Tag Archives: Tom Gelder

Registration is Rockin’ at Bakersfield College!

Uncategorized July 15, 2017 Comments: 10

A beautiful morning here in Bakersfield….It is Saturday, July 15, 2017. What a great day to be a Renegade.

And I thought July was going to be a slow month here, as Coach Paula Dahl would say, in the Renegade nation. This week in July was full and rich ….like peanut butter and jelly.

#NeoThePup

Neo

Let me start with, as Lesley branded the the growing up of Neo, #NeoThePup. At 34 lbs he still thinks he is a puppy. Well actually he is still a puppy — 4 months old. But my mom does not think so. Particularly when after his bath this last weekend he ran full speed and jumped on her lap, all 34 lbs of him, and started licking her face. She later politely told me I had to teach him some manners. When Tom Gelder heard this story, he said well, you must introduce your mom to Ogden Nash

The truth I do not stretch or shove
When I state that the dog is full of love.
I’ve also found, by actual test,
A wet dog is the lovingest.
-Ogden Nash

I then checked out Ogden Nash and enjoyed what I read about him. Wikipedia says that Nash loved to rhyme, and quotes him as saying in a 1958 news interview, “I think in terms of rhyme, and have since I was six years old.” What an incredible, natural, and wondrous talent.

The big adventure this week was to get smart with Neo and put in gates to secure areas that we did not want himfrolicking in. Needless to say, he was not very happy as you can see in the photo.

Neo in his new world

And he has progressed from an obedient 2-month old to a stubborn almost 4-month old. Here he is with mud all over his muzzle and paws looking at me after I repeatedly called out to him. Do you think this look displays any indication that he is ready to get up and respond to me?

July 14 2017 Neo's response when I called him

Neo creating his muddy bed

Meet the new member of the KCCD Trustees Rayven Acosta-Webb

Raven Acosta, Romeo Agbalog, Bill Thomas July 13 2017

Rayven Acosta-Webb, Chancellor Tom Burke

Rayven Acosta-Webb is a sophomore student at Bakersfield College, double majoring in Engineering and American Sign Language. Her previous experiences include being a supplemental instructor and the Bakersfield College Student Government Association’s Public Relations Manager. She offers a new perspective, as well as an understanding of the diverse needs students have on campus. She wants to be more involved with campus organizations, staff, and fellow students at all three sister KCCD institutions. She will help to create a stronger voice for all who attend and reach out to all areas of the school. Most important of all, she will represent the students’ opinions and concerns at the KCCD Board of Trustee’s meetings. She will use her ability to listen and help get the ball rolling in areas in which individuals have found themselves stuck or felt neglected. She aims to help generate change that benefits all who attend a KCCD institution and is honored to help KCCD continue to thrive.

Rayven Acosta Webb KCCD Trustee July 13 2017

Rayven Acosta-Webb, Romeo Agbalog, Bill Thomas

Involvement:

American Sign Language Club (Member) at Bakersfield College
Cadet Training Officer for Bakersfield High School
Bakersfield Club of the Deaf (Member)
Bakersfield College Student Government Association Public Relations Manager
M.E.Ch.A Club (Member)

Registration Rocks at Bakersfield College

Steve Watkin, Sonya Christian, Michelle Pena

The sight was incredible, stepping out of my office on Tuesday morning — hundreds of students in the Welcome Center with our incredible staff there to assist and support each step of the enrollment process. I had to stop and take a photo with Steve Watkin and Michelle Pena. The event had an incredible turnout with 227 new first-time students and 323 students who we welcomed back making a grand total of 550 students helped out in just one day! Thank you to the entire team who designed the event including Steve Watkin and the Outreach office, John Farrand and Francis Mayer for the promotional video, and all the amazing BC staff and faculty on hand to help out the students.

Steve was also on the news bright and early Monday morning – check it out here.

Miss the video? See it on last week’s blog post here.

State of the City Luncheon

July 12, 2017 was the State of the City event hosted by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce. This was Karen Goh’s first as mayor of Bakersfield. We had a table of folks from KCCD, the Bakersfield College Foundation and Bakersfield College. We had a great time. Here are some photos of our team.

Romeo Agbalog, Bill Thomas, Sonya Christian, Tom Burke

Karen Thompson and Rick Kreiser July 12 2017

Karen Thompson, Rick Kreiser

Bryan Burrows Adam Alvidrez Sonya Christian Jay Tamsi

Nan Gomez Heitzeberg, Jennifer Achan July 12 2017

Romeo Agbalog, Mary Jo Pasek, John Means July 12 2017

Mayor Karen Goh made an opening statement for the State of the City, hosted by the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, urging attendees to “change the narrative of our community” and challenging Bakersfield’s leaders to do their part in distorting the negative perceptions outsiders have about this area as we continue to grow. She called it “A New Vision, A New Narrative”

Goh also outlined her plans for her first term as mayor and encouraged businesses to work with schools to prepare students for the workforce and hiring locally for technology needs. In talking about diversification of the Bakersfield portfolio, the mayor highlighted Health Care, the Technology industry, and Education. Working collaboratively was a central theme of her message. So in that context, I would like to remind the reader about the Kern Promise, a large educational collaborative across all education sectors, business and industry, political leaders and other community organizations.

For more on the Kern Promise check out my April 29, 2017 blog at
https://sonyachristianblog.com/2017/04/29/strengthening-kern-county-one-degree-at-a-time/

City Manager Alan Tandy gives the State of the City

Alan Tandy

Alan Tandy started his talk with images of the Kern River gushing with water. I felt uplifted at the image since it always tugged my heart when I walked or biked on the “River Walk” bike path and saw no river for my first few years back in Bakersfield from Oregon.

And of course he talked about transportation and TRIP. He showed us a pretty cool video with drone footage of the project and offered details about the Centennial Corridor Project aiming to connect Highway 58 with the recently-completed Westside Parkway. He did a special mention of Retired Congressman Bill Thomas and the room burst into a round of applause.

Tandy provided an explanation for the increase in water rates and reminded attendees that the resolution on housing and urban development and the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is coming up at the next City Council meeting.

Thank you Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce for hosting the State of the City event and providing a platform for some very important conversations about the future of our city to take place. If we’re going to make Bakersfield a key destination for the entrepreneurs of the future, we’ll need to continue having these conversations.

Loved this picture from Karen Goh’s Facebook page with the fabulous Chamber staff

Want to catch up on some things covered during the afternoon? Check out The Bakersfield Californian’s article, “Gateway to Barstow? Mayor tells State of the City crowd rebranding is imperative” by Dorothy Mills-Gregg and the official State of the City website.

Bakersfield Burrito Project

Here is Mayor Karen Goh with BCSGA Senator, Emmanuel Limaco helping out at the local event. It’s great to see the ways BC is out in the community and Bakersfield has so many great initiatives to get involved with. The Bakersfield Burrito Project says on it’s official website that it “has been serving the community of Bakersfield, California since 2009. Every Sunday, without fail, our volunteers create fresh burritos from raw ingredients and package them.” Learn more about this incredible project at www.bakersfieldburritoproject.org.

To see all the photos from Bakersfield’s Mayor, visit Karen Goh’s album on Facebook!

Into the Woods Closing Show Tonight

Tonight is the closing performance of “Into the Woods” — the first BC musical in about 20 years! It has been incredible to see the cast and faculty on this great endeavor. Jennifer Garrett tells me, that doing a Sondheim musical in a 4-week class has been absolute insanity but they have pulled things together and created a show that is truly remarkable. The director of the show, Brian Sivesind has he just completed his first year as full-time faculty at BC! Brian is an amazing addition to our faculty. He is so focused on student success and sets high expectations for students and all those involved in the musical He has devoted an amazing amount of time to this production and specifically to each individual student. I know that the cast of the production appreciates him very much and so do I. Thank you to all of those that have already attended the musical and I hope many more will be able to attend tonight.

Final performance begins tonight at 7:30PM. I hope you’ll be there.

Patrick Bender thank you for you countless hours with all of our performances. Every time I run into Dr. Garrett she raves about what a blessing you are to our students, to the department and to the college. #WeAreBC

Patrick Bender

Kathryn Kuby

The fabulous Jen Garrett with the female cast of Into the Woods

And the Director of BC’s first musical in 20 years, Brian Sivesand!

BC’s Drumline “Resounds”

Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps

This is the second year in a row that I attended the Resound International Competition here in the Memorial Stadium. Last year, the event was on July 16, 2016 and check out this fun blog post that has a lot of great memories in addition to the Drumline. This post covers:

(1) the KCCD BOard of Trustees vote on Measure J
(2) Mayor Harvey Hall’s Community Voices in The Bakersfield Californian endorsing Measure J.
(3) Great speeches by SGA President Matthew Frazer and another SGA member Wesley Lyons
(4) Visit to Arvin High School
(5) Presenting to Chevron Retirees
(6) And finally Rocky, The Racoon

https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/07/16/building-a-better-bc/

At this year’s event, what an incredible lineup from across California

7:00 p.m.	Welcome & National Anthem
7:08 p.m.	Blue Devils C – Concord, CA
7:24 p.m.	Incognito – Brea, CA
7:40 p.m.	Watchmen – Riverside, CA
7:56 p.m.	Impulse – Buena Park, CA
8:12 p.m.	Intermission
8:27 p.m.	Blue Devils B – Concord, CA
8:43 p.m.	Vanguard Cadets – Santa Clara, CA
8:59 p.m.	Golden Empire – Bakersfield, CA

In First Place – Blue Devils; Second Place – Vanguard Cadets; Third Place – Golden Empire (BC)

Here are some photos from John Farrand

Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps

And some extra photos:

Francis Mayer and John Farrand on the field capturing photos and videos.

Francis Mayer and John Farrand July 14 2017

Patrick Harrison, Aaron Kidwell, Mary Jo Pasek

Tom Pasek, Mary Jo Pasek

Clint Walker, Janet Tarjan, Sonya Christian, Pam Christian

Janet Tarjan, Sonya Christian, Sandi Taylor

We are so fortunate to have such a great M&O staff. It seems like they are everywhere every time taking care of something for the college, for our faculty and staff and for our students. And they do it with a smile. Let me introduce you to Patrick Harrison, Martin Ramirez, and Aaron Kidwell. Gentlemen, from the entire college and our community, I thank you for what you do and for who you are.

Patrick Harrison, Martin Ramirez, Aaron Kidwell

Check out the 1:27-minute video

I am so glad we have Prof. Tim Heasley at Bakersfield College. Thank you Tim for the countless hours working and travelling with our students. The sheer physical stamina and focus on details that you provide with such a limited staff is truly remarkable. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! #WeAreBC

Here is a photo of Tim Heasley from Mary Jo Pasek’s Facebook

Tim Heasley

The BC Fight Song

A fun email chain passed by my inbox where Heather Pennella was investigating the legalities behind copyright and re-recording the BC fight song. I loved our chancellor Tom Burke’s addition to the email chain where he said, “I have a 1960’s recording of the fight song on 33 ⅓ vinyl record.” When I stopped by the district office this last week to work with John Means and Gary Moser, I stopped by Tom’s office to say hello and he had the record with him for the BC Archives. Of course I snapped a few pictures.

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As an extra bonus, he shared with me the ticket for the performance to meet with the pope!

What’s Trending at the Chamber?

I received the latest newsletter that keeps me looped in with all the latest regarding our Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and the newsletter shared that the GBCC received a recent CalChamber award. Congratulations on the CalChamber President’s Circle Award.

The award, first presented in 2009, recognizes chambers for excellence in business advocacy and helping their members comply with California employment laws. GBCC President and CEO Nick Ortiz accepted the award on May 31 during the CalChamber’s annual Capitol Summit in Sacramento. To learn more about this specific award, visit the CalChamber website.

Speaking of the GBCC, Hillary Haenes, Member Programs and Engagement Manager for the chamber was recently featured by Bakersfield Magazine in their section highlighting 20 under 40. I love how the piece says, “Since coming to Bakersfield in 2004, Hillary Haenes has made it her mission to get involved.” That’s what Bakersfield is all about! See the whole piece on Bakersfield.com. The photo of Hillary is from The Bakersfield Californian taken by Jonah and Lindsay.

Bakersfield College at the statewide Curriculum Institute

The last few years have seen unprecedented changes to curriculum and curricular processes, from the introduction of baccalaureate degrees to local certification for approval of credit courses to guided pathways. While all of these changes are exciting, they can also be daunting to navigate for curriculum chairs, faculty, administrators, and classified professionals. This year’s Curriculum Institute will provide interactive workshops, breakout sessions, and opportunities for discussion designed to provide the tools and knowledge needed to keep all hands on deck when it comes to curriculum and curricular processes!

The BC Team: Di Hoffman, Sharon Bush, Cindy Collier, Bill Moseley, Jennifer Johnson, Mark Osea, Marissa Marquez

Summer Bridge Continues..

