Tag Archives: Reggie Williams

BC – We’ve got talent

Uncategorized October 25, 2020 1 Comment

Did you vote?

Chancellor Tom Burke

Follow our chancellor’s lead…. he dropped off his ballot today at the BC ballot box.

Good morning Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, October 24, 2020…a great day to be a Renegade.

Kern Shakespeare Festival: “The Comedy of Errors”

The 36th annual Shakespeare festival kicked off this week with the virtual premiere of “The Comedy of Errors”,  directed by Bob Kempf. The performers have adapted the slapstick of the Bard’s original “Comedy of Errors” into a Chaplinesque silent film with masks. Performances of the play aired online Thursday, October 22 through Saturday, October 24.

For the first time at this year’s Kern Shakespeare Festival, alongside the Shakespeare plays, the theater department will begin premiering a production created by playwrights of color. Premiering Thursday, October 29 is a performance of “Bootycandy”, a semi-autobiographical play written by Robert O’Hara that premiered in 2015. The festival close-out production is Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Check the Kern Shakespeare Festival Facebook page for ticket information for upcoming shows.

BC High School Chamber Singers Festival Moves Online

On Monday, the BC Chamber Singers hosted their annual BC High School Chamber Singers Festival. In past years, 14 high school chamber choirs would have come to the BC campus for the event.

This year, the format changed to a Zoom event with Grammy-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre.

Performing Arts Department Chair Jennifer Garrett shared that 15 high school choirs, plus CSUB choirs and more were scheduled to attend the virtual event – including a Q&A session with Eric.

Jennifer shared the piece that Eric discussed at the event:

Latina Leaders of Kern

Bakersfield College, BC’s Latinas Unidas student organization, and the Latina Leaders of Kern County came together to host their first webinar in a series on race and diversity relations. Norma Rojas-Mora, BC’s Director of Community Relations who serves on the Board of Directors for the Latina Leaders of Kern County, was the moderator for the panel on Wednesday, October 21: “A Dialogue on the Intricacies of Race and Relationships”. Maria Wright was a featured panelist, along with HelloBakersfield podcast host Carla Barrientos and Sandy Woo-Cater, the Co-Director of the Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

I will be sharing videos from this webinar in my blog. Today, I’m sharing Carla Barrientos’ introduction. In this 2:12 video, she shares a little about her background and her experiences being in a biracial relationship.

Next week, I will continue to share short video clips from the webinar, as well as a link to the video of the full webinar.

Art, Architecture and Archetypes

The Levan Center focused its “Art, Architecture and Archetypes” discussion on Wednesday around art and lockdowns, examining the different ways that disease and isolation have impacted art over time.

Professor Rae Ann Kumelos opened her remarks with an mythological exploration of hubris, showing stories from the Greek canon where the gods have punished mankind for its failures to reckon with reason and science. Apollo, the god of reason and science, was also the god who could cast plagues with his arrows.

Art professor Ronnie Wrest showed several art pieces inspired by pandemics and disease, highlighting paintings from Edvard Munch alongside an 1890 print depicting Japanese folklore. He also showed some street art made during the 2020 pandemic to celebrate health workers.

Ronnie Wrest shows Edvard Munch’s “The Sick Child” during Art, Architecture, and Archetypes

Kimberly Chin shared about the impact of the pandemic on Broadway theater. The New York theater district, which is the biggest in the world, had only closed 14 times before the pandemic, mostly related to strikes or natural disasters. In fact, the theater stayed open during the Spanish flu. The current pandemic is the longest time that Broadway has been closed in its history, and it looks to continue closure well into next year.

Krista Moreland gave a presentation on the way art about pandemics reflected different cultural values and needs that evolved over time. Pandemics were initially perceived as “punishment” for sinners, and woodcut illustrations were used to communicate the dangers about plagues for a primarily illiterate population . Eventually, as culture evolved to perceive plague victims with more empathy, artists depicted their struggles with more humanity. Pandemics changed the urban landscape as we began to understand disease, and images from newspapers, drawings and video recordings could directly depict disease in HD.

Thank you to Levan Center director Reggie Williams and all of the panelists for their participation in this virtual forum about art and pandemics.

Latino Inspire Awards Recognize Norma Rojas-Mora

  • Norma Rojas-Mora
  • TJ Cox

BC’s Norma Rojas-Mora was recognized by Rep. TJ Cox during this year’s Latino Inspire Award celebration. Rep. Cox first hosted the Latino Inspire Awards in 2019 in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated since 1988 from September 15th to October 15th.

Rep. Cox recognized Norma for all her years of service and her work to inspire positive change throughout the Bakersfield Community. Congratulations to Norma and the full list of deserving recipients.

  • Fresno County: Jacqueline Martinez, Juan Esparza Loera, Ofelia Ochoa, Roberto Vaca
  • Kings County: Ivette Stafforini, Martha Tamayo, Dr. Adalberto Renteria, Amory Marple
  • Kern County: Rosalinda Chairez, Magda Menendez, Ana Vigil, Matthew Cauthron, Norma Rojas-Mora
  • Organizations: Centro la Familia and the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Student Success Lab offers Standardized Test Prep Course

All of us at one time or another have had to take a make-or-break sort of test, such as TEAS (Nursing), CBEST, CSET, ASVVAB (Military), GED, SAT, ACT, and WorkKeys. But did you know that you can prepare for these by signing up for practice exercises that are free, ungraded, online (PLATO software), and at your own pace?!

Our very own Student Success Lab is now offering EDUC B80 Test Prep for Careers. Signing up couldn’t be easier: register any time this semester for CRN 75692, which is EDUC B80NC. Then send an email to our Director, Kim Nickell (knickell@bakersfieldcollege.edu) with your student ID# and birth date. Professor Nickell and her staff will then set up your account and test prep activities in PLATO and email the login information to you. You can also access the course through Canvas, which will contain further resources on test taking tips and strategies.

Early College at the #SSSC20 Virtual Conference

Early College was asked to present on the Online Collaborative Model of course delivery at the Strengthening Student Success 2020 Virtual Conference. Program Directors Kylie Campbell & Nicole Alvarez were joined by BC faculty member Teresa Mcallister and her online collaborative teaching partner, McFarland High School faculty, Angela Quinn. The four of them detailed the evolution of BC’s online collaborative module and the adapting they have had to do in light of the COVID pandemic.

Bakersfield Young Professionals Diversity Panel

Abel Guzman represented BC and the EODAC committee at the 2020 Bakersfield Young Professionals Summit, speaking as part of a panel on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. 

At the panel on October 14, Abel helped answer questions about recruiting and hiring diverse talent, diversification in the workplace, and more, along with Claudia Catota, Chief Diversity Officer at CSUB; Jane Myneni, Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement Lead at Aera; and moderator Carla Barrientos, host of the HelloBakersfield Podcast.

You can watch the full video of the panel on the Greater Bakersfield Chamber’s YouTube account.

Thank you, Abel, for representing BC on this esteemed panel, and thank you to the Chamber and the Bakersfield Young Professionals for inviting BC to participate.

#LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation

Today, I am sharing the final videos from this summer’s #LightACandle: A Juneteenth Conversation programming.

Commitment from Rural Communities & Rural Initiatives:

Commitment from HEAL:

I would once again like to thank everyone for the time, effort, thought and care that went into this programming. It truly was a community conversation.

You can find out more about the #LightACandle project and see all the videos at https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/aai/lightacandle-a-juneteenth-conversation.

Upcoming: Premiere of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tribute

Please join me in celebrating the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg on Thursday, October 29, live at 5:30 p.m on BC’s YouTube channel and Facebook live. This very special tribute, organized by the Pre-Law Club and the Women’s History and More committee, has been in the making for a few weeks, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

For more information, visit the BC website!

Spotted on Social Media

Talita Pruett shared this picture of her beautiful family, and found the positives in these unprecedented times:

“One of the upsides of distance learning and working remotely is that we can work from the beach. So, we’ve been working/ studying from Morro Bay as much as we can. It is a blessing to be able to go on walks early in the morning before we start work/school and late in the afternoon after we are all done with work…Being safely outdoors, when we’ve been isolated/ at home for seven months now, is divine. It is a balm for the body and the soul.”

Cindy Collier shared this photo from getting takeout at the Renegade Room:

“BC Renegade Room and Culinary students continuing their education with take out food services. Chef Suzannne and Logan were so hospitable and the food is wonderful. BC faculty and students are innovative and flexible.“

Athletics

Baseball’s Caggienelli Headed to CSUB

Renegade Baseball pitcher Benji Caggienelli announced this week his commitment to play at the next level across town at Cal State Bakersfield. The right-handed pitcher played just this shortened spring season at BC after a stellar high school career at Ridgeview High School. He is the third baseball player this year to move on to the four-year level. Congrats Benji! We’ll be rooting for you!

That’s all for now.
Until next time.
With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.
sonya –
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

BC — the heart of the community

Uncategorized February 16, 2020 Leave a comment

Good morning, Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, February 15, 2020… A great day to be a Renegade.

Financial Aid Fest

Danny Morrison and DJ Ace hold play music for Financial Aid Fest.
Danny Morrison and DJ Ace perform at Financial Aid Fest.

The Financial Aid Department encouraged our students to “Beat the Clock” and “Get the Money” before the March 2 FAFSA and Dream Act deadline as part of the weeklong Financial Aid Fest held at our three core campuses.

The BC Foundation tables at Financial Aid Fest.

For Wednesday’s Financial Aid Fest on the CSS Lawn of the Panorama Campus, Renegades got the chance to play games, enjoy some tacos catered by BC Food Services, and listen to some great music from Danny Morrison and DJ Ace on the turntables. There were also Financial Aid Fests held at BC SouthWest on Tuesday and the Delano Campus on Thursday. This was the first year that the Financial Aid Department planned a circus theme for Financial Aid fest, and it was a beautiful setup that caught the eyes of everyone who passed through on their way to their classes.

Events like Financial Aid Fest and the FAFSA workshops equip our Renegades with the resources they need to be successful. This year’s Financial Aid Fest also featured booths from several other BC programs such as EOP&S, who came out to inform students about book vouchers, counseling and other resources that may be available to them.

Thank you to the talented folks at Financial Aid for working so hard to put together this event. There are Financial Aid Application Assistance workshops planned throughout the weeks leading up to the March 2 deadline, so check the Bakersfield College calendar for dates and remember to get your applications in for next year!

  • An employee for EOP&S talks to students at Financial Aid Fest.
  • Bakersfield College Veterans Services tables at the Financial Aid Fest.
  • A representative of Body XChange speaks to students at the Financial Aid Fest.

Rudy Salas Roundtable on Homelessness

Anna Laven with Rudy Salas, Leticia Perez and other participants in the homelessness roundtable.
Left to right: Anna Laven; Alex Garcia, Wasco City Councilmember; Alicia Sutton, Deputy Secretary of Homelessness at California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council; Rudy Salas, California Assemblymember; Leticia Perez, Kern County Supervisor; and Grace Vallejo, Delano City Councilmember.

Fun Photos: Mayor’s Ball

BC faculty, staff and dignitaries at the first annual Mayor's Ball.
left to right: Anthony Cordova, Anna Laven, Norma Rojas-Mora, Shannon Grove, Liz Rozell, Jay Rosenlieb, Sonya Christian, Romeo Agbalog, Michael O’Doherty, Heather Pennella, and Endee Grijalva.

BC was present in full force at Karen Goh’s inaugural Mayor’s Ball at the City Center in downtown Bakersfield which raised money for Pastor Robin Robinson and CityServe, a local non-profit organization that provides churches with food, hygiene items and more to help the homeless and other members of our community in need.

Gadfly Cafe

Students and faculty engaged in spirited and insightful debates at the Levan Center as part of the first Gadfly Café of the Spring 2020 semester on Wednesday.

Students debate about aging and death at the Gadfly Cafe.
Students debate the topic “Aging, Disease, and a Timely Death” during the Gadfly Café.

Philosophy professor and Levan Center Director Reggie Williams served as moderator for this month’s topic “Aging, Disease, and A Timely Death”. Students were really engaged, sharing their thoughts on the health complications that come with aging, as well as the feelings of grief that suicide and death can elicit in our loved ones. The group started recognizing that matters of aging and death are very personal and each person has a different answer to finding their purpose in life, and it is our experiences that determine whether or not we’ve lived up to that purpose.  I lost my dad in 2006 and my mom just last year…  I am really grateful for Norm Levan who through his generous gift has allowed BC the ability to host the Levan Center and its remarkable programming.  Also thankful for the Levan Director Reggie Williams.

  • Dr. Norman Levan
  • Jack Hernandez
    Dr. Jack Hernandez
  • Dr. Reggie Williams

College is supposed to be a place where people can have deep, important conversations with their peers to determine their beliefs and priorities. Events like the Gadfly Café are important for developing BC’s core values of Community, Diversity and Wellness, so I would like to thank Professor Williams for providing our students with a space for Socratic discourse.

  • Reggie Williams and the student participants of the Gadfly Cafe.
    The roundtable discussion in the Levan Center.
  • Reggie Williams

Rad Tech Students Compete at National Conference

I was delighted to hear that the second-year students in BC’s Radiologic Technology Program got to attend a nationwide conference in Las Vegas last week. The Association of Collegiate Radiologic Technology (ACERT) Conference held on February 5-7 featured Rad Tech students and educators from across the country.

BC Radiologic Technology students attend a nationwide conference in Los Angeles.
BC Radiologic Technology students at the 2020 ACERT Conference.

BC Rad Tech Director Jacelyn Hill and the BC students participated in the annual Rad Tech Student Bowl, a 2-hour academic competition against 600 other students. BC stood proudly against other community colleges and universities, with the majority of our 21 students finishing in the top 60, and Renegade student Yolanda Puente finishing in 29th place!

Thank you to all of our Rad Tech students for representing BC at this nationwide conference, and thank you to Jacelyn Hill and our Rad Tech and Allied Health staff for training the radiology professionals of tomorrow.

BC Rad Tech Students at the ACERT Conference.
BC Rad Tech Students Kristi Gifford, Yolanda Puente, Emily Byers and Deanna Munoz pose with Stewart Bushong, the author of their textbook.

SLO Symposium

Bill Moseley speaks at a panel during the SLO Symposium 2020.
Bill Moseley presents during a panel at the SLO Symposium.

Last week, BC’s assessment team participated in the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Symposium at Monterey Peninsula College. The 7th-annual event is organized by Jarek Janio and the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, a research and resource-development organization that advocates for the systematic use of student learning outcomes in colleges and universities.

I keynoted the event, and called on the group to #OccupyLearning using the framework established in the books “Redesigning America’s Community Colleges” and “Degrees that Matter”. For more information, you can check out the slides from my keynote presentation on the Bakersfield College website.

There was quite the back channel chatter on twitter. Here are some screen captures.

Dean of Academic Technology Bill Moseley also presented during a panel discussion with representatives from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, and the American Institute for Research. Two videos from his presentation can be viewed below. Thank you Teresa McAllister for capturing the video.

Jarek Janio from Santa Ana College, organized this event. He is a missionary to improve student learning. Jarek, let’s plan a statewide gathering sometime in the fall to advance this conversation!

Reconnecting with Teens Conference

Did you know that Bakersfield College provides support and training to over 1,800 foster families in Kern County each year?  As part of the efforts to improve the outcomes of foster children, the BC Foster & Kinship Care Education (FKCE) program hosted the Reconnecting with Teens Conference on Friday, January 31 at the Marriott in downtown Bakersfield with State Ombudsperson, Rochelle Trochtenberg.  

Imelda Simos-Valdez speaks at the FKCE Conference
FKCE Director Imelda Simos-Valdez speaks at the Connecting with Teens Conference.

Among the 250+ events and 1,140+ training hours offered throughout the year by FKCE, “Reconnecting with Teens” was a special event. Caregivers who care for foster youth attended the event to learn strategies on how to better support teenagers as they launch into adulthood. FKCE Director Imelda Simos-Valdez provided a gracious welcome presentation guests were treated to a very special guest speaker and breakout sessions.

Rochelle Trochtenberg, our guest speaker at the FKCE Conference, is currently the California Foster Care Ombudsperson and a former foster youth. Originally labeled “severely emotionally disturbed”, Rochelle gained her own voice when she shared criticism of Humboldt County Dept. of Health and Human Services approach to group homes at a 2008 conference.  She was eventually hired by the department, earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Social Work, and has become nationally recognized for her work as a lead organizer for the Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaborative. She is the first former foster youth appointed to the Office of Foster Care Ombudsman.  

Keynote speaker Rochelle Trochtenburg
Keynote speaker Rochelle Trochtenburg

More information can be found at the FKCE website.

Thank you to Araceli Navarro, the FKCE Program Manager at Bakersfield College, as well as Imelda Simos-Valdez and the rest of the FKCE staff for putting together this important conference for foster families, and for everything you do to provide for foster families throughout the year.

The BC FKCE Team at the Connecting with Teens Conference.
BC’s FKCE Team signs people in at the Connecting with Teens Conference.

This Week at BC: Agriculture

A BC student picks oranges in the Ag Laboratory.
A BC student picks oranges in the Agriculture Laboratory.

People came to the Panorama Campus from across Kern County last week to pick fresh oranges and grapefruits at the BC Ag Farm. Members of the community were able to pick their own fresh fruit straight from the citrus trees in our ag laboratory off Haley Street, beautifully maintained by our Renegade students and faculty.

The Agriculture Laboratory and the BC Ag Ambassadors are the focus for the newest edition of This Week at BC, a video series put together by Marketing and Public Relations student interns Ramon Carreido and Juan Reyes.

Fun Photos: Journalism Day

BC Photojournalism teacher John Harte speaks to students.
BC photojournalism professor John Harte speaks to students at Journalism Day.

We talked about Journalism Day in last week’s blog, but I wanted to share some more great photos from the on-site competition featuring the Bakersfield Police Department’s “A Life Interrupted” trailer about the dangers of drunk driving. Students also got to ask questions of current and former local journalists during a Q&A session that featured the talents of BC professors Erin Auerbach, John Harte, and Olivia Garcia, CSUB communications professor Jennifer Burger, Chain-Cohn-Stiles Marketing Director Jorge Barrientos, KBAK anchor Sara Shouhayib, and Bakersfield Californian editor Mark Nessia.

  • The On-The-Spot News Award for Bakersfield College Journalism Day.
    The On-The-Spot News Award presented to student journalists.
  • A BPD officer speaks to students at a mock press conference in front of the "A Life Interrupted" trailer.
    A Bakersfield Police Department officer speaks at the “A Life Interrupted” trailer.
left to right: Erin Auerbach, John Harte, Jennifer Burger, Sara Shouhayib, Jorge Barrientos, Mark Nessia, and Olivia Garcia.
Left to right: Erin Auerbach, John Harte, Jennifer Burger, Sara Shouhayib, Jorge Barrientos, Mark Nessia, and Olivia Garcia.

State of the Downtown Breakfast

BCSGA President Samantha Pulido with Tony Cordova, Jaime Lopez, and Benny Balderama attended the State of the Downtown Breakfast on Thursday morning.

left to right: Jaime Lopez, Anthony Cordova, Samantha Pulido, and Benjamin Balderrama
Jaime Lopez, Anthony Cordova, Samantha Pulido, and Benjamin Balderrama.

The Downtown Business Association (DBA) celebrated 65 years of service to the community, and the program focused heavily on their Block-to-Block program, which gives 300 square blocks in the heart of the city a platform to voice their concerns with DBA.

Fun Photos:

BC hard at work!

Zav Dadabhoy, Mike Giacomini, Sonya Christian, Billie Jo Rice, and Lesley Bonds.
Lesley Bonds takes a selfie with Zav Dadbhoy, Mike Giacomini, Sonya Christian, and Billie Jo Rice.

Enjoying Renegade Softball!

Brandon Urry takes a selfie of Sandi Taylor and Sonya Christian

Emails worth Sharing: David Koeth

Screenshot from David Koeth's HelveticaBakersfield blog.
A screenshot from HelveticaBakersfield-a blog curated by BC typography students.

Check out HelveticaBakersfield, a blog created by BC students enrolled in his Art B25 Typography class for the last 11 years.

Since February 2009, my Typography students and I have been collecting samples of the typeface Helvetica, and posting them to a blog. 

It’s an assignment I use to encourage them to look closely and critically at type. 

In the early years, when blogs were a new trend, the blog was featured in the Bakersfield Californian. 

https://helveticabakersfield.tumblr.com

Seen on Twitter: Renegades at Bakersfield Heart Hospital

The Bakersfield Heart Hospital highlighted our amazing Renegades in a tweet from their “meet-and-greet” event at the BLVD on Wednesday. Check out the screenshot below:

Renegade Athletics Report

Watch this week’s edition of the Renegade Report on the Bakersfield College Athletics Facebook page featuring our Renegade Softball team at the Dean & Adah Gay Sports Complex. Head Coach Casey Goodman and student athletes Alantis Rede and Alex Venegas sat down with host Kenny Calvin to discuss the 2020 season.

Renegade Recruiting Round-Up

Darrel Ballard
Darrel Ballard

Big thanks to Darrel Ballard, the Athletics Program Manager for Student Success who successfully planned and coordinated the Renegade Recruiting Round-Up this last Monday.

This event was for prospective Renegade student athletes to learn more about attending BC. Darrell pulled the offices of financial aid, student outreach, student life, career education, athletic counseling and the housing service Sharing Spaces together to provide information and educate these future Renegades! Great event Darrell!

Kern Schools FCU Renegades of the Week: Feb. 2-8

BC Renegades of the Week Alejandro Murillo, baseball, and Alantis Rede, softball.

Renegade Athletics is proud to announce this week’s (2/2-2/8) Kern Schools Federal Credit Union Renegades of the Week.

Alantis Rede, Softball – Alantis hit two grand slams – one against Porterville and one to tie the game in the bottom of the 12th against Riverside last week. She was 7 for 14 at the plate (.500 avg.), with 6 walks and 17 RBI’s in four games.

Alejandro Murillo, Baseball – Against El Camino on 2/6 he pitched nine innings, giving up one unearned run, three hits and 15 strikeouts. He earned a no-decision as the game was tied 1-1 after nine innings. The Gades eventually lost 3-1 in 15 innings.

Renegade Athletics Updates from This Past Week:

A Renegade track and field athletes competes in a relay race.

Athletics ‘Action’ Photos from This Week

  • A Renegade softball catcher gets ready to throw the ball to first.
  • A short stop gets ready to receive the ball.
  • Renegades basketball players celebrate
  • BC track stars compete in the Battle of the Regions.
  • The Renegade men's golf team

Renegade Events ‘On The Hill’ Next Week

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:

  • Tue. 2/18 – Women’s Tennis vs. Santa Monica at 2 p.m.
  • Wed. 2/19 – Women’s Basketball vs. LA Valley at 5 p.m.
  • Wed., 2/19 – Men’s Basketball vs. LA Valley at 7 p.m.
  • Fri., 2/21 – Track and Field hosts WSC North Meet at 12 p.m.
  • Fri., 2/21 – Women’s Basketball vs. Canyons at 5 p.m. (Sophomore Night)
  • Fri., 2/21 – Men’s Basketball vs. Canyons at 7 p.m. (Sophomore Night)
  • Sat., 2/22 – Baseball vs. LA Pierce at 1 p.m.
BC President Sonya Christian.

The Energy that’s BC!

Uncategorized October 27, 2019 1 Comment
Berkeley Waterfront

The tune that has been in my head this week… Imagine Dragons Believer

2019 Homecoming!

Last week was BC’s Homecoming week, and our Renegades played a hard-fought game!  Thank you for coming out and showing your Renegade pride. Here are some photos and videos from last week’s game.

The Energy that’s BC!

The 16-sec ending to the Chamber singers doing the National Anthem at the game.

Jennifer Garrett and the BC Choir singing the National Anthem
Sonya Christian, Steve Watkin, Catherine Rangal, Tonya Cordova
Mayor Goh, President Christian, Catherine Rangel and Mary Jo Pasek
Bill Potter with 17 rowdy kids!
BC Fireworks!

BC SouthWest Has Officially Moved! 

The move has happened!  We officially moved our classes to the new BC SouthWest campus, which will be held in modulars while construction for the new building is underway.  It was a busy and exciting week, but we are ecstatic to begin our journey at our new home in Southwest Bakersfield! Make sure to check out this great video on the new BC SouthWest center!

  • Mark Osea, Marisa Marquez, Jessica Wojtysiak and Jessica’s son John
  • Student Lexus checking out her new classroom with Fernando Lara
  • Sunday before the big move!
Leo Campo and Brynn Shock

BCSGA Power Lunch with Rudy Salas

We had the pleasure of hosting Assemblymember Rudy Salas this past week, who spoke with BC students in the Levan Center for another great BCSGA Power Lunch. BCSGA believes that it is important for students and the community to hear from the people that are representing them, so they invite an important government leader in Kern County to participate in the Power Lunch every month.

Assemblymember Rudy Salas at the BCSGA Power Luncheon

Assemblymember Salas talked about his childhood in southeast Bakersfield, as well as his career in politics, which started with being a financial analyst for the White House in Washington, DC. Assemblymember Salas would eventually move back to Bakersfield to become the first Latino to sit on our City Council before becoming Kern County’s representative on the California Assembly for the last seven years.

OSL serving lunch to attendees

Salas has also been instrumental in funding for career and technical education programs at BC, awarding $1 million to our campus for two consecutive years. Check out my July 20, 2019 blog of the recognition event https://sonyachristianblog.com/2019/07/20/recognition-gratitude-one-proud-renegade-prez/

Salas inspired our students with…. “If you have it in your heart to make a difference, you can do it.”

Assemblymember Salas, Mike Giacomini and Zav Dadabhoy

I would like to give a huge thank you to Assemblymember Rudy Salas. I would also like to thank BCSGA for putting on yet another great event.

Assemblymember Salas and BCSGA’s Legislative Affairs director Johnny Maddon

Dr. Paula Green: Peacebuilding in Divided Communities

Nicky Damania, Reggie Williams, Paula Green, Nick Strobel

Our BC Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life had the pleasure of hosting the Distinguished Speaker Dr. Paula Green and her presentation Peacebuilding in Divided Communities earlier this week. Dr. Green, founder of The Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, presented her work on the significance of peacebuilding efforts in communities worldwide with the purpose of resolving conflicts and the valuable impact of understanding one another’s different views. Dr. Green discussed the importance of reconciliation through our mutual understanding to communicate on the issues that divide communities and give rise to conflicting views making it necessary to discuss and understand our differing perspectives. 

Dr. Paula Green presenting in the Distinguished Speaker Series

The humanitarian efforts of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding advocate for the importance of bridging divides in order to develop a sustainable peace in communities worldwide affected by political, civil, religious, and war conflicts. Dr. Green has recognized that we must learn to be deep listeners and to understand the circumstances of others around us in order to accept the differences of others and to reach a point of unity and peace. Thank you to the BC Student Government Association and the Office of Student Life for hosting this presentation, and a very special thank you to Dr. Green for taking the time to visit our campus and share her insight.  And thank you Nick Strobel!

Dr. Paula Green, Dr. Ximena Da Silva

BC Hosts Distinguished Speaker Samuel Sternberg

Our second Distinguished Speaker for this week was biochemist Samuel H. Sternberg, who shared in-depth details about the revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR in a series of lectures at the Panorama Campus on Thursday.

Dr. Sternberg

Dr. Sternberg is an assistant professor in biochemistry at Columbia University and co-author of the book “A Crack in Creation: The New Power to Control Evolution”. His research in this field has been instrumental in the development of new technologies to edit the DNA of practically any living organism, raising thousands of bioethical questions in the process.

CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a phenomenon that was first observed in the bacteria E. coli as a way to fight off destructive bacterial viruses known as phages. A strand of RNA in the bacteria identifies where the phages are actively attempting to destroy its cellular structure and deploys an enzyme to “cut” the virus out of its DNA.

Benny Balderrama, Dr. Sternberg and Dr. Joe Saldivar

Thank you Dr. Sternberg for coming to BC, and thanks to everyone on the Office of Student Life team for making this happen. Our next Distinguished Speaker will be veteran Jason Beardsley, who will be giving three presentations in the Levan Center on November 7.

Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) Visits BC 

Earlier this week, BC hosted members of the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to evaluate our Baccalaureate program.  The visit was to assess the progress of the Industrial Automation Baccalaureate Degree Program as one of the 15 pilot programs chosen by the State Chancellor’s Office in collaboration with the Academic Senate against the purposes articulated in the SB 850 legislation.

