photo ID.

2nd Annual Jean Fuller Women in Leadership Panel

Bakersfield College kicked off Women’s History Month with a discussion and panel, moderated by Early College champion and Republican Senator Emeritus, Jean Fuller.  The event premiered on BC’s YouTube channel on Thursday, March 4, at 6:00pm.

The Jean Fuller Women in Leadership Panel featured:

  • Dr. Mary Barlow, Kern County Superintendent of Schools
  • Ms. Katie Russell, Superintendent, Panama Buena Vista Union School District
  • Assemblywoman Emeritus Nicole Parra, Manager, California Government Relations, Marathon Petroleum Corp.

If you missed the panel, you can still check it out on YouTube:

And I invited you to read Senator Emeritus Fuller’s Community Voices piece in the Bakersfield Californian about the panel.

“However, women’s leadership and empowerment is not a recent endeavor for BC, but deeply rooted in its history, as the college came to be what it is today under the leadership of a woman named Grace Van Dyke Bird. She first came to teach in 1917 and was appointed as college chief executive, the position now known as president, in 1921. She was among the first to suggest using the term “community college” instead of junior college, arguing that community was more descriptive of the institution’s role.”

The event is part of BC’s month-long celebration of Women’s History Month. Bakersfield College’s Office of Student Life, in collaboration with the Student Government Association, also hosted journalist and activist Elaine Weiss as part of the college’s Distinguished Speaker series on Tuesday, March 2nd. You can watch the video on the BCSGA Facebook page.

Elaine Weiss

COVID-19 Virtual Seminars

This week, we continued the President’s Virtual Seminar Series with two discussions.

Tuesday’s discussion featured updates from the Student Information Desk and BCSGA. Thank you to Gian Gayatao, Dan Hall, Zav Dadabhoy, Jenny Frank, and Tina Johnson for participating.

Then on Thursday we discussed the BC Vaccination clinic, results of a college-wide survey, and vaccinations and higher education. We heard a vaccine clinic update from Nicky Damania, as well as information from Craig Hayward, Jennifer Johnson, and Kimberly Nickell.

As always, thank you to Todd Coston, Nicky Damania, and Earl Parsons for all the work you put into producing these seminars.

You can see videos from all the President’s Virtual Seminars on the COVID-19 website.

California Community Colleges Women’s Caucus Meeting

The California Community Colleges Women’s Caucus (CCCWC) is celebrating International Women’s Day with their second official business meeting on March 8 at Noon. CCCWC is excited to welcome Eleni Kounalakis, California Lieutenant Governor and BOG Member as the guest speaker. Register for the CCCWC March 8 meeting.

Express Enrollment Events This Week

Bakersfield College will hold two special virtual Express Enrollment Events for new and returning students on March 10, 2020 from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. and March 13, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Educational advisors who assist students in the affinity groups for African American students, Latinx students, and Veteran students will also be available for these events. Counselors and support staff will be available to assist students with their registration process, placement, enrollment, and financial aid.  

RSVP for Express Enrollment

Commencement Virtual Celebration

Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 16, 2021, when we will celebrate the Bakersfield College Class of 2021 with a special televised virtual commencement event! It will air on KGET as well as streaming online — bringing the celebration to your home while maintaining safety precautions. I hope you will watch with the rest of Bakersfield as our graduates’ images brighten your television screen as their names are read aloud. 

BC Graduates must petition for graduation and opt-in to participate in the celebration. For more information and to sign up, visit Bakersfield College Commencement.

Health Science Virtual Outreach Event

On Thursday, February 25th, we hosted our first Health Science Pathway Virtual Outreach Event. This event was to provide the opportunity for current BC, high school, and perspective students to learn more about each of our health science programs and have the chance to explore them with us.

There were over 170 attendees and a faculty representative from 11 programs and Early College! Breakout rooms were very interactive and we received many great questions and comments from students. As one student stated “I loved everything about the presentation and how everyone had a chance to direct their questions to people directly instead of waiting for a pending email.” In the survey provided after the event, 95% of students indicated that they are more likely to register for late start and/or summer classes due to the information learned at the event.

Thank you to our phenomenal Health Science team for all of their work and time to make this event successful! Keep your eye out for more Health Science events in the future! #WeAreBC

Outreach & Early College Host Bring Your Stuffed Animal to Work Day

The Outreach & Early College Team had some special guests in their morning meeting this week. The team had a Bring Your Stuffed Animal to Work Day. Team members brought 1 (or more) of their trusted, tried, and true stuffed animals to the morning zoom meeting and shared the stories behind them. In the picture you can see that some team members really got into the spirit with an assortment from dogs, to narwhals, to Disney characters, and even a mood reflecting octopus!

Spotted on Social Media

Abel Guzman shared this throwback to a workshop with BC Dreamers about writing personal statements:

The Renegade Room shared these amazing photos of the delicious food they’ve been creating for takeout service:

Mary Jo Pasek shared some photos from her garden:

And Mindy Wilmot shared a new Renegade in her family:

Athletics

Renegade Spring Sports Update

Starting Friday Renegade Athletics are back in the following sports for the Spring I season (March-April): Men’s Soccer, Volleyball and M/W Basketball. Be sure to head to GoGades.com to check schedules. While fans are not allowed in-person at games right now, you can still keep up with the teams on social media and watch live-streams when available through this link. Click the link below to follow the official Renegade Athletics social media accounts.

De La Cruz Headed to William Jessup University

Congrats this week to women’s tennis student athlete Grecia De La Cruz as she signed to continue her athletic and academic career at William Jessup University. In the 2019 season she was the women’s tennis #1 player when she went 5-3 as the Renegades #1 singles player. We are excited for Grecia and wish her the best!

That’s all for now.
Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya –
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

BC – the week of vaccinations

Uncategorized February 27, 2021 Leave a comment

I was so excited to see how many of our BC faculty and staff were able to get their COVID-19 vaccinations this week. Vaccinations are the first step to getting back to seeing each other in person – and every person I see getting their shot brings a smile to my face as we find hope to end this pandemic.

I’ve especially appreciated some of the notes that have been shared.

“After nearly a year away, I almost cried when I saw Michael Korcok! I was so happy to see my hallmate in person for the first time since March 16th 2020.” – Helen Acosta

Abel Guzman shared that his vaccine was administered by a BC LVN student, Jesus:

Here are some of the other photos of Renegades getting vaccinated:

Please share your COVID-19 vaccination photos to president@bakersfieldcollege.edu so they can be added to our growing gallery.

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, February 27, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.

How BC Firefighters Land Their Dream Job

Bakersfield College, in collaboration with our City and County Fire Departments, assists students in landing their dream job in the community as firefighters. A key to reaching that goal is the right combination of education and training. Future firefighters receive both instructional and hands-on training.

This training lasts for months, and upon successful completion students are qualified to apply to work at many fire departments. Dean Lora Larkin, FIRE Faculty Charles Truvillion, Chief Mike Lencioni, and Captain Bryce Campbell met to see student progress first hand in a rare opportunity this past Saturday to see our students in a firefighting training. 

Participants included Charles Johnson (KCFD), Victor Reyes (KCFD), Austin Lackey (KCFD), Temo Rojo (KCFD), Chris Wells (KCFD), Johnathan Amaya (KCFD), Bryce Campbell (KCFD), Wyatt Paxton (BFD), and Mike Lencioni (BFD).

What many may not know is that the training through Bakersfield College continues even after a person is offered a job with the Fire Departments. The Recruit Academy is provided through Bakersfield College as well, where all previous education and training are cummulatively built upon and applied in real world scenarios. For many months recruits work long days at the training facility, and study into the night each night. Some of the topics covered are fire behavior, military discipline, auto extrication, and firefighter survival. 

Live fire training provides the students enrolled in the academy the best opportunity to experience what it truly takes to perform the tasks of a firefighter under realistic conditions. This high level of training cannot be simulated through other means. It is the mission of the teaching cadre for the Bakersfield College Firefighter 1 Academy to best prepare the cadets for their future career as firefighters providing both the academic education and the necessary experience in applying what they have been taught.

