We Are On Native Land - Fall Flex 2025 with Dr. Primavera Reza-Nakonechny Episode 220
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
Release Date: 11/25/2025
Creating A Community of Belonging with Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries Episode 230
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
Since the 1980s, Father Greg Boyle has embraced his parish community with the radical approach of love, compassion, and humanity. He founded Homeboy Industries’ gang rehabilitation and re-entry programs to engage former gang members and others in need, in their own healing through building kinship and connection. At Mt. SAC, the Rising Scholar’s program fosters the potential and promise of formerly incarcerated or system-impacted students by providing wrap-around support through pathways at Mt. SAC. In today’s episode we are featuring a talk by Fr. Greg Boyle that was sponsored by...
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STUDENTS IN CONVERSATION: The Impact of Providing Open Educational Resources & Zero Textbook Cost Courses Episode 229
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
Ensuring equity of access is core to the mission of Librarians- whether that is access to information, physical access to materials, digital access, or access to technology. So it is a natural fit for Librarians to provide leadership in creative methods to support student access to textbooks. In today’s episode we’ll talk about the many ways that faculty can impact student access to textbooks and instructional materials–including Open Educational Resources (or OER), zero textbook cost (ZTC) courses and pathways, as well as the long-standing library reserves textbook lending program...
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Accessibility By Design-Preparing Accessible Courses to Meet ADA Title II Deadline with Michelle Newhart Episode 228
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
In this episode we'll hear from Michelle Newhart, Instructional Designer, that features a Spring Flex Day Session that she originally presented with Hugo Aguilera, Applications Training Specialist called Accessibility By Design-Preparing Accessible Courses to Meet ADA Title II Deadline. The session focuses on why accessibility matters, what the April 2026 deadline means for Mt. SAC, and how accessibility in Canvas is crucial to meeting this deadline. Some of the themes that are explored are the difference between accessibility and accommodations, how meeting the deadline can be...
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Making Online Teaching Easier with Support & Tools from the Faculty Center for Learning Technology Episode 227
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
If you’re like many faculty, you’ve probably noticed the sharp increase in courses being offered online. This shift into the online learning space, especially after the pandemic, has made it possible for students to learn in more ways than just sitting in a classroom. It opens the door for students balancing work, family, and other responsibilities, but it has also brought new challenges for faculty as we think about how to design engaging and effective courses. Thankfully, here at Mt. SAC we have a small but dedicated team called the Faculty Center for Learning Technology, or FCLT. In...
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Competency Based Education (CBE) Explained Episode 226
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
In our ever-evolving work to increase access to college education, Mt. SAC is one of seven California Community Colleges to pilot a new learning modality, Direct Assessment Competency-Based Education, or CBE. Through Mt. SAC’s Chancellor’s office approved and ACCJC accredited CBE program students will be able to earn an AA in Kinesiology at their own pace. CBE is outcomes-based so students learn and then demonstrate their knowledge and abilities through direct assessment. Although the modality and assessments are different, the classes and the rigor are the same. In today’s episode...
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Empowering Women Of Color In STEM’s Future Leaders Episode 225
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
As Educators, we know that cultivating a sense of belonging and a supportive environment contribute significantly to student success. As you’ll hear, Women of Color have high graduation rates in STEM fields, but lower retention in employment - mentorship is one way to ensure support for women of color STEM students as they enter into STEM careers. In today’s episode, three women of color in STEM share their experiences, challenges, successes, and advice with the Mt SAC community. We will hear from Dr. Reegan F. Patterson, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental engineering at...
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Nurse Unseen - A Panel Conversation with Filipino-American Filmmaker Michele Josue Episode 224
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
Today’s episode comes from a campus film screening and panel focused on Nurses Unseen, a documentary about the courageous efforts of Filipino American nurses who played a key role during the Covid 19 pandemic as they faced a resurgence of Asian hate and cultural invisibility. Following the screening, Mt SAC’s Equity Center hosted a panel discussion with the film’s director, Michele Josue, alongside Mt SAC’s nursing faculty Sophie Boquiren, Victoria Abatay Motoyer, as well as sociologist Dr. Anthony Ocampo from Cal Poly Pomona, who also appears in the film. The film is a...
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An Insider Look At Teaching Dual Enrollment Courses Episode 223
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
Today we are taking on a topic that sits at the intersection of high school and college education: Dual Enrollment. With the increase of dual enrollment courses at Mt SAC and across the state, we wanted to explore the lived realities of the instructors who are teaching these courses and leading the way for high school student success at the college level. I had the privilege of sitting down with two seasoned instructors, Felix Jollevet and Sonya Masl as well as Mt SAC’s new Dual Enrollment Faculty Liaison, Candace Leuthold. We had a chance to explore what dual enrollment actually is,...
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Teaching Under Fascism: Ideological Framing for Learning and Science Episode 222
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
How do political ideologies like fascism take shape, spread, and gain power over the way we think and act? Justin Freebourn, Ph.D. tackles this big question in this episode. He holds his ph.D. in Political Science from UC Riverside and has published work in the journals of Party Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. As Freebourn shares in his talk from Fall Flex Day 2025 called “Teaching Under Fascism: Ideological Framing for Learning and Science”, he examinates how social sciences can shed light on how political shifts can lead to erosion of...
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Happy Holidays From The Mt. SAC Podcast!
The Mt. San Antonio College Podcast
We appreciate your support and hope you’ve enjoyed and learned from this season’s episodes so far! We will be taking a short break from releasing episodes over the coming holiday season. You can expect new episode releases when we return in the New Year, in January 2026. The best way to not miss our return is to make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast on your favorite listening app - if you’re not already subscribed. From everyone here at the Mt. SAC podcast - we are wishing you a safe and happy holiday season! Run Time: 2:00 min To Find the full transcript for...
info_outlineWhile many of us celebrate Thanksgiving, we must also acknowledge that it is a holiday often observed in a way that erases the lived experiences of Indigenous people and ignores the ongoing impact of colonial oppression.
In this episode taken from Fall Flex Day 2025, we hand the microphone over to Dr. Primavera Reza-Nakonechny. In this workshop, she breaks down the collaborative effort and complexity behind drafting a meaningful land acknowledgement, sheds light on the attempt to censor specific words in education, and the persistent attempts at historical erasure.
You’ll also hear from some of the participants and myself as we reflect on how small but significant changes to our lessons can help center Native perspectives in our courses. We hope that this invites you to pause and reflect on your own teaching practices. Enjoy.
Resources:
Mt. SAC First Peoples Native Center (includes text of the Mt. SAC Land Acknowledgement)
Mt. SAC Native American & Indigenous Heritage Month
Mt. SAC Native American Student Support and Success Program (NASSSP) Grant
“Creating Student Impact: The First People’s Native Center.” Mt. San Antonio College Podcast, Episode 205, 12 Nov., 2024. Joining Podcast co-host Chisa Uyeki in conversation with Primavera Reza-Nakonechny & student Alisa Ciulla and learn about the founding of the center and its key role in empowering Native students, fostering identity development, and a strong sense of belonging.
“Crafting An Intentional Land Acknowledgement at Mt. SAC.” Mt. San Antonio College Podcast, Episode 206, 26 Nov., 2024. Podcast co-host Chisa Uyeki interviews Mt. SAC First Peoples Native Center’s Primavera Reza-Nakonechny & student Alisa Ciulla about the importance of language, the practices and meaning behind land acknowledgments, how Mt. SAC is working to craft a Land Acknowledgement with tribal input, and how we can go beyond statements into meaningful actions.
Bledsoe, R. “First Peoples Native Center Opens” Newsroom, 15, Nov., 2022, Mt. San Antonio College. Photos and news story on the Center’s grand opening in 2022.
On censored words at the federal level: Connelly, A. “Federal government’s growing banned words list is chilling act of censorship.” Pen America, 1 Oct, 2025, www.pen.org/banned-words-list/.
Yourish, K., Daniel, A., Datar, S., White, I., & Gamio, L. (2025, Mar 10). These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration. New York Times https://mtsac.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/these-words-are-disappearing-new-trump/docview/3175748596/se-2 [link requires Mt. SAC sign-in]
California Community College Chancellor’s Office
Land Acknowledgement Statements
Native Land Digital honors the sovereignty of all Indigenous nations, their lands, and their waters. We recognize that these boundaries and territories are representations of the sacred. This is an honouring of Indigenous resilience past, present and future.
Native Governance Center’s Tips for Creating an Indigenous Land Acknowledgment Statement
LAist What to know about land acknowledgment, and why it's deeper than just a statement
National Museum of the American Indian, Honoring Original Indigenous Inhabitants: Land Acknowledgment
Run Time: 25:44
To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE