Tag Archives: Josh Ottum

Leadership, Innovation, Music, Community – We are BC!

Uncategorized November 5, 2017 Leave a comment

Sonya Christian and Neo Nov 5 2017 in Riverside

Sonya and Neo, Nov 5, 2017

Good morning Bakersfield from So. Cal. Came in late on Friday night and have a busy weekend ahead. Will try my best to chip away on my blog in between activities with the goal of publishing by the end of the day on Sunday. But I can’t promise anything.

Brought Neo along, which of course does not help with my resolution to publish this weekend……his first trip away from home. At 7 and 1/2 months, a friend said, “what a big boy”, which he certainly is.

It is cloudy in So. Cal. and everything appears to be beautiful…fresh air and bright colors. Life is good. Why would it not be when I am the president of the best higher education institution in the country. One with the majority population being first generation college students and the faculty and staff are top notch.

Talking about faculty, let me start with BC’s amazing choir Director. We have had a tradition of excellence with Joe Hustzi, Ron Kean and now the beautiful, brilliant and talented Jennifer Garrett.

Music of Living

Last Friday the Bakersfield College Choir and Chamber Singers conducted their first concert of the academic year. The program, which included a full range of music history, was named “The Music Of Living” by Dr. Jennifer Garrett because “music is part of how we live.”

In a Bakersfield Californian interview, she explained that, “[music] carries us through the challenging times in life and help us celebrate the good times,” and “music is how we truly express those emotions, opinions and memories that simply cannot be expressed through words alone.” I so agree with her….it is music, poetry and the sheer beauty of nature that have helped me in difficult times.

On Friday, the theater was full and the audience there to help celebrate the life of a young Renegade taken too soon in a tragic traffic accident this fall. The BC Choir and Chamber Singers dedicated the concert to one of their own, Jonathan Garcia. “Tank” to his friends, according to the program, “was a football player, a singer, a guitar player, a volunteer, a decorated member of the Junior ROTC, and most importantly, a son, a brother, and a friend to all who knew him.” While he was taken from this life before he could perform for the Choir, “Applied students remember him for the passion he expressed about music and the joy in his eyes as he talked with other students about playing guitar for Mariachi ensembles.”

Chamber Music Festival

On Monday last week the Panorama campus was filled with the Chamber Music Festival. Each year local high school chamber choirs (smaller and often elite choirs) and guest conductor participate by invitation. This year we brought in conductor and composer David Dickau (who went to Frontier High School & sang in the BC Choirs many years ago) from Minnesota. He was absolutely wonderful with the choirs and everyone learned a great deal. There are sessions where the choirs sit in the audience and go up in turn to perform 2 selections. Then the guest conductor works with each choir for approximately 12-15 minutes on stage as choir members in the audience watch and listen. Then Chamber Singers close each session by performing 2-3 pieces. This year the following schools participated: Bakersfield HS, Frontier, Foothill, East, West, North, Stockdale (bringing 2 choirs), and Centennial. Some of the schools decided to wait a year to come to the Festival as it is challenging to have repertoire ready so early in the year. We had a great turnout and the whole evening went smoothly. Thanks to the College Choir members who donated their time to make it all happen, and thank you Dr. Jennifer Garrett for organizing this each year for our community and future Renegades.

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A Taste of BC

Last Saturday, our Performing Arts faculty and students partnered with our Culinary Arts faculty and students to create an unforgettable evening for 35 students from Standard Middle School. Starting with a tour of our Performing Arts Center, the middle school students got a ‘behind the scenes’ look at our Theatre and Music facilities.

They also enjoyed an incredible performance by BC students from our recent production of Hamlet, followed by a skit from Brian’s Beard (BC’s Improv Troupe). Our Theatre majors also taught the middle school students how to do improv. Very impressive! To top off the evening, the students enjoyed a fantastic meal in the Renegade Room by our Culinary Arts majors, and were entertained with dinner music by many of our Music majors.

Many thanks to Dr. Jen Garrett, Brian Sivesind, Chef Suzanne Tangeman, Kevin Ganger, Leslie Aldridge, and Kim Chin, along with our students from the Hamlet cast, 1984 cast, Brian’s Beard, Music majors, and Culinary Arts students for volunteering the time and talents to benefit our local middle school students (…and hopefully future Renegades!) And thank you Dr. Manny Mourtzanos for supporting and advancing this work.

Check out the amazing Mason!

Paul Meyer, District Superintendent of SMS sent this email.

To all involved-

On behalf of the students and staff at Standard Middle School, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the students and staff at Bakersfield College for volunteering their time to create a memorable night for my students. Manny, the experience was powerful for my students, and we appreciate the attention to the details that made everything come together so well Saturday night. Please share my gratitude with all who were involved at BC. Your staff was great to work with and the BC students seemed to enjoy it as much as my students did!

I also want to thank Morgan, Ira, and Jorge for your vision and leadership in helping to make this special night into a reality.

Last Saturday evening was a huge success, and I look forward to continuing this amazing partnership.

Sincerely,

Paul

Paul Meyers

District Superintendent

Standard School District

More Amazing Faculty

BC Faculty Awarded $100,000 Grant Visit Washington D.C.

Oliver Rosales, Andrew Bond, and Josh Ottum

Oliver Rosales, Andrew Bond, Josh Ottum

Three BC Faculty members visited Washington D.C. this past week. Andrew Bond (English), Josh Ottum (Music and Performing Arts), and Oliver Rosales (History) attended a Project Director’s meeting hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at the Constitution Center just off Capitol Hill. Representing their project Energizing the Humanities in California’s San Joaquin Valley, the faculty spent an entire day meeting with NEH program officers, including NEH Acting Chairman Jon Parrish Peede, as well as with other current project directors from community colleges across the United States. Professors Ottum, Rosales, and Bond joined NEH’s Director of Congressional Affairs Tim Robison on Capitol Hill for several meetings with staffers from California Senators Kamala Harris and Diane Feinstein’s offices.

Oliver Rosales, Josh Ottum, Andrew Bond, and Trevor Smith in McCarthy's Office

Oliver Rosales. Josh Ottum, Andrew Bond, Trevor Smith

The trio also discussed Bakersfield College’s (KCCD) two current NEH grant projects (Energizing the Humanities and Digital Delano: Preserving an International Community’s History) in person with Congressman David Valadao from the 21^st District before spending time in House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office with staff member Trevor Smith.

Oliver Rosales, Andrew Bond, Rep. David Valadao, Josh Ottum, Tim Robison (NEH)

Oliver Rosales, Andrew Bond, David Valadao, Josh Ottum, Tim Robinson (NEH)

Everyone the BC faculty members met with showed interest in and voiced their support for BC’s grant projects, and were impressed to learn that Bakersfield College is the only California community college to receive federal funds through the National Endowment for the Humanities this year.

Project Directors Bond, Ottum, and Rosales returned from D.C. ready to kick off the programming for Energizing the Humanities on November 30^th at 7:00 PM with noted author and Bakersfield native Gerald Haslam (Professor Emeritus, Sonoma State) giving a public lecture at the Levan Center for the Humanities. Dr. Haslam will also lead a closed workshop with the Energizing the Humanities inaugural cohort of faculty fellows the following morning.

More information about the NEH Projects Energizing the Humanities and Digital Delano can be found here:

Energizing Humanities in California’s San Joaquin Valley

Digital Delano: Preserving an International Community’s History

Last Home Game of the Season

It was great to see BC Renegades come out in full force Saturday night, our last home game, against Santa Monica which was a blowout. It was exciting to watch six different BC students make it into the end zone while our defense blocked all attempts on ours. I’m so proud of our Renegades they are 3 and 0 in conference and 7 and 1 overall with two more games to go.

And I’m always happy to see Manny De Los Santos working on the sidelines.

Here I am with Carlos Barbara and a great photo of Kimberly Bligh and Jerry Ludeke, and photos below with Janet Tarjan and Zav Dadabhoy —

Football - Last Home Game - Kimberly Bligh and Jerry Ludeke

colleagues out to support Renegade Football

Sonya Christian, JAnet Tarjan, Jerry Ludeke

Zav Dadabhoy, Janet Tarjan, Jerry Ludeke

HACU’s 31st Annual Conference

We had a large team from BC attend HACU’s (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) 31st Annual Conference this week. Thank you Corny Rodriguez, Dean of Instruction and MESA Director, Consuela (Connie) Gonzalez for sending me photos.

The conference provided a unique forum for networking and learning best practices, understanding and meeting the education needs of Hispanics. The conference allowed for BC professionals to:

Hear about successful, effective programs and initiatives of HACU member institutions
Expand partnerships and collaboration between HACU member institutions, public-and private-sector organizations
Discuss policy issues affecting the education opportunities of Hispanics, including HACU’s legislative agenda
Learn about Hispanic participation in scholarships, fellowships, internships and other such programs funded by private and government organizations

This important conference allowed Connie and BC representatives to create important partnerships and strengthen collaboration with the USDA Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program, UC Davis, USDA/NRCS, and USDA Forest Service. Connie was able to secure a whole day dedicated to BC transfer students with Dr. Blas Guerrero, Director of the Chicano/Latino Recruitment Center, in collaboration with UC Davis’s MESA program. BC MESA students will be able to look at engineering labs and tour the campus. Connie is working with Manuel Rosas to include EOP&S students as well. Thank you Connie for your work and forging relationships to further our MESA students’ educational opportunities.

David Villarino and FIELD was represented at this national conference in a big way. Villarino is doing very important work among adults in rural communities to get them the required language and work skills to make them employable. Just great work. Here are several photos of the FIELD students as well as the FIELD dinner meeting with many of the colleges including Cerro Coso and CSUB.

This is definitely a picture of celebrities

HACU Official, Esais Morales, Cheech Marin, Rick Najera, David Villarino.JPG

HACU Official, Esais Morales (actor), Cheech Marin (actor), Rick Najera (Director), David Villarino

Dinner with collaborating college officials

Adult Education

Sonya Christian with the Adult School students Oct 2017

Endee Grijalva, Sonya Christian with students

Our first Adult Education Sample a Course event was a tremendous success. The event was held on October 30th and we saw 30 attendees from Adult Education in collaboration with the Bakersfield Adult School and Migrant Education. The event, which will also occur November 16th, is designed to highlight our EMLS courses and connect Adult Learners to our Main Campus, giving them a direct insight into the college experience. Attendee experience included transportation to the BC campus from the Bakersfield Adult School Job Spot, lunch provided by the delicious Panorama Grill, BC and Program overview and campus tour. The highlight of this event was the classroom observation. Aimed to alleviate the fears and misconceptions of Adult Learners, potential students can sample an EMLS course.

Many thanks to all who helped make this event successful including Endee Grijalva, support from the Outreach team, Food Service, CTE, Bakersfield Adult School and Migrant Education. You all make BC great for our students and for our community. THANK YOU!

Audiophile Magazine

A beautiful magazine appeared on my desk on Tuesday afternoon sent to me by David Koeth. The November/December issue of Audiophile from KVPR/KPRX features artwork from our own BC student, Argenis Maciel. David said in an attached message that Development Director, Joe Garcia emailed him earlier this year and said that they wanted to feature artwork from a BC student so he had his Digital Illustration students work on ideas. The promotions director chose Argenis Maciel’s piece. Check out the photo of the beautiful cover.

BCSGA Leadership

On the morning of Halloween, Senator Jose Cortez hosted a Leadership Panel comprised of the SGA president and vice presidents and BC’s president and two vice presidents. It was a lot of fun and I am so proud of this series that Jose Cortez is leading. He had Senator Jean Fuller as the first speaker and Assemblyman Vince Fong as the second speaker.

Students learned about their student governments’ and administration’s roles in reducing hurdles in the path of student success, expanding our positive impact on the community, and the importance of the spirit of leadership, while enjoying some eggs and bacon prepared, as always, by our great Food Services crew.

It was a lot of fun being a panelist along with Zav Dadabhoy and Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, as well as SGA President Dezi Von Manos and SGA Vice President Lawrence Salcido. Both Dezi and Lawrence were articulate about the Guided Pathways work. Just incredible!

Lawrence Salcido, Sonya Christian

President Von Manos, President Christian

I was happy to see several faculty, staff and administrators also attend the event. Snapped this picture with Earl Parsons who is usually the man behind the camera and then here is Marcelyn Allen, one of our new faculty who teaches in the ESL department, also teaches Japanese and helps out with Summer Bridge.

Sonya Christian, Earl Parsons

Sonya Christian, Marcelyn Allen

And loved these two pictures of Nan and Zav

Advance Kern:

Liz Rozell and I had great fun having lunch with Richard Chapman and Wayne Kress to learn about the Advance Kern Initiative. Imagine innovation thriving in our county where cultivating an entrepreneurial and creative mindsets is one of the products of our education. That was the main topic of conversation in addition to Stig Larson’s Girl With the Dragon Tatoo series. I am so proud of the work of KEDC and its leadership. I missed the company of the fabulous Cheryl Scott who is now leading the charge on promoting STEM education in Kern County. Thank you Richard, Wayne, and Cheryl for advancing Kern County.

Liz Rozell, Sonya Christian, Wayne Kress, Richard Chapman

Public Health Sciences Program Partnership with UCLA

BC students got the chance to learn more about BC’s newly-formed Public Health Sciences program and our partnership with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in the SGA Executive Boardroom on Monday.

Sarah Baron, Public Health Sciences faculty, got the opportunity to explain more about BC’s Public Health program, and several representatives from UCLA spoke in detail about the UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program [link to 2018 UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program Handout.pdf]. The UCLA training program is recruiting 50 students for a paid stipend to participate in an 8-week training program with structured workshops, field trips and leadership development in the public health field. UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program is held each summer. The application deadline for the summer 2018 program is January 31, 2018, and the application window opens in mid-November.

For more information, you can contact Sarah Baron at sarah.baron@bakersfieldcollege.edu or Public Health Scholars Training Program Manager Lindsay Rice at phscholars@ph.ucla.edu.

Pathway to Law School Program

What a way to start November! On Wednesday, BC had the privilege of hosting Leslie Cunningham, Executive Director of California Law, Inc (Cal-Law), which is the sponsoring organization of the statewide Pathway to Law School program. Ms. Cunningham affirmed BC’s ongoing position as a statewide leader in implementing this innovative program to support students in attaining a law degree.

Manny Mourtzanos, Dean of Instruction, Pearl Urena, BC Educational Advisor for Pre-Law, Jeff Green, General Counsel for Grimmway Farms, David Torres, Attorney and member of BC’S Pre-Law Advisory Council, Leslie Cunningham, Executive Director of Cal-Law, Stephen Katz, Kern County Superior Court Judge and member of BC’S, Pre-Law Advisory Council Bonnie Thompson, Executive Director of the Kern County Bar Association, Zach Sullivan, President of the BC Pre-Law Scholars Student Club

Careers in Criminal Justice

On Wednesday, October 11, the BC Delano Campus hosted “Jobs in Justice: A Panel on Careers in Criminal Justice.” The guest employers were well-prepared and provided students with a wealth of information ranging from personal education, experiences, and their unique career paths to job specifics and seasoned career advice. The panel consisted of the following individuals:

Mark DeRosia, Chief of Police – Delano Police Department
Eddie Aguil– Community Service Officer- Delano Police Department
Edwin Barahona, Assistant Court Supervisor – Kern County Superior Court
Kathy Garcia, Deputy Probation Officer II – Kern County Probation Department, Investigations Unit
Raquel Segura, Agent – Alcoholic Beverage Control
Ana Ovando, Investigator – Kern County Public Defender
Brittaney Pena, Office Technician – Kern Valley State Prison
Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Government Program Analyst – Kern Valley State Prison

It is interesting to note that although only 36% of students indicated that the guest speaker’s topics related to their chosen career paths, 81% noted that they would attend future employer panels and 100% stated that the forum met or exceeded their expectations. This is a testimony to the breadth of the panelists’ knowledge and wisdom which they freely shared. Not only did they give the audience a thorough understanding of their particular role within their respective organizations, but they also provided an overview of various levels of employment in their respective fields and each organization’s goals. Furthermore, they imparted invaluable career advice: the value of and how to secure internships, the need to protect one’s image (employers check social media sites), the importance of being an upstanding citizen (after all, these are careers in criminal justice), and accepting the reality that a career is built (often one has to start at the bottom).

The panelists were exceptional but the event would never have gotten off the ground without the stellar work of Lupe Aguirre (CTE Job Development Specialist) and Kim Collins (BC Academic Liaison for Adult Education). Our special thanks to them, the panelists, and all who made this event possible. It’s exciting for us whose hearts are knit to BC Delano students that these types of events are becoming increasingly available on their campus. We are all about the students. We are BC!

In the News

Renegades were in the news again this week. Victoria Coffee was quoted by the Bakersfield Californian as an attendee at the Business Expo in Many at the Business Expo were looking for the reset button. She attended to get information to give to our BC students. She is quoted as saying “I wanted to get a better look into the business industry and see how we can strengthen our infrastructure for student success.” Thank you Victoria for going the extra mile for our students.

The Bakersfield Californian also did a nice piece about BC’s Men’s Basketball. In BC men’s basketball starts attempt at 3 conference titles in a row, Jon Mettus wrote about our 5 returners and their striving for the State Championship. Coach Hugh is optimistic for our chances of a “three-peat” for the WSC South Division title this season. Come out to the games this season and support our team all the way to the State Championship.

Emails Worth Sharing

Thank you Paul Beckworth for sharing this story with me! Paul’s email said, “PLEASE read this story that Matt Garrett found in the archives awhile back. A BC student turned soldier captured 12 Nazis thanks to his BC German professor! Can’t make this stuff up! It is a little hard to read but worth the effort.” Matt Garrett’s email “Capturing Nazis Like a Boss” included the following:

“We were holding a town cut off from our troops. The Eleventh Panzer Division attacked us and one of the tanks got a tread blown off about 15 yards from one position where we could not hit a man behind it or on the ground near it. It was giving us trouble so we got a ‘satchel charge’ (30 pounds of TNT in convenient carrying form). Being the demolition expert of the platoon, I was elected.

“To allow free use of my hands I laid my rifle down and went out to blow up the tank. When I got there I discovered nine Jerry infantrymen around the tank, concealed from my pals and with their rifles in position. They were as frightened as I was. I managed to stutter, ‘Weg werfen deine Waffen Komm hier mit Hande hoch’ oder sic warden tot gewesen.’ [Throw down your weapons. Come here with your hands raised or you will die] How they would die I didn’t know but they believed me. One said, ‘Nicht schessen,’ and I said, ‘Wir warden nicht schiessen.’ [We’ll not shoot] (Notice the we.) So they gave up.

“They’d have shot me if I hadn’t been quick with the lip—so maybe I learned something in school after all. But we’ll credit (BC German Professor) Miss Schafer for the capture.”

“Adelaide Schafer Credited with Capture of 12 Nazis,” Renegade Rip, April 26, 1945, p. 3.

Fun Pictures

Precious picture of Jennifer Marden now Jennifer Serratt at her 2008 graduation

Our title V Director, Dr. Kimberly Bligh and Ed Advisor Isabel Cataneda in Washington DC for the Title V meeting.

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Our 60th Homecoming at 1801 Panorama

Uncategorized October 14, 2017 Comments: 8

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, October 14, 2017….our homecoming. A wonderful day to be a Renegade.

This year marks the 60th Homecoming celebration at 1801 Panorama Drive. I hope you’ll come out and show your unique Renegade pride in celebration of 114 years of BC transforming lives in Kern County. The game starts at 6PM, but we’ll be serving steak dinner with music by local legends Mento Buru at TailGade starting at 3PM and our grand Homecoming Parade starts at 4:45PM before the game.

On campus, we’ve been celebrating Homecoming all week. When I arrived on campus on Monday morning, I was greeted with Renegade decorations and school spirit everywhere. We kicked off with an office decoration contest hosted by The Office of Student Life. This year there was a tie between two areas: the shared area of the Marketing & Public Relations and Institutional Effectiveness departments, and the Extended Study Area. Congratulations!!

Guess who is the king in the picture above? Answer will be provided at the end of this blog post.

There was also a poster artwork competition for the Red&White Traveling Trophy. Congrats to this year’s winners of the Team Poster Competition. You can stop by the Office of Student Life to view them all. First place to “Free on the Outside,” second place to the Student Nursing Org, and third place to the Ag Club.

In the evening, SGA hosted a Renegade Paint Night where BC students, faculty, staff, and friends could come together and create their own masterpiece.

