On Friday, April 22nd, Skyline College hosted our third KinderCaminata event with over 150 kindergarten students and 50 teachers and parents from Skyline Elementary and Buri Buri Elementary Schools. Upon their arrival to campus, students were greeted by Skyline College staff members, representing different characters from the Disney Pixar movie, Inside Out. Campus Recruiter, Lauren Ford, addressed students, teachers, and family members with an energizing welcome.

Adorned in their “Skyline College Kinder” t-shirts, students were escorted to multiple stations across campus to interact with a variety of different activities. Students were able to engage with our Skyline College Public Safety Department and San Bruno Emergency Services teams, Respiratory Therapy, Cosmetology, Music, and Kinesiology Departments lead by Skyline College faculty, staff, and students. The event ended with lunch and a fun dance party as students waited to board their buses.

The success of the event was due in large part to the assistance and support of the following individuals: Claudia Acevedo, Dr. Ijaz Ahmed, Gretel Barreto, Grace Beltran, Kristina Brower, Tony Brunicardi, Martina Center, Belinda Chan, Jeremy Evangelista, Vitoria Goncalves, Monique Hernandez, Rick Hough, Eric Imahara, Roger Marcelo, Golda Margate, Will Minnich, Diala Mudawar, Kristy Nguyen, Jude Navari, Carmen Richardson, Kennya Ruiz, Brittney Sneed, Marisa Thigpen, Heather Thornton, Kat Tshifunda, Jim Vangele, Alina Varona. Thank you to San Bruno Fire Department, San Bruno Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and AMR Medical Transportation for spending time and interacting with students. KinderCaminata was organized by Lauren Ford.

A special thank you to Trustee Karen Schwarz, Vice Chancellor Kathy Blackwell, for joining us. This event would not have been possible without the support of the President’s Innovation Fund at Skyline College.

Article by Lauren Ford | Photos by William Nacouzi

Beta Theta Omicron’s College Project was recognized at The South San Francisco Volunteer Recognition on April 13. The Mayor, City Manager, Council members and other dignitaries thanked Skyline College Phi Theta Kappa members for their work with senior citizens. The Beta Theta Omicron College Project is Computer Literacy and Internet Competency for Seniors (CLICS). For the past year, Chapter members have been teaching senior citizens to use smartphones, tablets and personal computers. The central focus of Beta Theta Omicron’s Honors in Action 2015 project was to help seniors get health and wellness information and to help them keep in touch with family and friends. The Magnolia Senior Center Director told Chapter members “You are doing a fantastic job. It’s great work to dedicate yourselves to a service like this. The seniors appreciate your time and they enjoy speaking to younger people.” A senior wrote her first email to her Beta Theta Omicron teacher: “I can’t thank you enough.” Council members spoke with Chapter members about continuing and expanding their project.

Photo: Chapter Historian and College Project lead Pauline Maccay accepts certificate from South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego.

Article by Christine Case

On Friday, April 29, 2016 the Middle School Outreach Project (MSOP), in partnership with the Hermanos and Hermanas Program, took a group of over forty South San Francisco High School students to visit UC Berkeley.

While at UC Berkeley, students toured the campus and learned in great depth about UC Berkeley’s academic departments, its rich history, and campus resources designed to help them accomplish their educational goals.

Furthermore, students attended an admissions presentation where they had the opportunity to network with admission’s staff and gain valuable knowledge about the transfer process to UC Berkeley. The day concluded with students eating at UC Berkeley’s dining commons in order to gain a true college experience!

The campus visit was a tremendous success, which helped promote the goal of attending college among our MSOP and Hermanos/Hermanas students!

Article by Jessica Lopez | Photo by Lorraine DeMello

The Associated Students of Skyline College are wrapping up Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI) by hosting a Faces of Asia & the Pacific Islands Cultural Bazaar and a spoken word event with Filipino-American poet Aimee Suzara next week.

The cultural bazaar will be this Monday, May 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Fireside Dining Room in Building 6 and will feature vendors from all over the Bay Area. There will be food and drinks with a valid Student ID, entertainment, community partners and a cultural regalia walk. Check out our Facebook page for more information on each!

On Wednesday, May 11 there will be a spoken word event and book signing with Filipino-American poet, playwright and performer Aimee Suzara. Her mission is to create, and help others create, poetic and theatrical work about race, gender, and the body to provoke dialogue and social change. Join us in the Multicultural Center in Building 4 at 11:00 a.m. for the spoken word event. Book signing of Aimee’s debut book Souvenir will conclude the event.

Article by Margo Feldman

The Pacific Islanders’ Cultural Association (PICA) is offering a number of scholarships for qualifying students of Pacific Islander decent. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2016. For more information about the scholarships and to download the application, please visit PICA’s website.
PICA will also be tabling at Skyline College on Monday, May 9 during the Faces of Asia & the Pacific Islands Bazaar in the Fireside Dining Room. Stop by their table for more information!

Article by Margo Feldman

On April 30, 2016 the Skyline College Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Professor Michelle Hawkins, traveled to the University of Nevada at Reno to compete in the Reno Jazz Festival, one of the largest jazz festivals in the Western United States. The festival featured college, high school and middle school ensembles from multiple states including Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, along with prominent music educators and ensemble directors who served as judges and clinicians. The Skyline College Vocal Jazz Ensemble earned Second Place in the college choir division and received six medals for “Outstanding Soloist” for individual students. Ensemble members were thrilled with the awards and honored to represent Skyline College and the Music Department at this prestigious event.

Participation in the Reno Jazz Festival was made possible by generous funding from the 2015-2016 President’s Innovation Fund.

Article by Michelle Hawkins | Photos by Teresa Tam

On Saturday, April 30, 2016, the English Language Institute hosted its bi-annual ESL Registration Event. The event welcomed 56 new ESL students. The attendees appreciated the step-by-step assistance with the Skyline College enrollment process all done in one day.

The concerted efforts of Skyline College staff and the multi-lingual student volunteers before and during the ESL Registration day contributed to the success of the event! Lauren Ford and her team led a timely Skyline College tour for 60 Jefferson adult school students three days before the event. Minerva Velasquez’s hard work with student applications paid off in generating student ID numbers for all the applicants. Counselors Kent Gomez and Kenny Gonzalez offered three engaging and informative orientations. Goldie Lee and Jacky Ip expertly managed the placement tests. Lesley Bode from Financial Aid and Guillermo Alonzo from EOPS made themselves available for the new students. The ELI student assistants and volunteers warmly welcomed and helped new students navigate the SSSP stations during the event. We are also grateful for Ana Castro, IT Technician and Roger Marcelo from Multimedia for the IT set-up and support.

A special thanks to the faculty of Jefferson and South San Francisco Adult School and counselors from South San Francisco & El Camino high school for their interest and commitment to build bridges between their schools and Skyline College throughout the school year.

Article and Photo by Mylene Foo

The Disability Resource Center (DRC), the Veterans Resource Center and Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS) once again teamed up to provide priority registration support and pizza for students. Held on May 2, this event encourages students in these programs take advantage of their priority enrollment date. Students were able to register in the DRC’s Assistive Technology Lab and connected with Veteran, EOPS and DRC counselors for questions.

Article by Melissa Matthews

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) hosted a Registration Event on May 2nd for incoming high school students who participated in DRC Priority Enrollment Program (PEP) Day. This was a first time event for the DRC and the response from our PEP families was overwhelming! Over fifty students and parents participated in Registration Evening. DRC staff and Financial Aid were on hand to provide students with assistance creating their schedules, accessing their Student Education Plans, registering on WebSmart and completing their FAFSA. Students and their families were also treated to pizza and snacks.

 

Article by Melissa Matthews

On Saturday, April 16, the Skyline College Engineering and Robotics Club (ERC) hosted a booth encouraging scientific exploration at the annual San Mateo County STEM Festival. The event was held at the Redwood City Courthouse Square in downtown Redwood City from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and an estimated 3000 people attended the festival.

The ERC students engaged families and community members and brought science, technology, engineering, and math to life through exciting activities including hands-on robotics and physics demonstrations. Special congratulations for an outstanding job to ERC students Alex Hercules, Josh Tamayo, Alina Kirichuk, Bryan Lim, Christine Zhao, and Kristen Chen for volunteering at the event and sparking a sense of wonder and curiosity in the young minds of our community. Their dedication and effort are yet another example of just how brightly Skyline Shines!

On behalf of Skyline College, Science Math Technology Dean Ray Hernandez and Engineering Professor and ERC Club Advisor Nick Langhoff would like to extend a big Thank You to Event Coordinator Martha Traynor for organizing the festival in addition to several community leaders for their participation in the event including Senator Jerry Hill, Library Director Derek Wolfgram, City Council members Shelly Masur and Alicia Aguirre, Vice Mayor Ian Bain, and Mayor John Seybert.

Article and photos by Nick Langhoff