The season’s second episode of Take A Paws features a new set, a Día de los Muertos makeover, an interview with San José City College’s president, and a new segment on student clubs.
Student hosts Ariana Ramirez and Brett Ohene-Adofo opened the October episode with co-host Guadalupe Alatorre, professor of communication studies and mass media. During the YouTube podcast, SJCC cosmetology students applied Día de los Muertos-style makeup on a model in the studio. The hosts revealed the finished look at the end.
Cosmetology faculty member Carol Bost and Theater & Dramatic Arts professor Anita Reyes joined the show to preview the Día de los Muertos celebration their departments collaborate on each year. This year’s event is on Oct. 27. It includes Cosmetology students painting faces outside the theater, followed by a Theater-organized procession through campus, and a ballet folklórico performance at noon, with altars and activities in the art gallery. Students in the Chicanx Theater class are also building shadow boxes for display in the art gallery.
“If you’re free, come by,” Bost said. “We’ll do your face for free.”
Bost also talked about SJCC’s top-rated Cosmetology program, which requires 1,200 hours of study and practice. Students meet four days a week, year-round. So, students who start in August can finish the following summer.
The cosmetology clinic also takes clients from the public on Thursdays and Fridays for affordable haircuts, manicures, and pedicures.
Reyes said the theater program takes a production on tour every two years, so students rehearse in one place and perform in another. Two years ago, theater students performed at Lincoln and Gunderson high schools. This year it returns to Lincoln, an arts magnet school, with “21 Chump Street,” a 15-minute musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.”
“I’ve already been seeing SJCC students that were like, ‘I was in the audience at Lincoln, and that’s why I’m here,’” she said.
SJCC President Marilyn Flores appeared on the podcast for the second time since she started her role in January, adding that she has found her home at the college. She reminded listeners about the Great California ShakeOut on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 10:15 a.m.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect,” Flores said. “Practice makes prepared.”
She said the drill is the first of several emergency preparedness exercises, with active threat training to follow. Flores added that the college is developing a strategic enrollment management plan to shape class schedules around students’ pathways “so that we can get them to the finish line.”
She also announced an Oct. 30 Halloween contest for campus offices, with prizes for the best costumes and the best-decorated office. Her executive cabinet will fund a celebration for the winners, and her own office staff plans to dress up.
The episode also debuted Club Spotlight, a new segment featuring two student clubs per episode. Gael Atriano of the theater club said the group meets Thursdays and focuses on improv games that help members get past stage fright, no script required. The club is planning a Halloween gathering on Oct. 29.
Leslie Sanchez, president of the folklórico club Luz de Aztlán, said the group teaches traditional dances from different regions of Mexico, and many members had never danced before joining.
“We don’t look for perfection,” she said. “We look for just fun.”
The club performed at Feria Latina on Sept. 30 and is scheduled to perform at a club fundraiser on Oct. 15 and at the Día de los Muertos event on Oct. 27.
The hosts closed with a look at the rest of the month: the monthly pop-up market on Oct. 15, a breast cancer awareness walk on Oct. 21 at Jaguar Stadium, and the Harvest Festival on Oct. 29.
Watch the episode to see the final results of the Día de los Muertos makeover.
