Clayton Fowler | Sonya Christian's Blog

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Hello Summer and Summer Bridge Students!

Uncategorized June 10, 2017 1 Comment

Good morning Bakersfield…. It is Saturday, June 10th and a great day to be a Renegade.

I spent a significant part of this week at the accreditation commission meeting in San Jose. The accreditation peer review process for quality assurance is truly remarkable and I am so glad the United States still upholds this process.

I missed Neo who seemed much bigger when I got back home. In the three weeks I’ve had him he went from being 10 lbs to 19 lbs. Growing up fast and you can see it in his paws.

The drive back from San Jose was a bear with accidents on both 101 south as well as on the Pacheco pass….. It was quite the drive and my phone died and I did not have a charger handy, and I was tired….. It was a good thing that I got a book on tape, something I don’t usually do. I got it from amazon.com, and no it was not a drone delivery three hours after I placed the order.

The book titled “The Life We Bury” was listed as a bestseller in the New York Times list. I started listening to the book on my drive to and from Mammoth last week. But the numerous conf calls resulted in me not making much progress. But coming back from San Jose, without my phone, I got through much more, though not quite all yet.

Kimberly Bligh has been busy this summer, scaling up summer bridge for our incoming students and engaging faculty across campus to come spend a day with the incoming freshman during their orientation.

Dr. Matt Garrett’s post on Facebook and his response to Olivia Garcia says it all

Summer Bridge is a one-day seminar for new students. It increases success and retention for all new freshmen by giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed. Each morning begins with faculty on hand to greet the eager students and share with them their wealth of knowledge to help acclimate them on their new academic path.

The students break out into smaller groups joining faculty members sprinkled throughout the room for networking and chatting. It’s here where their first friendships on campus are formed… together, they are on this journey, and it’s a time to ask questions and get information for their classes, their major’s and also their first day concerns.

Students share their dreams, goals, and aspirations for their future, encouraged and cheered on by those faculty members brought together by Dr. Kimberly Bligh.

The students are also given a guided tour by faculty and student leaders who show them first-hand all of the various buildings located throughout campus. This is an amazing way for students to feel even more comfortable when they arrive on the first day of class, it enables them to focus more on their academics rather than worrying and searching aimlessly for their needed classes. Students are able to obtain their schedules and throughout the tour faculty and staff able answer any questions they may have. Students also learn a little background on BC, when it was founded and when the campus was moved up on the hill.But one of the greatest benefits for students who participate is what they learn about all of the wonderful services that BC has to offer.

The students were shown where the Veteran’s Lounge, Renegade Pantry, Renegade RIP, Student Health Services, Counseling Center, Writing Center, Math Center, Tutoring Center, Financial Aid, and Supplementary instruction centers were all located on campus.

All of these services and much more are there to help the students be as successful as they can be – providing them the tools they need to achieve their goals.

Eileen Pierce, Manager of Academic Support — Supplemental Instruction, shared how SI works and how it benefits all the students who attend at least five to six sessions per semester.

We are a family. We thrive and flourish together with the help of each other, because… We are BC!

See more photos and stay up to date with Summer Bridge on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/summerbridgeBC/

BC’s Inmate Scholars Program

The Inmate Scholars Program was nominated for the 2017 Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, Beautiful Bakersfield Awards. Each year, the Chamber holds an annual gala to honor those connected to the community and to recognize the efforts to improve the quality of life in Bakersfield.

Aera won an award

Thank you Nick Ortiz and all at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber for bringing to us Beautiful Bakersfield

Bakersfield College is honored to be recognized as a community leader.

Inmate Scholars, Bryan Hirayama, Chelsea Esquibias, Rich McCrow, Letty Garza, Doug Grimsley, Gerald Cantu, Kaitlin Hulsy, Isaias Hernandez

(from front, clockwise) Bryan Hirayama, Chelsea Esquibias, Rich McCrow, Letty Garza, Doug Grimsley, Gerald Cantu (behind placard), his wife, Kaitlin Hulsy, Isaias Hernandez

The Central Valley has more than ten prisons and correctional facilities. Recidivism is high — of the incarcerated who are released, over 76% return to prison. The Inmate Scholars Program provides college courses inside of the local prisons to educate those before release. Associate Degrees earned in prison have been shown to reduce recidivism to below 5% thus saving taxpayers over $70,000 per year per inmate as well as creating a safer and more thriving community.

Rich McCrow, Doug Grimsley, Gerald Cantu

Education is the key for our incarcerated population. Thank you to all of those Bakersfield College employees that serve students in the program, and thank you to those who attended the dinner; Rich McCrow, Chelsea Esquibias, Bryan Hirayama, Doug Grimsley, Isaias Hernandez, Gerald Cantu, Kaitlin Hulsy, Isaias Hernandez and many more great Renegades! We are BC!

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And then I saw this great post by Supervisor Leticia Perez on Facebook:

Retreats and reflections during the summer

President’s Cabinet had two retreats this summer, the first one at the Delano Campus on June 1st and the 2nd on the Panorama Campus here in Bakersfield on June 5th.

sonya christian cabinet retreat june 5 2017

At Delano the focus was on BC’s Rural Initiatives, Dual Enrollment, and Inmate Education. After presentations and discussions, we headed for a tour of the Randolf Campus in Delano.

Bakersfield College originally offered courses in Delano at the Randolf campus. This is where I was first involved as a faculty member — I taught math via interactive TV but would often drive up to the Randolf campus to meet with students. During that time, a group of us in the math department wrote an Eisenhower grant to improve STEM education in Delano with a focus on parent education. I then went away to work in Oregon for 10 years and when I returned as President, the Delano campus had moved to Timmons Ave, and the Randolf campus was leased to the Wonderful Academy. Wonderful was and is a great partner of Bakersfield College. Wonderful now has built their own campus for their Charter School and the Randolf campus has reverted back to BC. I do want to thank Wonderful for donating all the classroom spaces they had built and improvements they made during their stay at the campus. Lynda Resnick thank you. Noemi, thank you.

Here are pictures of the Cabinet tour of Randolf campus.

Nicky Damania and Grace Commiso planning for Student Services

Alex Dominguez

Alex Dominguez was the President of BC’s Student Government in 2014-2015, going on to be the Student Body President at CSUB. Alex had a wonderful graduation and it seemed that everyone from Bakersfield was there to celebrate this young man’s future and presence in our lives!

Alex Dominguez, Sonya Christian

Terri Goldstein, Alex Dominguez, Nicky Damania

Here are some links to blog posts that spotlighted Alex:

This one is a long blog but scroll until you see the picture with Alex Dominquez (2014-2015), Calyton Fowler (2015-2016), Matthew Frazer (2016-2017)

https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/09/18/on-remembrance-and-making-memories/

Some fun photos:

Ramon Puga and his son

So I was at the ACCJC commission meeting and this is what happens to my office when I was not there — Mission Occupy!

Jennifer Marden, Tracy Hall, Tarina Perry, Somaly Boles

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

(at the Randolf campus in Delano)

On remembrance, and making memories

Uncategorized September 18, 2016 Comments: 5

Sharon Baker, Sandi Taylor, Vickie Edden, Leonard Cravens, Sonya Christian, Peter Reyes

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Sunday, September 18th…I started this blog yesterday, but since the day was packed with events that ended with driving to Riverside to watch Renegade football on the road I could not finish my blog. It was great to see the Bakersfield Community come out to support an away game.

Here is a gang of regulars at the games. Sharon Baker and Bill Baker (The Renegade Football doc) come to all the games. It always warms my heart to see both Dr. Baker and Dr. Tivnon out there with our student athletes. Here is a picture of Dr. Baker with Terence Young, one of our star football players last year who got seriously injured.

Terence is now a student at BC although he does not play football. I want to recognize the kindness and generosity of the Bakers. Both Sharon and Bill have given their time, money, and unwavering commitment to BC. This is what makes the community of Bakersfield unique. And this is what makes Bakersfield College so successful.
We are BC!

The entire week was just like Saturday, a lot of travel — Wisconsin (Tuesday-Wednesday), Sacramento (Friday), and then Riverside (Saturday). Quite tired this Sunday morning and enjoying the calm and quiet with a cup of coffee and the beautiful early morning moon through the window in my bedroom. Life is good!

The many highlights from the week started with our first football home game on September 10th at BC against Chaffey! Even ESPN was buzzing with excitement! Really, check out the video on the GoGades Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/p/BKMmC1hAgP6/

Saturday, Sep 10th: New Faculty Reception

Photo by Cara Jackson

Before the first home game of the season, we celebrated with the new members of the BC family in the Fireside Room at the New Faulty Reception on September 10, 2016. BC hired a total of 39 new faculty for the 2016-2017 academic year. The college has been growing in the number of students we serve over the last three years.

Thank you Trustee Romeo Agbalog and Trustee Dennis Beebe for attending. We really appreciate our trustees coming out the college campuses. If you check out the picture carefully you will be able to spot both trustees.

Photo by Cara Jackson

A special thank you and shout out to our new cook Nicole Sizemore who prepared an elegant dinner and dessert menu for faulty and guests! My favorite was the watermelon salad with flavorful ingredients including feta cheese. Come to think of it, I loved the tri-tip, the couscous salad and everything on the menu.

After dinner, we headed to the first football game of the year! And what a game it was.

Join me in welcoming… Teresa McAllister, ACDV; Heather Baltis, Agriculture; Jaclyn Krause, ASL; Ronnie Wrest and Jeff Huston, Art; Katie Ganster, Biology; Ximena Da Silva, Chemistry; Melissa Ysais, Child Development; Talita Pruett and Neeley Hatridge, Communication; Maximo Pena, Construction Management; Catherine Ryan and Elvira Martinez, DSPS; Cynthia Quintanilla, Counseling; Vanessa Bell, EOP&S; Keri Kennedy and Mark Osea, SSSP; Thomas Rush and Kelvin Albaa, Engineering; Isaac Sanchez and Savanna Andrasian, English; Don Brady, Fire Tech; Ayan Hill, Allied Health; Catherine Jones, Industrial Safety; Eddie Rangel, Information Technology; Timothy Heasley, Performing Arts; Dillon Giblin and Jonathan Brown, Math; Nichole Hernandez and Shae Johnson, Medical Surgical; Noelia Citialin, Mental Health; Kathryn Kuby, Music; Christine Harker, Allied Health; Jacelyn Hill, Rad Tech; David Riess and Eleanora Hicks, Sociology; Sara Palasch, Spanish; Brian Sivesind, Theatre; Ronnie Knabe, Sim Lab; Milena Lilles, Biology; John Kelleher, History; Alba Romero, Math; Cari Meyer, Geology; Mark Kay and Yuki Takeuchi, Foreign Language; Jeanne Young, Nursing; Heidi Forsythe, Communication; Kristin Mercer, Denise Canning, Tanna Rozar, Sara Wallace, and Justin Bell, English.

If you get the chance, visit https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/employees/new-faculty-staff to see the new faculty photos!

Running of the Renegades & BC Football

Photo by Cara Jackson

The evening started off with the annual Running of the Renegades event that welcomes the Football team back to the Stadium for their first home game. This event offers the BC Community the chance to run across Memorial Stadium behind the Renegade Mascots and alongside the BC Cheerleaders before the BC Renegade Football players take the field. This year, 30 students, staff, and faculty members dashed onto the field at 5:55pm sporting their Red and White Spirit. Starting with Renegade pride is always a fantastic way to kick-off a great game and a great week!

BC beat Chaffey College by 45-35 in their home opener at Memorial Stadium on the strength of an offensive explosion led by Derrick Vickers’ three touchdowns and 289 multi-purpose yards. Check out the game summary by Francis Mayor at GoGades.com.

It was wonderful having so many from the community come out to support Renegade Football.

Sonya Christian, Karen Goh, Romeo Agbalog, JP Lake

A huge thank you to JP Lake for not only attending but also being involved as the halftime guest on Vince Palms show. Francis has made the video available on YouTube – definitel y check it out to see JP Lake and your BC Renegades!

JP is the co-chair of the Measure J campaign committee along with Sue Benham, Michael Bowers, Norma Rojas Mora, Jay Rosenlieb, and Karen Thompson. Mayor Harvey Hall is the chair. Here are a some of the many community leaders on the committee: Michael O’Doherty, Mayor Milt Stowe from Porterville, Justin O’Neill (from Cerro Coso), Jay Tamsi, David Torres, Ed Davis, Fran Flores, Ken Byrum, Rick Kreiser, Cheryl Scott, Chad Hathaway, Janet Rabanal, Reyna Olaguez.

And huge thanks also to Karen Goh for regularly attending our football games and showing your Renegade spirit in the stands! Karen has posted the most fantastic photos on her Facebook – check them out here! Also much appreciate the connection with other parts of the campus like our Student Government Association.

And special thank you to Cara Jackson for these great photos from the game:

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Cara also sent an email to share a story of how she was able to capture these great images:

“A moment before I walked onto the football field to capture the Running of the Renegades, I saw another photographer heading that way for the game. I casually asked, “Sir you wouldn’t happen to have an extra lens I could borrow?”

Nick contemplated respectively for a short moment and replied, ” Yes, I might just have one for you.” I was surprised and excited, and when he pulled out his extra Canon 70-200 mm f2.8L telephoto lens, I was jumping for joy!

It turned out my wish came true and he loaned it to me for the entire game! Not only did he do this, but helped me improve my settings on my camera so I could get these great shots!

It’s wonderful that there are still positive and amazing people out there wishing the best for you and helping you succeed in life, even if you meet them for the first time!

A huge shout out to Nick Ellis from the Bakersfield Californian. Thanks Nick!”

We truly are the community’s college.

Sunday, Sep 11th: World Trade Center Memorial on 9/11

I had the honor of attending the World Trade Center Memorial in Southwest Bakersfield. The sun was shining bright when the breathtaking memorial featuring a structural girder from the North Tower of the World Trade Center was unveiled. This national artifact is one of many sent throughout the nation for 9/11 memorials. Thank you to Fire Chief, Doug Greener, who petitioned for Bakersfield to get one of the last remaining pieces. Our community was approved to receive the piece because of where the memorial is situated – on Buena Vista in the southwest directly between a fire station and police station. I encourage you to stop by and pay respects and remember the brave men and women in New York that day.

I was so proud to see one of our BC music students Linda Snoddy lead the color guard with her bagpipe. BC has the best music program! And then hear from Mayor Harvey Hall who was the first speaker of the morning.

BC Student Linda Snotty

Mayor Harvey Hall

I asked Jennifer to email Heather Pruitt and get the mayor’s written remarks. Here they are. I love the way he wrapped up his speech by saying “thank you for your hearts.”

As we gather today let us not forget the 4,377 souls who perished as a result of the deadliest terrorist attack in our history. Let us not forget the husbands, wives, sons and daughters who lost their lives. Let us not forget the devastation felt by many Americans on this dreadful day.

For fifteen years now we have given our heartfelt condolences, sympathy and caring contributions to the survivor’s families, first responders, police officers and rescue workers. Today is a day of honor and recognition for the Bakersfield City Fire Department and the many volunteers and sponsors who have made this 911 World Trade Center Memorial possible.

What an everlasting tribute our city will have for reflections on each September 11^th in our future.

Let us not forget to give prayer and thanks to our wonderful country, fireman, police officers and first responder ambulance paramedics for the daily contributions they make to keep us safe and healthy.

Your presence here today is another example of how Bakersfield cares, a thought I have carried with me for the past sixteen years as our city’s Mayor.

Let us remember and never forget September 11, 2001. Thank you for your hearts today.

I also texted Tim Capehart, Director of BC’s Fire Tech program and asked him if Tyler Hartley, Deputy Fire Chief, could be willing to share his brief comments. Here are the powerful words by our Deputy Fire Chief:

The attacks on September 11^th have been documented as the most destructive acts of terrorism on American soil. On that unforgettable morning, 19 terrorist associated with the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners enroute to San Francisco and Los Angeles from Boston, Newark, and Washington D.C. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania – this series of events changed our lives forever.

Although fifteen years have passed since that fateful day, it is important that we do not allow time and distance to cloud our memory of that tragic event. The Bakersfield Fire Department World Trade Center Memorial shall serve a reminder to future generations of what September 11^th means to our Nation.

We Shall Never Forget

Following the event, I was inspired to take some quiet time for reflection and to read poetry written after 9/11. I truly believe that words hold immense power to comfort, express, console, and heal. A collection of poems can be found here and one really caught my attention titled, Firefighter’s Prayer. It reminded me of how courageous and brave each of our men and women in all first responder roles prove themselves to be each and every day. The immense physical and mental training requires strength and dedication, but the role these individuals fulfill requires a bravery that can’t be taught. And I am proud of the BC fire tech program.

This year’s fire season, including the recent Erskine fire, serves as a true testament of the challenges faced by our Kern County and Bakersfield fire departments. A post on BFD’s Facebook page this past Tuesday, announced that over the past 48-hour period, BFD responded to 13 fire related incidents; 145 medical/rescue emergencies, and 79 public service related calls. We are lucky to have both Fire Chief, Brian Marshall of Kern County FD and Fire Chief Doug Greener of Bakersfield FD leading our local firefighters. A shout out to both of these incredible departments for all you do!

Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BakersfieldFire/ and https://www.facebook.com/kerncountyfire/

September 12th: College Night

Any opportunity to expose young people to the endless opportunities of higher education is one to celebrate. On Monday evening over 80 BC staff, faculty, administrators, and students represented the college at the 17^th Annual Kern County College Night at the Rabobank Convention Center. Representatives from more than 100 colleges and universities were in attendance answering questions about their campuses and providing information about admissions requirements and financial aid to high school students and parents. Approximately 1,200 students submitted an interest card requesting further information about Bakersfield College.

Fellow KCCD Campus, Cerro Coso was also in attendance and it was fanatic to see Pam Campbell, CC’s Director, Outreach and Student Life and Lisa Stephens, CC’s Director of East Kern and Kern River Valley.

BC even had multiple groups and tables at the event. Tom Gelder and Kathy Rosellini hosted the BC Alumni table and Sue Vaughn, Gustavo Enriquez, and Mary Jo Pasek hosted the BC facilities needs booth.

Events like this reinforce what we do at Bakersfield College! Our student body continues to grow and grow each year and the need for higher education in Kern County is expanding.

Thank you Steven Watkin, Director of Outreach, and the Outreach Team (Josie, Debi, Ashlea, Chris, Manuel, Claudio) for making it happen. And a special thank you to Matt Boone of Bakersfieldnow.com for the great media coverage and video. Check out the article here! And various pictures are on our photo gallery located here! We Are BC!

Remembering Dr. Thomas Larwood

Sonya Christian, Pauline Larwood, Tom Larwood

On Sunday, Sep 11th, afternoon, I had the opportunity to attend Dr. Thomas Larwood’s memorial. Dr. Larwood was dedicated man who led groundbreaking research to find a cure for Valley Fever and together with his wife Pauline –one of Bakersfield’s power couples – always willing to get involved, put in the work, and find solutions.

In his obituary, he was described as a devoted physician, caring deeply for a wide range of patients. It goes on to describe how as a missionary, Tom contracted polio and was inspired by his friend and partner, Dr. Hans Einstein to study Valley Fever. He was an active member in the community alongside his wife, and an active member of the East Bakersfield Rotary.

“Affectionately known as “Doctor Tom” or just plain Tom, he was a man of the people. He chose a life of service very early, active in church leadership in his teens. At 18, talking with his father, Tom worked out that he liked “science and people.” He explored pre-med. After two years, he was drafted in 1944 and became a Navy Pharmacist’s Mate. Shortly before Navy discharge, he was deeply inspired by a talk by Dr. Day at a Methodist Youth Conference meeting. Dr. Day asked “Are you going to invest your life or just spend it?” That very night he felt he had been called to develop and share this gift, and he indeed gave and gave his entire life.” Check out the full obituary by clicking here.

It was great to see fellow BC friends and family at the memorial, including Nick Strobel and Jerry Ludeke singing in the choir. I particularly liked the rendition of Amazing Grace and the Nick and Jerry section of the piece. It also spotted Trustee Kay Meek, Karen Goh and Bob Allison, and briefly connected with Steve Schilling, and John Fallgatter. We do have a great community in Bakersfield.

The picture with Tom and Pauline was from March 31, 2016 at the Sterling Silver Dinner.

Remembering John Boydstun:

Just like on September 11th the community came out to support Tom Larwood, on September 15th, they came out to support John Boydstun. At the football game against Riverside at Riverside, Leonard Cravens, an avid BC football fan, mentioned that he had traveled from his home in Indigo to Bakersfield just to attend Boydstun’s funeral. Becki Whitson and the BC Cheer Team were to show their respect to a longtime Renegade fan.

I searched my blog site for previous blogs where I mention John Boydstun and found the following:

April 23, 2016 blog: http://tinyurl.com/hfcpe8g

December 19th blog: http://tinyurl.com/hozrypd

September 15th: Renegade Football at Rotary

Jeff Chudy Sonya Christian Garro Sep 15 2016.jpg

Jeff Chudy, Sonya Christian, Garro Ellis at Rotary. Sep 15, 2016

It was wonderful having Coach Jeff Chudy at Rotary this Thursday, Sep 15th. This is an annual event where coach shares the “state of Renegade Football” with the club. He talked about a new approach he took with his student athletes by having them read together “The Training Camp” by Jon Gordon and do a book report.

The book is about an un-drafted rookie trying to make it in the NFL, trying to prove that a small guy with a big heart can make it. “The life lessons in this book are invaluable in teaching our students how to become better students, better teammates and better men.”

Stig Jantz, BC’s advisor to our student athletes led a team discussion with coaches and players and asked the hard questions of each. Relationship are being built to make us better.

Just wonderful!

The meeting as a whole was great. Jay Rosenlieb led the song and at the cost of being fined $30 promoted Measure J among club members.

We are BC!

Follow BC Wrestling

BC Wrestling is off to a strong start. The newest blog post by Brett Clark says,

Well it was a good weekend for the guys on the mat. Bakersfield College went 3-1 this weekend with strong performances against East Los Angeles College, Victor Valley College, and Santa Ana College, the lone loss came against a very good Cerritos College Team. Top performers this weekend were Pedro Sarabia going 3-1, and Julio Fuentes who went 2-1 along with Andrew Binger going 2-1. Overall this young group has a lot of work but the future is bright for them as a team. Next home match is October 26, 2016 Wednesday night at 7pm we will be wrestling Cuesta College in a conference dual come out and support.

To stay up-to-date on BC Wrestling, follow the BC Wrestling Blog at https://bakersfieldcollegewrestling.wordpress.com/. Well done Brett!

Generations of Leaders at BC!

Don’t you love this picture? I do!

SGA Prez Clayton Fowler, Dr. Nicky Damania, SGA Prez Matthew Frazer, SGA Prez Alex Dominguez

Last week, the current Bakersfield College Students Government Association (BCGSA) president, Matthew Frazer, rallied together with two former BCSGA presidents to chat over some delicious breakfast at Pappy’s Cafe down on Rosedale along with the BCSGA Advisor, Dr. Nicky Damania.

During the meal, they wished Clayton Fowler, president FY16, happy journeys as he begins a new journey at UC Davis to start this Bachelor’s degree in Political Science next week. Clayton started as an EMT student at BC, but found his passion for civic leadership through this career with BCSGA. You can follow Clayton’s blog at https://claytonjfowler.wordpress.com/

Alex Dominguez, BCSGA President FY15, is now the President of the Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) at CSUB and this guy is one to watch out for as he’s already a great community leader within the city of Bakersfield.

Matthew Frazer, our current SGA prez, is putting BC on the map with all of his efforts. I suspect 2016-2017 will be a historic year for SGA under his leadership.

Of course, these four men couldn’t help but talk about their love for Bakersfield College. Dr. Damania shared with me they were discussing and developing strategies on how to engage their peers on the need of better facilities and technologies at Bakersfield College for the years to come. Alex invited current officers to CSUB this week to chat with their ASI Officers on how the two groups would be able to educate their peers at CSUB regarding Measure J.

If you haven’t already seen, Matthew Frazer, current BCSGA Present, stars in this week’s Renegade Reveal. The Renegade Reveal is a weekly webisode published by the Office of Student Life every Monday at Noon in efforts to increase and encapsulate student life at Bakersfield College. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZXJUQqb9hk

September 14th: AACU Event

Lake Michigan in Milwaukee

Riverwalk in Milwaukee

I was invited to speak at the AAC&U Leap State Summit this week at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I enjoy opportunities to engage in conversations about learning, quality, and equity. And this was definitely one of those.

The AACU is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,350 member institutions—including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive universities of every type and size.

The California Team at AACU

Michael Crafton, Sonya Christian, Joe DeFillipo, Debra Humphrey

It was a lot of fun presenting with Michael Crafton from the University System of Georgia and Joe DeFilippo from Higher Education for Virginia. Debra Humphrey moderated the panel. Here is an excerpt from my remarks from the section on “Learning.” I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it the night before the presentation.

Biologically speaking, learning is making new neural pathways, physically creating new networks that make meaning, and pruning the pathways and networks that are not meaningful. As they say, neurons that “fire together wire together”. Thinking reinforces thinking. I was thinking how the academy can become distracted by the profusion of information, but not enough thinking. This is a fundamental shift in education. Our brains evolved to nurture, gather, mine, imagine, and make meaning, based on environmental clues and scant information – now we must learn to cope with and prune a flood of “information”.

That shift is visible in the transition of learning from oral tradition, to literacy, to digital literacy, to the re-merging oral digital literacy of Siri and Watson, to the promise of Kurzweil’s artificial intelligence singularity. The wonder of it all is that our brains are able to adapt to this changing landscape, that our ancient evolutionary skills to learn are up to the task.

In fact, Randy Bass and Bret Eynon in “Open and Integrative, discuss how can and must use this new digital ecosystem as a tremendous opportunity to recast, they call it “design” Liberal Education. I was inspired by Carol Geary Snider’s comment in her Foreword to Open and Integrative: Designing Liberal Education for the new Digital Ecosystem.

“Within the digital learning ecosystem, higher education is ideally a site focused around engagement, community and mentorship, and integration, in which the disparate and “unbundled” learning opportunities endemic to our constantly networked modern life can be “rebundled” to support an integrative vision of learning.”

Thank you to Ken O’Donnell and Debra Humphrey for inviting and welcoming me.

Check out my selfie with Lynn Pascarella, President of AAC&U.

Sonya Christian, Lynn Pascarella

Movie Night in the AM!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a great fan of movies – so when I heard the film “McFarland, USA” would be shown on campus, I was immediately excited. What made this event even better was that we’d have the chance to welcome young people from rural migrant program high schools on the BC campus and into our beautiful Indoor Theater.

On Friday, September 16, approximately 300 students from the Kern High School District’s Migrant Education program gathered at Bakersfield College’s Indoor Performing Arts Theater to watch a screening of the movie McFarland, USA. Participating high schools included Arvin, Golden Valley, McFarland, Taft, Wasco, South, East, Shafter, Foothill, Mira Monte, Ridgeview, and Highland.

The film chronicles the achievements of the McFarland cross-country team in the 1980s. Led by coach Jim White, McFarland’s runners overcame tremendous obstacles in order to succeed in athletics, education, and ultimately life. The story is significant because it symbolizes the challenges faced by our rural migrant student population in Kern County and how hard work and discipline, both within and beyond the classroom, so clearly evident in the lives of the runners, can uplift entire communities.

Kate Pluta

Bakersfield College alumni Vanessa Renteria, currently Assistant Vice Principal at McFarland High School and former employee of the BC Delano Campus, moderated the event. Following the film, a panel discussion with some of the main characters portrayed in the film, including Coach Jim White, as well as former runners Danny Diaz, David Diaz, Johnny Samaniego, Thomas Valles, and Victor Puentes addressed a variety of important issues raised in the film including the importance of perseverance and education.

Dean of Instruction Kate Pluta also honored Danny Diaz as a BC alumni and for his longtime service at the McFarland campus. Here’s an excerpt of Kate’s comments:

“Danny Diaz has been a pillar of the McFarland community for two decades. Following his achievements as a McFarland runner Danny went on to graduate Bakersfield College and work as a counselor at McFarland high school, guiding and impacting the lives of countless students.

He is incredibly humble, modest, and is committed to advancing opportunities for our rural youth, particularly those most at risk and vulnerable. Bakersfield College is proud to recognize him for his accomplishments, not only for his life story being highlighted in the movie McFarland, USA, but for his continued work for our students. Bakersfield College is proud to donate $1,000.00 to McFarland high school’s cross-country team in honor of Danny Diaz. Thank you Danny for your service in making Kern County a better place for us all.”

Following the panel discussion, the students took a brief campus tour with SGA officers, student volunteers from the Office of Student Life and the Delano Campus WECOMM club. From there, a special lunch was served by the wonderful Eric Sabella and BC Campus Food Services.

Thank you so much to Oliver Rosales, Steve Watkin, Nicky Damania, Kristen Rabe, Mary Jo Pasek, Ramon Puga, Shannon Musser, Jennifer Marden, Arisve Pimentel, Anhelica Perez, Alexa Rivera, and the many volunteers from BCSGA, Office of Student Life, and the WECOMM club who volunteered their Friday morning to spend time with these wonderful students and make them feel welcomed. A huge thank you also to the good folks over at PacWest for running our lighting and soundboard. Finally, a very special thanks to Sal Avalos and Jose Morales from the Kern High School District Migrant Education Office for co-sponsoring this event.

Thank you Oliver Rosales for leading this effort. Thank you Kate Pluta for recognizing Danny Diaz. And thank you Arnoldo Avalos, member of the Board of Governors, for giving me the idea. Sorry you were not able to make it.

THANK YOU!!

You can catch more photos from this event at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/McFarland-Movie-Panel.

Fall’s First Gadfly Cafe

Bakersfield College students debated the importance and root causes of terrorism at the first Gadfly Café of the fall semester.

A discussion forum hosted three times per semester at the Levan Center for the Humanities, the Gadfly Café encourages anyone in the community to come in and offer their opinions on a different controversial social issue every month. With the presidential election around the corner in November, moderator Reggie Williams tailored this semester’s topics toward hot-button issues on the campaign trail.

Wednesday’s topic was titled “Terrorism, Cars and Other Threats to Americans”, and Williams opened the discussion with a few statistics for context. While there are approximately 30,000 car-related deaths every year and 20 veteran suicides every day, only 58 people have been killed by terrorism in the United States since 2002, said Williams, a philosophy professor at Bakersfield College. In light of those numbers, Williams asked the group why they believe terrorism is such a crucial issue in our political discourse.

After some spirited discussion, Gadfly participants concluded that the threat of terrorism is omnipresent enough to justify spending significant time legislating to prevent it, regardless of the amount of people it actually affects. The debate then turned to distinguishing what separates terrorist attacks like September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing from hate crimes or other acts of violence. Some argued that it was religious zealotry, but a consensus formed that the defining element of terrorism is any attempt at using violence as a tool of political coercion.

While the debate might get confrontational, Gadfly Café participants are expected to be respectful, kind and avoid personal attacks. Next month’s forum on Oct. 12 is titled “Undocumented Immigrants: Boon, Bane or Political Ruse?” and the last Gadfly Café of the semester on Nov. 9 will be about “Healthcare: A Right, Privilege or Practical Necessity?”

Celebrating Dia de la Indepencia

The Bakersfield College chapter of M.E.Ch.A celebrated Mexican Independence Day Thursday with a fleet of classic hydraulic cars parked in front of the gym.

M.E.Ch.A, a Chicano student organization founded in the 1960s, honored the Dia de Independencia by inviting the owners of a few “lowriders”, antique muscle cars modified with hydraulics that can lower the chassis all the way down to the floor or make the front end of the car bounce. BC’s M.E.Ch.A chapter also sold horchata and pan dulce at a table in front of the gym.

On September 16th, 1810, Catholic priest and revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla uttered the famous Cry of Dolores, symbolizing the start of the Mexican War of Independence. Many Americans falsely believe that Mexican Independence Day takes place on Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

University Transfer Day

Photo by Cara Jackson

On September 12, over 32 colleges were in attendance to meet with prospective BC transfer students.

Photo by Cara Jackson

This gave all in attendance a chance to inform and be informed on transcripts, advice on what each college offers and other information. The event was carefully organized by the Transfer Days College Night Intersegment Coordinating Committee. The committee has created a Northern and Southern Region California Community College circuit for Universities and Colleges throughout the country, led by Mr. Michael Burton.

Mr. Burton then connects with all California Community College Transfer Directors in this assigned region such as Marisa Marquez, Transfer Counselor and the Center for Student Success Office Supervisor, Bernadette Martinez to further organize the event. Mary Jo Pasek, Office of Student Life Director Dr. Nicky Damania and his energetic and always professional Student Life staff are also part of this event.

The promotions are made by team effort such as creating posters, made by Dylan Wang and Mr. Steve Watkin and his hard-working office of Outreach and School Relations also contribute. Food is catered by the sensational Chef Eric Sabella and his team , and at the end of the day students have knowledge to make a great decision about transferring.

For more information see: http://www.certicc.org/transferDayscollegeNights.aspx

BC featured on CSPAN’s “Lectures in History” Program

Bakersfield College got some national attention when Dr. Oliver Rosales, Professor of History at our Delano Campus, was featured on CSPAN’s Lectures in History series on September 3. The program visits college and university classrooms to highlight professors lecturing on topics related to their research expertise. Oliver’s lecture focused on “Latinos and the Civil Rights Movement.” Here’s a synopsis of his lecture from the CSPAN website:

Latinos and the Civil Rights Movement: Professor Oliver Rosales talked about Latinos, the Delano grape strike of the mid-1960s, and their place in the larger Civil Rights movement of the period. Professor Rosales shared his personal family history and other oral histories about the National Farm Workers Association, the labor union led by Ceasar Chavez and Delores Huerta which eventually became the United Farm Workers. He also described the connection between the local history of Bakersfield, California, and the national Civil Rights movement.

You can watch the program on CSPAN’s website here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?407964-1/latinos-civil-rights-movement

Congratulations to Jack Hernandez

I often sign off by saying I’m the luckiest college president in the world, and a huge part of that is all due to the fantastic faculty and staff who work with me at BC. I’m proud every time I’m able to announce something and congratulate someone, but I’m even proud silently walking the halls of our facilities because our classrooms and offices are filled with faculty and staff who take their work to heart. Jack Hernandez is one of our star faculty, now retired and still contributing, who I’m proud to spotlight today.

On Friday, I was filled in via email that Jack’s paper, “Suicide: A Personal and Philosophical Reflection” has been selected for presentation at the Central Valley Philosophy Associations annual conference. I look forward to sharing the pictures and recap from the event to come in November!

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya

(in my airplane travel attire heading to the AACU conference)

Celebrating our faculty, staff, students and the community

Uncategorized June 11, 2016 Comments: 4

Good morning Bakersfield. It is June 11, 2016….A good day to be a Renegade!

Sonya Christian

And I am so very happy to be the President of Bakersfield College! Can’t you tell…..

Woke up relatively late this morning, 6:30 a.m. I was gone for most of the week attending the Accreditation Commission meeting. The days were long and intense but I must say that the quality of the discussions were excellent, the dedication of commissioners, the president of the commission and other staff is truly extraordinary. Quality assurance in this country is monitored by a peer review process. How cool is that!

Larry Braskamp wrote about the peer evaluation process in his essay, on Being Responsive and Responsible in the CHEA publication.

“Faculty (Academics) have had a remarkable history of being able to run their own affairs, i.e., the academic community itself has determined the standards held for the faculty and has judged the quality of their work. Accreditation is one manifestation of this position, since it serves as a mechanism for peers, mostly within the academy, to judge the worth, value and merit of academe. Despite this, the work of the faculty (academics) has never been totally isolated from the larger society. Being accountable-responsive and responsible-has always been embedded in the social contract between society and higher education.”

Accreditation builds on this idea of peer review—the reviewers are colleagues and peers with comparable jobs as vice presidents, deans, faculty and directors at other colleges. These reviewers (evaluators) then submit their report to the commission that meets to take action on cases twice a year–in june and again in janaury. The work, as I mentioned earlier is intense and rewarding at the same time. Each commissioner can be elected for a total of six years broken up into two terms. This is my first year on the commission and I thank the region (California, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia) for electing me last spring.

On June 9th, Mayor Harvey Hall, as the chair of the Bakersfield College Blue Ribbon Committee briefed the Board on the work being done by the Blue Ribbon Committee. In addition to Mayor Hall, the following members of the Blue Ribbon Committee were also in attendance: Jay Rosenlieb, Pastor Hayward Cox, Jay Tamsi, and Michael Bowers.

Mayor Hall opened by saying how much BC means to him. He could not but say “yes” when I asked him to chair this major initiative for the college because of his deep commitment to the college that has served this community for over 100 years.. The college moved up to the Panorama campus in the 1950s from the Bakersfield High School (then Kern High) campus. The community leaders who planned the new campus were visionaries who planned the facilities on this 153-acre parcel. Now the campus is over 60 years old and it is our turn to take care of the facilities for next generations of Kern County. In 2016 planning for the next 50 years. 2016 to 2066. Check out the website at http://www.abetterbc.com/.

In addition to Mayor Hall, we have an incredible Blue Ribbon Committee. Former Congressman Bill Thomas serves as the senior advisor of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

Here are the remaining members of the Blue Ribbon Committee

Karen Thompson, Vice President of Chevron and Vice Chair of the BC Foundation
Michael O’Doherty, COO Cushman and Wakefield and Chair of the BC Foundation
Keith Wolaridge, Owner Wolaridge Consulting.
Benjamin Stark, Office of Senator Jean Fuller
Malcolm Johnson, Office of Assemblymember Rudy Salas

Let me go back several weeks and tell you about the fabulous faculty, staff and students we have at BC.

Celebrating our students

Congratulations to the Renegade Class of 2016! I was so proud to see so many students participating in our 102nd Commencement on May 13th.

I am so proud of our graduates and was excited to see the smiles and tears of their families and they cheered their loved ones.

It was an honor to have two trustees at this years graduation –Trustees Romeo Agbalog and Kyle Carter. Thank you trustees for making this a priority and taking the time to celebrate with us. It means a lot to our faculty and staff to have you as part of our BC community. And thank you Trustee Agbalog for your inspiring remarks about a veteran who risked his life for his comrades and using this as a call to action for our graduating class to step up for others.

Thank you Chris Hine, KCCD General Counsel, for attending and addressing the graduating class on behalf of the Chancellor and the District Office.

And congratulations to Professor Reggie Williams, who was announced as our 2016 Sam W. McCall Award winner! Our students vote on this award each year to honor an outstanding faculty member. Academic Senate President Steven Holmes introduced the Sam McCall winner and he did so with his usual high energy warm engaging words and presence. Professor Becki Whitson, Chair of the Alumni Association, welcomed the new graduates into the Alumni Association.

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And of course, the celebration isn’t complete without fireworks! We were treated to an amazing aerial display. You can watch a drone video of the fireworks at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWJNYyNl01Y.

Thank you Manuel de los Santos for putting together an awesome 3:56-minute video overview of our commencement. Check it out at https://youtu.be/IJabQc12634.

Here are some fun pictures of the platform party getting ready for commencement.

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Celebrating our faculty and staff

The end of the year is also a time to celebrate the accomplishments for the year as well as our faculty and staff. It is a tradition at BC that we end our academic year with closing day celebration, where we are able to share our thoughts and achievements on the previous year.

Clayton Fowler, who served as Bakersfield College Student Government Association President for the 2015-16 year, gave a heartfelt speech and introduced his successor, Matthew Frazer. Check out Clayton’s blog at https://claytonjfowler.wordpress.com/

A special thank you to our ushers, Andrea Watson, Heather Barajas, Chris Glaser, and Isabel Castaneda helping get everyone seated and for making sure our beautiful indoor theatre stayed clean!

Closing Day Planning Team

I would also like to thank our wonderful Closing Day team for putting together such a nice event – Monika Scott, Shannon Musser, Francis Mayer, Kristin Rabe, Manny De Los Santos, Dylan Wang, and Jennifer Marden.

We heard from our employee groups – Bernadette Martinez representing our classified staff as Vice President of CSEA, Isabel Stierle representing our faculty as CCA Campus Chair, Steve Holmes representing our faculty as president of the Academic Senate, and Sue Vaughn speaking on behalf of the Management Association.

It was touching to recognize our 12 faculty retirees this year: Mark Dommer, Nancy Magner, Alice Desilagua, Greg Chamberlain, Katherine Hairfield, Randal Beeman, Sandra Sierra, Randy Messick, Vienna Battistoni, Ann Marie Michalski, Rene Trujillo, and John Carpenter. We also had 9 faculty members attain tenure this year! Congratulations to Bryan Hirayama, Charles Kim, Rae Ann Kumelos, Linda McLaughlin, David Neville, Scott Peat, Laura Peet, Oliver Rosales, and Neal Stanifer.

Our faculty members also received awards. Reggie Williams was named the recipient of the Levan Faculty Scholarship Summer Grant, a program intended to encourage and support the scholarly and creative work of Bakersfield College faculty, established by the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities.

The Shirley Trembley Distinguished Teaching Award went to Kenward Vaughn, and the Margaret Levinson Faculty Leadership Award went to Jennifer Johnson. Those awards honor outstanding faculty members each year, and are named for exceptional women from BC’s past – Shirley Trembley, a member of our math faculty from 1956-1990, and Margaret Levinson, who was with BC from 1931-1966, serving as English faculty, Dean of Women, Dean of Students, and Dean of Instruction.

As is the tradition, at Closing Day, I presented the Presidential Leadership Awards to departments, committees, or individuals. Here are this year’s recipients.

Athletics/Health & PE Department:

In looking at the student rosters for our athletics programs, I am fully sold on the fact that athletics is one of the best “student success in academic” strategies. Our faculty coaches are just phenomenal.

What an incredible year for BC athletics. I’ll just cut to the chase; they sent 15 of their 19 teams to the post season this year!

This group of faculty are always monitoring their students; almost 24-7. They monitor each of their students’ academic progress and then make sure that they attend tutoring or the study hall within the HPEA building organized by Stig Jantz. For their students to perform on the field (and they certainly did with 15 of the 19 sports going to playoffs) they must perform in the classroom.

And then there is the entire support staff that I see at all of the athletic events. Out there day-in and day-out. What commitment!

I would like to once again thank Sandi Taylor, athletic director; Keith Ford, associate athletic director; and Reggie Bolton, Health & PE Department Chair. I also recognized our amazing coaches: Tim Painton (baseball), Rich Hughes (men’s basketball), Paula Dahl (women’s basketball), Carl Ferreiera (volleyball), Pam Kelley (track & field, cross country), Jeff Chudy (football), Brittney Goehring (golf), Scott Dameron (soccer), Christie Hill (softball), Matt Moon (swimming), Nick Jacobs (tennis), Nick Loudermilk (tennis), Brett Clark (wrestling), and Marcos Austin (wrestling). We had 15 sports make it to the post-season this year! Go Gades!

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Agriculture Department

How do you describe leadership when you are talking about a whole department? Teamwork? collaboration? Respect for each other’s talents and skills? Stepping up when called upon? These words describe the Bakersfield College Agriculture Department.

Whether it is developing multiple associate degrees for transfer, organizing Ag Camps for middle school students, organizing an award winning Gardenfest, or hosting a group of Chinese Agriculture educators, the members of the Ag Department, Bill Barnes, Gregg Cluff, Bill Kelly, Lindsay Ono, Chris McGraw, Norman Oiler and Sally Sterns demonstrate the BC value of Community, represented in their department and through their strong ties with the surrounding community. They step up, tackle new projects, and do what ever it takes to get the job done.

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Research, scholarship and artistic creation:

BC, to me, feels more like a liberal arts college than a community college. This is largely due to the fact that our faculty are committed to their discipline as much as they are committed to the teaching and learning of their field. Today I would like to recognize three of our faculty for their scholarship and the impact of their work across the college and beyond the college to state and national levels- Dr. Oliver Rosales, Dr. Reggie Williams, and Dr. Randy Beeman.
Dr. Rosales was an early presenter on Renegade Talks, reminding us why history matters, and challenging us to ‘remember the legacy and diversity of civil rights era and how it informs current discussions of educational justice and student equity’. Oliver was instrumental in bringing a conference about the anniversary of the Delano grape strike and partnered with CSU Bakersfield to bring a fleet of nationally-renowned scholars together for a symposium which C-SPAN broadcast nationally. Oliver has a passion for history coupled with an unbridled enthusiasm for bringing scholars together and engaging others.
Dr. Beeman is retiring this year after 20 years as a professor at Bakersfield College. Randy co-authored a book in 2001, “A Green and Permanent Land: Ecology and Agriculture in the Twentieth Century”. He continued his research about agricultural history and rural studies. And he brought that scholarly lens to topics closer to home with his writing about the agribusiness industry’s response to Cesar Chavez and the farm worker movement. He was a Levan Faculty presenter in 2007, on the topic of “The Sustainable Path to Peace & Prosperity. “He was also the founding faculty director of the Bakersfield College Archives. Randy we will miss you, your passion for history and your scholarship. And your friendship.

In 2013, Dr. Williams became the second Bakersfield College scholar to give a Levan Lecture at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His topic was “Feminism and Rape.” In 2014, his writing on Feminism and Rape was selected for publication in Public Affairs Quarterly. This year, 2016, he spoke about race, wealth and inheritance at a Levan Institute forum. And this spring, his paper on this topic was selected for presentation at the prestigious 40^th National Council for Black Studies Conference in North Carolina. Reggie’s intellectual curiosity, rigor and passion for research about contemporary topics have brought him national recognition.

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Nicky Damania & Lesley Bonds

Lesley Bonds

Two of our junior managers have been here less than two years. One has been here about one year. And in this very brief period of time they have set this campus ablaze by their work. Both are workaholics, and both have created initiatives and student success interventions and immersed themselves completely in our campus community. They are models that any young professional should emulate. Positive; collaborative; understated and humble; and prolific in their work output.

I can safely say that it is a joy to observe them at work, and when they partner together on a project, watch out! They did exactly that when they partnered in the Renegade Promise project. They came together to guide our SGA leaders, and the project grew, and grew, and grew. We are now working on a “Kern” Promise. Our campus is in good hands with leadership from Dr. Nicky Damania and Lesley Bonds!

Paul Beckworth

Courageous. Passionate. Honest. Intrinsic sense of duty.

And a champion of those students he has chosen to represent.

You want these qualities in any person that has served our country, and is now honoring those service members who came after him. Paul Beckworth has been the leader who has established the first Veterans Lounge on our campus, and then encouraged us to expand that concept to a Veterans Center with an embedded advisor, recruitment activities and workshops on critical resources and information, including the GI Bill, service credit and more.

It’s not just that! When called on to help, he is always available and gives of his time fully and completely.

Paul Beckworth is writing his own history and expanding our service to those to whom we own a deep gratitude! Thank you Paul Beckworth!

Dr. Jennifer Garrett

Jennifer has been at Bakersfield College for only 3 years. In that short time she has furthered the tradition of excellence established by Dr. Ron Keen, and has brought the choral program to regional, national, and even international venues. Last summer she and Chamber Singers performed in Rome, Florence, and Venice, Italy. In 2018 she assures me that I will be at the Sydney Australia Opera House listening her BC Chamber Singers. And I believe her – trust me, when Jennifer says she will do something, she makes it happen.

Jen’s irrepressible energy, at the same time serious, joyful, and playful – she combines the best of creativity, leadership, intellect, hard work and just plain fun. She was honored as the recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Collegiate Educator Award, bestowed by the Kern County Music Educators Association. She loves her students and gives them her all, and in return her students love her and bring her the best they have to offer. Vocal music has no better advocate, leader, teacher and practitioner.

Steven Holmes and Andrea Thorson:

Andrea Thorson, Academic Senate Vice President and Steven Holmes, Academic Seante President, each embody a fearlessness when they step in and take on an issue.

Andrea has taken out significant institutional projects and departmental projects while teaching a full load and being a mom. The Renegade Talks (partnering with Todd Coston), working on improving “communication” of BC with its internal and external communities in response to an accreditation recommendation the college received 3 years ago, and fearlessly stepping in on controversial issues as a junior faculty without tenure.

Steven, with his flip flops and easy demeanor has been putting in countless hours on tough issues to make sure that BC is well positioned for the future. Guardie Banister during our 2015 Opening Day in Delano talked about “stepping in”. Steven has done exactly. Here are some examples:

Reviewing Board policies and documenting the work. In fact his work has become the official College work through College Council.
Setting the record straight on BC’s performance on the 50% law by relentlessly seeking data and then analyzing it.
Partnering with Anthony Culpepper and other members of the budget committee to tirelessly work on the Budget Allocation Model and other financial issues. In fact, I have repeatedly said this year that BC’s budgets are in good hands under the leadership of the co-chairs of the budget committee—Anthony Culpepper and Steven Holmes.

As President of the College I get to see Steven Holmes in action in his role as Senate President—whether it is at Board meetings or at consultation council or the budget committee or college council. I must say, he makes BC proud!

Executive Office

I also want to recognize the members of our executive office: Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Zav Dadabhoy, Anthony Culpepper, Tarina Perry, Somaly Boles, June Charles, Tracy Hall, and Jennifer Marden.

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The 9th President of Bakersfield College: Greg Chamberlain

Rick Wright, Greg Chamberlain, Sonya Christian, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg

On Saturday, April 30, a group of Bakersfield College faculty & staff gathered, along with friends in the community, to celebrate our former college president Greg Chamberlain, who is retiring from his faculty position at the end of this semester.

I would like to share my remarks from that evening’s celebrations:

Today we are here to celebrate a diehard Renegade whose blood runs a deep Renegade red. In 1980 he first came to Memorial Stadium as a young trombone player from El Camino College, along with a tall flag bearer by the name of Kelly. It was then in 1980 that he lost his heart to Kelly…..and to BC. Since that time in 1980, BC has been in his blood, and he has been in the lifeblood of BC. This is evident in the love and respect he has earned from BC faculty and staff through a long and cherished history at the college.

In 1989, BC made the best decision by hiring Greg as a computer science faculty.

In 1993: he became Chair of Computer Science

In 1997: he was selected Director of Instructional Technology

In 2001: he was named Dean over learning technologies

In 2006: he moved to the District as Vice Chancellor.

And in 2008 there could not have been a better announcement for the faculty, staff and students when Greg Chamberlain was named the 9^th president of Bakersfield College.

His tenure as President will be known forever for the way he:

Valued faculty and staff participation in governance and decision making

Kept students at the center of every decision

Dealt with difficulties in a straightforward, honest manner, with grace and humor.

Acted with compassion

BC went through some of its most difficult times from 2008 to 2012 and Greg’s steady hand not just kept the college on course, but creatively growing despite the challenges. I see his touch across the college and I am beyond grateful. He engaged with budget cuts by creating the budget committee to bring the best minds across campus to work side-by-side with him to find solutions. He brought in external grant funding, like the C6 grant, to support innovation in instruction, particularly in CTE. Greg understood students’ need for a place to practice their foundational skills of writing and set up the Writing center. And then there are the solar panels and BC’s focus on sustainability. So you can see my friends, that Greg’s life’s work is deep in the lifeblood of the college, and can be felt all across the campus—from direct services to students, to facilities upgrades, as well as finances.

Greg and I have had a long relationship—Part 1 (1991-2002) and Part 2 (2012-today)

I started as faculty in 1991 and worked with Greg for 12 years before I headed to Oregon. And then again when the position of President was announced in 2012, Greg was one of the first individuals that I reached out to. From that very first reconnection, through the anxious months prior to being named president, and throughout my time as President, both Greg and Kelly have been there for me. I am deeply grateful … helping me with my first Sterling Silver event in the foundation, or letting me use the President’s Office Banner that Kelly lovingly hand-sewed for Greg so that he could display the banner when he went to football games. Through many difficult moments in my Presidency, Greg has offered me heartfelt advice, wisdom, and counsel, always insightful, with great perspective and consistently kind.

Whether it is a 4.8 red chili-pepper hot on RateMyProfessor.com, or a siracha-pepper-hot as the 9^th President of BC, or any of the many roles and thousands of actions in between, Greg’s work is and has always been through his time at the College, exemplary.

But today we are simply here to tell Greg: We love you.

I’m so grateful that we had so much to celebrate at Bakersfield College this year, and I’m looking forward to what the next year brings!

We are…BC!

So much Diversity and We are BC

Uncategorized May 21, 2016 Comments: 5

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, May 21st…and another wonderful day to be a Renegade.

The weeks leading up to graduation I kept telling everyone, just wait till after May 13th and I am going to have plenty of time. Well “after May 13th” came, and went ….wow …it was one crazy week.

I, and others at BC, had a number of speaking engagements that gave me the opportunity to get connected or reconnected with some wonderful Bakersfield organizations: the Boys and Girls Club, Bakersfield City School District Foundation (thank you Dee Slade), The Boy Scouts annual dinner at Tejon, and the Dong Hae Lions Club.

This morning, BC hosted the first class for the Energy Academy, a project of the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Chevron.

This is the second year of the program and is being facilitated by Lauren Skidmore, Director of Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government whose mission is to promote economic, fiscal, and public policies that keep Kern County on a sustainable path to prosperity. For more see www.kerncitizens.org. The Academy has a great list of speakers that include Richard Chapman, CEO KEDC; Christina Sistrunk, CEO Aera; Robin Fleming, Chevron and many others. The Academy will end with a tour of the San Joaquin Refinery and the Mt. Poso Biomass Cogeneration Plant. The students are BC students many of whom are from our MESA program. Thank you Jay Tamsi and Adam Alvidrez and BC’s Lisa Kent for making this happen.

Honor’s Celebration

Sonya Christian. Photo by Tom Moran

Steven Holmes, Clayton Fowler. Photo by Cara Jackson

On May 6, 2016, in the BC gym, the Honor’s Celebration was held to recognize student’s scholarships and achievements. Each year, businesses, organizations, individuals in the community, and the Bakersfield College Foundation, sponsor students to go out and achieve their dreams.Recipients and their families lined up outside the doors, eagerly waiting for the program to start. Once inside the doors participants found their name tags and sampled the refreshments. It was so nice to hear a reflection speech from outgoing BCSGA President Clayton Fowler.

Sonya Christian, Roberta Ayala

Many students were singled out and introduced by BC professor’s to highlight their particular scholarships, GPA achievements, and future education goals.

A quick shout out to Roberta Ayala, Financial Aid Tech, with whom I had the pleasure of working the check-in table to expedite the long line of students. It was also a treat to sit by Michael O’Doherty, chair of the BC Foundation and a big supporter of the college.

Thank you Tom Gelder for making this happen.

Delano Campus Pre-Commencement Celebration

“Magtiis ka muna”

“All your sacrifice will be worth it”

Emmanuel Espanola recalled how his family encouraged him with these words when his studies interfered with his attendance at family functions during his brief acceptance speech at the BC Delano Campus Pre-Commencement Celebration hosted on Friday, May 13.

This theme—loving and supportive faculty, friends, and family as being vital to success—was echoed by fellow graduates who each took a couple of minutes to address attendees. I am continuously impressed by students’ deep appreciation.

This is Delano campus’s second pre-commencement ceremony, and it was a success. The complementary luncheon catered by Janitzio was plentiful and delicious; the Delano High School drum line rousingly entertained the crowd before the formal ceremony; keynote speaker Danny Ordiz shared experiences from his life and offered practical advice for the new graduates; student guest speaker Yanelie Ponce spoke convincingly of the transformative effect that her involvement with other students and with WECOMM, a communication and service organization, have had upon her life. Program Manager Raquel Lopez offered inspiring opening and closing remarks. Many proud students gathered after the ceremony for a group picture. The cameraman prodded, “Smile!” After the many years of hard work, that was the easy part.

Lost Hills Article

Sonya Christian, Lynda Resnick Jan 2015

On Tuesday morning, Trustee Agbalog sent me an article by David Brooks in the New York Times. Those of you who know me know that I am a fan of Brooks. This particular piece, One Neighborhood at a Time, calls for recognition to the wonderful things happening in the close by community of Lost Hills, CA. Brooks says that, “we’re beginning to see the rise of intentional community instigators” on the heels of a statement that generally says, social isolation is…. well, scary.

He states that social isolation is a catalyst for trends like rising suicide rates, drug addiction, inequality, and depression, among many other things. To put this simply, people need other people – which brings us to what’s going on in the small nearby community of Lost Hills.

“In Lost Hills there are new health centers, new pre-K facilities, new housing projects, new gardens, new sidewalks and lights, a new community center and a new soccer field. Through the day, people have more places to meet, play and cooperate with their neighbors.”

These improvements are all because of the philanthropic efforts of Lynda Resnick, owner of The Wonderful Company, whose efforts are not going unnoticed. I encourage you to read the article in its entirety, located at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/opinion/one-neighborhood-at-a-time.html

Black Graduates Recognition Ceremony

On May 10th, the Black Graduates Recognition Ceremony was held in the Indoor Theater. It was a fabulous event with students and families celebrating education.

Manny de Los Santos has put together this overview of the event in a very Manny style. I love the singing voice of our student Austyn Williams in the background. Check it out at https://youtu.be/uX4SVBOo9hI.

Gwendolyn Turner the student speaker was phenomenal. She started in 1980, graduating in 2016. A Theater Arts major and veteran, she overcame many obstacles. BC improved over the years she said. They knew they had to do better to be better. She gave a special thanks to Paul Beckworth, Joyce Kirst and Kimberly Chin. All went the extra mile to be supportive.

Dr. Oscar Anthony was the keynote and was inspiring in his remarks. Pastor Anthony is someone who says it as he sees it. He is a former former Renegade who graduated in 1974 after coming back from the service. He is a good friend of Bakersfield College. He said: We are turning a chapter in your book. Be the best you can be and better than everyone else. God has a plan for you. Follow your passion.

Paula Parks emceed the event with the consistent message ……you didn’t come this far, just to come this far.

We also have a photo gallery at
https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Black-graduation-2016.

Latino Celebration

Drum roll! Here comes the twenty-second Latino Celebration on Thursday, May 5, 2016! Guests not only enjoyed receiving their awards, but also seeing the festive and colorful entertainment. The car show, mariachi band and cultural dance performances kicked the event off to a great start. Despite a thunderstorm, which darkened the gym for a short few seconds, the ceremony began.

Dolores Huerta (photo by Cara Jackson)

Key Speaker Dolores Huerta, one of the leaders in founding the National Farm Worker’s Association, congratulated the students on their achievements so far and encouraged all “to pursue a passion each person loves.” She in turn said that she quit teaching grammar school after she “couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” and thought she “could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.” She said that she pursues her passion of changing laws and standing up for the rights of her people and that everyone should pursue their dream.

The crowd responded to her speech with applause and then the students were invited to step up on stage to receive their diploma. Everyone had the opportunity to voice their appreciation to family and teachers for helping make their goals a reality.

I want to thank Victor Diaz, Lisa Kent, Vanessa Bell, Jo Ann Acosta, Isabel Castaneda and Corny Rodriguez for all their efforts in organizing such a great event to celebrate our students.

Check out our 4:49-minute overview video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPm_UIud3Hc.

Also, I briefly introduced this event in a previous blog. http://tinyurl.com/heu6mmk

Photo by Cara Jackson

Radiologic Technology Certification & Pinning Ceremony

On May 12, in BC’s Indoor Theatre, family and friends gathered to watch the

graduates of the Radiologic Technology program walk up on stage with their heads high and faces beaming as they accepted awards and certificates.

Kathy was honored for her 26 years of service. She was described by a former student as someone you want to keep in your life. She was an alumni of the program who always embodied engagement. She was described a collaborator, a mentor and a friend. I knew Kathy in my previous life at BC as a Math faculty. I have always loved her big beautiful smile.

These students put many hours of hard work and effort in earning their

certificate. In the beginning, they first attended an orientation, were placed on a 1-to-3

year waitlist, and now have finally completed 2 years of training!

In addition, on average for the first year, in addition to schoolwork, each person works 16 hours a week on-the-job, and the second year, about 24 hours a week!

Radiology technicians help peform general x-rays, CT and MRI scans, radiation

therapy and other diagnostic imaging. One graduate, Gregory Jason McGee stated,

“It is something I always wanted to do because I have a love of people and this will help

find out what is wrong with someone.”

A special feature this year was a song written and performed by LaTierra Rumph that described the graduates’ journey.

I am so thankful that Cindy Randal from Kern Radiology was able to attend and congratulate each of our deserving, hard-working graduates. Nancy Perkins, you do a phenomenal job directing this excellent program.

Also, thank you to Cara Jackson for taking great photos of the event!

ASTEP

Thursday night’s (May 19th) African-American Success Through Excellence and Persistence (ASTEP) end-of-the-year celebration was a festive evening acknowledging student achievement and recognizing those who lent support. Students Darlene Williams and Mariah Bagsby spoke about their growth as writers and researchers as well as how much they depended on the ASTEP community of faculty, students, and mentors to make it through their coursework. The evening was full of creativity, humor, and love – expressed through words, poetry, song, and ritual.

The first year of ASTEP includes two English courses (53 and 1a) and two student development courses (2 and 6) – all offered with an African-American focus. Students also studied together, enjoyed cultural and academic trips, met with their mentors, and attended community events.

ASTEP2 continues the support and includes a 1-unit class with readings and community involvement. Paula Parks is our lead faculty for this program and does a phenomenal job.

Check out my blog post on Paula Parks receiving the Alpha Alpha Phi award: http://tinyurl.com/jm2fgjw

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Physical Science Student Recognition Dinner

Photo by Cara Jackson

Also on May 12th, in the Fireside Room a dinner was provided by MESA and was held in honor of students who were recognized for their outstanding work and effort in Physical Science.

Many of our faulty had the chance to speak about how diligent students were and why they deserved to be honored at the dinner. Overall, students

enjoyed an elegant dinner, while celebrating their accomplishments for the year.

MESA Program

Photo by Cara Jackson

The 12^th Annual Awards Banquet for MESA was held on May 5^th in the Renegade Room. The MESA program is dedicated to providing academic support to educationally disadvantaged students so they can pursue higher education.

Students who are enrolled in the program have the goal to graduate with degrees in engineering, science and technology.

The night began with a delicious dinner, followed by humorous speeches given by keynote speakers Skylar Pane, Alex Marquez and Javier Flores.

Skylar Pane, a Software Engineer at Google, highlighted that one thing he wants future students to know is that, “failure is a pre-requisite for success.” He mentioned the reason he has come this far in life is simply because he kept trying and that everyone can achieve their goal if they work hard for it.

Bakersfield City School District Foundation meeting

Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” and the hard working people at the BCSD Education Foundation are doing the groundwork to see this positive change through.

Bakersfield City School District’s vision is to create a collaborative and supportive learning community that ensures all students are inspired to achieve academic excellence and become life-long learners and productive citizens. I had the delightful opportunity on Monday to present our BC Facility Needs to the BCSD Foundation and was overwhelmed by the positive response. Thank you Dee Slade for opening up the door for BC. You are such a powerhouse and you just make things happen.

Delano High School District–a great partner.

Have I mentioned recently that I love BC’s campus at Delano….I love the Delano community. This is a community of passinate people who are willing to do what it takes to make their community better. Dr. Terri Nuckols, Superintendent of the Delano High School District is one such individual. Terri visited our campus this week to discuss the planning for dual enrollment at Delano High Schools. Thank you Terri. You are a fabulous partner of Bakersfield College

Check out my previous post on the Delano Prayer Breakfast http://tinyurl.com/heu6mmk

WESTEC Partnership

Corny Rodriguez, Sonya Christian, Bill Rector

I had the opportunity to spend Wednesday afternoon speaking with previous Bakersfield Police Chief, Bill Rector, who now serves as the executive director at WESTEC. This fantastic program works together, with BC and Taft College, to provide specialized training for those interested in certain careers.

These programs are giving our students the necessary skills to succeed in an ever changing and evolving workplace. Some of the training areas are as follows: oilfield/agricultural safety, general industrial safety, corrections/law enforcement training, court report writing classes and a program that prepares people for general industry jobs. For more about WESTEC and their program offerings, visit www.westec.org.

American Lung Association Luncheon

Recently BC was a sponsor of the American Lung Association Luncheon. BC Nursing students were present taking blood pressure and basic vital signs. We received a lot of positive feedback about their presence at the luncheon. Everyone loved them! Thank you Pearl Urena for making this happen. Pearl is the educational advisor for BC’s Pre-Law Program. You may enjoy my April 30th blog that included our Pre-Law program at http://tinyurl.com/gldggc5

Korean Cultural Club:

Thank you Andrew Bond, first year English faculty in starting a Korean Cultural Club. Here is a picture of them at the end of the semester celebration at Tofu House.

So much diversity….and We Are BC!

BC Athletics: Basketball, Spring Sports Heat Up the Valley

Bakersfield College, Uncategorized February 12, 2016 Comments: 3

Lawrence Moore

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Friday, February 12, 2016. The start of the long weekend to honor Presidents’ Day. It is a good time to be a Renegade.

Kay Meek, Greg Gallio. Feb 11, 2016

Yesterday, Feb 11th, at our Board meeting, BC received an award from Greg Gallion, CEO of the Houchin Community Blood Bank (HCBC). Trustee Kay Meek received the award on behalf of the college and clearly she was delighted at the great work being done at BC and the strong partnership with HCBC. Meek greeted Greg Gallion with warmth and appreciation. BC received the award due to the remarkable work done by our Student Government Association (SGA) and BC staff during the National Caesar Chavez Blood Drive. This has been an ongoing effort at the college, and the partnership with Houchin.

I remember having done two blogs on the blood drive at BC since I got here as president. One in 2013 and another in 2014. Check it out.

2014 blog at: http://bcpresidentblog.com/2014/04/20/sga-fills-the-bank-at-blood-drive/

2013 blog at: http://bcpresidentblog.com/2013/06/13/bc-in-the-top-10-for-blood-drive/

HCBC is a wonderful organization with the motto People Live when People Give and their CEO Greg Gallion, a fellow Rotarian, is just wonderful. For more on the work that HCBC does check out http://hcbb.com/.

Clayton Fowler. Board Meeting. Feb 11, 2016

I also enjoyed SGA President Cayton Fowler addressing the Board about the Renegade Promise work that SGA has undertaken along with College Council. (Thank you Clayton, Nicky Damania, and Lesley Bonds for all your work on this project.)

I obtained Clayton’s written remarks to share with you this morning:

According to the College Promise Campaign, in the 21st century, a high school diploma is no longer enough to lead Americans to a good job and decent quality of life. In the next ten years, more than six out of ten jobs will require employees to have more than a high school diploma, while today only 40% of US adults ages 25–64 are adequately prepared for the workforce. Community colleges already reduce inequality in education and income by serving more than 40% of all undergraduates in the U.S. at more than 1,100 community colleges throughout the nation. Therefore, students, staff, and faculty of the Bakersfield College community have called to question, is there something more Bakersfield College can do to help educate our community.

Good Afternoon, I am Clayton Fowler the President of the Bakersfield College Student Government Association. I wanted to present to the Board the ambitious project Bakersfield College will been undergoing to increase student access and success. This venture, modeled after other programs, is entitled the Renegade Promise, which is a mutually agreed commitment that Bakersfield College will promise entering first-year students starting fall 2016.

While still in the development stages, the Renegade Promise will soon offer two pathways designed to give motivated first-time entering students a head start on a college degree. The purpose of the Renegade Promise is to offer structured opportunities for qualified students to enroll in community college courses that provide pathways that lead to a certificate, diploma, or transfer pathways or degrees.

Academic credits earned shall empower students who continue into postsecondary education after graduating from high school to complete a postsecondary degree or certificate in less time than would normally be required. BC would like to offer two pathways starting fall of 2016 with Plan A for Students who are College Ready and then in fall 2017, Plan B for Students who are not College Ready.

The public announcement and details for the Renegade Promise will be presented the 2016 Bakersfield College Student Leadership and Awards Ceremony on Friday, April 29, from 9:30 a.m. to Noon. I am here to invite you all to attend this ceremony to highlight not only our current student leaders, but also for the unveiling the Renegade Promise for student leaders of tomorrow.

Aaron Kidwell with Sonya Christian Feb 10 2016

Sonya Christian, Aaron Kidwell enjoying Renegade Basketball

On Wednesday, Feb 10th, after a long day of meetings, Vice President Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg and Vice President Zav Dadabhoy and I headed over to watch our basketball teams take on Glendale. It made for a great evening and I’m happy to report that we won both games! Coach Dahl and Coach Hughes rock!

It was wonderful to see BC faculty and staff out there at 8:00 p.m. supporting our student athletes. Right from Aaron Kidwell who was up since 4:00 a.m. that day and taking care of stuff at BC to Pam Boyles, Ann Tatum and Robert Boyles, to department staff AD Sandi Taylor and gang, Educational Advisor Stig Jantz….A true labor of love!

I also learned an interesting tidbit at the game. In High School and College, the Jersey numbers of the basketball players each digit cannot be higher than 5. Here are acceptable numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21…… Apparently, this rule was adopted to help referees hand sign numbers to the scoring table. When a referee reports the number of the player to the scorer’s table. he does so with one hand signaling the number in the tens place and the other hand signaling the number in the ones place. Makes sense? So, if he signals two fingers on his right hand and 4 on the left, he is designating the player with the jersey number 24.

If you haven’t made it out to the Gil Bishop Sports Center to watch our BC Renegades men’s and women’s basketball teams, you really should.

The men’s basketball team had a record of 21-4 after clinching a shot at the league title by beating Glendale on Feb. 10. If the team wins two of their next three games, they will win the Western State Conference South division title outright for the first time in more than 10 years!

The team is led by dynamic 5’7″ point guard Jameik Riviere, who currently leads the state in assists. Nothing stops Riviere from quickly weaving through two or three towering defenders, defying gravity as he hangs in the air a second longer than his opponents as his layup glides through the basket.

At the other end of the height chart, 6’9″ Deandre Dickson throws down amazing dunks several times a game, fielding impressive alley-oop style passes from Riviere.

While those two have emerged as stars, the men’s team routinely has depth in players scoring in double digits, including James Pendleton, Lawrence Moore, Shane Christie and Nick Velasquez, making it hard for opposing teams to keep the ‘Gades from scoring.

Coach Rich Hughes with his team

The men play their last home game on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Gil Bishop Sports Center against Santa Monica, and we have a good chance of seeing Head Coach Rich Hughes cut the net down after the game like Head Coach Paula Dahl did last season when the women’s team won their conference title!

Even though the women’s basketball team has had a season this year where they’ve struggled to put up wins like they did last season, they have played with a lot of heart, and Coach Dahl couldn’t be prouder of her team.

“I’m proud of my kids because they are learning that you can do hard things. I get compliments about their character, that they are polite and continue to work hard even though things have been tough. They are learning that life can be hard, and they are working through it and continuing to fight and get better even when the chips are down, and there’s nothing more I could ask for as a coach,” Dahl said.

Here is a quick update on BC’s other sports:

Baseball: Coach Tim Painton has a solid bunch of players, and they have gotten off to a great start this season. His pitching staff is composed almost entirely of freshmen, but on the offensive side, Harrison Smith and Hanz Harker (who have both already signed letters of intent to play at Division 1 schools) are now sophomores, picking up where they left off last season. Smith already has a grand slam to his credit this year.

Sonya Christian. Starter in Feb 12, 2015

Softball: The BC Softball team is in its second year under coach Christie Hill, and she’s brought back key sophomores like Trinidad Lee. Last season, Lee pitched the majority of the team’s innings, and helped them score runs with her bat. This season, she’ll have help from sophomore Maddie Arambula and a host of freshmen from across Kern County.

Track & Field: The Bakersfield College Track and Field team will have their first home meet of the year Friday, Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at the “Battle of the Regions.” Marylin Quintero and Sha’nya Terry have dominated the throwing events this season, while Deonte Henderson and Daniel Aguirre have been strong in the running events. Tristan McGee won the long jump at an event last weekend, so there will be a great assortment of Renegades to cheer on in Memorial Stadium this season. Thank you Coach Pam Kelley for inviting me to be the starter last year as well as this year.

Jeremy Price

Swimming: The Swim Team opens competition Fri., Feb. 12 at the Pentathlon Event in Ventura. Last season, BC men’s swimmer Erik Wood won the event, while women’s swimmer Sara Klang had a great day in the pool as well.

Sara Klang

This year, coach Matt Moon is looking to freshmen swimmers Brian Bender and Christian Chou to lead the pack in Ventura, and he feels that Klang can build on her performance last season, and possibly claim the title at the five-event swim meet.

But one of the more interesting stories on the team is that of Jeremy Price. Coach Moon says that three years ago, Jeremy wasn’t even “water safe.”

But he took Tina Cummings’ Beginning Swimming course, did the hard work, and now Moon feels he can contend in some of the freestyle events. Just amazing!

Men’s Golf: Coach Brittney Goehring is now running both the men’s and women’s golf teams, and she’s in her second season with the men. The 2016 men’s team has an interesting mix of athletes, from United States Marine Corps veteran Francisco Tomayo to former BC football punter Brady Wylie to freshmen like Brad Chamberlain (who currently leads the team) and North High grad Hunter Hopkins, they prove that you can get a lot of variety — even on a small squad like a golf team! Fun bunch!

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These are just some of the awesome things that are happening in the Athletics Department! Francis Mayer does a great job with with the gogades.com website — check it out for interesting stories about our student athletes. Also, when you are at the website, check out the schedule and make it a point to get out and enjoy the great weather nature is providing, and the great performances our student athletes are providing!
We are…BC!

Sonya Christian's Blog

Tag Archives: Clayton Fowler

Hello Summer and Summer Bridge Students!

Good morning Bakersfield…. It is Saturday, June 10th and a great day to be a Renegade.

BC’s Inmate Scholars Program

Retreats and reflections during the summer

Alex Dominguez

Some fun photos:

On remembrance, and making memories

Saturday, Sep 10th: New Faculty Reception

Running of the Renegades & BC Football

Sunday, Sep 11th: World Trade Center Memorial on 9/11

September 12th: College Night

Remembering Dr. Thomas Larwood

Remembering John Boydstun:

September 15th: Renegade Football at Rotary

Follow BC Wrestling

Generations of Leaders at BC!

September 14th: AACU Event

Movie Night in the AM!

Fall’s First Gadfly Cafe

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University Transfer Day

BC featured on CSPAN’s “Lectures in History” Program

Congratulations to Jack Hernandez

Celebrating our faculty, staff, students and the community

Good morning Bakersfield. It is June 11, 2016….A good day to be a Renegade!

Celebrating our students

Here are some fun pictures of the platform party getting ready for commencement.

Celebrating our faculty and staff

So much Diversity and We are BC

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, May 21st…and another wonderful day to be a Renegade.

Lost Hills Article

Bakersfield City School District Foundation meeting

Delano High School District–a great partner.

WESTEC Partnership

American Lung Association Luncheon

BC Athletics: Basketball, Spring Sports Heat Up the Valley

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