Skyline College hosted a 50^th Anniversary Gala on Friday, November 15, 2019 with over 200 guests in attendance in the beautiful new Farallon Room located inside the new Environmental Science Building. Guests included students, faculty, staff and community and business members from across the county. The night was a success in raising more than $100,000 for students. These funds support the Promise Scholars Program and continue to support the innovative projects and initiatives of the President’s Innovation Fund – a mini-grant process that allows faculty and staff to launch creative and effective approaches to achieving Skyline College’s mission, vision and values. These projects continue to shape the landscape of Skyline College.

The event consisted of a cocktail hour for VIP ticket holders, a four course-meal, a program including a commemorative video, award presentations, a silent auction and dancing. Lloyd LaCuesta, retired broadcaster from KTVU served as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Supervisor David Canepa gave an inspirational keynote address advocating for free college and using his platform as an elected official to make a difference in the county.

Several individuals who have been instrumental in the success of the college over its 50 years were presented with the first ever Skyline Stars award. Awardees included:

• David Canepa
• Dr. Christine Case
• Greg Cochran
• Ray Hernandez
• Carolyn Livengood (posthumously)

We want to thank our headlining Gala sponsor for the evening YouTube who providing $20,000 in support and provided all 20 tickets to students so that they could attend the festivities. We’d also like to thank Supervisor Canepa who has committed $50,000 of Measure K funds to support the Promise Scholars Program, making our gala a smashing success. Other sponsors include Local Union 467 and Associated Students of Skyline College.

It is absolutely true that it takes a village to pull off a beautiful event of this scale. First we’d like to thank our partners, the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation under the leadership of Tykia Warden and Leila Perreras with Circle Communications who were with us every step of the way. We’d like to thank President’s Office Staff Theresa Tentes and Becky Threewit who were instrumental in the last two weeks leading up to the gala, and the incredible Marketing, Communications and Public Relations team for all their incredible work, including Connor Fitzpatrick, Brittney Sneed, Mia Coo, Soe Thura Hlaing, Mario Guzman, Marie Kyla Perez and Ricardo Coronado.

A sincere thank you, on behalf of the college to all the attendees of the gala, sponsors, donors, silent auction donors and staff that helped make the night one that will go down in history, all in support of students. Over $100,000 in funds raised and a night to celebrate the incredible opportunity we have each and every day to make a difference in a student’s life is unforgettable.

Article by Cherie Colin | Photo by Zaw Min Khant

The Classified Senate is excited to announce that they raised $1,970 for the 1st Annual Skyline College Classified Senate Student Scholarship Drive, reaching well over their goal of $1,500!!!

Our heartfelt gratitude to those who helped the Classified Senate support students by helping them pay for their tuition, fees, books and other expenses as they achieve their educational goals. We will be holding the raffle prize drawings on Monday, November 25, 2019. Stay tuned to see if you’re a lucky winner!

On behalf of the Classified Senate, thank you again to everyone who donated. We appreciate your generosity and support for Skyline College students and the Classified Senate.

Article by Sherrie Prasad

Come celebrate Skyline College’s 50 years of achievement by stopping by the 50th Anniversary Barbecue on

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m

Main Quad

We look forward to seeing you then – we’ll have food trucks, games and swag! This ’60s-themed event is open to ALL students, faculty and staff.

Article by Marie Kyla Perez

On November 20, 2019, a group of Skyline College faculty members met for Asian Women Tea Time (AWTT) in the Library.

The group engaged in conversations sharing relatable and different stories including:

• Personal plight with gender stereotyping and tokenism
• Shared experiences dealing with impressions of being an Asian woman
• Sharing a ‘third space’ with fellow women of similar cultural heritage
• Common paths in experiencing American society as an immigrant or a daughter of an immigrant family

Funny stories were shared, expressions of identity were embraced, and thought-provoking questions were brought up.

Our next gathering will be held in the Library lounge area on December 9, 2019 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. All who identify themselves as an Asian woman are welcome.

If you have any questions, please email Rika Yonemura-Fabian at fabianr@smccd.edu or Pia Walawalkar at walawalkars@smccd.edu.

Article by Maryam Khan, Rika Yonemura-Fabian, Pia Walawalkar, Jing Folsom, Sujatha Venkataraman and Emilie Hein

The Ceramics Club hosted its sixth Biennial Empty Bowls Fundraiser on November 6, 2019, in the Fireside Dining Room.

Empty Bowls is a grassroots project created to raise money and awareness of hunger and food insecurity in communities. Each group that participates in the Empty Bowls project works with their community to create their own event.

We surpassed our goal of making over 300 bowls and hosted a successful fundraising soup dinner on campus. This fundraising project provides a service learning experience for our students, utilizing creative art and event planning skills to help create social change.

Attendees chose from a collection of colorful and unique ceramic bowls, each of which were hand-made by Skyline College, Capuchino High School and Burlingame High School ceramics students. Professor Soledad McCarthy’s Hospitality and Tourism Management students helped showcase the bowls best, assisting patrons to select the perfect bowl. Art student volunteers filled the bowls with a variety of delicious soups prepared by Pacific Dining.

Diners were skillfully entertained during their meal by a rich array of performers, starting off with Professor Zachary Bruno’s students, the Skyline College Jazz Combo. The Skyline College Concert Choir directed by Professor Jude Navari followed and sang a few stimulating songs from popular musicals. Next the Vocal Jazz Ensemble Soundscape, directed by Professor Michelle Hawkins, showcased their rich harmonies. For the performance finale, there were several energizing dance performances choreographed by students in Professor Amber Steele’s Dance Program.

The event was a great success, raising $3,282 for SparkPoint at Skyline College! Director Chad Thompson shared highlights during the dinner about the great work that the center does including the food pantry and community market that provide food to students and community members.

Thanks to the Skyline College Organization and Club Council (SOCC) for providing funds for the soup. A big thanks to all of the administration, staff, faculty, students, and community members who came and supported this event!

Article by Tiffany Schmierer | Photo by Brittney Sneed

On Monday, November 18, 2019, over 200 people gathered for the inaugural ribbon cutting to celebrate the  opening of the Science, Technology, and Health STEM Center at Skyline College. Attendees included Skyline College leadership, faculty, classified staff and students, members of the SMCCCD Board of Trustees and the community!

Launching with seed funding through the College’s STEM Pathways Grant, the STEM Center works to engender a vibrant community of students, faculty and staff all supporting each other to foster student success within Science, Technology, Health, Engineering, and Math courses. The STEM Center, located on the third floor of Building 7, is the newest addition to the STEM Collaboration Space which encompasses the Fabrication Lab, Anatomy Lab, Simulation Lab, Biotechnology Lab, MESA Center, Math Quad, study spaces, meeting rooms and much more!

Vice President of Instruction, Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza, kicked off the event by speaking to the ambition the Skyline College community has for fostering student success in science, technology, and health. SMT Dean Ray Hernandez, Engineering and Computer Science Professor Nick Langhoff and Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning, Maintenance & Operations Jose Nuñez all echoed similar sentiments and the positive impact the STEM Center will have on the Skyline College community.

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, guests remained in the STEM Center for an open house tour of the space. The three large touch-screen TV’s in the space flexed their potential by switching back and forth between their two key functionalities. The first functionality is connecting to computers through screen-sharing (either via WiFi or cable connection). Picture slideshows were in display advertising all of the lab spaces available in Building 7. Second, converting to digital whiteboards allowing guests to write and draw welcoming messages and fun exercise problems.

Many students in various clubs took this opportunity to showcase some of their current research projects/interests. The Astronomy Club, Engineering & Robotics Club, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), and WISER! (Women In Science and Engineering Represent!) were all in attendance. On display were a series of telescopes, engineering simulation models, biotechnology lab equipment, a distillation lab demonstration (synthesizing crude oil), computer graphics models, student research posters, math games/puzzles, and a solar boat built by students! View photos taken from the Ribbon Cutting online!

The STEM Center will serve the students by providing a space to collaborate, learn, and connect. With the additional space and immediate vicinity to faculty offices, students gain the opportunity to work closely with their faculty and mentors. The STEM Center also looks to rethink how office hours are conducted by hosting them so that faculty meets the students where they are at, literally.

From inception to design to construction, development of the STEM Center at Skyline College was realized through the dedication and hard work of a diverse set of teams and individuals throughout the College, district and design construction partners. The STEM Center team would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who contributed!

The STEM Center will be open and available to students Monday through Thursday at 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., and Friday at 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

For further information about the STEM Center, contact Bryan Swartout at (650) 738–7939 or swartoutb@smccd.edu.

Article by Nicholas Langhoff, Jenny Le and Bryan Swartout | Photo by Marie Kyla Perez

Middle College entered South San Francisco’s 27th annual Project Read Trivia Challenge and fundraiser and made a notable first impression at the event. The night consisted of a silent auction, dinner, and a trivia challenge. The Middle College team was made up of two seniors Tylin Williams, Humberto Rivas, and one junior Maria Coreas, representing their sponsor, Skyline College.

They battled against more than 30 teams and were the only high school team to advance to the second round, after scoring 23 points out of 30 in round one. Middle College senior Humberto Rivas stated that “he would like to thank everyone who made this event possible to support the commendable cause of increasing literacy in our neighborhoods. I also want to thank our Middle College administration for choosing us to represent Skyline College as a whole. I certainly had a great time with my teammates representing Middle College at Skyline. Even though we came up short for third place, we proved that youth have the drive to make their dreams come true by making history, and that was the most important takeaway.”

While they were unable to place, these young students with bright minds definitely put Middle College on the map as one to watch out for at next year’s competition.

The Trivia Challenge serves as the annual fundraiser for Project Read of Northern San Mateo County. With the help of volunteer tutors and program staff that dedicate themselves to lifelong learning, Project Read aims to help low literacy and low-income adults reach their literacy and financial goals, as well as provide educational activities and free books to low income families in the community through their Learning Wheels Program.

Article by Martina Goodman and Samantha Panganiban

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

Article by Alexa Moore

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC) is continuing its efforts to bring community members, students, entrepreneurs and all other interested parties together in a collaborative space. We recently launched our monthly Momentrepreneur Meetup and our Social Media & Coffee sessions.

The Momentrepreneur Meetup is a space intended for moms, and all parents alike, who are interested in networking with like-minded people and sharing their business or creative ideas. It’s a time to come together to learn about resources at Skyline College and to discuss work/life balance, business strategies and lessons-learned from fellow parents.

Our Social Media & Coffee sessions are designed to bridge some of the knowledge gaps that business owners have with using social media.  These sessions are styled in a workshop format with tips, resources and time for group discussion.  Attendees learn about LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, email campaigns and more!

In the New Year, we will be adding meetups for the local creatives and our retiree’s community. If you have an idea for a meetup you would like to see offered, please contact BAEC Special Projects Coordinator, Nicole Moreno-Deinzer at morenodeinzern@smccd.edu.

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center, is a hub of resources for anyone looking to start and grow their business or idea. Skyline College students, faculty, staff and members of the community are welcome to come visit the BAEC and learn more.

Questions? Contact us at baec@smccd.edu, (650)738-7994 or visit us at skylinebaec.org

Article by Nicole Moreno-Deinzer

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) is excited to announce that Nicole Moreno-Deinzer, Adjunct Faculty and Special Projects Coordinator, will be speaking at the Altitude (Alt) Summit in March of next year. The Alt Summit is an annual collaborative event designed to foster innovation and to empower women makers and leaders in creative spaces.  After being nominated, Nicole was selected to speak at the conference and will be sharing her insights on LatinX media companies.

Nicole joined Skyline College in July of this year, as a non-instructional Adjunct working on Special Projects and initiatives for the BAEC, the College’s off-site location. Since joining the BAEC team she has given life to innovative ideas such as our Momentrepreneur Meetup and Social Media & Coffee events, where we engage the community and build relationships with local entrepreneurs. Her connections to the marketing and tech industries has done much to enhance those relationships with the BAEC.

The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College, is a hub of resources for anyone looking to start and grow their business or idea.  Skyline College students, faculty, staff and members of the community are welcome to come visit the BAEC and learn more.

Questions? Contact us at baec@smccd.edu, (650) 738-7994, or visit us at skylinebaec.org.

Article by Pcyeta Stroud | Photo by Chad Burnaw