What a win for our Renegade Volleyball team at College of Canyons last night. With 15 wins and only 2 losses, these young women have taken control with an 8-0 conference record! 👏👏👏 Great job Coach Carl Ferreira, Corissa, Lisa, and team!
It has been a reflective week for me in the midst of a very hectic work schedule of travel and statewide meetings. I found myself reading and re-reading a piece on grief in John Pavlovitz’ blog. Here is an excerpt:
“As much as I miss my dad (and I do miss him terribly) I miss the me that he knew, too. I grieve the loss of our shared story. I mourn losing the childhood me who napped with him on his bed, the teenage me who spent those priceless Saturday mornings with him, the college aged me who fell asleep while he drove the four-hour trip back to college, the middle-aged me who made him laugh with silly stories of his grandkids.” For the rest click on https://tinyurl.com/y25a49rc
Lunch at a little grocery store/cafe 
Found myself missing the voice of Sandy Wood on StarDate
For a long time, I’ve been a big fan of StarDate Radio, an astronomy show which airs at 6:20 a.m. every morning on our local NPR station. StarDate began as a daily telephone message service by the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas, informing Texans about what they could expect to see in the night sky. More than 40 years later, StarDate is now the longest-running syndicated radio science show in the country.
Sandy Wood, the host of StarDate since 1991 and one of the first female DJs in the Southwestern United States, recently retired from the show for health reasons. New host Billy Henry, a lecturer in media arts for Texas State University in San Marcos, took over as the third announcer in the show’s history this July. Check out this piece on the transition from Wood to Henry https://www.kgou.org/post/sandy-wood-retires-billy-henry-becomes-voice-stardate
Nick Strobel and Sonya Christian on train 
Bakersfield College has its own McDonald Observatory in the William M. Thomas Planetarium, and astronomy professor Nick Strobel uses the space as an important resource to inspire passion for science in our community. He also writes a column for the Bakersfield Californian every two weeks to talk about recent advancements in astronomy and promote some of the breathtaking shows that the planetarium puts on throughout the year. In his most recent column on October 3, Nick talks about the recently discovered exoplanet GJ 3512 and speculation that a proposed “Planet Nine” far beyond Pluto in our solar system could actually be a small black hole.
On the Road for a national conference on entrepreneurship
Last weekend, I hit the road for Newport Beach to attend the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship conference. Newport is a beautiful coastal city known for surfing, sandy beaches, and a boat-filled harbor. I enjoyed the sunsets every evening….
Bakersfield College was well represented in various panels at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship and it was both enriching and rewarding to learn and hear about the innovative things taking place that blend education and entrepreneurship together.
On Sunday evening, I caught up with JP Lake, Richard Chapman, and Nora Dominguez who presented on the conference’s first day in a panel titled “Creating a Vibrant, Innovative Culture, Internally and Externally” regarding the experiences around developing BC’s Launchpad and the Bakersfield entrepreneurial community.
Kern County is home to over 904,000 people. Jobs increased 4.9% from 2014 to 2019, but this change fell short of the national growth of 6.9%. Bakersfield College serves a diverse student body of over 37,000, most of whom are first generation. Through partnering with the Kern Initiative for Talent and Entrepreneurship (KITE), a county-wide partnership under the leadership of the Kern Economic Development Corp. and the Seedcore Foundation, we are focused on boosting job creation and formulating new businesses in Kern County.
Together, we are expanding resource availability from large tech start up firms to include practical needs of local and small business owners. We’re removing the silo walls to break down isolated innovation, creating an ecosystem for small business and entrepreneurial needs.
“Every person has unique talents and when a community unites to harness the power of these gifts, transformation happens at both an individual level and a greater one.”
John Paul Lake, Founder, KITE Initiative
Bakersfield College, along with other educators, provided local workforce development across a variety of sectors and in all local industries.The entrepreneurship curriculum, created by Bakersfield College,expanded from the College’s Business Department into all Career Technical Education programs with StartitUp included within the courses.
Rudy Menjivar (Professor in Entrepreneurship, Accounting and Business Law), Manny Mourtzanos (Dean of Instruction) and Brad King (StartItUp) presented at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) on how Bakersfield College has embedded the StartItUp app in our Entrepreneurship courses to ensure students successfully complete a viable business plan prior to launching their entrepreneurial ideas or small businesses. Start-it-Up is the only end-to-end scalable mobile technology platform designed to guide students in launching small businesses, and has been able to increase the rate of successful business launch, retention, and growth.
On Tuesday, Gayle Richardson (Professor in Accounting) presented on BC’s Hackathon Competition, a three day competition in which teams of students develop proposals to complex environmental and social issues through ‘digital storytelling.’ Teams are given a maximum hypothetical budget of $25,000.00 to initiate their project idea.
Strides for CJD
The Renegade family gathered at Lake Ming last Sunday in honor of Harvey Hall, a BC alum who was an enthusiastic supporter of higher education and was the chair of the Measure J campaign.
The second-annual Strides 4 CJD event raised money for those affected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a degenerative brain disorder that took the life of Harvey Hall, Bakersfield’s 25th mayor, a pioneer of emergency medical services in Kern County, and a kind-hearted man whose blood was Renegade Red through and through. The event provides families with a safe space to pay tribute to the loved ones they’ve lost to CJD while raising awareness of this condition, which affects more than 1 million people worldwide every year. CJD is caused by proteins that affect the central nervous system of the brain, and about 70 percent of people with CJD die within a year of being diagnosed.
The Volleyball team and Student Government along with President Samantha Pulido were there to support the event. We look forward to supporting those affected by CJD at next year’s event.
Homecoming Week
BC’s Homecoming Week was a huge success, with a plethora of events on all of our campuses leading up to tonight’s parade and Homecoming football game against Ventura College. Starting on Monday, the BC Homecoming team called for all staff and students to get into the Homecoming spirit with a poster and office decorations competition to see which students and departments could demonstrate the most school pride. Student posters were judged on creativity, spirit, and Renegade pride, while departments got to show their creative side by decorating their offices using this year’s Homecoming theme of “Renegades Around the World”.
BC’s F.O.T.O. club won first place in the poster competition, while the Science and Engineering departments took the crown for the office decoration, earning themselves a fully catered lunch in the process.
The Renegades prepared for the big Homecoming game against Ventura College during Thursday’s “Rally of the Renegades” on the Renegades Crossroads. Students turned out to show their school spirit before the game, and the BC Drumline and cheerleaders got the crowd ready for celebrations. The Agriculture Ambassadors and Free on the Outside clubs also had games for students to play, with a chance to win great prizes like 20 gift cards and free lunch coupons.
Homecoming Week: Chalk Walk
Students were encouraged to show their BC spirit and pride while illustrating this year’s Homecoming theme of “Renegades Around the World”. Students demonstrated their creativity and design skills, and student organizations with the best chalk designs got points for the Homecoming competition.
Homecoming Week: Gandhi Easel Event
Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying “in a gentle way, you can shake the world.” The tremors of that shaking could be felt in Levinson Hall on Monday night, as BC students gathered to honor Gandhi with an easel painting event.
In celebration of this year’s Homecoming theme of “Renegades Around the World”, students illustrated two hands joining in the shape of a heart, a visual representation of Gandhi’s core message, which is about bringing people together and promoting diversity. Rachel Cortes, a painting instructor for over 13 years, was crying tears of laughter as she joyfully assisted students with their paintings.
Homecoming Week: Karaoke & Pop Trivia
BC students sang some of their favorite songs of differing musical tastes along with friends and had many fun and entertaining duet performances. BCSGA Director of Legislative Affairs and Finance, Johnny Maddon, led the Pop Trivia panel with various pop culture references to music, movies, video-games, history, and entertaining stand-up comedy.
Homecoming Week: BC’s Got Talent
Renegades showed off their creative talents in the Gym Huddle on Wednesday during the BC Got Talent event as part of Homecoming Week. The Office of Student Life and BCSGA welcomed all students to participate in the entertainment competition and perform their choice of singing, dancing or comedy.
Many of our students took the spotlight and sang their favorite songs from a variety of genres, from pop and rap to country and rock. During the performances, a panel of BCSGA representatives judged the auditions and joined in cheering for all of the amazing performances of our BC students.
Agra International Visits BC
This past week, BC’s Agriculture department with the help of our Agriculture Ambassadors hosted French students from Agra International tours. The tour group does educational agriculture tours to help students learn more about agriculture in other countries. This particular group of students were attending MFR La Pignerie, a professional college in France.