While the fire service career path can seem daunting at first, supportive staff are there for our students through the entire process. Encourage those within our community to enroll in the Bakersfield College Fire Technology program; you never know where it can take you! 

BC, KCCD Awarded Nearly $2 Million for Kern Regional Workforce Coalition

The Kern Community College District and Bakersfield College have been awarded $1,999,725.30 to convene industry, worker organizations and community around shared interests in energy, workforce, and industry needs of Kern County and the Central Valley. This initiative, known as The Kern Regional Workforce Coalition is a  High Road Training Partnership (HTRP), aimed to create a stronger, healthier, and more economically resilient community by focusing on equity, education, industry security, and job quality.

To meet these objectives, the Kern Regional Workforce Coalition will work with many local community, labor, industry stakeholders and contributing partners including the Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), The Kern, Inyo, and Mono Counties Building Trades Council, The Kern, Inyo, and Mono Counties Central Labor Council, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, Kern Taxpayers Association, Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership (FIELD), and others to conduct research, strengthen and expand regional workgroups, and invest in worker-centered workforce training, development, economic diversification and the right industry sectors to build the region’s foundation for high road training partnerships. 

Umoja Celebrates Black History Month with several events

The Umoja Community program and the Umoja Club held events during February for Black History Month. Highlights include the Club’s third annual conference and the Program’s presentation of East African acrobats.

The conference keynote Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka spoke on “Untangling Racial Trauma.” The DC-based psychohairapist wove hair together as an expression of African culture, with the hair as both symbol and target of marginalization.

Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka

She traced the history of hair oppression from Louisiana forcing formerly enslaved women to cover their hair with a headwrap to today’s students being bullied, not allowed to play sports, or suspended for wearing their hair in braids, locs, or afros. From the 1700s to now “there have been laws and rules how we were allowed to wear our hair,” Dr. Mbilishaka added.

But hair is also a cultural affirmation, a type of self care, and a way to protest. She explained that those escaping enslavement braided maps into their hair: “I don’t want to present a story that is victimizing. We always fought back.”

African drummer Dramane Kone and his group provided energetic drumming and dancing as part of the conference.

Another event was Tanzanian Zuzu Acrobats. Performances included balancing on stacked chairs, riding a unicycle three wheels high, folding into contorted positions, and forming a human pyramid — all to the rhythm of African music. During the post-performance question and answer, choreographer Matiga Koba explained that the moves were from celebration rituals from the Tanzanian tribes represented by the performers.

Kudos to the Umoja Club officers and Umoja Program Coordinator Dr. Paula L. Parks for putting on such celebratory, educational, and engaging Black History Month activities.

2nd Annual Jean Fuller Women in Leadership Panel

Cynthia Giumarra, Rosalina Rivera, Blanca Cavazos, Shannon Grove, and Jean Fuller at the 2019 Women in Leadership Panel.

Bakersfield College will kick off Women’s History Month with a panel, hosted by me and moderated by the fabulous Senator Emeritus, Jean Fuller. The panel will include local women who will share their influences, challenges, and successes along with words of advice for young women. The event will premiere on BC’s YouTube channel at 6 pm on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

The Jean Fuller Women in Leadership Panel features the following guests:

  • Dr. Mary Barlow, Kern County Superintendent of Schools
  • Ms. Katie Russell, Superintendent, Panama Buena Vista Union School District
  • Past Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, Manager, California Government Relations, Marathon Petroleum Corp.

The event is part of BC’s month-long celebration of Women’s History Month. Bakersfield College’s Office of Student Life in collaboration with the Student Government Association is also hosting journalist and activist Elaine Weiss as part of the college’s Distinguished Speaker series on Tuesday, March 2nd.

New Renegade Orientations for High School Seniors Begin

The Outreach & Early College team, along with colleagues from other Student Affairs departments, held their first New Renegade Orientations for matriculation high school seniors. This past week nearly 350 high school seniors attended to learn more about attending Bakersfield College after graduation. During these orientations, seniors have the opportunity to learn more about their transition from high school to college, discover resources and tools for success, and explore their individualized Comprehensive Student Education Plans. Eight more sessions are scheduled for interested seniors to attend.

