The Bakersfield College Student Government Association and the Renegade Alumni Council held a live interview on Oct. 1 between two former BC graduates.
The conference was approximately 17 minutes and 15 seconds long.
The first to speak was Dr. Nicky Damania, the Director of Student Life who introduced the former students for this special live event.
Former 2019 BCSGA President, Ashley Harp interviewed Renegade Alumni Ines Castillo who was born and raised in Bakersfield.
According to the BCSGA’s Facebook, Castillo enrolled straight out of high school and began BC summer classes in 2016, “she is a first-generation Mexican American. In her childhood, she took an interest in subjects like art and socializing. During her teens, she volunteered by conducting art classes to help children develop positive coping mechanisms.”
While a student at BC she did not have it, all figured out when it came to what major she was most interested in. During the interview she “thought that anything is possible” at BC, she had the opportunity to major in different departments that were sociology, psychology, liberal arts, and communication.
When she earned her degrees to transfer, she knew that the University of California, Irvine was the choice for her to expand her studies. Castillo worked for the BC archives department where she made many friends who she still keeps in contact with from time to time. Castillo is said to be conducting her research on Hispanic mothers and children bonding.
Castillo attended BC for three years and while at UCI she plans on taking a third-year while majoring in psychology. There were many resources at BC that she knows could have helped her if she would have taken things for granted during her enrollment.
Castillo believes that there might not be as many opportunities or jobs a fresh out of school for psychology majors during the time of the pandemic, so she believes in going back to school for her masters to enhance her professional career.
“There was a huge difference when she arrived at a four year because it took some time for her to get adjusted to the quarter system instead of going by semesters like at BC” Castillo Said.
This live interview was brought together by the RAC and BCSGA, according to their Facebook, “the RAC is grounded into four key categories, which include career development, student engagement and philanthropy, tradition and young alumni engagement. These pillars inform our goals and initiatives yearly and serve as the foundation for our work. The efforts and contributions of RAC members, while self-directed and flexible by design, must align with, and support, these pillar areas.”