Legislative Analyst Edgar Cabral, from the State Chancellor’s Office, met with our team (Jason Dixon, Lora Larkin, Thomas Rush, Roy Allard, Aubrey Priest, Amber Hroch, Michelle Pena, Liz Rozell, Jennifer Achan, Cynthia Quintanilla, & Manny Fernandez), our students (Richard Van Horn, Edwin Marroquin, Aaron Thomas, & Armando Gutierrez), and industry partners Blair Pruett (Kern Steel), Jonathan Greersen (California Resources Co.), Carlos Media (BC Job Development Specialist), Sam Gomez (Tasteful Selections), Tim McCord (Carboline), Paisley Stidham and Anthony Gutierrez (GAF) yesterday to discuss our Baccalaureate in Science degree for Industrial Automation.  Thank you to our dedicated team of faculty, staff, students, and employers who helped showcase our program and our community it serves. 

State and National Visibility for Early College

Our Early College team has been busy spreading the word about the amazing work being done in association with our high school partners. Steve Watkin, Kylie Swanson, and Ashlea Ward have been sharing the scaling up of Early College across the county and the innovative ways that we have been increasing college accessibility in our rural areas. 

Ashlea Ward and Kylie Swanson

In September, the team, along with several of our high school partners, went to Riverside, CA to present at the 6th Annual California Dual Enrollment Summit, put on by the California Coalition of Early and Middle Colleges (CCEMC). Then, in October, the team went to Salt Lake City, Utah to share our work at the national level with the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP).

CCEMC Panel

As we build our relationships with other colleges across the state and across the nation, we are coming together to present Early College as a solution to the degree attainment crisis that is plaguing our nation. Early College is our chance to get students on path as early as the 9th grade, and to equip them with the skills and mindset necessary to follow that path all the way through baccalaureate completion, and beyond. 

Kylie Swanson, Steve Watkin and Ashlea Ward

Thank you for doing this crucial work, Early College team!

BC at the Kern County Education to Workforce Summit

Employers’ Training Resource, Kern Community College District and Kern High School District partnered with America’s Job Center to sponsor “Kern County Education to Workforce Summit”. The summit was held on October 24th, 2019 at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton.

Teresa Hitchcock and Norma Rojas-Mora

BC was in full force at this Summit, with businesses, education staff, community leaders, human resource professionals, students, and the general public, providing information on hot topics in business and their impact on today’s economy. 

  • BC and KCCD at the Workforce Summit
Norma Rojas, Mayor Goh, Nateasha Johnson and Steve Watkin

BC Ag Departments Hosts 3rd Annual Agriculture Career Expo

The Ag Expo was huge!

This past week, the Agriculture Department and the Kern County Farm Bureau hosted its 3nd Annual Agriculture Career Expo.  Over 300 FFA high school students visited campus to learn about different career opportunities in the agriculture industry. Ariana Joven, Executive Director of the Kern County Farm Bureau spoke to students about the importance of agriculture in Kern County and BC’s drumline arrived to get the students excited about the day – thank you Tim Heasley.

Students from Heather Baltis’ Agriculture Leadership Class along with the Agriculture Ambassadors helped plan and guide students around campus. High school students went to four rotations learning about different careers in the agriculture industry. A special thanks to all the industry professionals that took time to invest in these students.

Along with the different rotations, students went to the Agriculture Career Expo. Domenica Trinidad and the CTE team did an amazing job connecting students with agricultural companies around Kern County.

Domenica Trinidad and the CTE team

We would also like to thank our sponsors for making this day possible. This is a valuable experience for the next generation of agriculture employees. It was a great day to be a Renegade. WE ARE BC!

BC Presents before Sons in Retirement Group

The Sons In Retirement (SIR) Branch 163-Golden Empire, reached out and invited Heather Pennella and Tamara Baker to attend their October monthly meeting held at Hodel’s. SIRs began in 1958, and has thousands of members and branches in most areas of Central and Northern California. Tamara provided a Measure J construction update and offered information on the future projects slated to take place. Heather discussed an increased need for Alumni Engagement, and various opportunities available to support the mission of Bakersfield College. There were several Renegade alums in the crowd and all were impressed to hear that BC attendance has grown to 37,000 students. Thanks to SIR for their hospitality, and to David Fabrizius and Ron Harrington (and little Ron, see picture) for the invitation to share information about Bakersfield College with the group.

Tamara Baker, Heather Pennella, Ron Harrington and Little Ron

BC Holds New Student Orientation

Last week the BC Outreach & School Relations department held a Fall 2019 New Student Orientation session welcoming new incoming students to the BC campus. Our Outreach Advisors Angela Williams, Savannah Andrews, and Jo Ann Acosta led the New Student Orientation session guiding students on available academic resources that help students on their educational journey at BC.

2019 Mental Health Symposium

Earlier this week BC partnered with the Kern County Public Health Services Department and Kern County Behavioral Health & Services to host the first annual 2019 Mental Health Symposium.  The Symposium was held at our Indoor Theater, recognizing and raising awareness on the concerning mental health issues affecting first responders and others with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a growing mental health issue.

BC Public Safety EMT Instructor Jana Richardson, and Kern County Public Health EMS Program Manager Jeff Fariss highlighted the importance of gathering together as a Bakersfield community in order to support our first responders and everyday people affected with mental health issues and raising awareness on the symptoms of PTSD. Mental health symptoms of PTSD include stress, fear, anger, negative thoughts, recurring memories, and hyper-arousal which causes strong reactions to sounds and sights around an affected person. It is important that we work together as a community to understand the issues concerning mental health awareness and recognizing PTSD symptoms in order to help identify affected people in need of support. Thank you to the BC Public Safety, Kern Public Health, Kern Behavioral Health, and the Bakersfield community for their dedication and commitment to recognizing and raising mental health awareness in support of our first responders and community.

Bakersfield College Attends Prospanica Leadership Conference

BC Latinx students attended the Prospanica Leadership Conference this week.

