Free DACA Renewal Workshop for Students

Free DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Renewal Workshop for Students

Free transportation from campus!

Registration required by Nov. 3: http://tinyurl.com/dacadreamers

When: Wednesday, November 5, 2014
             5:00pm - 7:00pm (Arrive at 4:30pm)

Where: Law Offices of Goodwin Proctor, LLP
             135 Commonwealth Dr, Menlo Park

Workshop Flyer: View Here 

More Info: (650) 306-3345, candreamers@gmail.com

On Wednesday, November 5th, eligible Cañada students will receive one-on-one assistance with DACA renewal applications at a free legal clinic organized by the Cañada Student DREAMers Club and Beating the Odds Peer Mentorship (BTO) Program, in collaboration with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto and Goodwin Proctor, LLP. Goodwin Proctor is hosting the clinic at their Menlo Park offices and will also provide free shuttle transportation from campus. This unique opportunity for students reflects both the hard work being done by student leaders here on campus, and also the benefits that come from broader campus and community partnerships.

In order to qualify for DACA, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• Under 31 years of age as of June 15, 2012.

• Arrived to the United States before your sixteenth birthday.

• Resided in the U.S. continuously, since June 15, 2007.

• Physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012.

• Currently enrolled in school, or have a certificate of completion from high school, or a GED certificate, or be honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the U.S.

• Not convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors, and do not pose a threat to national security or public safety.

• In addition, applicants must be 15 years of age or older to be eligible for DACA (unless they are in removal proceedings or have a voluntary or forced departure order against them).

Cañada College Theatre Arts presents: Antigone by Sophocles

Cañada College Theatre Arts presents:
Antigone by Sophocles

Opens 10/22 and runs through 11/2. Use the box office to buy your tickets, or attend one of the donation-only matinees listed below.

• Wed 10/22 2:10 pm: a FREE Matinee!
• Thurs 10/30 11:10 am: a FREE Matinee!

• All shows in the Flex Theatre (building 3 room 129).

Tickets to all Cañada College Theatre Arts Department shows are sold right in front of the Flexible Theatre, Building 3, room 129. Tickets are available one hour before the scheduled show times, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can also buy tickets online at: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=ccta

A2B Evening Workshop Schedule

SF State/Sequoia Baccalaureate Nursing Program

SF State/Sequoia Baccalaureate Nursing Program:

Information Session at Cañada College
Monday, October 13th, 2014
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Building 18 - Room 205

Learn more about:

• SF State BSN Nursing Program - Classes held at Cañada College
• Application process, deadlines, and requirements
• All are invited to attend!

4-Year College shouldn't be sole route to Middle Class - by Robert Reich

Article submitted by: Gloria Darafshi

This is a great article, written by Robert Reich of the San Francisco Chronicle, showcasing how your first 2 years in a community college can be a new gateway to the middle class and success. Students receive the same core education at the community college level, and can then transfer to finish their degree to another University.

"This month, millions of young people head to colleges and universities, aiming for a four-year liberal-arts degree. They assume that degree is the only gateway to the American middle class. It shouldn't be. For one thing, a four-year liberal-arts degree is hugely expensive. Too many young people graduate laden with debt that takes years, if not decades, to pay off.." 

Read the full article here...

Welcome Lale Yurtseven, New Business Instructor

Please welcome Lale Yurtseven, who will be joining our full-time Business faculty. Ms. Yurtseven will be teaching courses across the Business curriculum. Ms. Yurtseven is Turkish, grew up in Germany, and is multi-lingual, speaking English, German, and Turkish.

She holds an M.B.A. in International Management and a B.A. in International Relations from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has been an adjunct faculty member, teaching Business, at both De Anza and West Valley Colleges for over eight years. She has also served as a grant manager promoting business and education collaboration throughout the California Community Colleges system.

She started an Entrepreneurship Center at West Valley College, where she counseled students and community members who are interested in starting a business. Prior to her experience in education, Ms. Yurtseven worked in management positions at both fortune 500 companies as well as startup companies. She also founded an information technology company, and continues to serve on its board to this day.

New SparkPoint Center

It has been said that many of our students are a “flat tire away from dropping out of college” as they have limited resources available to support themselves as they are pursuing their education. In the past, we have been unable to address these basic needs of our low-income students. The SparkPoint Center at Cañada College is being established to provide support services to give students the tools they need to remain in college.

To get the Center up and running, the college has received a “Working Families Success Network” three-year $100,000 grant administered by Achieving the Dream with funding from several foundations – Annie E. Casey, Kellogg, Bank of America and Lumina. The Working Families Success Network (WFSN) is a national initiative to advance a fresh approach to helping low-income families achieve financial stability. The network is made up of national and local foundations, community colleges, and community-based organizations.

The WFSN strategy, known by some as an integrated services approach, is helping community-based organizations and community colleges rethink how they serve working families through the bundling and sequencing of complementary services and supports in the three key areas:

Education and employment services: Services that provide students with the skills needed to enter and retain employment and advance in the career of their choice.

Work and income supports: Services that assist students in accessing public benefits and other income supports in order to increase family economic stability and encourage college retention and completion.

