Wednesday was Veterans Day. Here is 2026 letter to my colleagues at the California Community Colleges.
Twelve years ago, I met a remarkable young man, Wesley Leon-Barrientos, a student at Bakersfield College.
Wesley enlisted in the Army after September 11 and served three tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division.
In December 2007, on a road south of Baghdad, the Humvee carrying Wesley struck a powerful explosive device buried beneath the ground.
In an instant, his world was shattered.
The blast took his left leg and right foot. It broke his back and jaw and left him with a traumatic brain injury and devastating wounds. Imagine the violence of that moment. The unimaginable pain. The terror. A young man who had gone to war to serve his country suddenly fighting to survive, his body forever changed.
And then came the long road home. The surgeries. The rehabilitation. The physical and emotional wounds. The difficult work of learning to live in a body that would never be the same.
There is no way to capture the full weight of that experience in a few sentences.
But Wesley’s story did not end on that road south of Baghdad.
In the years since, Wesley has become a public speaker, an adaptive athlete, a hand-cyclist, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor and coach.
I think about Wesley often and have shared his story many times. This morning, as I woke up on Veterans Day, his face came to mind again. And I felt I needed to introduce him to all of you … our California community college family.
Because Wesley reminds us that our veterans have already lived extraordinary lives. And they have extraordinary lives still ahead of them.
Across our California community colleges, we have the privilege of being part of those next chapters.
In 2025–26, our colleges enrolled 103,000 veterans, service members, and military-connected students, reflecting remarkable growth over the past five years.
And our Veterans Resource Centers are helping our students navigate their benefits, find community, and pursue new possibilities.
To our VRC teams, thank you. You make a difference every day, often in ways that never make it into a report or a spreadsheet.
We are also changing how higher education recognizes military experience.
This year, 30,000 Joint Services Transcripts were uploaded into our Credit for Prior Learning platform. Each transcript represents years of knowledge, training, and experience earned through military service.
Our responsibility is to turn that learning into college credit, shortening the journey to a degree, a credential, or a new career.
As I think about Wesley today, I also think about the thousands of men and women who have served in places most of us will never see. Who have experienced fear, loss, and grief that many of us will never fully understand. Who have lost friends, limbs, years of their lives, and sometimes parts of themselves that can never be recovered.
They have carried burdens that the rest of us have been spared.
And because of their service, so many of us can wake up in the morning, send our children to school, go to work, gather with people we love, and live our ordinary lives in a country whose freedoms we too often take for granted.
The lives we are so fortunate to live have been protected by people who have endured the extraordinary.
That is something I want to hold close this Veterans Day.
Our gratitude must live in what we do. In how we welcome our veterans. In how we recognize their experience. In how we help them build a future worthy of everything they have given.
To Wesley, and to every veteran among our students, faculty, staff, trustee and families: we honor your courage. We hold your sacrifices in our hearts. And we thank you, deeply, for the lives and freedoms your service has helped protect.
You have given so much of your lives for ours. May we do everything in our power to make your next chapters extraordinary.
With gratitude and an overflowing heart,
Your chancellor,
sonya
Started my week in Sacramento where the fall colors are in all its glory. If you look closely you can see our state capitol peeking up in the far horizon.
Sacramento has an estimated one million trees within its city limits, including approximately 100,000 managed by the city. Its urban forest is recognized among the country’s most impressive, and a 2017 MIT study ranked Sacramento the greenest city in the United States based on street-level greenery.
And this week we welcomed Apprenticeship for America to the the California Community Colleges. They were hosted by President Lisa Cardoza at American River College.
And here is a tweet by Pope Leo that I wanted to share.
Good morning California.
It is November 14, 2026.
A good day to be a Community College Champion
From California Community Colleges.
Our Time is Now!
Veterans Find Community Through Noncredit Art Class at Allan Hancock College
When Allan Hancock College Community Education introduced its new Image Transfers from Photographs course, instructor and U.S. Navy veteran Helen Boursier expected to bring together students interested in art and creativity. What she did not expect was that the class would become a gathering place for seven veterans representing more than six decades of combined military service. Boursier, who served 2.5 years in the Navy as a journalist, was joined by fellow veterans Mike Boursier, Pat Borrer, D.J. Barber, Terii Richard Shirley, Paula McMurray and Shevonne Harris. Together, the group represents service in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Air Force.
Solano Community College Awarded $6.55 Million
to Expand Biotechnology Education and Workforce Training
Solano Community College has been awarded $6.55 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to expand biotechnology education, hands-on training, and career pathways for students pursuing opportunities in California’s growing life sciences industry. The $6,552,640 award will support EPIC-IDEA (Expanded Pathways in Cell-Based Manufacturing to Increase Diversity, Equity, and Advancement), an initiative designed to prepare students for careers in regenerative medicine, biotechnology, and cell-based manufacturing. The funding was approved by CIRM’s governing board in September 2026 as part of a statewide investment in education, research, and workforce development.
