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Our BC family gives to the community!

Uncategorized November 6, 2016 Comments: 4

Have you voted yet? And did you vote Yes on Measure J? #MeasureJ 🙂

I did vote on October 30th, a rainy Sunday morning and then dropped off my ballot at the Post Office. Here is my proof!

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, November 5, 2016…..A great day to be a Renegade.

This past week was busy on campus with many events including Vet Fest, the Levan Faculty Colloquim, a special FCDC meeting where faculty positions for next year were presented as well as a quick trip to Orange County to present the work on California Guided Pathways at the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Fall Plenary. In addition, the Campaign Head Quarters for Measure J was buzzing with activity as the volunteers were shifting gears to the last lap of this marathon. Four more days to November 8th!

Here we have Prof. Harlan Hunter volunteering his time to lead a team of volunteers to promote Measure J.

So proud of our faculty, staff and students:

Paula Parks and ASTEP:

BC’s ASTEP Program, under the leadership of Prof. Paula Parka, won first place in the Black365 Knowledge Bowl! Just phenomenal.

Parks says on Facebook:

My students studied their Black history!!! #umojaconf All the ASTEP Umoja students in attendance cheered our team to victory! They all make me so proud!!

Anna Poetker and the Levan Faculty Colloquim:

Anna Poetker, Susan Pinza

Philosophy professor Dr. Anna Poetker presented her research findings on her work with undocumented students at Bakersfield College at the Norm Levan Faculty Colloquium (the longest running program of the Levan Center). Her talk The Struggles and Success of Undocumented Latino/a College Students on Friday, November 4th was a combination of the theoretical background of the philosophical and psychological foundations of the problems facing undocumented students, personal stories told to her by her undocumented students, and practical ways we can support our undocumented students.

Nick Strobel emailed me:

She gave us the mental framework of the process undocumented college students go through in forming their own identity—“self authorship”. In some ways it is like the maturing process we all go through as we transition from learning values and identity from our family and society as children and then constructing our own identity as young adults in late high school and early college years. However, the consequences for undocumented students can be much more significant for our undocumented students because they are “sewn with two threads” (as one student put it).

They entered this country as very young children, so their values and background are primarily of the United States with a more distant familial connection to the country they came from, but they are not citizens of the U.S. with all the rights thereof. The undocumented students can face strong negative pressures against going to college from society and even from their own families. As young adults, the undocumented students that Anna shared stories about had gone through the phase of tearing down/blasting away the externally constructed identity shaped by the society and family and then constructing their own identity internally from within.

There are practical ways we can support these students. It starts with acknowledging them and their special needs as undocumented students, being supportive with even something as simple as a smile and listening ear, and letting them know about the resources and rights given to them through the California Dream Act and DACA for attending college and remaining in the U.S.

Alex Gomez prepared a nice spread of Mexican food for attendees to enjoy after the talk.

For more about what BC is doing to support our undocumented students see https://bcdreamers.wordpress.com and https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/president/project-dream-act .

For more about the Faculty Colloquium series, see https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/levancenter/programs#colloquia. The Faculty Colloquium committee needs nominations from faculty for faculty who have done research on interesting topics and would

be good speakers. Contact Susan Pinza with your suggestions.

Flu Shots

According to the CDC, the “flu season” can begin as early as October and last until May. During these months, the flu viruses circulate at a higher rate and an annual flu vaccine is the best way to reduce chances of catching the flu and spreading it to others. Students and faculty from BC’s Allied Health provided free flu shots to BC students and staff on Tuesday morning at the Collins Conference Center. Way to go BC!

Student Volunteers at Allensworth Park

Every year, the volunteer coordinator for the CA State Parks invites BC students to a one-day volunteer event at Allensworth State Historic Park. Not only is this a great way to give back, but students also learn about the amazing Colonel Allensworth State Park, tour of the park, and a chance to talk to park Rangers.

This year, they had two groups since so many students wanted to attend. One group dusted the insides of historic homes and the other painted a historic house. Pictured above are BC students Andrea Moreno, Salvador Murillo, Krista Nolan, Payton Brandon, and Mitchell Switalki with the park ranger.

Alongside these students, many others also volunteered. It’s great to know so many of our students are getting involved, helping out, volunteering, and learning about local history!

Thank you to Erin Miller and Krista Moreland for helping to facilitate these great experiences!

Vet Fest at BC!

Veterans Day is a reminder of the price paid for the liberties we enjoy, but it’s also time to reflect on the burden we all share in ensuring our future generations enjoy those same freedoms. We must never forget that it is the strength of our armed forces that has brought us to this point, and it is the strength that will continue to ensure peace.

Between now and Veterans Day on November 11^th, people throughout America will gather to remember and give thanks to those who have served in our armed forces. But at Bakersfield College, our veterans are our family… you are our friends, classmates, students, staff, and faculty. Today we honor you and we thank you for your courage, strength, and soul.

Thank you to all of our speakers and guests, especially Supervisor Leticia Perez for her generosity and her commitment to Bakersfield College and to our student veterans. Our keynote speaker JR Browning was fabulous. A copy of JR Browning’s speech is available here.

You can see more photos in our online gallery at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Vet-fest.

Thank you to KGET for the coverage http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/news/vet-fest-returns-today-at-bakersfield-college

Check out my blog on last year’s Vet Fest.

http://tinyurl.com/hg3rmjj

The Kern Housing Authority

I attended the fundraising gala put on by the Kern Housing Authority and Norma Rojas-Mora. This is a great organization that does great things for our community. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Row 1: Here I am with friends of Measure J and friends of Bakersfield College. NaTesha Johnson, Nicole Parra and Karen Goh.

Row 2: Selfies with Norma Rojas-Mora and Andrea Navarro a culinary graduate of Bakersfield College. Andrea is currently working at the Padre and reminder me that she taught me the right way to cut vegetables.

natesha-sonya-karen-nov-4-2016-kern-housisng-authority-gala

nicole-sonya-karen-kern-housing-authority-nov-4-2016

norma-rojas-mora-and-sonya-christian-at-kern-housing-authority-nov-4-2016

sonya-christian-andrea-navarro-nov-4-2016

A little something:

When this note from Professor Dave Neville found its way to my desk on Wednesday afternoon with its attached project, I just knew I had to share it with you. It says, “Could you find an appropriate time to return this project that Lesley did as a student for my Spanish 2 class at North High School. I was going through papers that I had saved as prime examples of student work and came across this.”

David Neville

Lesley Bonds

I should add that Lesley Bonds is our director of Student Success and Equity and she’s a graduate of North High, right here in Bakersfield.

The highly educational story that Lesley wrote as a high school student follows a girl named Rosa who accidentally cut herself while running with a knife. Rosa’s doctor could not save her and her friends and brother were very, very sad. Throughout the rest of the story, Juan decides to educate other children about knife safety and he even takes the steps necessary to make his own kitchen safer for his little boy. You can see in the end, the child cries because the knife drawer is locked, but grows up to be a strong and healthy young man.

Our professors at BC are great people who go the extra mile to let our students, past and present, know that they care… and that’s only one reason why I love this story. BC is Bakersfield… our staff, faculty, and administration love this community. We are Bakersfield and… We are BC!

Also wanted to do a quick shout out to Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Tracy Hall, deans, and Faculty Chairs and Directors who do a phenomenal job every day making sure we have the classes available to our students and also making sure that our students are successful in those classes. Here are two pictures from the FCDC meeting on Friday, Nov 4th, where the chairs were presenting their requests for faculty positions. Thank you Corny Rodriguez for getting me these photos. And thank you FCDC!

fcdc-nov-4-2016-presenting-fauclty-positions

Measure J support continues:

As we continue with the campaign for Measure J (#MeasureJ), I want to thank our volunteers for this week:

October 30: Cynthia Munoz, Maria Wright, Jamal Wright, Steve Waller, Ramona Benavidez, Tom Gelder, Dana Heins-Gelder, Ivan Valdez, Marisa Marquez, and Kaylana Demmin.

October 31: Stephen Waller, Steve Watkin, Emmanuel Mourtzanos, Todd Coston, Michelle Pena, Jennifer Achan, Sandi Taylor, Liz Rozell, Corny Rodriguez, Janet Fulks, Shannon Musser, Nicky Damania, Lesley Bonds, Zav Dadabhoy, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Tom Gelder, Bill Potter, Shanell Tyus, Maria Wright, Sarah Baron, Ivan Valdez, Rob Parsons, David Koeth, Paul Beckworth, Nick Strobel, Loy Salarda, and Laura Longo.

November 1: Jackie Lau, Michelle Pena, Todd Coston, Isabel Stierle, Christine Saldivar, Joe Saldivar, Dena Rhoades, Terri Goldstein, Grace Commiso, Heather Skibinski, Ivan Valadez, Kathy Howarth, Manny Mourtzanos, Zav Dadabhoy, Steve Watkin and Stephen Waller.

November 2: Eileen Pierce, Kaitlyn Kirkland, Alexa Rivera, Chris Cruz, Felicia Scott, Maria Wright, Ivan Valadez, Savannah Andrews, Manuel Muralles, Claudio Felix, Brian Nava, Russel Tetzschner, Randi Tetzschner, Danny Verdugo, Debi Anderson, Raul Leon, Shanell Tyus, Marshall Compton, Loy Salarda, Alberto Munoz, Juan Cillarreal, Cain Perez, Connor Turner, Jorge Reyes, Juan Hernandez, Ashlea Ward, Edwin Bernal, Carlos Melendez, Lokai Borthel, Reese Weltman, Edgeir Morcio, Julia Crayton, Josie Guillen, Carlos Barbaran, Heidi Forsyth, Lori Williams, Jose Chavez, Tom Gelder, Kalina Hill, Jackie Brouillette, Steven Watkin, Chris McCraw, Greg Cluff, Heather Baltis, Araceli Navarro, Bill Kelly, Tracy Lovelace, Janet Thomas, Lindsay Ono, and Steve Waller.

November 3: Yadira Guerrero, Gabriel Torres, Brigid Mady, Josh Shackleford, Tom Gelder, Evette Lara, Jackie Lau, Salvador Gomez, John Means, Steve Waller, Paul Beckworth, Grace Commiso, Cristian Gutierrez, Valerie Robinson, Ivan Valadez, Rob Parsons, Chris Cruz, Shanell Tyus, Manuel Muralles, Kristina Whitmore, Todd Coston, Ashlea Ward, Steven Watkin, Terri Goldstein, Maria Wright, John Means, Matt Frazer, and Lawrence Salardo.

November 4: Todd Coston, Carlos Barbaran, Evette Lara, Matt Frazer, Pedro Ramirez, Keesha Collins, Danyel Owens, Paulette Rodriguez, Peter Rodriguez, Emmanuel Limaco, Nicky Damania, Chris Glaser, Lesley Bonds, Sam Moreno, Heidi Allison, Bob Allison, Shanice Watson, Dalton Jones, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Zav Dadabhoy, and Rob Parsons.

Community Voices in the Bakersfield Californian

The support we have received in recent months for Measure J (#MeasureJ) has been spectacular and we’re on a four day countdown to when our community decides whether to invest in the future of the Kern Community College District, including BC’s campus, infrastructure, our mission, vision, and values.

Here are two Community Voices pieces that were published this last week and one letter to the editor.

November 1, 2016. Measure J will help those working in the field by Professor Oliver Rosales. Check out his piece in the Bakersfield Californian.

Here are a few excerpts:

There are tremendous needs in this community and, conversely, tremendous opportunities for making a real impact on people’s lives. I have always enjoyed challenges. Delano is a challenge for Bakersfield College. That’s why the center was built in the first place: to educate the children of farm workers. It is a campus center in the middle of the fields, surrounded by high levels of poverty, poor health outcomes, and low educational attainment.

BC Delano is also surrounded, though, by fields of dreams. My Delano students are the reason I love going to work every day. They ground me and keep me content, “working in the fields” every day as I jokingly tell my wife…

Rosales concludes:

Measure J expands opportunities to teach students of the field. The Bakersfield College Delano campus has been around for more than four decades, first located on Randolph Street (now the Wonderful Academy) and now located west of Highway 99 next to Robert Kennedy High School. Measure J will expand the BC Delano campus by developing additional physical space for students to study, collaborate with faculty, and learn. It is not far-fetched to say that students at BC Delano literally study in the fields.

Let’s pass Measure J and continue to give them the opportunity to dream big and change their communities for the better for decades to come.

November 2, 2016: The Bakersfield Californian published Measure J supports a long-held community vision (#Measure J) by Sonya Christian 🙂

Check out the web version at http://tinyurl.com/h2m3f8o.

Here is an excerpt

In the early 1900s, our people had a dream, a shared goal and a vision, to make the Central Valley a place of opportunity and unbelievable growth, and they did it. In 1913, a then-isolated and relatively small community decided to open a college campus that initially served only 13 students. …..

and another excerpt

In the 1950s, a forward-thinking generation of leaders had the awareness that Bakersfield and our neighboring cities would continue to grow. Because of this demand, the decision was made to grow the college, and by 1956, Bakersfield College up on the hill was ready. This was a forward looking campus designed with modern architecture and state-of-the-art education…..

and a third excerpt

Today, our generation is at a pivotal point. We are facing a challenge to prepare and provide for the next 50 years of growth and evolving education. In the 1950s, that generation of leaders had the courage and foresight to make the investments that have paved the way for strengthening our community. Now it is up to us; it’s our turn to look forward.

and I conclude with:

Let your name be listed alongside, for your children and grandchildren, who, when they look through the historic archives, will say, yes, my parent or grandparent was one of the leaders who look care of me and our community.

I ask you to vote yes on Measure J.

November 3, 2016. Letter to the Editor. Yes on J: Local Health Care needs Educated Workforce by Gitest Patel.

November 4, 2016. BC is community’s ears, ears; but what about bones? by David Torres

Check out the full article at http://tinyurl.com/gsafm5r

Here are a few excerpts:

Every day, I see where our community struggles, but more often, I see where it comes together and succeeds. Often, the nexus of that success emanates from our area’s community college: Bakersfield College.

I am a father of five and four of my children have attended BC. Two of my daughters earned their AA degrees at BC. Another started college their before transferring to CSUB and one is currently attending BC in order to satisfy requirements for entrance into medical school. I am also a veteran, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. I have seen first-hand the innovative ways that BC interacts with its vets and supports their success. BC means a great deal to me and to our community…..

I see the students of Bakersfield College as the eyes and ears of the institution: they see and hear, they learn. The faculty is the heart of BC.

What about the body, the bones? The infrastructure of BC’s campus overlooking the bluffs is 60 years old and it’s starting to show. Put another way, 21st Century learning can’t happen in mid-century facilities. Just think of the advances in architecture, building construction, disability access, and learning technology that have been introduced in the last 50 years.

Our community’s college is in dire need of replenishment, and the time to provide that is now. Measure J, on the Nov. 8 ballot, is the best, most direct way to provide BC with the badly needed funds to carry this venerable, cherished community institution further into the 21st Century.

I urge you support the many needs of our community and the success of your children and neighbors. Join me in voting yes on Measure J.

Thank you to all who have shared your opinions and voices with the community!

List of endorsements for Measure J:

Over 2000 individuals have endorsed Measure J.

Here are a few

Cathy Abernathy, Cathy Abernathy Consultants
Romeo Agbalog, KCCD Trustee
Joe Aguirre, Former Delano Mayor
Dennis Beebe, KCCD Trustee
Sue Benham, Former Bakersfield City Council Member
Kevin Burton, President, SJCH Foundation
Kyle Carter, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate/KCCD Trustee
Ricardo Chavez, Delano Mayor
John Corkins, KCCD Trustee
Stephanie Cortez, Porterville Chamber of Commerce CEO/President
David Couch, Kern County Supervisor
Ed Davis, S&E Farms
Robert de la Rosa, Ola Raza Director
Jose Flores, Arvin Mayor
Fran Florez, Shafter City Council Member
Mick Gleason, Kern County Supervisor
Karen Goh, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate
Doug Greener, Bakersfield Fire Chief
Shannon Grove, California State Assembly Member
Jose Gurrola, Arvin City Council Member
Virginia Gurrola, Porterville Councilwoman
Harvey Hall, Bakersfield Mayor
Cam Hamilton, Porterville Vice Mayor
Harold Hanson, Bakersfield Vice Mayor
Chad Hathaway, Hathaway LLC
Ruben Hill, Delano City Council Member
JP Lake, Rain for Rent
Pauline Larwood, Former KCCD Trustee/
Kern County Supervisor
January Lau, January & Associates
Mike Maggard, Kern County Supervisor
Terry Maxwell, Bakersfield City Council Member
Michelle McLean, Arvin Union School District Superintendent
Kay Meek, KCCD Trustee
Liz Morris, Delano City Council Member
Arnold Morrison, DJUHS Board Member
Steve Murray, Murray Family Farms
Chris Parlier, Bakersfield City Council Member
Nicole Parra, Former California State Assembly Member
Ruben Pascual, Delano City Council Member
Leticia Perez, Kern County Supervisor
Christy Porter, Jasmine Cetner Inc.
Leticia Prado, Lamont Water District Member
Fred Prince, Omega Financial & Insurance Services
Janet Rabanal, Delano Chamber of Commerce Director
Rosalina Rivera, Delano Union Elementary School District Superintendent
Willie Rivera, Bakersfield City Council Member
Jazmine Robles, Arvin City Council Membre
Rudy Salas, California State Assembly Member
Mary K. Shell, Former Bakersfield Mayor & County Supervisor
Bob Smith, Bakersfield City Council Member
Mark Storch, KCCD Trustee
Milt Stowe, Porterville Mayor
Jay Tamsi, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President
Rob Taylor, Stafford’s Chocolates
Bill Thomas, Retired U.S. Congressman, KCCD Trustee
Grace Vallejo, Delano City Council Member
Jon Van Boening, Dignity Health
Greg Williamson, Bakersfield Police Department Chief
Keith Wolaridge, Panama Buena Vista Union Trustee
Dr. James Young, Retired KCCD Chancellor
Donny Youngblood, Kern County Sheriff
Milt Younger, Attorney
Mark Zaninovich, Sunview Vineyards

Here are some organizations that have endorsed Measure J:

The Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield City Firefighters Association
Bakersfield College Alumni Association
Bakersfield Downtown Business Association
Building4SUCCESS Inc
California City Chamber of Commerce
California Teachers Association
Chevron
Delano Camber of Commerce
Democratic Women of Kern
Dolores Huerta Foundation
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council
KCCD California School Employees Association
KCCD Community College Association
KCCD Management Association
Kern Agriculture Foundation
Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce
Kern County Democratic Party
Kern County Farm Bureau
Kern County Firefighters Union
Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Kern County Young Republicans (PAC)
Kern Economic Development Corporation
Kern Taxpayers Association
Latina Leaders of Kern County
Murray Family Farms
Ola Raza
Porterville Democratic Club
RA Johnsfam
Renegade Helmet Club
Sikh Women’s Association of Kern County
Veterans of Foreign Wars District #6
Veterans of Foreign Wars #97
Wendale Davis Foundation

4 more days Bakersfield!

November 8^th is an important day – make sure your voice counts. To find your nearest polling location, visit http://elections.co.kern.ca.us/elections/Voterinfo/Address.asp

Here is a video that the Bakersfield College Student Government Association (BCSGA) under the leadership of President Matthew Frazer created to Get Out the Vote! Check it out.

And let’s make sure we follow the advice of Mayor Harvey Hall and retired Congressman Bill Thomas.

There’s so much to celebrate and it’s a great time to be at BC!

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Moments that take our breath away!

Uncategorized October 29, 2016 Comments: 3

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, October 29th and a great day to be a Renegade!

Let me start by having you get instructions from Nick Strobel on how to fill out your ballot.

This was one of those weeks of hard focused work, very little sleep and moments of great joy. Yes….joy! Sometimes words don’t seem enough to accurately describe how uplifting and inspiring the campus can be. There are times – daily and even multiple times a day – when in the middle of a busy day I witness spectacular BC students making a difference and sharing their talents with the world around them.

Wednesday afternoon was one of those moments. I was in my weekly meeting, in my office, with the Academic Senate President, Steve Holmes and Executive Vice President of Instruction, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg when Tracy Hall opened the door and said “you must see this.” Through the open door, in the quad enclosure I saw our choir students gathered and two of them with drums, seated on the ground. Dr. Jen Garrett, their music director was having them rehearse by performing in different parts of the campus. Their song had a haunting melody with strong, forceful yet sad rhythmic drumming sounds. The voices of the students were pure and sweet, and floated through the afternoon air of the college. Students and staff gathered around, captivated by the one song that they performed. Don’t you want to be on this campus filled with moments that take your breath away?

Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away

It’s moments like these are the most inspiring and uplifting and they are one reason why… I’m the happiest and luckiest college president in the world.

Did you pay attention to each of those faces standing in an arc facing Jen? Our students are just spectacular… They are complex and diverse in their interests and what drives them. They each strive daily to overcome different and unique challenges, yet they always come together as one communal collegiate spirit that continues to be the heart of our campus. These incredible students are the center of all that we do. They are our future and together, we are BC!

Here is another moment that took my breath away…. Students from our soccer team volunteered for phone banking on Wednesday, October 26th. I was wondering if these young men would indeed do phone banking and I was hugely surprised and teary-eyed as I wandered around the second floor seeing them sprawled out fully engaged in making phone calls, while having fun, horsing around and finishing the pizza. We had to order three more pizzas that night 🙂 Nicky Damania did a short video with four of our student soccer players. Coach Vayron Martinez is indeed the man!

Coach Vayron Martinez and Janet Tarjan

Nick Strobel, Brenda Silva, Asha Chandy

Seth Nedever; Jack, Eileen, Cathy Pierce

Jazz at BC

On Sunday, October 23rd, Transylvanian born, NYC-based pianist LUCIAN BAN and American violist and Grammy nominee MAT MANERI performed material from their award winning 2013 ECM release Transylvanian Concert, as well as premiering new compositions, and performing interpretations of Romanian traditional music, and the music of George Enescu in the context of contemporary jazz and improvisation.

Kris Tiner, thank you!

BC at ASCCC!

Got this wonderful picture from Corny Rodriguez with Lynn Krausse and Mike Ivey. They are attending ASCCC meeting on Faculty Qualifications and Equivalency.

Come join us for Vet Fest 2016 on Wednesday, November 2nd at 9:30 a.m.

Trustee Kay Meek at last year’s vetfest

Enlisting in the service is a very big decision for anyone to make but for those who do, and many who lose their lives we give thanks. After returning from service, many veterans go back to school to complete their certificates, or access job training. Bakersfield College’s Veteran Resource Center is an approved institution for the training of veterans and veterans’ dependents entitled to educational assistance. Our veterans are given credit for specific service experience and certain educational training completed while in service. The Office of Admissions and Records will make evaluation of such experience and training. All educational opportunities and personnel services offered in the college are available to the veterans. BC makes it one of its goals that the Veterans are included in everything. These are not traditional students; they need to be taken care of holistically not just academically.

