On Wednesday, October 14, the Outreach & Student Recruitment Office hosted, for the first time, its annual virtual high school partners event. This year’s theme was centered around “Community, Conversations, and Collaboration” and focused on strengthening partnerships with our local high schools to better serve students and our community during these isolating times.
Given a unique year, the event’s turnout included 35 participants comprised of high school administrators, counselors, transition specialists, and community program directors from Jefferson Union, Sequoia Union, South San Francisco Unified and San Mateo Unified High School Districts.
Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos, College Recruiter, began the program and introduced Skyline College’s new College President, Dr. Melissa Moreno, who warmly welcomed the group and shared her vision on one of four top priorities, community engagement. Dr. Moreno highlighted our college’s anti-racist efforts, the intentional work focused on student success, and the importance of supporting our disproportionality impacted students.
During the event, participants were grouped by high school district and rotated through four concurrent breakout sessions highlighting our Promise Scholars Program, Dual Enrollment Opportunities, Meta Majors & Guided Pathways, and a general update session from Financial Aid, ESL Connect, our Educational Access and SparkPoint Centers.
The event was a fitting opportunity to share how Skyline College pivoted its in-person offerings in response to the pandemic to continue providing quality learning experiences and services for students virtually.
A special thanks to the presenters and workshop facilitators: Dr. Melissa Moreno, College President, Will Minnich, Dean of Enrollment Services, Ernesto Hernandez, Interim Director of Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign, Andrea Vizenor, Dean of Strategic Partnership & Workforce Development, Sha’kuana Ona, Retention Specialist, Patricia Mendoza, Financial Aid Technician, Mylene Foo, Program Services Coordinator, Melissa Matthews, EAC Coordinator, and Flor Lopez, SparkPoint Coordinator. This event is hosted annually and will next be held in Fall 2021.
Article and Photo by Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos