This story about the Ohlone College Umoja Program was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on April 5, 2023.

Anna Garcia, Reporter
Vincent Torres, Photographer

ANCHOR
A program centered aroundAfrican American history, culture, and curriculum offers beneficial services and opportunities to college students. Here is Anna with the story.
REPORTER (V/O): The Umoja Scholars Program at Ohlone features a learning community with social support, cultural exploration, academic learning and counseling.
Sahid, Computer Science Major: There are so many benefits you get from Umoja, like a sense of service, which means like you have the service of your counselor that looks like you and gives you the best service you need on campus.
Cielo, Administration of Justice Major: I’m glad I joined Umoja I met very cool people I met Saba , she s an amazing person, it was just an amazing experience so far.
REPORTER (V/O): Umoja provides an empowering community where students can form friendships and experience cultural events and activities. Students find campus and transfer resources and scholarships. They receive support from counselors and mentors.
Saba, Counselor, Instructor, Co-coordinator: The 3 C’s, counseling, community, and classes, and really just like an African c entered atmosphere and environment resources connection that that really supports students and cultivates their success.
Margaret, Co Coordinator, English faculty member: We go on college tours. They can actually check them out, kind of help apply for scholarships and things of that nature. And we provide different kinds of leadership opportunities.
Cielo, Administration of Justice Major: My favorite experience was the Umoja Conference. We got to meet like a bunch of people who just knew about everybody, like we can relate to every single person that was in that room. And I had an amazing time with my friends and Saba.
Saba, Counselor, Instructor, Co-coordinator: It was really beautiful to see the students come into the conference, not really having connections to each other and then leave the conference like family.
REPORTER (V/O): The Umoja community of educators and learners actively serve and promote academic success, personal growth, and retention.
Cielo, Administration of Justice Major: Well, it honestly has helped me open up to people. I was very shy at first. And I feel like being in this this group, you just have to be able to open up, just be free, be who you are. And I’m more confident of myself.
Sahid, Computer Science Major: I would say family, because you’ve been with Umoja, as you know, the word is a word that means unity. So, it’s like a sense of family.
REPORTER (V/O): Umoja helps students make a smooth transition into college, and successfully transfer to a four year university. The program has a variety of resources on their website. They allow students to connect with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and UC’s and CSU’s that have an Umoja or similar program.
Cielo, Administration of Justice Major: Before I was majoring in nursing and I was doing it for other people, but I thought it was for me, like I thought I was what I wanted to do. But I was more like throughout the semester I was like, is this really what I want to do? Or am I just doing it to make other people happy? I got to talk to Saba over here and she helped me realize, like what I really want to do, I should follow what I want to do, what makes me happy.
Margaret, Co Coordinator, English faculty member: There’s one of our new students this year who came here intending to do college and do well. But I remember even the first week the student was like, I love college, I’m going to college, I’m good at school. The student had never thought of himself as a strong academic student. And then this is someone, by the end of last semester, had multiple offers for employment at the college, tutoring in two different labs and working in some other offices. And just seeing that enthusiasm grow and really desire t o do more and believe in oneself to do more was just amazing.
REPORTER (V/O): Umoja is dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students.
Cielo, Administration of Justice Major: It’s an amazing place to be. It’s literally great. I would not be the person who I am today without being in Umoja or Saba or Dr. Maggie.
Saba, Counselor, Instructor, Cocoordinator: Umoja Scholars program is an amazing, amazing program. I’m so blessed to be here. It’s just such a beautiful program in terms of the students we serve. The fact that we’re one of the few places on campus that serves like black students in such a beautiful and unique way is what makes it like that much more special.
REPORTER (V/O): To learn more about the many great resources and opportunities the Umoja Program offers, visit Ohlone dot edu slash Umoja. This is Anna for Ohlone Tri City News.

This story about the Ohlone College Animal Patrol was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on March 8, 2023.

Charles Bolton, Reporter/Photographer

This story about the Fremont Library “Read to a Dog” event was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on March 1, 2023.

Kiya Johnson, Reporter/Photographer

Script

ANCHOR: A local humane society partnered with the Alameda County Library to give kids a therapeutic reading experience. Here’s Kiya with the story.
REPORTER: A therapeutic and cuddly approach to reading practice made its reappearance in Fremont last Wednesday at the Fremont Main Library. Therapy dogs, Hana and Sophie, who are both certified by the Ohlone Humane Society, visited the library branch to help kids gain more confidence when reading aloud. The event, titled “Read to a Dog”, invited kids to bring their favorite book for a 15 minute time slot with one of the pups.
Although the event is open to all ages, it is mainly for local youth to have a judgment-free zone to perfect this lifelong skill. If you missed last week’s event, the library hosts a new session on the third Tuesday of every month from 4-5pm. For more information, visit AClibrary.org and look under the “events” tab.

This story about the Ohlone College Photography Department was first broadcast during the live Ohlone Tri-City News program on February 22, 2023.

Vivian Hong, Reporter
Xavier Casipe, Photographer

REPORTER (V/O):
You don’t have to purchase high end equipment to learn photography. Ohlone College already provides it.
Paul Mueller, Photography Director:
We have all the cameras that you could possibly, possibly imagine. We have cameras. We have computers, we have tripods. We have lighting equipment.
REPORTER (V/O):
Ohlone College’s photography department offers courses that go beyond using a DSLR.
Anna Godfrey, Game Design Major:
I think it’ll be a good way to get an understanding of sort of cinematography in a way, and being able to pose and shoot photos and film in certain ways.
Brandon Tran, Film and Theatre Major:
So far we’ve done photographs. You know, it’s black and white. No color on it,kind of like an x-ray.
Brandon Tran, Film and Theatre Major:
I like that It’s very hands-on, very practical to go into it right away on the first day.
REPORTER (V/O): Through the program’s facilities, students are exploring their interest in photography.
Brandon Tran, Film and Theatre Major:
I was always interested in film talk. Even so, as teenagers, I had a digital film camera thing.
REPORTER (V/O): Paul Mueller, the head of the program, worked with architects to make the facility a home for photographers.
Paul Mueller, Photography Director:
We’re standing here in one of the classrooms, which is a kind of a digital classroom meant for using laptops and printing and projecting. And we can project from every room.
Paul Mueller, Photography Director:
We also have a traditional film darkroom, a wet darkroom, where you process images in trays and there’s a place to process film and to load film.
Paul Mueller, Photography Director:
We’re really proud of this facility. We’ve built the place that we would most like to have if we were students and the place we, frankly, I most want to teach in.
REPORTER (V/O):
If you’re interested in learning photography, you can contact Paul Mueller at pmueller@ohlone.edu for more information on the program.
REPORTER:
From Ohlone College, this is Vivian Hong, for Ohlone Tri-City News.