Slide 1: Welcome! My name is Michelle Hernandez and I am delighted to present to you “Cultivating Skills” a guide to skill development through participation and involvement at College Nine and John R. Lewis College. In this presentation, we use the metaphor of a Leadership Garden to represent our vision on the process of student skill development. You will encounter our collective definitions of each of these skills and what they each look like at different levels. We all have our own leadership gardens but we tend to them as a community.

Slide 2: We hope that this presentation helps you: 

• Assess where your growth is under each of these skills and which skills you wish to grow/tend to
• Encourage you to find the right opportunities to help you tend your garden
• We know that the more students are involved in their college experience (outside the classroom), the more likely they are to succeed.  We also know that employers and graduate schools are looking for students to articulate 21st Century skills, which is why we have designed this leadership certificate for you to track all of these skills and  involvements!
• In addition, we hope that the definitions in this presentation will serve you as a tool to present, speak, and write about your skill growth in your work, such as in resumes, cover letters, and job applications, to name a few.

Slide 3: The harvest represents the following 7 skill themes. . Under each skill, there are sub skills, these represent the seeds. 

For example: For teamwork and collaboration we need seeds of self-awareness and leadership. 

The following slides will break down each one of these themes.

Slide 4: We acknowledge that every student brings different skills that have been developed at different levels and capacities. Here you can read about what each level looks like. Signing up for an opportunity is like entering your garden ready to water and tend to it. Each opportunity provides you with the different tools and support that you need depending on where you are. I.e watering cans, shovels, etc. They also offer different experiences, training, and levels of commitments.

(The remaining slides have no audio).

Visit Student Groups on the left navigation or click here! 

CLNI 85: Global Action 

This 2-credit, student-taught course meets weekly to foster a small-group learning community that provides opportunities to explore international and global issues, discuss current events, and engage in social change, culminating in a final project. This course is offered every Winter Quarter. Check out the College Nine Course Catalogue to see what classes are available this quarter. Once you have taken this class, you are eligible to teach the course in a future year.

CLNI 191: Teaching Global Action

Upper Division College Nine students are invited to apply to teach Global Action (CLNI 85). Student instructors go through training in November and in Winter Quarter they meet weekly with an instructor to explore materials, techniques and tools to develop curriculum and facilitate their own weekly section of 12-18 students for CLNI 85: Global Action. 

Contact Erin Ramsden at eramsden@ucsc.edu for more information. 

Please visit Student Employment on the left navigation or click here!

All upcoming events may need to be reconfigured, rescheduled, or cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.

HOPE

The mission of the Annual HOPE International Music Festival is to raise awareness about international social justice issues through music, speakers, spoken word, art, tabling and other opportunities to engage with College Nine's theme. The HOPE planning committee, composed of student leaders in College Nine and John R. Lewis College, begin planning in Winter for the Spring festival. There's lots of room for students to contribute their creative ideas for artists, topics, arts, music and more! 

ICW

The Intercultural Community Weekend (ICW) is an overnight retreat in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains in which College Nine students begin to explore the College Nine theme with the purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of International and Global Perspectives and building connections and leadership skills with other students. Students will be given the opportunity to learn more about themselves and others, as well as develop intercultural awareness through interactive exercises and small group discussions facilitated by staff and student leaders. John R. Lewis College students may also apply to participate, but priority will be given to College Nine students. If you are a John R. Lewis College student interested in a similar event, please refer to the MCW description on the John R. Lewis College site.

Nuestras Raíces  

Formerly the Cesar Chavez Convocation, this large-scale event was renamed Nuestras Raíces, or “our roots.” While the convocation used to honor the memory of Cesar Chavez and his achievements, commitment to social justice/civil rights, and unrelenting efforts to cultivate grassroots leadership, there was conflict between the intention of this event and with the legacy of some of his platforms and their impact on undocumented, migrant workers and activists. This new event reframes the conversation to be about current activists, with a focus on intersectionality, still reflecting the power of grassroots leadership and a commitment to social justice. 

This event has previously featured keynote speakers such as Dolores Huerta, Cesar Cruz, Daniel “Nane” Alejandrez, and more. 

Contact coco@ucsc.edu for more information on how to get involved in these or other events.

Practical Activism Conference (PAC)

Join us for the 18th Annual Practical Activism Conference on Saturday, February 27, 2021 from 10:30am - 5pm, either virtually or potentially in the College Nine and John R. Lewis College Multipurpose Room.

The Practical Activism Conference is a daylong, student-led, conference with workshops, speakers, organizations, and hands-on activism sessions all focused on practical ways to promote and create social change. The conference is planned by a group of dedicated College Nine and John R. Lewis College students.

For more information or to join the student planning team, check out the main Practical Activism website or contact the Student Lead Coordinators at practicalactivism@gmail.com. 

Our students have many opportunities to get involved and engaged with our colleges through leadership, internships, classes, volunteering and paid positions. Every year in May, we gather with our amazing student leaders to celebrate, acknowledge, and honor their contributions to our colleges at our Student Leadership Recognition Ceremony. Below are some of the awards and honors presented at this ceremony to both continuing and graduating students. 

College Service Award

College Service Awards recognize graduating College Nine and John R. Lewis College students who have contributed significantly to our colleges and campus during their time here. Students who receive this award are invited and recognized at the Student Leadership Recognition Ceremony and have this honor read at the graduation ceremony and noted in the commencement program.

College Leadership Certificate

The College Nine International and Global Perspectives Leadership Certificate is the highest honor a student can receive at College Nine. One of the primary goals of College Nine is to help our students actively engage in the college community to build leadership and skills that reflect our theme. To formally recognize leadership contributions and experiences, the College Leadership Certificate is presented upon graduation to qualifying students. This is a tangible honor that can be highlighted in employment and graduate school applications. Click here to download a copy of the Leadership Journal and track your involvement at College Nine.

Leadership Certificate: Template Google Doc Nomination Form, Google Form Nomination

Jay Johnson Awards

Jay Johnson was a CSO at our colleges starting when College Nine was first founded through Fall of 2006, when he passed away on duty. Jay cared deeply about the students and took time to learn their names, joke and chat with them about their lives, help them out with their questions, and point them in the right direction. He is remembered for his commitment to our colleges and for the positive impact he had in shaping our community. In honor of this amazing individual, the Jay Johnson awards were created.

The Jay Johnson Leadership Award is presented to current student leaders who are in their third year or higher. Recipients are selected by College Nine and John R. Lewis College Staff. 

The Jay Johnson Emerging Student Leader Award is intended for first or second year students, affiliated with College Nine or John R. Lewis College. Recipients are nominated and selected by a committee of current student leaders. 

Star Award

Previously known as the Alumni Association College Service Award, the Star Award is presented to a student who has demonstrated exceptional service to their colleges and the campus as a whole, and who has also displayed strong academic achievements. This award is based on the story of a person who began throwing the starfish back into the ocean one by one, supporting each starfish individually:

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a girl picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the girl, he asked, “What are you doing?” 

The girl replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” 

“Child,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the girl bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, she said, “I made a difference for that one.”

We know our student leaders do this every day. This award recognizes the spirit of social change agents to inspire collective action and do what is right. 

For more information and past winners of these awards, please visit the Student Leadership page.