San Bernardino Community College District

🎓 Congratulations to the 46 graduates of the San Bernardino Community College District Pathway Builder Program! Over the past four weeks, these future professionals gained the tools and confidence to enter the workforce and build brighter futures for themselves and their families. A special thank you to Tiffany Lee for leading this initiative with San Bernardino County HR, and to Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. and San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board, Director, Brad Gates, for sharing their inspirational words with our graduates. #OpportunityWorksHere #SBCountyCareers #PathwayBuilder

On Sept. 12, SBVC welcomed Congressman Pete Aguilar to campus to see how his $1.5M Community Project Funding award is transforming our Clean Energy / EV Tech Program.   Thanks to his support, SBVC now has two 2024 Volvo heavy-duty electric trucks that will prepare students for in-demand clean energy careers while strengthening our region’s workforce. We also want to thank our Aeronautics Department for bringing students to meet the Congressman and hear firsthand about the future of the industry.  Together, we’re building a cleaner, more innovative future for our community.

In 1940, Valley College student Edith Baugh made history as the first woman in San Bernardino County to complete her preliminary pilot training. Flying a Luscombe monoplane at 100 mph, she opened the skies for generations to come. Now, we write the next chapter. Our brand new Professional Pilot Program, launched in partnership with Riverside Flight Academy, prepares students for careers in aviation, from private pilot to commercial training. Adjunct faculty member Dr. Shannon Millen shares: “Flying is a door to freedom… less than 1% of the population flies airplanes. This new pilot program is opening up doors to aviation that I believe would not have been possible to students in our population.” With two newly painted Cessna 172s, open house rides, and a program approved by the state for 2025–26, SBVC students are taking to the skies, continuing a legacy of trailblazers like Edith. From Edith’s solo flight to today’s dreamers, San Bernardino Valley College proves the sky is not the limit. Learn more about Aeronautics at https://lnkd.in/dHPdwU83 #ValleyUp #Aviation #PilotProgram #FlySBVC #FlyWolverineFly

Crafton Hills College celebrates graduation of 44 new EMTs in its new PAC Just months after making history as the last program to graduate inside the old Finkelstein Performing Arts Center, Crafton Hills College’s Emergency Medical Technician program unlocked a new tradition on Aug. 19.The Yucaipa-based college’s graduation of its summer EMT cohort was celebrated in front of friends and family inside the brand-new Performing Arts Center, across from where the old PAC once stood. Inside, guests and graduates were greeted with LED lighting, reclining seating, and additional amenities made possible by a crew working to ready the space just hours before the Tuesday evening ceremony. “At 10 a.m. this morning, [the PAC] did not look this good,” joked Crafton President Kevin Horan. “The team at the college did an amazing job making this ready for you all because we like to celebrate our students and this is one of the best ways we get to do it.” Crafton’s summer EMT cohort is an accelerated program where 16-weeks’ worth of instruction is packed into 10 weeks. Forty-four students had the dedication and stamina to complete all course requirements in this abbreviated schedule. CHC’s Interim Associate Dean of Public Safety and EMT Program Director Amanda Ward praised each student’s achievement. She also recognized the sacrifices and contributions each grad’s families and friends made to see their favorite graduate complete class assignments. “To watch the growth that happens across our EMT program is significant,” she said. “What your students experienced within our programs is life-changing, and they are now true, full-fledge lifesavers. Crafton Hills College offers three program cohorts each year, with the next starting in the Fall. The program’s objective is to train students to perform basic life-saving support in a pre-hospital setting. Students who complete the program earn EMT certification and eligibility to take the national rescuer EMT basic exam. To learn more about the program, go to www.craftonhills.edu.

Scholarship Reception Celebrates Student Accomplishments and Foundation Donors On Thursday, August 14, in its Road Runner Café, Craton Hills College celebrated the academic accomplishments of its high-performing students and expressed its appreciation to the donors who fund student scholarships. The event began with a welcome from Michelle Riggs, Director of Institutional Advancement. Riggs confided that she holds this event in her heart, being a CHC scholarship recipient herself in 2007, when she was a student at the college. School president Dr. Kevin Horan then welcomed attendees and thanked donors for their financial support. He announced that CHC’s Financial Aid Office distributed $250,000 in student financial support. Leslie Wessels, chair of the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee, spoke of the event bringing together scholarship recipients and donors to appreciate the positive effects of the Foundation’s financial support. Table places had been arranged so that student scholarship recipients, donors, and Foundation board members could chat, while scholarship recipients’ pictures and bios appeared on the screen above the speaker’s podium and in program booklets at the tables. Judy Cannon, CHC’s Honors Program Coordinator, explained how Honors has grown from 40-50 students in 2016, when she began in her position, to 170 current participants. The program provides opportunities for exceptional students to present their research projects at state level conferences. She also credited the Raymond Pryke Foundation for contributing $270,000 to support the CHC Honors program. The event reached its climax as scholarship recipient Jazmyn Garcia spoke about how much receiving scholarships meant to her. Garcia explained that she was an average student through high school and did not attend college right after she graduated. After a rough life that found her homeless for a time, she enrolled at CHC in 2023 and began a remarkably successful educational career as a biology major. She explained that the scholarships she was awarded not only provided much needed financial help but also gave her confidence in her abilities as she was elected as CHC’s student member of the district’s governing board. The event concluded with Foundation President Amy Minjares thanking donors for the funding of scholarships and for their attendance. For information about CHC scholarships, visit https://lnkd.in/gCbvYnJz.