Tag Archives: Dare Mighty Things

Glorious May 2025

Mama duck with 7 ducklings. If you listen carefully, you will hear Neo in the background.

And for the first time, the Catholic Church is led by an American pope. On Thursday, the cardinals at the papal conclave elected Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago, as the head of the Catholic church. He has chosen the papal name Leo XIV, and is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru. He is the first pope born in the United States, and the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship.

Good morning California.
It is May 10, 2025.
A good day to be a Community College Champion



From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

San Diego College of Continuing Education Breaks Ground on $50-Million Renovation to Historic Theatre

San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE) held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $50-million renovation of its historic 275-seat theatre at the Educational Cultural Complex (ECC). More than 150 people attended the event, including employees, students, community members, partners, and local elected officials.

» Read more!


Butte College celebrates Latinx culture with inaugural
‘Festival de Nuestras Voces’ event

Butte College hosted its inaugural ‘Festival de Nuestras Voces’ (Festival of our voices) on Wednesday, an event dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the diversity and heritage of Latinx and Hispanic cultures. The festival featured a lineup of live music and performances by local artists, offering students a taste of cultural music and dances. Additionally, guests enjoyed authentic cultural foods, art displays that reflected the heritage of the community, and keynote speeches that explored queer identity and immigration.

» Read more!


Long Beach City College Wins National Award For
Advancing Institutional Equity And Belonging

Long Beach City College (LBCC) was named the national winner of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Award of Excellence in the category of Advancing Institutional Equity and Belonging. This distinguished honor was presented at the AACC’s annual national conference in Nashville and recognizes LBCC’s trailblazing efforts to embed equity, belonging, and inclusion throughout its campus culture and operations.

» Read more!


San Jose City College Embraces Diversity At Spring Cultural Festival

San Jose City College students and faculty gathered for the Spring Cultural Festival on April 30. The festival aimed to celebrate cultural pride and connection. Traditional dances were held on stage. The Vietnamese Student Association performed a fan dance, and the Latinx Unity Zone, or LUZ, did baile folklórico. Attendees also participated in water activities hosted by the Burmese Student Association, or BURSA.

» Read more!



In Case You Missed It

More, but not enough, Californians accessing free money for college, career

Over 3.9 million school-aged children across the state now qualify for at least $500 with CalKIDS, the savings account launched by the state in 2022. It automatically awards at least $500 to low-income students and English learners with the goal of helping families save for college or career training. In 2024, EdSource found that fewer than 8.3% of eligible families had claimed their account, despite fanfare surrounding the launch. 

» Read more!

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Community Voices: Kindness is not political

From Nick Strobel –
“Kindness is not political” is on a magnet being produced by a fellow member of my church to distribute everywhere. This is not some sappy, sweet sentiment message but, rather, a reminder that regardless of your political views, we’re called to treat all people with a sense of human dignity and respect. This used to be a commonly-held expectation but in today’s social climate, it can seem like a radical counter-culture statement at times.

» Read more!


Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From San Joaquin Delta College:

Still feeling the joy from our Black Graduate Ceremony last night! It was an evening of pride, culture, and achievement. Congratulations to all the graduates—you inspire us!

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From Los Angeles Harbor College:

Congratulations to the brand new LAHC E-Sports team, led by Professor Nick Garcia, for winning 1st and 2nd place in the first annual Los Angeles Regional Consortia (LARC) SMASH BROS Cup! The students have been practicing and having scrimmages since last Fall. Their hard work and dedication paid off.

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From Shasta College:

As part of our 75th anniversary celebration, we sealed a whole lot of Knight pride into a time capsule — including a commencement booklet and stole, local publications, a letter from President Dr. Frank Nigro, and more!

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From Allan Hancock College:

Thanks to @SBCAG_info for stopping by our Santa Maria campus and celebrating CycleMAYnia with our students, faculty, and staff!

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From Lake Tahoe Community College:

LTCC welcomed Assemblymember @hhadwickAD1 to campus for a tour and a discussion about the student support programs helping Coyotes thrive, shared by LTCC leaders and a student representative. Thank you for supporting our students and community!


And From the Home of the Renegades

BC Jazz Combos Releases New Album of Original Compositions

The Bakersfield College Jazz Studies program is proud to announce the release of Funky Orca, a full-length album that features 12 original jazz compositions. The songs on the album are composed by BC Jazz students and were recorded in the PAC music lab on BC’s Panorama campus between 2023-24.

Over 50 songs were recorded for Funky Orca, and the album’s 12 tracks were carefully selected by the program’s faculty and staff. “This album is a really solid and diverse collection of tunes,” says Tiner, “and it’s a very entertaining listening experience from start to finish.”

» Read more!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,

-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

Jasmine in full bloom April 2025

Nothing beats jasmine in full bloom. The fragrance…

I had the trellis for the jasmine installed during the COVID lockdown.

And the second trellis –

I wanted to share a few events I was at recently.

The Orange County AI and Gen Z Summit was a great event. Here’s a short excerpt from my remarks:

What was the first piece of technology that changed your world?

For Boomers, it might have been the moon landing broadcast on a black-and-
white TV.

For Gen X, maybe it was the Walkman. I witnessed the dawn of the internet.

For Millennials, it was probably Napster.

And for Gen Z? It may be when ChatGPT answered a question better than a
textbook.

These stories help us anchor rapid change in shared human experience. And right
now, artificial intelligence is shaping a new chapter in how we live, learn, work, and
relate.

I also participated in a fireside chat with Cheryl Aschenbach at the ASCCC Plenary.

It was a great conversation and I was astonished at the quantify of work we have
advanced in the last two years with the Academic Senate.

After my travels it is always good to be home.

Neo, the 100-pound gentle giant has a surprising hobby—gardening. Not the dig-up-the-yard kind, but the delicate, blade-by-blade grass selection from overgrown flower beds. You’d think a mouth that big would bulldoze everything in its path, but Neo approaches his grassy buffet as a delicacy—sniff, inspect, nibble…. avoiding every geranium petal.

Good morning California.
It is May 3, 2025
A good day to be a Community College Champion



From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

Hard Hats & High Tech: Exploring Career Education at Santa Rosa Junior College

KCRB’s “The 707” radio show recently featured career education at Santa Rosa Junior College. They toured the Construction Training Center to see hands-on building skills in development and exploring the technological advancements fostered in their STEM education labs. 

» Read more!


Los Angeles Valley College Speech & Debate Team earns
National Medals at Phi Rho Pi Forensic Tournament

Students on the LAVC Speech & Debate Team brought home with four prestigious awards at the 2025 Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Competition that was held in Norfolk, Virginia last month. LAVC’s Speech and Debate Team has participated in the competition since the 1970s, and many of its team members have earned top awards over the years, including the team being the tournament champions in 1999, 2008 and 2009.

» Read more


More Than a Place to Stay: How Saddleback College
Supports Students Facing Housing Insecurity

Rising rents, unstable family dynamics, and economic pressures have made housing insecurity an increasingly common occurrence, even in a traditionally affluent area like Orange County. Thanks to a growing network of support services, Saddleback College is working hard to ensure that no student is left behind simply because they don’t have a permanent address.

» Read more!


Riverside City College Hosts Inaugural AAPI Arts & Culture Event

On Friday, April 11, Riverside City College proudly hosted its first annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Arts & Culture event, a vibrant celebration of heritage, creativity, and scholarship. The event was organized by RCC’s Asian Pacific Student Union (APSU) and the Office of the Vice President of Student Services, with support from ASRCC and the RCC Art & Art History Department.

» Read more!



In Case You Missed It

Four Female Inmates from FCC Victorville Make History
by Attending College Outside Prison

In January 2025, four female inmates housed at the Satellite Camp of the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Victorville became the first federal inmates in the country to attend community college outside of a correctional facility.

» Read more!

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California Community Colleges Closing in on 100,000 Registered Apprenticeships this National Apprenticeship Day

Momentum is carrying the California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest workforce development and training provider, toward a key milestone — 100,000 registered apprenticeships. This comes as the system’s 116 colleges, along with their partners across the state, celebrate National Apprenticeship Day today.

Apprenticeship programs offer cutting-edge, hands-on career training and classroom learning, paving the way for higher-wage, high-growth careers. The California Community Colleges is playing a crucial role in Gov. Newsom’s goal of training 500,000 apprentices by 2029 and in the newly released Master Plan for Career Education. To date, there are more than 96,000 registered apprentices in the system. This is about 20% of the goal, with four years still to go.

