Alumni Highlights
Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program
Alumni Highlights
Erica Mullins
Erica Mullins served as a Faculty Fellow in the first cohort of the Aspire Alliance Central California Regional Collaborative. Erica is originally from the Los Angeles area, she moved to Kern County in early 2002. She is a first-generation college graduate on both sides of her family and is the great-granddaughter of Mexican American immigrants on her father鈥檚 side.
After moving to Bakersfield, she enrolled at 51成人动漫 to fulfill transfer requirements then completed her Bachelor of Science in Business before moving on to a Master of Science in Biology from California State University, Bakersfield in 2016. Erica received her second master鈥檚 degree, this time in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz, in December 2020.
During the 20-21 academic year, she was also a member of the 3CSN STEM Instructors Learning Community, where she was enrolled in the year-long course: 鈥淎pprenticing Students into STEM Thinking.鈥� Since then, Erica has been invited to participate in the facilitators' training for that program, which she began this summer. She also completed the Humanizing STEM Academy with Michelle Pacansky-Brock over the summer break.
In preparation for the 2021-22 academic year, Erica applied for several Tenure-Track Faculty positions in colleges in the Central Valley region. Erica received a couple of offers and has accepted a position at her alma mater, California State University, Bakersfield. Please join us in congratulating Erica on her academic and professional accomplishments.
Selena Suarez
Selena Suarez was born and raised in Delano, California, a small agricultural city known for its farm-working community made up of mostly Hispanic and Filipino immigrants. She is a first-generation college graduate. She graduated from California State University Bakersfield in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Selena taught 6th grade at Wonderful College Prep Academy during the 2018-2019 school year, and 7th grade math at Rio Bravo-Greeley from 2019-2020.
Selena then chose to pursue higher education, and went on to receive her Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2022. As a graduate student, Selena did research on matrices and how they can be used to track the spread of COVID-19. She published her work in the spring of 2022. While in graduate school, Selena applied to the Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program, and was accepted in the fall of 2021.
During the fellowship program, Selena worked closely with math professors at Bakersfield College. This provided an opportunity to observe professors and work one one-on-one with students in a college classroom. Towards the end of the fellowship program, Selena applied as an adjunct mathematics professor and was granted the opportunity in the spring of 2022. She is currently an adjunct mathematics professor actively pursuing a full-time faculty position at 51成人动漫.
Cassandra Greene
Cassandra Greene was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. She graduated from California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 2018, becoming a first-generation graduate. After graduating, Cassandra worked as a substitute teacher for grades K-12 while also taking a course to eventually earn her Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certification.
In Fall 2019, she enrolled in the master鈥檚 program at CSUB and received her Master of Science degree in Biology in 2021. For most of her schooling, Cassandra was pre-med, aspiring to attend Medical School. During the second semester of her master鈥檚 program, she became a teaching assistant for CSUB and remained one for the remainder of her program. She soon learned that she loved teaching, and that was her true calling.
In the Fall semester of 2021, she applied and was accepted into the Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program. Within the program, fellows were assigned a faculty mentor within their teaching subject. As she surveyed the Anatomy and Physiology II course her mentor instructed, she learned the proper way to address students, different methods of relaying material, and the best practices for becoming a distinguished faculty member of Bakersfield College. The program also required the course 鈥淭eaching in a California Community College,鈥� which involved analyzing current literature, theory, and practices for teaching at a California Community College. The course strengthened her understanding of how to support diversity and encourage inclusivity within the classroom.
At the end of the program, Cassandra applied for an adjunct position in the Biology Department at 51成人动漫 and was hired for the Spring 2022 semester. At the end of her first semester as an adjunct, she applied for a full-time tenure track position in the Biology Department at 51成人动漫 and was awarded the position. She began her first semester as an Assistant Professor for Anatomy and Physiology II in Fall 2022. She continues to strive to be a professor that offers an inclusive and welcoming classroom. She is currently a part of the STEM Kickstarter Program that aims to offer a practice on STEM teaching and learning to improve outcomes for Latinx students. She is appreciative of all the help that she has received to obtain her current position and will continue to look for programs and opportunities to help further improve her teaching.
Jerome Lagaya
Jerome Lagaya is a Deaf Filipino born in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. He attended the Philippine School for the Deaf (PSD) in Pasay City, Philippines. Later, he moved to Bakersfield, CA, where he began his junior year at Highland High School. After finishing high school, he enrolled at 51成人动漫 and graduated in April 2014 with an Associate of Arts degree.
Jerome transferred to California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2015, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Studies in 2017. While at CSUN, he volunteered to work with ASL instructors and also helped teach ASL courses at 51成人动漫. In 2018, he became an adjunct ASL instructor at 51成人动漫.
Jerome studied Sign Language Education at Gallaudet University and earned his Master of Arts degree in 2020. After completing a temporary full-time faculty contract at 51成人动漫, Jerome was accepted into the Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program. He continued to work closely with the ASL faculty and the ASL Club at Bakersfield College, and in the fall of 2023, he will begin a full-time faculty position at the college in the ASL Program.
Kim Arellano Carmona
Kim Arellano Carmona is a first-generation community college graduate from the Los Angeles area. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and a Master of Public Health from California State University, Northridge. She is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of California, Merced, specializing in public health. Her published research focuses on Latino health and health disparities.
While Kim is committed to excelling in her research, her passion lies in teaching. She is eager to continue to share her passion for public health with her students and inspire them to pursue their academic and professional goals.
As a Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program alumna, Kim is well-prepared for continued academic success. Kim received several tenure-track faculty job offers and has ultimately accepted a position at 51成人动漫. In Fall 2023, Kim will join the Department of Behavioral Sciences as an Associate Professor of Public Health Science, coinciding with the completion of her Ph.D.
Money Ghimire
My name is Manish Ghimire and I go by Money. I was born in a small village in Nepal. I moved to the US in 2016 and I finished the last year of high school in Anaheim. I decided to go to community college afterward because direct to 4-year university was expensive. I attended Moreno Valley College in Riverside Community College District and after attaining my AA/AS, I attended CSU: San Bernardino for a BS in Kinesiology. I decided to pursue the Kinesiology field because I always had a passion for learning about the human body and how we can utilize different movements, exercises, and sports to improve physical and mental well-being.
Currently, I am attending CSU: Bakersfield for MS in Kinesiology focusing my research on cardiovascular physiology. Specifically, I am looking at different interventions and how they impact cardiovascular health. I am also planning to pursue further education by enrolling in a doctoral program and my end goal is to become a professor.
With the help of this program, I will be able to get insight into college teaching. Learn from my mentors on how to be an effective educator and apply the learned knowledge and skills in the near future.
Frank Verni
Hello, my name is Frank Verni. I am the new Educational Advisor for Outreach & Early College at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, CA.
Currently, I am involved in the Faculty Diversification Fellowship Program at Bakersfield College under the direction of Dr. Maria Wright, and I am also a graduate student in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). I earned my master鈥檚 degree in Public Administration from CSUB and my bachelor鈥檚 degree in Business and Public Administration from there as well.
I previously served as a student assistant in several departments at CSUB. My biggest contribution came in the University Outreach Department at CSUB where I collaborated with institutional leadership and my program director at the Outreach Department, to create a resource program for underrepresented student populations, the Student Access and Support Program. Prior to returning to school and earning my degrees, I was involved in several managerial positions in the private sector.
I am deeply passionate about diversity, inclusion, and equitable resources in higher education institutions. I am seeking to expand educational opportunities to historically marginalized and socioeconomically challenged student communities.
Nahliel M. Ruiz
Nahliel M. Ruiz served as a mentee in the Faculty Diversity Fall 2021 - Spring 2022. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and she arrived in the United States at the age of 4. Ever since, Ruiz has lived in Bakersfield CA. She is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, the California Dream Act, has helped contribute to accomplish many of her goals as well as her persistence, dedication, and hard work. Ruiz is a first-generation college graduate.
She graduated from 51成人动漫 with an associate degree in Human Biological Science; Ruiz transferred to California State University of Bakersfield (CSUB) earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Human Biological Science and minor in Criminal Justice. Ruiz continued her education at CSUB earning a master鈥檚 degree in Biology.
Ruiz fell in love with Human Biology at 51成人动漫 when she took a pre-requirement course Biology 32 with Professor Chad Newton. She was not sure what she could do with a Human Biology degree although she knew that she really enjoyed it. At CSUB Ruiz had one professor, Dr. Kathleen Szick, which she took many courses at undergraduate and graduate level including introduction to cell biology, genetics, and molecular genetics.
Ruiz saw Dr. Szick as a mentor; she inspired her. She was able to become her research assistant. She loved the way that Dr. Szick taught her students as well as was so enthusiastic about what she taught. That is when Ruiz knew she wanted to teach. While Ruiz was pursuing a higher education, she was also a teaching associate (TA) for a few semesters.
After Ruiz graduated and obtained her master鈥檚 degree in Biology, Dr. Smith informed her about a program at Bakersfield college (Faculty Diversity Fellowship) because he knew she had an interest in teaching at a community college level and believed she was a great candidate. During the Fellowship program, Ruiz worked closely with Biology professors and took a course in which provided more insights about teaching/working in a community college.
After being in the program for a whole academic year, Ruiz decided to apply for a full-time tenure track as a biology professor. She was granted the opportunity and began to teach for 51成人动漫. She loves 51成人动漫 and the amazing opportunities she has been granted.
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