Redwood Symphony Presents "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

The Redwood Symphony presents "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" with a full cast and chorus in two special performances Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2 in the Cañada College Main Theater. Saturday's performance begins at 8 p.m. and Sunday's begins at 2 p.m.

Redwood Symphony Maestro Eric Kujawsky said Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the music and lyrics for the original 1979 musical thriller, could be one of the greatest composers of our time.

"I’ve long come to the conclusion that Mr. Sondheim could well be our greatest composer, up there with Gershwin, Copland, Bernstein, et al.," Kujawsky said. "The only reason that he is not, I’m convinced, is the snobbery that many serious musicians feel towards musical theatre."

Set in 19th century England, the musical tells the story of Benjamin Barker, aka Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after 15 years' transportation on trumped-up charges. When he finds out that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who transported him, he vows revenge on the judge and, later, the whole world. He teams up with a piemaker, Mrs. Lovett, and opens a barbershop in which he slits the throats of customers and has them baked into pies.

Tickets for both performances are $20 for adults and $10 for students. They can be purchased by visiting www.redwoodsymphony.org.

Carlmont High School Graduate Earns Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship

Elizabeth Carranza aspires to be a chemist

Elizabeth Carranza, a 2009 graduate of Carlmont High School and a current Cañada College student, has been awarded the Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The scholarship is worth $5,000 annually and can be renewed up to four years. It supports students enrolled in community college, including adults who are pursuing a college education later in life, are seeking new job skills and training, or are juggling work and family responsibilities.

Up to 15 scholarships are given annually to female students from San Mateo or San Mateo County pursuing their first undergraduate degree or certificate and attending a college in the San Mateo County Community College District.

Carranza will continue to study at Cañada this fall and plans to transfer to UC Berkeley to study chemical engineering.

“I want to become a chemist,” she said. “My goal is to reduce the water pollution in other countries and create awareness on this issue.”

Carranza said receiving the Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship would not have been possible without the support of her professors at Cañada.

“All of my professors have been wonderful,” she said. “My English teacher, Salumeh Eslamieh, and my trigonometry teacher, Michael Hoffman, provided me with resources not only as teachers, but as role models.”

Carranza said the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Center also played a big role in helping her obtain the scholarship. “Without the STEM Center, I would have never known about any scholarship opportunities or programs that were available.”

The Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship program was established in 2007 through a generous gift to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation from Marie A. Calderilla, who believed deeply in the importance of education. The purpose of the scholarship is to enable women to pursue courses of study that they would otherwise be unable to follow due to limited financial means. Recipients are eligible for up to three years of funding; however, students must meet renewal requirements to continue to receive the award. Students enrolled in a four-year degree program at a San Mateo County Community College District college are eligible for up to four years of funding.

Students may be graduating high school seniors or current residents of San Mateo or Santa Clara Counties. The selection committee looks for academic promise, women who have demonstrated that they are committed to obtaining an education, and personal characteristics such as honesty, good judgment and perseverance.

Adriana Fernandez Receives Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship

The $5,000 annual scholarship can be renewed up to four years

Adriana Fernandez, a 2011 graduate of San Mateo High School, has been awarded the Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The scholarship is worth $5,000 annually and can be renewed up to four years. It is designed to support students who are enrolled or plan to enroll in a community college, including adults who are pursuing a college education later in life, are seeking new jobs skills and training or are juggling work and family responsibilities. Up to 15 scholarships are given annually to female students from San Mateo or San Mateo County who are pursuing their first undergraduate degree or certificate and are planning to attend a college in the San Mateo County Community College District.

Fernandez will continue to study at Cañada next year and then plans to transfer to UC Davis where she will study environmental science.

One of her favorite classes at Cañada this past year was an independent studies class where she worked with Professor Bob Tricca to conduct undergraduate research analyzing nitrate levels in the soil of Brussels sprouts on San Mateo County farms. “It was really cool and interesting to see the levels of nitrates in the soil and realize that our research was helping local farmers,” she said.

Tricca said Fernandez and other students engaged in the research project learned valuable skills that will help them when they transfer to four-year schools. “We are fortunate at Cañada because our labs are stocked with equipment used to conduct research in both universities and private industry,” he said. “This provides a tremendous opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience with tools they’ll use as they continue their education and enter the workforce.”

Fernandez said she also enjoyed studying engineering graphics with Professor Amelito Enriquez. “Although I always had a difficult time visualizing 3-D objects and I was always one of the last students to leave his class, he stayed to help make sure I comprehended the lab,” she said. “He is just amazing and has always been there to help me in any way possible ever since I first set foot at the Summer Engineering Institute in 2011.”

Enriquez said it’s been a pleasure watching Fernandez grow as a student.

“Since I first met her at the Summer Engineering Institute two years ago, it has been a pleasure watching Adriana grow into a strong leader who has not only promoted a more vibrant student life but also contributed significantly to awareness of issues affecting our campus and the surrounding communities,” Enriquez said. “In fact, in my almost 20 years of teaching, I have only seen a few students who got so involved in campus activities from their first day at Cañada.”

The Marie A. Calderilla Scholarship program was established in 2007 through a generous gift to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation from Marie A. Calderilla, who believed deeply in the importance of education. The purpose of the scholarship is to enable women to pursue courses of study that they would otherwise be unable to follow due to limited financial means. The selection committee looks for academic promise, women who have demonstrated that they are committed to obtaining an education, and personal characteristics such as honesty, good judgment and perseverance.

 Recipients are eligible for up to three years of funding; however, students must meet renewal requirements to continue to receive the award. Students enrolled in a four-year degree program at a San Mateo County Community College District college are eligible for up to four years of funding.

Judge Cruz Reynoso to Speak at Saturday's Commencement Ceremony

More than 200 graduates will participate in the school's 43rd Commencement Ceremony

Judge Cruz Reynoso

Cruz Reynoso, one of California’s preeminent civil rights lawyers and a former Associate Justice on the state’s Supreme Court, will be the featured speaker at the 43rd Commencement Ceremony for Cañada College.

The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. in the upper quad. The campus is located at 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., in Redwood City. More than 200 graduates are expected to participate.

Elizabeth Elaina Mattingly is this year's valedictorian. She is one of three students in this class to earn a perfect 4.00 GPA. She is graduating with degrees in economics and business administration and will be transferring to a four-year school in the fall.

San Francisco's Doris Vargas will receive this year's President's Student Leadership Award. Vargas is a former member of the Lady Colts soccer team and has been active in Phi Theta Kappa, Cañada's award-winning honors club. She will be transferring to San Francisco State University in the fall.

This year's student speaker is Vimolruedee "Jojo" Kolby of Redwood City. Kolby emigrated from Thailand six years ago and enrolled at Cañada to learn English. She will be transferring to San Jose State University in the fall where she will major in business with a concentration in accounting.

The school will also honor four retiring faculty members: Chuck Iverson, professor of mathematics and computer science; Jacqueline Phillips, professor of ESL; Ronald Trugman, professor of business; and Nancy Wolford, professor of interior design.

Judge Reynoso was invited to speak at this year's commencement ceremony by Dr. Lawrence Buckley, the newly appointed president at Cañada. "We are honored to have Judge Cruz Reynoso as our commencement speaker," he said. "He is a man who has travelled a truly inspiring path, and whose personal values include a dedication to education and a commitment to serving others."

Judge Reynoso grew up in rural California in the 1930s and 1940s. The son of farm workers and one of 11 children, his personal story reflects the experience of many Mexican-American families from that era and it heavily influenced his professional decisions.

After exemplary academic success as a college and law school student in both the United States and Mexico, and three years of service in the Counterintelligence Corps of the United States Army, Judge Reynoso became the first Latino lawyer for the California Rural Legal Association (CRLA), a group of attorneys fighting labor abuses in California’s Central Valley.  In 1969, he began his service as the organization’s director.  During his leadership, Judge Reynoso lifted the CRLA to national prominence. Today, the CRLA provides free legal assistance to approximately 40,000 low-income, rural Californians.

Judge Reynoso was appointed an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeals in 1976, and was elevated to the position of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California in 1981. 

Judge Reynoso served on the US Congressional Select Commission on Immigrant and Refugee Policy, and in 1993, he was appointed by the United States Senate to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights where he continued to fight for the underrepresented. 

He was a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, served on President Obama’s Transition Team in 2008 as an advisor on human rights, and in 2000 was awarded America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then President, Bill Clinton.

Today, Judge Reynoso continues his advocacy for improving California’s communities by taking-up the cause of promoting increased access to higher education for the state’s young people. As an alum of a California Community College, he is an enthusiastic supporter of the mission and goals of the colleges, saying, “…at community colleges, there is always hope.”

Cañada College Arts & Olive Festival Poster Contest is Underway!

Help us Determine Which Poster Should be Used to Promote This Year's Festival

 

 

The poster contest for the annual Arts & Olive Festival at Cañada College has begun. Each year the college holds a contest for its design students to choose a promotional poster for the upcoming festival. This year, 21 students from Cañada’s multimedia classes have submitted designs.

 

Now it’s up to the Redwood City Community to pick a winner! All posters are on display through June 14 on the first floor of Building 9 next to the Public Safety Office on campus. Cañada is located at 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., in Redwood City. You can also view the posters online at http://youkai.us/Olivefest2013/. From there, you can email your vote for up to four options. The competition will run through Friday, June 24.

This year’s Arts & Olive Festival will be held on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 10 am to 5 pm. The festival features live music, dancing, and more than 80 vendors featuring some of the region’s top olive and olive oil experts. The festival began in 1998 as part of Cañada’s 30^th anniversary celebration and has grown into the school’s largest scholarship fundraising event. All proceeds from the festival are used to provide scholarships for students. For more information, visit www.olivefest.org.



Cañada Alum Esther Chan is Researching Sustainable Energy at UC San Diego

The Former Woodside High School Graduate is Researching Material for a Stretchable Solar Cell

Cañada College alum Esther Chan has received a grant from the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) Summer Undergraduate Research Program and will be conducting research on sustainable energy this summer at UC San Diego.

Chan is researching the fabrication of copper electrodes on a rigid substrate that can be transferred to a stretchable substrate. “The goal of the project is to make a stretchable transparent conducting electrode that can be used in a stretchable solar cell,” she said.

The research is being conducted at the UC San Diego Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion. The goal of the lab is to design and develop new functional nanomaterials and nanostructures for advanced energy storage and conversion applications. Discoveries in the lab could lead to smaller, more powerful batteries and provide ways to harness more sustainable energy sources.

The UCSD Calit2 Summer Undergraduate Research Program provides students with the opportunity to perform hands-on research under the guidance of a UCSD faculty advisor over a 10-week period. It is a non-academic university research unit where researchers from different disciplines come together to study and develop new technology to address issues in the economy and society.

When she graduated from Woodside High School four years ago, she hadn’t settled on a college major. “I came to Cañada because I didn’t feel right going to a four-year school without a real sense of what I wanted to do.”

It’s safe to say she found her direction at Cañada. She met Amelito Enriquez, professor of engineering and mathematics, who set her on a course to study mechanical engineering. She also received the support of Cathy Lipe, the director of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement Program.

“I can’t imagine where I would be without them,” Chan said. “I am so appreciative of everything they have done for me. They are the best team any engineering student can have. You can tell that they really care about the students.”

Chan is pursuing her dream at UC San Diego. “I came here interested in the work being done in developing sustainable energy solutions and I would love to continue this research as a career.”

At Cañada, Chan had the opportunity to present research at a national conference. She said that prepared her for her current pursuits at UC San Diego. “There is no better choice than Cañada,” she said. “You get a genuine sense of community from students who are motivated and friendly and receive a great education from professors who care about their students. It’s true, from here, you can go anywhere."

Cañada is Adding Online Courses This Summer

New online courses in Anthropology, Astronomy, Computer Information Science, English, History, Philosophy, and Math will be introduced this summer at Cañada College. Summer classes begin June 17 and online courses are extremely popular with students returning home from four-year universities who need core requirements.

"There is a growing demand for online courses, especially in the summer," said Janet Stringer, Dean of Science and Technology at the college and coordinator for distance learning. "We expect these classes to fill quickly."

A new online course in US History that transfers to both UC and CSU schools has proven so popular that it has already filled.

The college will be offering Introduction to Computer Science online this summer. This is an introduction to computer hardware and the programming commands to control them. The course will provide students basic computer science concepts and skills and transfers to both UC and CSU schools.

Students can also take English 100 and 110 and Math 200 online for the first time this summer.

For a complete list of summer classes, go to WebSCHEDULE. To register for summer classes, please visit our Admissions & Records Department on the first floor of Building 9.

Andrea Ramirez Receives $10,000 Pister Scholarship to UC Santa Cruz

Ramirez arrived at Cañada College unable to speak English and looking for a supportive environment to raise her young daughter and found a place where she could excel academically.

Ramirez reviews the award letter with President Buckley.

Andrea Ramirez, a member of the Cañada College Student Senate and the school’s honor society, has been named a recipient of the Karl S. Pister Leadership Opportunity Scholarship at UC Santa Cruz. The Pister scholarship was established to help the most promising students from regional community colleges transfer to UCSC. All recipients receive a $10,000 scholarship for each of two years, as well as the support of a strong academic mentoring program and assistance finding paid summer work experience in a field that complements their studies. Former UCSC Chancellor Karl S. Pister designed the program.

It’s been a long road to academic success for Ramirez, who arrived at Cañada College from Acapulco, Mexico with no ability to speak English but determined to make a better future for her baby daughter.

When Ramirez came to the United States, she quickly learned she would need to speak English in order to get a job. “I realized the only way to become independent, successful and set a good example for my daughter was to learn English,” she said.

In 2003, she enrolled in English as a Second Language classes at Cañada. “The college became a new home for me and my ESL classes opened up a new world of educational opportunities,” she said. “ESL classes helped me develop my skills in writing, communication, reading comprehension, and vocabulary which were important for me to understand if I was going to take other classes at Cañada.”

As she gained proficiency in English, Ramirez gained her voice in the college community. She became involved in school activities and clubs, including the school’s honor society and student government. She also began working for CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) and the local YWCA to help victims of domestic violence, translating and advocating for Latinas with limited English proficiency.

“My bilingual skills have made me an especially effective ally for such women and their families,” she said. “I want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in feminist studies and then go on to law school. I want to become a family law attorney.”

Alison Field, a history professor at Cañada, said Ramirez has served as a role model for other students and the community. “Not only is she an active member of the classroom and campus community, but she is also a supportive mom to her daughter and a volunteer for two non-profit organizations that serve the larger community,” Field wrote in a letter of support for Ramirez to the Pister Scholarship Committee.

Victoria Worch, student activities coordinator at the college, has worked closely with Ramirez in student government. Worch said Ramirez has come a long way from arriving in this country as a young mother without the ability to speak English. 

“If there is one thing I have noticed about Andrea,” Worch said, “it is how she can handle a lot on her plate. Few of us have the strengths to achieve greatness and she has the strength to do that.”

Ramirez said the support she received in the Cañada College Learning Center from tutors such as Susan Traynor and Julie Wilson was essential to her academic success. She also credits ESL professors Alicia Aguirre and John Saenz for helping her learn English and Soraya Sohrabi for convincing her to apply for the Pister Scholarship.

“Soraya spent many hours explaining the UC application process to me and answering all of my questions,” Ramirez said. “She always encouraged me to try and to never give up. She was there to give me a lift up when I was down, especially when I doubted whether I could finish school.”

Despite earning the prestigious Pister Scholarship, Ramirez is planning to attend UC Berkeley in the fall. In 2012, Carlos Ortega, a global economics major at Cañada, also earned the Pister Scholarship but turned it down to stay closer to home and attend UC Berkeley.

“Berkeley is closer to home and it was my first choice academically. It really is my dream school,” Ramirez said. “I’ll be able to commute to school which will make it easier for me and my daughter. It’s a dream come true.”

Four Finalists Named for Vice President of Instruction Position

Two Open Forums Will be Held to Introduce the Candidates

 

 

Four veteran California community college administrators have been named finalists for the position of Vice President of Instruction at Cañada College.

 

Two open forums will be held to introduce the candidates to the campus community. The first is scheduled for Thursday, May 2 from 2:20 to 4:30 p.m. in Building 3, Room 142. The second will be held on Monday, May 6 at the same time and place.

 

The public is invited to attend both forums. Each will begin promptly at 2:30 p.m. so attendees are asked to arrive no later than 2:20 p.m. Following a short introduction, finalists will ask for questions. Please bring any questions you wish to ask.

 

Following is the schedule for both forums along with brief information about each finalist.

 

Dr. Barbara Illowsky - Open Forum on Thursday, May 2 at 2:30 p.m.

Dr. Barbara Illowsky is a professor of mathematics at De Anza College in Cupertino. She is currently on reassignment and working in the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office in Sacramento where she serves as the Director of the Basic Skills Initiative and oversees Middle College High School grantees. Dr. Illowsky holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from State University of New York at Albany, a Master’s Degree in Statistics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D./Doctoral Degree in Education: Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University.
 

Linda Hayes – Open Forum on Thursday, May 2 at 3:30 p.m.

Linda Hayes is the Interim Vice President of Instruction at Cañada College where she has served since July 2012. Prior to this, and since 1998, she served at the Dean of Business, Workforce & Athletics at Cañada College.  Beginning in 1988, she served as faculty/coordinator for the Business Office/Technology Department at Cañada College.  In addition, since 1978, worked as Adjunct Faculty at Skyline College. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Secretarial Science, a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from University of San Francisco, and a Master’s Degree in Business Education from San Francisco State University.

Dr. Gregory Anderson – Open Forum on Monday, May 6 at 2:30 p.m.

Dr. Gregory Anderson is the Dean of Learning Resources at De Anza College in the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District. He has been employed in the district since August 2005. Prior to this, he served as a full-time faculty member and program director at the University of Southern California. He has taught at the National University in La Jolla, Kyodou Gakuin Community College in Japan, RSNF-TINS in Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and served as a director/coordinator/faculty member at Kwansel Gakuin University in Japan. He was also a volunteer teacher in the United State Peace Corp. Dr. Anderson holds a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Communication and English from the University of Wisconsin, a Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the School for International Training, and a Ph.D./Doctoral in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Southern California.
 

Dr. Stacy Thompson – Open Forum on Monday, May 6 at 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Stacy Thompson is the Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences at Merritt College in the Peralta Community College District and has served in this position since July 2008. Prior to this, and since 1999, she served as faculty in the Child Development department. In 2004, she became Chair, Human Development at Merritt College. Dr. Thompson has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Lewis and Clark College, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Mills College, a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Mills College, and a Ph.D./Doctoral in Educational Leadership from Mills College.