On Wednesday, we held a talent show to showcase our talented Renegades. The host for the evening was Stig Jantz, who cracked jokes and kept everyone laughing. Congratulations to the first place winner Dezi Von Manos & Rayven Acosta-Webb (Duet Cover of Dynamite by Taio Cruz) second place went to Valentin Vargas (single dancer) then in third place came Ganae Romo (Alessia Cara – Scars To Your Beautiful). Special thanks to the BC Food Services for providing the nachos and beverages for the event.

The Office of Student Life held a Pancake feed and pep rally on Thursday, bringing everyone into the Homecoming spirit. Students were jousting with rubber batons “American Gladiators”-style in a ring and knocking down milk jugs with bean bags in celebration of Homecoming Week. Our cheer team led routines and high energy dancing while our drumline gathered all on campus to the Renegade Crossroads for the activities.

Learn the BC Fight Song

Before the big game, listen live here!

We will fight fight fight when we’re winning
We will fight fight fight when we lose
Ere play ere goes ere the whistle blows.
We will fight where ere we choose.
We will fight fight fight in the morning,
We will fight fight fight in the night.
We are bound to win today, as we battle in the fray.
We will fight fight fight fight fight.

Homecoming Queen: Robbie Bonas

1961 Homecoming Queen, Robbie Bonas

In 1961, Robbie Bonas was our Homecoming Queen and I recently requested her photo from back then. Can you spot the BC on her crown? I absolutely love this photo.

Robbie was also one of our 100 stars. She gained numerous honors during her career as a student at BC, including homecoming queen, head song leader, and was an active member of the Newman Club. She married and raised 3 daughters, one of whom assisted in nominating her for the 100 stars centennial award. Her daughter, Tarina Perry works in the executive suite with Academic Senate. Robbie returned to BC in 1992, and served as the key support person for numerous deans. She was known on campus for her kindness and patient nature.

Doesn’t Tarina look like Robbie?

BC Cannon Crew Captain

It’s a great day to be a Renegade and it’s a great day for honoring tradition and celebrating new milestones. BC Gun Crew Captain John Medvigy will be retiring after 50 years of shooting our BC cannon. The Home of the Renegades wants to say thank you for the many years of service to our students, our alumni, our friends, community, and fans. Our next Captain has a love for shooting cannons stemming from her childhood. Courtney Carter is not only a renegade alumni, she’s also currently working with Tom Gelder and the BC Foundation. The love she has for shooting cannons defies explanation – please see the whole story done by Tabatha Mills at KGET.com.

Panorama Creative Music Summit

The Panorama Creative Music Summit started last night and will also continue tonight! This is the first annual Music Summit organized by faculty members Josh Ottum and Kris Tiner.

It was good to faculty out to support this inaugural event on Friday the 13th. Janet Tarjan, Mathematics; Reggie Williams, Philosophy; Andrew Bonds, English.

Janet Tarjan, Reggie Williams, Andrew Bonds

The music was phenomenal. The performers included the BC Commercial Music Students, Josh Ottum Trio, and Chris Schlarb & Psychic Temple.

You be the judge of that and listen to Josh Ottum perform Tom Petty’s Learning to Fly. I don’t know about you….. but I’d take Ottum over Petty. It is a quieter but more powerful version of the original–great bass.

I am so glad Josh did this piece. Tom Petty is one of my all time favorites. Listen to Ottum in the first video doing Learning to Fly and then Petty in the second with Free Falling.

Here is Tom Petty and Free Falling

Josh Ottum Trio with Kyle Burnham on the drums and Jared Gardner on the bass guitar was followed by Chris Schlarb and Psychic Temple. Just great music. Schlarb invited Kris Tiner to join them for two pieces. Here is a 41-second snippet of Tiner.

During the transition of bands, I asked our philosophy student Andrew Martin to do a short video for my blog. Let’s listen to Andrew

Distinguished Speaker, Dr. Ignacio Garcia

Dr. Ignacio Garcia was a guest speaker on campus this week, giving a talk he calls “Becoming brown in America: Remembering the Chicano movement.” Dr. Ignacio Garcia is the professor of western American history at BYU he has written 5 books. He says the presentation is a memoirist odyssey on why and how he and many other Mexican American youth in the 1960s became brown and Chicano and went into activism and the academy. He talked about the conditions in which many lived, the inadequate schools attended, the identity crisis faced and the bleak economic future that awaited many. Thank you Dr. Garcia, for coming to BC and thank you SGA and Student Life for hosting the Distinguished Speaker Series.

One Heart, One Voice – 1965 Choir Documentary

In the summer of 1965, the Bakersfield College Choir toured Europe and now, 52 years later, I had the privilege of seeing this incredible story documented on the big screen at our very own indoor theater on campus. We held two premier showings on Sunday, October 8th of the documentary “One Heart, One Voice: How the Bakersfield College Choir found success on the international stage”.

The film documented both the triumphs and hardships they experienced. From humble beginnings of signing waivers before leaving on the trip, to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, singing for the Pope, and meeting the President of the United States. It was incredible to see the reunion, and film’s premier showing take place at our campus on the hill, the place where it all started 52 years ago. I fell in love with the story and can’t wait to share more with you.

Herb Benham wrote a fantastic piece available here at the Bakersfield Californian website. I love how he started the article, “They broke all the rules, they broke some of the rules, they broke enough of the rules to prove they were 18, human and in the midst of a grand adventure.”

Thank you to everyone who contributed to creating the film and those who attended. Among all the familiar friendly faces, it was fantastic to see Joe Hustzi, Director of the 1965 Choir and our mayor, Karen Goh at the event. Thank you city councilman Andrea Gonzalez for attending and the fabulous Jerry Ludeke.

Mary Jo snapped a photo of the choir singing benediction afterwards. Just incredible.

The Links 40th Celebration

BC was in full force at The Links, Incorporated’s 40 year celebration of providing important educational resources to the community at the Seven Oaks Country Club last Saturday. The Bakersfield chapter of The Links offers has offered dozens of programs to support Kern County youth over four decades, including health and wellness conferences; panels on human trafficking, cyberbullying, HIV/AIDS prevention and other important social issues; and its hallmark “Leadership STEAM Academy”, introducing students to academic achievement tools and information about careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

There are three women who are members of The Links in our BC Faculty – Debra Strong, Denise L. Norris and Odella Johnson, who is now retired. Also in attendance were Shanell Tyus, Paula Parks, Steven Watkin and June Charles. I’d like to thank all of our faculty who supporting the Links in making a positive impact on our youth.

Research and Planning Group: Student Success Conference

Several Bakersfield College Staff and Faculty attended the conference to present data and programs and to take back valuable information to BC. Collaboration at National conferences is vital to build communication across our regions. I’m so proud!

BC Team Pictured: Isabel Castaneda, Darla Cooper (RP Group), Erica Menchaca, Kimberly Bligh, Teresa McAllister, Karen Snow, Shanell Tyus, and Lisa Kent

Our very own Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Craig Hayward, was part of a team who presented a break out session titled “Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP): From Pilot to Paradigm). The MMAP research team has found that assigning the highest placement from either a test or from multiple measures rule sets (i.e., disjunctive placement) reduces error and increases appropriate placement into transfer-level English and math. Disaggregation of student groups also demonstrates improved access and throughput for important demographic groups, decreasing or eliminating disproportionate impact. Pilot college results confirm reductions in required semesters of developmental education and increases in successful completion of transfer-level courses, while maintaining success rates in those courses. Participants learned about these results and heard about lessons from pilot college implementation to inform their own plans or refinement of their own implementation of a high-quality multiple measure placement system.

Isabel Castaneda, Darla Cooper, Erica Menchaca, Kimberly Bligh, Theresa McAlister

At team from Title V and the Academic Development at BC, Dr. Kimberly Bligh, Isabel Castaneda, Teresa McAllister, and Dr. Erica Menchaca presented a break out titled “Extending the Classroom: Intensive Academic Support for Accelerated Basic Skills Pathways” Participants learned about how BC has redesigned traditional math pathways to offer more coherent accelerated options in remedial math. By extending the classroom to support college readiness, BC provides intrusive academic and counseling support to improve student learning in the math classroom and beyond. During this session, participants will hear how these acceleration and intensive support practices have increased student success at BC. Participants discussed how one of these approaches, interventions, and practices can be adapted to fit most colleges. Several participants requested a visit to BC to learn more about the ETC program! One participant stated that BC as a “Zootopia College: A College that ‘has it together and others want to imitate…’” #WeAreBC

Family Literacy Night

On October 5 Bakersfield College Elementary Education students supported Family Literacy Night at Stella Hills. The students were paired in groups creating activities to develop literacy for children. Parents played games with their children and in each classroom throughout the Stella hills campus kids were laughing enjoying spelling, reading and finding words. It was a very successful event and a proud night for Bakersfield Colleges future teachers. Thank you Bernadette Towns for sending me these photos.

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Gadfly Cafe

On Thursday, the Gadfly Cafe met in the Levan Center and they discussed how robotics can help out in many different situations. It was inspiring to see how all the students attending were laser focused and paying close attention to the speaker. Thank you to Reggie Williams for organizing the Gadfly Cafe.

Jobs for Justice

Criminal justice professionals from across Kern County, many of them former BC students, came to campus on Wednesday to teach students how to get into the field, and what to expect when they get there.

Our Career and Technical Education department organized “Jobs in Justice: A Panel on Careers in Criminal Justice,” putting together panelists from Kern County Superior Court, the Bakersfield Police Department, Probation, Kern Valley State Prison, and the Department of Human Services.

The panelists detailed the application process for their various fields, which almost all require some combination of written, physical or oral examinations; background checks; and several rounds of panel interviews, as well as academy training after being hired to ensure that the right applicants are being chosen to serve the vulnerable populations that criminal justice professionals are tasked with helping.

While the application process can be daunting, many criminal justice fields, including juvenile probation, allow students to work as trainees while earning their degree, working around students’ class schedules. Monique DeLeon, a deputy probation officer for the Juvenile Investigations division of the Probation Department, recommended attempting to work in detention facilities in some capacity to prepare for a career in probation, where you’ll be responsible with making sure people are on the right path after getting out of those facilities.

“It will really prepare you in a closed environment for when you have to interact with people in an open environment,” DeLeon said.

Another entry point is by applying for temporary extra help terms, which have lower standards for application but allow you to learn important skills and network with professionals in the field before applying for permanent positions, Human Services Program Director Juan Rocha said.

Panelists reiterated the importance of dressing and conducting yourself in a professional manner in preparation for a criminal justice career, as well as maintaining a clean social media profile, as professionals in this field will be looked at as figures of authority.

All of the panelists emphasized the reality that a long, successful career in criminal justice can be very stressful and emotionally taxing. Rocha, who works with child custody disputes, detailed a harrowing first assignment where he assigned custody of a newborn child to its biological father with no criminal history, who displayed no red flags, to later find out that the man had killed the child at five months old.

“In child welfare, you see the worst society has to offer,” Rocha said. “When you’re dealing with human behavior, you can never be sure that everything is going to be OK.”

To see a gallery of photos, visit BC’s Smugmug.

Alliance Against Family Violence Fundraiser

It was a pleasure seeing representatives from our district and the community converge at the KGET parking lot for the annual fundraiser lunch for the Alliance Against Family Violence, a hotline and support program for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Kern County. As I parked my car and was walking over, there was Gary Moser, Vice Chancellor of IT crossing the street from the Weill Institute to the KGET parking lot. I joined him and we decided to take a few moments and have lunch rather than rushing back and eating at our desk. It was great catching up with Gary and getting to know of the larger projects that he is working on a with other community colleges in the state. Louis Gill came and joined us for a few minutes.

Alliance Fundraiser October 11 2017 Gary Moser, Sonya Christian

Loius Gill, Sonya Christian at Fundraiser Lunch Oct 11 2017

I ran into so many people I know. John Means, Derrick Jeffries (thank you KGET for all your support), Jeff Green (a board member of the Alliance), Sandy Woo and many more. I spotted the very unique Mustang car of Board member Trustee Agbalog as he pulled into the drive-through lane.

KGET interviewed Louis Gill, CEO of the Alliance, about sexual assault.

http://www.kerngoldenempire.com/news/17-news-at-sunrise/local-advocate-weighs-in-on-weinstein-controversy/833633735

Board of Trustees Meeting

I loved this photo taken with our incredible students at the last Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday.

Afterwards, Bill Henry, President of Porterville College handed me this treasure in the parking lot. A record of the 1965 choir that he found at his mother’s home. Thank you Bill for safely getting this record to the Bakersfield College Archives.

Bill Henry at Board Meeting on Oct. 12, 2017

President Bill Henry

What an incredible time to be a Renegade. So much history, so much love from our community. Can you see why I’m the luckiest and happiest college president ever?

Kern County Workforce Summit

Bakersfield College was present at the 2017 Kern County Workforce Summit. Liz Rozell, Dean of BC’s baccalaureate program in Industrial Automation did an amazing job presenting the program to our community. I was on the panel highlighting BC’s work in Arvin, a collaborative venture with Michael Turnipseed from KernTax, Supervisor Leticia Perez, Bryon Schaefer and KHSD and Bakersfielf College.

Liz Rozell at Workforce Summit Oct 12 2017

Sonya Christian presenting at the Workforce Summit

Karen Goh, Mark Novak, Sonya Christian

Cheryl Scott, Kristen Barnes, Richard Chapman, Sonya Christian

BC Choir Heading to Australia

And speaking of the BC Choir, Jennifer Garrett was so thrilled with the Board’s decision to help fund their Australia trip that she made up fake checks to give them at one of their rehearsals this week. She said some of them cried and others just squealed with delight. Regardless, she said they were so appreciative. I loved the photo they all took – well done all.

Wellness at BC

Many of us at BC are attempting to be deliberate about developing habits that promote wellness. Our Office (VPs and President), under the leadership of Chris Glaser, has tried to cultivate one habit every month. Last month it was hydrating by drinking water. This month is taking breaks and going for walks. Here is a photo I snapped with Chris Glaser and Denis Spencer after Dennis shared with us that his doctor had ordered him to walk more. So he tried several times a week to do ten rounds through the gym which included two flights of stairs. His routine included placing 10 pennies on a banister and after every round he would pick up one of the pennies to make sure that he made the ten rounds. I thought that was pretty cool.

Chris Glaser sent this great email this week to remind us to take breaks and walk. In it he had a video about the Pomodoro Technique to overcome procrastination. Check it out

He wrapped up his email with this:

And, now that I’ve intensely focused on writing this piece, I’m going to take a break and recharge by brewing my second cup of tea.

Happy Thursday and Happy Renegade Pride Day!

Keeping in Touch

I got a lovely email from our former SGA president Alex Dominguez, who’s currently studying law at Old Miss. Alex wanted to let me know that he’s taking a class about Torts, Contracts and Civil Procedure in his first semester with a professor who has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Oxford University. It’s good to know that Alex hasn’t given up on electioneering, as he successfully ran for one of only three Senate positions on the Student Bar Association for his graduating class. He’s also staying connected back home by writing a column in the Kern County Bar Association’s monthly magazine.

As well as staying in touch with me, Alex makes sure to maintain contact with Nicky Damania and fellow former president Clayton Fowler, who share stories about how BC has impacted their lives and looking forward to their return to Bakersfield to give back to our college and community.

BCSGA Presidents with Nicky Damania June 16 2017

Four Generations of SGA Presidents and Nicky Damania

Ag Advisory Meeting

BC students, past and present, are a huge inspiration to me. Here are some photos from this week’s BC Agriculture Advisory Meeting. Thank you Corny Rodriguez for the photos!

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Celebrating our Faculty

This week, one of our faculty in Art, Diego Gutierrez, was invited by the Consulate General of Mexico in Fresno to show his stunning artwork. You can view some of Diego’s artwork online at: https://diegomonterrubio.weebly.com/

Congratulations to Diego for this high honor. We are so proud of you! And thank you Manny Mourtzanos for letting me know. You are always bragging about faculty accomplishments.

BC Social Science professor Matthew Garrett was granted an award by the Utah State Historical Society for his book about Native American children who left their reservations to live with Mormon foster families. Garrett is the winner of the 2017 Francis Armstrong Madsen Best Utah History Book Award for “Making Lamanites”, a book about the Indian Student Placement Program published by the University of Utah Press last year. “Making Lamanites” documents the Church of Latter Day Saints’ Native American foster program that ran for over 50 years and the debate between First Nations leaders who saw the Mormon Church as an empowering force for natives, and Red Power activists who viewed them as colonial invaders.

BC Passings

Kim Nickell shared that our beloved colleague and friend, Bev Keiper, passed away this past week in Los Angeles with her husband, Bob, at her side. As most of you know, Bev had battled and beaten cancer several years ago; however, she continued to battle pneumonia and other illnesses for some time. Bev was a remarkable woman and teacher. She created a supportive atmosphere for our ACDV students in the writing courses she taught and in the Student Success Lab. Students always sought her out because she was helpful and encouraging to them in many ways. And despite the fact that Bev didn’t always feel well, she still came to work with a cheerful spirit. She had an amazing work ethic, and she brought many years of valuable teaching experience and a professionalism that elevated the work in the lab as well as the Learning Center

Renegade Athletics:

Volleyball:

The Renegades swept Antelope Valley (25-17, 25-10, 25-13), on Wednesday night. And on Friday, won 25-24, 25-12, 25-18 over LA Valley.

It was a treat having Mr. and Mrs. Packer there to support Renegade Volleyball. They recently celebrated 55 years of marriage and met while attending BC…they are long time supporters of volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball.

Mr and Mrs Packer October 13 2017 Renegade Volleyball

Mr. and Mrs. Packer with Sandi Taylor and Coach Paula Dahl

Men’s Soccer:

The Renegades defeated Victor Valley 1-0, On Monday night, for their first win of the year. Alazhar Magali scored the only goal of the game, his first of the season. Israel Rodriguez, making only his second start of the season recorded the shutout for his first career win.

I was at the Memorial Stadium on friday the 13th supporting our soccer program. And of course saw Stig Jantz there. He is always there for all sports supporting our students. I snapped this picture of him with a track student Edward who is an Engineering major.

Janet Tarjan and Sonya Christian at Mens Soccer october 13 2017

Stig Jantz and student Edward October 13 2017

Women’s soccer:

The Renegades women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Antelope Valley.

Grand Jury presentation about Bakersfield College

My favorite thing to do, besides sitting in the galleries watching our students, is to talk about BC. So, I was delighted when the Grand Jury invited me to present to them about the State of Bakersfield College. It was so much fun. And the individuals where full of energy with sharp probing questions.

Fun Pictures:

Welcome to Wendy Lawson, Nan’s new assistant.

Andrea Thorson and son Jimmy from Facebook

Liz Rozell and grandaughter from Facebook

Matthew Garrett and his daughters

Craig Hayward:

And the answer to the quiz above. The king in the picture is…….[drumroll]

And in closing, here’s Neo being smart, alert, and figuring things out…

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Spring is in the Renegade Air

Uncategorized April 8, 2017 1 Comment

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, April 8, 2017….a wonderful day to be a Renegade.

Spring is definitely in the Renegade Air in all its glory. Let’s start with last Saturday when the community packed the BC Cafeteria for some spaghetti and Broadway.

Give My Regards to Broadway

Jen Garrett and the Chamber Singers had two back-to-back wins….The Freedom concert followed on March 24th followed by Broadway with dinner evening on April 1st.

Incredible stamina, incredible talent, incredible dedication…… Do consider sponsoring one of them to perform at the Sydney Opera House in July 2018. Also, do plan your vacation to Australia as well…Let’s help fill the seats of the Sydney Opera House with the Bakersfield Community watching their College Chamber Singers perform!

Ken Burdick, Jen Garrett

Patrick Bender

It was wonderful having two of our trustees at the event — Retired Congressman and Trustee Bill Thomas and his wife Sharon and Trustee Romeo Agbalog and his wife Lily. Faculty and staff really enjoy seeing our trustees on our campuses.

Romeo Agbalog and Lily Agbalog April 1 2017

Trustee Romeo Agbalog and lily Agbalog

Sonya Christian with Lily Agbalog Sharon Thomas April 1 2017

Sonya Christian, Lily Agbalog, Sharon Thomas

Thank you Michael Turnipseed, CEO of Kerntax and his wife Nancy for joining us. It is quite amazing how our community leaders come out to support Bakersfield College. We also appreciated having Vice Chancellor of Ed Services John Means and his wife Julie join us.

