Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the Alamo Colleges District winning the 2024 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It is the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence. This is the second time the Alamo Colleges District has received this award since 2018. We were first honored back in 2018. The Alamo Colleges District is the only educational institution to earn the back-to-back.

The SAC speech team took home several awards at the Phi Ro Pi National Speech Tournament in Virginia. Individual students won gold, silver, and bronze awards while the speech team won a gold award for Individual Events School Sweepstakes and a silver award for Overall School Sweepstakes. SAC took only three students to the tournament and they competed against 52 colleges from across the country.

Congratulations also goes to Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society chapter. This month they were honored with the Distinguished Chapter International Hallmark Award. That is the highest distinction a chapter can receive from the international honors organization. PTK is the honors society for two-year colleges. SAC’s chapter also earned a Top College Chapter award and a College Project Regional Award. The organization is more than 100 years old and has more than 1,200 chapters worldwide. SAC’s chapter was started back in 1932.

Fredstock is this Thursday! Fredstock features a variety of sounds including rock, cumbia and fusion from Los #3 Dinners, The Wizard, Powdered Wig Machine, Jason Kane & the Jive, and El Dusty & the Homies. The headliner for the festival is Grupo Metal featuring Chris Perez.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about managing schoolwork while enjoying Fiesta. San Antonio College is hosting two longstanding official Fiesta Events: the Multicultural Conference and Fredstock. Both taking place next week!

Dr. Erik Hillskemper, Department chair of English, speech, humanities, and education, talks about the 28th Annual Multicultural Conference. This year the theme is “More than Meets the Eye” and we have organized five events starting on Monday, April 28. The conference includes a documentary screening, storytelling, an art show and more.

alamo.edu/sac/mcc

Dr. Ruben Rodriguez, Music business program coordinator, talks about Fredstock. This is the 16th year that Fredstock has been organized as a free concert and festival by students in the music business program. This year Fredstock has moved to a new day and location. The festival is Thursday, May 1, in the Fletcher Administration Building parking lot at 2:30 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m.

Fredstock will feature a variety of sounds including rock, cumbia and fusion from Los #3 Dinners, The Wizard, Powdered Wig Machine, Jason Kane & the Jive, and El Dusty & the Homies. The headliner for the festival is Grupo Metal featuring Chris Perez.

Fredstock also features local vendors and food trucks! This festival is free and open to the public.

fredstockmusicfest.org

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about events around campus. Hot Mustard gives an update on the KSYM Pledge Drive, KSYM managed to raise over $25,000 that goes toward licensing and equipment costs.

The SAC Mortuary begins holding monthly dinners with the funeral director. The Dinner with the Funeral Director series provides the opportunity for the funeral director, Jennifer Floyd, to talk about the benefits of pre-need planning. More and more people are pre-planning their funerals to save loved ones from the stress of doing it during such an emotional time. The first dinner in April filled up in days. Look for information on the May dinner to come soon.

SAC will hold First Generation Fest from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, in the SAC Mall. The party celebrates our first-generation students and their accomplishment being the first in their family to attend college. Traditionally, SAC has been the school many first-generation students have attended on their higher education journey.

The Scobee Education Center will be holding the 2nd Annual Fiesta de la Tierra from 10 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Santikos Micronaut Center. During the 90-minute mission, parents and children will be immersed in a simulated rocket launch to the International Space Station. Tickets are $65 for one adult and one child in 1st through 3rd grades. An additional 1st through 3rd grade child or another adult may be added for a $20 ticket. Space is limited for the mission, so make a reservation now. More information is at 210-486-0100.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about San Antonio’s Election. The SAC Student Government Association hosts a forum for District 1 candidates. In May SAC will hold a forum for the Mayoral runoff election. The May election will also include a bond proposal from the Alamo Colleges District. The Board of Trustees has proposed a $987 million bond to acquire, improve, construct, equip, and renovate facilities across the District.

The SAC Drama program hosts Wendy for the next two weeks in the McCreless Theater. The play is a new interpretation of the classic story of Peter Pan. For ticket information and more, visit alamo.edu/sac/peter-wendy

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about William R. Sinkin Eco Centro. Named after William R. Sinkin, a long-time San Antonio community leader, who was a champion for many causes, including renewable energy. Eco Centro is a community and environmental sustainability center at San Antonio College that provides information and resources to positively address environmental and social challenges.

