The Academic Senate had its final meeting of the 2020-2021 academic year on May 6. Key items to note:

• The senate honored Jesse Raskin and Dr. Rika Yonemura-Fabian with resolutions commending their service.
• The senate heard and adopted a joint resolution by the senates of Skyline College and College of San Mateo, in collaboration with students and staff, denouncing anti-Asian discrimination, violence, and hate and calling for transformative measures of inclusion throughout the District.
• Results were announced for the election of the following Academic Senate positions:
  • Lindsey Ayotte – President, 2021-2022
  • Cassidy Ryan-White – Vice president, 2021-2023
  • Kim Saccio-Kent – Secretary, 2021-2023
  • CTE Liaison – Soledad McCarthy, 2021-2023
  • Adjunct senators, 2021-2022: Timothy Rottenberg, Suji Venkataraman, Jessica Silver-Sharp
• The senate elected the 2021 Summer Academic Senate Executive Committee
  • Officers: Lindsey Ayotte, Cassidy Ryan-White, Dr. Rika Yonemura-Fabian, Kim Saccio-Kent
  • Senate members: Jessica Hurless, Dr. Nicole Porter
    For the summer period commencing May 30 until August 19 (first senate meeting of Fall 2021), any matters needing attention of the senate will be handled by the senate executive committee.

Other Updates:

• Lindsey Ayotte was appointed to serve on the committee to select the interim Vice President of Instruction following Dr. Taylor-Mendoza’s transition to the role of president at College of San Mateo. This will be a one-year interim position before going out for the permanent position.
• Mustafa Popal was appointed to serve on the screening committee for the Equity Institute Manager.
• Dr. Newin Orante will be chairing the screening committee for the Vice President of Administrative Services to replace Eloisa Briones, who is retiring. Faculty interested in serving on this committee are asked to contact President Leigh Anne Shaw. The Summer Exec will appoint.
• Professional Personnel report: Dr. Rowden-Quince reported the following:
  • End of the Year celebration will be held May 20 at 12:30pm.
  • Faculty Marshals for graduation will be Mike Fitzgerald for the 2020 class and Jan Fosberg for the 2021 class.
  • Meyer Award nominees are below; winner will be announced at the End of Year celebration on May 20:
    • Mandy Lucas
    • Nicole Porter
    • Alberto Santellan
    • Bianca Rowden-Quince
    • Erinn Struss
    • Soledad McCarthy
    • Rika Yonemura-Fabian
    • Kenyatta Weathersby
    • Pia Walawalkar
• Curriculum Report: Jessica Hurless shared that the Curriculum Committee passed resolutions in support of OER curriculum for greater inclusivity and equity for students.

Article by Leigh Anne Shaw

If you know of a small business in need of support, we have resources for them!  The Bay Area Entrepreneur Center of Skyline College (BAEC) has relaunched the Micro Grants initiative as part of the Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program (SBRAP).  This program support businesses as they recover from the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Micro Grants of $7000, each are available and applications are now open and the deadline to apply is May 31^st. In addition to direct funding, the SBRAP provides local and small businesses with one-on-one coaching, valuable resources and business tools to help them navigate the changing economic climate, and we provide intentional support for their various stages of reopening.  To learn how the BAEC may assist you or a business you know of, contact baec@smccd.edu.

 

The Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program is made possible with grant funding from the San Bruno Community Foundation.

 

Article by Pcyeta Stroud

Image by Nicole Moreno-Deinzer

Airu Chen is a student at taking classes at both Skyline College and College of San Mateo, she studying psychology.  Airu is a student intern in the Virtual Job Shadow Program at the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center (BAEC), for the spring 2021 semester.   She is also enrolled in the Cooperative Education program, where she will receive college credit for her work as an intern, in the Job Shadow Program.  As part of her internship, Airu uses her organization skills to support the work of the operations team for the Small Business Recovery & Assistance Program.   She is an asset to the entire team at the BAEC, and her work directly impacts our community.  Airu loves to learn about people and hopes to use her education to improve the lives of others.  She also believes in making gratitude a habit, she expresses it daily and encourages others to do the same.  Airu enjoys rainy days, loves to read mystery books and binge watch whatever she can, whenever she can.  Airu is a great example of how Skyline College truly shines.

 

Article by Pcyeta Stroud

Image by Airu Chen

Your Classified Senate and Academic Senate are excited to announce that we are hosting our Annual End of Year Virtual Celebration on Thursday, May 20 from 12:30-1:30p. This year’s theme is “Skyline College Spirit” wherein we’ll be requesting attendees to virtually show up in their Skyline gear. 

Additionally, the celebration is an opportunity to connect with colleagues, raise money for student scholarships, celebrate the work we have done, and to have a little fun. But to do this, we need your HELP!

Similar to prior End of the Year celebrations, we’ll be raffling off division/department baskets to raise money for student scholarships. The proceeds of the drawing will go towards the 2021 Classified and Academic Senate’s Joint Scholarship, which will be awarded in May of 2021. Given this unique year, we want folks to have the options of putting together a physical basket (similar to in-person) or pitching in and buying an online basket (and shipping directly to the winner once identified). Each division/department will facilitate their basket creations/purchases. We ask that a photo and a description of the basket be sent to Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos by end of day May 14 to be showcased during the event.

Raffle drawing tickets and scholarship donations can be made here: https://foundation.smccd.edu/skyline-staff-faculty.php.

1 raffle ticket = $5 donation to the scholarship fund. Example: $20 donation will get you 4 raffle tickets to enter in a chance to win a gift basket. 100% of raised funds will directly go towards students’ tuition, fees, textbooks, course materials, and other educational related expenses. We encourage you to buy them ahead of time if you can.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone there.

Article by Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos

 

On Wednesday, April 21, the Kababayan Learning Community (KLC) and Outreach & Student Recruitment office hosted its’ first ever virtual Discover Kababayan. Discover Kababayan is an opportunity for local high school students to gain college exposure and discover all things Skyline College providing both cultural enrichment as well as increase comfort with an academic environment.

This year’s Discover Kababayan welcomed over 30 students from Jefferson High School and Westmoor High School’s Kapatiran program; a mentorship program and a college pipeline focusing on Filipinx/Filipinx-American curriculum around identity, culture, history and college success. Students from Skyline College’s Filipinx Student Union (FSU) were also among the group of participants.

Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, founder of Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP) and Professor of Ethnic/Asian-American Studies and Educational Leadership at San Francisco State University, was this year’s guest speaker and kicked off the program by sharing her own personal story, “Tanga”, transitioning from high school to community college. Her experiences, a simple story with relatable cultural themes and emotions, resonated powerfully with students.

Dr. Liza Erpelo, Jayde Nieve, Camille Pangilinan and Jairil Pangilinan (current KLC students), served on a panel moderated by Alvin Gubatina. The panelists shared their backgrounds in becoming one with Skyline College’s KLC and for students, how their involvement on campus, such as a learning community, has impacted their educational journey. As part of the Discover Kababayan experience, high school participants were invited to sit in on virtual classes to experience what being a student is like at Skyline College. Courses such as HIST 436 – Filipinos in America, ENGL 104 – Applied English Skills for Cultural Production and COUN 100 – College Success were part of the list of course offerings.

Despite being virtual and missing the opportunity to showcase the campus and its’ lively spirit in-person, the event was still engaging and overall a huge success. “I learned about the community at Skyline, courses that I can take, and beneficial resources they offer” – High School Participant.

A special thanks to Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, Dr. Liza Erpelo, Alvin Gubatina, Jayde Nieve, Camille Pangilinan, and Jairil Pangilian for their involvement and support in executing this year’s Discover Kababayan.

Article by Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos
Photo by Dr. Liza Erpelo

SAVE THE DATE!  International Student Program (ISP) End of Year Celebration Spring 2021.

ISP is hosting its annual end-of-year celebration on Thursday, May 13 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This is where we showcase the students’ achievements and celebrate what they have accomplished this year. Students can enter to win Skyline College bookstore items by sending a photo or an Instagram post responding to “What Got You Through This Challenging Time?”  Please send submissions to iscofficial@gmail.com.

We’ve also created a padlet for the event. We are asking for faculty, staff, students, and their families to feel free and post congratulation messages. https://padlet.com/skylinecollegeisp/ISPENDOFYEAR21

All are welcome to celebrate the ISP students.  Please click on the link and join us!

https://tinyurl.com/ISPendofyearcelebration21

Article by Michelle Amaral

Skyline College’s sustainability program is thrilled to announce the first episode of our Energize Colleges Intern’s Podcast, The Green Experience has been published. The Skyline View’s adviser Nancy Kaplan-Biegel has been supporting our Energize Colleges program by supervising the production and publishing of The Green Experience. Our hosts Christian Carlo Ceguerra and Anasanique Fountain have been researching and interviewing professionals in a variety of sustainability fields around the Bay Area to provide quality information and engagement for their listeners.

To check out The Green Experience on Spotify:

First Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/42FJ1NmXdy90bXTzFAOPAw?si=4153968ead664351

Also available on most major podcast sites and apps, if it doesn’t show up in the search, also look up The Skyline View as the episodes are housed at the newspaper’s page within the app.

Skyline College’s sustainability program, supported by professor Carina Anttila-Suarez and Carla Grandy, Dean of STEM, has resulted in great success through our Energize Colleges program that supports Skyline College students with a variety of student-led internship opportunities. The Green Experience is one of many student internship opportunities hosted through our sustainability program led by Landon Smith the Sustainability Coordinator at Skyline College.

Article by Landon Smith

Skyline College students, staff and faculty of all gender identities are warmly invited to join the conversation as we work to create more equitable communities.

What: Gender Oppression Listening Space: A Session to Share Experiences & Build Solidarity.

When: Friday, May 14, 1:00pm – 2:30pm.

To Register: Use https://linktr.ee/aft1493 or the QR code on the flyer to register and optionally share your experience anonymously.

Questions? Please contact AFT Executive Secretary Marianne Kaletzky <kaletzky@aft1493.org>.

This session has been organized by the AFT1493 Anti-Oppression Committee and will be facilitated by SMCCD students and faculty.

 

Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp

On Friday May 23, the Bay Area’s collegiate forensics programs united to compete in the spring intramural tournament that affords CCSF, SFSU, Skyline College, and USF students an opportunity to practice and apply methods and skills in public speaking and debate. Students competed in Impromptu Speaking where students receive a set of quotations, choose one quotation, and then have 2 minutes to prep a 5-minute speech. The following students were finalists earning silver in impromptu speaking: Zane Chang, Christina Bernardino, Zachary Swit, and Priscilla Tso. Jared Swit took first place in impromptu earning gold. Bernadette Noonan competed in Interpretation of Literature and took first place, bringing home the Gold.

 

The following weekend, May 1st, students competed in what would turn out to be an 11-hour straight day on zoom competing in the Northern California Forensics Association Spring Fling tournament. 13 colleges and universities convened online for this event. 3 Skyline students broke to the final round in impromptu. Nerissa Chang placed 6th and Christina Bernardino placed 5th both earning bronze. Priscilla Tso not only took 1st place but also “picket fenced” the round, which means she received all “1’s” from the 3 judges and highest speaking points possible earning gold on behalf of Skyline Forensics!

 

If you are interested or know someone who would enjoy taking risks and going out of their comfort zone when it comes to public speaking, debate and advocacy-come join our team by enrolling in COMM 172: Forensics, no prior competitive speech and debate experience required. Registration for this course is now open.

 

Article by Lindsey Ayotte

On Thursday April 29^th, The Cosmetology & Esthetics department in collaboration with Strategic Partnership and Workforce Development, hosted their first annual “Network @ Nite” event, a virtual event for current and recent grads of the Cosmetology and Esthetics programs. Eight panelists from the beauty industry including salon and spa owners, independent contractors, life coach, a celebrity stylist, and some Skyline College Cosmetology alumni, logged on to share their secrets to success! Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions, network, and spend some quality time with each of the panelists. The event was a great turnout with nearly 60 attendees who thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of knowledge that was shared! The department plans to hold a similar event annually in the spring.

Article by Cassidy Ryan-White