The Classified Senate is hosting a 5K Run/Walk fundraiser for victims of the recent natural disasters on Friday, Dec. 1 from 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. on the Skyline College race track! Because there have been too many disasters to donate to just one, we felt it would be best to work directly with the Red Cross so that we can donate to their specific Disaster Relief funds which go directly to those suffering from the recent natural disasters.

To register for the race, visit Classified Senate 5K Run/Walk Natural Disaster Victims Fundraiser. Please be sure to complete this form by Wed. November 29 so that your registration will go through by Dec. 1. You can donate any amount you wish and on race day we will have a roster showing who has donated, this will be our method of signing you in for the race. Please keep in mind that this is an opportunity for our community to get together to support other communities, so all staff, faculty, and administrators are welcome to participate.

If you have questions about this event, please contact Michele Haggar.

Article by Michele Haggar

 

 

To support our local businesses and provide our campus community an opportunity to do some early holiday shopping, CIPHER is hosting its 3rd Annual Vendor Fair and Open Mic titled Holiday Bling on Tuesday, November 28 from 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in Building 6 in the Fireside Dining Room. Featured vendors include: Mixerfriendly, UnoEth, King Pins, the Ceramics Club of Skyline College, and many others. Items range from headwear, clothing, jewelry, handmade crafts, and custom posters and postcards. Proceeds from sales go toward educational scholarships for CIPHER and Rock The School Bells.

In addition to the Vendor Fair, CIPHER will also be hosting their CIPHER Poetry Slam Competition at 11:30 p.m.  Students who are interested in performing, please meet at the stage for sign-ups.

Article by Nate Navado

November is a special month for student veteran activities. It is a month to honor veterans for their service and sacrifices. It is also the perfect time to recognize the tremendous support our veterans and military affiliated students receive from campus and community partners.

On November 9, Skyline College Student Veterans of America Chapter partnered with the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) to host a Veterans Day Ceremony in the Fireside Dining Hall and an Open House at the Veterans Resource Center.

The event began with a warm welcome message from Skyline College President, Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud.

Jose Nuñez, Vice Chancellor, Facilities Planning, Maintenance, Operations & Public Safety for the San Mateo County Community College District, shared his story and words of support.

Joan Dentler, Field Representative for the Office of Senator Jerry Hill, shared remarks and sentiments on behalf of Senator Hill.

Jim Vangele, Skyline College Chief of Public Safety, shared his story along with many Skyline College student veterans.

Partners from the Peninsula Vet Center and Skyline College Psychological Services shared important community and campus resources for veterans.

Skyline College has developed and sustained a long-standing partnership with the SF VA Health Care System’s Student Veteran Health Program. This partnership has resulted in the presence of a VA counselor on the Skyline College campus once a week to provide services and resources to qualifying veterans and dependents. The collaboration with this community partner has provided the opportunity to bridge gaps and connect veterans to VA Health Care services directly on campus. It also provided Skyline College the opportunity to serve as a model for other colleges working with the SF VA Medical Center. In addition, the contracting process created out of the partnership was part of an initial pilot process for the Department of Veterans Affairs that will be used nationwide.

On November 14, a welcome reception was held in the VRC to honor and thank the partners from the SF VA Student Veteran Health Program for the tremendous support they provide student veterans. It began with an opening message from Dr. Stanback Stroud and concluded with the presentation of Skyline College Veterans Achievement Coins to the partners.

The partnerships, both on and off campus, that have been created and continue to flourish, allow Skyline College and the team who supports veterans’ services to provide high quality resources and support services to veterans, service men and women and their families. We are very fortunate to have such a strong network to support student veteran success. Thank you to all who contribute to this network!

Article by Gina Ciardella | Photo by Kevin Perez

 

 

The 9th San Francisco Bay Area Lessons from Abroad Conference for Study Abroad Returnees was hosted at Skyline College on Saturday, November 11.

The Lessons from Abroad Conference offered approximately 35 students and faculty the opportunity to reflect on their international experiences, connect with other study abroad alumni, network and gather resources from internationally-focused organizations, as well as gain important skills and information on future career and academic paths.

The conference attracted volunteers from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) graduate students interested in getting more involved, giving back to the field of international education and networking with like-minded professionals. The SMCCCD Study Abroad Program generously sponsored the conference registration fee for 12 district study abroad program alumni, applicants and interns from Skyline College’s Bay Area Entrepreneur Center.

We were honored to host the Department of State Northwest Region Diplomat in Residence, Dorothy Ngutter, as Keynote Speaker who shared her perspective on cultural and international experiences, and information about starting a career in the foreign service. Diplomat Ngutter was impressed with the students’ level of engagement and took the time to speak more in depth with interested students after the conclusion of her keynote address.

The Global Conference session, Rock Your LinkedIn Profile, presented by Heather Frank, Global LinkedIn Recruiting Coordinator, gave students a chance to learn more about LinkedIn and it’s career exploration and networking features. Student attendees thoroughly appreciated the session with comments like “the session really taught me how to update my profile to connect with potential employers” and “I learned that the LinkedIn profile is essentially (if not more) important than a resume.”

The Lessons from Abroad Opportunities Fair offered student attendees a chance to connect with internationally related programs and organizations offering post study abroad opportunities such as teach, work, intern and graduate schools abroad. Four various presentations were offered during two sessions and students were invited to select from: Professional Skills and Interviewing Secrets: Showcasing Your Experience Abroad; Finding and Funding an International Graduate Program or Research Opportunity; Teach Abroad: It’s Not Just for Future Teachers!; and Starting an International Career and Strategies for Finding Jobs Abroad.

Lessons from Abroad Inc. is a volunteer managed and staffed 501c3 non-profit organization. To learn more about the history and background of the Lessons from Abroad Conferences, please visit online, Lessons from Abroad. To learn more about the San Francisco Bay Area Lessons from Abroad Conference, please visit https://www.facebook.com/SFLessonsfromAbroad/. To get more information about opportunities to get involved, please email sfbayarea@lessonsfromabroad.org.

Article written by Marisa Thigpen| Photo by Roger Marcelo

 

The International Student Program (ISP) and the financial aid office hosted a scholarship workshop for international students on November 7, 2017 in the Multicultural Center located in Building 4. This event was aimed at advising international students about the institutional scholarships that they can apply for.

The students who took part in the workshop gained a myriad of information about the opportunity to apply to over 50 different scholarships. Skyline College’s financial aid technician, Jenny Yang, made an informative presentation on the different types of scholarships available to students and explained the process which they have to go through to attain them.

The students also got to hear from two previous scholarship winners who spoke about their achievements and shared a few tips on the application process and their experiences with it. This allowed students to understand the process on a more personal level as they got to hear from people who are just like them.

Lastly, there was a presentation from International Student Counselor, Carlos Romero, who gave transfer students some interesting information about scholarships for when they transfer out. This was new information to many of the students who participated so that was received with much enthusiasm.

The workshop was a success and will surely have more students applying for scholarships: something that many international students did not know they even had access to.

ISP will continue to conduct discussions and workshops to improve the services offered to its students and the entire Skyline College community. If you are interested in learning more about future ISP programs and events, contact ISP office at skyinternational@smccd.edu.

Article by Naledi Mthembu  | Photo by Chikako Walker

 

 

Timurhan Vengco and Christina Trujillo from the Learning Commons at Skyline College hosted the all-day 3CSN Learning Assistance Project (LAP) Event: Professionalizing Learning Assistance and Building a Statewide Network in Building 6 on Friday, October 27.

Over 40 coordinators, staff, faculty, and student leaders from various academic support programs throughout Northern California community colleges visited this beautiful campus to share best practices and build a network of learning assistance practitioners in the region.

The event featured round-table discussions and workshops on several hot topics in the learning assistance field, including:

• Supporting guided pathways movements through academic support programs
• Preparing student peer leaders for conferences and other professional opportunities
• Providing learning assistance through online platforms
• Establishing an advisory committee for learning assistance programs

One of the student leaders in attendance shared that “being in a room with faculty, staff, and administrators who were willing and interested in my voice as a student was an amazing experience that allowed me to engage and be a part of the discussion. It allowed me to learn a lot and feel worthy to share my knowledge too. This event inspired me and empowered me to work harder to build an amazing learning community on my campus. I am so grateful to attend, and I am so excited to practice and share what I learned on my campus.”

This event also serves as a lead up to Tutor Expo, 3CSN LAP’s flagship event. Tutor Expo is a conference by and for tutors and other educators that highlights effective practices in tutoring, peer mentoring, supplemental instruction, and other learning assistance programs and services within the California Community Colleges. Northern California’s Tutor Expo will take place in Spring 2018 at Merced College.

Article and Photo by Timurhan Vengco

Would you like to win a $150 Amazon gift card? Skyline College invites you to participate in a survey about how you use the media and spend your time. Your participation in the survey will help the college with its future marketing plans.

The college has hired Interact Communications to conduct the survey. All responses are confidential. Your name will not be connected with your answers and the college will not know if you participated in the survey. If you decide to enter the drawing for a $150 Amazon gift card, you will be directed to a different web site to leave your personal information.

To participate in the survey, go to: http://www.mediaprefs.com/139.

Enter the following password: 139917

Thank you for participating and helping future students!

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center is now offering Coworking!

Coworking is an innovative, creative workspace where likeminded leaders come together to work on their own projects in a community atmosphere.

BAEC held their first FREE coworking open house on October 25, 2017. Entrepreneurs from different industries came together to ideate, create partnerships for business growth and to simply get focused on getting work done.

Students throughout the district are welcome to visit the BAEC and access many of the resources offered, free of charge. With the added service of coworking, students and community members now have the opportunity to utilize the facility, its amenities and engage with other like-minded folks. With a coworking membership, businesses will be able to use the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center as a place to host meetings and to get work done during office hours.

For more information on coworking and other memberships, please visit our website. To book a tour, email us at baec@smccd.edu.

Article by Terri Wade | Photo by Linda Truong

After discussing research on helping behavior, students enrolled in the social psychology program applied the information by soliciting donations for the relief effort in Puerto Rico. They broke into groups and, based on information discussed in class, developed helping-related hypotheses that included the following variables:

• Gender: Student hypothesized that females would donate more often than males.
• Location: Students hypothesized that people would be more likely to donate in front of a church vs. a grocery store.
• Group vs. individual:  Students hypothesized that people in a group would be more likely to donate than alone.
• Reward: Students hypothesized that people would be more likely to donate if a reward was offered (a piece of candy).

Students had one week to test their hypotheses by collecting donations. As a result of their informal research, a total of $200 was collected and donated to United for Puerto Rico.

Article by Jennifer Merrill

On the evening of Nov. 6, Puente had its second Mentor Mixer of the academic year here at Skyline College. Mentors and mentees from two Puente cohorts met to engage in activities that allowed them to think more deeply about how to address challenges. Rocio Aguilar-Pedroza, one of the Puente counselors, started out with an “Infinity Loop” activity that was intentionally difficult. Groups were then given the solution and shared out their challenges in trying to solve it.

Afterwards Puente faculty Paula Silva, Alberto Santellan, and Lucia Lachmayr facilitated discussion and brainstormed ways to face other challenges that may seem insurmountable, capitalizing on hearing the mentors’ experiences on how to persist. The mentors and mentees came up with ways to address similar challenges in their lives. Groups came up with great strategies they were able to share with each other.

Finally, they discussed the importance of mentors and guides in their lives, past and present, and gave thanks on paper Calaveras (skulls) that we have posted on the LASO altar in the Multicultural Center. Come by and see it!

The event was a wonderful opportunity for students to see that their own mentors also have mentors and that these relationships are something that most professionals value, all reinforcing the concept that nobody does it alone.

The Puente students are incredibly grateful for our amazing mentors!

Article by Lucia Lachmayr