The Skyline College Honors Transfer Program (HTP) hosted our Fall Orientation on Thursday, September 8, 2022 in the Intercultural Center. The Honors Club President Alysia Tanimura and Honors Club Vice President Julio Lau were the student MCs, and HTP Faculty Coordinator, English Professor Janice Sapigao, organized the event.
The event began with a quick icebreaker, where students were encouraged to talk with someone new about why they were interested in doing research and joining Honors. There were many motivating and compelling welcome speeches by Joshua Lindo, Intercultural Center Program Services Coordinator; Danni Redding Lapuz, Dean of Social Sciences/Creative Arts; and HTP Counselor Joyce Lee, who shared the history of the twenty years of the program and highlighted where our close to one-thousand Honors graduates have gone on to transfer and excel.
Our Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Vinicio López, shared kind words about the importance of student research, and he contextualized how he personalized research projects throughout his educational journey. Dr. López discussed working with and interviewing Latinx youth, elders, and peers to understand how to best support generations of students.
Chemistry Professor Susanne Schubert invited students to take IDST 105: the Honors Research Seminar, and to join other Honors societies such as Phi Theta Kappa, Psi Beta, and Kappa Beta Delta. Professor Rachel Cunningham invited students to attend or present their research at our Undergraduate Symposium of Academic Research (uSOAR) in the Spring semester.
Students learned about transfer opportunities from HTP Counselor Joyce Lee and Transfer Center Counselor and Coordinator Alexandra Kaplan. Students are highly encouraged to reach out to the Transfer Center for support and services, as well as attend the upcoming Transfer Day University & College Fair on October 6 from 11:30am-1pm in Building 6. For students who are transferring, Joyce Lee asked students to consider enrolling in COUN 652, which helps students create an effective application for UC and private universities.
Current HTP students, Isaiah Angeles and Julia Rogers shared their experiences, previous research projects, and goals for the upcoming year in the program. Angeles discussed the About Time poetry anthology that he co-edited with a team of student-editors for his CIPHER English 110 course. Rogers proudly shared her research on the mushroom terrarium she created with a team in the Winter Research Scholars program, and she invited students to join the newly-formed Science and Research Club.
The event concluded with a former HTP Faculty Coordinator, History Professor John Ulloa, who reflected on how past HTP students have graduated from the program, even while experiencing moments of deep personal and academic struggles. He commended students for showing up, and welcomed them to a strong start of the new academic year.
Honors and research is alive and well at Skyline College, and students and faculty can contact Janice Sapigao (sapigaoj@smccd.edu) for further support.
Many thanks to Ernesto Hernandez, Pia Walawalkar, Dave Camicia, Kathy Fitzpatrick, Angelica Mendoza, Pacific Dining, and everyone involved for supporting the organization of this event.
Article and photos by Janice Sapigao