Many of our faculty were able to welcome the group and discuss different aspects of the agriculture industry in the United States. Dean Cornelio Rodriguez made these student feel welcome and our Agriculture Department Chair, Chris McCraw, highlighted that Kern County is one of the top producing agriculture counties in the United States.
This group of students are majoring in Mechanized Agriculture so our Agriculture Ambassador and current Mechanized Agriculture student, Bailey Dunn, took them through our shop and spoke to them about what it means to be a student in BC’s Mechanized Agriculture program. BC’s Mechanized Agriculture program was created 3 years ago to fill an industry need. Matthew Riley has built this program and had its first graduating class last year with 85% job placement/transfer rate.
Thank you Gabrielle Chauvin, Marion Renk-Rosenthal and Martin Jordan for bringing your students here to tour Bakersfield College and learn more about agriculture in the Kern County.
Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill
On Thursday, BC campuses participated in the international shakeout earthquake drill as an important reminder that we should always be prepared. The Incident Command Team jumped into action to practice important strategic planning to ensure campus safety in the event of an actual emergency. Special thanks and shout out to Dr. Nicky Damania, Officer Jason Mattheus and BC’s Public Safety team, and all emergency responders on campus.
Professional Development Day
It was fun speaking at this year’s PMI-CVCC Professional Development Day – The Project Management Blueprint for Success. The event is designed to maximize professional development and the program enabled a personalized and authentic learning environment for peer-to-peer sharing and networking. Thank you Cheryl Scott and Blare Pruett for the invitation.
BC was present including Victor Diaz, Jaime Lopez, Endee Grijalva, Carlos Medina, Aubrey Priest with Industrial Automation Students & Faculty.
Community Voices: Senator Jean Fuller
In her recent Community Voices piece published by The Bakersfield Californian, champion for education and retired California State Senator Jean Fuller described Bakersfield College’s Early College program as “cutting edge,” saying that “very few models such as this – earning an associate’s degree or certificate as the same time of high school completion – exist on a national scale.”
Wonderful College Prep Academy and Environmental Justice
BC is committed to sustainability, including environmental sustainability. History instructor Jennifer Grohol invited U.C. Berkeley staff member Shane Carter to interview B.C./Wonderful College Prep Academy students for a statewide podcast project titled Climate Change in CA.
This 12-episode podcast will feature interviews with 6 high school students around the state (2 from B.C.!), climate scientists from U.C. Berkeley and state legislatures. The podcast focuses on what students know about climate change and what state legislatures are doing about our changing environment. Carter’s visit to the Wonderful campus involved a meeting with WCPA’s student-run Environmental club. The podcast will be complete next year, and B.C./Wonderful students are already excited to have a “viewing” party once it is released. It’s great to see so many young minds take an active stance on the environment!
Be The Match: Bone Marrow Drive
The BC Pre-Med Club invited the organization Be The Match to the Gym Huddle on Thursday as part of a bone marrow registration drive. The club’s objective for the event was to raise awareness of registration for bone marrow donors, which could potentially save the life of a patient in need of a transplant. Be the Match is a worldwide recruiting registry for bone marrow donors, matching donors with compatible patients in need of a transplant. The organization works closely with the community to inform people of their services, encourage as many people as possible to join the registry to increase the chances of their patients being able to find a matching recipient. If you’re interested in joining the registry, visit the Be the Match website.
Thank you to BC Pre-Med Club and Be The Match for putting together this important event while elevating the public health consciousness of our campus community.
Manufacturing Day
Bakersfield College’s Career Education Department hosted Manufacturing Day, a nationally recognized event, on Friday, October 4th to highlight manufacturing related programs from the industrial technology and transportation pathway. Over 1,000 high school students were in attendance to learn about the many high demand manufacturing programs Bakersfield College offers to students. The day was packed with presentations from leading industry partners along with a variety of laboratory tours and hands on demonstrations.
Many programs from the pathway were well represented at the event:
Ag Mechanics, Architecture, Automotive, Construction, Electronics, Engineering, Industrial Automation, Industrial Drawing, Manufacturing, Occupational Safety and Risk Management and Welding.
In addition, industry employers engaged with the students with informational booths, answering questions and providing general information. This was the first time Manufacturing Day was hosted in Kern County, ultimately finishing strong as one of the largest MFG Day events in the state.
Fun Photos
Bill Potter and Paul Beckworth presenting on VRC
Bill Potter spoke at College Council to give an update on the new VRC
Celebrating Steve Watkin
Outreach, Dual Enrollment, and the Early College crew came together to celebrate Steve’s birthday.
Catherine Rangle’s Birthday
Zav Dadabhoy (hard core Packers fan) decorated Catherine Rangle’s (hard core Raiders fan) desk for her birthday!
Nicky Damania’s Road Trip
During part of Homecoming Week, Dr. Nicky Damania was away and driving back to California. Look where he stopped to get in the homecoming spirit.
BC Sponsors HOPE Latina Empowerment Day 2019
Several of our amazing BC women, both staff and students attended the HOPE Latina Empowerment Day 2019, October 18th at the DoubleTree Hotel here in Bakersfield. The annual Latina Empowerment Day is a one-day intensive workshop series created to empower Latinas to increase their community impact and strengthen their skills and knowledge on a variety of issues. Connect, recharge, and engage with fellow Latina leaders in your area!
HIRE Luncheon
BC faculty and staff shared about all of the hard work they do to support students with disabilities at the annual Luncheon for the organization Helping Incorporate Reliable Employees (HIRE).
The HIRE Committee of Kern County was founded by Harvey Hall to honor employers who are committed to championing persons with disabilities. The group held its 14th annual luncheon at Hodel’s Country Dining on Tuesday, presenting awards to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Kern County, Cooper’s True Value Home Center, and more. HIRE presented an award to Bakersfield College at last year’s luncheon, and DSPS adjunct counselor Bernadette Madrid shared her journey ensuring that our disabled students have equal access to an education.
I’d like to thank Mayor Karen Goh and the HIRE Committee for inviting BC back to this year’s luncheon. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams regardless of whatever challenges that they’ve had to face.
VIPink: The Breast Event of the Year
Adventist Health hosted its annual VIPink event on October 17, 2019. BC’s Community Relations Director, Norma Rojas attended and shared that it was a beautiful celebration for breast cancer survivors and a great opportunity to learn more about treatment options and to pamper yourself. It was a great reminder to the community to take the time to get screened on an annual basis.
The Adventist Health Breast Center provides screenings, surgeries, radiation oncology and chemotherapy for women with cancer.
Renegade Athletics News
Enjoy this week’s Renegade Student Athlete Spotlight video on Julia Prouty from our Renegade Women’s Golf team. The video was shot and edited by fellow BC digital media student Jacob Amado. Great work, Jacob!
Dean & Adah Gay Softball Complex Named 2019 NFCA Field of the Year
Our beautiful softball facility, the Dean and Adah Gay Sports Complex, has been named the as the 2019 Turface Athletics / NFCA Field of the Year award for the California Junior College level. This award, made possible by NFCA Official Sponsor Turface Athletics, recognizes the top fields/stadiums in the nation for their flawless grounds maintenance and exceptional playing surfaces. The winners are selected by the NFCA Awards Committee. We are so grateful to have such amazing athletic facilities on our campus!
Renegade Report: Volleyball
Watch this week’s edition of the Renegade Report on the Bakersfield College Athletics Facebook page featuring our Renegade Wrestling Squad. Head Coach Brett Clark along with players sat down with host Kenny Calvin to discuss the season how their season has been going.
Renegade Athletics scores from this past week:
- Women’s Golf Places 5th at WSC
- Women’s Volleyball Sweeps West LA
- Women’s Soccer Falls to LA Valley, 1-0
- Women’s Golf Places 5th at WSC #7
- Volleyball Sweeps Antelope Valley for 14th Win of the Season
Upcoming Athletic events ‘On the Hill’
Be sure to put on your Renegade Red and cheer on our student athletes as they compete this coming week. If you can’t make it in person, check GoGades.com to catch the livestream. Events include:
• Tues. 10/22 at 2pm, Men’s Soccer vs. Glendale
• Tues. 10/22 at 4pm, Women’s Soccer vs. Antelope Valley
• Fri. 10/25 at 4pm, Women’s Soccer vs. Glendale
• Fri. 10/25 at 6pm, Wrestling vs. West Hills
• Sat. 10/26 at 6pm, Football vs. Long Beach
That’s all for now.
Until next time.
With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya-
the luckiest and happiest college president ever
