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

Teaching has moved beyond solely teaching the material to fostering students’ self-awareness, initiative and resilience in learning. For what students think, believe and feel about themselves as learners affects how they orient themselves toward their education. Nowhere is this shift more evident at Skyline College than in the classroom, flex workshops and departmental discussions.

You are invited to the Lifelong Wellness Institutional Student Learning Outcome (ISLO) Town Hall, which will feature reflections from Art, Counseling and Kinesiology/Athletics/Dance faculty on classroom and assessment practices. All integrate lifelong wellness practices into their pedagogy and took part in the assessment.

In addition, the results from the Lifelong Wellness ISLO assessment of 496 students’ mindsets will be available, as will be students’ self-assessments of their own habits and behaviors from the 2016 Community College Survey of Student Engagement.

Please join us on Monday, February 24, from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Building 4, Room 4-301
to analyze and discuss the implications of the Lifelong Wellness ISLO assessment.

Sponsored by the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and Office of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness.

Article by Karen Wong

Students, faculty and staff are invited to join a conversation with Skyline College’s Health & Wellness Services Physician Dr. Walter Cheng regarding the coronavirus. Dr. Cheng’s training in infectious disease outbreaks will provide a unique insight.  Learn facts, dispel myths and misconceptions and get the proper knowledge to approach this current event.

Join us in the Library, Building 5 on Thursday, February 27, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Article by Perry Chen | Photo by Mia Coo

The Science in Action Seminar series held in the STEM Center has consistently been attracting over 40 students each seminar.  In these talks, featured speakers representing everything from Skyline College alumni to CEOs of pharmaceutical companies. You can view the upcoming schedule at skylinecollege.edu/scienceinaction. On Tuesday, February 20, 2020, the seminar featured Allessandro (Alex) Mazzora, a student researching ecology, and Michael Toledo who is the Outreach Coordinator for the Solar Boat project at Skyline College.

Alex requested help in surveying microplastics in Pacifica streams as well as collecting and viewing samples using the fluorescent microscope housed in the Biology department. If you are interested in ecology, research, microbiology or microscopy, please contact Alex at alessandromazzora@my.smccd.edu.  You can see the poster that Alex presented at a National Meeting at Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) on the wall near Building 7, Room 7-218.

Michael talked about the Solar Boat competition that Skyline College has entered for the past few years. Changes to the boat this year include a new motor, drive chain and electronic control unit. Everyone is welcome to join the Engineering and Robotics Club (ERC)! You can contact Michael at mtoledo8@my.smccd.edu. ERC meets every Friday at 1:00 p.m. in the Fabrication Lab at Building 7, Room 7-304.  The solar boat project group attends a weekend regatta, camping trip and food fest in Sacramento.

Lastly, Dr. Kapp shared information that he learned about reading a report from American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). According to this report, STEM jobs represent about 32.7% of the U.S. economy. Its economic impact is much larger being over 66% of the economy dependent on STEM. This report also noted that over half STEM jobs do not require a bachelor’s degree.

Students discussed what STEM jobs are, what is meant by economic impact and about people who benefit from STEM positions may not necessarily be working directly in STEM. It was also recognized that much of what we have been calling stem has more of a business component.

Biotechnology students have invited Lisa Helmonds the Vice President of Marion Weinreb & Associates, Inc. (MWA) to speak on February 27, 2020 in Building 6, Room 6-203 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. She will be talking about the business aspect of Biotechnology and how potential employees do not necessarily need to be a Ph.D. to run a biotechnology company. Please register for the event here.

Article and Photo by Nick Kapp

The Psychology Department is pleased to announce that Skyline College has been approved to start a chapter of Psi Beta. Psi Beta is a national honor society for students attending two-year colleges that are majoring in or have an interest in psychology.

The mission of the society is to encourage professional development and psychological literacy in students by promoting and recognizing excellence in scholarship, leadership, research and community service. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to broaden their knowledge and appreciation of psychology. This is also a great experience for faculty by providing the opportunity to develop mentoring relationships outside of class.

We are looking forward to inducting the first members later this semester!

For more information, please visit psibeta.org

Article by Jennifer Merrill

The Skyline College Strategic Planning and Allocation of Resources Committee (SPARC) met on Thursday, February 13, 2020.

Carla Grandy, Director of Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign shared with the committee the Guided Pathways Scale of Adaption Plan. In fiscal year 2017-18, the State Chancellor’s Office provided funding of $797K over a period of five years to the college to implement Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign initiatives. The college is charged to complete the Guided Pathways Self-Assessment on progress and to submit the report to the State by March 1, 2020. Of note, the college is at the “Planning to Scale” or “Scaling in Progress” on nearly all metrics. The final report will go to the Board of Trustees for their review and approval at the February 26th meeting. See Guided Pathways Essential Practices: Scale of Adoption Self-Assessment for additional information.