Visit: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/outreach/high-school-seniors to learn more!

Tutors for Panorama/SW Campus Host Spring 2021 Virtual Conference

Last Friday, tutors from the Panorama and SW campuses held their Zoom Tutoring Conference for Spring 2021. All tutors were invited to contribute to open discussions on their tutoring experiences in general and their coping mechanisms for tutoring during COVID.

Connie Gonzalez, Director of the MESA Program, was the featured guest speaker, addressing the issue of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and its connection to learning. Her presentation culminated in an insightful questionnaire that assessed the EI of each attendee — helping us see where we might need work on our EI!

Perhaps most impressive thing about this Conference was that it was 100% tutor-run as part of a tutor training course that all tutors are required to take. Tutors expertly organized and implemented every aspect of the Conference. Their ease with technology was evident throughout, and they added the delightful touch of including 2 online games, Kahoot and Skribbl.io.

When all was said and done, each participant left the meeting with a reinforced sense that they were part of a community of peer educators with the mission of providing students the best tutoring experience possible. Their growth mindset is inspiring as they continually embrace new approaches, even during COVID. Looking forward to the next conference!

Virtual Forums: Summer & Fall 2021 Preliminary Plans

On Tuesday, we continued the President’s Virtual Seminar series. This week’s session focused on our preliminary plans for Summer & Fall 2021, as we gradually increase physical access to our campus.

Thank you to our panelists – Billie Jo Rice, VP of Instruction; Rosita Barron, director of the Child Development Center; Jeremy Staat – Welding Professor; and Anna Melby – Culinary Arts Professor; for sharing their insight as we navigate back toward reopening our campus and creating our new normal.

As always, thank you to Earl Parsons for providing programming support, and Todd Coston for providing technical support and serving as our emcee.

You can catch up on all the virtual forums on BC’s COVID-19 website.

Opening Day Spring 2021

Today, I’m sharing a few videos from the second day of programming for our Opening Day Spring 2021 celebration.

We took a look at the Project HireUp program:

We also enjoyed a performance from the Bakersfield College Choir, Chamber Singers, and Renegade Chorus:

You can see all the videos from the Spring Opening Day celebration on the Bakersfield College website.

In the News

Community Voices: Why choose a career in education? Teachers change lives

Kimberly Bligh, Education Department chair, wrote about the importance of teachers in our society, and shared how BC can prepare future – and current – teachers.

“Bakersfield College has one of the top teacher education programs in all of California’s community colleges. We have multiple pathways and programs available for people who want to pursue any type of teaching career. Teaching paths include pre-K, elementary, middle school, high school, community college and university levels. Within those levels, teachers can specialize in early childhood, nutrition, special education, STEM, career and technical fields, education technology, research, curriculum design, administration, counseling and so much more.”

Community Voices: Student government members impact so many on campus

BCSGA Vice President Emma McNellis wrote a Community Voices piece urging students to consider joining student government.

“By joining your student government, you will be given an opportunity to meet several new people, develop strong leadership skills and join a team of several dedicated student leaders. You will meet a variety of students who share the common goal of effectively representing the students to make college life better for all. Additionally, no matter the amount of leadership experience you begin with, I guarantee that student government will enhance your leadership skills, as it has honed my own soft skills for the past two years”

New cafe Nixtamal to support Children First Campaign

Culinary Arts Adjunct Faculty Marah Meek has joined the Nixtamal team, which supports the Children First Campaign in East Bakersfield. The charity is opening a new cafe, and is also selling monthly pastry boxes – which are prepared by students in the BC Culinary Arts Department.

You can find out more about this program in the story on the KGET website.

Sunrise Interview: Early College

Kylie Campbell, Outreach and Early College Director, appeared on KGET News at Sunrise to talk about BC’s partnership with the Kern High School District.

Spotted on Social Media

BC Cheer shared a Throwback Thursday picture from 2016 New Student Convocation:

Cheryl Scott shared this adorable picture of her dogs:

Matt Andrasian-Jones continued his Discern and Draw series with an Allen Wrench Monkey Tail:

Krista Moreland‘s cat took a nap on her desk:

Isabel Castaneda shared an update about the new Renegade in her family:

Athletics

Jonathan Hunter Receives His Wrestling State Championship Ring

Congrats to last year’s individual wrestling (174lb) state champion and Renegade Athletics Male Athlete of the Year, Jonathan Hunter, on receiving his state champion ring this week. Jonathan dominated his opponents throughout the 2019 wrestling season and quickly worked his way to victory at the state wrestling championships. He will now have this piece of hardware to remind him of his hard work and accomplishments the rest of his life.

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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

Renegades creating history every step of the way

Uncategorized February 20, 2021 Comments: 2

This week, Michael O’Doherty, one of our Foundation Board members, sent me this picture:

Renegades control rebound, 1963”
Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library
Michael O’Doherty

“Live in Black and White on the wall of Vons in the Marketplace is this action shot of Renegade Basketball.”

One of the things I love best about Bakersfield College is how connected it is throughout the community. I love the interaction between the campus and Bakersfield – BC truly is a community college. That sense of community pride strengthens our students, faculty, staff and administration as we all work toward our common goal of helping our students achieve their educational goals.

And I love the notes and emails that people share with me when they see BC being represented throughout the community. Keep those notes coming.

Btw, Have you seen this picture at Vons?

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, February 20, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.

KHSD Expanding Early College Partnership with BC

The Career Technical Education Center on Old River Road, home to several of our Early College courses at KHSD.

The Kern High School District is offering a select number of students the opportunity to earn an Associate’s degree. With BC’s Early College program expanding into the Kern High School District, students can get a 2-year head start on their baccalaureate degree, and all books and transportation will be provided to them free of charge.

Check out the news story from 23ABC:

Applications for KHSD parents to enroll their students in Early College end on March 26. For more information, visit the Early College website.

Thank you Dr. Jean Fuller and Trustee Romeo Agbalog for your leadership in the #EarlyCollege movement.

Learning Together with the Library

The BC Library continued its series of conversations around cultural competency during the All-Campus Virtual Seminar on Thursday. English professor Pam Boyles and history professor Erin Miller discussed their thoughts about the video titled “Fighting Racism Without Shaming”, featuring Moral Courage Project founder Dr. Irshad Manji.

Thank you to Mindy Wilmot for moderating the discussion, Todd Coston for serving as our emcee, and Earl Parsons for providing the programming support for the Virtual Seminar Series.

Check out the video below:

You can find videos from previous Learning Together seminars, as well as other virtual forums, on the President’s Events page. (Check the Virtual Forums tab!)

Recognizing Robert Tafoya

This week I saw a wonderful article from Jose Gaspar in the Bakersfield Californian honoring Judge Robert Tafoya, who retired February 5 after being appointed to the bench by Governor Gray Davis in 2002.

I’m not sure if you are all aware, but Judge Tafoya was the person behind creating Bakersfield College’s inmate education program. I remember when Chancellor Emeritus Sandra Serrano called me about working with Kern Valley State Prison to create an educational opportunity for inmates, with a goal of providing opportunities for these individuals while reducing recidivism rates.

After this phone call, I pinged Rich McCrow, then director of the Delano campus. Rich put his head and heart into building this program — and Bryan Hirayama was the first faculty member to teach at KVSP.

The program began at Kern Valley State Prison in Spring 2015. The pilot course, COMM B1 – Public Speaking, had 27 students enrolled.

Our first Inmate Scholars cohort of 17 students graduated in August 2019.

I am grateful for Judge Tafoya and Chancellor Serrano for seeding this work that has made such a profound change in these inmates’ lives.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

On Friday, Kern County Public Health announced that more sectors will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines beginning next week. It’s been reassuring seeing members of our Bakersfield College community being able to get their vaccines as well.

