Heather Foss | Sonya Christian's Blog

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Busy Between Semesters at BC!

Uncategorized December 16, 2017 Comments: 3

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, December 16th, 2017 and a great day to be a Renegade.

The fall academic semester was over the previous week, students have started their holiday break, but the activities on campus continue. The only indication that we are during break are the parking lots. There are a lot of spaces …..

Congratulations to our 26th graduating class of Paramedics!

Bakersfield College first began to explore the need for a paramedic program in the spring of 2003. This discussion was based on a looming change in California law and the inability of the local paramedic school at that time to meet those requirements.

After discussions with stakeholders in the summer of 2003 (County ambulance providers, Kern County EMS Agency, local hospitals, Emergency Room Medical Directors and college administrators), it was decided the college would explore the feasibility of offering a Paramedic Program. In the summer of 2003, the Bakersfield College Director of Nursing/EMT programs conducted discussions with ambulance employees and administered a community of interest survey. The results of the survey indicated approximately 90% of the respondents indicated they would be interested in enrolling in a Paramedic Program. They also indicated they would be available to attend class full time if there was employer support.

Dean Rich McCrow, Director Tim Capehart with the graduating class

With the assistance and continued assistance of Hall Ambulance Service (thank you Mayor Harvey Hall!), Bakersfield College developed the curriculum, program policies and procedures, recruited personnel and gathered the necessary resources and equipment to implement the Bakersfield College Paramedic Program in January of 2004, and completed the CoAEMSP/CAAHEP requirements in 2006. In 2014 the paramedic program began an effort to move from a non-credit program to a credit/degree granting program. That goal was accomplished and in the fall of 2017 the college enrolled their first credit/degree granting program cohort.

This group of 13 graduates is the 26th class to graduate from the Bakersfield College Paramedic Program, and the first to complete the credit granting 3-semester program. With the addition of these graduates the Bakersfield College Paramedic Program will have trained just over 300 paramedics.

CTE Partnership with FIELD

Nora Dominguez, Sonya Christian, Stephen Schoonmaker, Jenny Zorn

On Thursday morning I was honored to be a part of an event for the new CTE initiative announced by the FIELD Institute. California Community Colleges play a critical role in lifting the state’s economy, creating the workforce of the future, closing achievement gaps, and providing educational access to all. Jobs requiring only a high school education are becoming more rare, which drives an increasing need for postsecondary education and a degree as the passport to family sustaining wages, and steady employment.

For the past 104 years, Bakersfield College has provided a direct pipeline for the Bakersfield community to reach their goals through quality education and career-based training programs that provide the skills needed to be successful.

Programs such as FIELD Institute’s EPIC (Escuela Popular Instituto Campesino) promote college-bound thinking and behavior which ripple through the community for generations – making a positive impact for years to come.

The FIELD grant work will empower our students, provide important opportunities, and increase educational access for many who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved. Students will be placed into CTE pathways with the structure and support to be successful.

Thank you David Villarino for your leadership in pulling together this consortium of colleges and universities. You have been always been committed to providing opportunity and family-wage jobs for the most underserved populations.

It was great reconnecting with Dr. Stephen Schoomaker, a colleague from Oregon who has now moved to California as President of College of Siskiyous. And it is always fun seeing Nora Dominguez. Thank you Nora for helping BC with Measure J.

Thank you to the BC team who came out to support the event. Dean Corny Rodriguez, Dean Cindy Collier, Director of CTE Tony Cordova. I wish we had snapped a picture.

Clergy Breakfast

Steve Watkin and members of our African-American faculty affinity group hosted a congregation of black church leaders to have breakfast and talk about Bakersfield College’s outreach and student success initiatives for African American students on Wednesday morning in the Fireside Room. Steve shared his progress with increasing African-American enrollment on campus, highlighting the work that the Outreach department and our counselors and educational advisors do to create a welcoming atmosphere for our African-American student body while keeping the standards and expectations for those students high.

Steve Watkin and Julian West

Steve then introduced Julian West, who outlined the work he’s doing to keep students informed of financial aid and on-campus resources students have access to. Steve also introduced the audience to our African American Mentorship Program (AAMP), which hosts inspirational speakers to provide students with examples of black leadership and “real-talk” discussions that provide students with information to succeed, and to dispel toxic ideas about black identity and masculinity.

Bre Parks

Student speaker Bre Parks concluded the presentation with her story about her experience in our ASTEP Umoja Community, and her pursuit of a degree in Communication on the way to becoming a Supplemental Instruction leader and one of our best and brightest student workers on campus. She credits Steve Watkin and the African-American leadership here at BC with helping her deal with her social anxiety, and become a more confident, empowered person ready to graduate next spring and accomplish her dreams after graduation.

Wednesday’s breakfast was an awesome opportunity to share BC’s educational programs with a group of important leaders in our community. I’d like to thank Steve and everyone who helped put the event together and our Food Services department for cooking another great breakfast, and I’m looking forward to establishing greater partnerships with our faith leaders in the future.

Monthly Administrative Council

The Bakersfield College Administrative Council is a consultative group of administrators and managers. This week Admin Council met for its last time in 2017 to hear presentations from various campus groups and project leads. We heard from Manny Mourtzanos, Kim Nickell, and Kristin Rabe on the Program Review Committee about how the program review process has improved and grown over the past couple of years; Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services, Don Chrusciel shared the Closing the Loop, Mid-year report document; and there were smiles, laughter, and even tears in the room as Chelsea Esquibias, Director of the Bakersfield College Inmate Scholars Program, shared the transformational power of what this program does for inmates.

Chelsea sharing the Inmate Scholars Program update

Stanford University Visit

Chelsea Esquibias was also invited by the The Opportunity Institute and Renewing Communities to present on Inmate Scholars Program, share student’s stories, and speak about the program’s future plans at the Stanford University School of Law. Attendees were funders contributing to the initiative including the Ford Foundation and the Educational Credit Management Corporation. They recognized that the program has grown in its first two years to be the largest face-to-face college program with over 2,400 enrollments. The program operates in eight prisons (soon to be 10) and the local County Jail. Students in the program have achieved some of the highest success rates at Bakersfield College as the students have achieved above-average grades and pass rates, with over 95% of the students taking transfer-level courses.

The initiative to provide for college in prison is supported by numerous funders. Achievement of an Associate Degree for Transfer while in prison allows students to exit the justice system ready for employment and creates opportunities for them achieve success in our community. Recidivism (returning to prison) is dramatically reduced with an education and creates a college-going culture in the home. Students in the program are highlighted throughout the prison system, and problematic issues in the prisons have also reduced since the implementation of college on-site.

Thank you to all of the funding partners and Stanford University, School of Law for providing us the opportunity to educate inmates returning to our community.

Photographed from left to right: Debbie Mukamal, Executive Director of Stanford Criminal Justice Center; Danny Murillo, Co-founder of the Underground Scholars at UC Berkeley; Chelsea Esquibias, Program Director of the Inmate Scholars Program at BC; Rebecca Silbert, Director of Renewing Communities Initiative; Douglas Wood, Program Officer at Ford Foundation.

Industrial Automation Advisory Committee

On Friday, December 8th, BC’s Baccalaureate Degree, Industrial Automation Advisory Committee met to discuss the curriculum in detail and to get feedback on a proposed additional robotics course. Marketing and high school pathways were also highlighted.

Thank you to all who attended including, Nathan Bender, Jonahan Geersen, Samuel Gomez, Ron K’Miller, Steven Mears, Brian Miller, Blair Pruett, Dick Taylor, and Beth Vaughn.

BC Faculty included, Roy Allard, Sean Caras, Guanghsu Chang, Tony Cordova, Jason Dixon, Manny Fernandez, Cathie Jones, Klint Rigby, Liz Rozell, Tom Rush, Mary Webb and Martin Perez.

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

BC’s OIE (Office of Institutional Effectiveness) hosted a half-day retreat on Wednesday with goal setting, reviewing the core values of the college, and bringing the department closer together. We’ve recently added to the team and I was happy to join them for a session of the importance of institutional research.

David Buitron, Lori Ortiz, Karen Snow, Alma Livingston, Nicole Griffin, Sonya Christian, and Craig Hayward

The group learned about some new data software, reviewed updates to existing programs, and closed out the afternoon with teambuilding at a local escape room. Karen Snow told me, “ It really did force us to work as a team and we learned everyone’s particular skills… Like Lori was our MVP because she found so many clues, Alma is quickest at deciphering patterns. I’m good at spinning combination locks and guessing them if it’s only three numbers, and Craig is really good at making us pick up all the pieces and rethink everything. David and Nicole were both awesome at inspiring us to keep inquisitive and motivated to continue.”

Em’s Sweet Treats

Em and Chef Suzanne

In 2011, Emily Aldritt began Em’s Treat’em Sweet. The goal was simple – to prepare, package and sell her family’s favorite holiday sweet treats (Muddy Buddies), and donate 100% of the proceeds to two local charities: The Bakersfield Homeless Center and the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault. Last weekend, Emily and The Bakersfield College Culinary Arts Department worked in The Renegade Room to prepare this year’s sweet treats. You can learn more about Em and her project at http://emstreatemsweet.com/

I’ve also covered this sweet partnership in my blog previously at “Welcoming our students and the community to BC.”

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Maintenance and Operations

While most of our faculty and students are away for the winter break, the Maintenance and Operations department is busy making important renovations to the campus. This break is a particularly busy one for M&O, as they’ve got a myriad of projects on their hands. The Gym and Memorial Stadium is currently closed until January 5th for installation of brand-new goalposts on the football field and removing the turf that covers the runways. All of the carpet in the library is also being replaced from December 18th until the 29th, which has resulted in closures and relocation for the IT offices and Archives. Other projects M&O is working on include replacement of all doors around campus to make them more accessible to people with disabilities, campus-wide storage room clean-up, installing new fencing at the Child Development Center, repairing emergency generators, replacing trees on campus, and landscaping renovations on Haley Street.

Aside from all of the above for this year’s break, every January M&O also performs its usual detailed cleaning of all carpet and hard flooring around campus, replaces light bulbs in classrooms, deep cleans all buildings and certifies all fire extinguishers before the start of the Spring semester. The M&O department has their work cut out for them for 2018, and we’re so fortunate to have an incredible team that works year-round to keep BC beautiful.

Emails Worth Sharing

Olivia Garcia and Sonya Christian

I often say I’m the luckiest and happiest college president ever, and you know that it’s because I’m fortunate to have the best colleagues, the best students, and the best community at BC. I received this note from one of our newest full-time faculty, Olivia Garcia, during Thanksgiving and I’m just now getting around to sharing it. She said,

I wanted to take a moment and personally thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the faculty at Bakersfield College. I have been given a meaningful purpose in life, and that is educating and positively shaping the minds of our students. This purpose has rewarded me many times this semester in the form of my interactions with students or simply seeing them take small steps toward their academic achievements and goals.