Local high school students, including college students from CSUB and Bakersfield College, participated in a series of workshops which included: Dress For Success 101 (Jerry Gamez: Finos Menswear & Tux); Financial Literacy (Lorenzo Tafolla, Jesse Quintanilla, Manuel Muralles); Finding Your Purpose (Jason Hanash– Senior Pastor Discovery Church); and were inspired by the words of affirmation and wisdom imparted by the Conference Emcee (Robert Gonzales – Realtor)

Thank you Manuel Muralles (Program Manager- Rural Initiatives) who diligently served in the planning committee to develop an excellent conference and for extending the invitation to Latinx males from Bakersfield College. Also, thank you to Rene Deniz (EOPS Adjunct Counselor) for incorporating Lamont youth into the conference and for serving as a positive role model in the community.

STEM and Chemistry Day at BC

BC celebrated National Chemistry Week with a STEM fair in the courtyard of the Science and Engineering Building on Wednesday. All departments and student organizations that fall under the STEM pathway participated in this event

Some of the groups that participated in the event include MESA, the Physics Club and BC’s Artificial Intelligence club. Thank you to STEM Counselor Laurel Mourtzanos for working to help promote all of the STEM programs that we offer to inspire the science and engineering leaders of tomorrow.

National Chemistry Week is an annual event organized by the American Chemical Society (ACS), an organization founded in 1876 to improve people’s lives through the power of chemistry. The theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week is “Marvelous Metals”, and the ACS website has all kinds of resources for educators to share interesting experiments with metals.

Thank you to the STEM program for honoring National Chemistry Week on our campus, and thank you to all of the clubs who helped organize another great event for our students.

Emails Worth Sharing: Student Success Story

Tom Moran recently shared a link to a video he made that highlights a Renegade student success story. In his email, he describes Jasmine Rubio as a graduate from ITP who has also secured two jobs including one at BC! Check out this incredible Renegade spotlight:  

French Sister City Residents Attend BC Football Game 

Earlier this week, 17 students from Bakersfield’s French sister city, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, came to visit as part of the city’s exchange program.  One of their stops was none other than a BC Renegade Football game, where they were able to take in this great American pastime. We hope that had a great trip to this amazing place we call home! Check out this great piece by KGET on their visit.

Rick Kreiser Distinguished Honoree at American Cancer Society Gala

I received this photo from Michael O’Doherty showing local community leader Rick Kreiser being honored at last week’s American Cancer Society Gala. Rick is a strong supporter of Bakersfield College, and truly deserves this recognition.  Congratulations Rick! 

Rick Kreiser at American Cancer Society Gala
BC’s Cheer Team

NAPD, New Advancement for People with Disabilities, had some of their special needs clients at the home game a couple weeks ago.  BC Cheer is volunteering at their Halloween dance doing Halloween make up, serving food, and are actors in their haunted house.  Here is their thank you video to the cheer team and the college.

Kern Schools FCU Renegades of the Week 

Renegade Athletics is proud to announce this week’s (10/13-10/19) Kern Schools Federal Credit Union Renegades of the Week:

Penelope Zepeda, Volleyball – Penelope played a key roll in the three sweeps the volleyball team collected last week. She was  9-1-18 with a .444 hitting%, collecting 6 digs and 10.5 pts against West LA; she was 9-2-24 with a .292 hitting%, collecting 14 digs and 11.5 pts against Antelope Valley and was 15-2-33 with a .394 hitting% collecting 9 digs and 15.5 pts against Canyons. For her efforts she was also recognized as the CCCWVCA SoCal State Player of the Week. 

Brock Mather, Football – Brock anchored the Renegade defense against Ventura, the fourth ranked team in the state, during the homecoming game on 10/19. He totaled 11 tackles (2 for a loss) and one pass break-up in the game. He also leads the team in tackles so far this season with 41. 

Wrestling Coach Joe Espejo Honored at Alma Mater 

Joe Espejo, one of our assistant wrestling coaches was honored by his alma mater, Dickinson State University where he was inducted as a member in their athletics hall of fame as a member of the 2007-08 Blue Hawk wrestling team. Joe first wrestled for BC before transferring to Dickinson State and is now back at BC coaching the next generation of Renegade wrestlers. Well deserved, Joe!

Volleyball’s Penelope Zepeda Named CCCWVCA State Player of the Week 

The California Community College Women’s Volleyball Association (CCCWVCA) has named Penelope Zepeda as the SoCal State Player of the Week for week #8 of the season. 

Zepeda led the Renegade volleyball team to three straight sweeps last week over West LA, Antelope Valley and Canyons. Congrats, Penelope! Check out this release on the California Community College Athletics Association (CCCAA) website.

Former Renegade Wrestler To Be Inducted Into National Wrestling Hall of Fame 

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced this week that former Renegade State Champion wrestler Bruce Burnett will be inducted as a Distinguished Member at the 44th Annual Honors Weekend on June 5-6, 2020 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Burnett wrestled at Bakersfield College from 1969 to 1970 and was a two-time state champion at the 137/142 lb. weight class. In 1969 he played a key role in the Renegade wrestling team winning the state junior college championship under head coach Bruce Pfutzenreuter. He finished his Renegade career with a 55-3 career record and was named the state’s outstanding wrestler in 1970. Congrats Bruce!

Renegade Athletics Scores From This Past Week

Athletic Events ‘On the Hill’ This Coming Week

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. 10/29 – 4pm Men’s Soccer vs. Canyons
  • Wed. 10/30 – 6pm Volleyball vs. Santa Monica
  • Fri. 11/1 – 7pm Women’s Basketball vs. Riverside
  • Sat. 11/2 – 5pm Women’s Basketball vs. Pasadena City

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya-
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever

Uncategorized January 13, 2018 Comments: 5

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Clouds on flight from PDX to BUR Jan 6 2018

Cloud formation from the turbulent flight from PDX to BUR Jan 7 2018

Good morning Bakersfield…It is Saturday, January 13, 2018 and a great day to be a Renegade!

This week, it seemed that I was able to see beauty all around me.  I have noticed that there are times that my sensitivity to all things beautiful seem more heightened.  It is during these time that I pick up my poetry book from high school at Mount Carmel Convent ….. this week I found myself reading Keats.  So my friends, here are images of beauty for you as you soak in Keats

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Pacheco Pass Jan 12 2018

San Luis Reservoir, Pacheco Pass, Jan 12 2018

 

Before Magnolia and Brazilian Pepper

Pam Christian

An extremely active week at BC with faculty arriving back on campus for inservice activities, workshops as we gear up to welcome over 31,000 students back to our campuses in Bakersfield, in Delano, in Arvin, in Shafter, online, …… I did a bit of travelling to San Jose to attend the accreditation commission (ACCJC) meeting.

With half of the school year in our rear view mirror, all of Bakersfield College’s faculty and staff came together once again in anticipation for the next semester during our Spring 2018 Opening Day celebration Thursday at the Indoor Theater.

IMG_0013-X3

One of my favorite parts of the day kicks off with seeing familiar faces during the gathering in the plaza. I was so glad to have beautiful photos this year of the activity before the program.

Great group from our Child Care Center.

Child Care gang Opening Day Jan 11 2018

Dezi Von Manos opened the program with the traditional remarks from the BCSGA President.

Dezi Von Manos Opening day

Dezi Von Manos Opening day

Opening day spotlighted our accreditation work under the leadership of Liz Rozell, dean of Instrcution, and Jason Stratton, history faculty.

Liz Rozell and Jason Stratton

Liz Rozell and Jason Stratton

After showing a brief video interviewing students and staff about accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes, Liz and Jason thanked the faculty team leads who will be putting together the materials for our four accreditation standards and the writers, editors and communication team for the Quality Focus Essay that will wrap our self-evaluation report in a neat little bow and tell the world BC’s story.

Our primary editor for this project is Dr. Nick Strobel, and he’ll be responsible for putting all of the information together into a coherent narrative. Manny produced a silly comic relief video of Nick dressed up as a monk, walking around the library while carrying large scrolls as Gregorian chants echoed through the halls.

Following Accreditation, Andrea Thorson took the stage to emphasize the importance of maintaining a singular, coherent voice about BC’s institutional philosophy when we talk to students or people in the community.

s18openingday_earl31-x2

Andrea Thorson

 

Di Hoffman and new Dean Billie Jo Rice talked about assessment and Student Learning Outcomes, using the acronym PARR (Plan, Assess, Reflect, and Refine) as a pneumonic device to outline our assessment process.

Billi Jo Rice and Di Hoffman

Billi Jo Rice and Di Hoffman

Julian West addressed the audience about how he’s able to keep 600 students in our African-American affinity group engaged and striving for their highest level of excellence, using a combination of data analysis and “real talk” face-to-face mentorship to ensure that none of our African American students are falling through the cracks. See Julians full remarks here.

Janet Fulks and our new Web Content Editor, Nicole Griffin discussed our state-of-the-Renegade Scorecard 3.0, that continues to bring our institutional data to life on the web with an unprecedented level of interactivity displaying statistics about our student population and programs of study.

Nicole Griffin and Janet Fulks

Nicole Griffin and Janet Fulks

 

I was excited to announce the planned campus renovations that are going to be made possible via Measure J, which was initially going to take place over 25 years, has now been compacted planned for a shorter time line. This means that many of you will get to see our campus transform before your eyes during your tenure at BC, and the money will be used more efficiently to avoid cost increases due to inflation.

Todd Coston

Todd Coston 

Bill Potter presented the new Facilities Master Plan to the audience at our Opening Day presentation, with a special guest for the presentation, Todd Coston dressed as a janitor showing how accreditation is a whole campus endeavor. I heard Todd even threw a mop bucket full of silver confetti into the theater.

Toward the end of the Opening Day presentation, Tina Johnson introduced the new members of the CSEA board, Isabel Stierle encouraged faculty members to welcome our new faculty members into the CCA, and Steven Holmes urged faculty and staff to be active participants in all of our various committees including Guided Pathways.

 

Sue Vaughn gave an update sharing the constant and rapid movement in the Management Association.  At one point the audience gave a standing ovation for Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg. Love this photo taken by Earl Parsons.

Audience applauding Nan Spring 2018 Opening Day

Our SGA Senators, Ashley Harp and Mustapha Burraj led the entire audience in a stretch break.

Stretch Break for Opening Day

Stretch Break for Opening Day

Reggie Williams, the recipient of the 2017 Shirley Trembley Distinguished Teaching Award, gave his thank-you speech during this semester’s Opening Day since he was out of the country during the Fall 2017 festivities. He gave special recognition to Jack Hernandez for inspiring him to learn more about philosophy during his time in one of Jack’s classes as an 18-year-old freshman at BC.

Reggie Williams
Tom Greenwood, Reggie Williams, and Anna Poetker

Susan Pinza announced Oliver Rosales as the winner of the Norman Levan Faculty Colloquium Award. Oliver will be delivering a presentation about multicultural civil rights activism in post-World War II Bakersfield.

Oliver Rosales standing to be recognized

Dr. Oliver Rosales standing to be recognized

Opening and Closing Days are a huge undertaking, and I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who made it possible. I’d like to thank Manny de Los Santos for his work compiling all of the videos for this event, as well as running the livestream. And special thanks to Nate from Freestyle who was our sound technician and is a BC student studying Computer Science!

s18openingday_earl34-x3

Manny De Los Santos and Nate

Thank you also to our photographers from the Marketing and Public Relations team—Earl Parsons, Eric Carillo and Dylan Wang

Dylan Wang

Dylan Wang capturing the day through the lens.

 

Thank you Eric Carillo for texting me some of the selfies and bringing me vicariously to Opening Day.  I so loved them.  Here are a few.

 

 

All of their photos for the day can be found on the BC Smugmug.

Thank you to Monika Scott, Jennifer Serratt and Lesley Bonds for coordinating and planning, and Kristin Rabe for coordinating the theater.

Jennifer Serratt, Aricia Leighton, Kristin Rabe, Monika Scott

Jennifer Serratt, Aricia Leighton, Kristin Rabe, Monika Scott