So proud of our faculty and staff who are participating in BC’s Summer Bridge to “bridge” high school students from high school to college.

Here are some emails that Dr. Kimberly Bligh shared with me from students who participated in Summer Bridge

Dr. Kimberly Bligh,

My name is Samantha Coston, I am an incoming freshman and I am pursuing aerospace engineering. I wish to thank you for your valuable information regarding Bakersfield College. Your book had a lot of information that my high school couldn’t provide. It also was a big help with the transition to Bakersfield College. Often times small pieces of vital information gets left out of introductory speeches simply out of forgetfulness. However, your book has provided all the information I need to fully transition and continue to pursue my degree at Bakersfield College.

Thank you! – Samantha Coston

Wonder who Samantha Coston is Todd?

Todd Coston, John Hart, Krista Moreland

Hello Dr. Bligh,

I’d like to thank you for putting together such a great opportunity for incoming BC students to get a feel for the campus and figure out exactly what we will be expecting when we come back for the fall semester. It has helped tremendously and I can all ready tell I’ll have a good feel for the place on my first day.

Again, thank you very much.

Wesley Kelley

Hello Dr. Bligh,

My name is Alex Cerda, and I am an incoming freshman for the fall semester of 2017. Something that I have learned during this program today is that Bakersfield College is a fairly welcoming place filled with kind faculty members who are very willing to help students to the best of their ability.

Alex Cerda

Dr. Bligh,

My name is Bailey Gather. I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to have this day. If we wouldn’t have had this day I definitely would be lost on my first day. But another thing that I feel like BC will help me with is all of the resources that there is on campus. So again thank you for giving your time and helping us.

Sincerely,

Bailey Gather

Fun photos:

Jennifer Marden was at Catalina this weekend with Mark and she snapped this picture with a young man named Diego who is Cynthia Munoz’ nephew.

Diego, Jennifer Marden

Faith Counts, Becky Dargatz, Cynthia Munoz, Steve Waller, Jennifer Marden

I texted back that he is almost as good looking as his aunt. Jennifer was so delighted to see her friend’s nephew there. And talking about Cynthia, I got to know her when she regularly came to the Measure J campaign headquarters to help out. Thank you Cynthia.

Chudy goes to DC

Coach Jeff Chudy was telling me how Congressman Kevin McCarthy welcomed him and his family and showed them a great time in DC. I enjoyed this photo and wanted to thank the Congressman for his unwavering support of Bakersfield College.

Sonya at the Market Place March 17 2013 (1)

Sonya Christian at the Market Place. March 17, 2013.

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Moments that make up Life

Uncategorized May 29, 2017 Comments: 5

Good morning Bakersfield. It is Saturday, May 27th….always a good day to be a Renegade.

A lot happened this week…A lot has happened to people around me. Gains and losses. All interwoven in the fabric of life. It gives us pause and the realization that it is the little moments that make up life.

Let me start by revisiting the 103rd commencement.

Commencement

I’m happy to still be covering parts of our incredible Commencement Day on May 12th.

Thank you Manny De Los Santos for this great video!

Last week I did not have the potos for the Delano pre-commencement celebration and the Veterans pre-commencement celebration. So I decided to hold off and post it this week. I did receive an email expressing disappointment that I did not have them last week. My apologies. Sit back and enjoy our students in Delano and our student Veterans.

Delano Pre-Commencement Celebration:

Students at the Bakersfield College-Delano Campus are part of a close-knit community — one really gets to know the faces around the center. This couldn’t have been made much clearer than by the remarks that followed.

Trustee Romeo Agbalog

Trustee Romeo Agbalog gave words of encouragement to the graduates in attendance. He talked about his experience as a student at Bakersfield College. Mr. Agbalog specifically talked about the role that our longtime Admissions and Records Technician, Helen Calip, played in enrolling him in his first class at Bakersfield College-Delano. In recounting the experience, Mr. Agbalog, full of heart, looked at Helen sitting in the audience and thanked her for what she did for him. We feel very fortunate to have such a passionate representative on our Board of Trustees. Thank you Trustee Agbalog for taking the time to be present at important events. Our students really appreciate it.

Our keynote speaker for the event was adjunct faculty member, Victor Krumdick. Mr. Krumdick is retiring after 26 years of service to the college. Raquel Lopez and Carolina Madrigal introduced him and shared stories about the amazing work he has done in Delano, in and out of the classroom. Mr. Krumdick is one of the friendliest people around campus. He brings a positive energy to the Delano Campus that not many can match. He shared some wise and poetic words with the students, in hopes that they live life to their fullest potential.

Then came the moment everybody was waiting for. Each student had the opportunity to stand in front of the group and share words of appreciation for their guests, as well as for the staff and faculty. The majority of the students made it a point to thank the faculty members who believed in them and supported them along the way. Each student received a medal to recognize their accomplishment.

BC Delano Pre-Commencement Reception

BC Delano Pre-Commencement Reception

BC Delano Pre-Commencement Reception

BC Delano Pre-Commencement Reception

The ceremony was followed by a reception at which students, staff, faculty, and guests enjoyed light refreshments. The joy and pride that the families had that day was very contagious. After some socializing, many of the students headed to main campus to participate in the 103rd commencement.

Veterans Pre-Commencement

“Aim High …. Fly, Fight, Win!” , “Non sibi sed patriae, (Not for self but for country)”, “Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)”and “This we’ll defend” all typically followed by a Hooray!

These are the official mottoes for the four branches of military, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and the Army. A week ago Friday, six Bakersfield College students gathered for their pre-commencement ceremony and all of these branches were represented with pride and honor. These six students worked hard, diligently at their studies, juggled families, work, and outside responsibilities while still making time to study, write those papers and pass those exams. When Paul Beckworth addressed these BC Veterans, he recognized their service to this country and the service to this school, “Stay up late and write a paper, I’ve served 2 tours in Iraq, piece of cake.”

After Paul and Armando Trujillo spoke to the Veteran students and their honored guests, they then invited the students to come up one at a time and be stolled by a member of their family and then speak of their appreciation for those who helped them on this journey.

