Keep the Bakersfield College tradition alive

Raise your hand if you’ve ever attended Bakersfield College!

One of my earliest memories is from the 1960s, when my father gave me a BC football schedule coin pouch. I will never forget the smell and feel of those little things.

Each year, without fail, my father would distribute the BC football schedule coin pouches as a business promotion, but also because he had a passion for Bakersfield College.

Dad’s family came to Bakersfield from Brawley in 1935.

Transferring from a small high school of a few hundred to Kern Union High School (later known as Bakersfield High School) with a few thousand students was quite a shock for a high school sophomore.

But Bakersfield was (and still is) a welcoming community, and Dad, with his outgoing personality, was able to establish many life-long friendships.

In the 1930s, BC was still housed on the KUHS (BHS) campus and Dad was a natural fit to be the “Yell Leader” for BC football.

He was also involved on the track team and used to tell a story of how he won a race that he didn’t expect to win because he was just trying to keep pace with the leader, who was about 20 yards ahead of him.

The leader tripped and fell, putting Dad in the lead. He huffed and puffed to the finish line and won!

His experiences at BC prepared him to transfer to UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree in business.

After, Dad returned to Bakersfield to launch a business with his father, C. E. Boydstun, at Boydstun Realty until Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941.

Then it was off to war, where he became a statistical officer and reached the rank of captain, stationed in the European theatre.

Upon the end of WWII, Dad returned home to Bakersfield and BC. As an alumnus, he longed to rekindle and maintain those friendships he had previously established at BC.

So, in 1946, along with David Fanucchi, and several other alumni, John Boydstun established the BC Alumni Association with the mission of supporting BC students.

Each year, the BC Alumni Association has aimed to raise money for student scholarships, usually with a pre-football season barbecue.

I have great memories of those barbecues, and I never had to wonder where to find Dad in a crowd of people. I would just listen for his booming voice!

When I graduated from East Bakersfield High School in 1977, my future was wide open with plenty of options, except I knew that the proper thing for me to do was to further my education.

Having not applied for any scholarships or grants, I dreaded the financial burden that a university education would place on my parents.

So, the reasonable solution was for me to get my general education units at BC before transferring to a university. By doing so, I saved thousands of dollars in tuition and still had a magnificent college experience!

During my time at BC, I developed a solid foundation for my business education with courses in economics and accounting.

I performed in several dramatic plays, won awards as part of the Forensics team and helped scare people as part of the “Renegore” haunted house.

I developed numerous friendships through these activities, and of course, supported BC football and basketball. I fondly still remember the camaraderie and the voices singing “We Are the Champions” as the BC basketball team won the California State Championship in 1978.

As the years have passed, I’ve found myself returning to BC to complete courses in real estate, and even photography, which became a passion.

In recent years, just like old times, I would still join Dad at various BC events. In his 90s, John Boydstun still wanted to be at every BC football game and even lobbied the school to get a rooter bus to take fans to away games.

John Boydstun loved BC, and he loved this community.

He taught me the value of giving back. If you raised your hand as an alum, please join your fellow Renegades in the Alumni Association.

Regardless of when you attended, “We Are BC”! It’s up to us to keep the tradition alive!