October 23, 2023

Pictured Left: Zachary Svajda (singles champion)

Pictured Above: Reece Stalder and Evan King (Doubles champions)

The Taube-Grossman Fairfield Pro Challenger tournament, hosted at SCC, concluded on a high note, with excellent weather and record-breaking crowds. The tournament was a great success thanks to the countless volunteers and the collaboration and positive spirit of various departments on campus.

The tournament showcased the Solano Campus and its impact on the community in a number of ways. The high school orientation introduced approximately 30 potential student athletes from Benicia High, Jesse Bethell, and El Cerrito High to the college and its athletic programs. The Pro Am gave local tennis enthusiasts the opportunity to play alongside professional players, and the exhibition of wheelchair tennis raised awareness of adaptive sports.

In the final, Zachary Svajda, a 20-year-old American from La Jolla, California, defeated Nishesh Basavareddy, an 18-year-old rising star from Indiana, 6-4, 6-1. Svajda's victory marked his second consecutive Challenger win, catapulting him toward the top 150 in the ATP rankings.

Watch the singles final here.

The doubles match was won by Reece Stadler and Evan King.

Watch the doubles final here.

The Black Falcon Success Program at Solano Community College has been created as an opportunity for African American students to participate in receiving resources and services that help will holistically help them achieve their academic, personal and professional goals through providing the following services:



• 1:1 & Group Academic Counseling
• Study Halls
• Culturally Relevant Programming
• Academic & Career Workshops

On Thursday, September 28th, the Black Falcon Success Program welcomed over 60 students, staff, faculty and community members to the inaugural Black Student Mixer. Students had the opportunity to fellowship with their peers, connect with SCC staff & faculty, learn about student & campus resources, and discover the purpose of the Black Falcon Success Program. Special thanks for A2MEND, IMANI Sisterhood, MESA, Basic Needs and Phi Theta Kappa for bringing the wealth of resources to allocate with our students and community members. For all questions regarding this program, please contact Erika Black, erika.black@solano.edu, for further assistance.

Solano’s Dia de Muertos celebrations are well underway here at Solano!

The Day of the Dead is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 across Latino communities. Mexico and other Hispanic communities celebrate these days with a variety of traditions. A very common tradition is an Ofrenda or Offering. Ofrendas are not for worshiping the deceased, but rather for remembrance and celebration of a life lived.

Events include:

Through Nov 3  

Dia de Muertos Ofrenda Exhibit

Open to the public: Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm

This ongoing exhibit will be displayed at the following locations:

Herger Gallery Building 1300, Fairfield campus

Fairfield campus Library Study Steps

Vallejo Center Entrance

Vacaville Center Entrance 

Oct 25

Movie Night: Coco

4pm – 6pm in Room 113, Fairfield Campus Library

2pm – 4pm in MUB 140, Vacaville Campus

4pm – 6pm in Room 136, Vallejo Campus

Watch party with drinks and treats!

Nov 2

Closing Celebration Vacaville Exhibit 

11:30am-2pm

Closing day of the exhibit with arts and crafts activities, pan de muerto and traditional Mexican treats

Nov 3

Closing Celebration Fairfield and Vallejo Exhibits

5-8 pm in Herger Gallery, Building 1300 in the Fairfield campus.

Closing night of the exhibit with arts and crafts activities, pan de muerto and traditional Mexican treats

As we approach Undocumented Student Action Week (USAW) next week, we are pleased to share a video message from Deputy Chancellor Daisy Gonzales about the importance of supporting undocumented students. Please invite those interested to register for the events.

Additionally, on Tuesday, Oct. 17 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., the ICanGoToCollege.com campaign is hosting a special virtual webinar for undocumented students and families that will focus on helping students enroll and get the support they need to reach their educational goals. Students who attend can enter to win prizes donated by iHeart Media to help with their college education. Please share this information widely with students and their families and encourage them to register and attend.

We encourage you to register and attend the events and encourage others to attend too.

Learn more and register for Undocumented Student Action Week events.

The "I Am Solano" project will highlight students, alumni, faculty and staff from time to time. It's our way of connecting with those that matter to our community and finding out what they think makes SCC so special.

Our first in this series is alumnus Chance Bennett.

"I look back at my time at Solano Community College with the fondest of memories. While challenging, it remains some of the most rewarding and impactful academic work that I have taken part in. My professor’s at SCC encouraged curiosity and rigor, while always believing in and supporting my continued academic pursuits. Solano Community College will always hold a special place in my heart, the relationships and mentorship that I found on campus have been invaluable on my journey.

Today, I’m a medical student at UC Davis School of Medicine who is passionate about equitable medical care and the diversification of medicine as a whole. I’m so proud to be a part of the Solano family, and will continue carrying the lessons instilled in me during my time on campus throughout medical school and into my future practice as a Physician!"

Chance Bennett

M.D. Candidate, Class of 2027

UCD School of Medicine

In the last two articles, we established that the Banner Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is the software backbone of our college administration, handling everything from student records to paying our employees. We presented the vision behind the Banner Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) transformation that aims to enhance efficiency, improve security and compliance, and future-proof our student experience.

Migrating to Banner SaaS is by far a colossal undertaking for our entire college, not just the Technology Services Department. The Banner SaaS project is really a collection of projects, each having outcomes that must converge for a successful go-live. What does the journey look like in getting to Banner SaaS?

• Banner Business Process Assessment. Involves each functional area working with Ellucian consultants to analyze and optimize their use of Banner in shifting critical functions to a cloud- based architecture.

• Architecture, Infrastructure and Data migration. Designing the SaaS structure, establishing necessary software-based infrastructure and migrating all college data for a seamless transition to Banner SaaS.

• Third-party Integrations. Reworking all the third-party applications that currently talk to Banner, from Canvas to check printing, including 37 total third-party integrations.

• Reporting and Insights. All current Banner reports must be inventoried and modified to make them SaaS safe, meet our state reporting requirements and enhance data-driven decision-making.

• Student Identity Migration. Transitioning student identities (i.e., accounts) from our campus to Microsoft Azure to enhance security and access control to enable cloud-based services for students.

• Experience Portal. A new, modern, intelligent web portal that provides a unified user interface to Banner SaaS and all college-provided cloud services. This signature project impacts all students, faculty and staff and by replacing the current “My Solano” web portal.

• User Acceptance Testing (UAT). End-to-end testing encompasses comprehensive testing of all business processes, data integrity and user experience before the final transition and go-live.

Our Banner SaaS portfolio of projects represents a significant amount of work for our campus. But the long-term benefits outweigh these initial hurdles. Together, we will leap forward prepared for the ever-evolving higher education landscape.

The Solano College Women's Soccer Falcons remained unbeaten in Bay Valley Conference (BVC) play with a thrilling 2-2 draw against Mendocino College on Saturday.

The match was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams exchanging goals throughout. Solano took an early lead on a goal by Giovanna Edwards in the 12th minute, but Mendocino equalized before halftime. Mendocino took the lead in the second half, but Edwards scored again in the 76th minute to level the score and preserve Solano's unbeaten streak.

Julia Villareal made a number of key saves in goal for Solano to help keep the team in the match.

With the draw, Solano improves to 5-0-1 in BVC play.

Solano defeated Contra Costa 25-2, 25-16, 25-11.

Strong serving in set 1 from Breanna Davis and then Malia Decelle. Malia took over serving at 10-2, served us up to 21-2, we subbed Jailynn Bermudez to take us to 25-2. Hannah Del Rio was on fire at the net in set 1, and almost every ball she touched went down for a kill. Hannah Del Rio led the team with 17 kills, hitting .652 and 2 blocks Breanna Davis served 16-16 with 3 aces, added 13 digs and 27 assist Malia Decelle served 14-14 with 2 aces, added 8 kills Lexi Vasquez served 10-10 with an ace and 15 digs Meya Islas served 9-9 with 2 aces Vanya Paopao added 9 kills, served 8-8 with an ace and chipped in 10 assist Kelsey Wall chipped in 6 kills in only two sets AJ Projillo served 7-7 off with bench with 4 digs.

Research shows that taking study breaks may help to increase productivity, creativity, and learning retention while reducing stress. Take a break or several with the ASTC, have some fun and learn something new that supports your academic success and well-being.

All sessions held in Room 114G in the Academic Success & Tutoring Center (ASTC).

The Dance Club has a fun Photo Card Fundraising Event.

When: Wednesday, October 25th

Time: 2:00-4:00

Where: Dance Studio 1740

Everyone is welcome!

All Solano Community College community members have free access to The New York Times. Create a student/staff account through the library's link below to access the NYT online or via their app. Be sure to use your solano.edu 

email when you sign up though -- that school email account activates your free subscription.

Step 1: Navigate to https://nytimesineducation.com/access-nyt/

Step 2: Search for and select Solano Community College. You will be redirected to the NYT registration page.

Step 3: Click Create Account & complete fields; you must use your @edu email

Step 4: Verify your account (you will receive a confirmation email)*

*The confirmation email may be routed to your spam folder. You must click the link in this email to complete the registration.



Our subscription also includes access to The New York Times:

·    Archives (dating back to 1851)

·    Podcasts (including the Daily podcast)

·    NYT Videos

·    Newsletters (there are a variety of newsletter topics)

·    The NYT educational resources

·    And more!

To gain entry to the Education site (whether faculty, staff, or student), simply complete a short registration https://nytimesineducation.com/register/. Be sure to use your .edu email address.