SBBCollege Santa Maria is hoping to bring a little holiday cheer to hundreds of less fortunate children by supporting the Toys for Tots project.

For the next month, the College will serve as a toy donation site for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve program. Each member of staff will also donate a toy to the initiative during the College’s company holiday party.

The College is calling for all people in the local community to bring some holiday cheer to a child by donating unwrapped toys and games to the Santa Maria Campus, located at 303 Plaza Dr.

Matthew Johnston, SBBCollege President, comments: ‘Every child deserves a Christmas present which is why we’re proud to support the program. Each year our employees donate around 200 toys, so by providing an additional collection point for the county we hope to donate even more this year.’

The U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program aims to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to children in the community. Since launching in 1995, the program has distributed more than 469 million toys to 216 million children.

SBBCollege has been supporting the toy drive for over five years, as the College aims to give back to its community during the holiday season.

Video transcript:

My name is Roxanne. I graduated from the medical assisting program associate of science from Santa Barbara Business College.

Time for a Change: I was working part time at Petco, and I hated it. I used to go home and cry. It was horrible. I used to go home and cry “I hate my job, I don’t make enough money, I work crappy hours” and my ex at the time was like “why don’t you go to school?” I came for an interview with admins. Two days later and I enrolled and I was in school the next month.

An Emotional Topic: The staff member that really had an impact on me was Rahsan. She was the teacher that taught all the body classes, all the medical classes and she really, really was able to connect with her students on a really deep personal level and show them this is what I do with my patients. This is how I do things and you’ll find your own niche. You’ll find your own way and how you want to work with your patients.

With her and a couple of other teachers that were again able to connect with their students, it makes a big difference when you like who your teachers are, you enjoy being around them and you connect well with them and you have a relationship with them. It definitely has an impact on your learning.

Friends and Family: The classes are a lot smaller than other schools here. It just changes you as a person being able to connect with your teachers and with smaller classes you get to know the other students and you get to be friends and family and you take that away with you. I still talk to some of the teachers and students all the time and I graduated almost a year ago, and not many people that have gone to other schools here can honestly say “well I’ve kept in touch with my teachers.”

The Big Picture: All around, looking at the bigger picture of everything and looking at where I was before, where I started and where I am now, it definitely made a big impact on my life. A lot of individuals that were raised the same way that I did, that had a lot of the same experiences that I did – they’re not in the greatest place and I’m proud to say that I’ve managed to completely turn my life around and this is definitely one of those big stepping stones that kind of helped me to get where I am right now.

Video transcript:

My name is Lee Yarborough and I’m the career service coordinator at the Santa Barbara campus.

Our SBBCollege Family: As a career service coordinator I help our students and our graduates look for employment in their fields of study, whether it be in the medical field or the business field, and I help them find extern sites as well as help them find jobs after they’ve graduated.

Come as a Student, Leave as a Professional: The best part of my job is to witness a student transform into a professional – maybe someone who comes to the school as a student and then they get to leave as a professional in their career. The student who comes here gets helped their whole way, while they’re in school, whether you get to network with your instructors who are professionals in their field, whether you get to speak with career services or meet with past graduates. You are always going to be connected with your field of study, whether it’s medical or business. Throughout your time here we’re always focusing on what your goal is, whether you’re externship or after you graduate and you want a promotion, we’re always here to help you reach that next step.

Video transcript:

My name is Kathleen McManus and I am a business instructor in all three of our business programs at Santa Barbara Business College.

What Makes SBBCollege Different? Other schools, you have a number of students. You have a number of people to talk to on a daily basis, a number of issues and grading and so on and so forth. Here at the business college we have much smaller classes. We have a greater student/teacher ratio so you’d have more developed relationships and you get to foster their learning more in depth.

Everybody knows how to open a book but how you turn the pages and which direction you turn them helps you to understand more. I tell my students never to read the chapter before they’ve read the questions at the end or they know the vocabulary words that are at the end of the chapter. Why would you pretend to know something until the end and then at the end realize “I need to know what this means?” Rather I have them learn the vocabulary so that they can have an intelligent dialogue in the classroom, while we’re learning.

Supporting Your Dreams: Here, at Santa Barbara Business College, they’re going to be part of a family. They’re going to be a student and not a number. They’re an individual with a name and a dream and we’re here to try and support them and push them along that journey as best, and not necessarily as fast as possible, but at their own speed and their own enrollment to get to the end of that result.

SBBCollege Rancho Mirage will be hosting a full day of celebrations to coincide with the College’s 125^th anniversary which is being celebrated this year. The Mayor will be amongst the fun at the event, which is taking place on Thursday October 24^th.

Mayor Richard Kite will kick off proceedings with a proclamation, followed shortly by retro fancy dress and cooking contests. The event will close with a BBQ for evening students and alumni, who will also be attending on the day to share their stories and experiences from their time at the College.

Matthew Johnston, SBBCollege President, comments: ‘This anniversary marks a significant chapter in the history of this great institution and we are looking forward to the celebrating the rich history of this campus. It will be great to see students from past and present enjoying the celebrations.’

SBBCollege was founded in Santa Barbara in 1888 and is one of the oldest colleges in California and the country. The Rancho Mirage campus offers business and career training to students in the communities of Palm Desert, Indio, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Twentynine Palms, La Quinta, Yucca Valley, Beaumont, Anza, Banning, Cabazon, Mecca, Rancho Mirage, Thermal, Thousand Palms, and other nearby areas.

SBBCollege Bakersfield will be hosting a carnival to coincide with the College’s 125^th anniversary which is being celebrated this year.  The event, which is taking place on Friday October 18^th, will also mark the opening of the Criminal Justice Museum by the Mayor, Harvey Hall.

The campus will be decked out in carnival-style and delicious finger food and beverages will be available for guests. The Mayor will kick off celebrations with an official ribbon cutting, followed by carnival festivities. The museum, which is located on the campus, will feature artifacts and memorabilia dating back to the Wild West and is officially opened following the carnival.

Matthew Johnston, SBBCollege President, comments: ‘This anniversary marks a significant chapter in the history of this great institution and we are looking forward to celebrating the rich history of this campus.  It will be great to see students from past and present enjoying the celebrations.’

SBBCollege was founded in 1888 and is one of the oldest colleges in California and the country. The Bakersfield campus offers computer and medical labs and a learning resource center, and  serves the communities of Bakersfield, Porterville, Delano, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, Shafter, Wasco, Taft, Arvin, California City, Lamont, McFarland, Lake Isabella, Frazier Park, Earlimart, Pixley, Mojave, Bodfish, and other nearby areas.

Video Transcript:

Traci Isel – Health Information Technology

Why did you go back to school? I got terminated and you don’t know what to do after that, you’re kind of lost. Going back to school was one of those options I never thought I would really do but I have a little boy who is 3 now. At the time he was 1 and a half and it’s kind of scary to not know what to do but I thought that going back to school would be the best option. The business college called me right away after I applied online and they were really excited to meet me and I think that’s one of the main reasons why I started going back to school. I was excited and had real high energy and decided that’s what I needed to do and that’s what I ended up doing.

How do you fit in? I’ve made a lot of friends. Not only students, you interact with teachers and then you really start caring about everyone you’re with and you care about their success as well. So you kind of feed off each other and get some little competitions going over who gets the better grades – it keeps you motivated for school.

How does your son feel about you going to school? He’s not old enough to be in school but he likes to color and he’s like ‘I wanna do homework too mom’ and I’m like ‘yes!’ So it kind of gets us a little bit of alone time too when he’s doing his homework and I can do my homework. That makes it easy.

SBBCollege celebrates 125 years: It’s amazing. I don’t know too many businesses that have been around 50 years, 25 years, even 10 years. 125 years really puts a staple into what to expect, it’s the excellence that is your expectation coming into the school – ‘wow, it’s been here so long they must really know what they’re doing so I’m gonna come to this school’. It was a deciding factor for me.

Congratulations SBBCollege: I definitely want to congratulate them and thank them for allowing students to come back, being there for us and just the students in general. Putting together financial aid and getting us ready for jobs. It’s just one of those things that I definitely recommend someone to do if you’re thinking about going back to school, call SBBCollege because they are going to get you excited to go back. They’re going to get you into that homework. They are going to get you what you need to do to become a successful person.

SBBCollege Ventura will be hosting a fun-filled night of celebrations to coincide with the College’s 125^th anniversary which is being celebrated this year.  The event, which is taking place on Tuesday, September 17th, will be attended by Ventura Mayor Mike Tracy, who will be a special guest of on honor on the day.

The campus will be decked out with banners and balloons and a host of activities will take place throughout the evening. An official ribbon cutting by the Mayor and President of SBBCollege will commence the celebrations which will then be followed by the burying of a time capsule.  The time capsule will be filled with items donated by the Ventura community, as well as students, staff and faculty members from the College.

Former alumni will be attending to share their stories and experiences from their time at the College and the campus has arranged for music, food and games to follow the burying of the time capsule.

Matthew Johnston, SBBCollege President, comments: ‘This anniversary marks a significant chapter in the history of this great institution and we are looking forward to the celebrations taking place across the various campuses. It will be great to see students from past and present enjoying the celebrations.’

In 2003, SBBCollege opened the Ventura campus to better serve students in scenic southern-most part of California’s Central Coast. The Ventura college campus offers associate’s, bachelor’s and MBA degree programs and shorter-term job training programs. Graduates of all programs receive job-placement assistance and other career services.

SBBCollege Santa Maria will be hosting a fun-filled day of celebrations to coincide with the College’s 125^th anniversary which is being celebrated this year.  The event, which is taking place on Thursday, September 5th, will be attended by Madame Mayor Alice Patino who will be a special guest of on honor on the day.

The campus will be decked out with banners and balloons and a host of activities will take place throughout the day. An official ribbon cutting by the Mayor and President of SBBCollege will commence the celebrations which will then be followed by a Santa Maria style BBQ.  There will also be an array of exhibitions on the day including one from the local history museum who will be showcasing artifacts spanning the last 125 years of Santa Maria history. Former alumni will be attending on the day to share their stories and experiences from their time at the College.

Matthew Johnston, SBBCollege President, comments: ‘This anniversary marks a significant chapter in the history of this great institution and we are looking forward to the celebrations taking place across the various campuses. It will be great to see students from past and present enjoying the celebrations. ’

In 1980, SBBCollege opened the Santa Maria campus to better serve students in northern Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County. The Santa Maria college campus quickly became a local favorite along the central coast, and today offers courses in business, healthcare and technology.

Video Transcript:

Instructor Dan Campbell – Recreating Crime Scene Footprint

Dan Campbell: We’re here with some international students that we are hosting from Brazil. They are legal students and today we are showing them how to take a footprint from a crime scene where the suspect has left his mark, perhaps outside of their house, and we have put their shoeprints into the sand. Then let it dry and then we will have a match of the bottom of this supposedly suspect’s shoe.”

Bianca: Hello, I’m Bianca. I’m from Brazil and I came here to learn a little bit about the Criminal Justice system and what they do, how they see a crime scene and things like that.

Dan Campbell: …And then we would put those into evidence bags and send them to our crime lab, and sometimes they find out where things come from.

Andrea: Hi, my name is Andrea and I’m from Brazil, I live in Sao Paulo. I’m here in SBBCollege to get better at my law classes because I am at the college of law in Brazil and I like these classes.

Ricardo: My name is Ricardo from Brazil and I’m here for the Criminal Justice program at SBBC. Now we are taking the footprints of ourselves, and it’s really interesting to see how the police work in a crime scene.

Dan Campbell: We’re at the final conclusion of our project here, and we’re here with our crime scene fighters from Brazil again. We are now going to lift up the mold that they have taken of their footprints and then we will clean that off and then in reality we would submit that to a crime lab for analysis. So this is the final leg in collecting some kind of print. We also could have taken prints from tires and other things in the sand, today it was a footprint but in law enforcement we use this technique to take molds off of various items left in dirt or sand.