Friday February 21, 2020

Greetings Peralta Community!  Welcome to issue #8 of Peralta Gems. Thanks to everyone who provided story ideas, photos, and other suggestions for this issue.  Send your suggestions to Mark Johnson at markjohnson@peralta.edu. Much appreciated!

Merritt College Hosts Youth Coding Event

From Courtney Brown, Computer Information Systems Department Chair at Merritt College:

Sometimes the way to support college success is to establish an early presence in a child’s life; providing a sense of possibilities and anticipation.  By working with community partners like Hidden Genius Project we are able to reach students of color on a regional basis and bring them together to see technical career possibilities. Now they have access to the first Community College Computer Science A.S. degree. With the California Promise we can offer this award for free. Listen to the KTVU report on the 7^th Annual Brothers Code hosted at Merritt College. We want these students to come to Merritt College. Let us make this campus and our classrooms ready for them.

Please click the image above to watch an inspiring video about kids learning to code at Merritt College. Thank you Courtney for sharing this video and sharing your expertise with students, setting them up for success in computing and information technologies!

Student Internship Opportunities at Port of Oakland

Port of Oakland recruiter Cheryl Ho (in the purple sweater) talks with Esther Cheng (COA Aviation Maintenance Technician Manager), Drew Gephart (International Services Manager) and three students at the COA Career Center. Photo courtesy of Stefanie Bradshaw

• Raya Zion, Employment Services Center and Industry Engagement Manager at Laney College, hosted 12 organizations for their Spring Student Internship Fair on February 4, 2020 including the Port of Oakland.

• Stefanie Bradshaw hosted an on site recruitment event for the Port of Oakland at the COA Career Center on 2/13/20. This event drew in interest from both students, faculty and district staff. Esther Cheng, COA Maintenance Technician Supervisor and Drew Gephart, District International Student Support attended the On Site Recruitment event to learn more about the Port internship and share the information with the students they serve.

• Thanks to collaboration between Stefanie at COA, BCC VP of Student Services Stacey Shears and BCC Transfer and Career Coordinator Andrea Williams, Port of Oakland recruiters will be at the BCC campus next week on Wednesday, 2/26 from 1-3pm in room 126. We would like to encourage all interested students to attend this event next Wednesday 2/26/ as this will be Peralta's last time hosting the Port of Oakland before the internship application is due on 2/28.

• In total, the Port of Oakland recruiters will visit 3 of our 4 schools this month!

Students can learn more about the Port of Oakland summer internship opportunities at https://www.portofoakland.com/business/job-center/internships/. The nine week internship runs from June 15 to August 14 and pays $20 per hour. The application deadline is February 28, 2020. 

Black History Month Events

The rich programing in celebration of Black History Month continued at all four of the Peralta Colleges.  At left is Jason Seals, who spoke at Merritt College. Photo and text below courtesy of Tauheeda Anderson. Sankofa is a Ghanaian word which means “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten”. The word is a combination of the words: San (return), Ko (go) fa (seek and Take).  “Sankofa” teaches us to go back to our roots in order to move forward. Today we explore the past with an unyielding desire to correct our future goals/endeavors.

Oakland recording artist and community activist Mistah F.A.B. (Stanley Cox) was in the house at Merritt College on February 6th as part of the many fabulous Black History Month events taking place around the Peralta District. His motivational talk was full of wisdom and inspiring messages for the attendees.  Video of Mistah F.A.B. is now available at Peralta's YouTube channel here.

Public Forum for Vice Chancellor of Finance & Administration Video Now Available

COA Academic Senate & District Marketing

Dr. Matthew Goldstein makes a very important point

From Mark Johnson:

I had the pleasure of being invited to the College of Alameda Academic Senate meeting on Thursday February 20th. COA Academic Senate President Dr. Matthew Goldstein asked me to talk a bit about how the Peralta District Marketing, Communication & Public Relations team can help instructors at COA (and other Peralta Colleges) promote and fill up their classes. 

The District marketing team is here to help.  For the Spring 2020 Semester, we organized several different ad campaigns to drive enrollment including:

• Moving billboard ads on Alameda County Transit buses with an "Enroll Now" message promoting the Peralta website
• Targeted digital marketing campaigns via Instagram and Facebook driving younger prospective students to https://web.peralta.edu/admissions/question/
• Targeted direct email campaign to individuals who had applied to the Peralta Colleges but had not ever enrolled, telling them it was "Go Time" to enroll. 
• Targeted search advertising via Google AdWords aimed at a more mature demographic with a "Learn More to Earn More" message. 

We know these campaigns worked to increase traffic to our website and particularly to the enrollment pages. But these were all general enrollment messages. 

To promote specific classes, we recommend social media. The District has accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.  Our Twitter account,https://twitter.com/PeraltaColleges, has well over 3400 followers. Simply email info about your class along with a compelling image or flyer to markjohnson@peralta.edu and we will put it in the social media queue and post as soon as we can. "We" is Faiza Ali and Mark Johnson for now. One last recommendation is to include topical hashtags (like #PeraltaGems) or links to people with large followings (aka "Influencers"). Social media offers a free channel for informing the community about classroom opportunities. 

Fun Fact: Jeffery Sanceri has been in a photo in nearly every issue of Peralta Gems so far!

Teaching and Learning Center Furniture Refresh

Scott Hoshida, Staff Development Officer and BCC Faculty member, wants you to know about the new furniture at the Teaching and Learning Center in the District Office main building. Thanks to the help of Laura Leon-Maurice, Executive Assistant in Academic Affairs, the functional and stylish new furniture is now available for employees who use in the Teaching and Learning Center. Stop by the TLC or visit the website at https://web.peralta.edu/staff-development/ to learn more or schedule your appointment. 

Benefits Office Hosts Medicare Drive & Benefits Fair

TaNeesha Dickerson is ready to answer your questions

On February 13th, the Peralta Benefits Office hosted its annual Medicare Drive in the District Office Atrium. Current and former employees attended to learn about our excellent health care benefits from Kaiser Permanente and United Health Care. It was a good opportunity to ask questions about medical, dental, and vision benefits, Medicare, and retirement. Thank you Benefits Office for hosting this informative event!

Art at Merritt College: Cherish and Resist

Through the passion, dedication and collaboration between Merritt College student artist, Barbara Haber and Art Department chair and instructor Sheila Metcalf Tobin, we proudly present a new exhibition now open in Merritt College’s Barbara Lee Science Building S352 Gallery. The exhibit focuses on artist’s and activist’s responses to the Climate Crisis. Featuring the work of 30 Bay Area and International Artists this show will be on display February 11 through March 13, 2020 with an artist’s reception February 21 from 4:30-7:00pm.

The S352 Gallery will be open for viewing the Cherish and Resist exhibit Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-4pm and by appointment. This exhibit is an excellent opportunity to share with students of all ages and interests.

Participating Artists include:

Indira Balkissoon, Xequina Berber, Ann Buell, Yuan Chen, Mary Coffield, Vic Coffield, Debra A. Collins, Angela Dalke, Sally Francis,Vicki Gunter, Barbara Haber, Peg Hunter, Kelly Johnson, Chris Kerr, Phyllis Malandra, Sheila Metcalf Tobin, Leslie Plato Smith, Dru Saren, David Solnit, Jamie Treacy, Jean Whittlesey, Lisa Zimmer-Chu, 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations and l Artists from the Rise Global Images Project Ari Aminuddin, Daniela Paes Leao, Christi Belcourt, Thiago Mundano, John Hillary Balyejusa and Teleise Neemia Lesa

Thanks to Sheila Metcalf Tobin for providing this information.  If you have questions about the event, please content Sheila at smetcalftobin@peralta.edu.