There are many initiatives on campus focused towards the veterans, including an education advisor that caters to Veteran’s needs, a veteran development course, veteran orientation and priority registration, as well as the Veteran’s Club. The goal of the veteran’s club is to give available resources for all Bakersfield College student veterans, and provide information, service, and a feeling of belonging. Meetings are held in the veterans lounge on select Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

Beckworth, Barrientos

The Veterans Lounge is a place that many veterans hold dear to them. The Veterans Resource Center provides a range of counseling, and outreach services to aid in a comfortable post-war readjustment to civilian life. The Center is full of bright natural light and is a quiet space where veterans can study, rest, and use the center’s computer. For more information visit he Vet center located in the Campus center and is open Monday through Thursday 8am-4pm.

On Wednesday November 2, 2016, Bakersfield College will be hosting its 4^th annual Vetfest as a celebration to our student veterans as well as all veterans everywhere for Veteran’s Day. The Vetfest will include several community veteran organization and informational booths. We will have a keynote speaker J.R. Browning, who is a graduate of CSUB graduate school of counseling and now a veteran’s counselor at the Bakersfield Vet Center. The festivities start at 9:30am until 1pm located in the grass area between the library and CSS.

Homecoming 2016

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Homecoming 2016 was a week-long celebration, and I can’t believe it’s over already. Last Saturday, the event concluded with the Big Red Dinner, Renegade Parade, and the phenomenal BC Football game! For over 20 years, Renegade alumni and fans have asked for the Big Red Dinner to make a comeback and this year, I’m glad we did as the fan favorite was a hit. Thank you to our Big Red Dinner sponsors, W A Thompson, Kern Schools Federal Credit Union, International Soccer, and Don C. & Diane S Lake Family. Thank you Nicky Damania, Tom Gelder, Marlene Heise, and Mary Jo Pasek for making it happen.

After everyone had their fill of spaghetti dinner, the parade was escorted through campus. Horns were honking, pompoms shaking, flags flying, and Renegades waved from various vehicles as they made their way to Memorial Stadium. If you missed it, a video has been posted by Nicky Damania on the BCSGA Facebook – check it out at https://www.facebook.com/SGABC/videos/1179048165503055/

One of my favorite things about the evening is how BC is true family – our community is a blend of both traditional families who support and attend BC for generations, and families you can choose to be a part of! The BC Women’s Basketball team is a perfect example of this united teamwork and they are a BC family. Coach Paula Dahl is the best!

And here is a moment I shared with our Women’s Basketball team.

Kimberly Bligh and her mini Renegade granddaughter were out in the stands cheering on the home team with Trustee Romeo Agbalog and Lily Perez. And I spotted another future Renegade, Valerie, with her grandpa, Chris Hine.

Trustee Agbalog did the coin toss at the beginning of the game. It is always great to have our trustees on our campus!

Thank you to Trustee Romeo Agbalog, and JP Lake for being on the Vance Palm Show. Vance Palm is just the very best!

Thank you Keith Wolaridge and Jay Rosenlieb for the Measure J table.

Keith Wolaridge and his daughter Oct 22 2016.jpg

Keith Wolaridge and his beautiful daughter

Enjoyed meeting Chris Cruz one of our awesome students who is a friend of a dear friend of mine Lauro Braganza.

chris-cruz-and-sonya-christian-oct-22-2016

Sonya Christian, Chris Cruz

The Renegades closed out the evening with a win in front of over five thousand fans at the big game. Check out the recap at http://gogades.com/sports/fball/2016-17/releases/20161025s6ikt5

Renegade Volleyball

Coach Carl Ferreira led the BC Volleyball team to victory against College of the Canyons on Friday night and broke Canyons’ 33-match conference win streak. See tweet!

Renegade Volleyball takes over first place in league by sweeping state ranked number 12 College of the Canyons.

Grand Opening of the Wonderful Academy

On Friday, October 28th, the Wonderful Academy opened its doors to their new location. Lynda and Stewart Resnick have been great partners of Bakersfield College and committed to advancing the educational attainment levels in the Central Valley. Trustee Romeo Agbalor, Rich McCrow, and Raquel Lopez represented KCCD and BC at this event. There were many dignitaries to support the great work being done by Wonderful.

ribbon-cutting-wonderful-academy-oct-29-2016

rich-mccrow-at-wonderful-ribbon-cutting-oct-28-2016

Talking about the Wonderful Academy, there was a great piece by Kristen Barnes in Thursday’s Californian titled Dual-enrollment program jump-starts college education

Check it out http://tinyurl.com/grduo94

Here is the closing sectionin her article:

In a community with lagging educational attainment rates and a large population of first-generation college students, dual enrollment offers an innovative solution to improving educational outcomes.

Education is the bedrock of any community and it is imperative that we all work together to provide opportunities for improvement and change. KHSD, KCCD and CSUB should be commended for their collaborative efforts in the name of expanding opportunities for local students.

Disability Awareness Day

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The Fireside Room was packed and almost every seat taken when a constant stream of students filled the back wall. There was standing-room-only during the student panel that kicked off the three-part program of Disability Awareness Day on Thursday afternoon.

Outside the Campus Center, 26 booths, tables, and tents lined up along the walkways. Groups like Guide Dogs of America, League of Dreams, and Bakersfield Parks and Rec were present to share the information about what they can offer and how they can help people with various disabilities.

Back inside, Ian Kennedy, Viridiana Alvarez, Maria Medina, Abel Carlon, and Edward Davila shared personal stories and experiences about being a college student at BC with disabilities. These challenges present themselves in many forms… from reading comprehension to motor skills, to anxiety and depression to blindness, deafness, and mobility difficulties. These students shared inspiring messages that show dedication, extreme strength, a drive to overcome any challenges, but possibly most of all… their stories shared their ability.

The ability to do what they love, pursue an education, and give back to their communities and make a difference in the world through their talents and gifts.

First DSPS Awards

A number of those willing, helpful people were recognized during the awards presentation that followed the student panel. The award recipients were:

Outstanding Department: Maintenance and Operations – For always being on call, day or night. The M&O staff support student success by ensuring that accessible furniture and equipment such as CC TV’s are in class locations across campus.

Outstanding Faculty: Tom Greenwood – Reaching out to deaf students on campus, Tom’s support of student success has included taking American Sign Language courses that allow him to communicate directly with students. His sabbatical leave took him on a journey to explore how deaf faculty teach mathematics to deaf students and to share what he has learned both at BC and to his colleagues in the state.

Outstanding Faculty: Bernie Scanlon – Students describe him as caring, understanding, and funny. Students look for his Math 60 and 70 courses to assist them in gaining the skills to succeed in mathematics. DSP&S counselors and students are aware that his style of teaching connects with people and incorporates diverse learning styles.

Outstanding Staff: Kristin Rabe – Kristin has been a driving force in establishing the Accessibility Task Force on campus. Her advocacy for captioned media and knowledge of all things related to media services has been instrumental in ensuring live streamed events on campus are captioned. Her knowledge of cccconfer is being used to explore potential ways to support veterans on campus.

Outstanding Staff: Bob Shimmin – Bob is the “Go-To Guy” when it comes to assistive technology. He has been involved in specialized training at the High Tech Center Training Unit and works closely with DSPS staff and students to ensure equal access and student success.

Outstanding Student: Maria Medina – Maria will be competing her AA-T is sociology degree in spring. Her goal is to transfer to a University of California to pursue a degree in political science. Her career goal is to utilize her education and experience to become a disability advocate. Maria has demonstrated the core values behind the Habits of Mind as she incorporates self-advocacy and persistence to strive for excellence.

Outstanding Student: Douglas Bolds – Doug is a proactive student. While working for Public Safety Department driving cart he uses his connections and knowledge to help his peers achieve success. He educates students about DSPS services that are available and has been known to personally deliver students looking for work to the Workability Program office. His great attitude, reliability, and willingness to go out of his way to assist others goes above and beyond.

After the awards presentation, a handful of various faculty and staff took their seats on the panel.

Thank you to Jonathan Schultz, Jackie Brouillette, Moya Arthur, Helen Acosta, Alexandra Dallara, Jennifer Garrett, Barbara Mathis and our student panel for publicly disclosing your disabilities, challenges, and successes with everyone on Thursday. Your stories continue to inspire classmates and colleagues. Together we can improve services, better our tools, create greater awareness, and ultimately make the world a better place.

People with disabilities are, first and foremost, people…. They are our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, our classmates, you, and me. BC Professor, Helen Acosta said on the panel, “All of our diversity makes us stronger.” Our dreams are not any different, and together we are BC.

Thank you to channels 17, 23, and 29 who all covered this important and special event. Check out two of the articles online at

http://bakersfieldnow.com/news/health/disability-awareness-day-held-at-bc

and

KGET: http://tinyurl.com/jc35ku2

Extra pictures taken by Manny De Los Santos are available at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Disability-Awareness-Day-2016/i-FB5rTTf

CSEA Halloween Potluck Party

On Monday afternoon the Fireside Room was filled with tricks and treats for the first annual CSEA Halloween Potluck Party. All classified staff was invited to bring their favorite dish and arrive in costume for a small lunchtime gathering. The staff at BC are at the core of making everything happen and I sincerely appreciate each and every one of them. Tina Johnson, BC’s CSEA President, said in an email that everyone seemed to love the food, since only a tiny bit was leftover!

Special thanks to the team who brought all of this together, Heather Barajas, Theresa Rodriquez, Stephanie Vega, Mary Webb, Bernadette Gutierrez, and Yadira Guerrero. Thank you to everyone from food services to helped warm food and set up tables and Manuel De Los Santos for taking pictures! Check out all the photos at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/CSEA-Halloween-Potluck/

Congratulations to Dr. Josh Ottum

Earlier this month, I mentioned a moment when Prof. Josh Ottum stopped by my office to pick up the signed approval to apply for a grant. I’m proud to announce, he has been selected for funding! Dr. Josh Ottum is a creative artist and scholar who is completely committed to our community and his students.

In his application, he mentioned “developing seven essential courses to prepare students for success in fields of music and audio technology. The state has approved our certificate and I am thrilled to give students the opportunity to learn about the exciting facets of commercial music, including live sound, composition, sound design, and so forth.”

Thank you, Dr. Ottum, for applying for this mini grant under the “Doing What Matters for Jobs and the Economy” – it’s going to make a difference for many of BC’s talented music students.

An Out-of-this-World Encounter

Photo by Cara Jackson

On Wednesday, October 26, author Andy Weir gave an extremely witty and comical speech at BC. He also answered questions from the audience regarding his book, “The Martian.”

He made the audience feel connected to the plot of the book, but at the same time was completely honest about new ideas of our understanding of Mars. He was very happy he had “established a trust with the readers… and they accepted what I had to say.”

It took him three years to write his book, and get in touch with publishers. He previously worked as a computer software programmer, but in his spare time he worked on the book. The book turned into a movie and in October of 2015, The Martian was in theaters. It follows a story of Mark, the main character who is left on Mars alone and thinks of every way possible to survive until his crew can come back.

Many students in the audience had a chance to ask Andy what inspired him to write the book. A brief question and answer session followed:

How do you feel as the writer watching the movie?

Andy: I liked how Matt captured the personality of the character very well and I was able to work with all involved.

What is your favorite movie?

Andy: The Martian… No I believe, Match Stick Men, since I love con men and crime scene movies.

When did you start the book?