The resonating theme throughout everyone’s comments was that of the genuine camaraderie that can be found within the walls of the Veteran’s lounge. When soldiers get together, there is an instant bond that is irrefutable and instantaneous, they all share a trait that will connect them forever, a love and duty to this country… and now, alumni of BC. #WeAreBC

The graduates all thanked their loved ones present for their patience, love and support, first while they were enlisted, then now with them completing their education at Bakersfield College. It is absolutely amazing to know that by 2018 there will be a new Veterans lounge thanks to the passing of Measure J. The new veterans facility will provide these soldiers with a place to meet together, work on their studies, get tutoring help, speak with counselors, and just find solace within the confines of a place where like-minded individuals can meet and empower one another to keep working hard to achieve their academic dreams. I hope all of our alumni Vets will come back to see, share, and visit this upcoming wonderful advancement for the Veteran’s at BC.

From Left: Jeff Patterson, Fernando Bocanegra (standing), David Dullum Jr. (squatting), Robert Lira, Professor Paul Beckworth, Stephanie Short, Armando Trujillo, Bernadette Martinez and Reigine Tovar

For more photos check out
https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/Veterans-Pre-Commencement-2017/

KEDC and the STEMposium

On May 19, 2017 was the ‘STEMposium’ event organized by the Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), and held on the Bakersfield College campus. This event raises awareness of the amazing technology-related fields in and around Kern County. The KEDC works with high schools to foster awareness and excitement for the Stem disciplines so that young students can move on to become leaders in tech-driven fields.

Here is a list of some of the organizations represented:
Chevron, PG&E, Wells Fargo, S Power, California Resources Corporation, Bakersfield College, Taft College, BHE Renewables, Kern Schools Federal Credit Union, Ikea, GTEDC, Ordiz Melby, and Texas Instruments. (Click here for the full gallery of images)

2017 STEMposium at Bakersfield College

Vince Fong at the 2017 STEMposium

2017 STEMposium at Bakersfield College

2017 STEMposium at Bakersfield College

2017 STEMposium at Bakersfield College

I enjoyed Christina Sistrunk’s talk at the Stemposium about women in the Stem area. We are fortunate to have such a great CEO for Aera. I have blogged about Aera being a great patron of education in general and Bakersfield College in particular. Aera gave a large donation to BC to the development of a Stem Success Center.

Sonya Christian and Christina Sistrunk Stemposium May 19 2017

Check out my Sep 10, 2016 blog about the Aera Stem Success Center
https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/09/10/transforming-environments-transforming-lives/

Also enjoyed seeing Michael Kane from Cerro Coso giving a ted-like talk. He was fabulous. Michael is an Aquatic Ecologist who has spent time teaching around the world including Brazil and Costa Rica.

Michael Kane

Amber Smithson, the student blogger was out and about covering the Stemposium. Here is a shot of her in action and one with me. Amber, you are amazing!

Amber Smithson

Sonya Christian, Amber Smithson

Bob Meadows emceed the ted talks event. I wish I had snapped a picture with him. Bob Meadows, you are the best!

On Thursday evening, KEDC hosted a Pre-STEMposium event at Luigi’s. It was a fun event and I enjoyed visiting with Mindy Wilmot and her husband who teaches Project Lead the Way at Bakersfield High School. I ran into Lauren Skidmore and Chancellor Tom Burke attending and snapped this photo.

STEMposiumLUIGIS-LaurenSkidmore-TomBurke

Lauren Skidmore and Chancellor Tom Burke

Here I am with Director of MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) Connie Gonzales:

Sonya Christian with Connie Gonzales

The visionary and the one who did the detailed work to pull all this together is Cheryl Scott. Just an amazing person!

Cheryl Scott

Sterling Silver

I want so start my writing on this year’s Sterling Silver with Josh Ottum. Josh was there with his students and they played Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou.

Josh Ottum and his family

I wish I had jumped up and rushed over and gotten a video for you to enjoy. It was sooooo good. But I was dressed in fancy clothes and high heels and thought I would embarrass BC in front of dignitaries if I made a mad dash to get a video clip. Instead I waited patiently and completely immersed in the music. Later when they were done, I calmly walked over and expressed how I loved the song and how Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou was my favorite. To which Josh responded “yes of course” that they knew it was my favorite because they had read my blog and that is precisely why they played it. Now do you know why I am the luckiest and happiest college president ever.

Nick Ellis. www.aNickPhoto.com. 661.706.7999

Nick Ellis. http://www.aNickPhoto.com. 661.706.7999

Sterling Silver is the annual fundraising event for the Bakersfield College Foundation. This year, Tom Gelder and I decided to convert the event from a fundraiser to a thank you to the community for passing Measure J on the November 8th ballot and to recognize individuals who put in a lot of effort to make all of this happen.

The main honorees of the evening were Mayor Harvey Hall who was the chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee and Congressman Bill Thomas who was the senior advisor to the campaign.

Mayor Harvey Hall:

Tom Gelder, Harvey Hall, Sonya Christian

You don’t get to be Bakersfield’s longest serving mayor without doing things well, and Harvey Hall does a lot of things well. Political campaign committees need strong leadership and Harvey provided that throughout the process. From space at Hall Ambulance for committee meetings, running the meetings on a tight schedule, making financial contributions to the campaign, to inspirational speeches when we needed them, Harvey was always there for us. I remember when I went to meet with Mayor Hall to ask him if he would chair the Bond effort. I had documents and a file to talk him through the details and make a compelling case for why he should say yes to chairing the committee. Harvey looked at me and only 10 seconds into my pitch, which I had rehearsed at length, he just said “yes”.

President Sonya Christian, Mayor Harvey Hall

When it comes to Bakersfield and Bakersfield College I know Harvey is there for us. And apparently Harvey had a clone which made it possible to be there for so many of us, often it felt like, at the same time. On behalf of all at Bakersfield College I can say that we could not have asked for a better person to chair this effort and be the face for the Bond Measure. A true friend of Bakersfield College, Mayor Harvey Hall.

Congressman Bill Thomas:

As I’ve gotten to know Bill Thomas, I now realize that his middle initial “M” stands for “Make it Happen”…. Make it happen now…. Actually why did you not make it happen….

You don’t get to be chair of the House Ways and Means Committee without getting to the crux of every problem and forging brilliant solutions on a daily basis. We’d like to think that he gained these skills as a professor at BC but I imagine he was a force of nature from an early age.

Bill Thomas, Sharon Thomas, Peggy Goodwin, Greg Goodwin

In the realm of major capital campaigns, you won’t find many, if any, that raise $503 million in such a short time. Bill Thomas played a major role in making it so. Strategist, advocate, negotiator, mentor, inspiring leader all come to mind. On a personal level, I could not have had a better mentor as I navigated this unknown territory of a bond campaign. I remember the day when the congressman let the finance committee know in no uncertain terms when we failed to file a document in a timely way. But it is that level of focus on detail and moving easily between vision, strategy and operational particulars that makes Bill Thomas the leader that he is. And although he tries to hide it, he has a big teddy bear heart for this community and for Bakersfield College. The combination of brilliant intellect and huge love for his community is what made the entire Measure J team fall in love with the congressman. He was at 1675 Chester Avenue every day, multiple times a day.

BC and the BC Foundation tonight salute Bill Thomas.

Michael Turnipseed:

Mike was not able to attend Sterling Siver, so here is the picture Tom Gelder snapped when he came to his office to pick up with award.

JP Lake:

Here is JP picking up his award.

Karen Thompson

Did not get the photo of Karen receiving the award yet. Will update the blog when I get it. So tune back in.

When it became clear that we were going to go for the passage of Measure J, we felt the Foundation was in good hands with Karen Thompson as the Chair of the Board of Directors. We were so right. The Foundation stepped up to provide the majority of the monies needed to finance the campaign and Karen stepped up to steer the work of the Measure J Committee. That’s leadership! Her efforts are truly remarkable by the fact that Karen was changing jobs at the time. I don’t think any of us realized how much work would be involved in getting Measure J passed, but Karen did whatever it took to get us through successfully. Thank you, Karen!

Norma Rojas Mora:

Having someone on your committee who has their hand on the pulse of the community is vital to communicating the needs of the college in a way that resonates with voters. Norma Rojas-Mora served that role and many other roles on the Committee as she has on behalf of the BC Foundation’s board. Smart, strategic, trusted and hard-working are just a few of Norma’s attributes which she displayed early and often throughout the planning and implementation process of the Measure J campaign. Friend and advocate for Bakersfield College is another title that fits. Thank you, Norma!

Michael O’Doherty:

I got this picture from Karen Goh’s Facebook.

Marines are famous for doing whatever it takes to make their mission a success. Michael O’Doherty, past chair of the BC Foundation, demonstrated his Marine Corps roots as the Measure J Campaign Treasurer. There were maybe three people in the room (e.g. Bill Thomas, Harvey Hall, and Karen Goh) who knew how complicated campaign committee reporting is. After the Measure J Campaign, now there is a fourth — Michael! And who volunteers for such a thankless task? When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Thanks, Michael, for another job well done!

Jay Rosenlieb

What can I say. Jay was there from the very beginning. Since Jan 2016. You co-chaired the community connections group with Norma Rojas during the educational campaign phase. You co-presented to so many organizations. You were our spokesperson to the Board of Trustees as you updated them on the work of the Blue Ribbon Committee. You phone banked, you put up signs, you opened Klein Denatale for us to work. Plz tell Kimmie that she was absolutely instrumental in the work. When we ran out of food, you hopped in the car with Corny and came back laden with goodies. You spent your evenings at 1675 Chester and helped carry trash out and shut down the campaign headquarters for the night. We spent countless hours in Starbucks strategizing. You partnered with Michael O’Doherty to submit the public disclosure forms. On behalf of the present and future students of Bakersfield College; on behalf of the present and future faculty and staff of Bakersfield College, I thank you.

Sue Benham:

Sue Benham, Sonya Christian. From Karen Goh’s Facebook

Most of us don’t face the risk of waking up in the morning and having the details of your wedding appear in the local paper, but I suspect Sue is used to that. Besides, it was a great picture. She also is used to advocating for things that matter..things that benefit the community. Like the old E.F. Hutton commercial, when Sue Benham talks, people listen. She is eloquent. She is honest. She is direct. And she is beautiful. Sue speaking out on behalf of Measure J made a difference. When Bill Thomas asked you to play a leadership role you unhesitatingly said yes. You opened the doors for us at the Bakersfield Californian and you were consistently there willing to help out. Your email address always warmed my heart when I started typing your name and it popped up – sbenham4kids@aol.com

Sue Benham (second from left), played a key leadership role in Measure J.

Mostly it was through Measure J that I got to know you and realize how fortunate our community is to have Sue Benham. There is a recurring theme this evening that cannot be overemphasized. Measure J passed because many people care about Bakersfield College and what its future means to Bakersfield and Kern County. Sue Benham is one of those people. And when Sue Benham spoke about Measure J, people listened.

Thank you, Sue!

Remaining Honorees:

Passing a bond initiative is like raising a child…it takes a village. Bakersfield College has benefited from those many members of the “village” that we recognized. The previous honorees are those who played an especially pivotal roles in the workings of the actual Measure J Committee. It’s equally important to recognize those who did whatever was needed to get the word out, to secure the right endorsements, to write the opinion pieces, to make the phone calls, to bolster people’s spirits. Probably my favorite vision is Rick Kreiser coming down to Campaign headquarters on a Sunday afternoon to fix a copy machine because we needed lists run off for phone banking that evening and didn’t have a back-up copier. When there was the need Rick answered the phone … as did so many others that we recognized. Thank You!

Michael Bowers – Senior District Representative for Senator Andy Vidak

Ken Byrum – BC Foundation Board member

Fran Florez – BC Foundation Board member

Rick Kreiser – BC Foundation Board member –

Fred Prince – Bakersfield Black Chamber of Commerce President

Cheryl Scott – BC Foundation Board member and KEDC VP

Jay Tamsi – Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President

Keith Wolaridge – Panama Lane/Buena Vista School Board President

Here I am recognizing Tom Gelder at the Foundation Board of Directors meeting. We make a powerful team. Gelder (Exec Director of BC Foundation) and Christian (President of BC) 🙂

Tom Gelder and Sonya Christian May 25 2017 cropped

Gelder and Christian

Thank you Trustees for attending:

Bill Thomas, Sharon Thomas

Lily Agbalog, Romeo Agbalog

A few more photos:

Darren Scott and Cheryl Scott

Marlene Heise

Sharon Baker, Bill Baker

2017 Sterling Silver

See more of the images from “Sterling Silver” here! (https://bakersfieldcollege.smugmug.com/2017-Sterling-Silver/)

Here are some more images from Mayor Karen Goh: https://tinyurl.com/yahu6j58

On May 22nd, after the May 17th event, this is what Herb Benham had to say about Congressman Bill Thomas and secondarily about BC.

`We should do half as much in our lifetimes: Saw Bill Thomas at a dinner at Bakersfield College last week honoring people who helped raise half a billion through the Measure J campaign.”

“Every time I see the man, he’s thinner, Sharon, his wife was there and she is a sweetheart, and I am reminded how much good Bill has done he’s done for Kern County. Almost a billion for the Thomas Road Improvement Program and then helping with the bond measure that will help modernize BC over the next 30 years.”