I was meeting with a student the other day in my office as she was trying to figure out her major and career options. We went over different ideas before I told her, “Find something you love, and it will never feel like work.” It helped clear a lot of things for her, and I was speaking from the heart, for what I do, I know it is truly a labor of love.

I had another student who told me that, after taking my class, he decided to major in history. He had been out of school for awhile; he spent it in the workforce before deciding it was time to return to school and earn his degree. He emailed me recently to tell me how he had conquered his fear of heavy reading in the research phase, and that it paid off for developing a stronger assignment for our class.

He wrote, “I can’t explain what a major weekend this was for me in that area as I spent the majority of my time reading for this class and loved it! Thank you for the assignments. They are really enriching my start in College.”

Then I had another student post on social media the happiness she felt being a part of the Levan Seminar Book discussion that I co-led with Professor Rosales recently. The goal was to meet and discuss the work of author Gabriel Thompson who wrote “Chasing the Harvest,” which is an oral history collection of those who have been a part of the migrant farm worker experience in central California. We put a call out to students via the BC website and announcements in our classes to be a part of this wonderful project, which was set for 10 students. Surprisingly, we got more than 60 students expressing interest! It was tough to select the final 10, but they turned out to be amazing. The selected students met with me and Prof. Oliver over a span of three sessions, including a day when they had the opportunity to visit and speak with the author.

Her social media post, which I am attaching here, is a selfie of her with the author. It touched my heart, and it reinforced my mission in doing the best I can to serve our students. I could go on and on, but I just wanted to show you how students have enriched my life this past semester, and I wanted to express my gratitude for this opportunity. I have spent two decades as a journalist telling other people’s stories and making a impact there. Now, as a faculty member in history, I get to be a small part of student’s lives — their stories by helping educate and guide them to their full potential. Now that’s a treasured gift to be thankful for this holiday season. 🙂

At the Basketball Game on Dec 9, 2017

Denise Canning and Todd Hansen at the game

Todd Hansen Dec 9 2017 at Basketball Game

It was wonderful getting to meet our new custodian Felipe Carrillo

Our fabulous Cheer Team coach Heather Foss

Stig Jantz is everywhere. I know he has been secretly cloned.

With our no nonsense, no drama, tireless and hard working Athletic Director, Sandi Taylor

And Coach Paula Dahl is the best. Did not get a picture of her this time.

Suzanne Galindo

While at the District office this week, it was great to see Suzanne Galindo, KCCD’s Executive Assistant to General Counsel, Chris Hine. She shared with me the painting she did of the Renegade Knight and Shield at the Homecoming Paint Night hosted by SGA. I covered this and have a group photo in my blog titled, “Our 60th Homecoming at 1801 Panorama.”

From Social Media

Memories on Facebook

The 1948 Renegade Football Team Poster made an appearance on Facebook in a post on the Kern County of Old Facebook page. This post says this team poster was found by “Pepper” at an Estate Sale and donated to Noriega’s Restaurant in memory of Louie Elizalde. Check it out here on Facebook!

Thank you Jackie Lau for flagging this for me!

Holiday Potlucks on Campus

Holiday potlucks have been taking place on campus all week long. Here are some fun photos!

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Chamber Singers strike again

Received this video from my friend Arlene Braganza with a note

Select threesome of the BC chamber singers performed at Msgr Craig’s Christmas party this evening

Caley Mayhall, April Gregerson, and Markelle Taylor.

And then there is Neo, Dec 2017

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

We are BC! Love, Peace, and Blessings

Uncategorized October 22, 2017 1 Comment

Love, Peace, and Blessings Bakersfield….I borrow this greeting from Prof. Bryan Hirayama’s student on the “inside.”

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

In the infamous introductory words of one of my students inside, “Love, Peace, and Blessings”. Everyday regardless of what is going on and before he addressed the class for anything, this student said very sincerely, “Love, Peace and Blessings”. It is clear to me that he shares more than just an obligatory salutation. There is a sense of affection, care, and encouragement embedded into the word “Love” when he says it. The idea of togetherness, shared responsibility to each other, and above all brotherhood is coded into the word “Peace”. Lastly, a touch of hope that all people’s wishes and dreams, goals and aspirations, and will to be free will be met one day is also baked into this seemingly mundane yet deep and meaningful message. I would like to thank this student for sharing this greeting with me and other students on a daily basis. It has kept me grounded. As I am wrapping up grades and looking back on the semester it is moments like this, shared with love, that will keep me motivated to make a difference and keep spreading the “Love, Peace, and Blessings”.

This is a “copy and paste from the May 15th blog of Professor Bryan Hirayama

Love, Peace and Blessings Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, October 21st and a fabulous day to be a Renegade

Homecoming 2017

BC Football fought off a second half push by Moorpark and continued with their season-long trend of finishing strong by beating the Raiders 34-10 in front of over 5,000 fans at Memorial Stadium to complete a festive homecoming celebration Saturday and open conference play with a win.

Thank you Trustee Bill Thomas, who came to the game with his grandson William and thank you Trustee Romeo Agbalog.

Bill Thomas, grandson William, Romeo Agbalog

Trustee Bill Thomas, grandson William, Trustee Romeo Agbalog

Our fabulous cheer team with cheer coach Heather Foss.

Photo by April Massirio of the BC Cheer team

So happy to see Fran Florez and her husband Ray Florez. Fran is on our Foundation Board of Directors and put in a lot of time helping us with Measure J.

Here is another foundation board member Ken Byrum and his wife. Ken is a big supporter of BC.

Ken Byrum and his wife at the homecoming game Oct 14 2017

Pam Byrum and Ken Byrum

And here is the fabulous Ed Davis with his family. Always supporting Bakersfield College!

Glad to see Jim Darling at the Memorial Stadium supporting Renegade Football

Karen Goh, Jim Darling

Marlene Heise, Karen Goh, Todd Hansen, Bill Thomas, grandson William, Jim Darling, Sonya Christian

BC employees were out in full force with their families. I snapped this picture of Wendy Lawson and her husband Ken and here is Dena Rhoades with her husband, daughter, and grandchildren.

So enjoyed seeing Steve’s daughter out with her mom and dad at the game.

Kendra Watkin, Steve Watkin, Kim Watkin

Love, Peace, and Blessings all

TailGade

Before the homecoming game, I attended the BC Alumni Association’s first TailGade. It was a wonderful event and a lovely afternoon to welcome home our Alumni to their campus on the hill. The large tent provided plenty of shade for eating and fellowship. The food from Fred’s BBQ was a big hit. We had delicious large, juicy grilled steaks, beans, salad and rolls. The steaks were so gigantic, I couldn’t even finish mine and the dinner was well worth the price of admission. They even offered refreshing la Rosa Frozen Fruit Bars for dessert. Perfect for the weather!

Friends and familiar faces were all around at TailGade and throughout the day it was incredible to catch up with Renegades and Renegade fans.

Bakersfield’s famous ska, reggae, mambo band, Mento Buru, played great music from the stage. Some members of the band are BC Alumni and they performed a modern version of the BC Fight Song. You can see a video of Mento Buru practicing for homecoming: https://www.facebook.com/MentoBuru/videos/10159515917410296/. With such jazzy, upbeat music, alumni couldn’t resist getting up and dancing to the wonderful music.

Karen Goh, photo by April Massirio.

To the side of the stage, a monitor played footage of games played in 1945. Kids were playing everywhere and there were games of corn hole going the entire time. The cheerleaders gave a great performance of their cheers for the crowd. The Homecoming parade with the BC Renegade Band and Homecoming float came right around the party so we got to see everyone up close. Honored guest Mayor Karen Goh joined us and led us in a “We are BC!” cheer. Thank you to Heather Pennella and the BC Alumni Association for putting on such a fabulous event. What a way to welcome our alumni home!

And not just alumni, I spotted BC faculty and staff celebrating too! Here is Tom Gelder, Exec Director of the BC Foundation having fun.

Tom Gelfer in action at Tailgade Oct 14 2017

Tom Gelder

Thank you Michael O’Doherty, past president of the Bakersfield College Foundation Board of Directors for coming out to support BC.

Great to see Peter Reyes and the fabulous Becki Whitson

Sonya Christian, Peter Reyes, Becki Whitson

Bob Martin, a Renegade, with his daugther Theresa McAllister and grand daughter.

Sonya Christian, Bob Martin, Theresa McAllister Oct 14 2017

Sonya Christian, Bob Martin, Theresa McAllister and her daughter

Heather Pennella, you did a great job organizing the 2017 Alumni BBQ

Sonya Christian, Eric Pennella and Heather Pennella Oct 14 2017

Sonya Christian, Eric Pennella, Heather Pennella

Check out “Bakersfield College celebrates homecoming with parade, tailgating” by Joseph Luiz at The Bakersfield Californian. It has some incredible photos of Renegade fans celebrating before the big game.

John Harte took some great shots – they are available here.

Photo by John Harte, original from http://www.bakersfield.com

April Massirio also provided some lovely photos from TailGade and the parade. Check them out at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/2017/TailGade

Homecoming Parade, photo by April Massirio.

Homecoming Royalty Court

Homecoming Royalty is an honored and longstanding tradition of Bakersfield College that recognizes outstanding students at Bakersfield College. The Homecoming Royalty Court this year will be comprised of two students who shall represent the College and student body at various campus and community events throughout the year. The selection process for the Homecoming Royalty Court is based upon the candidate’s leadership activities, academic achievement, and campus involvement. Royalty are screened and ultimately selected based on the applicant’s’ ability to articulate and demonstrate academic performance, curricular and co-curricular involvement, contributions to the College as well as the Bakersfield Community, and BC Renegade Spirit. This year there were nine candidates selected.

Elka Desjardins is a Journalism/Agriculture Business Management/Forestry major. She is also the Historian for the BC Agriculture Student Organization and she works as a hairstylist, photographer, and wedding officiant when not in a classroom or on campus.

Evelyn Hernandez is a sophomore here studying Admissions of Justice. She is also the amazing secretary for your student government. Her long-term goal is to work in probation while helping the youth community in Bakersfield.

Ganae Romo-Watson is a fun loving, outgoing person. She enjoys the company of her peers as well as her faculty. She strives for greatness and rises up the people around her as well. She believes that leadership is the key to opening doors of strong bonds and future prospects.

Running to renew his title, Lawrence Salcido is a long time Renegade pushing through his final year. His passion for this school is shown through his involvement on campus. He is involved in multiple student organizations such as the BC Renegamers, the American Sign Language Club, and the Student Learning Alliance. Besides his student organization involvement, he is also a student leader and advocate, involved in student government and activities that involve BC students.