Sonya Christian with Julie and John Means

Here are some more pictures:

The Garrett Family

The Braganza Family

You can spot Bill Thomas and Mike Turnipseed in this picture

You can spot Romero Agbalog in this picture

Vice President Zav Dadabhoy and his wife Kushnur and Vice President Dom Chrusciel and his wife Marilyn were at the event.

Marilyn Chruciel Sonya Christian Don Chrusciel April 1 2017

Marilyn Chrusciel, Sonya Christian, Don Chrusciel

The music was phenomenal. I wish I had captured snippets of more songs. But here are three for you to enjoy. Sit back and listen to our BC Chamber Singers

The fabulous Ken Burdick with a beautifully romantic rendition of Dulcinea, Man from La Mancha

If you have not heard this song before, you must find the complete version on youtube and listen. Here are the lyrics. Just beautiful

I have dreamed thee too long,
Never seen thee or touched thee.
But known thee with all of my heart.
Half a prayer, half a song,
Thou hast always been with me,
Though we have been always apart.

Dulcinea… Dulcinea…
I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea,
And thy name is like a prayer
An angel whispers… Dulcinea… Dulcinea!

If I reach out to thee,
Do not tremble and shrink
From the touch of my hand on thy hair.
Let my fingers but see
Thou art warm and alive,
And no phantom to fade in the air.

Dulcinea… Dulcinea…
I have sought thee, sung thee,
Dreamed thee, Dulcinea!

Now I’ve found thee,
And the world shall know thy glory,
Dulcinea… Dulcinea!

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/m/manoflamanchalyrics/dulcinealyrics.html

One of my favorite musicals of all time is Phantom of the Opera. Not only are the stage settings incredibly beautiful, but I have vivid imagery in my mind whenever I hear the familiar sounds. The storyline is haunting and the music is connected, warm, soft, intense, strong, yet gentle…. It’s simply, magnificent. I was overjoyed when our BC Chamber Singers performed this piece at the Spaghetti Dinner last weekend.

They also performed their signature song Bridge Over Troubled Waters – a classic!

Last weekend’s event was an enjoyable evening for all who had the chance to attend. The Chamber Singers are raising funds to tour Australia in July of 2018 and to perform at the Sydney Opera House. The delicious spaghetti dinner was provided by BC’s wonderful food services team, including Chef Eric Sabella and there were raffle giveaways.

Thank you to all in attendance.

More photos are available at BC’s Smugmug. Thank you Lovie Johnson for the pictures

KCCD at the Accreditation Conference in Irvine

The Kern Community College District attended the ACCJC Conference in full force. We are up for our accreditation site visit in October 2018 and so all three colleges along with Chancellor Tom Burke and Trustee Bill Thomas attended the conference. Trustee Thomas is on the accreditation subcommittee of the Board. ACCJC is a regional accrediting agency and covers California, Hawaii and the Federated States of Micronesia. It was a full house and the conference was intense and fast paced.

Bill Thomas, Anthony Culpepper, Nick Strobel, Jennifer Johnson, Jessica Wojtisiak, Tom Burke

One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Paul Gaston with whom I had the privileged to work with when I was in Oregon. It was a treat reconnecting with him

Sonya Christian and Paul Gaston April 6 2017

Sonya Christian, Paul Gaston

John Means organized a dinner with the whole KCCD gang Thursday night. Bill Moseley chose the place, Wahoo Fish Tacos. The food was delicious. You see in this picture Bill Henry (Porterville), Kalani Knutson (Porterville), Jessica Wojtisiak (Bakersfield), Nick Strobel (Bakersfield), John Means (District), Bill Moseley (Bakersfield), Jennfier Johnson (Bakersfield), Tom Burke (District). Trustee Bill Thomas had to leave on Thursday so you don’t see him in the picture. And Sam Aunai from Porterville College had to leave on Thursday as well.

Here is a tweet from Lesley Bonds on statewide Chancellor Eloy Oakley’s plenary at the ACCJC Conference

Annual Crime Victims Rights Walk

The Bakersfield College Chamber Singers had the opportunity to sing for the 5th Annual Crime Victims Rights Walk on April 4th. The event began at the County Court House and then those involved traveled on foot to Mill Creek Park. The BC Chamber Singers were waiting at the park to be a part of the closing program. The crowd had many people holding signs depicting loved ones lost to violence.

Local pastors spoke and people shared stories of their lost loved ones and the Chamber Singers was visibly moved by the speeches. Their performance of “Seasons of Love”, “Come Travel With Me”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” were clearly from the heart and many people in the crowd sang along or shed tears during the music. Director of the Chamber Singers, Jennifer Garrett, tells me, “the BC Chamber Singers were honored to be involved in a memorable event” and I’m so glad our talented students give back to their community in ways of service like this. Thank you to all who were involved, including Heidi Scott, who reached out to connect BC’s Chamber Singers with the opportunity.

Spring was in the Renegade Air

Dezi Von Manos

Spring Fling Week was packed full of events for students to take part in. BCSGA and the Office of Student Life brought free ice cream on Monday serving 580 students with delicious ice cream sundaes while listening to the music of fellow student renegades in the Commercial Music Ensemble lead by Professor Joshua Ottum… More about that in a bit!

On Tuesday, Renegade students (and even a few staff members) tie-dyed t-shirts and hunted for one of 400 eggs all over the campus. Some students even won prizes donated by CTE to promote the upcoming Career Day on April 26th and others won gift cards to the bookstore, but all won candy!

Wednesday boasted one of the highlights of the week with the Epic Proportions Tour (nationally touring band ensembles) and the first Renegade Pizza Fest. At this event, students got to taste test pizza from five different pizza vendors and a winner was chosen. The winner will be announced at the upcoming Student Leadership and Involvement Awards ceremony on April 27th at 6pm! Don’t forget to RSVP for the event: https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/osl/awards

On Thursday, The final part of Spring Fling went out with a bang as Renegades played Laser Tag. The cool breeze of Thursday evening brought over 200 students and their families out for some real entertainment.

Photo by: Diana Martin Photography (www.DianaMartinphoto.com)

I need to highlight Professor Kathy Freeman who even took her entire English class to play laser tag and made an assignment out of it. She asked her students to write a 300-word descriptive essay outlining their experiences playing in or observing the event. Way to think outside the box to engage students in the Renegade community, Kathy! And thank you to the BCSGA Officers and Office of Student Life Staff for providing fun spring activities for our BC Renegades!

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BCSGA Election Results

Along with Spring Fling, BCSGA Elections came to a close, and new officers were elected for the upcoming year, but we will talk more about that next week! Congratulations to all of the candidates. 2017/18 is going to be a great year!

BCSGA President-Elect: Dezi Von Manos

BCSGA Vice President-Elect: Lawrence Salcido Jr

BCSGA Director of Student Organizations: Dontae Smith

KCCD Student Trustee: Rayven Webb

BCSGA Senator-Elect: Erika Alvarez, Mustafa Barraj, Juan Francisco Cantu, Jose Manuel Cortez, Emmanuel Limaco, Jose E. Lopez, Brittney Lumsden-Ross, Ganae Romo, Nisha Sharma, and James Michael Tompkins.

More information about their platforms and involvement can be found on the BCSGA Elections website.

Talking about SGA, the students are presenting to the KCCD Board on April 13th when they visit the BC campus. I got this picture from Nicky saying they were working hard preparing for the Board meeting. I love it!

Here is a great video of Sarah Strobel advising freshman How to Succeed in College. Students, pay attention to Sarah!

Commercial Music Ensemble

Monday, April 3rd, in the campus center, over 2 hours of live music was provided by the Panoramas! The Panoramas is made up of the musically talented students in the Commercial Music Ensemble course offered here at Bakersfield College.

Professor Josh Ottum

The Commercial Music Ensemble course lets you participate in small ensembles concentrating on popular styles, improvisation, and other aspects of commercial music performance. Students were able to enjoy cover songs from The Rolling Stones, Imagine Dragons, Gorillaz, and more. Fellow Renegades sang along and danced near the campus center stage. Everyone had a great time while listening to great music. Now do you know why I am the luckiest and happiest college president ever……

What a great way to kick off spring break! Check out the great photos at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Commercial-Music-Ensemble

Jazz Day at BC

Kris Tiner hosted High School students at Jazz Day at BC. Thank you!

John Biller Stockdale Jazz Day BC April 6 2017

Stockdale High School

Ridgeview High School

For mose check out Kris Tiner’s Facebook page.

Transfer Day

With graduation just around the corner and students planning to move on from BC, our counseling department is making sure students know their options! Transfer Day was held at the Center for Student Success Lawn and we had a variety of schools present as well as our very own Bakersfield College counselors. Students could talk with representatives from schools like UCLA, CSUB, and Fresno Pacific about the different programs they offered and admissions requirements. There was a lot of opportunity, information, and friendly faces to help Renegades decide on what to do next in their educational journey. Thank you Marissa Marquez!

Culinary Arts in McFarland

I received an email worth sharing from Chef Pat Coyle about BC’s Culinary Arts class at the GEO Reentry Services, McFarland Female Community Facility, which is part of the College’s Inmate Programs. These young ladies are working towards their Certificate of Achievement in Culinary Arts from Bakersfield College. They have been in classes and production labs since July of 2016, with a completion date of December 2017. They are presently in Baking and Restaurant Production labs that feed 80-100 staff members every Wednesday. Pat tells me these young ladies have grown professionally and personally over the last 9 months and what they’ve learned has given them a light to guide their future. I am so proud of them and so glad to know these women are working towards a bright future. #WeAreBC!

Gadfly Cafe

Each month the Gadfly Café invites faculty, students, and interested others to join them in the Norman Levan Center for the Humanities in order to have in-depth conversations about various topics. This past Wednesday April 5, 2017, they discussed their last topic for the semester, “The Death Penalty: Deterrent, Racist, Barbaric?”

Everyone is welcome to join for the entire hour-long discussion or to pop in for a few moments anytime within the event. The crowded room of students, faculty, and guests delved into the topic with many ideas and feelings on the topic. Attendees are able to discuss their thoughts and the feelings behind them, and the moderator validates all opinions and feelings for a healthy and interesting conversation. While there was no right or wrong answer or feeling towards the issue, it is thought-provoking to hear the arguments for both sides and enlightening to hear why people feel the way that they do.

The Gadfly Café is intended to provoke deep thought and active conversation about issues that we all face today. Whether you are a Psychology or Philosophy major, or simply interested in having a healthy discussion about important matters that affect each of us in today’s society, the Gadfly Café is the ideal place to go, learn, explore, and share. Thank you Reggie Williams.

