Peralta Hosts First-Ever Charrette Community Forum
The Peralta Community College District (PCCD) held its first-ever Peralta Charette at Laney College on Thursday, November 10. The Charrette was a community forum where PCCD and the four colleges: Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College, solicited input from students, faculty, classified professionals, and community partners in helping to shape PCCD’s strategic master plan and the colleges’ educational master plans for the next five years.
The program included a Peralta Colleges Environmental Scan and Equity Gap Analysis presented by WestEd, a consultant group that is integral in the development and facilitation of the PCCD and college master plans. Attendees then broke out into group discussions facilitated by WestEd and the four college presidents, covering the following topics:
- Developing Sustainable and Healthy College Communities
- Growing Strategic Workforce Partnerships that Strengthen
- Career Education Pathways
- Strengthening K-16 Partnerships in alignment with Guided Pathways
- Improving Community and Campus Public Safety
The facilitators of the Group Discussions presented a general report back of the input, thoughts, and ideas gathered at the discussions, followed by a question and discussion period.
We caught up with members of the Berkeley City College Community to learn more about their participation in the Charrette.
Jeejun Bertuso – Veterans Resource Center Coordinator, Classified Professional
“My biggest takeaway from these discussions is allowing student voices and stories to be heard. When you have that, you can live with the experience of what students are going through, and as
a community we work better putting the student-centered focus in the community college system.”
Fatima Shah – Counselor, EMP Steering Committee Faculty Rep
“The group discussions widened my understanding of the relationship between the administration, services, and students’ experience on the ground floor. Students want to feel belonging; they want to feel a part of the community, they want to be represented and destigmatize the community college experience.”
Kristiyan Klichev – ASBCC Student Senator, BCC EMP Steering Committee Student Rep.
“I wanted to be involved in student government and the master plan process to shift the paradigm about the image of community college. It’s not a place for students to go because they failed to get into a four-year college, it’s more of a fresh start and an opportunity to try new things.”
Berkeley City College Awarded 2022 Champion of Higher Education and Equity Scholar
Berkeley City College was recognized by the Campaign for College Opportunity at their virtual Higher Education Celebration award ceremony on November 1st. BCC was awarded the 2022 Champion of Higher Education and a 2022 Equity Champion for Latinx Students. The awards recognize BCC’s work in implementing the Associate Degree for Transfer. It’s the second year in a row BCC received these honors.
“On behalf of the Peralta Community College District, the esteemed faculty, classified professionals, administrators, and scholars at Berkeley City College, I’m honored that our community has received this recognition,” said President Angélica Garcia in her acceptance speech. “This is a testament to the collaborative planning and work that we continue to undertake to support BCC students to achieve their career and academic goals.”
The awards recognize Berkeley City College as a top performer statewide in the total percentage of Associate Degrees for Transfer in the 2020-21 academic year. BCC awarded a total of 87 associate degrees and 184 degrees for transfer for a total of 271 degrees in the 2020-21 academic year. The Equity Champion for Latinx Students specifically lauds BCC’s supporting over 65% of Latinx associate-degree earners on our campus received an ADT. A total of 99 Latinx students were awarded an associate degree in 2020-21. Among all Latinx students awarded, 65 students, or 66%, received degrees for transfer to a four-year university.
Berkeley City College Travels to COLEGAS Conference
California Community Colleges Organización de Latina/o/x Empowerment, Guidance and Advocacy for Success (COLEGAS) held its inaugural conference in Long Beach, CA on November 2-4, 2022. The conference theme was Pa’delante Juntos Podemos (Together We Can Go Forward). Keynote speakers included: Dr. Daisy Gonzalez, Interim Chancellor of the CA Community Colleges; Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; and Rafael Agustin, CEO of the Latino Film Institute. Dr. Maria Harper Marinick, Chancellor Emeritus of the Maricopa Community College District, and Dr. Gina Ann Garcia provided powerful sessions focused on the diversity and Latinidad of the community, reminding participants that students deserve to have faculty, classified professionals, and administrators who are committed to equity and student success.
The Peralta Community College District represented in full force at the COLEGAS conference with all four of the Peralta Colleges sending a team of colleagues and some students to gain knowledge and insight to support Latinx students. Additionally, Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, and Merritt College facilitated workshops, with themes ranging from HSI programs, Undocumented Students, and the ways in which college processes can sometimes make students invisible.
Grounded in Latina/o/x culture, the conference included daily blessings and acknowledgment of the four directions, an altar for Día de Los Muertos, artivist performances by poets, dancers, and musicians (Yes- Ozomatli provided a private concert!), and a fluid space for multi-lingual and multi-cultural engagement. Berkeley City College participants expressed how impactful it was to be in the community and to recognize that, collectively, we can truly accomplish the impossible. BCC students shared that being in a room full of Latina/o/x professionals encouraged them to know that they, too, could be political leaders, faculty, presidents, and activists. President Garcia is a Co-Founder and Vice President of COLEGAS and shared during the conference that this “Movimiento” began in Spring 2018 as an idea to bring the collective energy of Latina/o/x professionals from across the CA Community Colleges to harness the power
of community and excellence. “As an HSI-designated institution, Berkeley City College has the responsibility to create a learning culture that values the brilliance and beauty of a diverse community, especially for historically minoritized student communities,” said President Garcia.
Local AVID Middle School Scholars Visit Berkeley City College
Students from the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School AVID class visited Berkeley City College for a campus tour on Wednesday, November 3. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is an in-school academic support program for grades seven through twelve. The purpose of the program is to prepare students for college eligibility and success.
Counselor Skyler Barton helped lead the tour, visiting classrooms and giving the middle school students an opportunity to see BCC students study and do their classwork. Barton introduced the students to a Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School AVID alum who is now a student at BCC.
“It was wonderful to see these AVID scholars visibly thrilled to visit our campus,” said Dean Chris Lewis, who helped broker the tour. “I look forward to visiting Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School school later in the school year to follow up with these scholars and continue this partnership.”
Berkeley City College would like to thank Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School teachers Lara Collins and Susie Kossa, who joined the tour. BCC also thanks Counselor Barton and Dean Lewis for continuing to make our facilities available and inspiring for the young scholars in our community. And we thank the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School students for taking part in the tour.
New Career Counseling Workshops and Resources at BCC
This Fall, the BCC Counseling Department is piloting a
series of workshops focused on different areas of career development. Workshop topics include resume development, career exploration, and Handshake (BCC’s job and internship platform). Salvador Victoria, BCC’s Career/General Counselor facilitates the online workshops combining lecture and lab features in every session. Students receive the contemporary training and information needed to thrive in today’s job market.
“These workshops offer detailed insight and hands-on interaction with fundamental career activation instruments and resources. I am thrilled to be able to offer these workshops to our scholars,” said Victoria.
Students have also been receiving regular communications advertising the workshops and encouraging them to sign up for Handshake. The Handshake App is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play and is a way for BCC students to search for jobs and internships.
BCC in the Community Spotlights Biotechnology Student Sofia Milian
Berkeley City College’s “BCC in the Community” shares stories about students and meets them where they are. President Garcia visited BCC student Sofia Laguna Milian at her internship at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Milian previously interned with Bayer while she was a Berkeley High School student, graduating in 2021.
“At the lab, I’ve been studying water from a contaminated aquifer and searching for bacteria and logging it for the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab,” said Laguna. “It’s exciting to continue this internship through the partnership with BCC’s biotechnology program!”
Laguna is a first-generation college student hoping to transfer to a four-year college in 2024. Her top choices right now are University of Hawaii Manoa and UC Davis. Along with working her internship and taking classes, she works part-time at Target to help support her family. President Garcia loved to meet Sofia and encourages her to keep working towards success.
Veterans Day Activities at BCC
On Wednesday, November 9, the Berkeley City College Veterans Resource Center hosted a Veterans Day event at the Student Lounge. VRC Coordinator Jeejun Bertuso hosted the event and President Angélica Garcia provided opening remarks. The event focused on the ever-growing student veteran population at BCC and the veteran transitional journey to academia. Bertuso also covered the history and facts about Veterans Day with a Kahoot quiz offering prizes.
“A lot of veterans tend to want to blend in and try to regain the norm that they had before they had gone into service. This is why it is important that veterans find their community outside of the military, and to me, this is something to bring awareness,” said Bertuso. “I speak as a veteran who has gone here at BCC, finding my community, graduating from BCC, and going to UC Berkeley. This is something that I could not have done by myself without the help of my fellow veterans and the BCC community.”
BCC Radio 2050 posted its second episode, focusing on the veterans’ experience at BCC. The program, hosted by Learning Resources Coordinators John Saenz and Camille Verbera, interviewed VRC Coordinator Jeejun Bertuso and BCC student and US Marine and US Army Veteran Steven Ogbuehi. They discussed the advantages and obstacles veterans face as they transition from military life to civilian and student life.
They also provided gateways to resources like negotiating VA benefits, as well as community college career and transfer resources.
You can listen to the episode on Spotify here.
BCC Alumni Inspire Young Entrepreneurs at Phi Beta Lambda Panel Discussion
The Business 101 Event hosted by BCC’s PBL chapter is a panel of students, professionals, and educators sharing their experience with the field of business. It was an opportunity for Berkeley City College alumni who are current UC Berkeley Haas students and BCC faculty to guide and inspire students. Students learned about the career path for business majors, and Peralta’s business/economics resources for current & prospective students to utilize.
“It was great to see BCC students mingling with former students in the atrium. Students dropped by the panel, asked great questions, grabbed a bite to eat, and got ideas on how to finish up their own Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). PBL hosted a great event!” said Chris Bernard, BCC Economics and Business Law Instructor.
BCC Student Ambassador Noel Arikew Supports Students with Election Day Activities
BCC Student Ambassador Noel Arikew set up a voter support table at the BCC Welcome Desk, providing students with non-partisan information about candidates, local ballot measures, state-wide propositions, and resources for same-day voter registration and polling locations. He also served free pizza to students.
“It was a way for me to support students interested in voting, as well as complete an assignment for my political science class,” said Arikew.
Thanks, Noel, for sharing your time and resources with your fellow students!
President’s Message: Honoring Veterans Day
On Friday, November 11th, we will have the chance to observe Veterans Day, referred to as “Armistice Day” prior to 1971. Earlier today, I had the honor and privilege to offer some remarks at the Veterans Day celebration at Berkeley City College, but most importantly, I had the chance to thank students and members of the BCC community who have served or are currently serving in one of the 6 branches of the military. My deepest gratitude to Veterans Resource Center Coordinator and Veteran, Jeejun Bertuso, for organizing an event that was celebratory, inspiring, and challenged our trivia knowledge of Veterans. He is a proud BCC alumnus who transferred and graduated from UC Berkeley after enlisting in the military. He knows this community, this journey, and the intersectionality of duty and honor with the reality of returning to civilian life.
I did not have a calling to serve in the military, but members of my family from uncles to cousins, to nephews, collectively represent all branches of the military, except for the Space Force. However, I do have a profound respect for those who have served and the freedoms their services afford me and my family. I consider their service honorable, and my hope is that BCC students who are veterans or from a military family background feel a sense of belonging at Berkeley City College.
Amidst the trivia and having lunch, I connected with a BCC Veteran, Monique, who shared that she recently had another veteran and friend die by suicide. It was a stark reminder that the impact and trauma of war remain, long after a veteran has served. If you or someone you know is in need of support, please refer them to visit Jeejun Bertuso in the Veterans Resource Center or reach out to Janine Greer with the BCC Mental Health Services.
No matter your opinion on the role of the military in the United States, I hope you are able to pause and reflect this Friday, November 11 at the 11th hour. Think of our BCC community members, students, and employees alike, who have served in the military in the name of peace and honor. I will think of them and of my nephew who is currently serving overseas as a member of the Marines.
Dr. Angélica Garcia (she| her| ella) President
Berkeley City College
This article is taken from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Angélica Garcia, Berkeley City College President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. To view it as a PDF, click here.