Gisela Campos, a kinesiology major, is from Delano California and in her fourth and final year at BC. She is pursuing her dream of becoming a Physical Therapist when she finishes up at CSU Long Beach. She is currently the president of Korean Culture Club.

While all five candidates are extremely qualified and exhibit the BC Spirit and the Renegade Pride, this year’s recipient of the 2017 Homecoming Royalty Court are: Elka Desjardins and Ganae Romo-Watson.

BCSGA and the Office of Student Life would like to thank Enchanted Bridal Boutique for their donation of the homecoming gowns and Mr. Tuxedo for their donation of today homecoming tuxedos.

The evening ended with BC’s Drumline performing outside the stadium. So fortunate to have Tim Heasley at BC.

Thank you Mary Jo Pasek for being you!

Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 19 and AB 705

It’s been an active week for community colleges across California with Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of new legislation to make education more affordable and efficient for students across California’s Community Colleges.

Harold Pierce describes the new bills in an article on the cover of Wednesday’s Bakersfield Californian.

The California College Promise, also known as AB 19 essentially attempts to maximize student success by encouraging full-time enrollment, and we’ve already started on a similar path at our campus with the Kern Promise. Please note that the Kern Promise is not about “free tuition.” It is a shared responsibility of the college with the student to complete their degree in a timely manner. For example, with the Associates Degree for Transfer to complete their 60 credits at BC and then transfer to CSUB or another 4 year university. For more on the Kern Promise see https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/sse/kernpromise

AB 705 legislates the use of multiple measures to determine students’ entry-level math and English placement at College. BC piloted Multiple Measures three years ago and this year it is fully instituted thanks for the intense efforts on the part of Janet Fulks, Sue Vaughn and faculty in Academic Development, English and Math. Also, thanks to the great collaboration with KHSD. The standards for the courses at BC are still the same, the only change is that we are more connected with the high schools in order to provide a seamless transition from high school to college. This saves the taxpayer money when public sector institutions are working to promote efficiency and effectiveness.

We’re equipping students with the tools they need to be successful, making sure that they’re enrolled full time and completing transfer-level math and English in their first year, which our guided pathways research has demonstrated is crucial for students to successfully make their way through college.

Korean Delegation Visits Bakersfield College

Bakersfield College was honored to host delegates from our sister city, Bucheon, South Korea. A dozen delegates, including their Vice Mayor, Oh Byoung Kwon, retired KCCD Chancellor Sandra Serrano, KCCD Chancellor Tom Burke, and John Heffner met with faculty and staff to tour our campus and learn about our incredible programs.

Btw, talking about our campus, let me take this opportunity to once again thank Kern County for passing Measure J.

Korean Delegates Visits BC. With Sandra Serrano, Tom Burke, John Heffner, Kimberly Bligh, Lesley Bonds

During their first stop, the delegates spoke with our international student services Counselor, Shohreh Rahman to learn about the support we offer to nearly 100 students from all over the world.

Shohreh Rahman and Korean Delegate Oct 15 2017

Prof. Shohreh Rahman

After hearing about our, world-traveling choir and theatre arts programs, our guests insisted on seeing the theatre. They quietly slipped into their seats to listen in to Dr. Jen Garrett’s students for a few moments. They were thoroughly impressed by the theatre but, more importantly, loved seeing our faculty and students in action.

The next stop was at the best restaurant in town: the Renegade Room. Chef Suzanne Tangeman invited our BC guests to the kitchen where her students were beginning a lesson, chopping vegetables to create a salad. Chef Suzanne welcomed our guests and describe the program benefits.

Chez Suzanne and students Korean Delegation

Chef Suzanne Tangeman and Culinary Students

Before heading to the Planetarium for a quick show led by Dr. Nick Stobel, the group swung by the Industrial Automation Robotics Lab to learn about our work to meet the demands the technology-driven business model of the 21st century.

Thank you to Manny Fernandez for leading the lab tour and talking with such enthusiasm about the way this program will help our students while meeting an industry demand.

Korean Delegation in Robotics class Oct 15 2017

Manny Fernandez Koren Delegation visit Oct 15 2017

It is customary in Korean culture to exchange gifts upon when visiting someone’s home.

Sandra Serrano getting a gift from the Korean Delegation

Tom Burke getting gift from Korean Delegation

Kimberly Bligh receiving gift from Korean Delegation

Lesley Bonds getting a gift from the Korean Delegation

To thank our guests, our BCSGA students and Student Life staff created bags filled with BC goodies.

In exchange, Vice Mayor Oh Byoung Kwon presented gifts to BC faculty, staff, and students. The South Korean delegation from Bucheon’s visit to BC was part of a larger trip to Bakersfield. Read more about an event earlier this week to honor the sacrifices of Korean War veterans.

A special thank you to Paul Beckworth, Liz Rozell, Stephen Waller, Nicky Damania, Kimberly Bligh, Tarina Perry, for coordinating this visit and sharing BC’s story with our guests. And thank you Lesley Bonds for being the lead on this. #WeAreBC

Love, Peace, and Blessings

Washington, D.C.

On Monday, I was in Washington DC to present at the national Grantmakers for Education conference. This was my first time at a conference of “grant makers.” In this picture, you see me with the College Futures Foundation, Irvine Foundation, Gates Foundation and the Teagle Foundation. These individuals are smart and at their core believe in the transformative power of education. This combination of passion and intellect along with a keen sense of scalability and return on investment allows them to use the private philanthropic dollars in a very smart way. Needless to say it was a fabulous experience for an educator like me to hang out with large private philanthropic foundations at this conference. #WeAreBC

Sonya Christian, Shawn Whalen, April Yee, Christie Hill, Loni Bordoloi Pazich

Last time I was in D.C., it was Spring 2016 and I can still remember the cherry blossoms. You can visit my blog about that trip here. During that trip, I had attended the AACC Pathways Institute, but also had time to visit some of my favorite places.

During this trip, I rushed over to the national mall and walked the historical pathways between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

One of my friends asked me if I ever visited the Jefferson Memorial and the answer is sadly “no.” So for my next trip I look forward to visiting the Jefferson Memorial.

Prayer Luncheon

I attended the annual luncheon event, hosted by the Thursday Prayer group, for leadership in government. The keynote speaker was Rev. Oscar Anthony who gave a powerful talk on unity and prayer. Pastor Anthony graduated from BC and still engaged with the work of the college. Thank you for Jan Lockhard and the Thursday prayer group for all you support for our community.

Love, Peace, and Blessings all

The 2017 Great ShakeOut

At 10:19 on Thursday, the 2017 Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill was held on all BC campuses. The day is a reminder that earthquakes are a part of life in our state and a major earthquake could be on the horizon at any time. When the alarms rang, our whole campus followed the procedure to (1) Drop, (2) Cover, and (3) Hold on! After the two-minute drill, our buildings evacuated and each building was thoroughly checked.

Sonya Christian

Chris Counts, Sonya Christian

ShakeOut organizers note that many Californians have not experienced a damaging earthquake, such as young people or people who have recently moved to the state. They also warned that while the San Andreas fault could generate a large-scale earthquakes, up to magnitude-8, “there are over a hundred other active faults in the region that can produce smaller earthquakes.”

Our campus responded wonderfully and I reported to the Incident Command Center at exactly 10:23. The ICC immediately sprang into action receiving information from Building Marshalls, Runners, and Public Safety Personnel. Todd Coston, our Planning Chief reported all building clearings on a white board on one side of the room and Chief Counts, our Safety Officer cross checked these reports with our campus map. Each individual in the ICC has a specific role to support the Incident Commander with various responsibilities and key activities. By 10:43, we had all the information we needed to cut the alarms and give the “All Clear” signals.

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We take the annual ShakeOut and all emergency drills very seriously to ensure our students, staff, and faculty are as safe as possible and also to practice responding so that we are well trained and ready in case of an emergency situation. I invite you to share Earthquake Safety for College Students, which is available at https://www.shakeout.org/downloads/2014_College_Student_Preparedness.pdf

Olivia Garcia

Olivia Garcia and Mayor Karen Goh

While the rest of the media was busy covering the new Assembly bills, Olivia Garcia took the time to write an article about our Digital Delano project in Tuesday’s Bakersfield Californian.

Olivia’s story highlighted this new project, headed by Dr. Oliver Rosales, to document the oral histories of farm workers in Delano and other rural areas in Kern County, preserving all of their amazing stories for generations to come, while providing an archival resource for rural students in Kern County to research their own community’s history.

BC was blessed to be chosen for this funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to even begin work on this project, and it’s great to see it finally starting to take shape.

This Week on Social Media

On Instagram this week, Sequoia Sandwich Company featured Jack Hernandez as a regular and one of their favorite customers! His usual is posted as an oatmeal cookie and a cup of coffee. That sounds like a winning combo to me!

And then I saw these gorgeous cookies from Arisve & Bianca Pimentel and I couldn’t help but grab a screen capture to share with you all. Check them out at Pimentel Delights. We Are BC and I’m the luckiest and happiest college president, ever!

Corny Rodriguez on Facebook

Pam Boyles with grandson on Facebook

Links Celebration Photos

I shared last week that BC was in full force at The Links, Incorporated’s 40 year celebration of providing important educational resources to the community. I wanted to share a few photos from the event. If you missed my piece last week, check it out here!

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Faculty busy supporting our students and community

Thank you Dr. Oliver Rosales for moderating this panel discussing issues of poverty.

Prof. Olivia Garcia with her students

Pam Gomez tweeted from the CCPT Conf with the BC Team

Renegade Athletics

Women’s Basketball

This week, Coach Paula Dahl sent an email to our campus community and she said,

I am so incredibly excited about this year’s team. I have 19 completely dedicated student/athletes. They are completing a mandatory 5 hours in the tutoring center per week, taking a minimum of 15 units, many also have jobs, and one is even a parent of 2. We have future doctors, nurses, lawyers, police offers, ultra sound technicians, physical therapists and teachers in our midst. This will be a fun team to follow because they embrace hard work and a commitment to being great. Some of these incredible student-athletes do not have great support at home and are struggling to raise the $400.00 we require. This money goes towards travel gear, an exposure showcase where they are seen by 4 year coaches, Synergy a game editing software that helps them improve their game and also allows them to be seen by virtually every college coach across the country. Our program is committed to transferring our athletes.

If you would like to contact me separately I would be happy to tell you about those athletes that are struggling to meet our fundraising goal and you can adopt them for $60 dollars. This will get you a t-shirt and a team photo. Thank you for all you do to make this an incredible place to work. We hope to see you at our games. The Disneyland Drawing will be Friday November 3 not the 10th.

Paula is right and all our students are absolutely inspiring and incredible. To keep up with our Womens Basketball team, visit Gogades.com

And if you’re interested in any of the fundraisers the team currently has going on, feel free to reach out to coach Paula at pdahl@bakersfieldcollege.edu.

BC Volleyball

Jon Mettus at the Bakersfield Californian published an article featuring BC Volleyball and included this quote from Coach Carl Ferreira.

“Sometimes we get caught up placing so much emphasis on performance and results and all this kind of stuff,” Ferreira said. “It really kind of puts you back a little bit to understand that the most important success we should have is just as grateful people and seeing the human spirit at work. That volleyball match was a therapeutic match for those ladies and for our team.” Don’t miss this great read located here.

Women’s golf

The Renegades finished third in the WSC match No. 7 at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, on Monday.

Women’s Soccer

The Renegades beat Citrus, 1-0, on October 17th to improve to (5-5-2, 1-1-1). Odalys Espinoza scored the only goal of the game, her 8th of the season.

Jennifer Garrett and BC Chamber Singers

Bakersfield City School District held the 10th Annual Junior High/Middle School Choir Festival and BC’s Dr. Jen Garrett was the guest clinician and conductor. See the article and all the photos at bcsd.com.

Photo from bcsd.com

Jen also sent out an email worth sharing this week. She said:

Ken Burdick and Jenn Garrett April 1 2017

Ken Burdick, Jen Garrett

Conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein is often quoted as saying, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Never before has this quote struck me more than it did Monday night as I rehearsed with the Chamber Singers. We discussed the happenings of Las Vegas with great sadness, especially as two of our students grieved for lost friends. Then we made some of the most beautiful music of the semester and I watched as the grieving students devoted themselves to the music and in some way began to heal from their loss. One of them approached me after rehearsal and said that singing did not change what happened, but it gave them the ability to think more clearly and deal with it on a personal level. Music truly can be a powerful tool for good in this world.

With that in mind I want to invite every one of our BC family to join the choirs to celebrate the power of music at our fall concert on October 27 in the Indoor Theater. It is called, “The Music of Living” and it encourages people to share in the beauty, peace, and joy that music brings to this world. I know that many today are weighed down with the happenings of all the recent tragedies, but I believe those who attend will leave inspired, and motivated to be part of the change for good. The concert also features 7 incredible local instrumentalists and one of the pieces that Dr. Ron Kean composed for the choir this past spring. I hope that you will join us for a night of celebrating how music helps us live to the fullest. The concert begins at 7:30 and tickets can be purchased from Vallitix or at the door. Faculty, staff, students, administration, seniors, and veterans are $7 and $10 general. We do tend to sell out so you might want to purchase tickets in advance or arrive early.

And, are you saving the date for the annual Culinary Caroling Dinner? I look forward to this festive event each holiday season. The date this year is December 2nd at 5:30PM. Tickets will be available from Jen, any of the Chamber Singers, or at the Fall Concert.

Community Voices by Catherine Jones

BC Professor Catherine Jones had a Community Voices piece published this week where she shared the associate degree program in Occupational Safety and Risk Management. She says, “Kern County is blessed with many types of industry and now there will be an educational pathway for safety and risk management professionals which matches the diversity in industry.” Read more here at bakersfield.com.

So what about Neo?

October 18, 2017 — 7 months old

Love, Peace, Blessings to my friends and colleagues

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Tradition of Renegade Red

Uncategorized August 12, 2017 Comments: 5

Good morning Bakersfield, it is Saturday August 12, 2017……A great day to be a Renegade! A week of Renegade Red everywhere.

Welcoming Kern Promise Students to BC on August 9, 2017

Let me start with the 160 Kern Promise students we welcomed on campus and completed a one-day orientation. If you remember, Bakersfield College and Cerro Coso Community College were recipients of a $1.5M grant from the Community College Chancellor’s Office for the Kern Promise. Cerro Coso had a kick-off to the event at Ridgecrest and BC had our kick-off in a large event in the Outdoor Theater. If was a fun event and I invite you to click on the link that will take you to the April 29th blog titled Strengthening Kern County, One Degree at a Time.
https://sonyachristianblog.com/2017/04/29/strengthening-kern-county-one-degree-at-a-time/

Here is one of the great pictures from the event. So many community leaders out to support education in Kern County. See of you can name them all 🙂

Community Leaders at the Kern Promise

So, what is the Kern Promise? The Kern Promise is a commitment in action at Bakersfield College to help students complete their Associate Degree for Transfer within two instructional years through a Guided Pathways approach, providing support, priority access to courses, and financial assistance to those who qualify. The Kern Promise focuses on a shared responsibility model where students will work with Completion Coaches and follow a clear path to success. In return, each promise student is required to maintain good academic standing and commit to their studies.

Wednesday was a beautiful day at BC, as we welcomed the newly admitted Kern Promise students for Promise Day, their specialized extended orientation consisting of workshops and the signing of their Promise Agreement outlining their shared responsibilities and expectations!

The program began with photos and fun with some of our awesome orientation leaders – continuing students employed in various departments on campus including Student Success & Equity, Office of Student Life, and the Welcome Center! They guided students in icebreakers, discussions on majors and career goals, and stopped at the photo wall for fun group photos to get them warmed up and excited for the day.

Shannel Tyus, Keri Kennedy

Promise Counselor Keri Kennedy and Program Manager Shanell Tyus welcomed students and provided an overview of the day, followed by an inspiring welcome by BC SGA President Dezi Von Manos, and additional welcoming remarks from myself.

SGA Leadership

Sonya Christian at Kern Promise Orientation Aug 8 2017

Students then rotated between workshops designed to help them focus on transitioning to college, developing academic behaviors necessary for success, and utilizing campus resources such as Academic Support Services, Student Government Association, and the Office of Student Life. Workshops were presented by Teresa McAllister and 2^nd-year Promise students Avery Gibson, Magdalena Panteleon, and Tyler Ellis, Academic Development faculty, Counselors Keri Kennedy and Jonathan Shultz, Donor Relations Coordinator Alyse Braaten, BC SGA officers Mustafa Barraj, Dezi Von Manos, James Tompkins, Monica Alvarez, Diana Martinez, Daniel Ruezga and Evelyn Hernandez, and concluded with Dr. Christine Whelan, author and professor at University of Wisconsin – Madison, who addressed students to help them “Pack their Renegade Rucksack” and plan for their academic journey ahead.

The crux of the day, was the signing of the Promise Agreement. This carefully crafted document was developed to explicitly outline the terms and conditions of this shared responsibility model that we’ve created the Kern Promise to be. Students are expected to commit to maintaining good academic standing, completing 15 units per semester, correspond with their completion coaches regularly, and seek academic support through BC resources and those in their cohort. In exchange, BC commits to providing students with priority access to courses required for their pathway, financial assistance, and the strong support of their completion team and coaches, all in efforts to ensure their timely completion (degree for transfer) within two instructional years.

We expect big things from our Promise students and are proud of their persistence to this point! Coming to BC college ready for English and Math is proof that our students can complete their time at BC in just two years and continue their journey to family sustaining wages and degrees from our neighboring universities!

Check out the whole photo album of Promise Day at BC here.

Renegade Football — A community tradition

Tuesday was another exciting time at BC when Athletics hosted the 2017 Football Media Day in front of Historic Memorial Stadium! I’m counting down the days till football season begins. The date is September 2nd – is it on your calendar?

Francis Mayer emceed the event with three speakers — Mayor Karen Goh, Athletic Director Sandi Taylor and Coach Jeff Chudy.

AD Sandi Taylor

Mayor Karen Goh

Coach Jeff Chudy

This season marks the 67th time our Renegades have taken the field in our signature red uniforms. And Athletic Director, Sandi Taylor promised big surprises at the event. It was fun watching the giant banner being unfurled from the very top of the stadium, with a larger than life Renegade player and text celebrating the start to the season and season ticket info!

John Farrand took this great picture of the crowd cheering as the banner unfurled. Can you spot Kimberly Bligh, Sonya Christian, Jim Lawitz, Michelle Chantry, Jennifer Marden?

Do you have your tickets yet? You don’t want to miss the home opener.

Also, kicking off this year is “The Knight Club”, the second surprise announcement of the day. It’s a VIP-type fan experience with membership tiers that include access to private hospitality services during games, among other benefits. It’s a fantastic way to support your BC Renegade athletes. It’s also tax-deductible and 100 percent of the proceeds go to support all 20 BC Athletics teams and their 500+ student athletes.

Thank you to all the media who showed for this fantastic unveiling.

Media at 2017 Renegade Football Season Unveiling

Media at the Renegade Football Season Unveiling

Karen Goh, Mia Cifuentes, Sonya Christian, Sandi Taylor, Ed Davis

And Thank you to our dignitaries, Mayor Karen Goh, American General Media President Rogers Brandon, KGET Vice President Derek Jeffries and a delegation of Helmet Club members like Ed Davis and Chad Hathaway, who were there in full force to support Bakersfield College and Renegade Football. Was happy to see our friends from the Bakersfield Fire Department — Deputy Fire Chief Tyler Hartley, Deputy Fire Chief Ross Kelly. Thank you Mia Cifuentes, representative of Assembly Member Vince Fong for coming out. It’s a great day to be a Renegade!

Karen Goh, Sonya Christian

Derek Jeffery

Bakersfield Fire department Tyler Hartley and Ross Kelly

Deputy Fire Chief Tyler Hartley, Deputy Fire Chief Ross Kelly

Ed Davis, Chad Hathaway, Karen Goh, Jeff Chudy, Heather Foss, Sandi Taylor with BC Cheer Team

For all the details about The Knight Club, visit gogades.com.

Two great articles followed the event by Mike Griffith of The Bakersfield Californian. They are:

“Bakersfield College goes big in quest to pump up Renegade football” and

“BC coach Chudy says depth a plus as Renegades open football practice.”

And speaking of our local media, it was great to see Michelle Chantry, CEO and Jim Lawitz, the VP and executive editor of TBC on our campus.

Michelle Chantry, Todd Hanser

Jeff Chudy, Tom Burke, Jeff Lawitz

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

Was happy that Chancellor Burke joined us to celebrate Renegade Football.

Tom Burke, Sandi Taylor, Sonya Christian, Jeff Chudy

For the full album of photos, visit our Smugmug page.

Registration Rocks

Over the summer, BC’s outreach team held three one-day express enrollment events. This week, we held the final last chance event which welcomed 609 returning students and 635 new students back on campus. Thank you to all involved with these events including Outreach, Admissions and Records, Counseling, Assessment, and Marketing. It was great to see photos from the jam packed event in the paper on Thursday. Check it out!

Kern County Farm Bureau

This week, I enjoyed reconnecting with community leaders from the Kern Farm Bureau. I got to know them better during the Measure J time and am so appreciative that they supported Bakersfield College through Measure J. Here are some photos from the October 5, 2016 presentation to the Kern Farm Bureau about Measure J.

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

Jeff Rasmussen could not make the meeting so Mary Jo and I met with Ralph Mendes and Beatris Espericueta. The Kern County Farm Bureau is a non-profit organization that advocates for our local farmers as part of the statewide California Farm Bureau Federation lobbying in Sacramento on behalf of all our state’s growers.

Beatris Espericueta, Sonya Christian, Ralph Mendes, and Mary Jo Pasek

The Kern County Farm Bureau provides outreach, networking and scholarships to the community through their Young Farmers and Ranchers program, which provides men and women between the ages of 18 to 35 with the information, resources and business connections needed to start a fruitful career in agriculture.

Exciting things are in the works in order to find out how these partnerships can continue to prepare the future leaders of our community’s most important industry. As Van Ton Quinlivan spoke about in the video I highlighted in last week’s blog, it’s important for educators to establish close partnerships with employers to ensure that we’re providing our students with all the tools those employers need when they’re looking for applicants in the job market. With the constant advances in agricultural technology, that may even require retraining people who are already in the industry on the newest equipment and techniques.

Spotlight on Summer Bridge

This was the last week of summer bridge. I was able to attend a small part of it. This is just a phenomenal activity for incoming students and I got to experience how exhausting it is the the faculty and staff who work summer bridge. It is fast paced and engaging.

I have been covering images from Summer Bridge routinely over the last several weeks, but if you are still wondering what Summer Bridge is all about…..

Throughout the summer, students are mentored by multi- discipline faculty, peer mentors, and support services staff how to best access and utilize campus resources during engaging sessions and demystify questions that ALL new students have BEFORE their first semester begins. On a more practical level, the day focuses on introducing skills necessary for college success, including effective communication, time-management, library research and other critical skills! The topics covered at Summer Bridge to BC are designed, and proven, to ensure students are successful during their FIRST semester in college.

BC Summer Bridge Team

BC Summer Bridge Peer Mentors Ruben Chavez and Kenneth Mireles and Bridge Director Dr. Kimberly Bligh.

Summer Bridge Peer Mentors, Ruben Chavez and Kenneth Mireles with Bridge Director, Dr. Kimberly Bligh

Throughout the day, collaborative activities take place where students come up with a creative presentations to provide information to the rest of the participants about important “tools” to have in their life toolbox in order to achieve academic and lifelong success demonstrating the importance of GRIT, believing in a growth mindset, understanding the importance of role models, and knowing how to manage their time, balance their life, stay organized, and utilize campus resources.

BC served over 400 students last year and more than doubled enrollments this year to serve 1000+ student during 25 sessions from April through August! The final four sessions take place August 7th through August 10th. Over 100 staff, faculty, and peer mentors participated in Bridge to BC in 2017. That’s how we roll at Bakersfield College.

Here is a photo of Summer Bridge in Delano

Here is a 7-minute video put together by Teresa Mcallister

Cabinet Retreat

We closed out our admin summer retreats last monday, 8/7/2017. with President’s Cabinet meeting to finalize workplans for the the 2017-2018 academic year.

Let me introduce you to members of the President’s Cabinet

Here are a few photos from the August 7th meeting

Mary Jo Pasek, Cindy Collier, Tom Gelder, Sue Vaughn

Delano Team Retreat

I enjoyed visiting the Delano campus team during their retreat Tuesday, August 8th. The passion and dedication of the faculty and staff is so visible. Love #BCatDelano.

Grace Saenz and Carolina Madrigal

Jessica Garcia and Lily Pimentel-Stratton

Ricardo Garza

Loved this Facebook post by Endee Grijalva

Shout out to BC Food Services

And throughout the busy week, as always our Food Services staff have been even busier taking care of us…taking care of our students. And what delicious food. I snapped a picture of the smiling Chef Eric Sabella and Penny Loos as they were hard at work. Long tiring and back breaking days. Thank you Food Services!

Here is Penny Loos and Eric Sabella from BC Food Services.

Chef Coyle came to visit!

And speaking of treats, I ran into Chef Coyle, former director of the culinary arts program, who deeply loves BC! Chef Coyle was on campus preparing for the class he is teaching this fall.

I’m definitely the luckiest and happiest college president ever!

Project Next Step

It’s always great to see familiar faces on the news sharing great info. This week, I caught Odella Johnson on KGET, along with Brenda Lewis, sharing information about Project Next Step. BC is honored to be one of the many local organizations participating in Project Next Step this weekend on Saturday, August 12th from 9:00AM to 2:30PM at CSUB’s Dore Theater.

Project Next Step is a conference and resource fair that aims to provide local junior high students and their parents with the tools they need to succeed in high school, college and beyond. Students will obtain resources on completion, college options, homework support, classroom etiquette, test-taking strategies, FAFSA and scholarships, peer pressure and leadership, and the importance of mentoring.

Presenters include Bakersfield Chief of Police Lyle Martin, Mayor Karen Goh, and Gloria Cannon, the first African-American female judge in Kern County. The keynote speaker for the conference is Arleana Waller, an ambassador for She Power.

Project Next Step is a collaboration between educational leaders and community organizations to prepare students for high school, college or a vocational career.

Bill Henry

There was a great article by Nancy Vigren about the new President of Porterville College, Bill Henry, formerly Porterville College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs. Bill, who has worked at Porterville College since 1998, takes over for outgoing president Dr. Rosa Carlson, finishing a term of service in education that has lasted over 40 years.

The photo of Bill on the right is from the website of the article by Vigran.

Check out the article published by Our Valley Voice.

BC Superstar Mindy Wilmot

BC reference librarian Mindy Wilmot presented a speech on information literacy at the 2017 International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) Conference in Long Beach last week. Along with Katie McNamara, the faculty librarian at North High School, Wilmot’s presentation focused on how to help find the research that students need through pre-search, print and online references and using booleans to narrow down the information more specifically. The IASL was founded in 1971 to provide a forum for school library professionals to network and discuss their practices together. While this year’s conference was held just a few hours away from Bakersfield at Cal State Long Beach, conferences are held around the world, and last year’s conference was hosted in Tokyo.

BC Students raise $5000 for Charities

BC Faculty, Heidi Forsythe

This summer, BC students raised about $5000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities while learning small group communication and problem solving skills.

Two of Heidi Forsythe’s Small Group Communication classes brainstormed, planned and executed a two-day donation drive in the span of a week, developing a mission statement and guidelines for their groups while developing conflict management strategies to work together for their common goal. Ronald McDonald house director Scarlet Sabin, who reached out to the media for the event to get coverage on Channel 17, Channel 23, 94.1 FM and KNZR, said that the donation drive will help the organization get through the rest of the year. Check out the video on KGET!

Fun Photos

BC faculty, Joe Saldivar and two future renegades (his sons) visited Stonehenge on their way to Normandy. I’m always amazed and filled with wonder when I think or see photos of Stonehenge. The English Heritage website, says “Stonehenge is perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was built in several stages: the first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago, and the unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC.”

Sebastian Saldivar, Christian Saldivar and Joe Saldivar Summer 2017

Sebastian, Christian, and Joe Saldivar at Stonehenge

Did you know it was also largely believed that the building process was so extensive that it could have lasted on and off for anywhere from 1500 to 7000 years? Check out this site for incredible facts about some of the world’s most famous places!

And Todd Coston on a cruise

Todd Coston and family took a 4-day cruise to Catalina and Mexico to celebrate his parents 50^th wedding anniversary. The picture is of the family in Catalina getting ready to board the ferry back to the cruise ship.

Great American Eclipse of 2017

Nick Strobel

Have you run into Strobel recently…. well if you did what is the first thing he tells you….. it is all about the eclipse….that’s all I have heard for the last 6 months 🙂

Nick Strobel recently posted that the great American Eclipse of 2017 is coming up shortly. He says, “On August 21, the new moon will come exactly between Earth and the sun and its shadow will sweep across the United States from the Oregon coast to the South Carolina coast. The narrow strip of total solar eclipse will be just 68 miles wide. Those outside of that narrow strip will see the sun partially covered by the moon.” Learn more at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/planetarium/bakersfield-night-sky/bakersfield-night-sky-august-5-2017

And Tarina Perry has been puppy sitting and hanging out with Japanese international students

Mason Blair, an Officer in Public Safety has a new 4-month old black lab puppy named Riley. When Riley got out of the laundry room, which is his holding place when no one is home, he was trying to let everyone know how unhappy he was being cooped up. He chewed up a “memory foam” pillow and then threw up all the stuffing onto the floor!

And here is an email she sent me about Coach Paula Dahl and Coach Nick Jacobs about the experience of the Japanese students. It is an uplifting email and so beautifully written. Now do you see why I am the luckiest and happiest college president ever…

Tarina Perry with Somaly Boles

Hi Sonya,

My visit with our BC Athletics Department:

I recently had two students from Wakayama, Japan for a weeklong homestay through the Bakersfield Sister City Program. Back in Japan, Nanaka plays basketball and Konomi plays tennis, so I set up a meet & greet with our BC coaches. I envisioned a team working out and practicing basketball moves on the gym floor and maybe receiving directions from a really tough coach. Instead, the entire team was sitting on the floor in a semi-circle facing three coaches. Each teammate took turns offering up words of encouragement, acknowledgements of one another’s attributes, and sharing information on ways to better balance basketball with classes for a successful semester. The more experienced teammates advised the newer ones to take advantage of study hall, office hours, tutoring… and simply to speak up and ask for help, because most teachers are understanding. I didn’t expect to witness such an amazing and intimate experience!

This was not just a group of students or a basketball team, but this is a family! I felt so much BC Pride! Coach Dahl ended the experience with a team photo that our Japanese friends can take home and share with everyone. Coach Dahl also taught them the fist-bump!

A similar experience took place when meeting our very enthusiastic Tennis Coach Jacobs. He engaged with Nanaka and Konomi, we toured the facilities and he recommended best practices for them to focus on in order to better their playing skills.

I learned there is much more behind the title Athletic Coach. I have just a little more understanding and a lot greater respect of our Athletics Department.

Konomi & Nanaka meet BC Tennis Coach Jacobs

So what about Neo?

He is 48 lbs

Neo

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

A Wonderful Week at BC and Beyond!

Uncategorized February 4, 2017 Comments: 5

Good evening from Tempe Arizona as I start this blog to make sure I get it done and out on Saturday (2/4/2017) rather than Sunday. I don’t want to get a text from my friend like I did last Saturday night when I was on the train heading back to Bakersfield from Sacramento: “Are you okay? I am worried about you. Have not see your blog yet.” When I responded saying that I was busy preparing for my presentations in Sacramento and that I will probably get it out on Sunday he responded with something like: “well…ok then. You are excused. I’ll read National Tweets instead. Altho I must say it will not be the same.” lol….so funny! National tweets, now our national news in 140 characters or less. 🙂

The Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge is a beautiful piece of architecture. I walked the bridge several times during our stay at the Tempe Mission Palms for the AACC Pathways Institute #4. On March 18th, Tempe City Council will dedicate the bridge to the man whose passion led to the creation of Tempe Town Lake, James Elmore, ASU’s founding Dean of Architecture.

