Week of February 26, 2024

Hi Clovis Fam,

Well, I am back!!!!!! As you may recall I combined business with family last week and am always thankful when I get to see and enjoy family.

So to catch you up, I left the Achieving the Dream Conference and headed to Atlanta to visit with my daughter. I got into Atlanta late Thursday night due to travel complications which delayed my arrival for three hours but I was thrilled beyond belief to see her. It was my first time seeing her new home that she bought in October. It’s beautiful and I am so excited to see her in this phase of her life. On Friday, she and I took one of her friends out to lunch (Mediterranean food Mmmm) for her 30th birthday. This is important because it was going to be her first birthday celebration after the passing of her mom. My daughter did not want her to be alone. We ate and laughed and talked about how her mom would enjoy this luncheon. This young lady is a first-generation college student and she got her nerves up to go to college in celebration of her mom. It was a wonderful experience for us all to celebrate over food, and as you have seen is a common theme for me. I was outside enjoying the beautiful Atlanta weather; everything was blooming and the air was slightly crisp in the morning as we took her dog to the dog park.

I was eating, spending time with my daughter, playing with her dog ( who used to be mine), and enjoying the weather…AND THEN…I became ill. I was down all day Saturday ( I couldn’t even taste the Jamaican curry goat, cabbage, and rice that I had been waiting for since I realized I was going to Atlanta.) It turns out that I am allergic to Atlanta! What a bummer!!!!!! I was to leave on Sunday. So I was thankful that I was feeling better. As I prepared to leave Sunday evening, I was texted a few times about flight delays and changes. I quickly realized that due to the delays in my initial flight, I would not make my connecting flight to Phoenix. I then received a text saying that they had booked me on the flight at 6 am Monday to make sure that I made my connecting flight. Relief was my first emotion. Then it dawned on me that I would need to leave my daughter’s house by 3 am to make my flight and get through one of the busiest airports in the country. My daughter insisted on taking me (bless her little heart 😊). I made the plane and was exhausted when I finally landed 6 hours later in Fresno. I then discovered that everything here had bloomed also and there was no relief from my allergies. So if you happened to see me this week and my affect was flat…..I was not feeling well or I finally realized that I had to take some meds to survive.

On Sunday night I was informed of some student issues that were already being handled.

I got here Monday afternoon at about 12:30 and as I got out of my car Judson said, “Hi” and “Welcome Back.” Thank you for the warm greeting back home. Once here, I was informed of the student death at Madera. I touched based with Dr. Reyna to see how he was holding up and to see if there was anything he needed. I caught up with Bonnie and went directly to Chancellor’s Cabinet and then into interviews of the Executive Director of Strategic Communications. While in Chancellor’s Cabinet we reviewed the ISER for all the colleges. On Monday, I was also informed that our request for credit/ CBE courses for our Ag Tech grant had been approved by Curriculum Review! Way to go Matthew!!!!!! We are the first to get it done and it is because of the dedication and commitment to the original grant and truly because of Matthew.

Tuesday, I attended the Fresno/Clovis Prayer Breakfast as the guest of Senator Shannon Grove. After the start of this week, I found the fellowship and prayers refreshing, rejuvenating, and much-needed. I was thankful to have that moment to be at peace. I came back and had a wonderful meeting with Teresa and Galin. During our regular Academic Senate /President’s meeting, we talked about how to assist our students with their increasing mental health needs. We talked about what we are all seeing post-COVID and the impact of being isolated had been on our students. We talked about individual opportunities to assist students, and the need for more institutional resources, and discussed the partnerships that they have had with ASG on this topic for our campus students.

On Tuesday evening I spoke at the SCCCD Wall of Honor. It was great to see some of our Clovis Fam at the ceremony. This year’s inductees are Laneesha Senegal, Dr. Deshunna Monay Ricks, and Dr. Geraldine Santos. Incredible women with incredible stories of perseverance, faith, and resilience. Women who give selflessly so that others can stand on their shoulders. It was an honor to be in the space with these incredible women. The food was good and the music was outstanding. We had a classically trained violinist and someone playing the best music ever as I sang and bopped my head the entire time. It was a good time.

On Wednesday, I got to spend a little time at Herndon with Rich and Stephanie. I then met with a student who wanted to talk to me about coming back to school and why she wanted to come to Clovis. We had a great chat and I enjoyed getting to hear her story and her dreams. I then had the best time attending the “ What does the Constitution Mean to US’ session sponsored by Charlotte Samuels. She had a room full of students, administrators, community members, and her fellow faculty. It was an inspiring and accurate engaging session. I tried not to talk so as to not inhibit people because I was in the room, but I found myself so engaged that I couldn’t help myself. After I left the session, I went to the Soroptimist Live Your Dream Scholarship Awards Ceremony where 22 of the 35 scholarship awards went to students at Clovis. I was so filled with pride to see our students being recognized.

On Thursday, I worked on my ACCJC peer review report and I got to attend the Clovis Clothing Closet Fashion Show. It was fabulously done. The student models were so confident. The clothes and ensembles were expertly done. The crowd seemed to really enjoy the event. I was able to play an interactive role in evaluating the “handshake,” the eye contact and the first impression of the way the student presented herself. Out Career Department experts are doing a fabulous job helping our students get ready for an interview. Way to go Dianna and team!

On Friday, I was in an all-day meeting with the ACCJC Review Committee. But I was able to break ways and celebrate our IR team (Ryan, Michelle, Liz, and Kaye) who was selected for the Celebrate Clovis recognition. As a data-informed organization, it is IR that provides accurate data for all reports. They have provided detailed information for all of my KPI reports and are able to quickly do a deep dive into any subject matter requested. I am thrilled to see that their peers recognize their hard and often behind-the-scenes contribution to the success of this college. I then had the pleasure of attending the CTE Community Advisory Event in the evening. It was well attended and well done.

On Saturday, I came out to support our fabulous Financial Aid team doing an application event right here on campus. After, I attended a Meet and Greet in Fresno with U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. Adam Schiff.

As the week started off rough, I must say that as I was reminded by just how great you all work together for the common good of our students, I began to be rejuvenated again and found myself filled with joy as I watched you support each other and our students.

Thank you for simply being you. Thank you for naturally caring about everyone and being selfless in your commitment to looking at our students holistically. Please have a great weekend and remember to hug your kids and parents a little tighter this weekend. Don’t take telling them that you love them for granted and support those among us who will not be able to hug that special person. Get some rest, rejuvenate, and come back refreshed and ready to take on another week.

In service,

Kim E. Armstrong, Ph.D.