Former Middle College Student Now Working in Design

Landing a job as a graphic designer takes hard work, determination, and creativity, lessons Sarah Wiener learned as a Cañada College student.

Wiener recently landed a design job at Triple Tree, a San Francisco company specializing in socially and environmentally friendly custom-branded merchandise. The company started making products for schools and sports teams in 2010 and has now grown to serve other sustainable-minded businesses.

Wiener said her official job title is project manager/graphic designer but, in practice, this means she wears many different hats. “I assemble presentations for clients to give them ideas for potential products, write invoices for clients and purchase orders for vendors, and help clients optimize existing artwork for printing,” she said.

She said students in creative fields such as graphic design need to learn how to follow guidelines and manage their time, two skills emphasized in the Cañada College Multimedia Art & Technology Program. “To make art for a living, you can’t simply wait until you’re inspired to get it done – your deadline may be long past by then and you definitely won’t get paid. Similarly, your art director won’t be pleased if you’re in a blue period but they asked you for red, or if you like circles better than squares. Instructors at Cañada make sure you’re as prepared as possible to be a professional by setting students up for success.”

Paul Naas, Professor and Program Coordinator for the Multimedia Art and Technology Program at Cañada, said Wiener was the type of student professors love to have in class.

“She was focused, driven, determined to learn all she could, using the critique and feedback she received to improve the quality of her work,” he said. “She took full advantage of the opportunities the department offers, both in the classes she took, the chance to help other students as a lab assistant, and the advice and suggestions of the faculty. We’re sorry to see her go, but thrilled that she’s landed a job that fits here skills so well.”

Wiener began attending Cañada as a middle college student and graduated with her high school diploma in 2005. She came back to the school to earn credits to transfer to UC Berkeley, where she graduated in 2009. She earned a second degree at the Academy of Art in 2012 but has returned to Cañada to take some continuing education classes to learn new skills.

She said students need to make the most of the resources Cañada provides. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” she said. “Cañada’s instructors can help you transfer, teach you new skills, or simply give you good advice that you can use in your profession.”

Cañada College Launches a Digital Marketing Campaign in Mexico

Cañada College has launched a digital marketing campaign in Mexico to attract qualified applications from prospective students. The campaign includes a Spanish-language landing page, banner ads, and a white paper called “How to get into top U.S. universities.”

The digital campaign aims to educate prospective Mexican students on the benefits of starting their higher education in the U.S. at a community college. Students can earn an associate degree within two to three years for as little as $20,000 and transfer to top four-year universities in the U.S. Cañada College has transfer agreement guarantees with universities within the California State University (CSU) system, University of California (UC) system, and select private universities including Notre Dame de Namur and Golden Gate University. The campaign also features former Cañada students who have transferred and graduated from four-year universities including UC Berkeley.

Cañada College is recognized for its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Professor Amelito Enriquez received the Presidential Award for Excellence in in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring by President Barack Obama in 2011. Cañada’s Math Jam Program, an intensive math placement preparation and campus-wide success program, was recently named America’s top community college program for increasing achievement for Latino students.

Cañada College is located in Redwood City at the edge of Silicon Valley between San Jose and San Francisco. Its location provides students with internship opportunities in high-tech companies. The college has state-of-the-art computer and science labs. The Library and Learning Center provide academic support services such as free one-on-one tutoring and more than 5,000 books and journals both onsite and online. Cañada’s smaller community of less than 7,000 students provides a friendly, student-centered, learning environment.

STEM Speaker Series: Polina Segalova

Polina Segalova, a senior design engineer at Stryker Endoscopy, will be featured at the STEM Speaker Series lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The lecture will be held from 5 to 6 pm in Building 6, Room 102. It is free and open to the public.

Segalova's lecture is titled "From Particle Physics to Medical Devices: A Story of Taking Risks and Pushing Boundaries."

Segalova earned a Ph.D in mechanical engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford. Her research focused on medical devices for the cardiovascular system. The title of her dissertation was "Evaluating Design and Safety of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Endografts."

Segalova said a lot of her work was computational - solving fluid dynamic problems. She also built systems to validate the model results she was getting.

Segalova currently designs tools for Stryker Endoscopy to facilitate minimally invasive surgery. She is passionate about medical devices and has consulted for numerous medical device startups in the Bay Area.

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.

San Francisco Leader Emilio Cruz to Lecture at STEM Speaker Series

Emilio Cruz, former Chief of Staff to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and current Assistant General Manager for Infrastructure at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, will be the next speaker in the STEM Speaker Series at Cañada College.

Cruz will discuss, “Opportunities in Capital Project Implementation”. His talk is free and open to the public. It will be held from 5 to 6 pm in Building 6, Room 102 on the Cañada campus, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City.

Cruz oversees the SFPUC’s $9.8 billion capital program for the water, power, and sewer enterprises. He has held various public and private sector positions including Director of Facilities and Operations for the Port of San Francisco; General Manager of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency; Vice President of URS Corporation; Director of Economic Development for the City and County of San Francisco; Vice President and Partner of EPC Consultants; and Program Manager for the $1.5 billion Central Subway Program and Program Manager for the $4.2 billion Transbay Terminal Program.

He is a graduate of Stanford University, with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He has led numerous boards, including the San Francisco Board of Education, and San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR), for which he served as President and Vice President, respectively.

Held in both the fall and spring semesters, the STEM Speaker Series features professionals from various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields talking about their careers, research, and educational paths, as well as providing advice for current and future college students.

Student Uses Computer Language to Highlight America's Broken Immigration System

Cañada College student and East Palo Alto resident Sarahi Espinosa is using her website coding skills to help illustrate how America’s broken immigration system keeps her separated from her mother and prevents her from pursuing a college education.

Her activism and the website she's created has led to Espinosa being named a recipient of El Mensajero’s Mujeres Destacadas Award for extraordinary women making a difference in their community. It also landed her an invitation to a hackathon for DREAMers at LinkedIn headquarters where she met face-to-face with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and it has start-up companies asking her to sit on their boards.

“It’s been an amazing couple of months,” said the 23-year-old, who isn't even studying computer science. Instead, she's a broadcast journalism major.

It started in November when Espinoza was one of just 20 students nationally chosen to participate in a hackathon organized by FWD.us, an organization started by key leaders in the tech community to promote policies to keep the United States and its citizens competitive in a global economy—including comprehensive immigration reform and education reform.

Espinosa was chosen for the hackathon based on her website, www.sarahi.tv where she provides tips to low-income students to help them pursue their college education. She can relate to her audience because she shares their story.

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.

Despite the turbulent family life, Espinosa was an excellent student and natural leader. In her senior year, she was elected vice president of the student body, was named editor of the yearbook, and was president of her high school academy. UCLA recruited her based on her grades and extracurricular activities.

“I was stoked to go to UCLA but I never shared my immigration status with anyone,” she said. “I was afraid I would not get opportunities.”

She tried filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid but was told she needed a social security number to complete the form. “I was told financial aid is for residents and citizens,” she said. “I fell into depression and I was devastated.”

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.

“Sarahi reached out to me because she was really excited to go back to school but wanted to know about resources that would help her achieve her dreams,” Fernandez said. “I provided her with contact information for Margie Carrington (Cañada's Director of Financial Aid) and Trish Gueverra (Director of Beating the Odds, a peer mentor program at the school).

Espinosa said she enrolled at Cañada because it was community-oriented and had great support for undocumented students. “I wanted to feel welcomed,” she said. “I didn’t want to feel like a foreigner. Once I enrolled and began classes I immediately felt like I was part of the school.”

While Cañada made an impression on Espinosa, she was also making an impression on the school. Professor Anniqua Rana taught Espinosa in her English 100 class. “From the first day, I knew that she would be a pleasure to teach. She is very focused, friendly, and professional. Her optimism helps her overcome all the challenges she has had to face, and she likes to share what she has learned with her friends and classmates, whom she goes out of her way to help.”

To improve her website, Espinosa taught herself how to write HTML code for WordPress at Code.org. “That’s why I wanted to be part of the hackathon,” she said. While she was a little behind in coding and admittedly a little intimidated about applying for the hackathon, she was eager to learn. “Steve Jobs didn’t know to code or program but he had ideas,” she said.

At the hackathon, Espinosa was chosen as a group leader. Her group created a website, unheardvoices.us. They used comedy to illustrate immigration reform. “We did the Harlem Shake to attract viewers,” she said. “Once they got into the site they learned about immigration reform and efforts around the country to change the system. We give people links to take action, to contact their congressional representatives.”

It was at the hackathon that Espinosa met Zuckerberg. “He was a very humble person and very passionate about immigration reform,” she said. “It was great to see him bring awareness to the issue.”

After the event, she was contacted by a number of tech start ups and other companies. They wanted her ideas about how to improve their websites and, in one case, to serve as keynote speaker for a corporate event.

Ideally, Espinosa said she hopes her website and new found corporate connections can help make a difference in immigration reform. Her mother has filed a petition through the legal system to return to the U.S. but it has been stuck in limbo for years. “If we can bring awareness to the issue by sharing our stories, I’m hoping we can bring about change,” she said.

STEM Speaker Series Features Stanford Grad Student

How does the bacterium Helicobacter pylori survive and persist in the stomach? Julie Huang, a fourth year graduate student in Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford, will share her findings in the second lecture of the popular Cañada College STEM Speaker Series.

Held in both the fall and spring semesters, the STEM Speaker Series features professionals from various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields talking about their careers, research, and educational paths, as well as providing advice for current and future college students. The event is free and open to the public.

Cathy Lipe, Director of Cañada's Math, Engineering, & Science Achievement Program, said Huang was one of the most interesting presenters at the fall STEM Research Poster Expo. "She is going to be of particular interest to biology students and students interested in careers in medicine," Lipe said.

Huang grew up in East Los Angeles and is a first generation college student. She attended the California Institute of Technology where she received a Bachelor of Science in Geobiology. After Caltech, Huang received a Fulbright Fellowship to spend a year doing research at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany. Her passion for scientific research motivated her to pursue a PhD in microbiology. Her research investigates how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori survives and persists in the stomach. 

H. pylori is a spiral-shaped bacterium commonly found in the stomach. The bacteria's shape and the way they move allow them to penetrate the stomach's protective mucous lining, where they produce substances that weaken the lining and make the stomach more susceptible to damage from gastric acids.The bacteria can also attach to cells of the stomach, causing stomach inflammation, and can stimulate the production of excess stomach acid. Over time, infection with the bacteria can also increase the risk of stomach cancer.

Although it is not known how H. pylori infection is spread, scientists believe it may be contracted through food and water. According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 20 percent of people under 40 years old and half of adults over 60 years old in the U.S. are infected, with higher rates in developing countries.

Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College Accreditation Fully Reaffirmed.

All three Colleges in the San Mateo County Community College District (Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College) were notified Friday (February 7) that their accreditation has been fully reaffirmed  by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

Each college has recommendations that require responses in its Midterm Report due in 2015/16.  In most cases, this is work that the colleges already have underway.

For more details specific to the ACCJC reaffirmation please reference the ACCJC website.