This semester, our Beta Theta Omicron members are providing science lab experiences for middle school students. The members, led by Janah May Oclaman, developed hands-on laboratory experiences which they brought to local schools. During September, nearly 300 8^th grade students made silly putty in the States of Matter workshop and the students rated the workshop 4.94 on a scale of 1(dull) to 5(fantastic).

Janah said, “Seeing those smiles and knowing I have somehow influenced and made a difference in those kids’ lives motivates me to work harder on my next projects.”

The Beta Theta Omicron team is preparing metabolism laboratories and will bring materials for the middle school students to make root beer.

Skyline College students working with Janah are: Anthony Petraki, Anthony Lal, Akayi Thein, Luis De Alba, Christopher Amaro, Alina Rai, Roxanne Gorman, Sachin Sharma, and Kaunhou Her.

Article by Dr. Christine Case | Photo by Janah May Oclaman

The All-USA/Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team application is now open. Nominated students are placed in competition for over $1,000,000 in national scholarship opportunities. In addition, scholarship and recognition opportunities are available through All-State Academic Team Programs.

Skyline College students have won the All-USA, Coca-Cola, Guistwhite, New Century, and $7,500 Hites scholarships in past years. Additionally Skyline College students have won the All-California scholarship every year since 1999.

One common application is used for all of these scholarships:

• All-USA Academic Team
• Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team
• Coca-Cola New Century Scholarship
• All-California Academic Team
• Lifeline to Completion (Phi Theta Kappa members only)
• Pearson (Phi Theta Kappa members only)
• Guistwhite Scholarship (Phi Theta Kappa members only)
• Hites Transfer Scholarship (Phi Theta Kappa members only)

Students can access the application at skylinecollege.edu/boo. Phi Theta Kappa membership is not required. Criteria for these scholarships include GPA, scholarly activities, community service, and personal measures such as re-entry or self-supporting.

Please encourage students to apply. Applications are due November 3.

Article by Dr. Christine Case

 

Join us for a day of Master Classes in Hip Hop, B-Boying/B-Girling, Contemporary, Tap, Tahitian, Salsa and Social Dance, ending with a dance party!

Lunch is included! All ages and levels welcome!

$25 for three classes, lunch and a live band dance party!!

$5 for each 2-class “Block,” or for the salsa band dance party!

Buy tickets online now!

Master Classes:

• Jazz with Denaya Dailey
• Cartwheels, Inversions & Balance with Giamacia Zeidler
• Social Dance with Joan Walton
• B-Boying / B-Girling with Jason “Spidey” Ferguson
• Hip Hop with George Folau
• Ori Tahiti with Marilou Lafon
• Tap with Broadway Dancer Gary Ferguson
• Contemporary with Amber Steele

and

• LIVE BAND, Orquesta Saboricua!

The festival offers multiple class blocks, with at least two dance style options during each block, coffee, pastries and a late lunch, with live music to dance to! Practice your social dancing or solo moves with new friends from across the Bay Area.

We are currently expecting students from three high schools, three community colleges, and teachers from SJSU, Skyline College and hopefully Mills College and SJSU.

This annual dance festival is designed to aid in dancers’ networking and recruitment for Skyline College dance students, and dancers from our community!

This is a great place to recruit for your classes, dance companies and academic programs.

Article by Amber Steele

Students in the inaugural Biotechnology Career Advancement Academy recently completed their first major assignment: creating and packaging “Skyline Altoids” based on the popular breath mint. As part of their hands-on training, the Biomanufacturing students have created their own company, logos, branding, and products under the name: Skyline Biotech Laboratories.

BioBridge students researched a number of products they wished to produce and selected breath mints as their first venture. The product comes in a variety of flavors and was manufactured in the Skyline College Building 7 laboratory by mixing sugar, egg whites and food grade cellulose gum.  In addition to producing their mints, students learned and applied other critical bio-manufacturing skills including: sanitation, documentation, processing, and procuring of proper licenses.

While students successfully created their first batch of candy, the Skyline Biotech Laboratories student company has not been able to procure a proper license yet to make their candy product available to the public. Students are currently exploring the creation of other potential products, including a disposable sterile nasal irrigation system (e.g. Neti pot), eye drops, and a biofuel and research enzymes that will be distributed to local high schools.

The BioBridge Program provides a broad foundation of scientific education and hands-on instruction along with contextualized math and English courses in a highly supportive learning environment.  After completion of this two semester program, students receive a Certificate of Achievement in Biotechnology and are prepared for entry-level employment in bio-manufacturing. Skyline College also offers an Associate Degree in Biotechnology for students who are looking for a clear transfer pathway to a four-year colleges and universities.

Skyline College’s Career Advancement Academy Biotechnology program—BioBridge—is supported by grant funding from the National Science Foundation, grant #1502042.  Please keep an eye out for the BioBridge students, who will soon be wearing their Skyline Biotech Laboratories hoodies, and be sure to ask them about their work!

For more information about the BioBridge program and other Career Advancement Academies, please contact, Jeremy Evangelista at skycaa@smccd.edu or (650) 738-4185, or fill out an online application.

Article by Nick Kapp | Photos by Melonie Tan

In early 2016, United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA) and CompassPoint created the SparkPoint Sustainability Cohort with the goal of creating long-term sustainability plans for all individual SparkPoint Centers, as well as for the SparkPoint Regional Initiative. SparkPoint at Skyline College is proud to have been selected to join that cohort and contribute to this effort.

The first cohort meeting on August 10 proved to be a great orientation to the planning process which consists of 3 additional intensive, full-day working meetings with a number. During these meetings each SparkPoint Center will have the opportunity to assess current organizational structures, engage in peer learning to explore successful sustainability strategies, identify an optimal model, then build and implement sustainability plans at their respective centers.  Representatives from the various SparkPoint Centers will also be joined by community leaders, current and potential funders, as well as high ranking UWBA officials.  SparkPoint at Skyline College is looking forward to completing  the program with anticipated outcomes of aligning sustainability plans with other regional SparkPoint Centers as well as continuing the provision of support services to our students and community members.

CompassPoint is a national, nonprofit leadership and strategy practice headquartered in Oakland, CA, whose mission is to intensify the impact of fellow nonprofit leaders, organizations, and networks to achieve social equity together. For more information regarding the SparkPoint Sustainability Cohort Program, please contact Interim Director of SparkPoint and Career Services at Skyline College, Chad Thompson: thompsonc@smccd.edu

Article by Melanie Espinueva+Aure | Photo by Chad Thompson

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) welcomed its fall internship class! This semester BAEC is hosting three Skyline College students; Andrew Alotis, Eduardo Jauregui and Jody Gonzales. Throughout this semester, the interns will be working off-campus at the BAEC and on campus with the BEPP Division, Study Abroad, the Center for International Trade Development and the Retail Hospitality & Tourism Program. Throughout the semester the interns will learn and hone-in on a variety of technical and soft skills including: marketing and outreach, business communication, client relations, use of design software, office organization and customer service.

As a part of the program, the interns will get the opportunity to experience some innovative events at Skyline College and the BAEC. Some of these events include the White House Initiative Event, My Scary World Workshop, Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship Kick Off Event and the  BAEC Action Summit.

Intern Andrew Alotis went to the Access to Capital/ Lender’s Fair on Wednesday September 28 at the College of San Mateo to promote the services at BAEC and the entrepreneur opportunities with Skyline College. Eduardo Juaregui is a part of the Base 11 STEM Entrepreneur Accelerator Program learning the ins and outs of entrepreneurship and making prototypes of solutions to world problems in the Fab Lab on the Skyline Campus. Jody Gonzales is an entrepreneur-in-the-making and will be helping to promote the new certificate programs at the College.

Each semester the BAEC recruits a new cohort of hard working, self-starters to join the Internship Job Shadow Team.

For more information on the Internship Job Shadow Program, please contact baec@smccd.edu

This program is a proud recipient of the President’s Innovation Fund.

Article by Terri Wade & Pcyeta Stroud | Photo by Terri Wade

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read, and the value of free and open access to information. Skyline College Library is celebrating Banned Books Week from September 25 – October 1, 2016 with special displays of some of the most challenged books of all time including In Cold Blood, The Bible, Gone with the Wind, Harry Potter, The Great Gatsby, and many other titles. Why are particular books challenged, banned or subject to censorship?  These books have been deemed offensive because of religious viewpoints, sexuality, language, or violence.

