Thursday, October 15 | Volume 40 No. 31

Westsidestory Newspaper

SBCCD and BBOP Center Launch California’s First College Corps AI Literacy Partnership

Four College Corps fellows will help Inland Empire residents build practical AI and digital skills through BBOP Center’s Kinetic AI Hub

SAN BERNARDINO, CA — San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) and Black and Brown Opportunities for Profit (BBOP) Center are launching California’s first #CaliforniansForAll College Corps partnership focused on artificial intelligence literacy, bringing college students and a communitybased innovation hub together to expand access to practical AI and digital skills across the Inland Empire. Through the partnership, four students from Crafton Hills College and San Bernardino Valley College will each complete 450 hours of community service with BBOP Center, helping residents learn how to use artificial intelli gence and digital tools, evaluate AI-generated information for accuracy and bias, and protect their personal information. College Corps is a statewide service program that provides participating college students up to $10,000 in exchange for 450 hours of community service.

See "SBCCD and BBOP..." page 8

From College Hopes to College "Yes": SBCUSD Seniors Celebrate at U-CAN Fair

Pacific High School senior Camille Munerlyn holds up her Dillard State University certificate of admission alongside a college recruiter at the U-CAN HBCU College Recruitment Fair Tuesday. (Photo by Steven Moore and provided courtesy of SBCUSD)

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Cordell Hadnot first saw Edward Waters University while on a summer college tour that took him from San Bernardino to Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Three months later, the university’s answer came to him at Cajon High School: he was in! Cordell, a San Gorgonio High School senior, learned of his acceptance at the September 22 U-CAN HBCU College Recruitment Fair, just two weeks after applying to the private university in Jacksonville. Edward Waters was just one stop on a three-state tour that introduced African American students in San Bernardino City Unified to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including Morehouse College and Tuskegee University. “I went to Edward Waters in June, and I looked around and thought, this one. This is my school. It felt like home,” said Cordell, who plans to major in business. “Florida has always been a place I wanted to live in. I want to meet new people and have new experiences.” Cordell was one of hundreds of seniors who came to Cajon High with transcripts and test scores in hand. Students from SBCUSD high schools moved between booths lined with college pennants and swag, stopping to talk with recruiters from more than two dozen HBCUs. Recruiters from schools including Tuskegee University and Howard University stayed busy as students asked questions, interviewed and explored where they might fit. Pacific High School senior Camille Muner lyn, 17, had just finished an interview with a Dillard University recruiter when she teared up. The interview ended with an on-the-spot acceptance to Dillard. Camille will be the first in her family to attend college, and her suc- See "From Colleg..." page 8