Financial and asset building services: Services that build the financial knowledge of students, increase their access to savings and wealth-retaining financial products and encourage the meeting of both short and long-term financial goals.

The key outcomes for participants in the SparkPoint Center include job placement and retention, increased family income, credit score improvement and increased completion rates for college degrees or training programs.

In addition, SparkPoint at Cañada College will be part of a regional United Way of the Bay Area network of financial education centers designed to serve individuals and families who are working to achieve financial self-sufficiency. This Center is modeled after the SparkPoint at Skyline College and will significantly improve our overall support provided to students.

A Steering Committee for the SparkPoint at Cañada College is meeting this summer to make plans to begin providing services in late fall 2014. We will keep the campus posted on the progress made in the development of the Center through regular reports in the Olive Hill Press.

Submitted by Dr. Robin Richards, PharmD

Degrees Submitted for Approval

As nearly everyone knows, SB 1440 mandated that the CSU and the community college systems develop transfer degrees (AA-T or AS-T) to facilitate transfer of students from the community colleges to the CSUs. Templates for each degree were developed by discipline faculty from both systems and then each community college was required to determine whether they have the courses to fit in the template. Each CSU has to determine whether they have a similar degree and how the student can complete the Bachelor’s degree in 60 semester units after transfer with the AA or AS-T. New templates are released for degree development in February and September.

The faculty at Cañada College has been diligently working to develop and get approval for the degrees for which we have the programs and courses. To date, we have submitted 20 degrees to the State Chancellor’s office for approval and (as of) July 1 have received approval for 17 of these. Some of these degrees were very straightforward and others required significant course updating and revision and/or development of new courses. Of the templates expected to be released in September, we should be able to develop 2-3 additional transfer degrees for our students.

Anthropology

Art History

Business Administration

Communication Studies Philosophy

Computer Science

Early Childhood Education

Economics

Elementary Education (pending state approval)

English

Geography

History

Kinesiology

Mathematics

Physics

Political Science (pending state approval)

Psychology

Sociology

Studio Arts

Theatre Arts (pending state approval)

Submitted by Dr. Janet Stringer, MD, PhD

Program Prioritization and Budget Allocation Update

Last week, Governor Brown signed a new $108 Billion State Budget that should be viewed as being generally favorable to the needs of California Community Colleges. While the Community College System budget still has not recovered to pre-economic crisis levels, the new State Budget contains substantial improvements meant to ensure that colleges can better serve our communities and students.

The largest portions of the State Community College Budget, funds for apportionment, have no real effect on Cañada College. We are part of a community supported college district, and as such, we rely on County-level funding rather than State-level funding. Among the benefits of being “Community Supported” is that the college actually receives greater per-student funding than if we relied on state funding for apportionment. Our County-based funding process is still tied to enrollment at each of the SMCCCD colleges, but the system affords us resources that would not otherwise be available if we were singularly tied to state enrollment funding.

Nevertheless, there are areas and programs in which the college is still very much dependent on state funding. These areas are generally in Student Services and Support. The new State Budget provides continued support for our many “categorical” service programs. Statewide, DSPS was funded $114,223,000; EOPS was funded $88,605,000; Economic Workforce Development was funded $50,000,000; Part Time Faculty Compensation budget was funded $24,907,000; and Part Time Faculty Office Hour budget was funded $3,500,000. Each of these budget lines has an actual, or potential, positive effect on Cañada’s bottom line. In addition, the State authorized new expenditures under the Student Success and Support Program of some $70,000,000.

This is all good news and comes in the wake of discussions the college community held in the last month of the Spring Semester in which we examined the effects of the loss of Measure G funding to college operations. This community supported parcel tax is set to end at the end of this month. The loss in operating funds to the college will be approximately $2.3 Million annually. In April and May, the members of the Planning and Budget Committee, along with some 40 campus faculty and staff representing Instructional and Student Services programs, met to examine options and make recommendations of what the college might do in terms of addressing the loss of Measure G funding, as well as to discuss use prioritization of additional funds, including “One-Time Funds” available through County funding mechanisms, and Grant funds. 

Those involved in the review process took a rather courageous course as they set aside their own interests in search of answers to how we can continue to best serve our students with fewer resources. The number one priority for the group was to preserve instruction as much as possible. Also at the top of the priority list were programs meant to improve student success. Several programs, some funded through Measure G, others funded with "One-Time-Funds" or General Fund resources, received less significant support from the group. While their importance was recognized, their urgency in promoting student success was considered measurably less. The prioritization list was forwarded to me, as President, for review and consideration in developing the final college expenditure plan for 2014-2015.

I have carefully considered the recommendations and understand the values behind them, and I share those values. It is important for us to redouble our commitment to the mission of serving this community in a manner that ensures it has the programs and services necessary to provide the transfer and workforce development tools for our students to meet their goals. So, it was with an eye to stretch and utilize every dollar available to us to meet the financial needs of our programs that guided me in developing the final expenditure plan.

Fortunately, our advanced, effective planning over the past few years has put us in a better position to address our financial challenges than we might otherwise have been. So, as we are about to close the books on fiscal 2013-2014, and now that we have a fuller understanding of our funding stream, given the Governor's Budget and the County's own financial assessment, I want to share with you some of the expenditure priorities I am employing for the new academic year. 

The fact is that our resources are a bit stronger than predicted two or three months ago. We are finishing the year with an Ending Fund Balance of well over $500,000. We have some $1.1 Million in unspent Measure G Reserves, we are receiving a "final payout" of Measure G funds of more than $200,000 at the end of this month, and local property tax receipts are greater than expected allowing the District to provide a substantial "backfill" to Measure G lost revenues of perhaps as much as $500,000. Thus, while I continue to believe it prudent to temper our spending, I am also conscious of not "over-reacting" with unnecessary reductions that might adversely affect student success.

Keeping within the priorities and values provided by the PBC, I am budgeting small reductions in instructional costs which will be realized by eliminating heavily under-enrolled sections; reducing operating costs in CIETL; defunding the Trustee's Project Fund; eliminating the Grants Development Office; employing small operational reductions in Library services; slightly reducing the funding of peer mentorship programs; eliminating some General Fund and Measure G funding in Workforce Development; shifting some counseling funds to resources available with the new Student Success and Support Program; shifting Veteran's Center funds permanently to the General Fund; and shifting some Measure G supported Financial Aid services to the General Fund.

In consultation with Chief Business Officer, Vickie Nunes, we estimate that these reductions and shifted resource allocations will result in a reduction of about $600,000 from funds currently tied to Measure G. These reductions, along with the resources we have identified to carry us through the coming year, and with further time to analyze and plan in 2014-2015, give me confidence that the college can survive the loss of Measure G funds with a robust budget that allows us to effectively serve our students. 

My thanks to everyone who participated in the expenditure prioritization process: Your patience, professionalism, and dedication, are what makes Cañada College such a special place.

Announcing the Colt Academy

A new program is being piloted this summer. The Community of Leadership and Transfer Success (COLTS) Academy is a 4-day student support program that begins on Monday, July 28 and ends on Thursday, July 31st. This summer program was created through a collaborative effort across many departments and student support programs. The steering committee consists of representatives from Counseling, ASCC, A2B, BTO, TRIO, STEM, Transfer Center, Career Center, EOPS/CalWORKS, Learning Center, and Outreach. We hope to also include faculty, the financial aid office, and the Welcome Center.

The purpose of the Academy is for students to:

1. Connect – meet fellow Cañada students, faculty, and staff.
2. Lead – learn their leadership style and how and when to apply it.
3. Succeed – walk away with a Transfer Success Portfolio equipped with tools and resources for college success.

We hope to serve 50 new students in this summer pilot; the target group will be first-time freshmen who have completed our Priority Enrollment Program (PEP). COLTS Academy will feature fun and interactive workshops, a powerful mix of peer leaders who will be the students’ mentors-for-the-day, free academic resources, and an amazing opportunity for students to get a head start on their academic career at Cañada College.

Some of the activities will include:

• Exploring learning styles
• The Growth Mindset (developing your brain like a muscle)
• First-year survival (tips and tools on how to be academically prepared)
• Transfer 101 (the fundamentals of understanding transfer)
• Financial aid and budgeting
• “Who you are matters” (exploring the student experience)
• Career Exploration
• How to get involved (with ASCC!)
• And so much more! 

If you or your department would like to contribute or volunteer for COLTS Academy, please contact our steering committee at (650) 306-3111 or email iwillsucceed@my.smccd.edu.

Cañada College Students in CSU Summer Arts Program

Two of our MART students have been accepted into the CSU Summer Arts program. Sharon Wong and Ace Del Rosario are the students, admitted via portfolio review, to the program.

The CSU Summer Arts animation series has been running for several years, and during the six-week program, students work with and are mentored by artists from studios such as Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and Pixar, as well as CSU animation faculty. The students make professional and peer contacts, with the goal of producing a portfolio- or demo reel ready piece of work by the end of the program.

Summer Arts is a very competitive program, with students from all over California applying. That we had two accepted speaks volumes about the dedication and effort of our students and the quality of the work they produce.

Sarahi Espinoza Honored at the White House

Cañada College Broadcast Journalism Major, Sarahi Espinoza, was named one of 10 DACA recipients of the Champions of Change award by the Obama administration.

Espinosa was brought to the United States from Mexico by her parents when she was just four-years-old. She moved back and forth between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, living with relatives and friends. It was a difficult transition and her father eventually moved back to Mexico. When she turned 16, Espinosa’s mother left for Mexico, but Espinosa remained behind to live with her brother’s family and finish high school at North Hollywood High School. After graduating from high school in 2008, Espinosa moved back to the Bay Area to live with a sister in East Palo Alto. She worked as a babysitter and registered for classes at Foothill College as an AB540 student. That spring she learned that her dad was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Her mother was caring for him, but they did not have enough money to pay their bills. Espinosa dropped out of school and began babysitting full time to send money to her parents.

In 2011, her father passed away. At that point, she was determined to go back to school to earn her college degree. She learned about Redwood City's Cañada College from Educators for Faire Consideration (E4FC) and was told to contact Adriana Fernandez, a student at Cañada, who put her in touch with Margie Carrington and Trish Guerrara.

She applied for DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status in 2012. As one of 600,000 recipients, Espinoza became eligible to get a driver's license and a job. She now works for the Girl Scouts of Northern California and teaches in environmental science and technology programs.

After enrolling at Cañada College, Sarahi taught herself how to program so she could build a website (www.sarahi.tv) to educate other DACA recipients about scholarship opportunities. (DACA recipients are given a 2-year deportation deferment.) It was this website that got the attention of the White House.

ABC7 News broadcast live from the campus with a story on Sarahi.

English Instructor Doniella Maher

Doniella Maher, currently an adjunct in our English Department, will be joining the full time ranks in the fall. Doniella has taught for the past four years as an adjunct member of the faculty at Chabot College, City College of San Francisco, and Cañada College. Now she is thrilled to be joining Cañada as a fulltime tenure track faculty member.

Doniella grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She completed half of her Bachelor’s degree coursework in Florence, earning an Italian Studies degree from CSU Sacramento. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature. She also earned a Certificate to

Teach Post-Secondary Reading and Learning from CSU-Fullerton. Her scholarly emphasis and specialty area is contemporary Italian literature and critical theory, but her personal interests have led to an in-depth study of immigrant literature from all over the world. This study has led to a great desire to explore the unique stories in our own diverse classrooms.

Her love of history, art and the social sciences of led her to further pursue an understanding of the social context and artistic movements out of which literature emerges.

Third Annual Athletic Hall of Fame

The 3rd Annual Cañada College Hall of Fame Dinner was held on June 7, 2014 at the Elks Club in San Mateo.

Inductees Dennis Trixler (Men's Golf), Rocky Maguire (Men's Tennis), Frank Mangiola (Men's Soccer Coach), Sheryle Cattaneo Wienckowski (Women's Soccer), John DeFoe (Basketball), Roger Keilig (Baseball), and Eliezer "Polla" Garibay (Men's Soccer) were honored, along with

Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year Sarah Rotter (Women's Golf) and

Dylan Cook (Baseball). 

The highlight of the evening came when former Major League standout Moises Alou (Baseball) was honored with the Colts Lifetime Achievement Award. 

The evening served as a fundraiser for Cañada Athletics. 

Congratulations to Mike Garcia and the Hall of Fame Committee for a successful and memorable event!

Alaa Aissi Awarded Prestigious Scholarship

Alaa Aissi

2014 Cañada Graduate Alaa Aissi has been awarded the Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship from UC Berkeley. The scholarship is the most prestigious and the highest honor awarded by the university to an undergraduate. It attracts, retains, and graduates the most sought-after students in the world. After the pool of over 90,000 Cal applicants is thoroughly reviewed, only the top 1 percent of incoming students are invited to be interviewed by Berkeley faculty. From there only two hundred students receive the scholarship. Benefits of the scholarship include a Faculty Mentor, research fellowship opportunity, further networking with faculty and fellow scholars throughout their academic careers, along with a monetary award. Upon receiving this honor, Alaa expressed, “I am humbled by the opportunity to have received this scholarship and to be a part of the Regents’ and Chancellor¹s Scholars Association. I am looking forward to being lauded at the Chancellor¹s residence at this fall’s reception and advance my capacity to contribute to my community."

Huang Joins A2B Staff

Tracy Huang

Tracy Huang will join the research and grant program staff early in June. For the past 10 years, she has been a research analyst at SRI International – conducting research in early childhood and K-12 education, including school readiness, early childhood program evaluation, services for young children with disabilities, and educational assessment. She has also provided evaluation consultation and services to a variety of agencies, including recipients of the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund (i3); San Francisco Unified School District; and county mental health service agencies in California. In addition, she has worked at the City University of New York’s assessment and institutional research department. She holds a Ed.D from Teachers College, Columbia University. Please welcome Tracy to Cañada College.

Theater Lobby Renovation

Lobby today

Last fall, Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management, Jose Nuñez, initiated a project to complete a facelift of the Theater Lobby using District Deferred Maintenance and remaining Bond funds. To fulfill this initiative, President Buckley assembled a project group, which included faculty and staff from the college’s Performing Arts and Art programs as well as Interior Design Professor Elsa Torres. Professor Torres included three of her students who had the opportunity to work closely with the architectural firm, LCA Architects. 

The group has met several times over the past couple of months to assist in developing design ideas which would include: improving display cases for student art work, new carpeting, new doors, baffling panels, and light fixtures. The goal has been to develop a more inviting and modern lobby to welcome the community and our students. 

Proposal rendering

Architect Brent Randall, listening to the ideas and practical needs of the users, incorporated them into a proposed design. He indicated how much he enjoyed working with the Interior Design students and how impressed he was with the creativity, enthusiasm, and insight they brought to the project.

In addition to the Theater Lobby, the refurbishment project includes replacing carpeting and lights in the Theater House itself. The carpets and lights have not been updated in more than a decade, during the last theater refurbishment. Current planning includes additional baffling on the west interior to limit noise from reaching the second floor walkway that overlooks the Lobby. Should there be no unforeseen circumstances that might delay the project, work could begin as early as this summer.

Meet Lale Yurtseven, New Business Instructor

Lale Yurtseven

Please welcome Lale Yurtseven, who will be joining our full-time Business faculty. Ms. Yurtseven will be teaching courses across the Business curriculum.

Ms. Yurtseven is Turkish, grew up in Germany, and is multi-lingual, speaking English, German, and Turkish.

She holds an M.B.A. in International Management and a B.A. in International Relations from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has been an adjunct faculty member, teaching Business, at both De Anza and West Valley Colleges for over eight years. She has also served as a grant manager promoting business and education collaboration throughout the California Community Colleges system.

She started an Entrepreneurship Center at West Valley College, where she counseled students and community members who are interested in starting a business.

Prior to her experience in education, Ms. Yurtseven worked in management positions at both fortune 500 companies as well as startup companies. She also founded an information technology company, and continues to serve on its board to this day.

Andrés Roemer to Give Keynote at Graduation

Dr. Andrés Roemer, the Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco, is a diplomat, journalist, civil servant, and scholar. He was born and raised in Mexico City and has earned degrees from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the grandson of orchestra conductor Ernesto Roemer and has had a career as a shaper of policy and opinion in Mexico on political, social, economic and cultural matters. The recipient of various cultural awards and prizes, he was the creator and producer of popular TV Azteca Network and Project 40 programs including Between the Public and Private, In the ring, Think about Thinking, Ciudad de las Ideas, and the Roemer Report.

He has authored 16 books and 2 stage plays that examine such diverse topics as: happiness, art, love, water, soccer, law, economics, crime, evolutionary psychology, government, and public policy. He is a passionate communicator of humanistic science. He is a tireless advocate for human rights, and a leader in building firmer Mexican and American political, economic, and cultural relations. He is the Curator and Founder of the City of Ideas and Brilliant Minds International Festival, which is held annually in the Mexican State of Puebla.

Dr. Roemer is a Senior Visiting Scholar in Cultural Codes and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

He has been awarded numerous national and international awards, including the prestigious Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from the University of California, Berkeley, for his outstanding public service to the people of Mexico. He has been the recipient of the Promotion of Science Award, presented by Nobel Prize winner, Mario Molina and the President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, Arturo Menchaca. In 2009, he received a National Theatre Award for best author for his play,The Other Einstein. Finally, in 2006, the Microsoft Corporation created the Andres Roemer Award, in his honor, given annually to distinguished individuals for their service to the worldwide community of scholars.

Dr. Roemer is among Mexico's most internationally recognized public intellectuals. Devoting his personal and professional life to empowering individuals to question accepted beliefs and the order of society's complexities, he has emerged as one of the most distinguished Mexican leaders of the 21st Century.

Paul Roscelli Presented Above and Beyond Award

On May 13, 2014, the SMCCCD Board of Trustees bestowed on Paul Roscelli, Cañada College Professor of Economics, the Above and Beyond Award. Paul was honored for his outstanding work as advisor to Beta Zeta Nu, Cañada College’s Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the international honors society for two-year colleges. Over the past decade, in large part due to Paul’s extraordinary efforts, the chapter has been honored as one of the premier chapters in the nation.

In 2013, it was recognized at the honor society's international convention as a distinguished chapter and was later and named the Most Distinguished Chapter in the Nevada-California Region. Beta Zeta Nu also received PTK’s College Project Award for its organization of the Evening of Academic Excellence, which annually recognizes the area's top high school scholars and received the Honors in Action Award for a study on academic integrity. Beta Zeta Nu was the only West Coast chapter to be named to the Top 10 Most Distinguished Chapters polling in 2013. It was the second consecutive year Beta Zeta Nu earned the honor.

In January 2014, Paul was named a Phi Theta Kappa Faculty Scholar. He was just one of 26 community college instructors selected from among nearly 3,000 Phi Theta Kappa Chapters. He was invited to attend the Phi Theta Kappa Annual Faculty Scholar Conference in the British Virgin Islands. As a Faculty Scholar, Paul will lead Honor Student seminar discussions at PTK's Honors Institute, which will be held in June at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Cañada Hosts ACCEL

On May 2, 2014, the Adult Education, College, and Career Educational Leadership Consortium (ACCEL) held a major meeting at Canada College. Over sixty teachers, professors, student services professionals, and administrators spent a productive and inspiring afternoon. The ACCEL work is a mobilization in response to the AB 86 legislation with leadership from the three colleges in our district and the major adult schools along with support from community based organizations, non-profits, libraries, the County Office of Education, and other providers of adult education across the county. This work is funded by the AB 86 Adult Education Consortium Planning Grants in which the state provided $22.5 million. The goal is to redesign an educational system that creates linkages for students across adult schools and community colleges to accelerate academic and career success.

Four teams have been formed to cover the county–Coast, South, Central, and North. Co-directing two of the groups from Cañada are Jenny Castello, Professor of ESL, and Nadya Sigona, Counselor. We also have Dr. Larry Buckley, President, Dr. David Johnson, Dean, Diana Tedone, Librarian, Ray Lapuz, Professor of Mathematics, and Noel Chavez, Outreach Coordinator, serving in various capacities. Codirecting this entire project for the district is Dr Gregory Anderson, Vice President of Instruction.

In less than a year, the ACCEL coalition will prepare a comprehensive plan for the ongoing coordination and integration of adult education. Your colleagues mentioned above along with partners from across the county are laying the groundwork for ongoing funding of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Student Satisfaction Survey

The Office of Planning, Research and Institutional Effectiveness recently completed a student satisfaction survey of Cañada students. The results provide a remarkable picture of our student body's experience here at the college. The surveys were distributed via email and we received more than 1,000 student responses to sixty questions. The questions covered their background, goals, and experiences with both academic and student services on campus. Among the findings:

1. 97.2% of students indicated that they would recommend Cañada College to a family member or friends.  
2. While some current students said they would have preferred to begin their educations at a CSU or UC, 92.3% said that they would start at Cañada College if they had it to do all over again. 
3. 93.1% of students rated their education experience at Cañada as “Excellent” or “Above Average.” 

Among our favorite comments, one student wrote, “I don’t think I would still be in school if I had ended up elsewhere.” And, nothing beats this comment: “Cañada College is the best in the bay area.”

Three Cañada Students Win Kitchen Design Competition

Anne Marie Cappelli

Debbie Nash, Jie Yang, and Anne Marie Cappelli took the top three spots in this year’s National Kitchen & Bath Association Design Charette hosted by Cañada College.

The three interior design students will receive a $50 scholarship and certificate of achievement. Their entries will also be forwarded to the National GE Charette where they will be eligible for the top prize of a $5,000 scholarship.

The competition challenged students from around the country to design a kitchen utilizing specific General Electric appliances within a defined space. They had three hours to complete the assignment using drafting pencils, calculators, architectural scale, a drafting triangle and NKBA template.

Cappelli, who left a career in fashion design to pursue interior design, won first place in the Cañada competition. “I knew at a young age I would pursue a job in a creative field. I was torn between interior design and fashion design.”

Cappelli worked as a designer and patternmaker for more than 20 years in Toronto, Canada and San Francisco. While in the Bay Area, she took a part-time job working for an interior design retailer. This reignited her passion for interior design.

“I looked into many options for colleges and chose Cañada because of its reputation and its evening classes,” she said. “I have completed the basic core of classes for the certificate and I’m looking forward to doing an internship with a firm that specializes in kitchen and bath design.”

Yang, who finished second in the competition, came to the Bay Area four years ago from Shanghai, China. She commutes from Fremont to attend design classes at Cañada. “The instructors and staff are really friendly and knowledgeable,” she said.

Like Cappelli, Nash was also employed in the fashion industry, serving as a vice president of merchandising at Gap Inc., Gymboree Corp., and Esprit De Corp. “I needed more balance in my life,” Nash said. “I decided to go back to school and get my Interior Design Certificate and Kitchen and Bath Certificate.”

Last year, Nash started Nash Design Studio, her own interior design business, which focuses on home remodels and additions as well as kitchen and bath design. She will graduate this fall with her Kitchen and Bath Certificate from Cañada.

Cañada Alum Froilan Malit Works on Labor Immigration Issues

Cañada College alum Froilan Malit is helping improve working conditions for migrant laborers in the Middle East with an eye towards returning to Oxford University to complete his PhD in Politics and International Relations and eventually a law degree.

“I conduct labor policy studies on low-skilled labor migrants – mainly Asian and African workers – and develop potential policy recommendations to improve their working conditions and rights in the region,” Malit said. His studies have been published in various policy institutes, including Migration Policy Institute, Al Monitor, and working papers at Cornell University, where he earned a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations (with honors) and MPA in Public Administration. Malit is also writing a book on Philippine labor migration to the Middle East and hopes to have it published later this year.

Malit is working for the Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and as a short-term consultant for the International Organization for Migration, where he focuses on the Middle East and North Africa region and the Arabian Peninsula. “In particular, I conduct field-based interviews with ambassadors, diplomats, welfare officers, migrants, civil society groups, government labor and interior officials, trying to determine gaps and solutions on the recruitment regulations for migrant labor in the Middle East region.”

His sister, Cañada College student Matet Malit recently finished a six-month study of Filipino domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates that included an internship with Migrante International in Dubai, a Filipino labor rights group.

Shortly after entering Cañada College in 2006, Malit approached Chuck Carlson, professor of history, and asked him for some advice on classes and subjects he was curious about. “He was an outstanding student in my African American History class and dove into the material with a great deal of interest and a deep desire to learn every aspect of American culture. As a professor, he is the kind of student you dream about getting – always going above and beyond what’s required of him,” Carlson said at the time.

Elizabeth Terzakis, a reading professor, saw the same qualities in Malit. “Froilan’s enthusiasm and love of learning were apparent from the moment he entered my Reading class, as was his willingness to share his insights and time with others,” she said. “He added a level of energy and seriousness to the classes he took with me that helped everyone involved to get the most out of their time.”

Froilan Malit said he eventually wants to pursue a law degree at Harvard or Yale with a focus on international labor law.

“I want to thank the Cañada College faculty, staff, and TRiO Program tutors who unconditionally supported me throughout my career,” he said.  “Student organizations, including Phi Theta Kappa, UN - Cañada College Chapter, and Political Awareness Club, also inspired me to work harder throughout my time at Cañada.”

SFSU Nursing Program Information Session at CSM

Sequoia Hospital and San Francisco State University will host an information session from 1:10 to 2:30 pm on Wednesday, April 16, regarding their Baccalaureate Nursing Program at Cañada College. The information session will be held at the College of San Mateo,  Building 10, Room 195. The information session is free and open to anyone interested in pursuing a degree in nursing.

The program was founded in 2004 as a four-way partnership between the Sequoia Health Care District, Sequoia Hospital, Cañada College, and San Francisco State University. The program provides an additional 40 places each year for students interested in and qualified for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and helps address the nursing shortage in the San Francisco Bay Area and southern portion of San Mateo County.

All courses are taught by San Francisco State University faculty on the Cañada College campus. Sequoia Hospital provides most of the clinical placements for student in the program. In addition, the hospital supports students with various scholarship opportunities.

The program prepares students for entry level nursing positions in hospitals, community clinics, long term care, home care, and community health agencies. Graduates work as staff nurses in the following areas: maternity, pediatrics, medical-surgical nursing, gerontology, psychiatric/mental health, and public/community health nursing.

Groundbreaking Ceremony Celebrates Solar Panel Project

The San Mateo County Community College District held a special groundbreaking ceremony for a new solar project at Cañada College that will help cut the school's energy costs in half.

Dignitaries including Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee, San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees President Karen Schwarz, Karim Allana, principal at Allana Buick & Bers Inc., and SMCCCD Chancellor Ron Galatolo were invited to turn the "first shovel of dirt" on the project. A large crowd was welcomed by Cañada College President Larry Buckley, who also took part in the groundbreaking.

This is the first renewable energy project undertaken by the district.

The project, approved by the Board of Trustees in January, includes installation of ground-mounted solar panels on a 3.5-acre vacant project site located adjacent to the school’s athletic fields and just above the Farm Hill Boulevard entrance to campus. Jose Nuñez, vice chancellor of facilities planning and operations, said Cañada was chosen for the site because it has the greatest exposure to the sun year-round and is the least visually obtrusive to neighbors.

The timing for the project was ideal since Proposition 39, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act passed in 2012, allocates revenue to local education agencies to support energy efficiency and alternative energy projects. Prop 39 gives the district $554,000 in funding and the California Solar Initiative will provide about $870,000 in rebates over a five-year period.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held upon completion of the project sometime this summer.

Cañada Welcomes 200 High School Students to Campus March 28

Cañada College will roll out the red carpet for more than 200 high school students on Friday, March 28 as part of Preview Day.

Cañada College Preview Day is the major outreach event of the spring. Students from the Sequoia Union High School District and Half Moon Bay High School will learn about different academic majors, how to apply for financial aid, and Cañada's popular Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Center.

"This gives our faculty and staff the opportunity to meet with hundreds of students on one day to explain their programs," said Noel Chavez, Cañada's college recruiter and a former Cañada student. "High school students will learn about our academic and support programs."

Chavez said students will about different degrees offered at the college, student support programs, extracurricular activities and more.

For more information, visit Cañada's Preview Day website or call Chavez at (650) 306-3444.

Latin American Studies Program Prepares Students for Changes in California

As the Latino population in California becomes the single largest ethnic group in the state it changes the political and social dynamics. Latin American and Latino/a Studies at Cañada College is a unique interdisciplinary program that examines these changes and prepares students for careers in this new environment.

“We combine courses from multiple academic departments to give students a broad understanding of historical, political, social, geographic and cultural aspects of Latin America and Latino/a communities,” said Alison Field, Professor of History at Cañada. “Coursework in social sciences, literature, music, drama and Spanish language provides a uniquely comprehensive approach to historical and contemporary issues as well as questions of identity, heritage and creative expression.”

Yolanda Valenzuela, professor of English and Reading at Cañada, said the Latin American and Latino/a Studies Program opens the door to a range of career opportunities for students. “The continuing importance of Latin America for the U.S. and the growing Latino/a population have produced an increasing need for trained persons with a knowledge of Latin American and Latino/a communities to work in social service, government and foreign service, non-governmental organizations, law, teaching, business and other fields.”

 Valenzuela said students can transfer to UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, San Jose State, San Francisco State, Santa Clara, Notre Dame de Namur and other universities to pursue degrees in Latin American and Latino/a Studies.

Cañada’s Latin American and Latino/a Studies Program is the only one of its kind at a community college in San Mateo County. Students can also double major in Spanish.

For more information, contact Professor Field at fielda@smccd.edu or Professor Valenzuela at valenzuelay@smccd.edu.

Lauren Rankin Named to National Community College Academic Team

A Cañada College accounting major who enrolled in college as a high school freshman and currently lives in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood helping people with drug and alcohol dependency has been named to the Phi Theta Kappa Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team.


Lauren Rankin, who grew up in San Carlos and was home-schooled until she enrolled at Cañada, said she is honored by the $1,500 scholarship and designation as a Coca-Cola Gold Scholar but will not be traveling to Orlando, Florida in April for the convention because of her volunteer work. “I believe the best leaders are those who serve others. Being ahead several years in school allowed me to take some time off from academics and really focus on my leadership and spiritual growth by serving others.”


Rankin is a volunteer at San Francisco City Impact in the Tenderloin, a ministry dedicated to helping intervene on behalf of the people in one of the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods. “Initially, I wanted to serve in a Third World country but after visiting the Tenderloin I realized there was far too much need locally,” Rankin said.


As an intern with City Impact, she works at the organization’s thrift store which aids customers who struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction. She also attends two different classes designed to better her leadership, deepen her faith, and improve her communication skills. “Several times a week I go to the Jefferson Hotel which houses some of the neighborhood’s poorest residents. At the hotel, I go door-to-door creating relationships with the residents by handing out food, encouragement, and prayer. During the week I also lead volunteers into the low-income hotels for meal deliveries and on prayer walks and street ministry at night. It is my responsibility to keep my team safe.”


Lauren’s sister, Rachel, was also a Cañada College student and named to the PTK Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team.


“They were both wonderful students and deserving of the honor,” said Paul Roscelli, economics professor and faculty advisor for Cañada’s award-winning PTK chapter. 


Rankin has applied to UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara and hopes to become a certified public accountant and work in a major firm. “Eventually, down the road, I would love to use my knowledge of leadership, finance and management to keep serving people because that is where I find the most joy and fulfillment.”

Cañada Captures the Golden Horseshoe Trophy

A dominating three-hit shutout by Cañada pitcher Sam Alton lifted the Colts to a 4-0 victory over San Mateo County rival Skyline and gave the inaugural Golden Horseshoe Trophy to the Colts.

The Golden Horseshoe is a new trophy awarded to the winner of the annual home contest between Cañada and their two San Mateo County rivals – Skyline College and the College of San Mateo. The Colts alternate hosting CSM and Skyline each season.
Supporting Alton's sensational pitching performance was shortstop Kyle Zirbes, who went 2 for 3 at the plate and stole two bases. Right fielder Cody Barden went 1 for 2 and drove in a pair of runs for Cañada.

The Colts have now won seven of their past eight games and are 12-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play.Cañada will try to extends its winning streak when it travels to the College of San Mateo on Tuesday, March 18 at 2:30 pm.

Five Cañada Grads Start Design Group

Five Cañada College Multimedia Art & Technology graduates have started a new design group called The Think Tanks and hope to improve their portfolios while helping to meet the artistic needs of the Peninsula and South Bay community.

“We all missed working on projects together after we left Cañada,” said Amanda Newlove. “It’s rough finding jobs in this economy so we decided to make our own work. The goal is to get some real world experience while improving our portfolios and resumes with some up-to-date projects.”

The creative talents behind the project include:

Alan Wong – Wong has a degree in fine art from Academy of Art College and specializes in many aspects of fine art but is most passionate about character animation. His ultimate career goal is to work for an animation studio or gaming company.

Amanda Newlove – Newlove earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from UC Davis and returned to school to earn a degree in 3D Animation and Video Game Art at Cañada. She is interested in project management for creative teams.

Mike Smith – An Eagle Scout from Belmont, and graduate from UC Davis with a BA in Rhetoric and Communication and a minor in Dramatic and Fine Arts. He has been a Realtor for the past 11 years and is currently taking multimedia courses at Cañada to earn a degree in 3D Animation and Video Game Art. His career goal is to make movies, TV shows, video games, or digital graphic novels.

Spencer Hollingsworth – Hollingsworth has three art degrees from Cañada: Studio, General, and Multimedia. He has always enjoyed drawing, especially comics, and has a great sense of graphic design and visual storytelling.

Steven Johnson – Johnson has an extensive background in the video game industry. He is currently creating the artwork and animation for an independent mobile game to be released later this year.

Paul Naas, the Multimedia Program Director at Cañada College, said the students have a good opportunity to succeed in their new venture. “They are all extremely talented and driven,” he said. “I have no doubt they’ll produce great work for clients.”

Newlove said The Think Tanks is not a full-time job for any of the team members at this point. “We all have crazy, busy lives but we are making time to work on some awesome projects.”

She said the team’s strengths include illustration and animation and that will be the initial focus for the new group. “Our clients can expect great customer service and professional results,” she said. “We’ve just started the group but we already have a website and we are currently working on the artwork for a zombie-themed board game. It’s very exciting.”

Anybody interested in contacting The Think Tanks can reach them through their website at thinktanksart.com or contact Project Manager Amanda Newlove at amandanewlove@gmail.com.

 

Dreamworks Animator to Discuss Careers in Computer Animation

Milana Huang, character technical director at Dreamworks Animation, will discuss careers in computer animation at this week’s Cañada College STEM Speaker Series.

Huang’s lecture is titled, “Paper to Performance: Careers in Computer Animation.” The lecture will be held on Wednesday, March 12 from 5 to 6 pm in Building 6, Room 102. It’s free and open to the public.

Held in both the fall and spring semesters, the STEM Speaker Series features professionals from various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields who discuss their careers, research, and educational paths. The speakers also provide academic and career advice to current and future college students.

Huang has worked at Dreamworks Animation for the past 14 years in the Character Technical Director group. She has collaborated on films such as Shrek, Madagascar, Rise of the Guardians, and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Huang earned a master’s degree through the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, Electrical and Computer Science Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a double major in Art and Computer Science.