Rose Flores, Director of the Sinkin Eco Centro, talks about resources available to the public and how people can get involved.

Cory Foshee, SAC’s Environmental Club, invites students to join the club and talks about her interest in sustainability and the environment.

More information and upcoming events are online at https://www.alamo.edu/sac/ecocentro

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about SAC’s Strategic Plan. Every three years, SAC brings together our key stakeholders to identify and anticipate the changes needed to guide the college in the future. SAC hosts a visioning session just for students from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27 in VAC 120 with another online session for faculty at 1p.m. Friday, March 28.

SAC begins offering a Level 1 certificate to be certified as a life coach beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. It will be a one-year program with classes taught in 8-week terms. Unlike therapists, life coaches focus on the present and the future. They offer guidance, motivation, and strategies for success.

The 2nd Annual SAC Symposium will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, in Victory Center room 202. The event aims to inform students what services are available and how to access them. This session is for all students as well as faculty and staff.

SAC’s history program, with help from current students, faculty, and staff, are working on a project to record personal histories of people who were part of SAC; former students, faculty or staff members. This is for the Centennial History Project, which is part of SAC’s upcoming anniversary, which will be formally observed starting in the fall of 2025. They are inviting everyone to come to a History Harvest, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, in the SAC Library.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about SAC’s Veterans Affairs Program. SAC has about 2,200 students who are either veterans or military connected, making up about 13% of SAC's student population. SAC’s Veterans Affairs Office has been recognized for four years in a row with the Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Gold Award. This is the highest rank given by the Texas Veterans Commission’s Veterans Education Program.

Tim Pair, Director of Student Success for Veterans Affairs, talks about the services offered at SAC’s Veterans Affairs Program. Valerie Coronado and Michael Robideaux share their views as SAC veteran students.

The SAC Veteran Affairs program offers Academic Advising, VA benefits certification, Tuition assistance, Tutoring, and Disability claims representation.

More information is online at alamo.edu/sac/va

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about Fredstock. Fredstock is moving closer to the middle of the SAC campus on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Fredstock is a music festival put on by students of the Music Business program at San Antonio College.

Dr. Solis talks about the planning process for SAC’s Centennial celebration. He also gives a brief history of SAC and how it started at Main High School with night classes. Main High School was located where Fox Tech is located today. The 100 Years celebration is coming up in September!

Hot Mustard and Dr. Solis talk about A.I. and the future.

More information on Fredstock is online at https://fredstockmusicfest.org/

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the transfer fair. Students can stop by and meet with representatives from local and area universities and start planning for their next academic choice. Colleges love our SAC students. They find our students are ready to succeed on their campus. We have heard from college presidents that SAC students do better at their schools than students who started on their campus.

Congratulations to the SAC drama program for winning several awards from BroadwayWorld San Antonio, a website that covers the local theater scene. The awards were given for the drama program’s production of the musical Cabaret, which occurred last spring.

The awards included:

· Best Direction Of A Musical

· Best Ensemble

· Best Lighting Design Of A Play Or Musical

· Best Music Direction & Orchestra Performance

· Best Performer In A Musical

· Best Musical

The drama program is getting ready for its next production, titled Peter/Wendy, a retelling of the story of Peter Pan. The play will be staged starting April 4 through April 13.

Dr. Francisco Solis, San Antonio College Interim President, talks with Hot Mustard about the recent executive orders and how the district and SAC navigate them. Dr. Solis asks people to be patient as SAC works to understand and comply with federal orders. He also talks about the Texas legislature and the bills they have planned for the current session.

SAC celebrates Black History Month with a kickoff in the SAC Mall area. Several black-owned businesses and community organizations are on campus from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday February 5th. There will be weekly events throughout the month, including an African Loteria game, a “Where are We Now,” panel that includes a soul food tasting, and a presentation on the Underground Railroad to Mexico.

SAC is also Working on a New Strategic Plan. Every three years, SAC brings together key stakeholders; students, faculty, staff, educational partners, and District partners. They come together to discuss and anticipate the changes needed to serve the community. This is the way to identify and proactively plan to keep up with the dynamic changes in higher education. SAC is developing classes for students to take advantage of new technology and have even worked with business who will partner with Alamo Colleges to educate the next generation of workers.

More information on Black History Month events is online at https://www.alamo.edu/sac/blackhistorymonth

More information on the Bond 2025 Proposal is online at https://www.alamo.edu/cip