HENRY SHANNON: Hello and welcome to Chaffey College my name.
Is Dr. Henry Shannon and I am the superintendent president
here at Chaffey College.
This year marks 140 years since Chaffey first opened its doors.
In 1883, we were a small school of agriculture
based in the city of Ontario.
Our founders, George and William Chaffey,
envisioned a local college that would provide quality education
for the citrus growing families in this region.
Today our vision is much broader.
To improve lives through education.
In 2023, we have grown into a vast center
of learning that serves around 28,000 students per year
across four campuses throughout the Inland Empire.
I'm always proud to say that we serve the top 100% of students
who apply to our college, providing
quality instruction, access to general financial aid for those
who qualify, and support services
and offering a wide variety of degrees
and certificates designed to propel students forward
in their academic and career goals.
At Chaffey, we value our roots and are
proud of where we started.
Now we are looking forward to the future
where we are evolving to meet the needs of the growing
communities we serve.
Our campuses are growing as well thanks
to the taxpayers who passed Measure P.
Plans are in place to build new campuses in Fontana
and Ontario.
On our Rancho campus, we're building a new library
learning commons and renovating our campus center and swimming
pool.
And in Chino, we have a new 35,000 square foot
academic building estimated to be completed next summer.
Chino happens to be a place where
some exciting innovations have been
taking place in the classroom.
Here's a look at how our vocational nursing program is
using virtual reality equipment to train
the next generation of nurses.
NARRATOR: The Chaffey College Chino Education Center
is located just a couple miles north of the main Chino campus.
Here nursing students learn everything
from taking blood pressure to administering injections
to delivering babies.
There are three labs featuring top of the line equipment
in a hospital-like setting.
Between 100 to 150 vocational nursing students
receive training and certification testing
here every year.
In fall 2022, the program began incorporating
human patient simulation technology
in vocational nursing instruction thanks
to a Strong Workforce grant.
Chaffey College is one of the few Southern California
Community Colleges using this technology in nursing
education.
ERIC SORENSON: My name is Dr. Eric Sorensen
and I'm the Dean of the health and wellness
academic and career community.
Our goal is really to have the same equipment that
exists in the hospitals, exists in
the various clinical environments in our skills
labs.
LIDIA LOPEZ: Here at Chaffey we have
so many avenues of educating here doing simulation.
We have high fidelity mannequins.
We have virtual simulation.
And the students get to learn a lot hands on.
ELYSSA BOLDING: It's really hard and it's really difficult,
but it's really awesome to come to class
and know that your professors care about you
and your classmates are also willing to help you out.
Chaffey College is like a community
and that's why I really like it.
ERIC SORENSON: Virtual reality has really
opened the door for our students to continue
to solidify their skills.
LIDIA LOPEZ: It literally gives you the view of an entire room.
You have a patient in front of you.
You have the nurse.
You have medication.
You have everything that you would in a normal situation
in real life.
ELYSSA BOLDING: The VR simulation is really cool.
You kind of go into a whole other world.
There was a little puddle on the floor in the VR world,
but I kept stepping over it thinking that it was real.
LIDIA LOPEZ: You feel so immersed into it.
You really do feel like you're in there.
ERIC SORENSON: And this provides a realistic learning
environment.
So they're not practicing on patients.
They're practicing in their simulations.
LIDIA LOPEZ: To practice skills, get
accustomed to doing nursing procedures and skills
so they can get ready for bedside nursing at hospitals,
at clinical sites with real patients.
ELYSSA BOLDING: I was able to call the doctor
and ask for what kind of orders that the patient may need
and give a whole SBAR report.
That was something new for me, because in the VR world,
we're able to experience a higher stress level
scenarios versus clinicals we may not experience the same.
ERIC SORENSON: It's important for us
to replicate a realistic clinical environment
because our students will ultimately be clinicians
dealing with and caring for real patients.
LIDIA LOPEZ: The students are enjoying it.
It's very fun.
It's interactive.
Technology is here.
ELYSSA BOLDING: I was very nervous
coming into this program, but every week I get through,
I get way more confident.
I feel a lot of support and a lot of love here.
As long as I'm willing to do my end of the deal,
they're willing to help me out as much as they can as well.
LIDIA LOPEZ: It's a very rewarding teaching nursing,
just seeing these students become successful
and meeting their goals.
ERIC SORENSON: Educating those in our community
and impacting their lives is really what we do.
And we do this at a very low cost
that it provides accessibility to everybody in our community.
NARRATOR: Chaffey College surveyed thousands
of its students in 2020 asking about the challenges they
have faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The results were alarming.
62% said they had experienced at least one type of basic needs
insecurity, ranging from lacking sufficient food
to homelessness.
Students were also asked about their mental being.
It was discovered that 31% were experiencing
at least moderate anxiety and 32% faced oppression
from the pandemic.
Chaffey College quickly took action.
As part of its 10 point plan to address
necessary institutional improvements
and armed with the belief that a holistic approach to serving
students is imperative to overall student success,
Chaffey hired a Director of Social Wellness and Behavioral
Support as an additional new wellness resource for students.
Meet Dr. Jennifer Henry.
JENNIFER HENRY: My name is Dr. Jennifer Henry.
I'm the Director of Social Wellness and Behavioral Support
here at Chaffey College.
Since Dr. Henry Shannon created his 10 point plan,
we have increased the capacity to serve our student
body because they did experience social isolation
during the global pandemic.
JUAN MARIN MARTINEZ: My name is Juan Marin.
I have social anxiety.
All the struggles of being undocumented, no papers.
I have no work permit.
Then at 21, I had my first baby.
I have to do something with my life,
because my baby has Down syndrome.
So now I have to figure out, what am I going to do.
It was a little bit hard going through school.
I had issues with depression.
I found out about the Windows Between Worlds.
And I found out they had art therapy.
JENNIFER HENRY: A Window Between Worlds was specifically
created as a creative outlet.
We have that outlet for them if they
don't wish to do talk therapy.
JUAN MARIN MARTINEZ: The way I was brought up,
Mexican culture is very traditional, very masculine.
You can't show your emotions.
So we only hugged in our family when
it was holidays or birthdays.
It was a real nice to find an outlet,
because I disregarded my mental health a lot
because I had to be this person.
SPEAKER: Can you talk us through that piece of art
that you made a little bit?
JUAN MARIN MARTINEZ: Yeah.
It was-- do you want me to bring it?
I like nature that is more like my--
like a safety.
I like to go hiking.
A knife just because the way I was brought up,
I seen a lot of violence.
I seen a lot of bad things.
I wrote a little thing.
I was born a mistake, but I was raised to exist.
And it took me 80 years to learn to accept to love failure
and here I am.
So it seemed like because it was very personal.
I don't have to be the person that I'm expected to be.
I'm going to be the person I want to be.
And that's one of the things I really liked about art therapy.
It did provide me with that outlet
to express myself something that I wouldn't casually share,
I guess.
So yeah.
JENNIFER HENRY: We have heard some really great feedback.
I think there's more comfort level in terms of reaching out
because they now have a specific person or a specific group
to turn to when they are going through some difficult times
in their lives.
TAMIA NEWMAN: My name is Tamia Newman.
My experience at my former institution
had been so bad it was hard to want
to be involved in the community, because I didn't really
trust anyone and feeling like I don't belong,
like I don't fit in.
That changed when I came to Chaffey College.
JENNIFER HENRY: We found in 2020 alone
31% of our students experienced anxiety and 32% of our students
experienced depression.
TAMIA NEWMAN: Mental health is still very stigmatized
because it's not a one size fits all situation.
JENNIFER HENRY: We have students that
are facing homelessness, housing insecurity, food insecurity,
gender identity issues, and then some.
TAMIA NEWMAN: Chaffey College has created opportunities
and spaces for you to get mental health services that
are catered to specific parts of your identity
or specific struggles.
And I think that that's really unique.
JENNIFER HENRY: She approached me
and she saw the need for those who
are suffering from mental health and also substance use.
TAMIA NEWMAN: We created a group.
It was called Seeking Safety.
I struggled with addiction.
And I think my favorite thing about Dr. Henry was
that she was flexible and adaptable
and she listened to me and she created
care that was tailored to what I was going through.
Redefining who I am as a person was really difficult.
And Chaffey College gave me an opportunity
to connect with the community and kind of redefine myself.
I wasn't held back by everything I had been in the past.
It was really refreshing and empowering.
JUAN MARIN MARTINEZ: I wish I would
have known about these services before,
because I think it would have helped me a little bit
earlier to see things better.
If I knew about the workshops and all the things
that Chaffey, I think it would help me a lot.
TAMIA NEWMAN: Coming to Chaffey College
has definitely changed my life.
I have had so many opportunities that I probably wouldn't
have gotten anywhere else.
And the support system is just immaculate.
Chaffey College did change my life for the better.
NARRATOR: Chaffey College continues
to focus on developing more pathways to education.
A prime example of this is the growth and success
of dual enrollment.
Through dual enrollment, Chaffey provides college courses
to high school and adult education students
through participating schools in the region.
This past summer, Chaffey enrolled
more than 2,500 students who took at least one college
course.
In September, Chaffey signed an agreement
with the Chaffey Joint Union High School District
to pilot a team teaching model for high school seniors.
Through this model, students will
be able to fulfill their high school and college
English requirements in one class that happens
during the regular school day.
And this fall, Chaffey introduced its second cohort
of students to the Lawrence Sanchez U-College Academy,
an innovative program hosted by Upland High School.
In this unique program, high school students
are able to take Chaffey College classes
during their regular bell schedule
and have full time counselors providing support.
Here is Jessica Ahumada from Upland High School
to tell you more about U-College Academy.
JESSICA AHUMADA: At Upland High School,
we have a partnership with Chaffey.
And so we offer the dual enrollment program as well as
U-College Academy.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: Dual enrollment is while you're in high school,
you complete college credits.
I've already completed a couple of college classes
that count for high school credit
these college courses count as high school courses.
So the students aren't doing more, they're doing better.
They're having the opportunity to experience college courses
in high school.
MA'KAYLA HARRISON: I absolutely love being
in the dual enrollment program.
I don't feel like it's an extra load added
onto my schedule versus something
that's very manageable in my schedule.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: There's a time mapped out for you
in your high school schedule to be
able to complete classes and ask for help, ask for support.
JESSICA AHUMADA: The best part is
they have a counselor and a teacher that
is assigned to support them on campus during their schedule
here at Upland High School.
JOAQUIN GONZALEZ-SALGADO: Going into Chaffey College,
there are counselors, there are tutors,
there are people willing to help you and guide
you to be successful.
Going into my first counselor meeting,
my counselor laid out a full course plan
that helped make sure that you're
successful throughout the whole path of dual enrollment.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: They're really good at laying
out the plan, your options, and telling
you what classes you can take.
JESSICA AHUMADA: And so the students
know that there is someone designated just to support them
in their journey.
MA'KAYLA HARRISON: I felt like I wasn't alone
and I knew that any confusions, questions I had,
I felt so comfortable to come to the faculty and staff.
It was just an amazing overall experience.
JESSICA AHUMADA: Here at Upland High School,
our dual enrollment program offers college courses
to our students at no cost.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: Even when you have to buy your books,
they give you a grant and you're able to get your books shipped
to you and everything is free.
JOAQUIN GONZALEZ-SALGADO: It provides you the opportunity
to experience what you're truly passionate about without having
the worry of spending so much money for it.
JESSICA AHUMADA: There's a lot of students
that don't have the opportunity to access college
after they graduate high school.
They might not have the resources, the support.
It might be a language barrier, family barrier,
socioeconomic barrier.
MA'KAYLA HARRISON: I find it so amazing
to say that I'm able to do college and high school
coursework without saying it's a lot on myself.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: Even though I'm only a sophomore,
I've already started thinking about what I want to do ahead
of college, what I want to do as a career,
and that wouldn't have been possible without U.
JESSICA AHUMADA: Chaffey College has
had this program for many years, and now they
have over 6,000 enrollments within a year.
JOAQUIN GONZALEZ-SALGADO: Already
shows the amount of effort that Chaffey College
puts towards providing to the community.
JESSICA AHUMADA: And we've had many students
with very unique success stories.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: That's going to get me so far ahead.
I'm going to be able to skip a couple of years in college
when I get there.
JOAQUIN GONZALEZ-SALGADO: I graduated Chaffey College
with four associate's degrees before my senior year
of high school.
JURNEE CAMPBELL: I felt so proud of myself
because I completed something that not a lot of people
are completing.
MA'KAYLA HARRISON: It makes me feel empowered.
It makes me feel strong.
I'm right on path to where I want
to go in life and the goals I have set forth
and I'm just thankful this program allows me to get there.
HENRY SHANNON: We are proud of our past,
focused on the present, and looking forward to a brighter
future for Chaffey College.
We are grateful to this community
for supporting our students and giving them the tools they
need to reach their goals.
I know Chaffey College will continue
to improve lives through education for the next 140
years.
Go Panthers.