On February 16, the Skyline College International Student Program (ISP) hosted a joint event for the Lunar New Year with the College of San Mateo (CSM), Cañada College, & Silicon Valley Intensive English Program (SVIEP).

Students from the United States and around the world joined in the celebration along with Diane Arguijo, Director of International Education, as well as ISP staff and college faculty.

The event was a collaboration of presentations and videos from international students who enlightened the audience with a wealth of information about the Lunar New Year starting with its history, taboos, lucky words and sayings, food, traditions, how it is celebrated (in Mongolia and Cambodia), and of course, the Chinese zodiac. Yaolan Luo, President of the Chinese Student Scholar Association of Skyline College, shared fun facts about this.

Next up was the Lunar New Year Kahoot! hosted by Vivian Marcos of Skyline College. The audience was invited to show off how much knowledge of the Lunar New Year they had gained from the presentations and videos. It was followed by a lively performance on piano and vocals by Jackson Chang from SVIEP. The event concluded with a brief activity led by Silvana Grimes, a staff member from CSM, on how to make a paper lantern.

We are so grateful and appreciative to have all the students from Skyline College, CSM, Cañada College, and SVIEP share their traditions, culture, knowledge, videos, and music for the Lunar New Year.

ISP will continue to conduct events and workshops to improve the services offered to its students and the entire Skyline College community. If you are interested in learning more about future ISP programs and events, contact ISP office at skyinternational@smccd.edu.

Article by Adrienne Villegas

The final deadline to apply to participate in a Global Virtual Team Internship this summer is Monday, March 8!

Students can intern virtually with a team of interns to complete a project for an employer abroad. Locations include Australia, Canada, England, India, Japan, South Africa, or the U.S. (NY or SF).

Apply now. Or to learn more, view the recording from our information meeting last month!

What’s the benefit of participating in a global team-based internship online? The world of work is changing. Students can gain global work experience, prepare for their future career, connect with international employers, local events and fellow students, and complete a project-based deliverable. Exact internships are determined through a placement process, but students may be matched with companies in various industries, including Business and Communications, Information Technology and Computer Science, Marketing and PR, Arts and Culture, Healthcare and Education, and more. To learn more, please visit the Summer 2021 Global Virtual Internship page.

Furthermore, if students are recipients of the Federal Pell Grant, they may be eligible to apply for the U.S. Department of State’s Gilman International Scholarship to fund this experience! The deadline to apply for this scholarship has been extended to Tuesday, March 9, 2021! Students can visit gilmanscholarship.org to learn more or schedule a one-on-one advising session with a study abroad advisor at smccd.edu/goabroad or email studyabroad@smccd.edu.

SMCCCD Study Abroad is the district-wide study abroad program housed in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For more information about studying or interning abroad, faculty teach abroad opportunities, community travel for lifelong learners, visiting international faculty presenters and student scholarship opportunities, please contact Zaid Ghori at ghoriz@smccd.edu or (650) 738-7088 or Stephanie Wells at wellss@smccd.edu. You can also learn more by visiting the SMCCD Study Abroad Facebook page or Instagram page @smcccd_study_abroad.

Article by Stephanie Wells

Skyline College is pleased to announce our collaboration with Canãda College and the College of San Mateo on several virtual events happening next week in celebration of Open Education and textbook affordability.  The OER Leads for each college have curated a series of events that connect with Open Education Week, or #oeweek.

We know that students’ access to course materials can present a significant barrier to getting a college education – not just during these times, but generally speaking – and that we owe it to our students to ensure that they have high quality and affordable course materials. The best way we can do that is through the use of open educational resources, or OERs. 

This first week of March is dedicated to open-source materials and their adoption, as well as to breaking down the barriers to education. Please join us in our webinars and discussions! These events are open to anyone. You’ll find all the details here: OpenEd Week website.

Questions? Please contact Ame Maloney <maloneya@smccd.edu>

Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp

Skyline College’s students have regularly met via Skype and now Zoom with students from covers la Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana and la Universidad Tecnológica de Ensenada to practice their language skills.  At the end of the Fall 2020 semester, Profesor José Vicente Ortega Gaytán  presented Professor Luciana Castro and her Spanish students with an award for their activities in the language sharing sessions in English-Spanish and Spanish-English.

Profesor Castro was awarded and recognized as the International Educator for helping over 3500 students in the past 4 years to enhance their language skills in Spanish and English.  In continuing this amazing work, this semester the classes will work with students of la Universidad Autónoma de Veracruz.

Article by Luciana Castro and Chris Gibson

The award-winning Rock the School Bells is proud to present our 14th season in the form of Digital & Virtual Experiences with events and workshops spanned throughout the months of March and April.  This year’s theme is: RTSB Universe: Space of Infinite Possibilities.  Given the virtual, mental, and environmental “space” that we are living in, this theme is very appropriate as it provides opportunities to address topics that impact youth and students, higher education, and Hip Hop culture as a whole.

Drawing from the theme above, our events will address:

• In what ways are we creating spaces for students to dream big and dream out loud?
• What kind of spaces are we creating to allow for creative expression and entrepreneurial thinking?
• For educators, how will our curricular content and pedagogical approaches change and adapt when we purposefully center our students’ voices and experiences?
• How are we redefining our educational spaces to serve and support our students equitably?
• How are we addressing challenges our students are facing as a result of the racial and environmental pandemic?
• What can higher education institutions learn from Hip Hop culture and education in regard to social-emotional learning in virtual spaces?

The virtual space allows us to collaborate with other Rock The School Bells nationally as well as tapping into the wisdom and experiences of Hip Hop scholars, practitioners, artists, and students all over the world.

Our first event is a Webinar which will take place on Friday, March 19 from 10:00-1:30pm titled, “Get Free: Creating Space of Infinite Possibilities through Hip Hop-Based Counseling Practices.”  Attendees will have an opportunity to learn and engage with a panel of counselors from K-12 systems, colleges, and community-based organizations.  We believe that counselors, especially those who engage in Hip Hop and other forms of creative arts, are healers.  What can educators and institutions learn from Hip Hop that they may inform how we can transform spaces for our youth and students during these difficult times?  More information for this event will be shared next week’s Skyline Shines.

For more information about Rock The School Bells, you can check out the website at www.rocktheschoolbells.com or contact Nate Nevado at nevadon@smccd.edu.

Article by Nate Nevado

Flyer Design by Eduardo Taylor

Once a month, Skyline Shines will be highlighting staff changes at the college. “New Staff at Skyline College” will provide a list of new staff members in each division, including transfers and detail positions. Please feel free to email skylineshines@smccd.edu with any new members of your staff and they will be featured here at the end of the month.

February Staff Changes:

• Martina Center-Goodman
  Director of Middle College
  Language Arts
• Renee Liang
  Program Services Coordinator (Job Placement Program: Arts, Language, & Communication Emphasis)
  Strategic Partnership and Workforce Development
• Eva Zermeño
  Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program
  Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC)
  

 

Article by Becky Threewit

Eva Zermeño is the newest member of the team at the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC).  In her new role, Eva will be supporting the Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program as well as other office operations.  Eva is originally from The Mission and Potrero Hill neighborhoods of San Francisco.  Spanish is her first language and she believes it’s important to both retain one’s language and be inclusive and cognizant of the language abilities of others.  Eva loves read, cook and travel, and hopes to be able to travel again soon.  She’s excited to support small businesses in the community and is looking forward to being part of the BAEC team, and part the larger team at Skyline College.

 

Article by Pcyeta Stroud

Image by Eva Zermeño

The 1st Annual Middle College Scholarship Drive is wrapping up today. If you have not done so already, please consider helping us to reach our goal. We are asking for a one-time donation of $15.00 (minimum). We understand that some of us can offer more than others right now; however, any amount counts – our goal is to lessen the financial burden for our students.