Mt. San Antonio College’s Women of Color in STEM Event Celebrates Fifth Anniversary
Mt. SAC celebrated the fifth anniversary of its Women of Color in STEM event; an annual event that aims to inspire students and address the underrepresentation of women of color in STEM fields. This year’s event featured three panelists who shared what sparked their interest in STEM, the paths they took to build their careers and the lessons they learned along the way.
In Case You Missed It
CDO Magazine Announces Top 30 Higher Education Data & AI Influencers 2026
From AI-powered tutoring and personalized learning to secure institutional AI platforms, breakthrough research and data-driven student success initiatives, higher education leaders are turning AI’s promise into meaningful institutional progress.
CDO Magazine proudly announces the Top 30 Higher Education Data & AI Influencers 2026, recognizing senior leaders reshaping how North America’s colleges, universities and higher education systems harness data, analytics and AI to advance their missions.
California Community Colleges’ own Craig Hayward is among the honorees.
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Apprenticeship’s future runs through community colleges
In many of the most promising new apprenticeship programs, community colleges aren’t bystanders. They drive these programs’ growth. That’s the lesson from a recent U.S. Department of Labor evaluation of apprenticeships across healthcare, IT and advanced manufacturing.
Apprenticeship has long been used, in the evaluation’s words, “as a training model for construction-related occupations.” Beginning in 2015, the department awarded grants to expand apprenticeships into these newer fields. Two-year and four-year colleges led much of that work. The bet paid off.
The evaluation examined two of those grant programs, which together awarded nearly $284 million in 2019 and 2020. Only colleges and universities could apply to the larger program. About half of those grantees were community or technical colleges.
Fun Photos & Spotted on Social Media
From Rio Hondo College:
Today, we celebrated the grand opening of the Veterans Resource Center at Río Hondo College!
This welcoming space is dedicated to supporting our student veterans and their families by connecting them with VA educational benefits, essential resources and services to help them succeed throughout their educational journey.
A special thank you to our Board of Trustees, the President’s Office and the Student Affairs Office for joining us in celebrating this exciting milestone and honoring our student veterans.
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From Copper Mountain College:
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CMC STUDENT ARTISTS!
Holiday creativity is shining at Copper Mountain College! We are proud to celebrate the talented students whose original artwork has been selected for this year’s holiday greeting cards.
Congratulations to our award winners!
Superintendent/President’s Choice: Baleigh Shepherd – Cholla Bones Christmas Tree
CMC Foundation’s Choice: Shiloh Downard – Decorated Joshua Tree Holiday Scene
We also congratulate our talented runners-up: Shiloh Downard, Baleigh Shepherd, Lexi Luce, Blake Morrison, and Katherine Peterson!
These student-created designs showcase the creativity, talent, and unique artistic perspectives found right here at CMC.
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From Los Angeles Pierce College:
Pierce College’s Brahma Bodega and its coordinator, Jeremy Mason, were recognized by the Los Angeles City Council on October 16 for their work fighting food insecurity and helping students access fresh, nutritious food.
The Brahma Bodega was named a 2026 Good Food Champion for Council District 3 during the 15th annual Food Day celebration at Los Angeles City Hall. Organized by the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, the annual event recognizes individuals and organizations making a difference in their communities by improving access to healthy, affordable food.
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From Modesto Junior College:
Modesto Junior College honored STARS (Scholars Transforming Adversity into Resilience and Success) students at the Second Annual Rising Scholars Network Symposium in October. The event celebrated the achievements, resilience, and future aspirations of formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted students. Participants gathered with family and friends for a day of music, food, lunch, community, and inspiration, featuring a keynote speaker. To learn more about the Rising Scholars Program, visit mjc.edu/riseup/rsn.
And From the Home of the Renegades
BC Hosts Public Safety Career Expo
This week, the Public Safety Training Program at Bakersfield College hosted their Fall 2026 Public Safety Career Expo. This annual event gives students the opportunity to connect with professionals in a wide variety of fields and gain valuable information and resources related to careers in the industry.
More than 20 public safety vendors participated including California Highway Patrol, Kern County Probation Department, Bakersfield Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, Hall Ambulances, and many more. Representatives and industry professionals provided career insights, valuable information, and promotional materials to the hundreds of students who attended throughout the day. Students also had the opportunity to preview a number of company vehicles including police cars, fire engines, a forest service utility truck, and more.
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Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.
That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!
With much hope and joy,
Your Chancellor,
-sonya
#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora
