Bakersfield College’s transfer students were honored on April 25 with a reception that was held in the cafeteria. The food department catered the event and prepared meatballs with peppercorn sauce and a fruit and crudites platter.
Along with refreshments, speeches were given by transferring counselor Sue Granger-Dickson, BC president Greg Chamberlin, Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg and future Student Government Association president Tawntannisha Thompson.
“I thought it would be a good idea to have something that honors all the hard work that our transfer students do,” Granger-Dickson said, “so I approached the SGA, and they very generously said they’d co-sponsor it with me.”
Over 300 invitations were sent out to BC students who are transferring after the semester. Only about 100 of those contacted sent a response confirming their appearance. Several of the other students, Granger-Dickson explained, could not attend because of conflicting school or work schedules.
The event will be put on annually as long as she is in this position. Several faculty members, Granger-Dickson explained, support this event and will continue to be involved with it.
Students will now have the option on the graduation program to distinguish if they have achieved transfer, Granger-Dickson explained.
This is something that Granger-Dickson thought would help promote transfer at BC. Many California community colleges, she explained, have very low transfer rates. It is her goal to increase the amount of student transfers. Currently, BC has a transfer rate of about 9 or 10 percent. “I’d like to see it double or even triple,” she expressed.
One of the ways to do this, Granger-Dickson said, is to honor the rate of transfers. Another way is to get faculty and students involved with transfer awareness week, to share their own college experiences in hopes of sparking motivation in students who are working toward transferring.
Students in attendance were accepted into a wide range of different schools, including CSU’s, UC’s, private universities, out of state universities in New York and Utah, and one was accepted to a university in Italy. Several of the students expressed their gratitude for the education they received at BC and being invited to the event.
Bethany Richmond, a psychology major, said “I’m really grateful for the education BC has given me, especially my psych teachers. They’ve taught me a lot.”
Business administration major, Jason Thompson, who is transferring to Cal State Bakersfield, said, “I liked coming here. I’ve really gotten to learn a lot. I’ll miss it as soon as I leave.”
The liaison to the dean of students and communication major, Jose Rodger Sanchez, will be transferring to Brigham Young University, a private school in Utah.
Sanchez was the first of three transfer students at the event to give a speech. He spoke of the opportunities BC has provided him and said, “[BC] set me up for greatness.”
BC President Greg Chamberlin said, “It just goes to show that we’re preparing students here at Bakersfield College to go anywhere.”