Dear California Community Colleges:

My introduction to you happened in the late 1990s.

I arrived in Los Angeles, a foreign graduate student, trying to understand America through textbooks and LA’s RTD routes.

And then I met you.

An institution built on virtues I could not quite comprehend.

Infinite hope.
Untiring patience.
Radical non-judgment.
You met people where they were.

Not where they should have been.
Not where someone thought they ought to be.
But where they were.

You were born long before I met you in the Central Valley, where community colleges first took root in California soil.
Practical. Accessible. Close to home. Built for possibility.

And then you spread.

From the Central Valley  – Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced
you reached into the Inland Empire – Riverside, San Bernardino
out to the eastern edge of our state – the Coachella Valley, Palm Desert, Indio
up the North State – Chico, Redding
across the Bay – Oakland, Hayward, San José
down the Central Coast – Monterey, San Luis Obispo
into Los Angeles – every corner, every neighborhood in LA
and all the way to the borderlands – San Diego, Imperial Valley.

Across the Sierra foothills.
Along Highway 99.
Down the 5 and the 101.

Into farmworker towns.
Into port cities.
Into rural mountain communities.
Into urban corridors.
Where opportunity needed a doorway you became that doorway.

You evolved.

You empowered people.
You improved constantly
You innovated for students.
You added programs.
Added pathways.
Added chances.

And over three decades, I have watched you love Californians by taking action in real tangible ways.

I have seen the foster youth who carried everything they owned in a backpack walk across a commencement stage because someone at a community college refused to give up on them.

I have seen the formerly incarcerated Californian who found purpose through education, completed a certificate, earned a degree, and now gives back to their community.

I have seen the veteran, resilient, carrying both visible and invisible weight, find a Veterans Resource Center and a faculty member who said, “You belong here.”

I have seen the student with a disability navigate hallways that were once barriers and find accommodations, allies, and a future not defined by limitation but by capacity.

You do not ask for perfection.
You ask for effort.
You do not require pedigree.
You require courage.

Over two million students a year.

Two million stories of trying again.
Starting over. Leveling up.

You are accessible.
You are practical.
You are relentless in your belief that Californians deserve more.

On this Valentine’s Day, I say it plainly:

I love you, California Community Colleges,
– for your open doors.
– for your stubborn optimism.
– for believing in people before they believe in themselves.

You are California at its best.

And after three decades of watching you in motion … through reform, recession, innovation, and renewal,

I am convinced of this:

If there is an institution built on hope in America,

It is you!

With gratitude, admiration, and love
Your chancellor,
sonya

» Read Sonya Christian’s Blog!

Fall Colors

Sept/Oct 

The end of September and the beginning of October present possibilities of Nature’s miracles in the Colorado Rockies. As the temperature looks winter-wards, the green on the Aspens deepens, presenting a dazzling spectacle of colors. From a greenish yellow to deep crimson, a plethora of colors erupt into a visual delight for the mesmerized eyes. Season’s first snow lends added contrast to rich colors. The colorful flora in the lap of towering, freshly snow-covered mountains wows the casual to the committed. 

I happened to avail myself of Nature’s blessings this time around, an annual ritual in this part of the world. Aspen, Snowmass, and Vail are small towns with worldwide fame. It’s easy to see why. 

Nature speaks for them. It finds eloquence in colors, in towering height of fifty-eight 14ers, and lung-cleansing air. The magic seeps deep in the soul.

A single day may befit a year. 

Early morning freeze, midday heat on a taxing hike, late afternoon thunderstorm with “tropical” rain shower, followed by a sudden break in clouds, only to be substituted by late evening snowflakes. It’s a cycle we experienced more than once during our week-long escape to the Rockies.

The long hikes at demanding inclines and challenging altitudes confer long periods of absolute silence. The sense of awe finds a companion in introspection. Problems seem to find solutions.

Plagued by divisiveness, an unsettled mind yearns for an answer in nature. It strives to seek a resolution. 

The changing colors tell a captivating story.

Photosynthesis is the foundational miracle of nature that harnesses water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to produce life-sustaining oxygen and energy. Trees have evolved to do it effortlessly and flawlessly with 100% efficiency—no wasted effort. No toxic residues. As Fall temperatures plummet, days get shorter, photosynthesis splutters, and leaves blush. No more worthy of photosynthesis, leaves fall and fertilize the next bloom. They fall in style and breathtaking splendor.

Hate should be deciduous, love perennial, the falling leaves seem to say. 

Hate should blush with shame and fall, like fall leaves, to be reborn as love. That’s a cycle of life the Fall seems to inspire. 

Imagine spellbinding colors of a Fall leaf drifting elegantly towards the ground, having fulfilled its obligations to support photosynthesis and now committing to raising the next generation. That’s how nature renews its vows. Life intuitively sustains itself.

Hate is counterintuitive to humanity. Love is the necessary glue. 

The falling leaves helped me shed some of my prejudices. It was a refreshing and necessary interlude.

– brij