nEXO student trainees Shannon Hoang, Jiries Kaileh, Madeleine McSwain, Brendan Murtagh and physics professors Emilie Hein and Kolo Wamba represented Skyline College nEXO group at two national conferences in October.

 

The Skyline nEXO team attended a number of sessions at the Fall 2021 Meeting of the American Physics Society (APS), Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) taking place October 11-14, 2021. Some of the sessions focused on recent developments in Nuclear Physics, including many updates from nEXO collaborators. Other sessions focused on diversity and inclusion in Nuclear Physics.

 

Professor Hein was honored to represent the Skyline nEXO group during a session entitled The Next Generation Nuclear Workforce. Other presenters also reported on their work done under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Undergraduate Research Traineeship to Broaden and Diversify Nuclear Physics (TBD – NP), but Skyline College was the only community college represented. We seized this opportunity and used it to showcase the amazing, important and complex work that our students have been able to accomplish, and make the case  for community college students to be considered  more often for internship programs at other institutions as a way of diversifying in the field.

 

An important takeaway from the final town hall meeting of the conference was the importance that the U.S. DOE is now putting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). It was acknowledged that an endemic problem of discrimination against women exists in the Nuclear Physics community, with offenses ranging from micro-aggressions to criminal sexual assault. In addition to the pointed warnings of  grave consequences for anyone who continues to engage in the offending behaviours or witnesses them without reporting them, it was also announced that the DOE is considering amending its program funding application process to require applicants to outline a DEI plan as a compulsory component  of every submitted proposal.  All of these developments are most welcome, and long overdue.

 

The Skyline nEXO group also participated in the 2021 SACNAS National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Digital Conference October 25-29. Shannon Hoang, Jiries Kaileh, Madeleine McSwain, Brendan Murtagh received scholarships from SACNAS to attend the conference and present posters on their work on nEXO.

 

Shannon has continued working on her project with assisting the SLAC Rn-still by calibrating a scale to help monitor the liquid Xenon for any changes in activity. She has also made a poster detailing themes in DEI using her podcast platform (@badatm4th) by interviewing team members of nEXO at SLAC and Stanford.

 

Jiries’s poster was about the investigation of electronic technology to be used for benchtop data acquisition systems at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. His poster overviewed the tests of the technology and what they indicated about their effectiveness for potential neutrinoless double beta decay capture.

 

Madeleine presented her work developing a more reliable and precise control setup for the XPM laser shutter, including the recorded experimental results as well as the theoretical results predicted in her further research.

 

Brendan’s poster was about his research on restoring the performance of damaged quartz optical fibers. His poster covered the theory behind the experiment, the experimental process, the results, and what further testing needs to be conducted.

 

In addition to the poster presentations, the Skyline nEXO team participated in many of the parallel breakout sessions.  The topic covered included exploring the universe with NASA, science communication and DEI, communicating science to diverse audiences, and lifting up the voices of individuals with disabilities in STEM.  A major highlight of the conference was the excellent presentation by theoretical astrophysicist Dr Chanda Prescod-Weinstein who gave one of the keynotes.  In their talk they discussed the intersections between STEM and social justice and explained how their own research and teaching align with this theme.

 

We are very proud to report that Brendan Murtagh was one of the undergraduate poster presentation awardees. “The Student Presentation Awards recognize the next generation of scientists and STEM leaders from historically excluded populations, while giving visibility to their research and home institutions. The awards also encourage students to continue pursuing the STEM fields,” said SACNAS President Dr. Pamela Padilla. “As a multidisciplinary scientific society, the opportunity to present research to a general scientific audience fosters the science communication skills needed to not only build public support for science, but also ensure that science is accessible to everyone.”

 

This material presented is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Structure & Nuclear Astrophysics, Pathways to Improved Representation in Nuclear Science under Award Number DE-SC0021954.  Prof Wamba and Prof Hein have applied to the District for professional development funds to pay for their participation in the SACNAS NDiSTEM conference.

 

Article by Shannon Hoang, Jiries Kaileh, Madeleine McSwain, Brendan Murtagh, Emilie Hein, and Kolo Wamba

Photo credit: Shannon Hoang, Jiries Kaileh, Madeleine McSwain, Brendan Murtagh

The Transfer Center hosted, “Student Breaking Barriers,” a virtual student alumni panel on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Over 80 Attendees got the opportunity to hear from Kaelyn Malani who is a Business Administration major with a minor in Engineering Management at San Jose State University, Morelia Karina Cruz, a Mathematics major at UC Berkeley, and Mark Estrada an Asian American Studies major at San Francisco State. The panelist shared personal narratives of their educational experiences that inspired and motivated the audience. The conversation centered around ways in which Skyline helped them prepare for transfer and their careers, and advice they had for students considering transfer.

Our panelist Mark mentioned that what assisted him prepare for college was “Joining a learning community such as CIPHER” and the importance of connecting with people who went to his future ideal transfer school. Mark also suggested that students explore any extracurricular activities to build leadership and a network. Mark shared with the audience, that growing your network and connecting to others is essential as you prepare for your transfer journey. What some in the audience really responded to was how Mark was able to change majors and the power of his decisions to be able to follow his interest. Selecting a major can be challenging for many and his ability to share how he went from Psychology to Asian American Studies and the work he is doing in his community was refreshing.