Tri-chair Vice President of Administrative Services Eloisa Briones and Manager of Finance and Operations Paul Cassidy presented the college mid-year budget review. At the October 2019 SPARC meeting, the committee made a recommendation to the College Governance Council for the allocation of new Fund 1 monies for fiscal year 2019-20. Those recommendations were approved by the President and have been incorporated into the current year budget. Preliminary budget scenarios for fiscal year 2020-21 will be discussed at an upcoming meeting.

Last year, purview over the program review process transitioned from the Curriculum Committee to SPARC. To continue discussion about the committee’s role in the program review process and to consider whether improvements are needed, members approved several motions. The motions are as follows:

• Recommend to develop improvements to the current program review process.
• Recommend a 6-month pause to the Comprehensive Program Review report and presentation at the conclusion of the spring 2020 cycle, to allow for implementation of any approved changes to the review process. Curriculum review will continue on its current cycle.
• Recommend SPARC Tri-chairs develop some scenarios as to how to proceed with revising the current program review process and timing and bring back to SPARC for review.

The SPARC agenda and committee information can be found online.

Next meeting is Thursday, February 27, 2020 from 2:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Building 6, Room 6-203.

Article by Judy Hutchinson

During the months of February and March, Project Change at College of San Mateo (CSM) is featuring a variety programs and district-wide resources to benefit students and expose them to career options and areas of interest.

Along with several other programs, the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) of Skyline College was invited to the CSM campus to present to Project Change students on the benefits of entrepreneurship and to provide information on resources and events for our students.  The BAEC is excited to collaborate with Project Change on creating career exploration opportunities and for all students.

For more information on Project Change, contact Linda Allen at allen@smccd.edu. For more information on the BAEC, visit skylinebaec.org.

Article by Linda Allen and Pcyeta Stroud

Please join us at the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC) on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. for a fun community engagement and networking event in celebration of Black History Month.  This is an opportunity to learn, celebrate community and honor the contributions of people throughout the African Diaspora. There will be complimentary refreshments!

The BAEC is the off-campus business resource center for Skyline College at 458 San Mateo Avenue, San Bruno. The BAEC serves the entire college community including business owners and students interested in 1:1 coaching, job shadow opportunities, workspace and special topic workshops and events.

For more information on the BAEC, visit skylinebaec.org.

Article by Pcyeta Stroud | Photo by Olivia Vialau and Sarina O’Gilvie

The Peer Mentoring Program at Skyline College is designed to help students ease the adjustment to college life and achieve their short and long-term goals! Our peer mentors are trained to facilitate academic and personal success for their fellow students by helping them:

• Explore and connect to Skyline College services
• Set goals and develop strategies to succeed in classes
• Improve time management, organization and study skills
• Build a support network and get involved on campus
• Navigate online resources and systems (Canvas, WebSMART, WebSCHEDULE, etc.)

Peer Mentors are excellent resources for information about Skyline College programs and services. Our mentors meet with students one-on-one to discuss challenges they may be facing, create strategies to overcome their challenges and set goals to help them succeed. Our Peer Mentors facilitated over 150 mentor/mentee meetings in Fall 2019.

Students can request to meet with a Peer Mentor by completing the online Peer Mentor Service Request Form, or stop by Building 5, Room 5-110 in the Learning Center.

For more information, contact Retention Specialist Raymon Gutierrez at gutierrezraymon@smccd.edu or (650) 738-7136. Visit the Peer Mentor website at skylinecollege.edu/peermentors.

Article by Raymon Gutierrez | Photo by Mario Guzman

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Skyline College Library was pleased to welcome 35 students from Professor Williams and Professor Lachmayr’s classes for a thought-provoking hour as Dr. Bianca Rowden-Quince read a selection of works by some of her favorite black poets. The event, in part of the Library’s Poetry Corner Series, highlighted poems that speak to the African American experience, beginning with her own.

First up was Useni Eugene Perkins’ “Hey Black Child,” a poem that Dr. Rowden-Quince herself recited on stage when she was five. She continued reading across the century with powerful poems by Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Tupac Shakur, Alice Walker and Dr. Harryette Mullen. Students shared their thoughts on common themes expressed by the poems such as the freedom to be oneself, the solitude of living on the fringe and struggles with systems of visible and invisible oppression.

One student read aloud a passage from The New Jim Crow echoing Maya Angelou’s poem, “Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Another student spoke frankly to her own reality: “We have to act a certain way just so we can live.” Another explained, in reference to his own coming out “We don’t even know we’ve been caged until we’ve managed to free ourselves.”

The Poetry Corner series seeks to bring our community together to foster commonalities and shared experiences within a safe environment. You can read Dr. Rowden-Quince’s poetry selections  or check out works by a century of black poets on display in the Library lounge area throughout February.

Please also join us at the Library on March 18, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. for a celebration of women’s history through poetry hosted by Assistant Professor of Engineering and Physics Maryam Khan.

Thinking about bringing your class to the Library? Please contact Outreach and Equity Librarian Pia Walawalkar at walawalkars@smccd.edu.

The Poetry Corner Series is supported by a President’s Innovation Fund award.

Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp | Photo by Ricardo Coronado