On Wednesday, October 16, 2019, a very special green RV made an appearance at Skyline College to share a career exploration resource: Roadmap to Careers by Roadtrip Nation. Over 130 students attended and were empowered to identify their interests and discover which career pathways align with their unique ambitions and skills. Skyline College was one of the two Bay Area colleges to be selected thanks to the collaborative efforts of Lavinia Zanassi, Career Counselor.

For 15 years, Roadtrip Nation has made it their mission to meet with professionals of every kind and ask the questions that no one is asking—honest questions about their struggles, successes, and how they figured out the age-old dilemma: “What should I do with my life?” Students have access to a digital product that combines labor market data with Roadtrip Nation’s library of thousands of candid video interviews.

The four “Roadies” that arrived with the RV said, “This has been one of the best stops on our tour”. They also commented on the wonderful diversity of the students, faculty and staff. One student commented, “Wow, there is actually a list of people in the industry and it shows how they got to where they are. I found it to be very different and helpful. I will definitely look more into this website!” Congratulations to student Cosette Claybaugh who was selected as the winner of a $100 Bookstore gift card.

If you are working with a student who is still exploring career options and could benefit from this tool or from a one-on-one career counseling appointment, fill out a referral form. If you would like see the Roadtrip Nation website, use the special code: SKYCC19.

It took a village to make this day happen and special thanks goes out to the event organizers and everyone involved: Lavinia Zanassi, Kenny Gonzalez, Jose Milan, Luis Escobar, John Doctor, Jim Vangele, Cherie Colin, Connor Fitzpatrick, Annie Trinh, Soe Hlaing, Paul Cassidy, Tom Bauer, Roxanne Brewer and Kevin Chak.

Article by Kenny Gonzalez | Photo by Soe Hlaing

Kappa Beta Delta International awarded 13 Dr. Andrew V. Stevenson Scholarships for 2019. Skyline College students included John Aguas, Paul Dzul, Sophie Huang and Justin Yu. Giller Asuncion also won the Region 7 scholarship. Kappa Beta Delta International is the Business Program Honor Society for Community Colleges accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Skyline College is the first California Community College to achieve ACBSP accreditation.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2020 scholarships at kbdhs.org/scholarships. Kappa Beta Delta and Alpha Gamma Sigma are hosting a Scholarship Workshop at on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 in Building 8, Room 8-209 from 1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Patricia Flores from Financial Aid will facilitate the workshop.

Article and Photo by Linda Whitten

Skyline College’s Sigma Omicron Chapter of Alpha Gamma Sigma attended the Northern California Fall Conference at Chabot College. Alpha Gamma Sigma is the California Community College Honor Society.

200 students and faculty advisors attended breakout sessions on “Tools Against Speech Anxiety”, “Conflict Resolution”, “Alumni Panel-Bachelor’s Degree in Progress”, “Officers Roundtable”, “Shift to a Growth Mindset”, “Scholarships”, “Success Through Failure”, “Learning How to Bounce Back”, “Mastering the Cost of Higher Education” and “Resume Review & Interview Prep”.

The attendees also worked on developing a Statewide Service Project focusing on student homelessness. Alpha Gamma Sigma at Skyline College will start their local project by participating in the Second Harvest Food Drive on campus on October 22, 2019 through November 22, 2019. A clothing drive will follow.

Skyline College was represented by Justin Cabrigas, Zhijian Cai, Erik Ferroggiaro, Timothy McMillian, John Uperesa, Chris Wardell, Hermia Waxner, Jingui Xiang, Raghad Bader and faculty advisor, Linda Whitten.

Article and Photo by Linda Whitten

In celebration of Skyline College’s 50th Anniversary this year, the college is hosting the Legacy of Achievement Gala Fundraiser on Friday, November 15, 2019 at 7:00 p.m in the Farallon Room, Building 12.

Funds raised during the event will benefit the Promise Scholars Program and the President’s Innovation Fund (PIF). Don’t miss out on a night of commemorating Skyline College’s accomplishments and developments with a four-course dinner, live music and a cash bar!

Here are the ticket details for the event:

• Faculty/Staff: $150/person | $250/VIP
• Community Members: $200/person | $300/VIP

The VIP reception will start at 6:00 p.m. featuring an exclusive Meet & Greet and open bar.

The event is black tie optional. Reserve your tickets today by visiting skylinecollege.edu/50 or contacting Cherie Colin at (650) 738-4346 or colinc@smccd.edu.

Article by Marie Kyla Perez

The Classified Senate is excited to report that as of this week, we’ve raised $550.00 for the Classified Senate Student Scholarship. The funds raised during this drive will give Skyline College students access to a quality education. Students will be able to use the funds to pay for tuition, fees, books and other expenses as they achieve their educational goals.

If you have not done so already, please consider helping us to reach our goal of $1,500.00. We ask that you donate a minimum of a $15.00 one-time donation. PLUS – All those who donate $25 or more will be entered to win a Hydro Flask and a few other prizes from the Skyline College bookstore! Every dollar counts! The scholarship drive will continue through October 31, 2019. Raffle prize drawings will be held on November 1, 2019.

Please note: This scholarship drive will be replacing the Classified Senate’s yearly See’s Candy fundraiser. While we’re sad to see that fundraiser go, we’ve found that in recent years we were unable to meet our fundraising goals. This new fundraising model will allow us to ensure that 100% of your donations will be placed directly towards the student scholarships.

If you are able to donate towards our 1st Annual Skyline College Classified Senate Student Scholarship to help provide students a better access to higher education, please DONATE ONLINE.

Your generous contribution to support our students is greatly appreciated!

Questions? Contact Sherrie Prasad.

Article by Sherrie Prasad

The Skyline College Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC) met on Thursday, October 10, 2019.

The committee’s first topic was the new Fund 1 Budget Allocation, which is comprised of approximately one percent of Skyline College’s projected funds for fiscal year 2019-20. New funding is available in categories for new faculty full-time equivalent (FTE) hiring, new classified professional full-time equivalent (FTE) hiring, innovative strategies support, general operating and discretionary funds, and instructional equipment. At the last meeting on September 26, 2019, in groups, members finalized three budget scenarios that they brought back to their respective areas for discussion. Members submitted their votes at the October 10, 2019 meeting, following an opportunity to collect feedback from their constituent group.

The budget presentation can be viewed here. Scenario two was selected to be recommended to the College Governance Council meeting on the October 23, 2019 for their discussion and vote to recommend to the Interim President.

On a separate agenda item, Tri-Chair Ingrid Vargas, Dean of Planning, Research, Innovation and Institutional Effectiveness, shared enrollment trends data with the committee. The presentation documents can be viewed here.

From fall 2009 through fall 2019, the enrollment for all three colleges within the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) has been gradually declining. However, Skyline College has the largest enrollment of the three district colleges with 9,260 students enrolled as of the fall 2019 census date.

Following are enrollment trend highlights at Skyline College from fall 2009 through fall 2018:

• Enrollment by student types (continuing students, returning students, first-time transfer students, special admit students, and first-time students) decreased in all types, except special admit students and first-time students. This trend is most likely due to an increase in dual enrollment, Middle College, and the Promise Scholars Program.
• Enrollment by age shows an increase in the 19 or younger age group and a decrease in students aged 35 and older.
• Enrollment by ethnicity decreased in all ethnic groups, except multi-race and Hispanic/Latinx groups.

Next meeting is Thursday, October 31, 2019 from 2:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Building 6, Room 6-203.

Article by Judy Hutchinson

Expand your network in ways that will lead to your dream job. The Career Readiness & Job Placement team is excited to share the following paid internship opportunities with you. Check them out—

• Society & Education Internships

How may we assist you in landing your dream job? The Career Readiness & Job Placement team is excited to share the following job opportunities with you. Check them out—

• Arts, Languages & Communication Jobs
• Business, Entrepreneurship & Management Jobs
• Society & Education Jobs
• Just-In-Time Jobs

Article by Alexa Moore

Majors Week is next week! October 21-25, 2019 will be our first Meta Majors Week at Skyline College. The purpose of the week is to:

1) Create community and a sense of identify within each of the Meta Majors

2) Provide opportunities for students to explore career options and skills needed in each of the Meta Majors and

3) Connect students to resources that exist on campus that can support their educational goals.

 

Faculty and staff will be hosting a variety of opportunities throughout the week for students to explore each of the Meta Majors as well as career exploration opportunities that will benefit all students. You can help support students and make the events successful by:

• Encouraging students to attend Meta Majors Week events
• Raising awareness by talking with students about Meta Majors and designing an assignment or activity to explore the Meta Majors in your class or program and
• Bringing students to Meet Your Meta Major Fair (Thursday from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)

 

Students can enter to win a prize at each of the events. Calendar of events is attached here. More information on Meta Majors Week can be found on the website by visiting skylinecollege.edu/metamajors. Look for daily updates with descriptions of events.

If you have any questions, please contact Carla Grandy at grandyc@smccd.edu or (650) 738-7918.

Article by Carla Grandy

Skyline College’s biology and biotechnology students attended the 22nd Annual Chinese Bioscience Association (CBA) Conference titled “From Disruptive Innovations to Real-World Application” on October 12, 2019 held at Crown Plaza in Foster City. For many of the students, it was their first experience at a scientific conference. Student volunteers arrived as early as 7:45 a.m. to set up the college’s booth to ensure everything was perfect. Students took turns to man the ship and provided information about Skyline College’s Biotechnology Program, its degrees and certificates, as well as shared their experience as a Biology major. Many of the biotechnology students are also members of the West Coast Chapter of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) and handed out pamphlets.

Dr. Jing Folsom and Dr. Nick Kapp gave an assignment to each of the students attending. They were encouraged to practice their networking skills by asking to get a selfie with a conference vendor or researcher. The conference lasted all day with multiple presenters. During breaks, students would either man the table and talk to scientists as they walked by or network.

The highlight of the conference was the interaction of computer technology with good old fashioned pharmaceutical medicines. Many of the talks at the CBA conference featured elite biotechnology companies presenting current projects and research on advanced pharmaceuticals for complex diseases such as Parkinson’s, non specific seizures, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s.

Students were introduced to medical devices like a digital medicine that reminds the patient to take their medicine. The compliance data is sent to their physician to help improve medication outcomes. Patients who have seizures are often told to keep a personal diaries after they have a seizure. This is often problematic for epileptic patients. To assist, a watch and app developed by Empatica, Embrace Watch, was made to detect tonic clonic (a type of seizure) and notify caregivers. The device also keeps data on seizure occurrence and length to better report out to physicians. In all cases, the group observed implications for artificial intelligence use in assisting patients. Data collection would allow artificial intelligence to predict when the patient would likely have a seizure, sending signals to the brain to stop a seizure before it happens. This will replace using service dogs and cats to alert when a seizure will happen.

Another medication is called Proteus, an ingestible sensor hidden in prescription tablets that transmits signals to an online patch. The digital record of medication is stored in a cloud and with permission, health care providers can access when a patient takes their medication. The patch also measures daily activity and sleep quality. Proteus allows cancer patients to inform their doctors about their medication information without taking multiple trips to the doctor or invasive tests. Patients were successful in taking their medications on time due to the notification system provided by the app. This way the app maintains a log of the medication history and vitals, forwarding the information to healthcare providers directly. This eliminates the risk of losing “health diaries” and false verbal information from the patient. This way, patients are able to get better without the pressure of being told what to do from the doctors. The success of patients following their medication regimes in this way, surprised physicians in the study.

The conference was a great opportunity to engage with professionals in the biotechnology field as well as gain knowledge about innovative industrial machines such as cell counters and small particle analyzers. The conference also provided opportunities for students to look for internships, jobs, and mentors.

We look forward to going back to this conference again next year, with resumes in hand.

Article by Nick Kapp | Photo by Jing Folsom

On Friday, October 11, Skyline College partnered with College of San Mateo (CSM) and Cañada College for a district-wide training for new and continuing student ambassadors. College Recruiters, Mayra Arellano (Cañada College), Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos (Skyline College), and Estela Garcia (CSM) invited ambassadors from all three colleges to participate in an all-day training hosted at CSM.

After a warm welcome by Kim Lopez, Acting President and Mike Holtzclaw, Vice President of Instruction at CSM, student ambassadors received an overview of the San Mateo Community College District (SMCCD) Public Safety Services. Owen Yoch, Public Safety Sergeant, conducted a workshop regarding campus lockdown procedures and emergency preparedness.

Martin Ulloa, CSM Ambassador, gave a presentation highlighting CSM specific resources and provided a tour of the campus which included programs such as Nursing, Dental Assisting, and Fire Technology. Students were also treated to a private screening of “The Sky Tonight” – a deeper look into our constellations inside the planetarium that showcased their Astrology program.

The trainings were established to onboard new ambassadors and provide opportunity to learn more about each of the colleges. It also serves as a refresher for continuing ambassadors. The goal is to ensure they gain knowledge that helps with recruitment and establish a larger cross-functional outreach team for future events.

Additional training will be held this fall at Cañada College and Skyline College covering various other components such as customer service skills and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

For more information regarding the trainings, feel free reach out to Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos at evangelistaj@smccd.edu.

Article and Photo by Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos