SJVC Bakersfield Celebrates 30 Years

From a few scattered buildings in a strip mall and fewer than a hundred students to the two-story, hi-tech facility with over 600 students, San Joaquin Valley College (SJVC) has long been a recognized institution of quality career training in Bakersfield. This week meets the 30-year mark of providing Medical, Business and Technology career education and training programs to the local community.

On Monday, Nov. 5^th, students, staff, faculty, graduates, affiliated businesses and the public-at-large were invited to celebrate this occasion on the college campus located at 201 New Stine Rd., while they enjoyed refreshments, tours and selected speakers to honor this college milestone.

“The event brought a sense of community to all of us who were part of something so positive for our students, graduates and many local businesses who hire our graduates,” says Chelsea Esquibias, SJVC’s Career Services Manager on the Bakersfield campus. “So many people were here to support us and remind us what an important contribution our students make to local business and industries.”

That point was made especially clear when recent Medical Assisting graduate, Bertha Ledezma, took the podium to tell her story of struggle and eventual success. (Insert Bertha’s quote) Bertha had two job offers before she graduated and encouraged current students to stay focused to reap their eventual career rewards.

“The focus and drive for our college is the success of every student,” says Bakersfield Campus Director, Kelly Walters. “We accomplish this through engagement in the classroom, hands-on learning, student support services and applied experiences in the field for most of our programs.”

For more information about SJVC’s accelerated career training programs, call the Bakersfield campus at 661/834-0126 or see sjvc.edu.