Additionally, student got to hear what they can do now to be prepared for success at the university. While the college admission process can be competitive, Morelia shared that challenging yourself while at the community college was important. She explained that looking back on her experience she realizes that the, “professors that are hard, are the ones that helped me prepare the most for UC Berkeley,” and encouraged students to challenge themselves personally and academically. In addition, Kaelyn added that students seeking to transfer should also, “tak[e] higher requirement courses to make you look competitive.”  Lastly, Morelia encouraged students to really own their experience sharing, “it is your life, your journey, this is your chance to grow as a person, do not compare yourself to others.”

Attendees were able to fully engage with our panelist and ask many deep diving questions. A student attendee shared that they, “loved how real they [panelist] kept it with us. Telling us their own personal experience and the way they felt. Also, expressing their vulnerability at those times and the depth they had grabbed my attention. They were all very lively which I admired overall.” In an effort to build community the panelists were able to share their contact information with student attendees in hopes of providing them a support network. The virtual Transfer Student Panel would not have been possible without the support of students, faculty and staff. The Transfer Center is appreciative of the continued support that allows us to create spaces for students to share their stories. If you were unable to catch the event you can watch the recording here.

Article by Jackie Flores & Lucy Jovel

Skyline College Dance, Drama, and Music Departments invite you to audition for our 2022 Spring Musical production of Pippin. In Pippin, the magical and mysterious circus performers tell the story of a young prince in search of fulfillment while living within the darkness of both real and illusory internal and external pressures.

2022 is the 50^th anniversary of this classic Fosse musical masterpiece. The Skyline College production will blend modern and classic elements to illustrate universal themes and timeless struggles – love, war, politics, plague, and more.

Find out more about the Spring Musical Pippin and SIGN UP for AUDITIONS at: skylinecollege.edu/springmusical

AUDITION DATES:                

November 18, 2021

November 19, 2021

Callbacks in early December.

All who audition will be cast.

QUESTIONS?

skymusical@smccd.edu

SIGN UP TO AUDTION TODAY!

The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) at Skyline College collaborates with campus, district, and community partners to provide services and resources for veterans and the military-connected community each semester.

November is a special month for Veterans programming in honor of Veterans Day on the 11th.

We invite you to join the Veterans Resource Center, Associated Students of Skyline College, and Center for Student Life and Leadership, for a special College Hour celebration on Wednesday, November 10th from noon-1pm in the Fireside Dining Room in Bldg. 6.

We are also excited to launch the newly designed faculty and staff veterans resource page.

Discover tools for faculty, staff, and administrators supporting veterans and the military-connected community, including an animated video series created in partnership with the SFVA Student Veteran Health Program and the office of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations.

Article by Gina Ciardella Palmer

The Library is pleased to announce that all members of our Skyline College community can enjoy access to a variety of new academic article databases, research guides, books and e-books. For all online resources, when prompted, use your OneLogin credentials to get started. 

To start, here are four databases you may not be familiar with. (You’ll find all of the Library’s databases here: A-Z Databases).

Ethnic Newswatch is an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish), full-text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native presses, designed to provide the “other side of the story.” Articles in this database are useful for students in disciplines like anthropology, communications, business, fashion, government, history, sociology, education and more, and especially for assignments comparing and contrasting news perspectives.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) e-book database contains e-books in the areas of Asian American Studies, Women’s Studies, Black Studies, Latino Studies and much more. This database was also developed to represent all voices with a focus on gender, race, sexual orientation, physical ability and religious beliefs. The “DEI” database has thousands of timely books you can include in your syllabi or embed in Canvas for easy access. If you’re retooling your Spring course reading lists, it’s definitely worth your time to explore this resource.

Coronavirus Research database. While it’s unfortunate that we need it, this new database including up to date research articles is an important new resource. This database is rapidly expanding as we learn more about the virus. 

Kanopy. If you’re not familiar, Kanopy is a streaming video database also available through many public libraries. Our college subscription includes only films currently or recently acquired for Skyline College courses, however all the films in our collection are accessible by all of our students and employees. 

Beginning this Fall, the Library’s book collections were updated to include more than one hundred new titles, many with a focus on administration of justice or ethnic studies. If there’s something you checked for last year and did not find, we encourage you to take a second look using the OneSearch catalog or by contacting a librarian.

Also new in 2021: A number of new library research guides have been created for students and faculty alike. Here are four we think you’ll find useful, all located on the Library’s Research Guides page. 

Anti-Asian/Asian American Racism: A Resource Guide guides.skylinecollege.edu/AAresources

Ethnic Studies Resources for Students and Faculty guides.skylinecollege.edu/ethnicstudiesresources/books 

Free College Movements guides.skylinecollege.edu/FreeCollege

Sustainability Resources for Faculty and Students guides.skylinecollege.edu/sustainabilityresources 

Lastly, remember that all employees can subscribe for free to the New York Times and take advantage of easy digital access to favorite news and popular magazines on Flipster. Questions? Please chat, text email or call. We look forward to hearing from you.

 Article by Jessica Silver-Sharp

The Skyline College Dream Center Task Force is looking for new members! Our goal is to be a campus-wide group with active allies from all parts of our campus community. We are especially in need of members from STEM, but no matter your department, everyone is invited to attend our next meeting on Wednesday, November 17^th at 1:30 p.m. to learn about how to get involved. No experience is needed.

What’s the Dream Center Task Force? We’re a small campus group of classified professionals and faculty, both full-time and part-time, who are allies in support of undocumented and immigrant students and employees at Skyline College. The Task Force was established in 2017.

What’s involved?  Meetings generally include updates on state and national legislative actions—how changes in laws, legal cases and government policies may affect our students locally—and on campus programs sponsored by the Dream Center. Discussions often focus on communication opportunities, educational activities, and ways to overcome obstacles faced by our undocumented and immigrant students.

 

Task Force members help plan and support:

• Annual UndocuWeek of Action
• Flex Day programs
• Social mixers for allies and students
• Fundraising
• Migration Celebration (graduation)
• Collaboration with other campus groups or events
• Advocacy work
• Updating your division and colleagues about the work of the Dream Center.

 

The Task Force also set up the emergency Skyline College Dream Center Fund to support our undocumented students individually and help fund programs and events. We encourage you to donate! See below for Three Ways to Donate. 

Responsibilities of Task Force Members. The Task Force meets by Zoom twice monthly on the first and third Wednesday of the month, from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Joining the Task Force doesn’t require you to attend every meeting. Members also volunteer additional time towards the activities described above as they are able.

Where can I learn more? Please visit the Dream Center website. Also, read about last month’s UndocuWeek of Action. This year was the 5^th annual UndocuWeek, with the theme Change in Action, which aimed to celebrate achievements, answer questions, raise awareness about SMCCCD’s undocumented students, and most importantly, to grow and inspire our community to action! The event, organized by the three college’s Dream Centers and Dream Center Task Forces, included mixers, book club meetings, statewide webinars, and ended with keynote speaker, San Francisco based FilipinX author Lysley Tenorio, author of Monstress: Stories and The Son of Good Fortune.

 

Interested in joining the Dream Center Task Force? Contact Chad Thompson at thompsonc@smccd.edu to introduce yourself and request the Zoom link for our next meeting on Wednesday, November 17^th at 1:30 p.m. We look forward to meeting you!

 

Three Ways to Donate to the Skyline College Dream Center Fund

1. Donate online (bit.ly/DreamCenterFund) 1. Select amount $. 2. Select “Designation: Other” (drop down menu). 3. Write in Other category: “Dream Center Fund.” 4.Complete your payment information.
2. Sign up for the SMCCC Foundation’s recurring payroll deduction: (bit.ly/DCFPayrollDeduction). 1. Purpose: Enroll. 2. Designate my gift for: Skyline College. 3.Fill in “Dream Center Fund” where form says: “OR, designate my gift for the following fund.”
3. Donate by mail: Send your check to: San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation, 3401 CSM Dr., San Mateo, CA 94402. Make check out to: SMCCC Foundation. In a note or memo field, specify “Dream Center Fund” Skyline College.

Article by Stephanie Wells

How may we assist you in landing your dream job? Whether you’re interested in short- or long-term career planning, the Career Readiness & Job Placement team offers a variety of services and career readiness experiences to assist you with your specific career needs. If you want to work with a Job Placement Coordinator, please fill out this brief welcome form and someone will contact you soon to schedule an appointment!

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—

• Arts, Language & Communication Internships_11-5-2021
• Science Technology Health Internships_11-05-2021
• Society & Education Internships_11-5-2021

 

How may we assist you in landing your dream job? Whether you’re interested in short- or long-term career planning, the Career Readiness & Job Placement team offers a variety of services and career readiness experiences to assist you with your specific career needs. If you want to work with a Job Placement Coordinator, please fill out this brief welcome form and someone will contact you soon to schedule an appointment!

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—

 

• Arts, Language & Communication Jobs_11-5-2021
• Business, Entrepreneurship & Management Jobs 11-5-21
• Science Technology Health Jobs_11-05-2021
• Society & Education Jobs_11-5-2021
• Just In Time Jobs_11-5-2021

Skyline College Global Learning Programs and Services (GLPS) Division invites you to celebrate International Education Week from November 15^th to 18^th 2021!

International Education Week (IEW), a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This year’s theme is Engaged | Resilient | Global.

In celebration of IEW at Skyline College, we will highlight our Study Abroad and International Students, sharing stories of engagement, resilience, and global exchange.

The week will include a virtual opening ceremony with student panelists, the reopening of the Skyline College Passport Office, student performances on campus during College Hour, and an International Food Festival and International Poetry Corner, hosted by the Poetry Corner Planning Team.

For more information, please email skyinternational@smccd.edu or studyabroad@smccd.edu.

Article by Stephanie Wells