Welcome back to the Mt. San Antonio College Podcast! Hosts Chisa Uyeki and Ivan Sanchez introduce us to the work of Dr. Lisbet Sanchez, who reflects on the power of language and describes encouraging her students to write poetry in Spanish or in any way that feels natural. When she did, she witnessed a transformation: as students were given freedom and agency, their use of Spanish blossomed—from a mix to writing full poems.

Tune in on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Resources:

Link: https://www.mtsac.edu/languages/

Link: https://www.mtsac.edu/languages/_blog/08-21-2025-lizbet-sanchez-spanish-heritage-students.html

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands = La Frontera. Second edition. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 1999. Print. Available at Mt. SAC Library General Collection 811.54 An98b 1999

Garcia, Gina Ann. Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions : Opportunities for Colleges and Universities. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019. Print. Available at Mt. SAC Library General Collection 378.1 G1659b

Welcome back to the Mt. San Antonio College Podcast! In this special season 10 premiere, hosts Chisa Uyeki and Ivan Sanchez dive into the heart of what makes Mt. SAC — and community colleges in general — so unique: a deep commitment to creative, innovative teaching and ongoing learning.

This season, we’re excited to introduce our new producer, Kate Mishkin, who brings her passion for storytelling and curiosity about education into the mix. Season 10 is all about reconnecting to purpose. Tune in on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Run time: 8:24 min

To find the full transcript for this episode, click HERE

This season of the podcast has come to a close! We will be going on break until we come back in the Fall. In this episode, Season Nine hosts, Ivan and Chisa, reflect on their first time hosting and creating the podcast. They share what they learned and what they loved about the podcast creation process. Plus, they each highlight a few of the important initiatives that they crafted episodes around this year.

We also wanted to thank YOU for listening. Here are Ivan’s and Chisa's takeaways. Enjoy!

While parenting is tremendously rewarding, it is challenging on many levels. For our students who are also parents or guardians, they have to balance the demands of caring for children and the demands of college.

Today we delve into this topic and how to best support these students. We talk with Dr. Julie Marquez, who directs a number of student support programs, including EOPS and Care. Dr. Marquez shares her knowledge of services available on campus and off, as well as actions we can all take to contribute to a family-friendly college culture which supports these students. We also hear directly from students at the 4th annual Parenting Institute, which was held in February of 2025. Enjoy!

RESOURCES for Students who are parents:

Student Parents l points students to resources for Food & Basic Needs, Child & Pregnancy Care (including locations of lactation stations) , Priority Registration, Health & Wellness, Finances & Taxes, and more.

Lactation Room Locations: https://www.mtsac.edu/hr/lactation.html

Mt. San Antonio College Parent Institute:

The Parent Institute is an interactive and inclusive learning experience for Mt. SAC’s parenting students, which includes workshops, community-building activities, a resource fair, and motivational speakers. The Parent Institute is designed to empower students to embrace their identities as parents, their ability to succeed and to reach their educational goals.

CalWORKs is the acronym for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids. All Community Colleges in California have a CalWORKs Program on campus. Community College CalWORKs Programs serves students in all 58 counties. By providing educational support to Mt. SAC student-parents who are receiving cash aid, we hope to change two generations at a time.

CARE: The CARE Program is designed to support EOPS students who are single parents, head of household, and who are receiving Cash Aid for themselves and/or their children.

Mt. SAC Child Development Center provides on-campus quality early care and education services for the children of college students, staff, and the community at-large are provided on campus throughout the year.

Do you have questions about the transfer process? Or how to support students on their transfer journey? Host Ivan Sanchez sits down with Josh Louden, the director of the transfer and completion center, as well as one of our many wonderful counselors, Alana Bachor.

Listen in as we explore ways faculty can play bigger roles in assisting students with their transfer goals, and nurturing a positive transfer culture on campus. We’ll dig in on transfer opportunities like the TAG and highlight ways we can all be a bigger part of our students’ transfer stories. Enjoy!

Resources:

Transfer Center Website: https://www.mtsac.edu/transfer/

Sign Up for the Transfer Center Faculty Email List: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=8ktNzJ4KQEKu3qfR1oj5Nbh43y7OAZ1NhZC0KeI1MPxUNTVTNzE0MzJEWEtESUg3NDYxREhITEFRVy4u&route=shorturl

Transfer Events Calendar: https://mtsac.lwcal.com/transfer-center/month

Transfer Presentation Request: https://www.mtsac.edu/transfer/presentationrequest.html

Transfer Center Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtsactransfer/?hl=en

Transfer Center Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mtsactransfer

The Mt. SAC Podcast last checked in on our Basic Needs Resources in Fall of 2022, in what has become our most downloaded episode in the nine seasons of the podcast. Because there is a clear interest in this topic we wanted to provide an update about the resources currently available, the students served, and how we can best support students facing housing, food, and other basic needs insecurities.

Join Chisa Uyeki, Mt. SAC Podcast co-host, as she invites Admin Specialist, Monica Arellano, Program Specialist, Lorena Cardozo and Student Resource Navigator Lead, Richard Chavez to talk with us about Basic Needs and the available resources at Mt. SAC.

Resources:

To Request Basic Needs Assistance https://www.mtsac.edu/basic-needs/forms/request_assistance.html

Basic Needs Resources Program https://www.mtsac.edu/basic-needs/

Look under “resources” drop down for more detailed information

Sign-up for the Basic Needs Resources Newsletter Basic Needs Resources Newsletter

More resources can be found in the Basic Needs Resources Program & Mountie Fresh linktree https://linktr.ee/mountiefresh

Affordability, Food, and Housing Access Taskforce Report REAL COLLEGE CALIFORNIA: BASIC NEEDS AMONG CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

https://saragoldrickrab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/basic_needs_among_california_community_college_students-final-2023.pdf

2023-2024 Student Basic Needs Survey Report (The Hope Center)

https://hope.temple.edu/research/hope-center-basic-needs-survey/2023-2024-student-basic-needs-survey-report

Syllabus statement (faculty can add this to the syllabus)

"Food and housing challenges affect many students at Mt. SAC. If you are experiencing this, you are not alone. If these challenges are affecting your success in the course, let’s talk and I’ll share what I know about campus resources. If you feel more comfortable talking with someone else, many people are here to support you like Basic Needs Resources Program, Counselors, the Mt. SAC Health Center, your coaches or club advisor, and Mt. SAC staff at the many programs and centers on campus. Or if you would like to explore resources on your own, check out the Basic Needs Resources Program, Mountie Fresh Food Pantry, and the Basic Needs CalFresh Outreach webpages."