Di Hoffman, one of our nursing faculty, shared that she got her vaccine this week:

If you have photos of yourself or loved ones getting vaccinated for COVID-19, please email them to earl.parsons@bakersfieldcollege.edu or president@bakersfieldcollege.edu.

I’d also like to share another video from our February 2 Virtual Forum with Dr. Michael Saag. In this clip, he talks more about the vaccine rollout process and our ability to scale up our supply and distribution:

Mars Rover Perseverance Watch Party

On Thursday, NASA successfully landed a new rover, Perseverance, on Mars. Astronomy professor Nick Strobel hosted a Zoom watch party for our Renegade community. Before the landing, he shared lots of great information about Perseverance’s mission and about Mars.

The Perseverance mission is looking for signs of possible past life on Mars, as well as collecting rock and soil samples and testing oxygen production in the atmosphere to prepare for potential future human travel to the Red Planet.

Nick also wrote about the Mars Perseverance mission in his February 21 Bakersfield Night Sky column.

Opening Day Spring 2021

This week, I’m sharing two videos from Day 2 of our Spring Opening Day celebration.

We opened the day’s production with this photo roll from Fall semester:

And please enjoy this performance of “Stomp on the Fire” from the Bakersfield College Chamber Singers:

Check out all the videos from our 3-day Opening Day production on the Spring Opening Day website.

Spotted on Social Media

BCSGA shared this picture of Maya Angelou’s visit to Bakersfield College in the 1970s:

Librarian Mindy Wilmot shared this throwback photo:

Professor Buggs’ Level 2 RN students celebrated completing their first round of clinical:

Shannon Musser tuned into BC’s Perseverance watch party with her kids:

The Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had this positive message to share:

Athletics

Head Coach Spotlight – Casey Goodman, Renegade Softball

Our Renegade Coaches are the glue that keep their teams together. All of our coaches spend countless hours behind the scenes preparing their teams for competition and life. This week we’re shining the spotlight on Casey Goodman, who leads our softball team.

Coach Goodman has been at BC since 2017 and has already won two Western State Conference (WSC) Championships and been named the 2019 WSC Coach of the Year. Coach Goodman played college softball at the University of Louisiana at Monroe where as a player she earned multiple post-season awards and has since been inducted into the ULM Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

We are proud to call Coach Goodman a Renegade and know she’s still yet to accomplish many great things in her coaching career!

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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

It’s Valentine’s Day … Love is in the air

Uncategorized February 14, 2021 1 Comment

This long weekend, I am grateful to be able to take a short break and enjoy the quiet beauty of the world around us. In our hectic lives, it’s these peaceful moments that can help renew and restore us to continue the things we must do.

And as we head into Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I wanted to share this email W. Christian Flores-Castaneda in our Culinary Science department, full of Renegade love. It is notes like this from our campus community that also help renew and restore my spirit:

Thank you for supporting the Food and Nutrition Program here at Bakersfield College.

Hey, Y’all…

I had started this email a number of times, months ago, only to delete it over and over again, because it felt like I just couldn’t get the right words to flow together… I was trying to be funny, or quirky, or all wordsmith-y to keep you upbeat and interested.

And then I got to thinking, y’all just need some Love. Like, “Hey, we didn’t forget about you all, and how supportive and invested you are, and how much we rely on your gratitude and guinea pig-ness, and gosh darnnit, WE MISS YOU!” kinda love. The kind of love I tell our new students about. The RenRoom Fam. The “every Tuesday at 6 pm at THAT table” kinda love. We’ve been missin’ all the good times, and the not-so-perfect-but-let’s-chock-it-up-to-learning-experience times…

Well, the show must go on. People gotta eat. And we gotta make sure our students know what to do when they get out there. So, we are working on training them appropriately to today’s measures, ensuring theirs and others’ safety as they navigate the industry. COVID gave us an opportunity to build humane relationships with each other as we learn new techniques and skillsets under new guidelines and prevention measures. We’ve needed to adhere to the most practical methods of teaching our culinarians without compromising anyone’s health and safety. We’re connecting with each other in ways we had not completely relied upon in prior lesson exchanges. These moments are being seized.

“Are we open for business?” We are working on that, actually. We will provide our students opportunities to engage in real-time application as far as production expectation and sanitary distribution. That’s fancy talk for “how to cook and package things nicely.” Our advanced students are poised to begin processing orders this week. Because we are working with reduced class sizes, our production team can only offer a limited number of portions, so it’s gonna be a little “First Come, First Served”-fashioned at first.

Renegade Room Take-Out events are being coordinated for both Tuesday Night Fine Dining and Wednesday Lunch services, with tailored menus and pricing. As we begin to offer more service, I’ll be updating our webpage and send out communication regarding menus and payment methods.

You can visit the Renegade Room page of the Bakersfield College website for more information here: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/renegaderoom

Glad to be back, fam. We’ll see you soon.

W. Christian Flores-Castaneda

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, February 13, 2021 … a great day to be a Renegade.

BC Vaccine Clinic Updates

While preparations continue for our vaccination clinic on the Panorama Campus, more Renegades are getting access to the vaccine.

Yovani Jimenez, one of the newest Trustees to the Kern Community College District, is also a case worker for Clinica Sierra Vista, got his vaccine. Mary Jo Pasek also took her first treatment of the vaccine.

Jennifer Garrett also recently received her first dose of the vaccine:

If you have photos of yourself or loved ones getting vaccinated for COVID-19, please email them to earl.parsons@bakersfieldcollege.edu or president@bakersfieldcollege.edu

I also wanted to share another video from the February 2, 2021, Virtual Forum about the COVID-19 vaccine, with Dr. Michael Saag. You can see more videos from that session at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/covid19/resources.

In this 6:20-min video, he gives a brief description of the body’s immunization process and how the COVID-19 vaccine works. Thank you to BC Pre-Med student Ian Spark for taking part in the Q&A session:

For more information about Bakersfield College’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic, visit the COVID-19 page.

Poem: “Silencing Song”

Jack Hernandez shared a poignant poem with me this week:

Silencing Song

Abusive voices lash
the air and souls
of those
they despise.
Amid the endless rancor
words like peace
hide behind doors
of despair.
Yet ready to pounce
with love
forgiveness begins
her silencing song.

She does not avert
her eyes,
her lyrics tell those
whose tongues
are whips
she will not
strike back,
will stand strong
without hate,
waiting and singing
waiting and giving.

Putnam Exam Open to BC Students

From email from Jonathan P. Brown:

The William Lowell Putnam Competition is “the leading university-level mathematics examination in the world.”  The exam is fun, challenging, and if you score anything greater than a 0 on it, then that is something remarkable to put on your resume/CV or applications.  I am happy to announce that it will be available for the first time to any BC students who do not already hold a bachelor’s degree.  The exam will be Saturday, February 20th, and we will have two study sessions before then.

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is “the leading university-level mathematics examination in the world.”  The competition consists of two 3-hour sessions.  During each session, participants work individually on six challenging mathematical problems. 

The 81st Putnam Competition will take place virtually on Feb 20, 2021

For more info: www.artofproblemsolving.com/contests/putnam
Register at https://artofproblemsolving.com/contests/putnam/student

Contact jonathan.brown@bakersfieldcollege.edu for more.

KHSD Opens Early College Pathway Applications for 2021-2022 School Year

KHSD announced this week that applications for their Early College pathways are now open for the 2021-2022 school year. In addition to the 4 pathways launched last Fall (Industrial Automation, Public Health, Psychology, and Administration of Justice), the district is also planning a new “Introduction to Health Careers” pathway with their CTEC facility that will align with our Title V objectives and expose high school students to the many Health Science pathways available here at BC. A cohort of 35 incoming 9th grade students will be selected for each of the 5 pathways, and students from other grades will be selected for courses that will get them a head start on pathways of their choice.

To learn more about these pathways, you can visit https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/earlycollege/khsd.

Tutoring Center Online and Open for BC Students

From email from Bradley Cramer:

Great news! The Bakersfield College Tutoring Center is now open and available online.

Services offered:

  • Weekly 50-minute appointments
  • 15-minute drop-in tutoring (for math and English)
  • Tutors available in many subjects

For more information and to sign up for tutoring, go to our website at: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/student/tutoring

The link to our website is also accessible by clicking the “BC Peer Tutoring” link in Canvas. Our online hours are:

  • Monday: 9 am – 7 pm
  • Tuesday: 9 am – 7 pm
  • Wednesday: 9 am – 8 pm
  • Thursday: 9 am – 7 pm

The BC Tutoring Center is a proven student success service that provides FREE online tutoring to all currently enrolled Bakersfield College Students. Our one-on-one Peer Tutors, who are trained and certified, can assist you with many Bakersfield College courses. Assistance with course content, assignments, required papers (at any stage of the writing process) and/or academic skills are available through drop-in and scheduled appointments for most BC courses. Please feel free to share this information with your students. Thank you so much.

Opening Day Spring 2021

On the first day of our Opening Day Spring 2021 production, CSEA President Tina Johnson shared an update:

We also featured a performance from the Renegade Chorus. Please enjoy “Resilience”:

For more videos from our Opening Day Spring 2021 production, visit https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/president/opening-week-spring-2021.

Community Voices

Philanthropy just may be the best tool we have for increasing social, economic mobility

Sheri Horn-Bunk, executive director of the Taft College Foundation, and Cheryl Scott, executive director of the Bakersfield College Foundation, co-wrote this piece in the Bakersfield Californian about the $100 million donation from the Jay Pritzker Foundation to fund the Finish Line Scholarships for 34 California community colleges.

“By providing students Finish Line scholarships, we’re able to remove barriers while supporting the overall community. When a student is able to feed their family, pay rent and complete their college degrees, they are putting the money back into the community. In fact, students earning a degree or certificate from a California community college nearly double their earnings within just three years!”

Get on track with Renegade Fitness

Nicky Damania wrote a piece for the Bakersfield Californian highlighting the virtual Renegade Fitness program, and shared how it has evolved over the course of the pandemic:

“Even though we are all virtually apart and not able to come physically together to workout, this avenue provides a small community for us to engage with each other. Also, as the workouts are shown on social media platforms, many community members have also started engaging with the workouts. We even have a couple of regulars who join in from the states of Indiana and Colorado.”

You can check out the Renegade Fitness program Monday through Friday from Noon to 1 p.m. Register on Zoom or tune in on Facebook Live, Twitter, Twitch, or YouTube. Archived videos are available on the BCSGA YouTube channel.

Spotted on Social Media

The Padrinos de BC Instagram page shared this photo from the Latinx CCC Virtual Mixer:

Endee Grijalva had a family-style nachos night:

Shannon Musser shared this photo of her and her dog, Zoe:

Maria Wright shared this photo of her family:

And Abel Guzman shared this update about his work at BC:

Archives Throwback: Portrait of an Older Woman

In the Feb. 5, 1971 edition of the Renegade Rip, Mark W. Johnson breathes life into the casual and the mundane with his poem “Portrait of an Older Woman”. There aren’t many details available other than that, so enjoy the poem below:

Portrait of an Older Woman

she sits
in the shadow
of the window
noiselessly
she sits
the shadow
of the window

in a shadow-window
she sits
noiselessly
she sits
a wooden shadow
in the window
an etching
sunlight-shadow
carved

sunlight breaks
on bended knees
and sags upon
her feets
and slides
away across
the wooden floor
a river of bright
and dancing dust
splashing
noiselessly
as she sits
the shadow
of the window

Athletics

Throwback to 1979 Women’s Volleyball

It’s always fun to throwback to pictures of the past. Here’s some action pics from the 1979 women’s volleyball season – almost 40 years ago! That year the team placed fourth in the conference and had four players selected to the All-Conference team – Sharlene Carroll, Jill Turner, Terri McNamara and Rhonda Harrington. Do you know any of these ladies? What a blast from the past!


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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