All those who donate $25 or more will be entered to win a Chromebook from the Skyline College Bookstore, a gift basket from the Strategic Partnerships & Workforce Development Department, and a Middle College goodie gift bag. Each $25 donation = 1 ticket in the raffle prize drawing. Winners will be announced on March 10, 2021.

If you are able to donate to our 1st Annual Middle College Scholarship Drive to help provide students better access to higher education, please at this link MCSC FUND.

Your generous contribution to support our students is greatly appreciated!!!

If you have any questions, please contact Martina Center-Goodman.

Article by Martina Center-Goodman

This week marked the beginning of Science In Action speaker series, hosted on a weekly Zoom call every Tuesday 4:30 – 5:30pm. Our first event hosted Melisa Carpio, talking about her work/research experience in the intersection between engineering, biotechnology, and vaccine production to 60+ students attending the Zoom call.

The weekly series is presented in partnership with the STEM Center, the Skyline College STEM Division, the MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) Program, and the San Francisco University Bridges to Baccalaureate Program. During these events, guests share first-hand insight into their current work and, more importantly, their educational journey. Where they came from, what support systems did they find during their college experience? With an emphasis on personal connection, students gain opportunities to further explore their curiosity, and how the material they learn in their class fit into their future. These high-value, low-key talks have continued for over 6 years, and provided an opportunity and a platform to maintain a community during these socially-distanced times.

As the semester continues, please check out our Science In Action page to see our list of presenters and a brief abstract of their talks. For anyone who is unable to attend the live talks, you may check out our YouTube playlist(s) of Science in Action series for each semester.

Article by Bryan Swartout

This year our Skyline College STEM learning communities have had a chance to connect with professionals in the field remotely! Our STEM Learning Communities consist of Engineering and Tech Scholars (ETS) and Biology and Chemistry Scholars (BCS). Last semester, ETS lead a software engineering panel with speakers ranging from front-end web developers and iOS engineers to cybersecurity engineers. Students have also been exploring their career options by participating in zoom coffee chats with various STEM professionals such as civil engineers, nurses, vet techs, and cancer researchers. Though internship and research opportunities may look different this year, we’ve been gearing up for internship applications by offering a resume workshop and 1:1 resume help. We are also looking forward to leading a “How to Be Competitive for Medical School” panel for our Biology and Chemistry Scholars interested in pursuing medicine. The panel will take place on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 from 4:30 pm-5:30 pm as part of our “Science in Action Series.” These events are made possible through the efforts of STEM Retention Specialist, Amber Gougis. She focuses on building community, connecting students with professional development opportunities, and serves as a mentor for Skyline College STEM students. She’ll also help lead a new “Data Scholars” program in the Fall in collaboration with Professor of Math, Denise Hum, who recently secured an NSF grant to support the project. The goal of the program will be to encourage students to pursue STEM majors through data science.

The STEM Learning Communities are supported by the college’s STEM Center Student Success team, the core of which includes our STEM Retention Specialist, STEM Counselor, STEM Instructional Aide, and STEM Center Program Services Coordinator. Seed funded by the college’s STEM Pathways grant (U.S. Department of Education award no P031S180169), the STEM Center team provides services and opportunities that focus on the specific academic and social needs of the STEM student community here at Skyline College. Through the integration of peer, staff, and faculty support, the STEM Center team helps students not only stick with an intensive academic pathway but have fun while doing it!

If you or a student you know are interested to learn more or join a STEM Learning Community, please visit the following sites:

Engineering and Tech Scholars (ETS)

Biology and Chemistry Scholars (BCS)

You can also reach out directly to STEM Retention Specialist, Amber Gougis at gougisa@smccd.edu

Recordings of the workshops are linked below:

Software Engineering Panel 2020

STEM Center Resume Workshop 2020

“Science in Action” Meeting Link: https://smccd.zoom.us/j/86031329996

Article by Amber Gougis and the STEM Center Team