Most of us have heard the saying, “Many hands make light work” as a confirmation that when we all do our part, a task is facilitated. A lesser known expression, “No one can whistle a symphony” is a testament to the importance of partnership and cooperation in creating cohesive work. If we have the opportunity to practice one of these, we are fortunate. When we experience both, we are blessed.

Skyline College’s mission statement reflects a commitment to transformation and empowerment. Every day we are reminded of our student-centered values, and every day we are urged to move closer to a student ready college. Currently, academic excellence clearly exists in all corners of our institution on a daily basis because we know that when we intentionally seek to interact and collaborate with our colleagues on behalf of student growth, our efforts are significantly reinforced and the results can be magical. Relationship building with our students is essential to their academic advancement and personal growth. This prompting of personal efficacy only flourishes when by design, it is encouraged, valued, and supported by all factions of our campus. Each educator knows this, and every college employee appreciates it.

The efforts put forth toward this rapport building is intensive, and time consuming yet the life altering outcomes for students reflect the distinctive beauty of timely, purposeful college connections. When we act with the intention of authentically serving our students, the ripple effect is wonderful to behold as the benefits continue to swell beyond our reach. We are given a small window of influence during which we can make the slightest of waves that can forever change the course of our student’s lives. Skyline College shines best and brightest when collective energy and expertise are engaged to inspire individual students’ unique sparks of brilliance.

Read more for four student stories in their own words that illustrate the synergy that comes from such alliances:

Article by Lavinia Zanassi

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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—

• Business, Entrepreneurship & Management Internships 
• Science, Technology & Health Internships

Article by Alexa Moore

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—

• Business, Entrepreneurship & Management Jobs
• Science, Health & Technology Jobs
• Society & Education Jobs
• Just In Time Jobs

Article by Alexa Moore

Skyline College students, faculty and staff, community members, as well as their friends and family gathered at the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) on February 26, 2020, for our first annual Community Engagement and Networking event in honor of Black History Month.  Attendees, including business owners and other guests, who had traveled from as far as Milpitas, came together to network and celebrate the historical figures and accomplishments within and throughout the African diaspora.

The night was full of laughter, music, food, surprise trivia and important networking opportunities. Those who were able to correctly answer questions such as “In which category was Barack Obama awarded a Grammy ” or “What was the first Historically Black College or University”, received gift baskets that were graciously donated by the BAEC and San Bruno Chamber of Commerce. No one went home empty handed, the Office of Student Life and Leadership donated giveaways that were also an essential part of making this event so special.

The BAEC is the off-campus business resource center for Skyline College, located at 458 San Mateo Avenue in Downtown San Bruno.  For more information, visit us at skylinebaec.org.

Article and Photo by Sarina O’Gilvie

During the month of February, the BEPP division collaborated with the teachers at the Child Development Laboratory Center (CDLC) at Skyline College to engage in themes of entrepreneurship through the lens of Black History Month.

Pcyeta Stroud and Soledad McCarthy, both parents of small children, thought it would benefit our youngest students on campus to learn a little about our nation’s history and the many contributions that black Americans have made to our success in innovation from a family perspective. Using fun handouts and technology, CDLC kids learned about Paul Laurence Dunbar, Mae Jemison and Marin Luther King Jr., among other inventors, artists and prominent figures, through a series of small interactive sessions.

As a result of the collaboration, the CDLC created a space to showcase historical figures all year round, in addition to the embedded curriculum that celebrates the diversity of CDLC families. We thank the CDLC staff and ECE faculty for this partnership and for this opportunity to celebrate the beauty of Black History Month.

Article by Pcyeta Stroud and Tina Watts

Interested in biotechnology? The Biomanufacturing Club at Skyline College meets roughly every other Friday. Student Project Manager Jaizel Robles invites all Skyline College students to join as the biomanufacturing club mixes fun with real world work experience by also acting as a contract manufacturing. The products they make are for local high schools and real customers. In order to do this, the Biomanufacturing Club acts as a contract manufacturing organization.

In the picture, Jaizel is inspecting and packaging petri plates that will go out to the local high schools. In order to reduce contamination and emulating the pharmaceutical industry experience, students wore the proper equipment. Tram is working on a manufacturing ticket which are the exact instructions on how to manufacture a lot. These detailed instructions are absolutely followed with each task that is listed signed off and countersigned. This attention to detail is just like Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMP) that are practiced in Biopharmaceutical companies. Mario and Carlose, who are studying biomedical engineering are using a manifold they printed in the Fabrication Lab and a syringe pump to see if they can efficiently dispense 0.1 mL of a solution into test tubes for a future biomanufacturing club product.

If you are interested in building your biotechnology lab skills while making a product, come and check out the Biomanufacturing Club, every other Friday in Building 7, Room 7-204.

Article and Photo by Nick Kapp

Skyline College Alumni Tram Lu and Pricsilla Sanches along with Professor Nick Kapp attended a talk by Dr. Josiah Zayner at Laney College on February 13, 2020. Skyline College and Laney College are part of the San Francisco Bay region student chapter of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA). The PDA is a professional organization that connects people, science and regulation of the manufacturing and marketing of parenteral drugs. As a regional club, Skyline College students attend activities off-campus as well as meet and connect with other students and professionals in the Bay Area. The West Coast Chapter of the PDA sponsors these events.

Dr. Josiah Zayner is a biohacker and was featured in the Netflix movie Unnatural Selection. He developed a kit for his company, The Odin, where anyone can practice clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) at home. He feels that to really understand this science, people must be knowledgeable of the procedures as well as its practice. To that end, he started a company that sells home lab kits to teach buyers about CRISPR and gene editing. This technology is so new that the government is still trying to respond to how it should be regulated since recently California has made it illegal to sell a DIY genetic engineering kit unless it comes with a clear warning that “the kit is not for self-administration.”

Currently, there are a few thousand people working in the gene editing field. Dr. Zayner’s unconventional product’s overall goal is to attract more people to this field and to increase the possibility of gaining more breakthroughs for curing serious diseases.

Article and Photo by Nick Kapp

A couple of years ago, one summer school student asked if the Library had any “street-lit.” While there were some classic titles for her (“NOT Iceberg Slim! That’s what my dad reads”), the Library had none of what she wanted. Our conversation prompted Reference & Instructional Librarian, Jessica Silver-Sharp to build a small collection of contemporary books and replace some older classics — like Iceberg Slim’s Mama Black Widow and Donald Goines’ Daddy Cool.

If you’re not familiar with street lit or it’s relative urban fiction, these genres are enjoying a renaissance today. They are young-adult and adult oriented novels about survival — how to survive the streets by circumventing the pitfalls. They include contemporary classics like Sister Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever and award winning newer titles like Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle or Tommy Orange’s There There. Most street lit and urban fiction is by Black authors, but not exclusively. Want to know more? Check out Skyline College Library’s Research Guide or try Vanessa Irvin Morris’s excellent guide, Readers’ Advisory Guide to Street Literature.

Another recently acquired, unique collection increases representation of natural hair’s celebration and care. It includes the new picture book, Hair Love: A Celebration of Daddies and Daughters Everywhere by Matthew Cherry, Oscar winning director of the new short by the same name, as well as many other titles for children. Books for adults include The Black Woman’s Hair Bible, Natural Hair Care, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, and Gillian Scott-Ward’s new film Back to Natural: A Historical Look at the Global Policing of Black Bodies.

In celebration of Black History month, the Library has displayed these collections and more.

Any staff, student or faculty member can check out books for themselves or their family. We invite you to stop by!

Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp

On Friday night, February 21, 2020, the Skyline College Women’s Basketball Team defeated the Ohlone College Renegades by a score of 67-29. This victory was notable for several reasons. One, it was our 8th conference victory of the season which is the most Coast Conference victories our women’s basketball team has ever achieved. Second, with that victory our women’s basketball team won their first Coast Conference Championship. Skyline College has sponsored Women’s Basketball as a varsity program for 17 years and this is our first conference championship. Congratulations to our students, Head Coach Chris Watters and his staff.

Based on our overall season record (19-9) and Coast Conference Championship, Skyline College has qualified for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Women’s Basketball playoffs. Skyline College received the 9th seed and will be playing the College of the Redwoods Corsairs in Eureka on Friday, February 28, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students. Tickets can be purchased only at the College of the Redwoods gym. For more information and directions to College of the Redwoods, please view their athletics website at redwoods.edu/sports.

Article by Joe Morello

The Board of Supervisors for the County of Santa Clara appointed San José resident Janice Lobo Sapigao to the honorary post of Santa Clara County Poet Laureate for a two-year term ending Dec. 31, 2021 at its meeting of Monday, February 10, 2020.

“The Poet Laureate’s role is to elevate Santa Clara County residents’ awareness of the arts, and help inspire all readers and fans of poetry including the next generation of poets,” said County Librarian Nancy Howe. “We look forward to helping Janice connect with communities across the County to instill our shared love of the art form.”

Sapigao is a Poetry Editor at Angel City Review and has authored two books of poetry and numerous chapbooks. She also was a VONA/Voices Fellow and Manuel G. Flores Prize winner. Sapigao was named one of the Bay Area’s “2017 Women to Watch” by KQED Arts.

“Janice brings a unique voice that speaks to the experience of many residents of Silicon Valley,” said Supervisor Cindy Chavez, President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “Her identity as a U.S. born daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, and her ability to write about the intersection of these two identities is a rich confluence of artistic influences.”
Sapigao was recommended to the Board following the call for applications, and a two-step review process organized by the County of Santa Clara, Silicon Valley Creates (SVCreates), and the Santa Clara County Library District.

“SVCreates is a proud partner in Santa Clara County’s Poet Laureate program and has been since its inception. This is one of several SVCreates programs that accelerate and elevate the arts within our county,” said Connie Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Valley Creates. “We are thrilled that Janice Lobo Sapigao has been selected this year to demonstrate the power of poetry and its relevance to contemporary lives.”

Sapigao, who works as an Assistant Professor of English at Skyline College in San Bruno, plans to develop a Youth Poet Laureate program for the County to further encourage the art and broaden participation in it.

“I am honored to be appointed as the next Santa Clara County Poet Laureate and develop my project to start a youth poet laureate program,” said Sapigao. “I hope to visit elementary, middle, and high schools in the county to promote the power of poetry as a source for connection, community, and critical conversations.”

Sapigao is the sixth poet laureate to be appointed by the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. Nils Peterson was the County’s first Poet Laureate (2009-2011), followed by Sally Ashton (2012-13), David Perez (2014-2015), Arlene Biala (2016-17), and Mike McGee (2018-19).

Her poetry publications include like a solid to a shadow (Timeless, Infinite Light/Nightboat Books, 2017) and microchips for millions (Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., 2016). Sapigao was the co-founder of the Sunday Jump Open Mic in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown and is a frequent performer at open mics, collegiate, and other poetry performance events across the country. She has recently been awarded a writing residency at the Vermont Studio Center for September-October 2020.

The Poet Laureate post was approved by the Board of Supervisors in November 2008 to elevate poetry among Santa Clara County residents and to help celebrate the literary arts. The Poet Laureate acts as a resource for poetry and literary activities to the Santa Clara County Library District, represents the County of Santa Clara through outreach related to poetry, conducts presentations of appropriate works at local events, and participates at activities to celebrate Poetry Month. The Poet Laureate will receive a modest honorarium. To learn more about the Poet Laureate program, go to sccgov.org/poetlaureate.

Article by Santa Clara County