Category: Expression

Education/Expression/First-Generation/Intergenerational/People of Color/Visuals
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Life of an Upstanding Citizen

by Jeralynn Querubin

Vincent Pacheco is a visionary. Pure experimentation with mediums as light as tissue paper, he has developed his own niche. Moving into multimedia altered his relationship with art and with his family heritage. Pacheco, now, as an assistant professor for Applied Art and Design at Sierra College, is able to share his experiences from his art career. Previously, he worked in the corporate world as a graphic designer for Yahoo! and then transitioned to work as a freelance artist in Seattle. While in Seattle, he developed his own design studio with clientele including Disney, Elle Magazine, Yahoo! and Samsung. In an interview with Pacheco, he discussed his personal connection to his work, and his recent art exhibit at the Ridley Art Gallery on the Rocklin, Sierra College campus. 

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Audio & Video/Expression
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Making Community at the Fig Tree

by Sophia Miller
green plant on coffeehouse counter

To connect Sierra College students on the Rocklin campus with a local art spot in the community, Roundhouse reporters Miranda Ricks and Sophia Miller frequented The Fig Tree Coffee, Art, and Music Lounge. The Fig Tree is located on 217 Vernon Street in Old Roseville, about five miles from campus. Together, they attended a Fig Tree Open-Mic Night on Mar. 2, 2024. 

Miller went on to interview Father Joshua Lickter, the owner of the The Fig Tree, and Carlos Serrano, a Sierra College student who plays bass in a small headed by local musician and friend, Rumi Shimada. Father Lickter used the phrase third place in describing the venue. Miller explains that a third place is a concept created by sociologist Ray Oldenburg referring to venues that foster a sense of community and togetherness.

In this 5 min. podcast, produced by Miller,  you will hear her narrate and Lickter and Serrano share their words. Enjoy!

Listen

 

Reported and Produced by Sophia Miller

Sophia Miller in white grad gown with cords, smiling
Sophia Miller is originally from Milford, Pennsylvania. She is currently majoring in Communication Studies at Sierra College and is transferring to Sacramento State to study Journalism more extensively.
Audio & Video/Crossroads/Education/Feminyx/Queery
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Johnnie Terry’s Legacy: Building LGBTQ Studies

by Aidan Puentes and Alex Felt
Johnnie Terry and Aidan Puentes in conversation

In this ten minute video, longtime LGBTQ studies and philosophy professor Johnnie Terry looks back on his experiences building Sierra College’s LGBTQ studies program completely from scratch, and other experiences he had as a LGBTQ professor and community leader as he approaches his retirement at the end of the spring 2024 semester.

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Environment/Expression/Visuals
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Enjoying and Caring for Local Waters

by Amanda Marie

For many Sacramento area residents, the ideal summer includes visiting local water spots, lying along the American River, soaking up the sun with a good book, or cooking on a BBQ at Folsom Lake. While these are fun go-tos every summer in the heat, beach goers don’t always clean up as much as they should. If it weren’t for the staff at our parks and volunteers helping to pick up garbage each season, the shores would be littered, and wildlife would suffer. Continue Reading

Crossroads/Pathways/People of Color/Visuals
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Coming Back Again: An Alumni Story

by Katelyn Vengersammy

The constant bustle of a student seems never-ending. Graduation somehow seems so close, yet so far away. Completing courses from one school opens up opportunities for more at another. Attending commencement isn’t the end because there’s another waiting for you elsewhere until you feel your potential has peaked. There are major aspects that make the years easier, faster, and more enjoyable. This is different for everyone, but for me, it’s friends/connections for one, experience with other students for two, and the teachings at Sierra College as number three.
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Culture/Fashion/Money/Stage & Street
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Vintage Markets: Style & Sustainability

by Mckenna Ingram
Vintage market

Sacramento – the “City of Trees” and the capital of California. The city is known for its historical sites like Old Town Sacramento, Sutter’s Fort, and the Railroad Museum, but few are aware of the hidden street culture that keeps citizens entertained and involved. Pop-up shop events, such as reselling markets, small business fairs, and food festivals occur most weekends and are considered the “it” thing to do by locals. The plethora of events remained separate until the idea of a “Vintage Market” evolved. Here’s what to know about their origin and how they function before heading out to your first one. 

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Audio & Video/Community
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A Deep Dive on the Sacramento Aquatic Center

by Katelyn Vengersammy and Aviana Loveall

At the edge of the lower American River, Lake Natomas is a staple in the community. The Sacramento State Aquatic Center is a great example of this. Community members come out to enjoy the lake with their families and athletes to train and compete there as well. In this 4-minute video, Sacramento State Aquatic Center employees and community members speak to student fellows, Aviana Loveall and Katelyn Vengersammy about the importance of having access to a clean and safe lake to recreate.

Editor’s Note

This video is one in a set of stories produced by a team of journalist fellows at Sierra College who were awarded grants from the California Humanities “Emerging Journalist” Fellowship. Read more about the team and their project here: “Banks and Bends: Communities, Water, and the American River.”

 

Produced and Anchored by Aviana Loveall | Reported by Aviana Loveall and Katelyn Vengersammy

Aviana Loveall
Aviana Loveall is a Communication Studies major at Sierra College from Roseville. Her interest areas include fashion and pop culture news. She was a California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellow in Spring ’22. She plans to transfer to Chico State University in fall 2022 and continue in the major with her interests.

Katelyn Vengersammy is a Photography and Video major at Sierra College. She was a California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellow in Spring ’22. She is currently working from Rocklin and plans to transfer to Sacramento State University in Fall 2022 to pursue Photojournalism.
Education/Environment/Visuals
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Citizen Science: Tracking E. coli in the American River

by Madalyn Wright

When the California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship  team at Sierra College started researching the role of water in the community and the American River, one group they came across was the Save the American River Association (SARA). Through SARA, journalist fellow, Madalyn Wright discovered local water caretakers, Bob and Mary Beth Metcalf, who spend their Saturday mornings testing the river water for E. coli bacteria. To learn just how accessible this citizen science is, Wright, their 5-year old daughter, Thea, and their partner Ryan Moskun joined the Metcalfs on May 7, 2022, for a morning of pipettes and learning in a parking lot science lab.

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Documentary Poetry/Feminyx
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Do You Know What It’s Like?

by Olivia Walters

A car that’s not that far away,
It’s just another sunny day,
Music in both ears and a spring in step
A walk that’s made with happy pep

Smile bright,
Step light,
No threat in sight,
No thought of flight,

A headline here,
A story there,
Reports made in fear,
Now we beware

A car that feels so far away,
Headlines, protests, every campaign,
The story of a friend made prey,
Of daily walks that end in pain

Smile bright turned smile tight, 
Oh so polite, 
Bodies close, feeling small,
Til even thin smile isn’t there at all

One state’s risks we learn and know, 
From numbers in past years gone by,
Of one hundred thousand hopes to grow,
Three hundred voices will yearly cry

Look left, look right,
Ears free of any distraction,
Metal keys gripped tight,
Can we call it overreaction?

Attempts made, attacks started,
hear the news, gone cold-hearted
Smiles bright, still under twenty-five,
Tomorrow’s report has now gone live,

Cases in the news today,
Yesterday, yesteryear, 
Three hundred yearly truths laid bare,
These next truths could be anywhere

Growing pressure on our smallest choices,
A question asked by many voices,
An experience on the weekly radar,
“Do you know what it feels like to hurry in the dark to your car?”

Smile bright a year before,
Smiling tight forever more,
Keys in hand and music off,
Headlines made that music stop

 

Written and Photographed by Olivia Walters

Olivia Walters is a Psychology major at Sierra College with a curiosity in Journalism. She hails from Georgetown. In fall 2022, she plans to pursue her major in forensic Psychology at Sacramento State University. Her interest areas include creative writing, studying astronomy, and music.
Audio & Video/Campus/Environment
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Water Wisdom with Katelyn Vengersammy

by Katelyn Vengersammy and Aviana Loveall

There are many ways to learn more about the earth, as well as how to save it. One way is through community events. In this 5-minute podcast, journalist fellows Katelyn Vengersammy and Aviana Loveall visited the Sierra College, Rocklin campus as they hosted an Earth Day event on April 28, 2022. This event lasted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with vendors,  student clubs, small businesses, nonprofits, and others that are local to the Sacramento area. Events ranged from nature walks, a rock-climbing wall, craft-making, and giveaways. Continue Reading

Documentary Poetry/Embodied Mind
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The Void

by Malcolm McDougal
Black rock cliff by stormy sea

A hole
Black as the void
Bottomless as the night sky
Center of a man
Ripped out, left to die

A raging sea
Eroding the land
That makes the existence, of this weary man
As edges crumble, and walls fall away
He trudges ever onward, to face another day

An endless cycle
Stand up and lay down
Trying endlessly not to fall to the ground
Not to break, not to crack, not to scream or stamp
Trudging onward, ever onward
And resisting, always resisting, that void so black

Tiring to do, a job so bleak
Looking outwards and inwards, seeing nothing
Not even a peek
Of break, of rest, of shelter so sought
Nothing but a raging sea, a turmoil of endless thought

From the Author

“I wrote this poem from my own experiences with depression, especially in the last half decade or so. When you are struggling with this formless thing it really can consume you, warping the way you see things or experience them. I tried to put these feelings into words by describing the way it felt, and the images I would see when I thought about myself. 

Every person experiences depression differently, but I do hope this poem helps you understand a bit more about the experience of living through it the way I did. I hope it helps you verbalize your experience. 

For too long there has been an unspoken stigma about these things, and the only way to break the silence is to normalize talking about it- and asking for help when you need it.”

Editor’s Note

If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, you can text the Crisis Line. Sierra College also has mental health resources available to students that include a list of local resources. And the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) offers information to support self-advocacy and educate the public.

Written by Malcolm McDougal | Photo by Milo McDowell, Unsplash

Malcolm McDougal is a Computer Science major at Sierra College working towards an Associate’s Degree as well as a transfer to later achieve his Bachelor’s. He hopes to go into a field involving programming, one thought being game development.
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