» Read more!


Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From Fresno City College:

An amazing conversation with the legendary Civil Rights Activist Delores Huerta

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From San Joaquin Delta College:

PUENTE Celebration Recap. Congratulations to our grads!

Puente, Spanish for “bridge”, is a national award-winning program that has helped thousands of students reach their dreams of college success — and yesterday, we honored another step in that journey.

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From College of the Redwoods:

The Career fair was a hit! Thank you to everyone who came out for this event!

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And check out this video from College of the Siskiyous:

You may have seen some smoke coming from the Fire Academy last week?

Our cadets got the opportunity to do some live wildland fire training in our own backyard. With the help of Siskiyous CalFire, and the Weed City Fire Department, they were able to provide real live fire training in a safe controlled environment.

Great job to our cadets for working successfully throughout each scenario, and thank you again to Siskiyous CalFire and Weed City Fire Department for your support.


And From the Home of the Renegades

Garden Fest 2025 Blooms with Community Spirit Despite Rainy Weather

Bakersfield College and the Horticulture Department proudly hosted the much-anticipated Garden Fest 2025 this past weekend, and this year’s festival delivered a truly unforgettable experience! Despite the unexpected downpour of rain, the turnout remained strong, with enthusiastic guests exploring a diverse array of booths, activities, and entertainment.

With more than 100 local businesses and organizations participating, Garden Fest offered something for everyone, creating an engaging and memorable experience that highlighted the college’s deep-rooted commitment to community and education.

» Read more!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,
-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

California Higher Ed – Championing our students

You may have been tracking the 4 Nations Face Off this week ….but it was 45 years ago today that the Miracle on Ice happened.

On February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, the US team defeated the Soviet Union 4-3. The Soviet Union had been dominating Olympics hockey – winning 5 of the previous 6 gold medals.

As for me …..

This past week was a hectic travel week. Starting in Sacramento with the Assembly Budget hearing, then Chabot College to present at the National EV Consortium Conference, then to El Centro to visit Imperial Valley College and check out their Lithium program, then to San Diego to present at the Academic Senate AI Academy, and wrapped up with a Digital Center meeting in Orange County. All of this travel, while taking zoom meetings in the airport, driving in the car, in a hotel lobby etc etc etc. In the meantime, the emails pile up and so do the texts. If I don’t respond to a text and it gets buried, go ahead and bump it up.

But honestly, it is all good. Such a privilege to put in time and energy supporting our California Community College students, faculty and staff.

California Community Colleges – we take care of our students, our communities, and our planet.

Here are a few photos from my week.

I love this photo that Linda Vasquez snapped – the three higher education system heads when we were testifying at the Assembly budget subcommittee. This is Michael Drake’s last presentation to this Assembly subcommittee since he is retiring at the end of the year.
California Higher Ed – Championing our students.

With Michael Drake and Millie Garcia

With the team from Kern CCD, Porterville College and their industry partner Zeronox

Nick Griffith, Tony Cordova, Ellen Morris, Sonya Christian, Zeronox person

Photos from my visit to Imperial Valley College

At Imperial Valley College Feb 20, 2025
President Lennor Johnson, faculty member, student, me, Don Daves-Rougeaux
Student Barbara, IVC employee, Sonya Christian

Happy to come back home.

Missing Bessie

Click on this 7-sec video and enjoy her.

Good morning California.
It is February 22, 2025.
A good day to be a Community College Champion



From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!


Saddleback College Receives $3 Million Grant from Samueli Foundation for Student Work-Based Learning Opportunities

Saddleback College was awarded a $3 million grant from the Samueli Foundation to increase work-based learning opportunities for students.  The investment, which will be paid in $1 million installments over three years, will focus on paid internships for students in programs related to renewable energy and the electric grid.

» Read more!


Mt. San Jacinto College Students Challenge Filipino Beauty Standards
Through Research and Advocacy

Alicia Chloe Nicole Geronimo, a 20-year-old Pre-Nursing student, and Agnezze Ventura, a 21-year-old aspiring lawyer specializing in environmental or immigration law, met in Professor Torres’s Honors Cultural Anthropology class. Their mutual interest in cultural identity and social structures led them to collaborate on an ambitious, comprehensive study: “The Colorist and Capitalist Roots of Filipino Beauty Standards.” 

» Read more!


Savoring Tradition: A Culinary Celebration
of Black History at College of Alameda

On February 19, 2025, the College of Alameda (COA) Student Center came alive with the rich aromas and deep history of Black cuisine. “Savoring Tradition: A Culinary Reflection on Black History” brought together students, faculty, and staff for a special cooking presentation that was as much about storytelling as it was about food. Created and managed by Jennifer Sanoh, J.D./MSW, this Black History Month gathering celebrated the cultural significance of Black culinary traditions through education, community, and of course, delicious food.

» Read more!



In Case You Missed It

Chancellor’s AI Fellows Program Recruitment

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in collaboration with the Digital Center for Innovation, Transformation, and Equity (Digital Center) is seeking five exceptional individuals to join our inaugural cohort of AI Fellows. This program aims to advance the thoughtful and equitable integration of AI across California’s community colleges by promoting innovation in teaching, learning, operational efficiency, and student support.

» Read more!

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California Community Colleges Celebrate Career Education Month

The California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest workforce training provider, celebrates Career Education Month this February by highlighting the powerful role their programs play in shaping California’s workforce and boosting its economy. Serving more than 2 million students annually across 116 campuses, the system offers cutting-edge, hands-on career training, paving the way for high-wage, high-growth careers.

» Read more!


Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From Clovis Community College:

Yesterday CCC was honored to celebrate Black History Month with its 7th Annual African American Read-In by faculty, staff and students of literature and poetry. Congratulations to student, Kasandra Tate, for winning the Sweet Potato Pie Contest that kicked off the day’s events.

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From Long Beach City College:

Today, we hosted an inspiring event at Long Beach City College, coming together with our partners at City of Long Beach, Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach Unified to advance the Long Beach College Promise!

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From Fresno City College:

Women in Engineering 2025 for female high school students designed to encourage more women to pursue STEM careers. Thank you @Chevron for the gift of $75,000 to the college. We’ll use this to support STEM education.

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From El Camino College:

Back in January, the Architecture Department hosted the 2025 Transfer Summit. Panelists from around the industry helped drive the conversation to how community colleges can better prep students for an equitable transfer to universities to continue their design journey.

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And check out this video Annual Report from Mission College:


And From the Home of the Renegades

BC Students Showcase Creativity During NASSSP Outdoor Art Event

The Native American Student Support and Success Program (NASSSP) recently organized a special Outdoor Art Event designed to celebrate and honor Indigenous cultural practices. This event provided participants a chance to relax and unleash their creativity, offering a peaceful break from their demanding academic schedules.

“Art plays a central role in Native culture, and this event is an integral part of the services we offer to NASSSP participants, specifically through our Cultural workshops,” said Angel Solis, one of the program’s Peer Mentors. “The objective of these workshops is to honor our heritage and preserve our cultural traditions.”

» Read more!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,
-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

Let’s remember – every day is too dear with its hopes and invitations

This week was a heartbreaking one as a helicopter collided with an airplane in Washington, D.C. The crash took the lives of 67 people. Among the victims were a group of children returning home from a national figure skating development camp, along with their coaches and family members.

Lives taken too soon …..
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/dc-plane-crash-victims/index.html

***

This week, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office lost a dear colleague, John Stanskas.

John Stanskas presenting to the Board of Governors in Sep 2024

A friend of John’s shared this poem in a social media post, and I wanted to share it with you:

“Write It on Your Heart” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.

Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

Good morning California.
It is February 1, 2025.
A good day to be a Community College Champion

Let’s remember –
every day is too dear with its hopes and invitations



From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!

Berkeley City College Students Win Global Animation Award

Congratulations to the Berkeley City College Multimedia Arts students for earning second place in the global VIVE Mars “Best Horror Shot!” film competition for their spooky short “Night of the Living Dodo.” This achievement was made possible by the RVPA internship program, which is sponsored by the Film Commission via the California Community College Foundation.

» Read more!

Check out the video below:


Butte College Celebrates First Graduating Class of Accelerated Nursing Program

Butte College honored its first graduating class from the accelerated registered nursing program at a pinning ceremony on December 20, 2024, at the Paradise Alliance Church. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of 45 students who completed the rigorous three-semester program, launched in January 2024, to address the critical shortage of registered nurses in Butte and Glenn Counties and surrounding areas.

» Read more!


Reedley College Cuts Ribbon on Fine & Performing Arts Center

After years of dreaming, planning, fundraising, groundbreaking, and building, Reedley College proudly held its Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the McClarty Center For Fine and Performing Arts November 19, 2024. 

» Read more!


California First Partner Visits Pierce College to Support Fire Response Efforts

Amid the challenges of wildfires sweeping through Southern California, Pierce welcomed California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 to our Equestrian Center, where a large animal evacuation shelter has been operating in partnership with L.A. County Animal Care and Control. The shelter is currently home to approximately 225 animals, including horses, alpacas, goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs.

» Read more!



In Case You Missed It

California Community Colleges Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund
Receives $1 Million Donation From Jay Pritzker Foundation

The Jay Pritzker Foundation has donated $1 million to support the California Community Colleges Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund, which is providing vital aid to students, faculty, and staff impacted by this month’s devastating wildfires in Southern California. The ongoing emergency has impacted more than a dozen Los Angeles-area colleges and counting as fires continue to burn in the region. 

» Read more!

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Upcoming Webinars

Join us on Tuesday, February 4, at 12:00 p.m. for the latest addition to the #CalCommColleges #AI webinar series.
» Register today!

Join us on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. for the California Community Colleges System Webinar, “The State Budget: Proposition 98 and Proposed Governor’s Budget Resource Allocations.”
» Register for the series!


Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media

From Modesto Junior College:

The MJC Fire Academy proudly presented 29 candidates with the Fire Academy Certificate of Achievement. “We are one of the premier training facilities. The program at MJC has earned a well recognized reputation and many of our candidates obtain jobs in fire departments throughout the state.” shared Matt Curless, Modesto Fire Department Captain and Academy Coordinator. In just one semester, students learn to successfully navigate an intense training program and complete an all-inclusive set of State Fire Marshall certifications, preparing them for real life scenarios. The Fall 2024 ceremony was unique, as Captain Curless’ son received his certificate.

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Moorpark College President Julius Sokenu shared these photos of Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s recent visit to their campus:

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From Ventura College:

Last night the Ventura College Foundation hosted the Grand Opening of the new Gibbs Diesel Mechanics Center, a cutting-edge training facility.

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From Hartnell College:

The first day of Spring Semester at #HartnellCollege is officially in the books. Let’s make this an incredible semester, Panthers!


And From the Home of the Renegades

BC Hosts Spring 2025 STEM Resource Fair

Recently, Bakersfield College hosted a STEM Club and Resource Fair in the Science and Engineering building. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with representatives from the BC STEM Clubs and resource programs, who were ready to share invaluable insights, financial support, and other essential resources.

» Read more!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Let’s remember –
every day is too dear with its hopes and invitations

Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,
-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora

Happy New Year 2025

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the best for the coming year.

Good morning California.
It is January 4, 2025.
A good day to be a Community College Champion



Every new year, I’ve post some of the the books I read the past year.

Here is a list of few of the books I read in 2024:

The Worlds I see
By: Fei-Fei Li

The Worlds I See is a story of science in the first person, documenting one of the century’s defining moments from the inside. It provides a riveting story of a scientist at work and a thrillingly clear explanation of what artificial intelligence actually is—and how it came to be. Emotionally raw and intellectually uncompromising, this book is a testament not only to the passion required for even the most technical scholarship but also to the curiosity forever at its heart.

*****

AI for the Rest of Us
By Phaedra Boinodiris and Beth Rudden

AI is a way for us to understand and grasp knowledge, information and put data into context. It is being used globally to make all kinds of decisions that directly impact our lives and yet most understand very little about it. We start with the definition that data is an artifact of human experience. We need the widest variance of humans, irrespective of your role and skillset, developing AI so that everyone’s story is a part of the models we are building.

*****

Something Lost Something Gained
By: Hillary Clinton

From canoeing with an ex-Nazi trying to deprogram white supremacists to sweltering with salt farmers in the desert trying to adapt to the climate crisis in India, Hillary brings us to the front lines of our biggest challenges. For the first time, Hillary shares the story of her operation to evacuate Afghan women to safety in the harrowing final days of America’s longest war. But we also meet the brave women dissidents defying dictators around the world, gain new personal insights about her old adversary Vladimir Putin, and learn the best ways that worried parents can protect kids from toxic technology. We also hear her fervent and persuasive warning to all American voters. In the end, Something Lost, Something Gained is a testament to the idea that the personal is political, and the political is personal, providing a blueprint for what each of us can do to make our lives better.

*****

Swann’s Way
By Marcel Proust

Swann’s Way is the first volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time (1913-27), one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. The work is a portal to Proust’s novel and an introduction to its unforgettable first-person narrator-protagonist. Immersed in themes of time, memory, identity, art, sensation, love, and jealousy, the narrator embarks on the story of his life and the paths he takes towards fulfilling his vocation as a writer. Principally focused on the narrator’s childhood, this volume lays the foundation of Proust’s extraordinary literary edifice.

*****

Algorithms of Oppression
By Safiya Noble             

In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color.      

*****

Why We’re Polarized
By Ezra Klein

America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics. Over the past fifty years in America, our partisan identities have merged with our racial, religious, geographic, ideological, and cultural identities. These merged identities have attained a weight that is breaking much in our politics and tearing at the bonds that hold this country together. Klein shows how and why American politics polarized around identity in the 20th century, and what that polarization did to the way we see the world and one another. And he traces the feedback loops between polarized political identities and polarized political institutions that are driving our system toward crisis.

*****

Sitting Pretty: A view from my ordinary, resilient broken body
By: Rebekah Taussig

Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted as something monstrous (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), inspirational (Helen Keller), or angelic (Forrest Gump). None of this felt right; and as she got older, she longed for more stories that allowed disability to be complex and ordinary, uncomfortable and fine, painful and fulfilling. Writing about the rhythms and textures of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit, Rebekah reflects on everything from the complications of kindness and charity, living both independently and dependently, experiencing intimacy, and how the pervasiveness of ableism in our everyday media directly translates to everyday life.

*****

The Bird Hotel
By: Joyce Maynard

After a childhood filled with heartbreak, Irene, a talented artist, finds herself in a small Central American village where she checks into a beautiful but decaying lakefront hotel called La Llorona at the base of a volcano. The Bird Hotel tells the story of this young American who, after suffering tragedy, restores and runs La Llorona. Along the way we meet a rich assortment of characters who live in the village or come to stay at the hotel. With a mystery at its center and filled with warmth, drama, romance, humor, pop culture, and a little magical realism, The Bird Hotel has all the hallmarks of a Joyce Maynard novel that have made her a leading voice of her generation.

*****

I also wanted to share this article I found about reading in Alabama. Great to see how library use increased in the state in 2024.

Alabamians flocked to public libraries in 2024. Here were the most popular titles

And from pervious years:

2023 Books
»Read my January 6, 2024 Blog – Happy New Year 2024. Seize Every moment of every day.

  • The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
  • The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel
  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
  • I Love Learning; I Hate School by Susan D. Blum
  • Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom
  • How to Know a Person by David Brooks

2022 Books
» Read my January 8, 2023 Blog – Rain bathing California in glee

  • Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens
  • The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs 
    by Madeleine Albright
  • The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human 
    by Siddhartha Mukherjee
  • The Distance Between Us: A Memoir by Reyna Grande
  • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  • The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa Yoko Ogawa
  • The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang
  • The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now by Thich Nhat Hanh
  • Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs 
    by Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker

2021 Books
» Read my January 8, 2022 Blog – KCCD CEOs welcome you to the new semester

  • The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
  • Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  • Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer
  • Post Corona by Scott Galloway
  • The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
  • Divided we Fall by David French
  • Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
  • The Guest List by Lucy Foley
  • Deadliest Enemy by Michael Osterholm
  • Grace and Grit by Lilly Ledbetter

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.

That’s all for today.

See you next Saturday!

With much hope and joy, 

Your Chancellor,

-sonya

#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora