Photo courtesy of Klayre Guzman

Surrounded by more than 2,000 professionals, science students and scientists, eight students from the Society of Hispanic/Chicano and Native American of Science chapter received the Community College chapter of the year award at the national conference in Seattle on Oct. 12.

“It was such an honor to be standing there in front of so many talented individuals and be recognized for all our hard work,” said Klayre Guzman, vice president of the SACNAS chapter at SJCC.

This is the second time the chapter was recognized at the SACNAS national conference. In 2011 the SACNAS club won the Outstanding Chapter of the Year for Fundraising award. Also, two years in a row, the chapter won the Outstanding Chapter and Chapter of The Year awards given by the SJCC Associated Student Government.

In 2010 Cabrera and Extended Opportunity Program & Services counselor Fabio Gonzalez had an idea of forming a SACNAS club at SJCC. They both  attended the SACNAS conference when they were in college.   Wanting to give students at SJCC the opportunity that he and Gonzalez had, Cabrera started to recruit students.

Cabrera said the purpose is “to make the students more involved and then there might be more chances for them to be successful.”

Cabrera received replies from many students who supported the idea of having a club for students who study science, even though they already had full loads taking chemistry, physics or mathematics.

The first The SACNAS chapter at SJCC was officially started in the the spring of 2010  with a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and national agent.

“Being the president was hard in the sense that it took a lot of time from my schedule, but it was equally rewarding,” Kevin Astudillio, 21, civil engineering major, said. “I had to learn how to balance my school work, personal life, and the responsibilities that came with being president of SACNAS.”

The chapter has actively held many fundraising events to fund money for the conferences they want to attend such as, SACNAS national conferences and American Chemical Society conferences.

“It is especially rewarding to be a member of this club and seeing all that we have accomplished,” Astudillo said, “because everyone who joins our club becomes more than just a member of a club, but a member of our close-knit family.”

John Tran, who joined the SJCC SACNAS chapter in 2009, was one of the successful members of the SACNAS chapter. In the 2011 national conference, Tran presented his plant biology project, which impressed John Harada, a University of California, Davis, professor who was a judge at the conference.

Harada nominated the project for the Plant Biology award; and out of many competitors from other prestigious colleges, Tran’s name was called for honor.

“I kept his business card. I emailed him right away after I won the award,” Tran said. “When I found out I was going to Davis, I sent him another email and asked if we could meet in Davis when I went for orientation.”

Tran now is working as an intern in the lab of his judge and now teacher.

“I couldn’t imagine how much the club has done for me,” Tran said. “I’m just one of a few students that is fortunate to have an internship in my first year after transferring.”
Cabrera said he’s glad when his students transfer.  “The original idea is to lose people, which is good since they keep moving forward to new goals.”

Yoseph Semma, 19, biomedical engineering major, a SACNAS member who also attended the 2012 national conference said, without joining the chapter, he would not have that opportunity and financial support to attend such conferences.

“Receiving this award motivated us even more to keep working hard,” Guzman said. “We plan to use some tips that we got from other chapters that have been successful and fundraise more money for the next conferences.”