Pop Up Art Show

There is always something going on at the Bakersfield College campus. On Thursday, Professor Diego Gutiérrez Monterrubio and his Drawing II students hosted a pop up art show titled “The Michelangelo Project: Images of the Sistine Chapel.” Each artist chose different aspects from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling and recreated those pieces into their own work of arts with their own stories. Like the artists, each piece was incredibly different and you can see the unique stories, dreams, and aspirations come through their pieces. Diego says that when students enroll into Drawing II they should expect to be pushed to better themselves and their techniques and skill. And as a professor, he believes it is his job to help his students get to the place they want to be in the future.

Check out the gallery at
https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Drawing-II-Pop-Up-Art-Show/

Cheer Tryouts Underway

Students are showing their pride and talent in hopes to earn their spot as a Renegade Cheerleader. Each day this week, students learned routines and then practiced them feverishly hoping to earn their spot in the 2017-2018 squad. Candidates lined up in formation, they practiced relentlessly and perfected the moves. It’s a big commitment and requires hard work, determination, and above all, enthusiasm. Each year, we have a great turn-out of students who are interested in joining the squad.

The students will have opportunities to perform at various sporting events and competitions throughout the semester and also be a part of a close knit cheer family. Students are required to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and be attending as a fulltime student during the semesters that they are on the squad. Watching the squad members from the previous year breaking down each step of the routine to the new hopefuls and making sure that they knew the counts and how to place hands, feet and legs was a testament to their dedication to the sport and school. In the Fall when you attend a sporting event to cheer on the players and support your school with pride and spirit, make sure you also cheer on those who are there cheering on the players. Regardless of your role at Bakersfield College, everyone can show their pride and enthusiasm and cheer on the Renegades!

MESA STEM Pre-Health Conference

BC in collaboration with UCLA’s Médicos, Enfermeros y Dentistas Para El Pueblo (MEDPEP) and UCLA Undergraduate Admissions, hosted the 1st Annual MESA Bakersfield College Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and Pre-Health Conference on Saturday, April 1st. This one-day conference inspired students to learn and to network with different health/STEM professionals, health system agencies, college advisors, financial aid counselors, and student organizations who want to mentor students and help them pursue the health care profession or STEM career that best matches their interest and talents. Photos are available at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/MESA-STEM-PreHealth-Conference/

Chevron Design Challenge

Bakersfield College had the opportunity to host the 2017 Chevron Design Challenge on Saturday, April 1st and it was quite the event!

From Mary Jo Pasek’s Facebook post

Teams were composed of three students who have completed, or are currently enrolled in, a Project Lead the Way Introduction to Engineering Design class. All students were either freshmen or sophomores from local high schools and had never competed before. Each team was given the design brief the morning of the competition and had the entire day to work together to create an original design that met the design specifications given for a unique set of headphones. Throughout the day, teams were required to submit sketches, assembly drawing, parts drawings, and an exploded view with Parts List for judging. Additionally, at the end of the day, they had to give a short presentation on their product to a panel which consisted of engineers, an architect, a geologist, and music industry representatives. Teams were judged on everything from originality, to marketability, to professionalism of presentation. Teachers, judges, and support staff crowded around all day watching young minds realize their thoughts and ideas into an actual creation that we could all see. We literally got to see dreams come to life! There were prizes for the top 5 winners and the top 3 winners will go on to State Finals but every participant got the opportunity to do something great that day. All in all, it was a wonderful STEM Saturday at Bakersfield College!

Thank you to: Adam Alvidrez (Chevron), Bruce Westermo (PLTW), Darren Willis (BC), Eddie Ledbetter (BC), and Yadira Guerrero (BC).

Judges were: John Karnes (Klassen), Keyron Mackey (Klassen), Jackie Weeks (Chevron), Noe Garcia (HOT 94.1), Emmanuel Vasquez (DJ and former Chevron Engineer)

And the participating schools: North High, Garces Memorial High, Greenfield High, Harmony Magnet Academy (1st place), Centennial High (3rd place), Lindsay High, Sanger High, Bakersfield High, Redwood High, Shafter High (5th place), Mission Oak High 4th place), and Frontier High (2nd place).

Thank you to the Bakersfield Californian for the great coverage! Here is the article:

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/how-many-ways-can-you-design-headphones-young-minds-answer/article_a0129590-53ba-57ee-a496-011b45998c5e.html

Campout Against Cancer

Each year to raise money for the Kern County Cancer Fund, a weekend “Campout Against Cancer” is filled with fun family activities and entertainment. Last Saturday, BC’s Student Nursing Association camped out and volunteered a community service booth and gave health info and took blood pressures. Mayor Karen Goh shared a few photos on Facebook from the event!

BC Students in Seattle for MECHA Conference

This year’s 24th National M.E.CH.A Conference in Seattle, Washington, with over 600 students attending from high schools and colleges across the nation.

It is a three-day event consisting of group discussions and introductions, workshops, seminars, and fun moments. Workshops range from cultural experiences and awareness to leadership skills and training, happening over the first two days. Of those in attendance, students Francis Benavente and Emmanuel Limaco enjoyed the experience of meeting several individuals whose goals in life include higher education and providing avenues for the younger generations to follow in their footsteps toward success and community involvement.

One topic in discussion was the stand against the building of new youth detention centers in favor of funding more educational institutions and access to higher education as a method of inspiring the youth of our country.

This is the mural that all of the attendees painted to represent the central theme of Freedom through Education.

Renegade Athletics

The BC Women’s Tennis Team set a school record this season by winning 18 matches on their way to winning a share of the Western State Conference Championship! But they aren’t done earning accolades; this weekend they are out of town competing in the WSC Individuals Championship.

Before match play began, All-Conference Awards were handed out and Sophomore Riley Tucker was named 1st Team All-Conference twice! Once for singles play, and once more with her doubles partner Brittany Aguilar. Tucker was undefeated in conference play as both a singles player and a doubles player! Awesome job, Riley!

Serena Contreras and Arianna Acevedo also earned First Team All Conference honors for their doubles play, while Contreras earned Second Team All Conference Honors for her singles play.

Coach Nick Loudermilk is only in his second season, but he’s accomplished exactly what AD Sandi Taylor tasked him with; bringing women’s tennis to a highly competitive level. Coach Loudy, you rock!

The BC Track and Field and Swimming Teams are both just two weeks away from their conference meets, so things are heating up around the Gil Bishop Sports Center!

Memorable moments:

I Love Reading your Comments in my blog!

Last weeks post had 7 comments. Go check it out 🙂

One of the comments was from a Renegade graduate from class 1962, Celia Mickey. She said

Dear Dr. Sonya Christian, Just want to thank you for your weekly Blogs. They really help keep those of us in this All-America City very connected to what’s happening on the hill at 1801 Panorama Drive. Love seeing the involvement of the students and various community guests. I am sure the students at B.C. feel deeply appreciated as evidenced from these weekly blogs. It is so good for our community to be reminded of the rich curriculum and expanded activities offered at Bakersfield College.

Once again, thank you Dr. Christian for taking time out of your busy schedule each week to share all this with the Bakersfield Community.

I was so excited to read Celia’s post and I emailed her right away and requested two photos… one from 1962 and then a more recent one. Here they are. Just beautiful……

#WeAreBC!

Loved this text from Lisa Kent

Omgeeeeee. Her baby is only 4 days old and this student Tamara was here getting her paperwork in order for gradution!! Talk about dedication!

Loved seeing this post from Mayor Karen Goh announcing the Women with a Heart for Bakersfield. Here is our very own Olivia Garcia as one of the women. Karen Goh’s post

Congratulations to Garden Pathways 2017 “WOMEN WITH A HEART FOR BAKERSFIELD” honorees: EDNA CORNFORTH, KATE EUCCE, OLIVIA GARCIA, and KATIE WERDEL. Garden Pathways will recognize these outstanding women at our fifteenth annual HIGH TEA on Wednesday, May 10 at 11:30 a.m. (11:00 social) at Seven Oaks Country Club.

Writing about our music programs resulted in me playing my favorite songs as I was blogging. So let me sign off with one of my faves.

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

A long history of community partnership

Uncategorized October 1, 2016 Leave a comment

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

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

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

Yadira Gurrero

Maria Wright

Michael McClinnick

Ashley Ward

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Glaser

Abel Guzman

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

Sonya Christian and Ronnie Wrest

Xavier Castellanos and Sonya Christian

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

Volunteer teams at work at the Campaign HQ:

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

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

Tim Capehart

Kathy Rosellini, Asha Chandy

Christie Hill, Jennifer Achan

Chris Counts, Faith Counts, Christie Hill

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

Thank you Isabel Cataneda for sending me this video.

Community Treasures:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a toast to the Bakersfield Californian!

The Voices of our Community

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

Recent contributions include:

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

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

Here are a few more:

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

Support for Measure J is growing:

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

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

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

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

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Women in the Bakersfield Life Magazine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Child Development Center

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BC Athletics: We bounce back even stronger!

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

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

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

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

Stig Janz and Sonya Christian

Athletics Study Hall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — signing off while signing on to Measure J

The end of the first week…Fall 2016

Uncategorized August 27, 2016 Comments: 10

Casey Sorrell, Krista Sorell, Baby Jack Aug 26 2016

Casey, Krista and Jack Sorell

Baby Jack “is going to be a Renegade football player like his dad,” said Krista Sorell, the young mom with her husband Casey at the Memorial Stadium watching the Renegade scrimmage against Antelope Valley. The young family was there with their parents and this generational support for Renegades is not uncommon. As you can see baby Jack is already in Renegade Red. Thank you Sorell’s for your support of Bakersfield College. We are BC!

Btw, I didn’t get their email address, so, if any of your reading the blog know the Sorells, could you forward the blog link to them?

Good Morning Bakersfield! It is Saturday, August 27, 2016 and a phenomenal day to be a Renegade!

Week One of Fall 2016

Last Saturday, I was filled with anticipation for the students to arrive on campus and boy, was I not disappointed! The students have filled the campus and BC is alive!

On Wednesday, Sue Vaughn, Director of Enrollment Services and who has served our students in Admissions and Records for over 20 years, stopped by my office to let me know our enrollment numbers have hit an all-time high. On Thursday, we hit a headcount of 20,268. This is just for the fall term. Wonder what the number is going to be for 2016-2017. In 2015-2016 we had approximately 27,000 students. Together, let’s build A Better BC for our growing student body and the future generations. Check out our efforts to do so at http://www.abetterbc.com/.

Many of our departments volunteered to staff welcome tents, “ask me” carts, or extended hours to assist students with their needs. Food services rocked the house and fed a growing number of students wanting snacks and nutritional meals, campus safety was on top of things, answering every call and addressing the increased traffic and congestion around campus. Student Life prepared amazing activities and events every day of the week. Each department contributed in a unique way to this successful start to a new year. We are BC! And our entire community works together to make sure our students are prepared, and equipped with the tools they need to be successful. Here’s to a great Fall Semester and 2016-2017 academic year!

Carlos!

Sonya Christian with Carlos Barbaran

In addition to new students, we also have new faculty and staff on campus. This week our office staff walked in to a beautiful memo on their desks written by Carlos Barbaran, our custodian. Carlos welcomed the 22 new staff with a letter explaining how to best reach him if help is needed and kind gestures like this remind me how people at BC always go out of their way to do that little extra something.

Carlos, along with many others, takes pride in his loyalty to BC. He has such a unique story and background which was detailed in an article titled “Immigrant from Peru comes to U.S., finds home at Bakersfield College.” This fantastic article, from a 2009 issue of The Renegade Rip explains how Carlos, born in Lima, Peru, found himself in Bakersfield accepting a job at BC and made a true home here. He took classes in real estate, communication, and English; volunteered for local and global initiatives; earned numerous awards including a Congressional award from Congressman McCarthy, an award from Mayor Hall, and from the Governor of Peru; and he’s spoken to state officials in Sacramento on behalf of Bakersfield College.

In his letter to staff this week, Carlos notes that “The key to success is great communication” and he’s taken the first step to opening the door of communication with all our new staff.

With over 20 years of dedication to Bakersfield College, thank you Carlos.

I encourage you to read the article on Carlos as it’s an incredible glimpse into one of the hundreds of people who make up this amazing and diverse college.

Kate!

The second example of going above and beyond was brought to my attention via an email from Kate Pluta. She said…

“We have had a wonderful team work through the process of adding additional English B1a sections (last week there were over 700 students on waitlists).

Dave Moton who wouldn’t give up on finding more and more adjunct faculty. Tina Johnson who worked closely with Tina Chamberlain to find classrooms–magic! Tina Johnson who emailed and called students to tell them they were moving from a waitlist to a new section (online or at the same time). Angela Craft who made sure they had office space and keys and sent them their class lists because they couldn’t yet access them until they were in the system. Tina Chamberlain–the eye in the middle of the storm, who calmly added the classes, ensured loads were correct, and kept track of newly-hired faculty as they were finalized by HR so the names could be changed from STAFF to theirs. A & R staff who moved the waitlists. HR who verified that adjunct faculty could take on an additional section or sections and then made sure they were processed in time so they could step in the classrooms the first week. Dave Moton who kept on top of the process and shepherded the new faculty or new-to-full-time faculty. Nan who responded so quickly so that we could move adjunct into temporary full-time status for the fall. Her faculty led to two additional online 1a sections.

What a wonderful team effort that most won’t know about, but many students who didn’t have a class have one now! I am sure there are more people involved, but this list gives you an idea of the teamwork involved. –Kate Pluta, Dean of Instruction”

It’s a fantastic day when we can push ourselves to go above and beyond to accommodate our growing number of students.

Jahnea!

And a third example was brought to my attention through email but started on social media. Mary Jo Pasek received this Facebook message from the parent of one of our new students! It said…

“Hey, MJ … sending a shout out to thank Jahnea Palfrey via you, for making my son’s day yesterday!! There was a glitch in the enrollment system and Jahnea took time to listen and help resolve the issue … school starts for my son on Monday and he cannot be any more thrilled to be part of the BC Renegade family!! ThankyouThankyouTHANKYOU”

People like Carlos, everyone mentioned in Kate’s email, and Jahnea are the hands and heart of BC. Every member of the BC community across buildings, departments, and even across campuses go above and beyond each day to make BC the best choice for our students. Days like these are one of the reasons I’m the luckiest college president in the world!

Winterfest

Cooler days are headed our way as we begin the countdown to Winterfest! Beginning December 21^st, BC’s Memorial Stadium will come to life as a winter wonderland featuring not one, but two outdoor ice skating rinks, an obstacle course, zip line, and 18 days of seasonal family fun. I can’t wait to see our BC staff, faculty, administration, friends, and community enjoying this monumental event.

The Three-Way Chevrolet Condorstown Outdoor Classic presented by Mission Bank will be the ultimate signature event held on January 7^th at 6:00 PM. On Tuesday, I joined the Condors Organization and community partners on the field for the press event and I’ll tell you – standing under the late August, mid-morning sun, it’s hard to imagine an ice cold environment for a wintry wonderland. But, I’m assured by the brilliant people putting this rink together, that this feat, including 600 tons of sand, will be a success! Check out the interview on CondorsTV to see what will go into creating this outdoor ice rink at https://twitter.com/Condors/status/768512055900905473.

Memorial stadium was built in 1955 with the grand vision of bringing the community together – creating extraordinary occasions through hometown favorites, such as Renegade Football. Throughout the years, it’s been a place of rich history, athletic achievement, world records, and dreams… and now the Condors playing ice hockey outdoors in this signature venue will bring our community together once more. Winterfest will truly make Memorial Stadium the “coolest” place in Bakersfield for two-and-a-half weeks of seasonal entertainment.

CondorsTV has a recap of Tuesday morning on their Youtube channel. I encourage you to check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABHlhNCZdjY.

And we have a great photo gallery from the press conference – check it out at https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Condors-at-BC-stadium-2016/! Thank you to Manny De Los Santos and Dylan Wang for sharing their photography skills.

Thank you to Matthew Riley, President of Bakersfield Condors; Mayor Harvey Hall; Ted Nicholas, President of Three-Way Chevrolet; A.J. Antongiovanni, President of Mission Bank; Chris Huot, Assistant City Manager of Bakersfield; Kelly Buchberger, Vice President of Player Development, Edmonton Oilers (NHL); Gerry Fleming, Head Coach, Bakersfield Condors; Barry Sherer, International Hockey Events; and Rich Cubin, Rink Specialists.

Winterfest announcement group August 23 2016

Chris Huot, A.J. Antongiovanni, Ted Nicholas, Sonya Christian, Harvey Hall

All information regarding Winterfest, tickets, and the Bakersfield Condors game versus The Ontario Reign can be found at http://www.bakersfieldcondors.com/classic/.

And extra thank you’s to Ramon Puga, Martin Ramirez, Sandi Taylor, Keith Ford, Roger Fessler, Erin Kidwell, Landon Webb, and Patrick Harrison, who came out to help set up the event, and helped break it down afterwards.

After the announcement of Winterfest, I started thinking about Ice Hockey and its history in the state of sunny California.

Did you know the first Calfornia hockey game was held in Los Angeles in 1917? Within a few short years, college hockey gained immense popularity with teams popping up at both USC and UCLA by the mid-1920s. The essential Zamboni was even invented in Paramount, California in 1949. In 1959, the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena opened giving the city a suitable venue for the NHL to visit, with exhibition games and visiting minor leagues.

After a short stint with the Western Hockey League, Los Angeles was learning to love hockey and by the late 60’s, the NHL was looking to expand. The Kings began an era of hockey growth that has just never really stopped. Their first game was in Long Beach, CA on October 14, 1967.

But they’re not the only team we have today. We now have 3 NHL teams, 5 AHL teams, and countless adult and youth teams across the state. And other ice sports have a connection with California – just look at Michelle Kwan, a two-time Olympic medalist, five-time world champion, nine-time U.S. figure skating champion, and southern California native.

Wayne Gretzky’s trade to LA may have led to a hockey boom, but it’s the true love and dedication of the hockey fans who keep that boom going strong. If you’ve never seen a game, you just have to experience it in person. I hope you’ll come and bring your friends and family to the “campus on the hill” for this memorable Winterfest event.

Voice of the Animal

I’m always excited to share something unique that our fine faculty are up to in their spare time, and last week, I mentioned Matthew Garrett’s book, Making Lamanites: Mormons, Native Americans, and the Indian Student Placement Program, 1947-2000. It’s now available online at http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/upcat/id/2022/rec/1.

Professor Rae Ann Kumelos shared some awesome news with me this week that I’d couldn’t wait to highlight. First off, she and Professor Josh Ottum of the newly established Commercial Music Program at BC, have partnered together to record and score the Voice of the Animal show. As part of the Commercial Music program curriculum, students will have a guaranteed commercial venue to produce sound and musical content, and will gain valuable exposure and experience in creating material appropriate for a national audience on a variety of social media and broadcast platforms. In addition, she tells me, students will have national commercial experience to include in their portfolio, and BC and the Commercial Music program will receive acknowledgment at the end of each show.

Just last week, Rae Ann and Josh were in the studio recording our first programs – check out the selfie! It’s an incredible opportunity for our students and we’re so lucky to have Rae Ann and Josh at BC! We are BC! We are all about developing talent and all about J for Jobs!

If you’re wondering about Voice of the Animal, it’s Rae Ann’s radio show with international exposure. It’s broadcast on the Animal Radio Network via XM Satellite Radio, I-Heart Radio podcasts, and over 140 independent radio stations in the US and Canada, and it reaches almost 500,000 listeners.

In addition, Rae Ann also has a new book coming out titled Wild Wisdom: Animal Stories of the Southwest, published by Rio Nuevo. The book is available now on Amazon – and you can check out more on her website, www.voiceoftheanimal.com.

Hispanic Chamber Business Conference
and Familiar Faces

On Thursday, August 25^th, the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held the 22^nd Annual Hispanic Business Conference and Expo. Mary Jo Pasek and Tom Gelder were on hand to set up a beautiful display with BC themed goodies and represent Bakersfield College while I saw many familiar faces of BC supporters throughout the day.

Mary Jo Pasek and Tom Gelder

Jay Tamsi and Sonya Christian

First to catch my eye was Jay Tamsi, the CEO of the KCHCC. Jay is a strong supporter of education and a great partner of the college. Jay, the Business Conf. was a huge success. Thank you for all that you do for the community and for BC!

Next, BC alumna Lynne Grimes holds BC close to her heart with many fond memories of her time as a BC Renegade. She was an editor for the Rip and sang with our renowned BC Chamber Singers during her years as a student.

Tom Gelder and Lynne Grimes

Three former students of BC have come together to create a small business, KIT Community, that supports tech and innovation in Kern County. They were promoting their work at the Business Conference and stopped by the BC table. We are going to collaborate with these youngsters and promote tech innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset.

Sonya Christian and Stephen Schilling

Stephen Schilling, CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista and a fantastic partner of BC also was in attendance and stopped by to say hello. He posted in his official message on the Clinica Sierra website that, “Clinica Sierra Vista is a testament to what can be accomplished when there is a sincere desire to serve. We have faced many challenges, not the least of which have been recent mandates to reduce health care costs. Yet we continue to forge ahead to meet those changes and prepare for a new era without compromising our mission. As we celebrate over forty years of success, we are still aware of the myriad of challenges facing us. There is still much to do as we try to reach those who are still not receiving adequate health care. We view the coming years with excitement as we continue our role in providing much-needed services in the ever-changing health care arena never forgetting who it is we truly serve.”

A truly inspirational message from a first-class leader in our community — Clinica Sierra Vista is build upon a foundation of caring for the community and “it is truly a program of local, state and federal resources meeting the needs of our very at-risk patient populations.” For more information about Clinica Sierra Vista, please check out https://clinicasierravista.org/. Thank you to all BC staff and students who volunteered to staff the table — Lisa Kent, Mary Jo Pasek, Tom Gelder, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Nicky Damania, Sarah Baron, Asha Chandy, and Corny Rodriguez.

DBA

At the Business Conference, I snagged a selfie with Cathy Butler, president of Bakersfield Downtown Business Association (DBA).

Selfie. Sonya Christian with Cathy Butler

Did you know the Bakersfield DBA was formed after the historical earthquake that devastated the Bakersfield area? It’s true! In 1954, two years after the historic earthquake wreaked havoc on over 100 buildings in Bakersfield, the DBA was established to bring business back to Bakersfield. Since then, it has worked diligently to improve the downtown area and keep Bakersfield safe, clean, and beautiful. And Cathy Butler is the heart and soul of the DBA!

A quick visit to their website reminded me that the Taste of Downtown event is back again this year. Did any of my blog readers attend last year? For information, check out http://bakersfielddba.com/taste-of-downtown-2016/

Student Leaders from BC, PC and CCCC Meet:

Last Saturday, August 20th, after publishing my blog, I headed out to Porterville College to join Tom Burke, CFO of KCCD, to present information about the bond and Measure J (remember J for Jobs) to student leaders from BC, PC, and CCCC. It was delightful to see our students across KCCD be so enthusiastic, so curious, and so involved. I was also really impressed with the advisors at the three colleges — Nicky Damania (Bakersfield), Carrin Blyth (Porterville) and Pam Campbell (Cerro Coso). Porterville College President, Dr. Rosa Carlson, joined us and we had a wonderful and energetic conversation with the students. And of course a shout out to the fabulous BC SGA Prez Mathew Frazer.

Arvin in the News:

The City of Arvin is definitely on the move. A groundbreaking ceremony was heldl on August 25th on the Garden in the Sun Park on Bear Mountain Blvd. Community Leaders were out in large numbers supporting the city. Among them, Mayor Harvey Hall, who is also the honorary chair of the BC Bond Blue Ribbon Committee; Kern Community College Trustees Dennis Beebe and Kay Meek; as well as the Vice President of the Kern Economic Development Corporation Cheryl Scott. Cheryl is also on the BC Foundation Board and is taking a leadership role on the Blue Ribbon Committee for the bond. I also must do a shout out to Jim Young, BC alum Jose Gurrola who is on the City Council, Mayor Jose Flores, City Manager Al Noyola, Jazmine Robles, and the entire Arvin City Council.

BC Athletics

Let’s now hear from Francis Mayer, BC’s Sports Director on the happenings with BC Athletics:

COACH CHUDY CALLS ANTELOPE VALLEY SCRIMMAGE PRODUCTIVE

“At this stage, you’ve got to look at it in bits and pieces; unfortunately we weren’t as consistent across the board as we needed to be. We had some missed tackles that led to more yards after the catch than you want to see, and then the mistakes…Our first two pays of the offensive series resulted in procedure penalties and those are momentum killers, and we repeated it. Those are killers…”

Chudy addressed the different looks BC trotted out against Antelope Valley.

“The game is evolving, and we are trying to get our best eleven players on the field every play whether that’s on offense or defense. Each play is it’s own unique play, and you take it one play at a time with your best eleven out there, that’s what we are trying to focus on…we are fortunate to have a lot of speed, and we have to utilize it. We won’t chuck n’ duck fifty times a game…we will try to be a balanced attack and make them cover the field; if they aren’t putting enough guys in the box, we’ve got to run downhill. When they gang up, we’ve got to throw to the edges and we are lucky enough to have guys who can take that five yard catch and turn it into a big gain,” Chudy explained.

No score was kept, but Chudy and his staff said they were more interested in finding hungry players. “We are finding out who can do what; that’s what this was about…it’s not about keeping score. It’s about correcting mistakes and pointing out things that were done correctly. And when we watch film tomorrow we’ll see who was doing the little things. Because the one thing they can control is their own effort. It doesn’t take talent; it just takes a lot of heart, guts, and mindset,” Chudy said.

THE BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER TEAM LOST THEIR REGULAR SEASON OPENER 2-1 AT SANTA MONICA COLLEGE

Coach Martinez

The Bakersfield College Men’s Soccer Team lost their regular season opener 2-1 on the road to Santa Monica College, their first regular season game in almost 30 years after being reinstated for play this year.

“We held our own for the first 45 minutes, we were a little bit disorganized and it took us some time to get into the flow of things. We held them off the score sheet in the first half, and we came out in the second half and committed a turnover around the 20 minute mark of the second half that led to their first score. And then with about eight minutes left in regulation, we got a throw-in deep in their half by Alberto Munoz, and Braulio Guiterrez collected the ball, shook off the defender, and placed a nice cross to Kevin Hernandez who calmy headed the ball in to the far post with about eight minutes to go.”

The excitement of having scored the very first goal in so many years at BC, and the blood might have boiled to hot from that adrenaline rush and one of their wingers beat our guy in the one-on-one and scored off of that cross to give them the last lead of the game.

Frank Arreola had eight saves while giving up two goals in the net for the Renegades.

“You can’t dwell on it, we’ve got another game in four days,” Martinez said.

The ‘Gades will host West Hills-Lemoore in their home debut in Memorial Stadium Tuesday at 7p in the second half of a double header that sees the women’s team play West Hills-Lemoore at 5p.

LADY ‘GADES WIN OPENER 4-1 AT LA VALLEY

After coming out of the half tied at 1s, Bakersfield ripped LA Valley for three goals to run away

“I’m really thrilled to say we had four different goal scorers,” Head Coach Scott Dameron said, “Because I think that’s the strength of this year’s team; we are pretty balanced.”

Ali Castro scored the first goal from about 40 yards out, and Dameron called it an “absolute bomb”.

Sabrina Sanchez set up the ‘Gades second goal just one minute after entering the game in the second half as a sub; she slipped a ball through to Amelia Lopez who drove the ball home from about 18 yards out.

But Sanchez wasn’t done being helpful, and about 15 minutes later she found Maria Carrillo with a similar ball that only required nimble collection and a steady shot to beat the keeper.

3-1 ‘Gades.

Odalys Espinoza scored BC’s final goal on a PK given after a handball on a corner kick.

VOLLEYBALL OPENS REGULAR SEASON 2-0 WITH WINS OVER CHAFFEY COLLEGE AND RIO HONDO @DAY ONE OF LA PIERCE TOURNEY

The Bakersfield College Volleyball team opened their 2016 season with a 3-0 win over Chaffey College and a 3-1 win over Rio Hondo in day one of the LA Pierce Tournament Friday.

The Lady Gades will resume play Saturday at 1pm against Mira Costa, and 6:30p against either Pierce or Santa Barbara.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY OPEN SEASONS AT OXNARD INVITATIONAL

The Bakersfield College Women’s Cross Country team finished eighth out of 10 teams competing in the 5k race, while the Men’s team placed eighth out of 11 teams in the four mile race.

Sydney Roman was the top individual finisher for the women with a time of 20 minutes and 56 seconds (25th place), while Patrick Alvardo finished first for the men with a time of 22 minutes and 23.9 seconds (22nd)

Rudyard Kipling

Out of the blue, one of my friends this week quoted Rudyard Kipling. “But to stand an’ be still to the Birken’ead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew” …a line from Soldier an’ Sailor too. That got me digging out my poetry book, Panorama, from high school and spending nostalgic evenings reading some of my favorite poems. I thought about the late and absolutely genius Robin Williams as his role in The Dead Poets Society saying “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry… beauty, romance, love, these… are what we stay alive for.”

Rudyard Kipling, known for notable works including “The Jungle Book” and “If-“ was born in Bombay, India and found his talent at a young age as the editor of his school paper. He is quoted as saying “If history were taught in form of story, it would never be forgotten.” So, it was no surprise when researching Soldier an’ Sailor too, that it has a true historical reference to the sinking of the HMS Birkenhead in 1852. The poem pays homage to the Royal Marines who went down with the ship and gave lifeboat priority to the women and children on board. “The synonymous ‘Birkenhead drill’ became an exemplar of courageous behavior in hopeless circumstances”

The themes in Rudyard Kipling’s works include valor, adventure, and bravery. I’ve often mentioned my affinity for The Jungle Book (Check out July 9^th’s blog when I saw the new movie) and one of my favorite stories in the collection is the one of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the courageous mongoose who protects his family against the snakes. You can see a clip of the cartoon on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl7f2ytS7Vw.

While these two stories are thoughtfully different – one of perishing soldiers and one of a brave little creature – they both have the same unfailing message that heroes (who can come in any shape or form) strive to do the right thing by putting others first.

That’s a wrap – and I can’t wait to see what next week has in store.

Until next Saturday…..

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya

The luckiest and happiest college president

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The end of the first week…Fall 2016

Week One of Fall 2016

Carlos!

Kate!

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Hispanic Chamber Business Conference and Familiar Faces

DBA

Hispanic Chamber Business Conference
and Familiar Faces