2017 Sterling Silver

The dinner also made me feel good about BC all over again. Talk a force for good.

Here is the link to the piece in the paper: https://tinyurl.com/kr4t7w8

Manny de Los Santos put together this video with some of the Measure J faces. We had the video playing during dinner at Sterling Silver.

Valley Public Radio

On May 16th, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Joe Moore on Valley Public Radio. Together, we packed a lot of conversation into such a short time. We kicked off with The Kern Promise, covered Guided Pathways, and even Measure J. Valley Edition is dedicated to covering issues important to Central Valley residents, so I was very excited to cover things we’re working on in education and at BC!

Joe Moore is the Director of the Program Content for Valley Public Radio and he’s the host of Valley Edition. Joe’s bio on the website says in 2008 that he was named one of Fresno’s “40 under 40” by the publication Business Street.

Thank you Joe Moore and Ezra Romero

Ezra Romero

Joe Moore

I really enjoyed my time talking with Joe.
http://kvpr.org/post/interview-bakersfield-college-president-sonya-christian-kern-promise#stream/0

Follow Valley Edition on Twitter @ValleyEdition.

Congratulations Lindsay Ono

I am so glad to announce that Environmental Horticulture Professor, Lindsay Ono has been awarded a grant through the ECMC Foundation and the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD). He has been working with other community colleges and CORD with the Mapping Upward Initiative on the state stackable Horticulture Certificates. This 3-year grant will allow Professor Ono and other college professors to continue their work and complete the curriculum updates for the Horticulture program. Shasta College and Reedley College are also receiving this grant. Congratulations Lindsay!!

Remembering Earl Wallace Cory, Jr.

Earl Wallace Cory, Jr was known on campus as Wally Cory. Jerry Ludeke reminded me that in print, his name was shown as E. Wallace and in person it was Wally. He was a retired History Professor with 34 years of service and who passed away on May 18th. Wally had been in Payson, Utah Veteran’s Home for the past three and a half years and in the hospice program there since last fall.

Earl Wallace Cory, Jr.

Earl Wallace Cory, Jr

Leadership Matters Summit at BC

It’s a great week to be a Renegade and a great time to be at BC. This past week Bakersfield College had the privilege of hosting the Leadership Matters: Re-Imagining Leadership to Sustain Transformative Change to Advance Student Success & Equity conference for various community college’s throughout California. We were so pleased to hear from the California Community College Chancellor, Eloy Oakley who discussed, “Advancing Educational Attainment & Equity in California. Leadership Matters.” It was a day of great knowledge and it set the stage for us to build urgency in the way we look and approach at the “Guided Pathways” initiative. I look forward to sharing with you all more about this day of encouragement, change, unity, and leadership within California’s 113 community colleges in next week’s blog. But for now enjoy this picture that I snapped the night before the big event.

Shawn Whalen, Sonya Christian, Eloy Oakley

CA Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley speaking to a full house at the indoor theatre

Superheroes:

Jonathan Schultz, faculty at BC, has been doing brief videos of BC staff for his students and all students at the college. Check out his interview with Dr. Oliver Rosales, History faculty.

Archiving the Past & Future of California’s Central Valley: Humanities Collaboration in the San Joaquin Valley

Oliver Rosales speaking

On May 23 the Levan Center for the Humanities hosted a one-day symposium event for about 30 area educators, writers, and artists. Faculty from both Bakersfield College, CSU Bakersfield, and the Kern High School District were also in attendance. Entitled “Archiving the Past and Future of California’s Central Valley: Humanities Collaboration in the Southern San Joaquin Valley,” the event was a culminating part of a California Humanities “Community Stories” grant in hold with Bakersfield College. The program included two panels and a keynote address. The morning panel focused on local archives and cultural preservation efforts at CSU Bakersfield, Bakersfield High School, and the Kern County Museum. The afternoon panel featured recent state and federal recipients of grants focused on the cultural diversity of the San Joaquin Valley.

Kristine Diekman

Kristine Diekman, Professor of Media at CSU San Marcos, delivered a keynote address. Her talk, based on her project “Run Dry,” focused on Tulare’s recent water crisis and how ordinary residents in rural Tulare County experienced lack of access to clean water. Here’s a quote about her project from the Los Angeles Times: “The project is designed to record the stories of people living in California’s Central Valley without water or clean water, and contextualize these stories within the themes of human migration, equity and poverty, and California water policy.”

Lori Wear Presenting at the event

The event was recorded by Bakersfield College’s media services and will be transcribed and made available through Bakersfield College’s Social Justice Institute website. College faculty and area educators, as well as potential grant writers, will be interested in reviewing the panel discussions and keynote addresses to discover more about funded projects focusing on the San Joaquin Valley.

A few fun photos from this week:

From twitter Jose Cortez leading Region 5 in California for Student Government Associations. Congratulations Jose! #WeAreBC!

Our Chief of Public Safety at an event with Grace Commiso’s baby

Risky moves right after…..here is Bill Moseley

Two of my favorites people. I remember them when they were little girls.

Erin Tarjan and Kristin Tarjan

Check out our faculty Prof. Jason Stratton, Prof. Bernadette Towns, and Prof. Lily Pimental-Stratton on the Great Wall of China. #WeAreBC

Jason Stratton and family on the Great Wall of China May 29 2017

That’s all for now.

Until next time.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya —
the luckiest and happiest college president ever

Thank you Kern County!

Uncategorized November 12, 2016 Comments: 7

Measure J Passes! Thank you Kern County

With a vote of 96,589 to 58,155, Kern County supported Measure J with 62.42% of the vote. Measure J also received 59.99% of the vote in Tulare County, and 63.6% of the vote in San Bernardino County. After months of hard work, I am so grateful to our voters for supporting our community colleges! And I am grateful to the many volunteers who turned out over the past few months to get out the vote and spread the word about the great things that this bond will do for Bakersfield College and all of the college in the Kern Community College District.

And a special thank you to my friend who reminds me everyday to Keep the Faith!

And thank you Tom Moran who responded to my early morning call on Saturday and taught me how to sign my thank you message to the voters.

We had an amazing group of volunteers that came out to assist in our final push on Election Day. It was a busy day that began around 6 am and lasted until midnight! The guy behind me in the picture is Dave Mason who worked with us through the campaign. He drove in from Oakland to spend election night with us. Thank you Dave!

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Here are two great pictures of Nick Strobel on November 8th. One was taken when he was relentless in phone banking to get out the vote. The picture was taken at 7:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the polls closed. And the picture on the left is when we had a table give way, sending an ice bucket and the melted water in it crashing to the floor. (I guess you could say the election center took the ice bucket challenge…) Nick, true to himself, we the first one up and helping to clean the floor.

nick-strobel-cleaning-the-floor-election-party-2016

nick-strobel-nov-8-phone-banking-at-7-30

A few of our volunteers shared some memorable moments from the campaign:

The weekend leading up to Election Day was hectic at campaign headquarters. Here are pictures of Nov 5th (Saturday) and Nov 6th (Sun) including the half-time show that Congressman Bill Thomas (or should I say KCCD Trustee Bill Thomas) did with Vance Palm on the Damron Deck with a great view of the city and the valley. Vance Palm, you do a real nice job with Renegade Football and the half-time show with the congressman was fantastic.

bill-thomas-vance-palm-half-time-nov-5-2016

bill-thomas-during-half-time-with-vance-palm-nov-5-2016

November 5th; Here is Rick Kreiser, owner of Carney’s saving the day and saving the campaign by replacing the toner Saturday late evening so that we could continue printing materials for our GOTV (Get Out the Vote) campaign. Thank you Rick Kreiser for all of the donations and all of your time in support of passing Measure J.

rick-kreiser-saves-the-day-nov-5th-at-6-pm-with-a-toner

I love this picture of Chief Counts and his beautiful daughter Faith who volunteered their time through the entire Measure J campaign.

And pets were also part of the campaign. Here’s Tom Gelder with canine friend Lexy and Bruce our election dog on November 10th helping clean up Campaign HQ.

Measure J was a “whole family affair.” Andrea Thorson and her son James. Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg holding Lily Ann (Grace’s baby girl), who was sleeping peacefully while Nan phone banked. I love both these pictures.

andrea-thorson-and-her-son-james-nov-7-2016

Dr. Kimberly Bligh, Dr. Janet Fulks, Bruce Meyer all phone banking on Nov 7 2016

Grace Commiso and Sue Vaughn.

I loved the cookies Bill Moseley baked using a 3D printed cookie cuttter. Yes on J!

On November 7th night, I was trying to get these folks out of the office and get them to go to bed before the big day. It was a hard task! Lesley Bonds, Nicky Damania, Chris Glaser, Nicole Para.

The Election Day 6:00 a.m. pictures

On the right, our fabulous campaign manager Nicole Parra. In the group picture on the left: Chris Glaser, Lesley Bonds, Sue Vaughn, Ashley Ward, Todd Coston, Bill Potter, Liz Rozell, Asha Chandy, Nicole Parra.

Nicole Parra

Polling location teams at Aera Energy and at Delano

Polling location team at the Kern County Fair and first-time voters who were so excited. Thank you Olivia Garcia for the photo.

Polling location teams in South East Bakersfield and at Wasco.

Veterans Day. Nov 11, 2016

On Veterans Day, our BC Veterans Club took part in the annual Bakersfield Veterans Day parade. It was such an honor to meet with them at the parade. We are truly grateful for their service, and for the service of all this great nation’s veterans. Thank you!

Thank you Karen Goh for some great pictures.

It was also a treat running into Martha Miller nee McCuen at the Vets Parade. Martha is the daughter of Theron McCuen who was the Superintendent of Kern High and Bakersfield College when BC was on the Kern High campus. Martha’s husband Doug Miller retired as Superintendent of the Panama Buena Vista School District in 2007. I am so glad Martha recognized me and called out as I was dashing towards my car. With the work we undertook related to campaigning for Measure J, I was always fully aware of BC’s past, particularly 1956 when the campus moved from Kern High (Now BHS) to the Panorama Bluffs, while we were forging BC’s future. So to run into the daughter of Theron McCuen whose name is on the Administration Building where I have my office felt like an auspicious moment.

So, of course, I went searching in BC’s archives. Thank you Jerry Ludeke for your commitment to the archives.

Here is a 1958 photo that includes Theron McCuen at Ralph Prator’s retirement dinner. From Left: Ralph Prator (outgoing BC President), Ed Simonsen (incoming BC President), Marvene Simonsen, Theron McCuen (Superintendent), Hazel McCuen. 1958.

Also from the archives this newspaper clipping from the Bakersfield Californian. From Left to Right: H.E. Woodworth, Ralph Prator, Ed Simonsen, Dorothy Donohoe, Theron McCuen. This is the first time that I have seen a picture of Dorothy Donohoe, who as Assemblywoman was responsible for the development of the California Higher Education Master Plan. It seems appropriate to have her picture in my post Measure J blog to recognize the leaders from our community who had the vision for what we are today.

BC Veterans

Let’s salute our faculty, staff and students who are veterans.

Bernadette Martinez in the counseling department put out a call to our faculty & staff to share out who on our BC campus is a veteran, which I’d like to repeat here:

United States Marines

Jeremy Staat, 2005-2009, Corporal (E-4). — Welding
Armando Trujillo, Marine Corps –Veterans Educational Advisor
Felix Ramirez from 1980-1985. 1985-2002 Army National Guard (E-7) —Public Safety Officer
Juan Torres, United State Marine Corps from 1988-1994—Site Operations (Delano)

United States Navy

Lieutenant Manuel Fernandez, 11 years—Electronics
Jahnea Palfrey, 1999-2003, Law Enforcement—Department Assistant
Di Hoffman, 1992-2001 – Nursing
Eddie Rangel, 1998-2001 (E-4) –Information Technology
Diana Alcala, 2002-2008—Human Resources Assistant
Paul Beckworth, 1989-1993, Guard 1997-2003—History
Richard McCrow, 30 years –Director Delano Campus

United States Army

Pat Smith, 5 yrs —Criminal Justice
Patrick Fulks, 1969-1971,(E-5) Biology

United States Air Force

Bernadette Martinez, 1993-1997 (E-4)—Office Supervisor
Christine Dunn 1995-1998 (Captain) Nursing

Veterans Celebration at Porterville College

On November 10th we had the KCCD Board meeting at Porterville College. They had their Veterans event on the same day and it was wonderful wandering the campus hearing from student veterans and visiting the Veterans Resource Center. Steve Schutlz has done a real nice job with the facility and I was warmly greeted by the counselor for PC’s student veterans Maria Roman.

I learned from the keynote speaker, a Vietnam Vet, that it was important to remember our history…particularly the local history. He shared that there was a former airport and military airfield located in the area that conducted flying training during World War II.

During our lunch with the Board, Dr. Carlson had organized a presentation on the Pathways work undertaken by the community over the last decade; a large scale collaboration with business and industry and K-12 partners. Both Trustee John Corkins and President Rosa Carlson have worked in leadership roles to advance this work on student success. Pretty cool stuff. Great results!

At the Board meeting, I enjoyed the presentation by Jay Rosenlieb on behalf of the Measure J Honorary Committee. Jay reviewed the work done by hundreds of volunteers that resulted in the successful passing of Measure J. Board members too commented about this great accomplishment. YesOnJ!

Wounded Heroes Fund

The Kern County Wounded Heroes Fund is a local nonprofit that supports veterans and their families with a focus to help ease the transition back to civilian life through ongoing support and appreciation. When veterans come home, sometimes they’re unsure of what to do, not knowing what’s next – that’s where Wounded Heroes comes in, offering everything from a cup of coffee and good conversation to marriage retreats, couples counseling, financial counseling, and even housing.

On November 5^th at the Kern County Fairgrounds, a BBQ Steak Lunch helped raise money for these great causes. At the Veterans Parade on November 11th, Paul Beckworth introduced me to Glenn Porter who is on the Board of Directors for the Wounded Heroes fund and he talked about this event and that it was sold out this year. It was wonderful getting to know Glenn.

To learn more about the Wounded Heroes Fund, check out http://thewoundedheroesfund.org/.

BC was out at the Fairgrounds for the Wounded Heroes Fund event. Here are three pictures..the first with our nursing students and the second with Paul Beckworth’s family (Andy Lopez, Eileen Lopez, Adam Lopez, Sandra Beckworth, Paul Beckworth, Sonya Christian) who came out to support the event and the last one, a selfie with Wesley Barrientos. Wesley, I am so happy to see you!

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Renegade RIP covers Driven by Art

The Renegade RIP, BC’s student newspaper recently highlighted the unique and individually painted trucks you’ve spotted around town. J.R. Hensley, the RIP Reporter notes, “the trucks will be in their current locations until the January 6, 2017, at which time the businesses that purchased the models will take possession of them or they can donate them to the city, which will put them on permanent display on the Westside Parkway.” I hope you’ll have a chance to spot them all – many are in various places throughout Downtown Bakersfield.

The RIP has been around for over 85 years at Bakersfield College reporting on news and events across campus and our community. To learn more about The RIP, visit www.therip.com and to see my previous blog about the BMOA’s Driven by Art Trucks, see https://sonyachristianblog.com/2016/10/08/so-many-reasons-to-celebrate-we-are-bc/.

EOP&S Takes Off to Museum of Tolerance

I found this draft blog entry from March 2016. Enjoy!

A group of 42 EOP&S students and staff gathered before sunrise on March 18, 2016 and boarded a bus headed southbound to the Museum of Tolerance. During the drive, the movie Anne Frank was played to get an insight of the holocaust.

Her spirit was felt on the bus and students were left thinking about the horrific events that happened in the early 1930s.

The Museum of Tolerance provided an interactive experience for students ranging from digital storytelling, films, artifacts, personal testimonies and thought provoking questions. Students were also guided to the Tolerance center exhibit where they were exposed to major issues of intolerance that happen on a local and global level. Topics on contemporary events such as bullying, hate speech, discrimination, human rights exploitation, and terrorism were covered, all which affect our community. “Don’t be a standby” was a phrase that the docent kept repeating as he challenged us to think what we can do to work to end injustices, discrimination, hateful behaviors and concluded with “History has a tendency to repeat itself.”

After the tour, a few students shared this was an eye-opening experience. One student expressed “this education[al] excursion [taught] me a lesson about the power of words.” Another student said “every minute was filled with learning about history” and others shared this was just not a visit “but also an educational trip, it teaches us about what we should do about eliminating discrimination.” When students were asked to identify steps to be more personally responsible for positive change, many responded to “speak up, help others, and care more.” One student summed it up and said “Speak up because someone needs to take initiative. Be the change I want to see.”

Their visit to the Museum of Tolerance was impactful. Over 85 percent of the group had never visited the museum. In the evaluation of their learning experience at the Museum of Tolerance, only about 26 percent indicated they had a great deal of understanding of the Holocaust prior to visiting the museum — after visiting the museum, 75 percent of the students indicated they gained a greater understanding of the Holocaust. Overall there was a 77 percent student consensus that visiting the Museum of Tolerance increased their awareness of past social injustices and the different types of prejudice and discrimination that exist in the world we live in.

Academic Senate

Its been a while since I visited with our Academic Senate. BC has a great group of faculty serving on the senate with exceptional leadership from President Steven Holmes, VP Andrea Thorson and the Exec Board of the Senate. I stopped by on Wednesday, November 9th, after the election to thank the faculty members from the senate who helped with the Measure J work. One of my colleagues took these pictures and I so enjoyed seeing them that I thought I would share them with you. We Are BC!

That’s all for now.

Until next week.

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya — signing off with a picture of Bruce and reminding everyone that I am the luckiest and happiest college president ever.

The end of the first week…Fall 2016

Uncategorized August 27, 2016 Comments: 10

Casey Sorrell, Krista Sorell, Baby Jack Aug 26 2016

Casey, Krista and Jack Sorell

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

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

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

Week One of Fall 2016

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

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

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

Carlos!

Sonya Christian with Carlos Barbaran

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

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

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

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

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

Kate!

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

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

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

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

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

Jahnea!

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

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

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

Winterfest

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winterfest announcement group August 23 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Voice of the Animal

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

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

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

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

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

Hispanic Chamber Business Conference
and Familiar Faces

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

Mary Jo Pasek and Tom Gelder

Jay Tamsi and Sonya Christian

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

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

Tom Gelder and Lynne Grimes

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

Sonya Christian and Stephen Schilling

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

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

DBA

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

Selfie. Sonya Christian with Cathy Butler

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

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

Student Leaders from BC, PC and CCCC Meet:

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

Arvin in the News:

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

BC Athletics

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

COACH CHUDY CALLS ANTELOPE VALLEY SCRIMMAGE PRODUCTIVE

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

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

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

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

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

Coach Martinez

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

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

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

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

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

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

LADY ‘GADES WIN OPENER 4-1 AT LA VALLEY

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

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

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

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

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

3-1 ‘Gades.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rudyard Kipling

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

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

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

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

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

Until next Saturday…..

With much Renegade Pride and Collegiality.

sonya

The luckiest and happiest college president

Sonya Christian's Blog

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