Andy: In 2009, and it took me 3 years to write it.

Photo by Cara Jackson

What was the most interesting research topic?

Andy: I liked the orbital dynamics and I wrote software to calculate the simulations.

Are you working on any other books?

Andy: Yes, right now I am working on “The Woman on the Moon.” The main character is super intelligent, and has a strong moral code, and attractive side.

What new discovered aspects about Mars doesn’t show up in your book?

Andy: When I wrote the Martian we had a certain view of Mars and now since a probe landed we know that there is a huge amount of water on Mars. Every cubic meter has 35 liters in it from the ice crystals.

Also, the dust storms on Mars would not have any force behind it, because even though Mars does get 150 k/h winds, the atmosphere is so thin it would have a difficult time knocking over a piece of paper.

What helps you write?

Andy: I like to listen to instrumental music and the sound tracks to movies and drink lots of diet coke. Also, I use the morning to write and keep motivated.

Thanking Nick Strobel

I often say that I’m the luckiest college president in the world and it’s true. A large part of that is because I get to work with the best staff, faculty, and administration. Anna Agenjo, our incredible Librarian, sent this beautiful email praising Nick Strobel that I just have to share.

“Everyone already knows what a huge asset Nick Strobel is to the BC community, not just in the classroom but also through his work on committees and in the community. We are very lucky to have him on campus. Although it is not needed, I want to add my voice to the many by telling you about Nick’s contribution to the Cerro Author program this year. I approached Nick this past summer to ask if he could present a show about Mars in the planetarium to complement this year’s author, Andy Weir.

Nick did not hesitate, and last Thursday he gave a well-attended and well-received presentation on Mars at the planetarium. He was able to bring Mars and the cosmos to life for his audience, and it was the perfect prelude to today’s Andrew Weir events. We all learned so much, and his enthusiasm in sharing his knowledge with the community made me very proud to be associated with Bakersfield College. Because of Nick’s extraordinary efforts, BC’s star shone brightly last Thursday night at the planetarium. I wanted you to know how much we in the Library appreciate Nick for going above and beyond.”

Soccer Staff & Antelope Valley Student

Going above and beyond is something our BC staff and faculty do regularly for all students. At a recent soccer match on campus an Antelope Valley student was injured and had to be taken to Kern Medical Center (KMC). Our coach, as well as Chief Chris Counts, were at KMC with the student, and a group text message keeping all informed. This is what BC does – a culture of care and support. We Are BC!

Measure J:

Walked into the Campaign HQ this morning and saw Chris Glaser and Lesley Bonds role modeling anticipated conversations when volunteers precinct walk. It was so fun watching them.

And a quick thank you to Micahel O’Doherty who has put in hours volunteering his time to Measure J. Even is his Halloween gallivanting pirate costume.

Michael O’Doherty

Let me start my update of Measure J with the community voices piece in The Bakersfield Californian by Prof. Debbie Rosenthal. Check it out at

http://tinyurl.com/j9akp9v

I love how Debbie described Bakersfield:

No, Bakersfield is not a tourist destination. And yes, Bakersfield is too hot in the summer. But Bakersfield is what I call an easy city to live in.

The city is large enough to have everything I need and small enough to have little traffic congestion. People are considerate to one another to make it feel like a small town. I call this “The South of California.” There is one major difference. I am accepted here and not treated as an outsider.

and Bakersfield College:

Bakersfield College is amazing. It has provided me with numerous opportunities for growth in my profession. The choice of conferences, meetings, presentations, training, and committees allows me to focus my unleashed energy into positive channels. The students are ambitious to be challenged for the reassurance that I believe they are capable of achieving their dreams. Their expectations from me demand I deliver the best I can at all times.

The administration, staff and colleagues have quickly accepted me and respect my extensive experience, training, and research in chemical education. They trust my judgment and allow me to try new ideas in the classroom.

and Debbie concludes with:

One of the top priorities for Measure J is to renovate and expand the science building. The series of short bonds, with more return on investment than one long bond, are strictly to improve the aging facilities. I ask you to support Measure J. It will not be used to increase my salary. It is for the future of students and Kern County.

We are BC! and as Karen Goh said in her remarks to the college during Opening Day ….BC is so integrated within the Bakersfield Community that we should, in addition to We are BC!, chant We are Bakersfield!

Measure J endorsements:

The endorsements keep coming in. This week we were delighted when Cathy Butler stopped by and handed the endorsement of the Downtown Business Association. Thank you Cathy Butler and Bob Bell.

Here are few of the over 2000 endorsements that we have received so far: #MeasureJ

Joe Aguirre, Former Delano Mayor
Kevin Burton, President, SJCH Foundation
Kyle Carter, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate
Ricardo Chavez, Delano Mayor
Stephanie Cortez, Porterville Chamber of Commerce CEO/President
David Couch, Kern County Supervisor
Robert de la Rosa, Ola Raza Director
Jose Flores, Arvin Mayor
Mick Gleason, Kern County Supervisor
Karen Goh, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate
Doug Greener, Bakersfield Fire Chief
Shannon Grove, California State Assembly Member
Virginia Gurrola, Porterville Councilwoman
Harvey Hall, Bakersfield Mayor
Cam Hamilton, Porterville Vice Mayor
Harold Hanson, Bakersfield Vice Mayor
Mike Maggard, Kern County Supervisor
Terry Maxwell, Bakersfield City Council Member
Kay Meek, KCCD Trustee
Arnold Morrison, DJUHS Board Member
Chris Parlier, Bakersfield City Council Member
Leticia Perez, Kern County Supervisor
Leticia Prado, Lamont Water District Member
Janet Rabanal, Delano Chamber of Commerce Director
Rosalina Rivera, Delano Union Elementary School District Superintendent
Willie Rivera, Bakersfield City Council Member
Rudy Salas, California State Assembly Member
Mary K. Shell, Former Bakersfield Mayor
Bob Smith, Bakersfield City Council Member
Milt Stowe, Porterville Mayor
Jay Tamsi, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President
Rob Taylor, Owner, Stafford’s Chocolates
Bill Thomas, Retired U.S. Congressman
Grace Vallejo, Delano City Council
Greg Williamson, Bakersfield Police Department Chief
Donny Youngblood, Kern County Sheriff
Milt Younger, Attorney

And here are some of the organizations who have endorsed Measure J

The Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield College Alumni Association
Bakersfield Downtown Business Association
Building4SUCCESS Inc
California City Chamber of Commerce
Chevron
Delano Camber of Commerce
Democratic Women of Kern
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council
KCCD California School Employees Association
KCCD Community College Association
KCCD Management Association
Kern Agriculture Foundation
Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce
Kern County Democratic Party

Kern County Farm Bureau
Kern County Firefighters Union
Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Kern County Young Republicans (PAC)
Kern Economic Development Corporation
Kern County Taxpayers Association
Latina Leaders of Kern County
Murray Family Farms
Porterville Democratic Club
RA Johnsfam
Renegade Helmet Club
Sikh Women’s Association
Veterans of Foreign Wars District #6
Veterans of Foreign Wars #97
Wendale Davis Foundation

Thank you Measure J volunteers

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Sunday, Oct. 23 – Ivan Valadez, Tom Gelder, Dana Gelder, Carla Gard, Jeffrey Bender, Hannah Bender, Karl Bender, Rachell Morehouse, Isaac Vannasome, Tarina Perry, Nicky Damania, Brent Berton, Chris Glaser

I will post the list of volunteers as soon as I get the list. So please come back!

Karen Schuett’s regional CTA director volunteering her time at the Measure J Head Quarters. Thank you CTA for endorsing Measure J!

Janet Fulks, Karen Schuette

Thank you Liz Rozell for bringing your engineer’s mind to organize the volunteers for November 8th.

Two little somethings:

A friend shared with me a historical vignette about Trojan football while we were discussing Reggie Bush. He described in an engaging fashion the intense rivalry between Notre Dame and USC and a famous game in Indiana on a typical fall evening in 1965 when the air and grass were full of moisture. John McKay who was as good with words as he was with coaching his athletes was there in Notre Dame with “Touchdown Jesus” overlooking the stadium. The rivalry could be felt by each and every person in the packed stadium as the game began. Mike Hunter, the Trojan returner of the opening kickoff sprinted to the eight-yard line but then slipped on the moist grass, when USC coach John McKay, fearing the worst, shouted “Oh, my God, they have shot him!!” This story had me laughing the rest of the week and again just now as I was blogging. So I checked it out on yes Wikipedia and verified that my friend was not pulling a fast one. Such a great story, and so funny. Enjoy these pictures of John McKay and the Notre Dame Stadium, from the web.

And here is a fascinating story from this morning’s LA Times about fabric that generates energy. Here is the opening paragraph:

In the future, your clothes will work for you. A team of scientists led out of the Georgia Institute of Technology has created a fabric that can gather energy from both sunlight and motion, then store it in embedded fibers.

Check out the whole story at http://tinyurl.com/zgq5mfl

And I love this picture of Bruce

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — the luckiest and happiest college president ever

A busy Homecoming Week at BC!

Uncategorized October 22, 2016 Comments: 9

“I don’t think there’s any jobs like back then.” – Bob Thompson

Two years ago, in 2014, The Washington Post published a story following Bob Thompson, a man from Southern California who had never gone to college, but as a young man in his hometown of Downy in the 1960’s it was easy to find a decent job. Since it was the proud hub of aerospace manufacturing, he quickly secured a job at a local plant with no higher education.

At the end of the video clip, he said, “Today’s world – I don’t think there’s any jobs like back then. Today’s world – you have to be educated… college educated, or trades, something like that. But to just go out and get a job, a nice paying job, I think those days are over with.” You can check out the short video clip here on Washingtonpost.com.

His words have stuck with me over the past week… Especially as I’ve witnessed the amazing dedication from individuals who persistently support BC and Measure J. It is BC’s goal to provide necessary job skills for the people of this community for the next 50 years.

mike-turnipseed-measure-j-open-house-oct-4-2016

Michael Turnipseed supporting Measure J

Georgetown University, in its Job Growth and Educational Requirements Through 2020, has predicted that, “By 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school” and “The United States will fall short by 5 million workers with postsecondary education- at the current production rate- by 2020.” https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Recovery2020.ES_.Web_.pdf

Bakersfield College – and community colleges nationwide – are the pipeline to prepare the workforce for both middle-skill jobs and transfering to higher levels of educational obtainment and the highly-skilled workforce. A lot has changed since the 1960s, and the demands for more education will increase, right along the increasing number of students. The success of our community, the success of our local economy, and the health of our people depend on locally and technically trained prepared students to meet this upcoming demand. #MeasureJ

david-torres-measure-j-open-house-oct-4-2016

David Torres supporting Measure J

This was made clear at the Kern Workforce Summit on October 19th organized by Supervisor Leticia Perez, Teresa Hitchcock and a team of business and industry partners. Unfortunately, I did not take my own pictures at the event, so here is a collage from Karen Goh’s facebook page. Thanks Karen!

Supervisor Leticia Perez supporting Measure J

David Womack, a retired USAF colonel, is the senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente in Kern County.

David Womack

Have you seen his piece in the Community Voices section of the Bakersfield Californian? He says,

Measure J has the potential to transform our region and create a tipping point for generations to come. Here is how your vote will make a difference.

He concludes with:

Desmond Tutu once said, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.” Measure J is our upstream opportunity. You can choose to invest in the health of our community and wellbeing of our veterans.

You can choose to vote Yes on Measure J.

Find out how by checking out his letter at http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/community-voices-how-measure-j-can-improve-kern-s-health/article_4516a34e-973f-527d-a569-256b8f93fa9b.html

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, October 22nd …. Homecoming at Bakersfield College and an amazing day to be a Renegade. An amazing day following an amazing week of activities both on-campus and off-campus.

And why would the week not be great when we had Scott Cox in it 🙂

First Look with Scott Cox

Scott Cox, Marlene Heise, Bill Thomas, Sonya Christian

Retired Congressman and KCCD Trustee, Bill Thomas and I were guests on First Look with Scott Cox this past week to talk about Measure J. It was really a lot of fun. Also notice Hop, Mike Hopper, with the Measure J sign. We was wonderful and so funny. Thank you Marlene Heise for making this happen.

A recording of the live video is available on First Look’s Facebook page at

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=706139332868277&id=175755155906700&__tn__=C

Measure J Update

Endorsements:

The Kern County Farm Bureau Endorses Measure J. See press release

Thank you President Jeff Rasmussen and Beatris Espericueta Sanders and each member of the Board for your support of Measure J.

breatris-espericueta-heather-baltis-sonya-christian-oct-5-2016

Beatris Espericueta, Heather Baltis, Sonya Christian

#MeasureJ

Doug Starr of the Kern Ag Foundation supports Measure J

Over 1800 individuals have endorsed Measure J. Check out the list at http://www.yesonj2016.com/endorsements.html

Here are some examples in alphabetical order:

Kevin Burton, President, SJCH Foundation
Kyle Carter, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate/KCCD Trustee
David Couch, Kern County Supervisor
Jose Flores, Arvin Mayor
Karen Goh, Bakersfield Mayoral Candidate
Doug Greener, Bakersfield Fire Chief
Shannon Grove, California State Assembly Member
Harvey Hall, Bakersfield Mayor
Harold Hanson, Bakersfield Vice Mayor
Mike Maggard, Kern County Supervisor
Kay Meek, KCCD Trustee
Terry Maxwell, Bakersfield City Council Member
Chris Parlier, Bakersfield City Council Member
Leticia Perez, Kern County Supervisor
Leticia Prado, Lamont Water District Member
Willie Rivera, Bakersfield City Council Member
Rudy Salas, California State Assembly Member
Mary K. Shell
Bob Smith, Bakersfield City Council Member
Jay Tamsi, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President
Bill Thomas, Retired U.S. Congressman
Greg Williamson, Bakersfield Police Department Chief
Milt Younger

What’s happening at the Measure J Head Quarters?

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Volunteers are coming from all around to give their time and talent to ensure Measure J is a success!

Here are some smart, beautiful and talented women who support Measure J

January Lau-CEO January & Company (Bakersfield)

Norma Rojas-Mora-President Latina Leaders of Kern County (Bakersfield)

Pauline Larwood-Retired Kern Community College Trustee/Kern County Supervisor (Bakersfield)

Connie Perez-CPA (Bakersfield)

Sue Benham-Retired Bakersfield City Council (Bakersfield)

Mariela Gomez-student ( Bakersfield)

Carolina Espinoza-student (Bakersfield)

Raji Brar-Owner Countryside Market & Restaurants (Bakersfield)

Tina Miller-Host “Open Up” talk show (Bakersfield)

And here is the fabulous Nicole Parra. I love this picture.

Nicole Parra supporting Measure J

At the headquarters this week, I had a minute to chat with Malique McClanaan, a high school student volunteering with his mom who also wants to take dual enrollment classes at BC.

I also saw smiling faces like Manny De Los Santos and Venessa Reyes, who made phone calls to voters.

Manny De los Santos, Vanessa Reyes

I snagged a selfie with adjunct faculty, Kaureen Brady. And Kenneth Mireles, Carlos Baraban and Paul Beckworth also hit the phones and chatted with potential supporters.

j_selfie-with-kaureen-brady-ac-dev-adjunct-faculty-oct-15-2016

Sonya Christian, Kaureen Brady

It was great to also see Ken Byrum, a local attorney, a member of our Board of Directors and a strong supporter of Bakersfield College phone banking out on behalf of Measure J.

Ken Byrum phone banking

Check out our Academic Senate Vice President volunteering her time phone banking.

Andrea Thorson phone banking Oct 2016.jpg

Andrea Thorson phone banking Oct 19, 2016

Here is Dena Rhoades, Kathy Howarth, and Kristin Rabe counting and preparing Measure J yard signs!

Dena Rhoades, Kathy Howarth, Kristin Rabe

Matt Stahl and I took a look at the voters map for walking precincts.

Sonya Christian, Matt Stahl

BC is a family and so it was refreshing to see Grace Comisso downtown at Measure J headquarters with her whole family, even the baby in tow! Marissa Marquez and her daughter Clarissa were on hand to help with whatever was needed!

Grace Commiso and family

Marissa Marquez and family

The Delano crew also got together. The committee meeting for lunch and “walk” planning took place – Here is Raquel Lopez, Alma Feathers, Carolina Madrigal; Juan Torres; Gustavo Enriquez; Abel Guzman; and Helen Calip.

Shout out to Volunteers:

Tuesday, October 18th:

Terri Goldstein, Michelle Pena, Keri Kennedy, Adel Shafik, Amanda Rangel, Lesley Bonds, Ashlea Ward, Claudio Felix, Shanell Tyus, Manuel Muralles, Josie Guillen, Steven Watkin, Debi Anderson, Tom Gelder, Paul Beckworth, Jackie Lau, Yadira Guerrero, Chris Glaser, Steve Waller, Cynthia Munos, Jay Rosenlieb

Wednesday, October 19:

Jackie Lau, Carlos Banbaran, Pat Smith, Heather Barajas, Tracy Lovelace, Kristin Rabe, Loy Salarda, Lisa Kent, Kathy Howarth, Dena Rhoades, Somaly Boles, Chris Glaser, Steve waller, Keesha Collins

Thursday, October 20:

Lesley Bonds, Lisa Kent, Brenda Silva, Silvia Silva, Jason Page, Mark Osea, Keesha Collins, Terri Goldstein, Michelle Pena, Linda Cordobam, Josh Shackelford, Jackie Lau, Sergio Maldenado, Salvador Gomez-Pantoja, Shohreh Rahman, Matt Hinson, Sam Moreno, Steve Waller, Chris Glaser, January Lau, Tom Gelder, Janet Tarjan

Friday, October 21:

Stephen Waller, Keesha Collins, Kalina Hill, Jackie Brouillette, Shanell Tyus, Pedro C. Ramirez, Tom Saba, Janet Tarjan, Elina Garcia, Maria Duenas, Brenda Silvia, Sam Moran, Daulton Jones, Shanice Watson, Liz Rozell, Kate Pluta, Ruben Chavez, Mariah Earl, Iris Gonzalez, Loy Salarda, Nicky Damania, Teresa McAllister, Chase McAllister, Lucero Cisneros, Andrea Lopez, Lesley Bonds

And a little birdy told me that some people didn’t sign in – you know who you are!

Homecoming 2016!

School spirit is alive at 1801 Panorama Drive! The week was off to a magical start with our campus’s first “Quidditch Tournament!” Students drew a crowd as they participated in the magical sport created by J.K Rowling in her Harry Potter series. Teams were formed, competitions began, and no one walked away empty handed! You have to see the pictures to see a glimpse of how this whimsical sport was a fantastic start to Homecoming Week at BC!

On Tuesday, BCSGA set up bumper ball soccer for students! Large plastic balls were inflated for one person and that’s how the games began! Student booths for Student Life and BCSGA were on hand to get students involved and assist with the bumper games.

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Wednesday was all about fun and food with a special event Tacos & Tie-Dye out in the Renegade Crossroads. As you can imagine, tie-dye was incredibly messy and the tacos from the Taqueria el Roble del Leon Taco Truck are always a hit with the students.

Campus was fired up on Thursday in preparation for the big weekend. Students listened to music and enjoyed pancakes at the traditional Pep Rally and Pancake Feed! The BC Cheerleaders and BC Drumline raised the excitement and our campus spirit with stellar performances.

It’s an exciting time to be on campus, and this evening is the best chance to reconnect with your community college – Bakersfield College! Homecoming 2016 is going to be the best one yet and it all takes place tonight starting with the Big Red Dinner! You don’t want to miss the parade and big game vs. Cerritos College.

I hope to see you up at “the campus on the hill” tonight! For Homecoming 2016!!

Third Thursday

There were two events this past Thursday, October 20th — the third thursday prayer group luncheon for public sector leaders and the Downtown Business Association’s event in the evening. Our mayor Harvey Hall was recognized at both events.

I enjoyed hearing the McKinley School Choir perform and found this youtube video of them receiving a check from Robin Mangarin on behalf of Dignity Health.

Another event that happened Thursday evening was the Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government. Thank you JP Lake for having me as your guest. I did not take photos but found this collage on Karen Goh’s Facebook. Thank you Karen Goh!

Creative Experiences at BC

BC at Via Arté

It is through the music and art curriculum and experiences that BC students are prepared for a myriad of creative fields. From professional music to drawing, painting, ceramics, architecture, digital media and more, our students accomplish great things. Each year, the Bakersfield Museum of Art presents Via Arte at The Marketplace where artists recreate a traditional Italian street painting festival with original chalk art.

Check out these incredible pics from Art adjunct faculty, Diego Gutierrez Monterrubio and BC Art student, Emily Lloyd.

BC Chamber Singers

On Monday, our BC Chamber singers were featured on First Look with Scott Cox. If you missed this wonderful highlight of Dr. Jennifer Garrett and a portion of the BC Chamber Singers, make sure to check out this link for the recording!

Yesterday, on Friday evening, this group of talented students took the stage along with the entire BC Chamber Singers, BC College Choir, Lucy Adams on french horn, Naomi Rivera from Marvin Ramey’s Experience Dance, and one of our own BC students Linda Snoddy on bagpipes. The beautiful Indoor Theater was filled with talent and the evening’s theme was one to remember: Life and Death.

Here is the Director’s Note to us:

Dr. Jen Garrett emailed me… “I have done quite a few concerts in my life, but I don’t think any of them have meant as much to me as this one. I thought of the idea just over a year ago on the day my Mom passed away and I had to do a rehearsal with College Choir immediately after I arrived home from traveling to see her one last time. I knew then that I wanted to do something to honor her.”

I did not take photos but saw Cara Jackson at the vent. When she gets her pictures to us, I will go ahead and add them to this blog. So check back.

Here are two of my favorite songs from the evening and since I did not take a video of the BC Choir performing, I found the songs on youtube take a few moments to close your eyes and listen and see the amazing Jen Garrett with her choir, in her pale but bright blue dress with a delicate black vest.

We Rise Again:

Peace Like a River

All of the choir members have made dedications to people that have influenced their lives–both people still living and those that have passed on.” The BC Choral program is constantly working to bring light to our community through performance, art, and music. The next performance is December 2^nd for “Winter Around the World” – you don’t want to miss it. We love you Jen Garrett!

Lucian Ban & Mat Maneri:

Tomorrow, Sunday October 23^rd at 6:00pm, the BC Jazz Program presents a unique evening with Transylvanian born, NYC-based pianist Lucian Ban and Grammy nominee Mat Maneri, who will share their musical discoveries. Admission is free, open to the public and also for our students. Performing Arts adjunct faculty, Susan Scaffidi shares more about these incredible artists in her article on Bakersfield.com.

I hope you’ll check it out.

Traveling to Mars at BC

BC’s planetarium director, Nick Strobel, presented a Mars Travel Guide on Thursday at BC’s very own William M. Thomas Planetarium on Thursday. This special show covered the hazards of the months-long flight to Mars, properties, the atmosphere and geology, weather, and the history of our explorations on the surface of Mars from Viking to Curiosity.

Nick said, “To give it proper justice would probably require a whole semester’s worth of a class or at least a six-hour show but most people, I suspect, would find that a tad too long.”

Just a tad, he said!

What a fabulous gift for the community at BC – the gift of knowledge and education concerning one of our most interesting subjects – space!

Check out this link for more about the Bakersfield College Planetarium or click here to read one of Nick’s biweekly Bakersfield Night Sky articles.

Student Initiatives

African American Mentor Program:

Making a transition to a new environment such as college can be overwhelming, especially for first-time and first-generation college students. That’s why Bakersfield College strives to offer many diverse student organizations and initiatives. One initiative in particular, the African American Mentor Program, is one that incorporates drop-in mentors, peer mentors, resiliency guidance, and general assistance to encourage students to be motivated in their studies.

Julian West is the coordinator for AAMP and he has said, “A big part of what AAMP is for and what I do, is to ensure that African American students feel like they belong at BC and get them comfortable with using these services. We have a network of dedicated staff and community members that are addressing the unique issues faced by African American students.”

The group holds weekly meetings with dedicated black tutors, or “real talk” sessions in which students can speak their mind and talk about any issues on or off campus.

The most recent “Real Talk” was conducted by Danny Morrison of Hot 94.1 radio, who runs Project Dynamo, helping children strive in school. I’m told Danny spoke on how important it is to break the cycle of black stereotypes and how it must strive from motivation to change and its talks like this that help motivate our students and keep them on track.

The mentors of AAMP make note of and reach out to students when they are missing items like educational plans or financial aid paperwork. They incorporate a very intrusive approach to educational advising including outreach and even text message reminders!

BC is a family and nothing makes us more proud than to see students accomplish their goals and better their future; services like AAMP on campus allow us to do that.

If students want to get involved, find contact details and more at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/student/aai/aamp

Spotlight On: The Grace Van Dyke Bird Library

This week, I’d like to take a moment to focus on our fabulous library. This is the newest building on campus, built in 1996. Most of the other buildings were built in 1956.

The Bakersfield College library is a tremendous academic resource to students in need of books, reference books, articles, research assistance, research workshops, or just a quiet place to study. The library subscribes to 12 online research databases and offers access to 150,000 electronic books in addition to the 80,00 print volumes housed in the library. The library staff consists of 5 full-time librarians, 3 adjunct librarians, and 4 support staff. The library is open 62 hours each week, including Saturdays.

Each semester librarians teach 2-3 sections of Library B1 (Introduction to Library Research), almost 70 research workshops, and well over 100 discipline-specific library orientations. In Spring 2016, a small library was opened at the Delano Campus, staffed by both adjunct and full-time BC librarians.

The Delano library is open 24 hours each week.

There are a total of 70 library workshops available to students every semester. These workshops help students learn research strategies, which give tips on how to find information about a certain topic by using key words; find books, including e-books and using the library catalog, as well as using EBSCOhost and other scholarly sources needed for researching. To find the schedule of all library workshops, visit the website: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/library/workshops

The library hosts an annual Cerro Author Lecture, thanks to the generous bequest of Dolores Cerro. This year, we’re pleased to host Andy Weir, author of “The Martian”, which is now a major motion picture.

This book portrays the story of a young astronaut, Mark, left stranded by his crew after being presumed dead during a sand storm on Mars.

Left with only broken machinery, and no way to contact Earth, Mark is left to rely on his intuition and knowledge to survive. The book has proven to be a page-turner and hard to put down!

Weir will present programs to our students, faculty and staff on October 25th and 26th. On October 25th, he will also present a public program at 7 pm at the Indoor Theatre – all are welcome to this free event! For more information visit the Bakersfield College Librarian desk, or see https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/library/cerro-authors.

You can follow the library on both Instagram (bc_library) and Twitter (LibraryatBC)

Celebrating our favorite red!

The days are ticking down to Nov. 8^th, and a few short days later, Jennifer Marden will be saying “I do!”

Last weekend, it was a great thing to see so many friends and colleagues take the time out of our busy lives on a Saturday afternoon to celebrate with Jennifer and her soon-to-be-husband, Mark. Stepping out into the patio at the Pyrenees Café was like stepping into a Tuscan retreat.

The food was delicious, including the gorgeous cake made by BC’s Rad Tech Dept. Assistant, Anita Karr. Thank you to the special party planners, Kathy Howarth, Tracy Hall, Cynthia Munoz, and Becky Dargatz.

Jennifer’s wedding website says that even with an ocean, the 2^nd largest city in America, and a mountain range between their homes, they did everything possible to spend as much time together and now their wedding is quickly approaching! There’s so much to celebrate at BC, but I’m glad last Saturday afternoon was all about Jennifer. Congratulations Jennifer Marden and Mark Serratt – I can’t wait to share a picture from the joyous occasion in a few short weeks!

Sonya Christian, Pam Christian

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —

reading Jenn’s note about her mom made me go back through old pictures. Here I am with Pam Christian in Singapore many years ago.

A long history of community partnership

Uncategorized October 1, 2016 Leave a comment

Good morning Bakersfield! It is October 1st and a great day to be a Renegade.

This last week was a huge professional development week for me as I made time to volunteer at the Measure J campaign Headquarters (HQ) on 1675 Chester Avenue. This campaign week we started phone banking and it was wonderful hearing the positive responses about Bakersfield College as people responded to out phone calls.

Check out photos of our volunteer phone bankers — Yadira Gurrero, Maria Wright, Michael McClinnick, Ashley Ward.

Yadira Gurrero

Maria Wright

Michael McClinnick

Ashley Ward

One of my phone calls at 7:00 p.m. was answered by a young woman who was in Prof. Josh Ottum’s class. She of course, supports Measure J, and more than that kept praising Bakersfield College and Prof Ottum. You see my friends, this is Bakersfield College! A dedicated faculty and staff!

Prof. Josh Ottum is working on a grant right now and stopped by my office to pick up the signed approval to apply for a grant. I loved hearing his enthusiasm for both his work and his little baby as he talked to Jennifer Marden. As I watched the warm and engaged interaction between two of them, my heart was filled with great delight and great pride…a wonderful work environment….a wonderful learning environment….I am the luckiest and happiest college president ever!

Let me introduce you to Professor Josh Ottum who, as you can see, is a scholar and artist and he is completely committed to our community; completely committed to our students. For more on Josh check out his faculty profile page at:
https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/performingarts/faculty-staff. Josh represents the talent and dedication of the faculty and staff of Bakersfield College. We are BC!

Talking about music, our women chamber singers under the tutelage of the fabulous Dr. Jen Garrett performed yesterday morning for 900 high school students. They opened with “Real Women Sing” event at Harvey Auditorium. Music is alive and well in Bakersfield and making such a difference in many lives. I couldn’t be prouder of our BC Choir!

Back to phone banking.… Before I started making my calls I wandered around watching the volunteers hard at work. Here is Abel Guzman fluently switching between Spanish and English. Also, Chris Glaser who has clocked in the most number of hours and Chelsea Esquibias who is a total rock star. Nicole told me that June Charles has the perfect way of talking to people while she is phone banking. She has been there many evenings with her daughter. A total family affair. Also, Tracy Hall, Somaly Boles, and Jennifer Marden.

Chris Glaser

Abel Guzman

I enjoyed sharing a table with Ronnie Wrest, faculty in the Arts department and volunteering after-hours to do phone banking. We also had Xavier Castellanos, a delightful high school student who volunteered some hours to phone bank.

Sonya Christian and Ronnie Wrest

Xavier Castellanos and Sonya Christian

It was wonderful Friday evening walking in and seeing Isabel Castaneda and her two children volunteering at the HQ. This is a total family event. We are BC!

Volunteer teams at work at the Campaign HQ:

In the photos below you’ll see a valiant leader, the campaign manager for Measure J — Nicole Parra, assisted by the talented Asha Chady.

And here are more pictures of volunteers at the campaign HQ. Chris Counts and his daughter Faith Counts were making phone banking packets with Christie Hill. Tim Capehart and Jennifer Achan were entering the information from the endorsement cards into the database. Kathy Rosellini and Asha Chandy were also hard at work.

Tim Capehart

Kathy Rosellini, Asha Chandy

Christie Hill, Jennifer Achan

Chris Counts, Faith Counts, Christie Hill

And I almost forgot to mention the Kern County Fair. Measure J was there in full force!

Thank you Isabel Cataneda for sending me this video.

Community Treasures:

With my favorite cup of coffee sitting nearby on the table and its warm aroma filling the air, there’s something simply personal about reading the local newspaper. It’s relevant, informative, interesting, and while professional, it also feels close to home… Maybe that’s because it is. It really is news about our home, the spotlight on our neighborhoods, highlights of our community, reports on our city and updates about our organizations.

Two local newspapers are on my mind as I’m writing this blog – The Renegade RIP and The Bakersfield Californian.

A few days ago, I wrote about how meaningful I feel the BC Archives Association is to the success of Bakersfield College. To put it simply, we rely on our archives for a more comprehensive and vital understanding of our identity and past, as we work towards building a better future.

This inspired my thoughts about the quality and abundance of local journalism and the archives of our city. What an incredible and priceless blessing these local journalists give us in their gift of capturing the local news.

At BC, our student journalists have contributed to the student newspaper, The Renegade RIP for over 85 years. The students do it all – from creating and writing seven or eight biweekly publications to regularly adding articles to therip.com. Above all else, they are active members of the student body, seeking out the newsworthy stories from their community and contributing back by honestly and genuinely covering today’s topics.

Over fifty years ago, in March of 1956, The RIP had a special edition issue focused around the new Panorama campus. Volume XXVIII, the special edition, featured large text on the cover saying “the new campus, the new spirit” and had equally incredible articles and headers within the pages following:

Kern County’s Businesses Offer Salute To New BC
Sweeping Panorama Shows The New BC
New Ideas Abound in BC’s Buildings
BC – Seeing Times Then, Now, and to Come

Could you imagine what they could cover if Measure J is to pass? Another historic opportunity for the college…another historic opportunity for our community. I invite you to revisit the historical “M-Day” as our faculty, staff, and students moved to the new campus on the hill 60 years ago. Check out the RIP special edition here – It begins on page 11 of the .pdf file.

I especially loved looking back to see the outpouring of community support from local businesses congratulating the students on their new campus. Browse through the ads – how many can you spot that are still local businesses today?

The Bakersfield Californian is also our local, close to home and close to heart news source. The Californians history has deep rooted beginnings as both the Kern County Weekly Courier and The Southern Californian merged to create The Kern County Californian. It received one more name makeover as The Daily Californian before Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Alfred E. Harrell purchased the paper in 1897. Afterwards, Harrell renamed it The Bakersfield Californian and the name has stuck since 1907.

Under Harrell’s leadership as an editor and publisher, The Bakersfield Californian was recognized as one of California’s finest papers, winning over 40 state and national awards for journalistic excellence. During his almost 50 years in the newspaper business, he came to be respected as one of the best newspapermen in the country. In 1969, Harrell became the 24th person to be named to the Newspaper Hall of Fame.(KernCountyGenerations.com)

Like many of our communities treasures, The Bakersfield Californian has a remarkable history; one withstanding a revolutionized industry, new technologies, and an expanding community that continues to grow, yet at the same time, it has for me kept that traditional “hometown content” that we’ve come to love.

Have you ever had the chance to visit The Bakersfield Californian’s building on the corner of Eye and 17^th? It’s a showstopper on the outside, but stepping inside gave me the same feeling I get walking the halls of BC. It’s like walking into a place that you know has made a difference for the community and its people… with whispers of those who have created the stories of the past waiting in anticipation for the new whispers to be added from the present….

The historic building was originally built in 1926 for The Bakersfield Californian so it has always been occupied continuously by our local paper. It was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 1983 because, “the building itself is considered an architectural landmark and a reminder of the golden years of the newspaper.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield_Californian_Building).

Here’s a toast to the Bakersfield Californian!

The Voices of our Community

The Bakersfield Californian’s opinion and community voices section gives everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts. BC has incredible faculty, students, and over the past few weeks, multiple voices have been highlighted in the community voices and opinion sections. Today, I woke up to Nick Strobel describing the Rosetta spacecraft ending its mission in a controlled impact on the comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which it has been studying for the past 12 years.

Recent contributions include:

Oliver Rosales: In pursuit of innovation and collaboration in humanities
Reggie Williams: Community Voice: Terrorism in perspective
Krista Moreland: Learning by interning: BC’s Human Services Program
Jeremy Staat: Education matters, even to a former NFL player
Cheryl Scott: Yes vote on Measure J, a vote for the economy

I hope you’ll keep an eye on http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/ for any other contributions about Bakersfield College! How many can you find?

Here are a few more:

The ‘J’ in Measure J stands for Jumpstart by Danny Morrison
Measure J an investment in the future of Bakersfield by Bill Moseley
And Our View: Yes on Measures J, K and N; support Kern’s schools by The Bakersfield Californian. A big thank you to the Editorial Board of the Bakersfield Californian.

Support for Measure J is growing:

Families, friends, and community supporters have volunteered their time to staff the Measure J booth at the Kern County Fair this past week. In fact, at one time three generations including Tina Johnson, daughter Clarissa, and granddaughter Nevaeh showed their love for Measure J.

And thank you to the leaders of Arvin, Dr. Jim Young, Salvador Partida, Karen Davis, Dr. Michelle McLean, Jasmine Santoyo, Richard McCrow, Jose Gurrola, Jose Pinto, Reyna Olaguez, and Cheryl Scott – who gathered to celebrate how Measure J has the potential to make a college education more accessible for Arvin residents!

Arvin community leaders gathered for a kick-off to support Measure J on September 15.

You can see a video about the event on the Yes On J Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/YesOnJ2016/videos/1111784562248930/. Thank you to KBAK Eyewitness News for their coverage of this fantastic event! And thank you Jose Gaspar!

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Women in the Bakersfield Life Magazine

leticia-perez-with-noah-at-campaign-hq-sep-2016

The current issue of Bakersfield Life features fabulous women in our community who have worked to make a difference. Pictured on the cover is Leticia Perez, our 5^th District supervisor who mentions in the article that her college political science class was one that changed her life. She explained how each step of the way, she was on a mission to defeat being “powerless.”

After college, and defining where she needed to be, the things she saw throughout her community reinforced her goals to be active in local government. She said, “This local level of government is really the best place to bring people together to craft solutions that are going to change people’s lives.” The picture with Baby Noah Perez was taken when Leticia stopped by the campaign HQ earlier this week.

Vickie Spanos is also changing lives by creating opportunities and quality learning environments that foster student success for local Bakersfield high school students. After years of teaching and administrative work, today Vickie oversees professional development for the district. Her goals are multifaceted with one solid intention.

She said in the article, “We want our students to reach that next level to feel confident so that if they choose to attend college, they are equipped.” BC is lucky to partner with such fantastic leaders throughout our local high schools and just as Vickie mentioned, “We need to communicate and work as a single entity of education to help students. Their success is our goal.”

People from all different diverse backgrounds can make a difference to better their community. I was really inspired to flip through the issue of Bakersfield Life and I hope you’ll have to chance to read through it yourself.

Other women featured in the special section were Elizabeth May, May Media Services; Julie Johnson, Bakersfield Animal Care Center and Bakersfield SPCA; Corine Ruiz, Olivia’s Heart Project; Mary Christenson, Watson Reality; and Lourdes Estrada, Comprehensive Blood & Cancer Center. Check out these fantastic women and their stories in Bakersfield Life on issuu.com.

Child Development Center

I am really proud of our Child Development Center. A special thank you to Cara Jackson, our student who was able to spend some time in the center to share more about this fabulous resource.
Danell Ward, the director for the Child Development Center is really excited to have come on board 3 years ago from Sacramento

The Child Development Center wants to spread the word that parents can feel safe and confident in enrolling their child in care while going to school or preparing for school. The department is constantly looking for ways to improve and develop better teaching instruction for both children and educators.

“Going to school and being a parent is hard and some don’t realize how hard. This is the place where parents can know that their child is safe and take care of their school,” Danell said.

Danell mentioned that they have participated in the Kern Early Stars program that aims to help parents become more aware of what constitutes high quality, allowing parents to see what areas their child excels in and what areas their child needs help strengthening. This also focuses on ratings. Currently, the center holds four stars.

EHS or Early Headstart Partnership program also has joined the Child Development Center by providing free diapers and help from service workers, materials such as outdoor play equipment, and iPads for quicker documentation for teachers. Danell Ward also commented that, “it gave us a stepping stone to participate and see what we need to work on.”

The center also has 2 site supervisors along with various teachers and helpers to share knowledge.

There are also two programs that are state funded that Ward wants to make sure parents know about. They cover child care Monday thru Friday for a full day 7:30-4:00, or hours based on what parents need. This allows parents to be successful at school and achieve a balance for home.

I also wanted to share information about a celebration of life for one of our Child Development faculty members, Vienna Battistoni. Vienna passed away on September 12th, and her family is holding a celebration for Vienna at Luigi’s on October 6th at 6:30 pm. All who knew Vienna are welcome to attend and share in her memory.

BC Athletics: We bounce back even stronger!

The football team scored a dominant victory at home in Memorial Stadium over LA Harbor College after a tough loss at Riverside the week prior. It was truly a team effort with two quarterbacks passing for touchdowns (Cesar De Leon passed for his first college touchdown and Dalton Gallis tacked on two more), while La Meshio Hill, Ferguson Ayers, Carlton Bowman, and Derrick Vickers all chipped in touchdowns to help the Renegades improve to 3-1. They’ll play on the road against El Camino College today.

At the football game, I visited with Jim and Dianne Norsworthy who came to the game with Bob and Heidi Allison. Jim graduated from Bakersfield in 1965 and I took a short video of him talking about his time at BC. But alas I am not able to get the video downloaded. Will need to get Bill Moseley to help me here.

Sonya Christian, Heidi and Bob Allison, Jim and Dianne Norsworthy, Zav and Kushnur Dadabhoy

Also caught up with Stig Janz, BC’s advisor to our student athletes who was describing that the athletic study hall that he has developed is very active with student attending and getting help for their academic work. This concept of having students do their work in study halls at BC is being scaled up for all students. This is a key component of increasing the success of our students.

Stig Janz and Sonya Christian

Athletics Study Hall

Volleyball lost to Moorpark last weekend at the Pierce Tournament, but Coach Carl said the only reason the loss bothered him was because the women weren’t “mentally in the game for the first time this season.” But they bounced back last night in the Gil Bishop Sports Center to beat Moorpark in an intense five-set match! What a win for Coach Carl and Renegade Volleyball!

Women’s Soccer played five games in a row on the road between September 7^th to the 23^rd where they won two games, lost two games, and had one end in a tie. But Tuesday night they beat West LA 2-0, and last night they blanked Cuesta College 3-0. Coach Scott Dameron says “This team is really balanced; every night it’s different women scoring goals.”

Coach Pam Kelley and The Bakersfield College Cross Country Team hosted the Western State Conference Preview at the Kern County Soccer Park Friday, and Patrick Alvarado finished in the top 20 for the BC Men. Coach Tony from Ventura College-who held the 800 meter record at UCLA- was pleased with the course and the event saying, “This was a first-class meet. Great job by Coach Pam and the Bakersfield College staff. The course was well-marked and the results were right on time. Great job all around.”

I actually drove over to the soccer park early in the morning hoping to catch Pam before she started her hectic day. When I arrived at the park, I met John Trino the CEO of the Kern County Soccer Park. It was a real treat talking to him. He graduated from BC in 1960 and was there when the Memorial Stadium was being built. I wish I had captured a video of him talking about BC when the campus was built. But I was juggling a lot of work related responsibilities and lost this great opportunity. John, I am going to come find you soon….. 🙂

The women’s golf team has made strides and sits right in the middle of the conference, in good position to move up under Coach Brittney Goehring’s leadership. Janette Chan finished second overall at Antelope Valley on Wednesday with an impressive 75 (one over par), while teammate Brandi Borjon wasn’t far behind with a 79. Keep up the good work, ladies!

BC Wrestling’s season is underway, and they are already making waves…Pedro Sarabia (125lbs) and Zack Mitchell (197lbs) both took third place at the West Hills Tournament last weekend, and they both won matches at last nights 38-9 Dual Match Victory over East Los Angeles. Andrew Binger (165 lbs) is also winning matches, but he’s gaining attention for other reasons as well according to Coach Brett Clark: “Andrew not only has a GPA of about 3.70, but he’s doing the extra things like running five miles after practices and on off-days. Andrew is a great kid, and he’s leading by example.” The men wrestle today at the tough Santa Ana Tournament. Good luck!

October 1^st marks the first official day of practice for our basketball teams, and Coach Rich Hughes is surely working hard to follow last year’s impressive conference championship, and Coach Paula Dahl seems to be hiding a smile when talking about her team, so it’ll be very exciting to see what they both unveil as Fall progresses and both basketballs and pumpkins become more familiar sights!

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — signing off while signing on to Measure J

Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; Faith is the courage to dance to it today.

Uncategorized September 24, 2016 Comments: 4

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, Sep 24, 2016, my mom’s birthday and a fabulous day to be a Renegade.

September is also the month of the Kern County Fair. For more information check out http://www.kerncountyfair.com/. Thank you David Torris for helping us secure a table for Measure J at the fair.

Here are some photos from Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 at the fair.

Day 1: Thank you Paul Beckworth for taking the lead to staff Day 1, September 21, 2016 with volunteers. I was so excited to see Mallory Moran at the fair with her dad Tom Moran and her brother Donovan Moran. This family is beloved to Bakersfield College. Friends, many of you along with me have been following Mallory’s precious life story. Tom and Israel have set up with a Mallory Miracles page. Check it out http://tinyurl.com/hb6dsgg

day-1-matt-garrett-and-sonya-christian-sep-21-2016

Sonya Christian, Paul Beckworth, Sandra Beckworth, Matt Garrett

Sonya Christian, Tom Moran, Donovan Moran, Mallory Moran

Thank you Paul Beckworth, Sandi Beckworth, Matt Garrett, and Zav Dadabhoy for being the first team to get this started.

Day 2, Sep 22, 2016: Zav Dadabhoy was the lead.

Here are the volunteers who staffed measure J on Day 2 — Steve Watkin and Kim Watkin, Michele Pena and her son, Jackie Lau and her son, Peggy Gonzales, Grace Commiso, Terri Goldstein, and of course Zav Dadabhoy. Thank you all!

Day 3, Friday, Sep 23, 2016

Jerry Ludeke took the lead on the morning shift from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Jennifer Marden took the lead for the afternoon shift from 3:00 to 11:00. Thank you Bob Allison, Liz Keranen, Heidi Allison. Thank you Faith Counts (Chief Count’s daughter), Becky Dargatz, Cynthia Munoz, Steve Waller, and Jennifer Marden.

Bob Allison, Liz Keranen, Heidi Allison

Faith Counts, Becky Dargatz, Cynthia Munoz, Steve Waller, Jennifer Marden

group-that-closed-at-11-pm-kc-fair-sep-23-2016

Steve Waller, Sonya Christian, Vickie Edden, Sandi Taylor, Tom Gelder

Here are the volunteers who staffed Measure J on Day 3 — Zav Dadabhoy, Jerry Ludeke, June Charles, Prince Charles, Steve Watkin, Kim Watkin, Tracy Hall, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Jim Heitzeberg, Jennifer Marden, Cynthis Munoz, Becky Dargatz, Chris Counts, Faith Counts, Reese Weltman and his wife, Steve Waller, Manny Mourtzanos, Sandi Taylor, Vickie Edden, and Tom Gelder. Thank you all! Thank you Jay Rosenlieb, who was staffing the Boy Scouts booth for coming over and helping the Measure J table.

One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern

This week, Bakersfield College and the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities presented an academic discussion panel entitled “Water Use, Challenges, and Solutions in Kern County” as part of the “One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern” program. The panel was composed of Dr. Joe Saldivar, Professor and Chair of the Biology Department at Bakersfield College, Laraine Rosema, BC’s Writing Center Department Liaison, and Jeffrey Eagan, a former BC student who is the current Writing Center & Tutor Coordinator at CSU-Bakersfield. The night was organized and moderated by Jessica Wojtysiak, Associate Professor of Academic Development at BC.

The seats inside the Levan Center were packed as Dr. Joe Saldivar presented first. He invited six year old daughter of BC Student Alma Cortez to join him in a colorful experiment. By blowing through a straw, they were able to send carbon dioxide into the beaker, changing the liquid from pink to clear. Dr. Saldivar then discussed the importance of innovation in solving our water crisis.

Laraine Rosema, the next speaker, discussed water regulation and use restrictions. She concluded her presentation by telling the audience members how they could learn about restrictions and how to apply them to their own homes. Next up, Jeffrey Eagan explored how literature serves to illuminate the challenging relationship between humanity and water. Following these fabulous speakers, guests participated in a lively Q&A session with the panel. And finally, three BC students won a free copy of The Big Thirst: Enrique, and Alma Cortez.

The One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern project encourages the entire community to share experiences related to a single book through discussions, educational programming, and entertainment. The read is meant to pull a community together, cross cultural divides, and enhance understanding of our diversity, all while supporting literacy. First organized as a grass roots effort by Jillian Stump-Fritch, an elementary school teacher, she was inspired to support a community reading program after reading about similar projects with large cities like Chicago and Seattle.

This year’s One Book selection is The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman. Published in 2011, the book seeks to challenge our too often casual relationship with water. For the past 100 years, the developed world has enjoyed a cheap, safe, and abundant water supply, but The Big Thirst warns that everything about water is going to change – how we use it, how we share it, and how we value it.

This is certainly a timely selection for Bakersfield – In 2014, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported “An average of nearly 90% of Bakersfield, California, has been in a state of exceptional drought over the first seven months of 2014, more than any other large city.” In 2016, Governor Brown relaxed water use restrictions, but water availability continues to be a significant concern, particularly for those working in agriculture. For those interested, the One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern program will end this year with a visit by Charles Fishman to CSU-Bakersfield on October 27th, 2016 for a visit and book signing.

Kern Ag Foundation

Chris McCraw, Sonya Christian, JP Lake, Greg Cluff, Bill Barnes

I cherish any opportunity to be involved with organizations that prioritize education and advancement within our region. This week, I presented about Measure J with JP Lake at the Kern Agriculture Foundation. The Kern Ag Foundation was founded in 1986 as a non-profit organization by leaders in agriculture centered business and education to serve as an industry advisory committee. The Foundation assists with agriculture curriculum development, as well as soliciting and distributing funds and specialized assets to promote agricultural education, training, student activities, and scholarships. For a list of scholarships, visit kernagfoundation.com/scholarships.htm.

Special thank you to the Board of Directors: Doug Starr, President; Peter Belluomini, VP; Jared Britschgi, Secretary; Joel Bock, Treasurer; Bianca Ramirez; Roger Riley; Dr. Aaron Hegde; Ralph Mendes; and Lindsey Ono. We received the unanimous endorsement of the Kern Ag Foundation for Measure J. THANK YOU!

BC’s Ag faculty are the best! Bill Kelly, Lindsey Ono, Billy Barnes, Greg Cluff, Chris McCraw. Thank you.

And a very special thank you to my co-presenter, JP Lake. It is always a joy working with him – his undeniable enthusiasm for education, the community of Bakersfield, and BC continues to inspire and amaze me. JP is also one of the many who have given their support and endorsement of Measure J. To learn more about what JP is doing in the community or about his business, Rain for Rent, check out http://jplake.com/ and http://www.rainforrent.com/.

Chamber Singers and their fabulous Director

The BC Chamber Singers men performed for 800 high school and junior high boys at Real Men Sing this morning at Harvey Auditorium.

I found this on Jen Garrett’s Facebook page. Just loved it. Enjoy:

The district brings together the men and they work with a guest conductor each year. This year their guest conductor is Travis Rogers. We had the opportunity to start off their day. Some of our men also spoke about what singing in choir means to them and about people that have mentored them. I appreciated that our men donated their time to such a good cause.

Gloria Urner

I was at the Double Tree hotel heading in to do a presentation to the Hispanic Chamber and a woman stopped by to share with me that we, at BC are solving the world’s problems. We stuck up a lovely, but short conversation and it turns out that she is Gloria Urner, a retired PIO of KCCD who worked alongside Ed Simonsen when he was the Chancellor.

Thank you Gloria for the kind words, and THANK YOU Jay Tamsi and the Hispanic Chamber for your endorsement of Measure J! And thank you Jay Rosenlieb for co-presenting with me. What an incredible afternoon!

Earlier in June, I made my first presentation to the Hispanic Chamber and this is included in my June 19th blog. Check it out

https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/06/19/we-are-bakersfield-and-we-are-bc/

Bakersfield Malayalee Association Onam Celebration

The Bakersfield Malayalee Association (BAMA) is a local Kerala based cultural association and a wonderful warm and friendly group that provides opportunities for our local Malayalees within the Bakersfield area to gather, communicate, interact, and celebrate with one another. It has grown incredibly over the past 20 years, as our city has flourished.

Onam was celebrated on September 13^th and this special Harvest Festival is celebrated by the people of Kerala. The day, based on the Solar Calendar, is an ancient festival that still survives in modern times. It is one of the rarest festivals that is celebrated by a complete state, irrespective of religion, class, or creed. Wikipedia notes that

Kerala’s rice harvest festival and the Festival of Rain Flowers, which fall in the month of Chingam, celebrates the Asura King Mahabali’s annual visit from Patala (the underworld). Onam is unique since Mahabali (locally known as Maveli) has been revered by the people of Kerala. The King is so much attached to his kingdom that it is believed that he comes annually from the nether world to see his people living happily. It is in honour of King Mahabali that Onam is celebrated.

At our local celebration hosted by Bakersfield’s Malayalee Association, we shared traditional foods, dancing, and entertainment. Bill Thomas was there to promote Measure J with this community. Thank you to Congressman Bill Thomas, Zav Dadabhoy, and Kushnur Dadabhoy for attending this unique, special, and festive evening. And thank you Shirley, President of BAMA for the invitation.

Prison University Project received the National Humanities Medal

On Thursday morning, President Obama awarded the 2015 National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal to distinguished recipients in the East Room of the White House. Jody Lewen, who is a strong advocate for the BC inmate education program, was on hand in person to accept the award presented to the Prison University Project by President Barack Obama. Jody previously sent an email recognizing this award includes everyone involved with this and similar efforts.

She said, “This award honors the extraordinary work of PUP faculty, students, friends, donors, staff, and everyone else who has worked tirelessly to make our work possible. It also recognizes the entire community of people working throughout the country, to advance the cause of higher education in prison. We are grateful for all of you.”

Check out these pictures, and for a video of President Obama’s comments, check out https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-awards-2015-national-medals-arts-and-humanities

Congratulations to The Prison University Project! BC is proud to have such wonderful partners in education. We are grateful for you.

And thank you Rich McCrow, Brian Hirayama and others for your work on this!

Local Treasure: Coconut Joes

jemail-and-sonya-at-coconut-joes-sep-23-2016

Sonya Christian, Jermale Turner at Coconut Joes

So, on friday, I had lunch at Coconut Joes for the very first time. Just a wonderful place. Beach setting and great music. I found myself humming to the various tunes. I also enjoyed talked to the owner Joseph (Joe) Coughlin the owner of the restaurant who was having a great time doing what it takes to make his customers happy. Greeting them on one hand and then wiping down tables on the other. He is a community volunteer who works with Dr. Paula Parks on the ASTEP program at BC. He spoke passionately about how they were trying to get bus passes for students who could not afford them.

I was so delighted when he took me to the office at the back and introduced me to a BC student Jermale Turner who works at Coconut Joes. Here is a selfie with Jermale.

I love seeing the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well in Bakersfield. And I love seeing how much our community cares about Bakersfield College. Of course, Joe Coughlin promptly endorsed Measure J and the list of endorsees is above 400 and growing everyday. #WeAreBC and #WeAreBakersfield.

For more on Coconut Joes check out: http://www.coconutjoes.com/home

BC Athletics this week:

Women’s soccer led by Coach Scott Dameron moves to 4-2-2 with a 3-1 road win over Glendale College. Odalys Espinoza scored her 5th goal over the last three matches. Next match at home Tuesday Sept. 27th v. West LA.

Led by Alyssa Morales, BC women finished first at the BC invitational held at Kern County Soccer Park. You can catch more action on Friday September 30th when Coach Kelley and her teams compete in the Western State Conference prelims also held at the soccer park.

Wrestling led by Coach Clark & Coach Austin had a good showing at the Mt. SAC Duals beating Santa Ana and Sierra College before dropping their last of match of the day to Palomar College. Sophomore wrestler Andrew Binger from North High was the male athlete of the week on the Renegade Report this week for his strong performances this past week.

Coach Carl Ferreira with the road warrior Women’s Volleyball 7-7 are steadily making progress while competing with the best teams in Southern California. Let’s welcome them home on Friday September 30th when they take on Moorpark College.

September 30th will be a busy day in BC Athletics hosting Cross Country Prelims, Women’s Volleyball and Womens’ Soccer. Come join us in supporting these tremendous student athletes. Be sure to check out www.gogades.com for updates.

Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; Faith is the courage to dance to it today.

I came across a posting on Facebook by BC Astronomy professor Nick Strobel, who said, “Sign in men’s restroom at a Thai food restaurant in Grants Pass, Oregon: ‘Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; Faith is the courage to dance to it today.’ The food was good too.”

The quote stood out to me and I was intrigued to check it out more and to find out its author. A few websites credited it to Peter Kuzmic, a Croatian pastor who tweeted the statement on his Twitter account; others cited no author. Whoever the author may be has inspired me to be brave and seize the day. Today, let’s dance!

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — the luckiest and happiest College President ever.

(dressed for the Onam celebration with the Bakersfield Malayalee Association)

Sonya Christian's Blog

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Bakersfield Malayalee Association Onam Celebration

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Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; Faith is the courage to dance to it today.

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