Black Student Union Hosts Black History Month Film Screening and Discussion

On February 25 the Cañada BSU (Black Student Union) held their Black History Month event: a screening of the acclaimed film, “The Hate U Give,” followed by a robust discussion and pledge to take action toward social justice. 

BSU members kicked off the event by serving delicious soul food to 30 attendees while they watched the film.  After the film, the members, along with Professor Lezlee Ware, facilitated a discussion around two questions: do you feel that your K-12 education prepared you for college, and have you ever had an encounter with the police, and if so, what was it like for you? 

Finally, attendees pledged a range of commitments, from being sure to get to know individuals in an effort to challenge their own bias, to fighting against racist systems of oppression and advocating for those negatively affected by those systems.

The BSU would like to thank all of the participants and partners who supported the event, either behind the scenes or for their presence alone.  A special thanks to Student Life and Leadership Manager, Michiko Kealoha, Interim Dean Matais Pouncil, President Jamillah Moore, Student Senate, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club, and Trustee Maurice Goodman.      

What's Happening at Cañada: Week of February 24, 2020

Week of February 24, 2020

February 25

Teatime with TRIO

12-1 p.m.

Building 9, Room 211

A time to sit down with TRIO staff and fellow students over a cup of coffee or tea to check in, play games, and find support. The coffee, tea, and cookies are free and all students are welcome to join.

February 26

Anime/Comic-Con Club Rush

9 a.m.- 1 p.m.

The Grove

Meet all the clubs and indulge in delicious sushi and famous mochi while learning about animation! Free food and giveaways to the first 100 with Cañada Spring 2019 Student Body Cards. 

STEM Speaker Series: Building and Managing Large Scale Applications

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

The featured speaker is Angel Gutierrez. Angel is a Site Reliability Engineering Manager, he studied computer science and has background in Software Engineering. Angel will be speaking on the importance of managing critical high scale applications.

February 27

Third Annual Awareness Summit

7:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

In an effort to address and aid important issues that affect our students (San Mateo County residents), Cañada College is hosting its Third Annual Awareness Summit themed around Housing and Food Insecurity -- issues that many of our students struggle with on a daily basis. RSVP here.

Men’s Baseball vs Ohlone College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Ohlone College!

February 28

The Fashion Department Welcome’s Guest Speaker Charlotte Kruk

7 p.m.

Building 3, Room 255

Artist/designer, Charlotte Kruk will speak in the Fashion Department. Charlotte creates from unusual items, sculptures that intrigue and she will bring the dramatic garments that break the wearable art rules!  Enjoy her fascinating yet whimsical twist on sustainability.  All are welcome to join this fun evening.  $5.00 donation at the door.  

March 2

Free Community Market

10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Lower Campus between Building 8 and the Bookstore

Want free groceries? We’ve got you covered. Enjoy fresh produce and healthy options- for free!

March 3

Men’s Baseball vs Skyline College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Skyline College!

March 4

STEM Speaker Series: Computational Approaches for Probing the Gut Microbiome

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

The featured speaker is Gabe Reder with Stanford University.

Concurrent Enrollment Students Recognized with Community Scholarship

Three Cañada College Concurrent Enrollment Students have been recognized with an impressive community-based scholarship. The Sequoia Awards offers scholarships to senior high school students who reside in the Redwood City community and actively volunteer their time. More than $2,200,000 in scholarship money has been awarded since 1993. This year, three of Cañada College’s concurrent enrollment students will receive this prestigious scholarship: Maria Casique, Eduardo Hinojosa and Leslie Zaragoza.

Maria is a part of both TRIO Upward Bound and Middle College High School. She has volunteered with the Upward Bound Scholars Advisory Team, the OYE Latinx Youth Conference Committee and Sequoia High Youth Advisory Board. Through each of these programs, Maria was able to listen to and voice the concerns of her community. She wants to focus on the education and health of her peers because she sees such a disparity between those who have resources and those who have yet to be connected. Maria won the top honor given at the Sequoia Awards and she hopes to attend a four-year university directly after Middle College graduation. 

Eduardo started at Summit High School before completing a semester at The School for Ethics and Global Leadership.  He then transferred to Woodside High School so he could attend Middle College. He enjoys mentoring younger students and says volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club and Books and Basketball has given him a sense of purpose and motivates him to do his best in school. He also volunteered with Meals on Wheels and liked helping a different segment of his community. He is hoping to study Applied Math and Computer Science in college and eventually wants to start a non-profit organization focused on keeping students in school and helping under-represented students get to college.

Leslie is in her last year of the TRIO Upward Bound program. Through her advocacy and leadership in the Dream Club at Sequoia High School, Leslie has helped raise scholarship funds for undocumented students. She has run workshops, planned banquets and presented to her peers on the needs of undocumented students and mixed status families. She has also been an active leader in the Upward Bound Scholars Advisory Team where she led her cohort of students in analysis of the goals and objectives of the program. Leslie leads by example and inspires all who work with her, both peers and adult allies alike. 

Each of these students has a bright future ahead of them.  This is only the first of many opportunities where they will be nominated as change-makers in their communities. Congratulations to each of them.

Cañada College Students Invited to Cannes Film Festival

For the third year in a row, Cañada College students have been invited to the Cannes Film Festival! The film festival is an annual event held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world.

Cañada College hosts an annual event called Campus Movie Fest, which provides the students with the tools to create a film and then submit their films to the Cannes Film Festival. This is the third consecutive year that Cañada College has had the privilege to send remarkable students to Cannes, via exclusive invitations. Overall, this is Cañada’s fourth time sending students to the festival. In addition, Cañada College is the only community college in the United States to participate in Campus Movie Fest, a national event which has the ability to offer this incredible opportunity to hard-working students.

This success is a testament to the value of community college. It's also worth noting that, as in the last two years, many of the students invited are women. In animation, women are historically underrepresented, so this is yet another well-deserved victory for this year’s invited animator’s/filmmakers: Adrian Affif, Elizabeth Birdwell, Tabitha Liu, Heather Theroff and Ivy Wooldridge. In addition, this is Ivy’s and Elizabeth's second Cannes invitation. 

Adrian’s film, "I Do Not Fear You," depicts an emotive story of a father and son who must learn to overcome challenges, such as threats and bullies, after moving to America.

Tabitha’s film, “Gacha,” tells the moving story of a young girl, growing into adulthood, who finds something she loves, loses it and recaptures it once more.

Heather’s film, “Don’t Blink,” follows the mysterious story of a detective, his coworker  and his boss working towards solving what they know to be a series of the largest known theft cases their city has ever experienced.  

Ivy Wooldridge’s and Elizabeth Birdwell’s film, “Hidden,” is about two brothers coping with the loss of their father, a government secret agent, in a small town in Oregon. When the boys work up their courage to enter his forbidden workshop, they find a gift from their father.

While it is not required to participate in Campus Movie Fest or the Cannes Film Festival, many of the students invited to the festival are products of the Cañada College Digital Art & Animation Department. This skilled department provides courses taught by faculty with extensive academic, professional and industry experience. Students are guided through the department's project-based courses to develop the knowledge and skills needed to incorporate the principles of visual communication in their work.

The 73rd Annual Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to take place from May 12-23 and,  as you can imagine, the trip to France to attend the Cannes Film Festival can be costly. With this, a donation fund has been established through the San Mateo Community Colleges Foundation for those who would like to contribute toward the students’ journies.

What's Happening at Cañada: Week of February 17, 2020

Week of February 17, 2020

February 18

Men’s Baseball vs Laney College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Laney College!

Budget Forum

3:15 p.m.

Building 3, Room 142

Join us as we review highlights from the Governor’s Proposed Budget for FY 2020-21.  This forum is the first in a three part series where we will be reviewing financial information relevant to the college as it develops its budget for the coming fiscal year.

February 19

Men’s Basketball vs Skyline College

7 p.m.

College of San Mateo Gym (Building 8)

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Skyline College!

STEM Speaker Series: “The Fruit Fly’s dREAM”

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

Harmony Folse is a master's student in Genetics at Stanford. They are working in the Lipsick and Fuller labs studying the reproductive development of fruit flies. They have a passion for mentoring and science education and hope to become a full-time community college professor in the future.

February 20

Men’s Baseball vs Laney College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Laney College!

February 25

Teatime with TRIO

12-1 p.m.

Building 9, Room 211

A time to sit down with TRIO staff and fellow students over a cup of coffee or tea to check in, play games, and find support. The coffee, tea, and cookies are free and all students are welcome to join.

February 26

Anime/Comic-Con Club Rush

9 a.m.- 1 p.m.

The Grove

Meet all the clubs and indulge in delicious sushi and famous mochi while learning about animation! Free food and giveaways to the first 100 with Cañada Spring 2019 Student Body Cards. 

STEM Speaker Series: Building and Managing Large Scale Applications

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

Please join for the STEM speaker series where the featured speaker is Angel Gutierrez, Site Reliability Engineer Manager at Apple.

February 27

Third Annual Awareness Summit

7:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

In an effort to address and aid important issues that affect our students (San Mateo County residents), Cañada College is hosting its Third Annual Awareness Summit themed around Housing and Food Insecurity -- issues that many of our students struggle with on a daily basis. RSVP here.

Men’s Baseball vs Ohlone College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Ohlone College!

What's Happening at Cañada: Week of February 10, 2020

Week of February 10, 2020

February 11

Cañada College Blood Drive

10 a.m. – 2: p.m.

Bloodmobile near the Bookstore

Every 2 seconds, someone needs blood. Most of us will need blood in our lifetime. Save a life and donate blood! Sign up on the Cañada College Blood Drive- Appointment Link. For questions, please contact salima@smccd.edu

February 12

Get Money for School

2:30-3 p.m. & 6-6:30 p.m.

Learning Center Lab (Building 9, Second Floor)

Learn about scholarships for undocumented students. Get started with your Cañada scholarship application, Dream Act and your personal statements. For more information, contact Saul Miranda at mirandas@smccde.edu. 

STEM Speaker Series: Coming Out in STEM: How Being Queer Makes Me a Better Stem Cell Biologist

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

Carolyn is a Ph.D. Student in Stanford’s Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine program, and they are wholeheartedly captivated by developmental neurobiology. They completed their undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University, where they worked in the lab of Dr. Laura Grabel to derive inhibitory interneurons from human embryonic stem cells. At Stanford, Carolyn seeks to understand how we can more accurately model early human brain development in vitro. When not in lab, Carolyn is also a coordinator of the Stanford Prison Education Project and is on staff at Stanford Queer Student Resources.

February 13

Men’s Baseball vs Shasta College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Shasta College!

Film Screening – Healing Justice

4 p.m.

Building 3, Room 142

Please join us for a screening of the film Healing Justice. This film is designed to spur dialogue and we will have time following the screening for discussion. As we continue our work to implement major initiatives such as Guided Pathways within an equity framework, it is crucial that we have an informed understanding of the structural barriers our students face.

February 14-17

Declares Recess for Lincoln’s Birthday & President’s Day

February 14

Men’s Baseball vs Feather River College

10 a.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Feather River College!

Men’s Baseball vs Shasta College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Shasta College!

Men’s Basketball vs City College of San Francisco

7 p.m.

College of San Mateo Gym (Building 8)

Cheer on the Colts as they take on City College of San Francisco!

February 15

Men’s Baseball vs Shasta College

1 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Shasta College!

February 18

Men’s Baseball vs Laney College

2 p.m.

Colts Baseball Field

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Laney College!

February 19

Men’s Basketball vs Skyline College

7 p.m.

College of San Mateo Gym (Building 8)

Cheer on the Colts as they take on Skyline College!

STEM Speaker Series: “The Fruit Fly’s dREAM”

5-6 p.m.

Building 6, Room 101/102

Harmony Folse is a master's student in Genetics at Stanford. They are working in the Lipsick and Fuller labs studying the reproductive development of fruit flies. They have a passion for mentoring and science education and hope to become a full-time community college professor in the future.