In collaboration with colleagues from Brothers Empowering Brothers (BEB) from the College of San Mateo, the Black and Brown Scholars (BBS) of Skyline College presented our session titled: “Loyal to the SOIL: Re-Harvesting our Latino Male Narratives in Educational S.P.A.C.E.S” at the 2024 COLEGAS Annual National Conference in Sacramento on November 5, 2024. The theme for the conference was “Collective Resistance: Justicia y Liberación.”
Utilizing the analogy of the soil, we were able to dive deep and unearth the different layers necessary to provide support for our men of color. In this presentation, we were able to present information related to the following: 1) the SOIL Framework that informs the development of our respective programs, 2) reviewed institutional data related to retention and degree completion for our students, 3) described the demographics of our students that make up San Mateo County and compared it to the demographics of our colleges, 4) identified the five pillars that make up our programming that support our students, and 5) shared student testimonials.
Our workshop was attended by 100+ people with a wide range of experience and institutional support for supporting men of color that spoke to the five pillars of S.P.A.C.E.s (Strength, Purpose, Authenticity, Community, & Empowerment/Equity). We facilitated a large group discussion centered around the following questions:
· In what ways is your institution meaningfully supporting our men of color?
· What challenges do you and/or your institution face in creating spaces and activities to support men of color?
The presenters for this session were Andy Gomez, PSP/EOPS Counselor, Manny Delgado, PSP/Puente Counselor, and Warren Shelby, PSP Retention Specialist from College of San Mateo; and Dr. Nate Nevado, Counselor/CIPHER, Dino Garcia, PSP Counselor, and Joseph Jaballa, Counseling Program Services Coordinator from Skyline College.
For more information about Black and Brown Scholars, please email Nate Nevado at nevadon@smccd.edu or check out our page at www.skylinecollege.edu/bbs.
Article by: Nate Nevado
Picture by: Alex Urbina