Daily Archives: January 22, 2021

Skyline College Student Leads Business Pivot Workshop

BAEC - Online StoreOn Thursday, January 14th, the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC) hosted a virtual workshop for local business owners and entrepreneurs with valuable tips on how to pivot their business by setting up an online store. BAEC’s Student Assistant, Olivia Vialau, facilitated the workshop, created the workshop content and fielded questions from the attendees.  The workshop included a variety of tips and best practices for businesses to utilize and showcase their brand and their products and services.  The workshop also included helpful tips on how to shift from in-person sales to online.  Some of the common platforms discussed were Etsy, Instagram Shops, Shopify, and much more.  This workshop will be available on the BAEC’s YouTube Channel. For questions or information on how to get involved, please contact the BAEC at baec@smccd.edu.

 

Article by Olivia Vialau and Pcyeta Stroud

Image by Olivia Vialau

Applications Are Open! Spring 2021 Virtual Internship Job Shadow Program

Job Shadow Virtual InternshipThe Bay Area Entrepreneur Center is now accepting applications for the Virtual Internship Job Shadow Program. Students can apply here: https://smccd-czqfp.formstack.com/forms/baec_internship_application

The IJSP provides students with opportunities to learn and grow professionally in a virtual environment with resources to build their resume. This program is a way for students to explore real-world experience in a professional and supportive environment with their Meta Major, career exploration ideas, and educational interests in mind.

If you know any students who are looking to build their resume, enhance their soft skills, and be part of an engaging team, please share this information and encourage them to apply.

If you are interested in partnering with the BAEC by serving as a job shadow site or participating in other ways, please let us know.

For more information, connect with us at baec@smccd.edu, or visit our website.

 

Article by Olivia Vialau

Only Fog @ Skyline College is Here to Support a Smoke and Tobacco Free SMCCD!

No Smoking Policy FlyerDid you know that the Skyline College smoking policy has not been updated since 2009? According to the annual report published by the California Youth Advocacy Network in June 2020, Skyline College received a D grade because of the existing nine designated smoking areas on campus. Our two sister Colleges received a C grade for still allowing smoking in parking lots. While the UC and CSU systems have gone completely tobacco-free during the last decade, our District is one of the remaining Community College Districts that still allows smoking.

The good news is, students are putting in effort for us to come back to a healthier, clear-air campus after the pandemic! Only Fog @ Skyline is a grant-funded project that advocates for a new policy that makes the District tobacco- and smoke-free. The project lead, Sociology and Social Justice Studies faculty, Rika Yonemura-Fabian and community partners, Mariah Santiago, Mark Heringer (a Skyline College alumni), and Xochitlquetzal Davila from San Francisco Community Health Center with student leads, Brandon Wong (Social Justice Studies major) and Frida Arguello (Middle College/ Sociology major) have been engaging the District and College leadership for the last two semesters to advance a policy for a healthier, and more equitable campus.

Only Fog @ Skyline is not anti-smoker; we are anti-Big Tobacco. Big Tobacco has historically targeted marginalized communities, such as people of color, low-income, and LGBTQ+ communities which has resulted long-lasting, negative health disparities. Along with the efforts to implement policies, the project has been organizing community educational events to raise the students’ and employees’ awareness that tobacco is a social justice and health equity issue, not only a personal health issue. Low-income neighborhoods have more tobacco retailers visible and accessible to their residents, which increases the chance of low-income youths to be exposed to the products. Every year, 30,000 LGBTQ+ people die due to tobacco-related diseases, thanks to tobacco ads preying on queer communities through Subcultural Urban Marketing. Menthol tobacco products that have been targeting African American Communities for decades were only recently banned in January 2021– many years after other flavors (bubble gum, mango among many others) were banned. The health inequity consequence of tobacco on marginalized communities is clear. Our question is, how do we face this problem as a College Community if we call ourselves a social justice institution?

According to the public opinion poll Only Fog collected in August 2019, about 10% of students use a tobacco product. Only Fog believes that banning tobacco should not result in punishing smokers who are victims of targeted marketing for profits. Addiction is not a crime (in fact, project leads are former smokers themselves). The project advocates for active quitting resources that are free and easily available to smoker students and employees, in addition to advancing tobacco-free policies, in order to roll out a new policy in an equitable way.

Professor Yonemura-Fabian was awarded a tobacco control grant from the Truth Initiative, a tobacco control organization based in Washington D.C., in July 2020. With the generous support from Dr. Cheryl Johnson and Martin Marquez from the Equity Division, Michelle Batista from Student Wellness Services, and Susan Shor and Emily Risk, staff from Student Health Center the project, the team has thus far organized a campus-wide event, Great American Smokeout in November 2020. The team has been working with District and College administrations around the smoking policy language, particularly with the District Participatory Governance Council, Chancellor Mike Claire, Skyline College Equity Committee (SEEED), Skyline College President, Canada College Cabinet, and College of San Mateo Cabinet.

Informing students, faculty and staff about this new initiative is important to us and we can give class presentations and share any data we have collected! If interested, please let Rika (fabianr@smccd.edu) know. Finally, check out our next event on smoking and health inequity on February 22nd and 24th.

 

Article by Rika Yonemura-Fabian

Free Form Fridays with the President

Free Form FridaysSkyline College President Dr. Melissa Moreno will be hosting several virtual drop-in office hours we are calling “Free Form Fridays.” Free Form Fridays provide an opportunity to share your ideas, ask questions, provide feedback, and voice concerns directly to President Moreno in a casual, drop-in setting. Be sure to take advantage of this time to reach out, connect, and get to know our new president. Please see the list below for upcoming Free Form Fridays.

Upcoming Free Form Fridays:
(Times to be announced)

  • February 19
  • March 5
  • March 19
  • April 16
  • April 30
  • May 14
  • May 21
  • May 28

Article by Becky Threewit

Image by Mia Coo

Small Business Recovery & Coaching with the BAEC

BAEC Coaching SessionsThe Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC) holds virtual, no-cost, group and 1:1 coaching and advising sessions, to help local business owners and entrepreneurs with every aspect of their business, especially recovering from the business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program, our team of coaches and experts are ready to assist in areas ranging from marketing strategy, to help pivot your business, to safety compliance so you can stay on top of county and state COVID guidelines to funding opportunities to keep your business afloat.  The BAEC’s Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program is available to support all small businesses.  Join us for one of our virtual coaching sessions or our workshops-or tell a business in need!

The Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program is proudly supported by the San Bruno Community Foundation.

To view our past workshops, connect with us on YouTube.  For more information, connect with us here, at baec@smccd.edu

 

Article by Pcyeta Stroud

Image by Gisel Martín