As we enter a season that’s meant to bring warmth, comfort, and connection, our hearts are heavy from so many senseless acts of violence that have taken place in recent weeks.
On December 13, a mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island left two students, Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, dead and nine others wounded while they were preparing for final exams. Authorities have also tied that attack to the killing of MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro, who was found shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, just days later in an incident that stunned the academic community.
On December 14, the world was shaken by the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where what should have been a joyful Hanukkah celebration turned into a profound tragedy. At least fifteen people lost their lives, and dozens more were injured. The victims reflect the breadth of lives and stories cut short that evening:
- Edith Brutman, 68, Vice president of B’nai B’rith NSW
- Dan Elkayam, 27, French national and soccer player
- Boris Gutman, 69, Husband of Sofia, who helped disarm one of the gunmen
- Sofia Gutman, 61, Wife of Boris, killed while trying to stop the attackers together
- Alex Kleytman, 87, Holocaust survivor and civil engineer
- Yaakov Levitan, 39, Rabbi and secretary of the Sydney Beth Din
- Peter Meagher, 61, Retired police detective and photographer
- Reuven Morrison, 62, Businessman who confronted the shooter
- Marika Pogany, 82, Long-time community volunteer
- Matilda, 10 — The youngest victim, a child attending the celebration
- Eli Schlanger, 41, British-born assistant rabbi and chaplain
- Adam Smyth, 50, Local resident attending the event
- Boris Tetleroyd, 68, Visitor at the Hanukkah gathering
- Tania Tretiak, 68, Randwick resident attending the celebration
- Tibor Weitzen, 78, Automotive engineer who died while shielding others
Closer to home, the deaths of beloved figures like Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, found fatally wounded in their Los Angeles home, have added layers of sorrow to this season as families grapple with unimaginable loss.
Let us pray for peace for the families of those affected by these senseless acts.
As we enter this season I hope we all get a moment to slow down, exhale and connect with those we care about, and give space find small sparks of hope and healing amidst the heaviness.
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Here is something more hopeful and uplifting.
Every year, the Chancellor’s Office has a virtual holiday party organized by the People and Culture department. They put their hearts into planning every detail of the event to send us all into the holiday season on the right note.
Dr. Rowena Tomaneng wrote a poem that she read at this event. So beautiful that I wanted to share it with you and send you off into the season on the right note.
Across California’s valleys, its coasts, and mountain air,
A network of 116 colleges shines with purpose everywhere.
From bustling city campuses to quiet desert skies,
2.2 million students rise, with hope before their eyes.
And in the Chancellor’s Office halls, this season brings a glow—
A steady hum of mission-driven work that helps our students grow.
For each email, plan, and policy; each meeting, task, and call,
Is a step toward greater opportunity for every learner—all.
Vision 2030 guides the way, a lantern burning bright,
A promise that with equity, we widen paths to light.
To open doors to access, to strengthen every hand,
To build support that meets each need across this vast, diverse land.
We champion student success not just in grades or ends,
But in the thriving of their futures, their families, and trends.
We craft the road, we clear the path, we listen and we lead—
So every dreamer walking in finds tools they truly need.
This holiday, we celebrate the work we proudly share—
The late nights spent refining plans, the moments of deep care.
For every colleague’s dedication, every team that stands as one,
We honor all the progress made, and all that’s still to come.
So here’s to joyful winter days, to warmth within our space,
To a future built with Vision—every challenge we embrace.
And here’s to California’s students, whose journeys inspire the way:
May the new year bring success and light, more brilliant every day.
And to close out, last weekend I attended the graduation of both Asha Chandy and Yovani Jimenez. Here are some photos.
With Asha Chandy, her mom and cousins.
With Yovani Jimenez and Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg
Good morning California.
It is December 20, 2025.
A good day to be a Community College Champion
This week, I’ll continue my annual tradition of closing the year reviewing past blog posts. Today we’ll look at posts from 2013-2017.
Take a little time out of your weekend, relaxing with a cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) to browse through previous posts…
2018
April 7, 2018 – Watching Dreams Blossom at BC!
The community has been clamoring for a BC presence in the Southwest.
On Friday, April 6th, College Council met at BC-SouthWest to explore the facility and continue building on our ideas to ramp up class availability and courses for students at this alternative location.
We had a great morning hearing updates from Nick Strobel about BC’s ISER in preparation for our accreditation visit later this year, hearing from Janet Fulks and Khushnur Dadabhoy regarding transfer pathways, and Liz Rozell and Manny Mourtzanos about the upcoming courses being offered at BC SouthWest.
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August 18, 2018 – Welcome Families, Faculty, and Friends to Fall 2018
Opening week at BC is the week before the students come back for their fall semester. This is the week where faculty, staff and administrators spend five days together attending a variety of workshops and gearing up to greet our students and provide the very best learning environment for them.
Fall 2018 Opening Week was particularly good with a great slate of workshops. On Tuesday, August 14th we welcomed not only incoming Renegades, but their families as well to The Family Bridge To BC: Open House and New Student Convocation. Turnout was amazing.
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October 14, 2018 – Proud to Announce “The Bakersfield College
Vernon Valenzuela Veteran Resource Center”
Thursday, October 11th was a historic day for Bakersfield College! The Kern Community College District unanimously voted to approve the naming of the new VRC to The Bakersfield College Vernon Valenzuela Veteran Resource Center. We are proud the KCCD Board of Trustees voted to name the center after a local veteran advocate, inspirational leader, and Renegade.
Vernon Valenzuela left a lasting legacy, for the Home of the Renegades, but also for his extended community, and in the hearts of all who knew him. His life’s work to benefit veterans lives on through the veterans he worked with, and the Renegades whose lives he helped transform.
2019
March 2, 2019 – Let’s celebrate women
To celebrate the kickoff of Women’s History Month at Bakersfield College, yesterday I hosted a panel discussion on Women in Leadership. California Senator Emeritus and Early College champion, Jean Fuller served as the guest moderator while four esteemed panelists shared their stories, accomplishments, challenges, and more. Thank you to guests Shannon Grove, Republican State Senator, 16th Senate District; Blanca Cavazos, Taft Union High School District Superintendent; Cynthia Giumarra, Local Attorney and minister; and Rosalina Rivera, Delano Union Elementary School District Superintendent for participating on the panel.
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June 22, 2019 – Summer Leadership
Throughout the months of June and July, Bakersfield College faculty are getting high school and middle school students interested in STEM with the Summer STEM Camps sponsored by Chevron and Project Lead the Way. There are 7 camps over the summer centered around interesting STEM projects. Each participating student applied to the free camps with an application and essay back in May.
Students in the first three camps learn about digital fabrication (3D Printing), mobile app development, and programming drones. Last week, the students created guitars from cigar boxes in camp. Upcoming projects in the STEM camps include learning to design and build a tiny house, and exploring and designing alternative sources of energy. This is a fun and engaging method to entice students to consider STEM fields of study.
All of the camps are held on our Panorama Campus, except the last, Alternative Energy/Solar, which will be held at the Weill Institute location. I’d like to thank Martin Perez, Program Manager, Klint Rigby, Department Chair, and everyone with the Industrial Technology Department, as well as Chevron and Project Lead the Way for providing this amazing opportunity for potential future students.
» Read more!
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October 27, 2019 – The Energy That’s BC!
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.
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!
» Read more!
2020
February 29, 2020 – Celebrating Leap Year & showcasing Sterling Silver 2020
We had a beautiful reception at the Seven Oaks Country Club last weekend as part of our 12th-annual Sterling Silver Dinner, which the BC Foundation puts together to honor and recognize the exceptional support that members of our community provide to BC every day. Proceeds from the Sterling Silver Dinner help fund scholarships for students, providing vital opportunities to make higher education a reality for thousands of Renegades.
The evening brought together Renegade alumni and supporters, generous donors, and friends of the college to celebrate this year’s honorees. Under the direction of Kris Tiner, the BC Jazz Ensemble masterfully entertained the crowd as they entered the event. Seven Oaks chef Paul Burzlaff prepared a wonderful variety of culinary delights with help from BC Culinary Arts students.
Several notable Renegade supporters were on hand to celebrate our honorees, including Mayor Karen Goh, Assemblymember Vince Fong, State Senator Shannon Grove, County Supervisor Zack Scrivner, and City Councilmember Andrae Gonzales. Other notable community partners included S.C. Anderson, Diane Lake, and AECOM/Parsons.
» Read more!
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March 22, 2020 – BCGoesOnline
Novel coronavirus, COVID-19, social distancing, shelter in place, stay at home, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Sanjay Gupta,….. all names, words and phrases that have become part of our day-to-day conversations.
In this time of uncertainty and crisis, I am amazed at how swiftly and robustly BC moved to continue supporting our students. We have been ahead of the curve with our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, sending out emails to our faculty and staff as early as January 30 with resources to keep themselves safe.
From the moment the incident command team was activated in late February , we cancelled events as we systematically ramped up our actions to ensure the health and safety of our campus community. Over the next three weeks we systematically moved all of our instruction, student services, and academic support online while preparing 40,000 students and 1,000 employees with resources for using Canvas, ConferZoom, Starfish and accessing their desktops remotely.
» Read more!
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August 29, 2020 – Bakersfield College –
A Peace Garden of Learning, Reflection & Renewal
Have you met Dr. Naina Patel? Well, she is a quiet force in our community promoting peace and wellbeing. I got to work alongside Naina last year as she she was coordinating the Gandhi celebrations here in Bakersfield. During these celebrations, we had the fortune of having Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Arun Gandhi speak to the students in our Early College Program in Delano. What a treat! Check this out in my October 5, 2019 blog titled – Live simply so others can simply live https://sonyachristianblog.com/2019/10/05/live-simply-so-others-can-simply-live/
Here is a 9:31-minute video from Opening Week where we unveiled the Peace Garden project. If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, then start at the 6:56 timestamp and hear the message from Dr. Naina Patel and the Gandhi committee.
» Read more!
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November 14, 2020 – On Eagle’s Wings
Has this hymn been on your mind recently?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Ms2wqg39Q
And then Earl found me this great piece from BC’s first president, a woman.
“One thinks of a college year book as a record of things past, things done together that are worth remembering. And this is surely its evident purpose. However, one might also think of it as a promise of things to come, a rehearsal for the larger drama of community life. As you turn over the pages of this 1948 Raconteur, let each one tell its story of personal and group achievement, of cooperation toward a common goal, of happiness shared with one another. And, in doing so, let each page also prophecy the kind of community you can help create by the same willing and selfless working together.”
2021
January 30, 2021 – Kern County — Thank you for supporting BC
As we wrap up the first month of 2021 – a month that has brought upheaval and many changes – I was grateful this week to be able to get back to campus briefly to see the progress on the construction of our new buildings. I was joined by Billie Jo Rice, and it was wonderful to spend some time together and appreciate the future of Bakersfield College as we build #ABetterBC.
» Read more!
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May 29, 2021 – Sunsetting May 2021 as BC Builds Bridges
This week I read an article about the Brooklyn Bridge. May 24th was the 138th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, which connected New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. It seems almost impossible now to imagine a time when those two cities were not connected. And the sheer amount of planning, thought, work and engineering that went into what became the “eighth wonder of the world.”
I’m so pleased to see resources set aside in the upcoming nationwide infrastructure plan that will help restore our great nation’s precious bridges — a thing of remarkable beauty and great engineering feat.
And it’s not only physical bridges that are key to maintaining our relationships. Our metaphorical bridges also must be maintained so that we can continue to connect with people and ideas that otherwise may have been unreachable.
That’s why I’m so proud of the Bridge to BC program. This high-touch, high-tech program helps our first-year students get all the support and guidance they need to be successful. This year’s program will be fully online, designed as a one-week course with online sections that run Monday through Saturday. The sessions will run from June through August, and are available to all our incoming freshmen, including those who earned college credits in high school.
» Read more
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October 23, 2021 – KCCD living every moment, not just existing
This week, all three of our campuses celebrated Undocumented Student Action Week. It’s a statewide effort led by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, Community College League of California, and the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
This year’s theme, “Change in Action”, aimed to find ways to engage in local, state, and federal action to support undocumented students in their goal of earning a college education.
Across KCCD, daily events helped support our students on a local level, while also encouraging participation in the statewide efforts. Undocumented students were able to get assistance on topics like financial aid, transfer, or immigration questions. Other events encouraged allyship and cultural education.
Students at Cerro Coso Community College were encouraged to share their Immigration Story. Porterville College held a virtual sugar skull decorating event. Bakersfield College welcomed guest speaker Yehimi Cambrón to speak about Immigration, Art, and Activism.
» Read more!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remember – our greatest challenges enable us to do our greatest work.
That’s all for today.
See you next Saturday!
With much hope and joy,
Your Chancellor,
-sonya
#OurTimeisNow
#NuestroTiempoEsAhora
