Good morning Bakersfield…. It is Saturday, June 10th and a great day to be a Renegade.
I spent a significant part of this week at the accreditation commission meeting in San Jose. The accreditation peer review process for quality assurance is truly remarkable and I am so glad the United States still upholds this process.
I missed Neo who seemed much bigger when I got back home. In the three weeks I’ve had him he went from being 10 lbs to 19 lbs. Growing up fast and you can see it in his paws.
The drive back from San Jose was a bear with accidents on both 101 south as well as on the Pacheco pass….. It was quite the drive and my phone died and I did not have a charger handy, and I was tired….. It was a good thing that I got a book on tape, something I don’t usually do. I got it from amazon.com, and no it was not a drone delivery three hours after I placed the order.
The book titled “The Life We Bury” was listed as a bestseller in the New York Times list. I started listening to the book on my drive to and from Mammoth last week. But the numerous conf calls resulted in me not making much progress. But coming back from San Jose, without my phone, I got through much more, though not quite all yet.
Kimberly Bligh has been busy this summer, scaling up summer bridge for our incoming students and engaging faculty across campus to come spend a day with the incoming freshman during their orientation.
Dr. Matt Garrett’s post on Facebook and his response to Olivia Garcia says it all
Summer Bridge is a one-day seminar for new students. It increases success and retention for all new freshmen by giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed. Each morning begins with faculty on hand to greet the eager students and share with them their wealth of knowledge to help acclimate them on their new academic path.
The students break out into smaller groups joining faculty members sprinkled throughout the room for networking and chatting. It’s here where their first friendships on campus are formed… together, they are on this journey, and it’s a time to ask questions and get information for their classes, their major’s and also their first day concerns.
Students share their dreams, goals, and aspirations for their future, encouraged and cheered on by those faculty members brought together by Dr. Kimberly Bligh.
The students are also given a guided tour by faculty and student leaders who show them first-hand all of the various buildings located throughout campus. This is an amazing way for students to feel even more comfortable when they arrive on the first day of class, it enables them to focus more on their academics rather than worrying and searching aimlessly for their needed classes. Students are able to obtain their schedules and throughout the tour faculty and staff able answer any questions they may have. Students also learn a little background on BC, when it was founded and when the campus was moved up on the hill.But one of the greatest benefits for students who participate is what they learn about all of the wonderful services that BC has to offer.
The students were shown where the Veteran’s Lounge, Renegade Pantry, Renegade RIP, Student Health Services, Counseling Center, Writing Center, Math Center, Tutoring Center, Financial Aid, and Supplementary instruction centers were all located on campus.
All of these services and much more are there to help the students be as successful as they can be – providing them the tools they need to achieve their goals.
Eileen Pierce, Manager of Academic Support — Supplemental Instruction, shared how SI works and how it benefits all the students who attend at least five to six sessions per semester.
We are a family. We thrive and flourish together with the help of each other, because… We are BC!
See more photos and stay up to date with Summer Bridge on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/summerbridgeBC/
BC’s Inmate Scholars Program
The Inmate Scholars Program was nominated for the 2017 Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, Beautiful Bakersfield Awards. Each year, the Chamber holds an annual gala to honor those connected to the community and to recognize the efforts to improve the quality of life in Bakersfield.
Aera won an award
Thank you Nick Ortiz and all at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber for bringing to us Beautiful Bakersfield
Bakersfield College is honored to be recognized as a community leader.
(from front, clockwise) Bryan Hirayama, Chelsea Esquibias, Rich McCrow, Letty Garza, Doug Grimsley, Gerald Cantu (behind placard), his wife, Kaitlin Hulsy, Isaias Hernandez
The Central Valley has more than ten prisons and correctional facilities. Recidivism is high — of the incarcerated who are released, over 76% return to prison. The Inmate Scholars Program provides college courses inside of the local prisons to educate those before release. Associate Degrees earned in prison have been shown to reduce recidivism to below 5% thus saving taxpayers over $70,000 per year per inmate as well as creating a safer and more thriving community.
Rich McCrow, Doug Grimsley, Gerald Cantu
Education is the key for our incarcerated population. Thank you to all of those Bakersfield College employees that serve students in the program, and thank you to those who attended the dinner; Rich McCrow, Chelsea Esquibias, Bryan Hirayama, Doug Grimsley, Isaias Hernandez, Gerald Cantu, Kaitlin Hulsy, Isaias Hernandez and many more great Renegades! We are BC!
And then I saw this great post by Supervisor Leticia Perez on Facebook:
Retreats and reflections during the summer
President’s Cabinet had two retreats this summer, the first one at the Delano Campus on June 1st and the 2nd on the Panorama Campus here in Bakersfield on June 5th.
At Delano the focus was on BC’s Rural Initiatives, Dual Enrollment, and Inmate Education. After presentations and discussions, we headed for a tour of the Randolf Campus in Delano.
Bakersfield College originally offered courses in Delano at the Randolf campus. This is where I was first involved as a faculty member — I taught math via interactive TV but would often drive up to the Randolf campus to meet with students. During that time, a group of us in the math department wrote an Eisenhower grant to improve STEM education in Delano with a focus on parent education. I then went away to work in Oregon for 10 years and when I returned as President, the Delano campus had moved to Timmons Ave, and the Randolf campus was leased to the Wonderful Academy. Wonderful was and is a great partner of Bakersfield College. Wonderful now has built their own campus for their Charter School and the Randolf campus has reverted back to BC. I do want to thank Wonderful for donating all the classroom spaces they had built and improvements they made during their stay at the campus. Lynda Resnick thank you. Noemi, thank you.
Here are pictures of the Cabinet tour of Randolf campus.
Nicky Damania and Grace Commiso planning for Student Services
Alex Dominguez
Alex Dominguez was the President of BC’s Student Government in 2014-2015, going on to be the Student Body President at CSUB. Alex had a wonderful graduation and it seemed that everyone from Bakersfield was there to celebrate this young man’s future and presence in our lives!
Alex Dominguez, Sonya Christian
Terri Goldstein, Alex Dominguez, Nicky Damania
Here are some links to blog posts that spotlighted Alex:
This one is a long blog but scroll until you see the picture with Alex Dominquez (2014-2015), Calyton Fowler (2015-2016), Matthew Frazer (2016-2017)
https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/09/18/on-remembrance-and-making-memories/
Some fun photos:
Ramon Puga and his son
So I was at the ACCJC commission meeting and this is what happens to my office when I was not there — Mission Occupy!
Jennifer Marden, Tracy Hall, Tarina Perry, Somaly Boles
That’s all for now.
Until next time.
With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever
(at the Randolf campus in Delano)
The Bakersfield College Social Justice Institute hosted a wonderful screening and panel discussion of the new award-winning documentary “Real Boy” on March 16th. The film, funded in part by a documentary grant from California Humanities, follows the story of a young transgender youth, Bennett Wallace, as he transitions gender to a “real boy.” Over 100 people attended the screening and engaged in a community dialogue with California Humanities Program Officer 
Student Success and Equity Manager, 
It was great to see representatives from 
Inspiration was just the theme of the day. I’m told the film even moved several students enough to make them misty-eyed. After lunch, the group was off to explore the Ecosystems Exhibit and the Air and Space Exhibit, which included the space shuttle, Endeavor! The bus, tickets, and even lunch were all provided courtesy of the 
Tuesday was an exciting afternoon for the 4th and 5th graders visiting campus from Jefferson Elementary. Two classes of 4th graders and one class of 5th graders traveled through the halls of the various campus buildings to catch a glimpse of what college really looks like. I’m told they were so enthusiastic and even waved at students in their classrooms saying, “Hello smart people!” In addition to the campus tour, the children were treated to a special showing by Nick Strobel at BC’s Planetarium.
As I was rushing from College Council to get in the car and drive to Delano, William Velasquez, one of our new IT people stopped me just to introduce himself and say how much he loved working at BC. wow…. i loved it. So, I had to do a selfie with him
I saw a post on Facebook by 
It was a great night to be surrounded by Purple Heart recipients, and Vietnam War veterans, who were spotlighted on this evening. The keynote speaker of the evening was Vietnam War veteran, Lt. Col. (Retired) 
As many of you know, Bakersfield College has developed a Pre-law Program over the past two years. We are one of 24 of community colleges in the state of California participating in this program.
Shortly before the event, I met Brandon Stallings, a deputy District Attorney and representing the State Bar Board of Trustees. He shared that our local rural communities suffer a real lack of attorneys, and that for our justice system to work we need dedicated students who are interested in a law career and want to stay local.
We have great faculty and staff at Bakersfield College, like Manny Mourtzanos, our Dean of Instruction, who makes these events fun and captivating for our future students. While opening the program, Manny asked if anyone could recite the Miranda Rights by memory. Surprisingly, hands flew up and Eric Hogan from Bridges Academy was chosen to come up. Without hesitation, Eric was able to say aloud the entire Miranda Rights before a packed theater of fellow students – Well done, Eric.
Speaking of great faculty, it was fantastic to see Professor Douglas Grimsley, who is involved with our inmate education plan. Grimsley is one of our pioneering faculty who knows that his investment is helping folks get back into society – something that is true to the mission of Bakersfield College; Providing opportunities for students from all diverse backgrounds to engage productively in their communities and the world.
As you may know, Bakersfield College is selected by the State Bar of California to participate in the Community Colleges Pathway to Law School Initiative, which provides a transfer-pathway for students to one of at least six prestigious law schools in our state. But beyond that, the law program at BC is a rigorous path that is a true investment and will sharpen any student’s critical thinking, writing skills, and leadership qualities.
On Thursday, Kristen Barnes, CEO of the Kern Community Foundation, invited us to present the Renegade Promise to a group of Educators across Kern County. The story of the Renegade Promise is a story of collaboration and partnership, a story about adaptation, a story about saying “yes” rather than “no”, a story about making this happen despite the odds. The heroes in this story are the faculty, staff and administrators from KHSD, BC and CSUB who have been laser focused on moving students through our educational pathways faster and not compromising their learning; on the contrary, enhancing their learning. Presenting along with me were Dr. Jacqueline Mimms from CSUB, Vickie Spanos from KHSD, and Lesley Bonds from BC. These three women are brilliant, beautiful, passionate and work tirelessly.
Summer Bridge is an essential part of a student’s journey to becoming a college student. Throughout summer 2016, BC will engage 2,000 new students in this extended orientation where they’ll learn how to access important campus information, discuss success strategies for the transition into college, take a campus tour, and hear from important academic and student affairs support services about the many offerings available to them. Thank you Dr. Kimberly Bligh for your leadership. For more information about Summer Bridge, email 
A special thank you to Trustee Romeo Agbalog for attending the event and for your powerful words that leadership is about building others up – not just building oneself up. And thank you Tom Moran for all that you do for BC. Do you see Tom signing to the left of Romeo?
Before I get into the many honorees, I should first recognize a student who has been working hard to engage students and make BC a better place for future Renegades: our BCSGA President, Clayton Fowler. It has been Clayton’s advocacy for students that has catalyzed our work on a number of projects; most notably, our Renegade Promise. Stay tuned for details!
On Tuesday, we hosted the 4th Annual President’s Breakfast. About 60 education partners (counselors and administrators) from our high school service area came to our Fireside Room for a quick and insightful update and discussion. We talked about our strides in collaboration with Guided Pathways, Dual Enrollment, Multiple Measures, and our High School Matriculation Visits.
