BC | Sonya Christian's Blog

It Was a Sterling Silver Day

Saturday, February 2nd, I went to my first Sterling Silver – the Bakersfield College Foundation’s preeminent fundraising event. The dinner, held in the BC Cafeteria, features five courses of delicately-prepared foods paired with wines. I was there with 135 of my closest (new!) friends.

But I wanted to tell you a little about what goes in to making this event possible. And…..Yes…we host a formal dinner event in our cafeteria.

If you haven’t been to Sterling Silver, you’re missing an amazing event. The cafeteria is transformed, thanks to the vision and work of Bakersfield College Foundation manager Hannah Egland and Kelly Chamberlain, wife of former Bakersfield College President Greg Chamberlain. They designed an amazing series of drapes which cover all the walls of the cafeteria from floor to ceiling. But these aren’t your grandma’s drapes. No…the drapes are made out of Cerex, a lightweight, gossamer fabric used in AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION!

Take a look at the behind-the-scenes photos below!

Bakersfield College electrician Steve Shafer and former Bakersfield College president Greg Chamberlain hang lengths of Cerex.

Here I am, watching the transformation, with Bakersfield College Agriculture Leadership student Sofia.

Bakersfield College’s Agriculture Leadership students played a very important role in the decorating…as much needed worker bees!

Thank You, Chevron!

The Bakersfield College Team at Chevron!

The Bakersfield College team celebrates at the Chevron press conference. From left are Michael Stepanovich, Liz Rozell, Carla Musser from Chevron, me :), and John Means.

This week, Bakersfield College participated in a press event at Chevron to announce more than $350,000 in giving from Chevron to Bakersfield College, Taft College, and California State University, Bakersfield. Bakersfield College will receive $125,000 from Chevron for several programs and initiatives.

With the gift from Chevron, Bakersfield College will modernize engineering labs with retired, but still relevant, equipment from the petroleum and engineering fields. Learning on current equipment is key for students, and will help Bakersfield College provide training and skills-building curriculum.

An ongoing project between Bakersfield College and Chevron, called Project Lead the Way, will be expanded to include an electronics course for participants. Project Lead the Way is a summer “bridge” program for high school students heading to Bakersfield College. The addition of the electronics course will prepare students for the rigorous coursework in college.

Finally, the gift from Chevron will support the development of job skills certificates which prepare students, on a faster timeline, for occupational readiness. The courses in the certificate will be challenging and industry relevant, and provide graduates with a wide range of career options.

Partnerships, like this one with Chevron, are very important to Bakersfield College’s ability to provide relevant, current education in fields of study. Through Chevron’s generous gift, Bakersfield College is able to provide the necessary skills and training for students seeking careers in the petroleum industry.

Thank you Chevron! We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership!

~S.C.