On September 28, library staff members Allison Hughes and Mary Torres Volken interacted with students in front of the Learning Center with information about some frequently challenged and banned books. The books displayed in the Skyline College Library during Banned Books Week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read!

Article by Mary Torres Volken | Photos by Allison Hughes and Pearl Ly

Research demonstrates that students with ideas about careers they would like to explore by 8th grade are more likely to succeed academically in high school, and in their future careers. My Scary World was created to aid in the career exploration process.

My Scary World is a computer lab or classroom experience that allows students greater opportunities for exploration. Student data is collected over the course of a school year, indicating areas of student interest based on their interaction with the My Scary World website. This information is filtered into individual student profiles which can be a powerful tool that can be shared with the student, educators, parents and high school counselors to help each student make more informed decisions about meaningful high school course work that aligns with college and career goals.

Skyline College has partnered with My Scary World to provide this cutting edge platform for local educators to implement engaging and innovative project- based interactive exploration tools to their middle school students.

My Scary World will be at the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 to teach educators how to use this online platform to encourage middle schoolers to start thinking about their future. This event is designed to equip educators with 21st century tools to help students identify career goals, innovate, and translate their big ideas into reality.

Join us for this very valuable and informative event to learn how to best educate your middle school students in thinking and planning for their futures. Get more information about the My Scary World Platform.

Remember to register for the informational event on Tuesday October 11, 2016.

Article by Dr. Tammy Robinson

 

UCSF graduate students David Piech and Lillien Kenner were the two most recent featured Science in Action speakers, helping students explore what the next options may be for their STEM careers.

Lillian’s field is cryo-electron microscopy. She has the very fun project of looking at proteins in a biological model and is a member of the Biophysics group at UCSF. Her presentation focused on the value of diversity of thought at research institutions like UCSF.

David spoke with passion about how science is trying to develop a brain to machine interface. He stated that he is an engineer and want’s to create systems that do something that society cares about (like making a machine that would help a quadriplegic person walk). But he also said he thinks like a scientist, in that he wants to understand the fundamental principles of systems like how the brain communicates with effectors like the legs. While many people talk about how engineers and scientist are different, David pointed out that often times what they do overlaps. A good scientists must act like an engineer to develop the tools to do research. A good engineer needs to understand fundamental principles of science in order to create new systems.

The Science in Action lecture series happens every Monday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Article and Photos by Nick Kapp

On Thursday September 15, 2016, the Center for International Trade Development Director, Yvonne Reid, accompanied by GLPS faculty Alpha Lewis and Cheryl Ajirotutu, attended the Council of Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) 2016-17 San Francisco Roundtable Season Kickoff event at the Port of Oakland. The San Francisco Roundtable provides learning opportunities, access to innovation leaders, and best-practices for supply chain professionals in nine counties throughout the greater Bay Area.

The CSCMP event showcased a partnership between CenterPoint Properties (represented by Brian McKiernan, Sr. Vice President of Development) and the Port of Oakland (represented by Chris Lytle, Executive Director). This informative affair was highlighted by a lively Q&A session on new opportunities at the Port of Oakland. The event was sponsored by Silicon Valley corporations Google Inc. and RK Group. Further, the event created an atmosphere for employers and community colleges, and workforce development providers to network and discuss collaboration opportunities for K-14 and community college students.

Yvonne and Alpha were excited to report that a new Global Trade and Logistics (GTLP) CITD program curriculum has been approved by Skyline College’s Business and Industry Leaders Advisory Forum (BILAF) and that three new International Business courses will be launched in Spring 2017. Attendees at the event were excited to learn about how the well-designed curriculum fits the needs of industry and will equip Skyline College students with 21^st century GTL workforce skills, abilities, and knowledge, to secure employment.

For more information about the CITD and the Global Trade & Logistics Program, please contact Yvonne Reid, MS BA at reidy@smccd.edu, telephone: 650-738-7098.

Article by Alpha Lewis | Photos by Paul Hendrycks