Here is an excerpt from the Tempe City Hall website

“James Elmore was a champion of Tempe Town Lake for more than 40 years, from encouraging the School of Architecture to take on the Salt River as a project to bringing the student ideas to those who could make them reality,” said David Scheatzle, a Professor Emeritus for the ASU College of Architecture. “Associating his name with the beautiful pedestrian bridge at the west end of the Tempe Town Lake seems most appropriate for someone so dedicated to this vision.”

Here is a nice piece about the bridge. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/jnpvsk5

AACC Pathways Institute

Here is the BC team at the AACC Pathways Institute.

Sonya Christian, Jennifer Johnson, Janet Fulks, Maria Wright, Lesley Bonds

BC was one of 30 colleges selected nationwide through a competitive process to participate in a 3-year Guided Pathways initiative. The Tempe, AZ institute was the fourth of 6 institutes designed to help us focus our work on four key pillars: 1) clarifying students’ paths, 2) getting them on a path, 3) keeping them on the path, and 4) ensuring they’re learning. This institute focused on ensuring meaningful learning. The BC team dug into our student learning outcomes, discussed ways to engage faculty in cross-disciplinary pedagogical professional development, and identified areas of focus for our academic support services agenda moving forward. And we had fun doing all of this. Here are some photos to prove it.

lesley Bonds, Maria Wright, Jennifer Johnson, Sonya Christian, Janet Fulks

Sonya Christian, Maria Wright, Jennifer johnson, Lesley Bonds

Sonya Christian, Tempe, Arizona, Feb 2 2017

Maria Wright, Tempe Arizona, Feb 2 2017

Last semester, Janet Fulks and Maria Wright led student and faculty focus groups that gave us a lot of insight into the BC experience from each perspective. We were able to use the focus group themes to drive discussion throughout the institute, and our very own Dr. Janet Fulks was invited to present in Tempe on faculty-led models for assessing student learning outcomes. BC has the best faculty and staff! Thanks so much to our Institute #4 team: Lesley Bonds, Janet Fulks, Jennifer Johnson, and Maria Wright.

IEPI Workshop on Guided Pathways: Here are more pictures from the workshop in Costa Mesa last week.

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Nick Strobel

Enjoyed reading Nick Strobel‘s piece in the Californian today. I love Nick’s writing. Here is one of my favorite paragraphs from his article

A couple of cool space exploration stories came into my inbox recently. The first was the stunning view of the waves in Saturn’s rings made by the tiny moon Daphnis. Daphnis is just 5 miles along its longest dimension and it clears out a gap 26 miles wide in Saturn’s outer A ring. When the Cassini spacecraft came to within 17,000 miles of Daphnis during a recent ring-grazing pass on its highly tilted orbit, Cassini took a beautiful image that shows the ripples or waves made in the A-ring by the weak gravity of Daphnis. The image is so sharp that you can see a faint thin tendril of ring material pulled up from the ring by Daphnis. Absolutely gorgeous and to know that it’s all just gravity at work!

The Bakersfield Californian does not have it posted yet on their website. But Nick has it on his planetarium website: http://tinyurl.com/zybbxmo

Trice Harvey a legend

The picture is by Julie Rogers in 1994. You see Trice Harvey with Carl Sparks and Ed Jagels.

James Burger did a nice story on Trice Harvey in The Bakersfield Californian. Here is how Burger starts the story:

Trice Harvey was the kind of guy who spawned stories, yarns and the occasional tall tale.
There was the time Harvey barbecued ostrich meat and served it to his fellow legislators to try to convince them to make ostrich a farm product, not an exotic item, to exempt it from a tax.
Or the time he wore a football jersey that was half-Bakersfield College and half-Taft College to a game between the two rival schools.
Or the time the notoriously camera-friendly former politician turned suddenly shy as a Fish and Game warden began eyeing the catch he’d had made that day — without his fishing license.
There are probably hundreds of those stories. Maybe thousands.
But on Tuesday, the former Kern County supervisor and California assemblyman’s story came to a close at age 80.

For more click on http://tinyurl.com/za8g7o4.

I briefly refer to Trice Harvey in the March 19, 2016 post on Kay Meek. Here is the link
https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/03/19/a-whirlwind-week-at-bakersfield-college/

BC Commercial Music Ensemble Open Rehearsal

On Wednesday afternoon, the BC Commercial Music Ensemble rehearsal offered a chance for students to perform original compositions and arrangements of popular songs. The ensemble has nearly doubled in size since first being offered last semester as a part of unveiling the new commercial music program. At the beginning of the semester, Professor, Dr. Josh Ottum notified students that their first performance would be happening in a few weeks. Their expressions were equal parts fear and excitement. This expectation set the bar high and I’m overjoyed to say that the students exceeded his expectations, putting together six songs in just three rehearsals. We are so proud of of our students and look forward to seeing this ensemble grow and become an essential part of BC and the greater Bakersfield community.

What would people say about you if you died tomorrow?

The most recent speaker to present at the Levan Center opened the discussion with a topic many of us do not often think about: What do we want others to say about us after our death? BC alumni and former BC professor, Dr. Crystal Dea Moore, used her lively and contagious personality to interact with the students, faculty, and staff in attendance on the importance of making an after death plan, before our passing.

Dr. Moore has published a number of readings regarding end-of-life decisions, as well as worked as a licensed social worker with Veteran’s Affairs (VA). Moore is currently a Professor and Associate Dean of the faculty at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Walking into the room, there were very few places to sit as the room was full of students of all ages and staff members of all types. The room was alive with discussions and questions of what the presentation might include. As the introductions began, the audience fell silent. Becki Whitson of the Behavior Science Department described Moore as that student that “everyone knew or wanted to be.” Moore’s personality shined throughout her presentation as the crowd erupted in laughter at her jokes.

Moore explained the importance of asking questions when speaking to a doctor. For example: when they used words that you may need a dictionary to decode. She expressed how many of her Veteran clients would tell the doctor that they understand what was told to them but in reality would have the definitions misunderstood. She asked the crowd to write down a two sentence response to a simple question: What would people say about you if you died tomorrow?

Such a simple question… but, how often do we actually think about it? After a brief moment to write down our answers, Moore asked for a “few brave souls” to share their answers. Throughout her presentation, Moore stopped to take any questions and continuously explained and defined words that might cause any confusion. The presentation was unlike any other because when it comes to talking about death and the taking the steps to handling things that relate to death and dying, many of us do not know where to start.

Thank you, Dr. Crystal Dea Moore for giving us all the tools to tackle these difficult situations in life.

Outreach at BC

Our dedicated outreach team went out to Stockdale High School this week to conduct Matriculation Services for the upcoming Summer and Fall semesters at BC. We had an all-time record high for one day with 140 students assessed on Thursday and 80 scheduled to take the assessment the following day, on Friday the 3^rd. WOW! 220 students!! Thank you to Kalina Hill, Josie Guillen, and the whole outreach team for making it happen!

1.6 Million Awarded for the Enhancement of Alternative Fuel and Vehicle Tech Training Programs

This past summer, the Advanced Transportation and Renewable Energy Sector released a competitive solicitation awarding a total of $1.6 million to address the regional workforce technical training needs for workers who will be employed by fleets, dealerships, independent shops and similar organizations.

This funding from the California Energy Commission was awarded to:

American River College
Bakersfield College
Cerritos College
Chabot College
City College of San Francisco
College of the Desert
Cypress College
Rio Hondo College
San Diego Miramar College

Each of these colleges has a demonstrated need for program and course enhancements in their regions. Over the next year, they will execute carefully designed plans to train students, create curriculum, purchase equipment, and educate faculty on the latest industry technologies.

The grant was written by Andrew Haney, with contributions from Vic Posey, Justin Flint, Dan Johnson. Sarah Baron & Bonita Steele helped with the writing. BC got ~$80K from the Grant with specific equipment they can purchase. We Are BC!

See more by visiting http://www.4nrg.org/cec-awards/

What a Night for Musical Talent in Bakersfield

It was great to see from Jennifer Garrett’s Facebook that BC was recognized during such a great event. She said,

Enjoying a beautiful night of music at Grand Night with 700 band, orchestra, and choir students in Kern County. Our new BC Band and Orchestra Director, Dr Kathryn Kuby led the band and did a fantastic job! Also saw our BC Jazz Band Director, Kris Tiner receive the Jazz Educator Award from Kern County Music Educators Association and my friend and colleague, Dr Angel M. Vázquez-Ramos received the Collegiate Music Educator Award. What a night of music!

More on Jen Garrett:

I continually hear about the wonderful things happening on high school campuses across this great community. Jennifer Garrett recently visited Frontier High School to check out their musical talents and incredible students.

A final word on Jen Garrett:

Our Choir Director Jen Garrett and the BC Choir are everywhere. It is amazing that the petite Jen Garrett has all the energy in the universe! Here are members of the BC Choir that were in Stars production on “The Drowsy Chaperone” yesterday!

Caley Mayhall, Nichole Heasley, Ken Burdick, Jake Wattenbarger, Madeline Engel, and Caitlin Wolfenstein all in this picture with Jen. Julie Verell did lights for the show but did not make it into the picture. They were all fantastic.

Seniors and BC Dancers

The BC Cheer team is hosting a halftime performance this weekend with the Brookdale Senior Community cheer team. They’ve been choreographing and practicing for over 4 weeks and their performance is at the men’s Basketball game this weekend. These pictures are absolute joy so I had to share. Great job BC Cheer team!

I hope you’ll cheer on our BC Renegades with them at the next home game you can attend! Go Gades!

Thank you Heather Foss and Becki Whitson!

Heather Foss

Becki Whitson

BC Athletics

BC Track 5 individual winners: Congratulations to BC’s track teams! With five individual wins and two relay wins last weekend. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/jewdlaa

BC Basketball: Great article by Jeff Evans in The Bakersfield Californian. Here is an excerpt:

But when the team got on the bus to return to Bakersfield, Dahl gave each player a name of a Holocaust victim and an assignment: Research that person and give a report to the team the following Monday. Dahl said she got the idea after reading about Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is held each Jan. 27 so the world will never forget the 6 million people, mostly Jews, who were killed by the Nazis in World War II. This year the remembrance was the day before the Canyons game.
Dahl said it was a special practice when the players shared their research.
“I hated the loss, but I loved the moment on Monday,” Dahl said. “One of the great coaching moments in my life.”

Check out the story: http://tinyurl.com/j324ofk

BC Football: Relationships are critical to spreading the word about our incredible athletic programs, and that’s how BC Football’s illustrious legacy came to be a part of KGET’s Super Bowl Sunday coverage!

Assistant Football Coach Tyler Thompson talked with a friend about one of his favorite things; being a Renegade and having his name associated with a football tradition that stretches back to when leather helmets were worn.

“I know Tab well,” he told Sports Information Director Francis Mayer recently in regard to KGET’s Tabitha Mills, “We went to school together, and I just told her, ‘you’ve got to hear some of these stories from our legends. They are incredible.'”

That simple exchange spurred more conversations, including with KGET’s General Manager Derrick Jeffries-who’s brother played BC football-and they decided to pursue the stories. Mills tracked down Coaches Carl Bowser and Gerry Collis among others-legends indeed-at one of their favorite Basque haunts for lunch recently…and rumor has it that the footage captured is priceless!

We’ll be able to judge for ourselves-and with pride-this Sunday at 5pm. An encore will run Monday at 5pm as well.

Way to go, Coach Thompson! You rock!

Diego Monterrubio, BC Adjunct Art faculty being highlighted at Metro Galleries First Friday

Here you see Diego Monterrubio at the Metro gallery with Prof. Richard Marquez and Corny Rodriguez, Dean of Instruction.

Diego Monterrubio, Richard Marquez

Metro Gallery

Diego Monterrubio, Corny Rodriguez

Congratulations Faith Bradham

Have you been to the BC library recently? The staff are incredible. Second year librarian, Faith Bradham, was awarded a scholarship to attend the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) annual meeting in March in Baltimore. As you can see from the link, she will be in good company from around the country, the Virgin Islands, Canada, and NYU Shanghai. One of the keynote speakers is Carla Hayden, the current and 14th Librarian of Congress. She is the first woman and first African-American to fill the post.

Check Faith Bradham out in the Early Career Section: http://conference.acrl.org/scholarships/

Letter Worth Sharing

Andrea Thorson

I often say I’m the luckiest and happiest college president ever and it’s because I have the honor and joy to work with the best colleagues — the best students, the best staff, and the best faculty. I’d like to share a letter that hit my inbox this week. Thank you, Amber Smithson, for allowing me to share.

To whom it may concern,

All too often in our society today we focus on the negative and are quick to express our dislike or distaste in people and or events. In a world of negativity and altercations however I have learned to focus on that which empowers and strengthens me. I try to see the world with what it can offer me and I take those tools that I am given and try my hardest to pay it forward whenever possible. As a single mother of four when I decided to go back to school and get my degree at a later age in life, to say that I was apprehensive is to speak lightly of how I felt. With my nerves high and my self-doubt even higher, knowing I would ultimately be one of the oldest students in all my classes I returned to Bakersfield College 3 semesters ago. When I returned I was confident that I wanted to get my degree in business administration. Just by accident I decided to take a Public Speaking class as one of my very first classes. By accident even more, I walked into the wrong class because all I noticed was the last name and paid no attention to the CRN number attached to the class. It was by those “accidents” that I came upon a professor who has ultimately changed my life.

Professor Andrea Thorson has been instrumental in some amazing changes in my life. I went from an insecure, unaware, naive, and ignorant student to a confident, aware, and purposeful individual. I changed my major from Business to Communications and now have a purpose in life that I never thought I would have. I watched every day in class this remarkable professor teach and inspire her students with poise and knowledge that I hope to one day be able to share with my students when I too become a professor. She has brought me to tears, laughter, and deep soul searching. I learned more in one semester then I had all my life. I have been able to take what I have learned in her classes and incorporate them into my personal life. She renewed my faith in people by showing such compassion and desire to help each and every one of her students. I truly admire what she brings to the classroom each time she steps foot in there. She pushes you to do your best and discover who you are inside and what you are capable of achieving.

Amber Smithson

I am sure that in the positions you hold, you must hear too often about the “bad” professors or you hear from the students who are angry because of their grades and therefore blame it on the so-called deficiencies of their professors. I am not writing this accolade because I am a straight A student or because school comes easy to me. On the contrary I typically have to study twice as hard as someone half my age. I work hard for my grades and when I do receive A’s it’s because I have gone above and beyond to earn them. I am writing this letter because there are some amazing professors at Bakersfield College and Professor Andrea Thorson is one of them. I owe so much to this professor and I only hope that when I have achieved my goals and am able to return to Bakersfield College as a professor myself, I will be half the instructor that she proves to be each and every day. Sincerely, Amber Smithson

Check out this video that Prof Manny Fernandez did on our Baccalaureate Program in Industrial Automation

And here is a picture I forgot to post last week when I ran into the Leadership Academy in Sacramento. I was there to present to the California Community College Trustee Association. Both Chancellor Tom Burke and Trustee and retired Congressman Bill Thomas were also in Sacramento.

sonya-christian-feb-2-2017-tempe-arizona

Sonya Christian, loving Renegade life in Tempe, Arizona, Feb 2 2017

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Our BC Community is a Family

Uncategorized September 3, 2016 Comments: 3

Good Morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, September 3rd….a good day to be a Renegade!

Growing up, I have always associated September as the birthday month…September 2nd is my brother Kevin’s birthday (Virgo) and Sep 24th (Libra) is my mom’s b’day.

Eisha Christian, Paul Christian, Pam Christian, Sonya Christian

The picture was probably taken 15/16 years ago.

So given mom’s birthday is right around the corner, here is a little song that I grew up with. I think you will enjoy it.

M-O-T-H-E-R
“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.

This last week, as all weeks at Bakersfield College, has been hectic yet fulfilling. Some of the high points were:

Nora Dominguez, Reyna Olaguez, Bill Moseley, MaTesha johnson, JP Lake

doing facebook webstream for the very first time with Mary Jo Pasek. This was our assignment from the Social Media group led by JP Lake and Bill Moseley. In the first hour, I heard, the video had over 200 views. Pretty cool! Am glad that JP Lake is on the campaign committee. He believes in the transformative power of education, when done right!
the presentation to the Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary. They are such a fun group and it was delightful to co-present with Karen Thompson and Jay Rosenlieb.
Receiving the endorsement from the VFW District 6.
Seeing our student leaders putting on a fun set of activities for the new students in the campus quad.
Watching our soccer teams on Tuesday. Women’s soccer won 5-0 over West Hills Lemoore with Emilia Lopez finishing with a hat trick. Men’s soccer tied 2-2 with BC goal keeper Frank Aerola having numerous saves. We are BC!

It is a good time to be at BC!

On a sad note, John Boydstun a long time BC friend passed away this week. Here he is with the BC Cheer team at the Kiwanis meeting.

John Boydstun and BC Cheer team Aug 2016.jpg

Dual Enrollment

DualEnrollment_Jesse Oropeza (Adjunct Counselor) Check In (Arvin HS) “It’s never too early to think about college and the credits that can help your student reach success post high school.”

These words kicked off a fabulous article on KGET highlighting the dual enrollment program at BC and our Renegade Signing events this week. Over the past several weeks, our BC Delano staff has gone out into the local high schools to help counselors and instructors encourage young students through the matriculation process for BC.

http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/news/renegade-signing-events-are-a-welcome-for-incoming-high-school-students

Thank you Christina Lopez of KGET for this great coverage!

Various hands-on workshops were held to get hundreds of students registered. A special thank you to Gustavo Enriquez, Richard McCrow, Abel Guzman, and the entire team in Delano who have been working diligently for some time now on getting dual enrollment courses up and going in the Delano Joint Union High School District. Their efforts have also been to get more dual enrollment courses offered in Arvin High School.

DualEnrollment_First student to sign up (CCHS) The future looks bright for these areas, its people, and our students! We are BC!

On Monday, we held an event at CCHS, Tuesday at Arvin HS, Wednesday at Delano HS, and Thursday at RFK HS to welcome both students and families to Bakersfield College. These “mini convocations” greeted students, answered parent questions, and most importantly made it clear that as of that evening, they were all now BC Renegades!

Each student received a BC planner, BC pencil, and “Get Focused, Stay Focused” wristbands as parents signed all the necessary dual enrollment authorization forms.

The school districts and school sites were amazing in setting these events up. Paul Chavez (Director of Career Technical Education for DJUHSD), the administrators at all Delano sites, and Mr. Watts at Arvin HS did a great job of promoting the event, and creating a welcoming environment. Several schools even provided their own snacks and drinks. Bakersfield College-WeCOMM students volunteered to help run the events.

DualEnrollment_WECOMM students help at check in (DHS)

Earning a college degree is an increasingly important step towards creating a better future. “It’s never too early to think about college and the credits that can help your student reach success post high school.”

BC is a Family!

Andrea Thorson (btw, I love this picture of Andrea and her son) sent out an absolutely elegant email on Wednesday highlighting my blog to our campus community. In closing she wrote

Bakersfield College is not just a great college with a small town feel, it offers a high quality education from people who love what they do and care deeply about keeping this city strong and thriving. So, don’t forget to get connected with students, staff, faculty, and even administrators on this campus. We are a family.

And it’s true – I couldn’t have said it better.

Sonya Christian and Bill Potter

It brings me joy to hear the little stories throughout my week from various members of the BC family, and I was especially struck when Bill Potter, our Director of Facilities, stopped by to update me on a few projects. Bill was bragging about his department and mentioned that at a recent staff retreat, Patrick Harrison shared the story of how he became one of the BC crew.

After moving to Bakersfield from Santa Barbara on a whim in 1982, Patrick first came to the campus on the hill during a 4^th of July celebration. That day, he saw the carts racing the track of memorial stadium and remembers thinking to himself, what it would be like to actually drive one of those things…

Patrick Harrison

A few years later, in 1996, he applied for a job at Bakersfield College and was called back within 3 days to start working. Today he takes care of the same stadium he once remembers thinking about.

He tells the story as if everything eventually fell into place and it was meant to be, but my favorite part of all is the day he remembers driving back to Bakersfield after a visit in Santa Barbara. He explained that after the long drive on the grapevine, he pulled into the streets of Bakersfield and remembered thinking “I’m home.”

We are BC! And I truly believe every individual involved on campus is meant to be here.

Talking about every individual at BC is meant to be here, I certainly feel that way. Here is a photo taken at the public announcement of the 10th president of BC on October 15, 2012.

Sandra Serrano, Sonya Christian, John Corkins

Another shining example of our BC family is Chris Counts, our public safety director.

chris-counts-convocation

After a strange situation on Wednesday morning including an incident with a student, Chris was available for multiple interviews, sharing safety tips, explaining what we’re doing campus wide to increase safety and commending our excellent campus security team.

The student did the right thing by trusting her instinct, and seeking help on campus. It’s important to note that our campus security team encourages anyone to contact them at any time.

Chris Counts In fact, Chris sent out an email just the Friday prior stating, “I want you to know and understand that reporting of suspicious activity, even when you don’t really understand why you think something is wrong or out of the ordinary, like a ‘gut feeling’ something just doesn’t seem right, is perfectly OK to go ahead and make that call to Public Safety. We will respond to all calls of suspicious activity to ensure the safety of our campus.”

Way to go Chief Counts, public safety team, and Shannon Musser. Due to your diligence and awesome communication, our students knew quickly what had happened on campus, and they’re prepared with the tips they need to seek help if any situation should arise.

The BC family truly knows the way to my heart, especially Ying Vang, who appeared on Thursday with a platter of homemade eggrolls for me to share. And Kristin Rabe, who gave me a packet of Cheetos with a bow to pep me up before the State of the College address on Opening Day.

Ying

Ying is a Systems Support Specialist in the IT department, and I’m sure many of you have interacted with him and know his positive smile and attitude. He absolutely loves to help people and is an encouragement to the whole IT department and staff campus wide. The homemade eggrolls were packed with colorful veggies, rice noodles, had a spicy sauce, and lots of love.

He tells me, “Hmong eggrolls are different than Chinese eggrolls and I want to share them so they can try something different. They are easy to eat because eggrolls are finger food and you don’t need a fork or chopsticks.”

He also admitted that he doesn’t actually make them himself – but his wife Chia makes them. Either way, they were incredibly delicious and I’m glad I was able to share them, but even more so that Ying is part of our BC family!

We are BC!

Our Student Activities

SGA Senator Fitzgerald Graves addresses students at the Campus Center

unspecified

What an incredible first two weeks it has been! BC Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life have tackled the first two weeks of fall with passion and enthusiasm in getting students involved in campus activities!

The 2^nd Annual Student Involvement Festival was a huge success, as was evident by the large turnout of BC students and businesses that were present. Many local businesses recruited for volunteering, displayed employment opportunities, gave out free prizes, and provided an opportunity for job networking. Many students found the information helpful, since many of the businesses were major specific.

Student_Pancakes Kicking off first thing Monday morning, students arrived to the Panorama and Delano campuses to Welcome Tents filled with student planners, information on campus departments, how to download the BC Renegade App, and most importantly, guidance to their first class! KVC/BCSGA Discount sticker holders got tons of freebies during the first two weeks as well. A BCSGA water bottle, tie-dyed t-shirt, tacos, and even free pancakes at the pep rally this past Thursday! Thanks to the Renegade Cheerleaders and Coach Heather Foss for a spirited time!

Sonya Christian, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg

Students engaged in campus activities throughout the week by making plush bears decked out in Renegade pride, filling candy straws, listening to DJ Platinum, The Mentalist, and live band Epic Proportions during their time at the Campus Center. The first two weeks were wrapped up with the Student Involvement Festival which brought in over 72 booths for students to visit between departments, student organizations, and outside vendors.

Walking through was a real joy to see all the different campus and community groups who came out to get involved and invite our students for opportunities to make a difference. When strolling through, I even stopped by the SGA table for a marvelous pancake breakfast served by our students.

Check out some of the great photos on BC’s Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/jejq4k5

and make sure to watch the video captured by 23 news! http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/bakersfield-college-hosts-student-involvement-festival

The final event was for the community at large, BC’s first Community Movie Night showing Captain America: Civil War. What a whirlwind of wonderful events for students to participate in! Truly, our student Renegades will be able to get involved in the various activities that are planned for the year.

For more information visit www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/studentlife or download the BC Mobile app at www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/mobile.

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Baccalaureate Program

A little over a week ago, we had our first Orientation and Welcome to the Lower Division and Upper Division Enrollment Cohorts. This event was organized and facilitated by our BDP Counselor, Cynthia Quintanilla.

She arranged for speakers from Student Life, Financial Aid, and CTE Job Development. It was informative and included a time for a facilities tour and socializing. Students received several informational handouts. It’s also great to see the communication our students receive, like the Industrial Automation Student Newsletter.

The first issue featured articles like, Courses in 2016-2017, Faculty & Staff, New Automation Lab, and Comparison to a 4yr University. Thank you to Cynthia and all involved in our STEM programs at BC!

IA_Newsletter

Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary

President Kay Pitts and Sonya Christian Aug 31 2016

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary is comprised of both CEOs and small business owners who find a breakfast meeting to be the best fit for their needs. The group includes large and small business owners who contribute to everything from roofing Habitat for Humanity homes (I’m told they’ve done 35+ roofs) to the wreath project at our National Cemetery.

Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary won the Beautiful Bakersfield Award in 2014 for Humanitarian large group!

Thank you Jerry Starr for publicly appreciating Bakersfield College particularly the nursing program. Was great seeing Mike Stepanovich after such a long time. Pete Leveroni also knew my dad and worked with him on Rotary International Project. Was great seeing you Pete!

Downtown Business Association

Sarah Baron, Nicky Damania, Cathy Butler, Jeff Lemucchi

This week, I’m excited to share four upcoming events in collaboration with Cathy Butler from the Bakersfield Downtown Association and Jeff Lemucchi from the Arts Council of Kern. Thanks to these awesome people and two of our BC go-getters, Professor Sarah Baron and Dr. Nicky Damania, we’re developing more plans to engage the community and College.

Third Thursday event: Taste of Downtown Bakersfield
Thursday, September 15, 2016 | 6-10pm
Come join us for some fun while eating some of the delicious creatiions from our local businesses downtown.
Learn more at http://bakersfielddba.com/event/taste-of-downtown
October First Friday (aka garage top party)
Friday, October 7, 2016 |
5-9pm
Contributing to the Arts in Bakersfield, BC will be support our own arts on campus. Also, there might be a humor of an exclusive parking garage roof top party for our beloved Bakersfield Community. Learn more at http://kernarts.org/first-friday-art-walk/

Third Thursday Event
Thursday, October 20, 2016 | 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Come play with Bakersfield College as we honor our city leaders and enjoy good company at Central Park along Mill Creek.

November First Friday
Friday, November 4, 2016 | 5-9pm
BC will support the arts on campus and in our community! Learn more at http://kernarts.org/first-friday-art-walk/

We are Bakersfield. And we are BC!

College Council

Council

On friday, as I was driving to campus, I was looking forward with anticipation to the first College Council meeting of the new academic year. It was wonderful to see bright familiar faces and new smiles among the mix as we welcomed new members for this year. We gather regularly to address college-wide issues through a collaborative, integrative approach, promoting greater communication throughout the college campus at large, and to facilitate effective decision-making efforts.

Members of the Council fill a unique place in the College’s structure. As members, they are the primary and most visible representative of their constituent groups. They set the standard for civility, candor, and accuracy in collegial discussion, within Council meetings and in their interactions with others in the college community. Members are conduits of information to and from the groups they represent. They should strive to understand and accept diverse points of view while attempting to reach a consensus to best serve the College as a whole. Members have a responsibility to engage and communicate regularly with the constituent group(s) they represent. I’m so grateful to have such a superb group of people on this team. Because of leaders, teams, and councils like this, it’s definitely a great time to be at BC!

James Schmitz Letter

In our digital world of Facebook, Twitter, emails, and quick, quick, quick communication, it was really meaningful to slow down and read a physical letter which was delivered to my desk. Mr. James Schmitz attended the memorial tribute to Jack Brigham a few weeks ago and shared his comments in note I’ve uploaded at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/download/17376.

You may want to re-read my August 6th blog on Jack Brigham at http://tinyurl.com/j9q6a23

In his note, James mentioned that Jack’s favorite song was Walk a Mile in My Shoes by Joe South and The Believers. Jack was indeed, much larger than his physical self and his spirit will always be alive at BC!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKUI2Zwioc0

That’s all for now.

Until next Saturday.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya

(picture from the Renegade Rip, oct 3, 2012, during the open forum for presidential candidates at BC)

Sonya Christian's Blog

Tag Archives: Heather Foss

Busy Between Semesters at BC!

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, December 16th, 2017 and a great day to be a Renegade.

Congratulations to our 26th graduating class of Paramedics!

CTE Partnership with FIELD

Clergy Breakfast

Monthly Administrative Council

Stanford University Visit

Industrial Automation Advisory Committee

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Em’s Sweet Treats

Maintenance and Operations

Emails Worth Sharing

At the Basketball Game on Dec 9, 2017

Suzanne Galindo

From Social Media

Holiday Potlucks on Campus

Chamber Singers strike again

And then there is Neo, Dec 2017

We are BC! Love, Peace, and Blessings

Love, Peace and Blessings Bakersfield. It is Saturday, October 21st and a fabulous day to be a Renegade

Homecoming 2017

Love, Peace, and Blessings all

TailGade

Homecoming Royalty Court

Thank you Mary Jo Pasek for being you!

Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 19 and AB 705

Korean Delegation Visits Bakersfield College

Love, Peace, and Blessings

Washington, D.C.

Prayer Luncheon

Love, Peace, and Blessings all

The 2017 Great ShakeOut

Olivia Garcia

This Week on Social Media

Links Celebration Photos

Faculty busy supporting our students and community

Renegade Athletics

Jennifer Garrett and BC Chamber Singers

Community Voices by Catherine Jones

So what about Neo?

Love, Peace, Blessings to my friends and colleagues

Tradition of Renegade Red

Good morning Bakersfield, it is Saturday August 12, 2017……A great day to be a Renegade! A week of Renegade Red everywhere.

Welcoming Kern Promise Students to BC on August 9, 2017

Renegade Football — A community tradition

Registration Rocks

Kern County Farm Bureau

Spotlight on Summer Bridge

Here is a 7-minute video put together by Teresa Mcallister

Cabinet Retreat

Delano Team Retreat

Shout out to BC Food Services

Chef Coyle came to visit!

Project Next Step

Bill Henry

BC Superstar Mindy Wilmot

BC Students raise $5000 for Charities

Fun Photos

Great American Eclipse of 2017

And Tarina Perry has been puppy sitting and hanging out with Japanese international students

So what about Neo?

A Wonderful Week at BC and Beyond!

AACC Pathways Institute

Trice Harvey a legend

BC Commercial Music Ensemble Open Rehearsal

What would people say about you if you died tomorrow?

Outreach at BC

1.6 Million Awarded for the Enhancement of Alternative Fuel and Vehicle Tech Training Programs

What a Night for Musical Talent in Bakersfield

Seniors and BC Dancers

BC Athletics

Diego Monterrubio, BC Adjunct Art faculty being highlighted at Metro Galleries First Friday

Congratulations Faith Bradham

Letter Worth Sharing

Our BC Community is a Family

Dual Enrollment

BC is a Family!

Our Student Activities

Love, Peace and Blessings Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, October 21st and a fabulous day to be a Renegade