This month's Colleagues of the Month are the incredible 'Basecamp Duo' – Regina Weston and Maggie Crowder. Regina has been with the College since 2016, while Maggie joined in 2021. Together, they’ve transformed Basecamp into a thriving center dedicated to meeting students' basic needs. The impact of Siskiyous Basecamp has become widely recognized within the California Community College system. Recently, Regina and Maggie had the honor of presenting at the December 2024 Basic Needs Conference. Here’s what their colleagues have to say about Regina and Maggie. What colleagues say about Regina and Maggie:
"They are always eager to support people across departments and go beyond expectations to support students and staff."
"Regina is amazing and has been able to establish Basecamp as a safe place of belonging for students and staff."
"Maggie goes above and beyond to help students. Whether providing students with snacks, meals, and other basic necessities, or guiding them through the sometimes arduous and complicated processes of applying for various support programs, Maggie is always willing to help with a big smile on her face. We love Maggie!"
Congratulations Regina and Maggie! Colleague of the Month will resume in February. To nominate a colleague, go to: Virtual Suggestion Box.
The 2025 theme is African Americans and the Labor. According to The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, African Americans and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Black history is inextricably linked to the diverse forms of labor across the African diaspora. From the agricultural labor of enslaved people in the Americas to the intellectual labor of Black scholars and the activism of labor movements, Black people have made significant contributions to society through their work. The 2025 theme, "African Americans and Labor," recognizes this rich tapestry of labor experiences.
The 99th Annual Black History Month Virtual Festival is scheduled from February 1-22. Session titles include: 'The Vice President’s Black Wife', 'The Reshaping of Racial Labor' and PBS Books Conversation with Mary Frances Berry. For session details and schedule, visit Black History Month Festival Schedule of Events.
Graduation 2025: The Petition to Graduate deadline is April 15. Please encourage students who plan to graduate to submit their petition (sooner than later). If you have questions about Graduation 2025 or would like to help with the event, send an email to pio@siskiyous.edu. Graduation will be held at the Weed Campus Football Stadium on Friday, May 16 beginning at 6:00 pm. All students who plan to participate in the ceremony should also plan to attend rehearsal to be held earlier in the day at 1:00 pm.
Stay Connected: It's winter season which means it is a good time to make sure you are signed up and receiving messages from the College's communication system, COS Connect. This is a free system used to notify students and staff of emergency-situations, campus closures, or general information. To sign up click on the COS Connect button located on the COS homepage and follow the directions to sign up. If you have any problems, please let us know.
Website Redesign: Work continues on the college's website redesign project. Our project team has been working on 'building out' the responsive pages. The whole project is flowing smoothly and we are on track with our timeline. We encourage everyone to continue making sure our current webpage content is current and updates are addressed when information is requested.
Reminder… Siskiyous Publicity (Creating Flyers, Programs, Digital Ads, and more): Please remember that all publicity, promotional, and marketing materials must be submitted to the Public Relations Office (email pio@siskiyous.edu) before being posted, printed, or distributed on campus and in the community. This includes images used in social media posts and other print publications. This process ensures that all materials meet branding and accessibility standards. Questions – send an email, call the office, or stop by for a chat. We are happy to meet and discuss.
2025-2026 Foundation Scholarship Applications Now Available: Scholarship applications for academic year 2025-2026 are now available for Siskiyou County high school seniors (graduating spring 2025) and current COS students who plan to attend COS during the 2025-2026 year. The application is due March 31 and can be found online.
Come Join Our Team: We are looking for new volunteers to join the Eagle’s Nest team. Volunteers work as cashiers, screen items as they come in, price merchandise, repair items, research antiques, etc. There is never a dull moment at the Eagles Nest. We are also looking for student workers. If you know of anyone who may be interested in volunteering or working as a paid student worker, have them call (530) 938-4663 or stop by the Eagle’s Nest Shop to speak with Angel Keen, Shop Supervisor.
Upcoming Activities & Events:
Event dates, times, and locations based on information available at the time of publication and are subject to change.
February 2025
March 2025
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As we get into the swing of the spring (feels more like winter) semester, I want to comment on how nice it is to have students back. Due to some personal issues, I missed almost the entire first week of this semester and I don't think I had ever had that happen in all my years in education. I was sad to not see the many different looks on students' faces. The look of excitement. The look of nervousness. The look of confusion. The look of determination. The list of looks goes on and on. As professionals working in higher education, it is a privilege and a joy to serve each one of these students as they embark on their educational journey. The staff and faculty in Student Services have been working hard and have done a tremendous job to make that first week an enjoyable one. Not everything goes according to plan and sadly it means frustration for students but I know that all are trying and doing their best even when faced with challenges and roadblocks that are difficult. Thank you to the Student Services professionals that give it their all each and every day. Here's to an exciting spring 2025 semester!
Our office has partnered with the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) Blue Icon Advisors to perform a Standards of Excellence Review (SOE) this spring. This objective, confidential, peer review will assess College of the Siskiyous’ delivery of student financial aid. Reviews are designed to highlight strengths, identify compliance exceptions, and recommend improvements.
The SOE Review Program looks at all aspects of Title IV program administration, including:
Our office is dedicated to combating fraud which has overrun all California institutions of higher learning. This attack on the state's liberal access to education has put millions of federal financial aid dollars in to the pockets of fraud rings and bad actors. This influx of fraudulent student activity has shown no signs of decreasing and regulatory authorities have made no efforts to assist institutions with preventing these fraudulent activities.
We anticipate longer than usual processing times during the spring term. However, these delays are necessary to ensure College of the Siskiyous can continue to provide access to financial aid programs for our students.
Lodges and ASB have started out the spring semester strong with lots of fun events!
Siskiyous TRiO Programs had the opportunity to attend The Honda Battle of the Bands in collaboration with the National College Resources Foundation hosting the Black College Expo™ that took place on February 1, 2025, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Our students were excited to take part in this event marked HBOB's first-ever West Coast appearance.
Origins of HBCU Marching Bands - The roots of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands can be traced back to the late 19th century. In 1890, Tuskegee Normal School (now Tuskegee University) established one of the earliest known Black college marching bands. Initially, these bands were informal groups that provided music for campus events, religious services, and military drills. Over time, they evolved into more structured ensembles, blending traditional military band styles with popular music and performance elements from minstrel shows and circus bands. The concept of "Battle of the Bands" emerged as a way for HBCU bands to showcase their talents and foster camaraderie. One of the most prominent events is the Honda Battle of the Bands, established in 2003. This annual invitational showcase celebrates the excellence of HBCU marching bands and the unique academic experience offered by these institutions. Traditionally held in Atlanta, Georgia, the event has recently expanded to new locations, with the 2025 showcase scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. HBCU marching bands have transcended their roles as musical ensembles to become cultural ambassadors, showcasing the rich heritage and traditions of their institutions. Their performances are a testament to discipline, creativity, and the celebration of African American culture, leaving a lasting impact on audiences nationwide.
The showcase featured performances by six Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands: Alabama A&M University – Marching Maroon and White Band Alabama State University – Mighty Marching Hornets Hampton University – The Marching Force North Carolina A&T University – Blue and Gold Marching Machine Southern University – Human Jukebox Marching Band University of Arkansas Pine Bluff – Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South.
The Beach Volleyball Sand Courts Construction Project is out for bid.There will be a mandatory job walk on February 27 at 11:00 am. All bids are due on March 14 at 2:00 pm. Construction is set to begin May 1, 2025.
The Student Housing Project is currently in DSA review and waiting for the for the construction drawing estimates to be returned from the estimator. We still anticipate holding a Ground-Breaking Ceremony in fall 2025.
Shout out to the snow removal crew who have been working tirelessly for the past two weeks clearing both campuses - Josh Simas, Gino Peruzzi, Adrian Ramirez, Patrick Stevenson, Adam Booth, Gonzalo Medellin, and Joe Giordanengo. These are our heroes that don't wear capes. Thank you all for the work that you do for the district!
Hello Siskiyous! Class 14 of the Police Academy is "Full Steam Ahead". They have all successfully completed the first of three (3) modules with 24 students enrolled in the spring academy. Of those, ten (10) are self-sponsored, and the other fourteen (14) represent seven (7) agencies, all of which are working diligently on completing Police Academy and are looking forward to graduating on June 13. The January start can be challenging with the holiday break; a BIG thanks to Madolyn, the counselors, Ty and the staff in Student Lodging, the champions at Admissions and Records, all the others who are dedicated to the success of our students and work hard to help get our Cadets registered for the January 2 start of the program.
Recently, we were pleased to be able to participate in combined training with the Siskiyous Paramedic Program. This unique opportunity allowed us to combine CPR and First Aid training with the Paramedic students and the cadets from the Police Academy. What a great way to build a public safety work relationship. You may have seen some of the photos and short videos posted on the COS and Police Academy Facebook pages.
We are pleased to be selected to participate in a statewide pilot program measuring the effectiveness of our physical training here at the College of the Siskiyous. We are unique among most college presenters as we have PT throughout our entire academy, not just the final three-month session. We are confident that the data gathered will help POST encourage other programs to increase the intentional physical development of their students and share the same level of success that we have found in retaining students.
A big part of our ability to retain students is our partnership with the Athletic Department, and the skills of athletic trainers like Zach and Kristy Johnston, and the amazing work they do to support the physical recovery of our cadets. Zach just completed the POST PT Instructor course at LAPD; thank you, Zac. He will now be more directly involved in helping make our PT program exemplary, as we are one of the few academies with regular athletic trainers available to our students. Since forming the partnership with Athletics, we have not lost a Police Academy student to an athletic injury. Talk about increasing retention and student success!
With the addition of talented instructors like Zach Myers, Alan Burker, and Steve Farhney who bring in their significant talents and skills to our cadets, we have embarked on a major re-design of our PT program. We have introduced "Combat Sport" style conditioning exercises from sports like Boxing, MMA, and Jui-jitsu, designed to physically prepare our students, increase skills and confidence, and reduce repetitive injuries. We were pleased to be able to use Strong workforce dollars to expand the nature of our PT program and purchase the necessary safety equipment to train our students effectively in body control systems and moving away from impact control.
Coming up, on Saturday, March 8, we will participate in the Polar Plunge fundraiser at Lake Shastina. This annual fundraising event for Special Olympic athletes here in Siskiyou County supports their travel and entries into events throughout the state. If you are interested in supporting this worthy cause, we will have sponsorships and other support opportunities soon.
As we 'wrap up' this month's update, we want to share something that recently came to our attention from one of the Recruit Training Officers, Steve Farhney.
On January 16, Cadets Callahan, Bracken, and Baxman were on lunch break from the College of the Siskiyous Law Enforcement Academy and having lunch at the Subway inside of the Pilot Truck Stop. These three cadets observed an older couple enter the store. The female fell to the ground in what appeared to be some kind of seizure. Cadets Callahan, Bracken, and Baxman did not hesitate to rush to their aid and offered their assistance to help the man protect his wife and start medical assistance if necessary.
About a week later, he asked me to personally pass on his gratitude to the three Cadets who stepped up to assist he and his wife, both who are long time and dear friends of my family. He was truly touched to have these three young men assist and stay with them until his wife came out of the seizure so she could be helped up.
This immediate, heartfelt response to someone in need exemplifies the type of modern Law Enforcement Officer and compassionate human being we strive to train in the academy. This is a great example of the true nature of service, as demonstrated in this and other First Responders training here at COS. We are beyond proud of these three individuals and their chosen path to serve their community.
If you are interested in a career in service and would like to know more, please contact our office. We love to talk about the possibilities here at COS.
Hello everyone.
I hope your Spring semester is off to a great start! I've been enjoying my classes and the chance to interact with students. My only gripe is the cold—those few minutes walking across campus have turned into a mini challenge. It definitely makes you want to pick up the pace! I hear the forecast is calling for more snow and freezing temperatures, so spring feels like it’s still a long way off.
In recent discussions about scheduling, transparency has emerged as a key point of focus. It's essential that we are transparent with our students regarding the college's offerings—whether that’s degrees, certificates, or courses. Our college catalog must accurately reflect what is truly available to students. Some degrees and certificates currently listed have not been awarded in years due to factors like lack of interest, failure to offer required courses, or the absence of qualified faculty. Additionally, several courses remain in the catalog even though they haven’t been taught in years.
Honesty is equally important when it comes to the format of certain programs. Some majors are offered entirely online, which means students must be comfortable with asynchronous learning. While online education offers flexibility and other benefits, it’s not the best fit for every student. Clearly communicating that a program is exclusively online enables students to make informed decisions about which major aligns with their needs and preferences.
Ultimately, transparency means respecting our students and providing them with a clear, achievable educational path. Furthermore, we have a legal obligation to accurately represent the programs and courses we offer. Thus, maintaining transparency is not only a matter of professional standards and openness—it's also about meeting our legal responsibilities.
Be safe in this weather and thanks for listening.
Andrea Craddock, President Academic Senate
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