Solidarity in Mental Health Summit - Neurodiversity and Mental Wellness

By Yu Wathan Aung, BCC P2P Mental Health Ambassador

The BCC Wellness Center hosts a Mental Health Summit annually, and this year, it was held in collaboration with the Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Ambassadors team for the first time. It took place on 24th March, Friday at the Student Lounge on the fifth floor of Berkeley City College. The keynote speaker was Nina G, who is a comedian and a professional speaker. She is also the author of Stutterer Interrupted and Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous History. The theme of the summit was conceived by our brilliant colleague, Aylin Navarrete.

New Dual-Enrolled Students Club Builds BCC DE Community

The Dual-Enrolled Students Club (DESC) was founded in the Fall of 2022 as a club for high school students who are taking, or want to take, classes at BCC. DESC aims to create a community for dual-enrolled students to connect with each other, share resources they’ve found helpful, discuss how to manage schoolwork, and overall provide support with the processes of dual enrollment. The club was founded by Lale Kurtulush, a high school senior who has been taking classes at BCC since her freshman year. She is joined in leading the club by fellow dual-enrolled students Luke Boreczky and Reem Mahmoud.

From March 1 through 3, over 1,300 students, faculty, staff, and administrators at California’s Community Colleges convened at the 16th Annual African American Male Education Network Conference (A2MEND) in Los Angeles. Berkeley City College was well represented by six scholars; BCC and Laney Instructor of African American Studies and Ethnic Studies, Jimmy Crutison; and Vice President of Administrative Services, Sean Brooks.

Please welcome BCC’s newest full-time tenured counselor, Shannon Penn!

Shannon Penn joined BCC 14 years ago as a part-time instructor for our learning communities. She brings extensive experience in education and social work including her early career with Child Protective Services and a leadership role in career education and small business development for low-income women. For the past 6 years, she has served as the BCC Program Coordinator and Counseling Instructor for what has become a thriving Umoja learning community for transfer-bound Black students.

Don't delay, register today!

The Peralta Community College District, Laney College Student Activities and Campus Life, and Laney College's GSA Club are partnering to host the Lavender Graduation Ceremony at Laney College Theater Auditorium at 3 pm on Friday, May 5th, 2023.

Women’s Leadership Club Hosts Women’s Career Panel

Berkeley City College’s Women’s Leadership Club, in collaboration with the Electronics & Engineering Club and BCC’s Phi Beta Lambda chapter, held a Women’s Career Panel on Monday, March 6. The panel was made up of Adena Ishii (Consultant and Berkeley City College alumna), Mariza Zaragoza (IDEA [Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access] Program Manager, Bayer), Tabitha Esposito (Physics student, UC Berkeley), Nancy Ma (UX Designer), and Sapeeda Barati (Research Assistant, UCSF Ganguly Lab), and moderated by BCC Women’s Leadership Club President Dharvi Jindal.

Berkeley City College Hosts Second Annual Career Fair

On Thursday, February 23, Berkeley City College hosted its Second Annual Career Fair. The event was the culmination of a month of career-oriented workshops hosted by RepresentEd that focused on building a resume, interviewing skills, and building a career-oriented social media presence.

Berkeley City College is honored to share that Lissette Flores is joining our community as the new Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Director. Prior to joining BCC, Lissette served as the Associate Director for the Latinx Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare. There, she managed a federal grant to recruit and train undergraduate and graduate Latinx students dedicated to serving the behavioral health needs of Latinx communities in the Bay Area. A community college transfer student, Lissette received her bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley and her Master’s in Public Health from UCLA. Supporting the academic and professional development of underrepresented students is the common thread in all of Lissette’s professional work. She is overjoyed to be working at BCC.