President Schilling’s Board Report for October 25, 2022
The following is a report to members of the North Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees
Presented by Cypress College President JoAnna Schilling, Ph.D.
on October 25, 2022
On November 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cypress College will welcome over 1,200 incoming high school seniors and current students to our annual Connect2Cypress & Majors2Careers event. Using a Guided Pathways lens, Connect2Cypress helps introduce prospective students with all Cypress College programs. Each program will have representatives on hand to share their respective meta majors with interested students. There will also be free food, a flash mob, games, campus tours, and presentations to better connect our high schoolers with Cypress College. Majors2Careers also introduces current and new students with their career interests. Students will participate in career decision-making games, a career board, career fair, and LinkedIn photo booth for online resumes.
During the week of October 10-14, led by coordinator Jenelle Herman, the campus hosted National Coming Out Week, a week of activities dedicated to affirming queer identities and emphasizing the transformative power of LGBTQ+ visibility. This fall we opened our first-ever LGBTQ+ Center, located on the 3rd floor of the Humanities Building. On October 11, the campus celebrated National Coming Out Day, hosted by our LGBTQ+ Support & the Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA) Student Club, with an on-campus event featuring free burgers, dancing, music, interactive art projects, resources, campus support services, and encouragement. On October 12, the campus hosted the first-ever Pride Game featuring our women’s soccer team and Santa Ana College. Finally, on October 14, the QSA attended the Rocky Horror Picture Show, performed in our campus theater by the Cypress College Theater Arts Department. After the performance, the cast held a talk back to respond to audience questions.
Our Student Services Spotlight for October focuses on one of our newest Student Services team member, Darren Parker. Darren began at Cypress on July 2022 as an Admissions and Records technician. In this role, Darren performs complex technical duties in support of admissions, registration, and student records, while providing comprehensive support and assistance to staff, faculty, and the general public. Welcome, Darren, and thank you, Dr. de Dios, for putting a spotlight on your outstanding team!
Three of our Hotel, Restaurant, & Culinary Arts (HRC) students will be awarded a Bill Snyder Scholarship from the Anaheim Orange County Hotel and Lodging Association. The scholarship luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Park Hotel on Wednesday, October 19. Each year our students compete for excellence awards against other 2- and 4-year culinary arts programs; Cypress traditionally takes home a high percentage of scholarships awarded. Thank you to faculty members Lisa Clark, Jeremy Peters, Stephanie Rosati, Amanda Gargano, and Jeanette Jones for preparing our students for careers in this competitive field.
Ten outstanding students were selected to attend HACU’s Adelante Program for Student Leadership Development program in San Diego the weekend of October 8-10. These students, selected from our Puente and Charger Experience programs, and supported by the DEI and SEA Committees, are: Valerie Prado, Isaac Peralta, Nathalie Zayas, David de los Santos, Darlin Jimenez Mendez, Jared Rivas, Azusena Zamarripa, Daniel Lopez, Omar Bello, and Angel Pivaral. Thank you to Dr. Therese Mosqueda-Ponce for chaperoning the students at the HACU National Conference. Special thank yous also go to Melissa Herrera, Amanda Garcia, and Angela Sardan who ensured that our students were prepared for the HACU conference by conducting pre-conference workshops to assist students in learning how to network, prepare their elevator speeches, and create their resumes. Melissa even gave etiquette lessons to our students and gave them pointers on how to dress to impress. We are proud of our students and grateful to our college community for their support in providing mentoring and professional development for our amazing students.
As previously announced, Cypress College has been recognized by Campaign for College Opportunity as a 2022 Equity Champion of Higher Education for our exemplary work in implementing the Associate Degree for Transfer for Latinx students. Cypress College will be recognized at the 2022 Champions of Higher Education Celebration on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, from 10–11:30 a.m. via Zoom. Get the registration information and join us as we celebrate our students!
The Cypress College LIFE Program, for formerly incarcerated students, is hosting multiple events in the coming weeks:
- Chat with Obed Silva: Getting a Second Chance at Life. The LIFE Program partnered with Puente to host Obed Silva — professor, author, and artist on Tuesday, October 18: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- LIFE Program Transfer and Resource Fair. We are inviting all our community and campus partners to attend this event on November 8 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and connect with our formerly incarcerated, system-impacted, and addiction recovery student community!
On Friday, October 14, 2022, STEM2 hosted its Annual Fall Research Symposium. The event was well-attended and began in the planetarium (IDC) with a student panel from 10–11:30 a.m. followed by our STEM poster demonstrations in the courtyard of the new SEM building. Students had an opportunity to speak with Math instructor Alma Castro, and a CSU Fullerton representative to discuss summer research opportunities for this coming year. This was a great opportunity for our students to engage with our SEM faculty and staff, to receive feedback on their poster presentations, and begin planning for the important summer research opportunities.
Cypress College will be holding an all-campus retreat at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead October 27-28. The focus of this retreat is Reimagining Our Future: Flexible Work and Learning. Over 100 employees and students will be joining us for this important discussion and opportunity to reconnect, reimagine, and create the environment we want to build and sustain at Cypress College.
On November 4, the fall 2022 Leadership Team will focus on our campus Guided Pathways work. This convening will be attended by department coordinators, managers, and faculty leaders, and offers the opportunity to come together to discuss the latest progress and plans for our Guided Pathways work. Our new faculty GP co-chair, Liana Koeppel; Dean of Student Services, Lisa Gaetje; and new Title V Program Manager, Brady Miller-Wakeham will lead us in this discussion and work.
On Friday, October 28, we will be able to celebrate our 2023 Orange County Teacher of the Year, Gloria Badal, at the annual OCDOE event at the Disneyland Hotel. Congratulations to Gloria who will be on hand with her family and Drs. Schilling and Kathleen Reiland, to enjoy this student-voted honor. We appreciate Trustees Rosales and Blount for attending on behalf of the Board.
As part of our Title V Guided Pathways grant, Cypress College has begun implementation of our Financial Literacy workshops. Although we have been conducting these important workshops for over a year within our Charger Experience Program, we are ramping up to include all students.
Buen Cypress! We Take This Journey Together!