Voices of Santa Clara Podcast

Tonya Nilsson (lovingly known as Dr. T) is a Civil Engineering lecturer at Santa Clara. She teaches structural and materials courses and develops hands-on, interactive methods of engineering instruction. Dr. T has a Ph.D. from UC Davis, a Masters from Stanford and a Bachelors from Cal Poly. She also advises the Engineers Without Borders club.

In this conversation, we discuss the social impact of civil engineers, what makes a great professor, the future of construction, engineers without borders, and Dr. T’s impressive outdoor hobbies.

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Chris Norris is the Director of the Ciocca Center for Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara, a new interdisciplinary center created to advance innovation and entrepreneurship on campus. Chris serves on boards at Efinix (quantum programmable technology), Solar Ear (solar hearing aids), St. Anthony’s foundation, Elevated Honey and Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Before joining Santa Clara, Chris was the CEO of Alta Devices, spent 17 years at Cypress Semiconductors, and began his career at Intel. Chris received his Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara in 1992.

In this conversation, we discuss Chris’ career journey through hi-tech, solar and investing venture capital companies, how to think like an entrepreneur regardless of your career, whether Chris is optimistic about the future of entrepreneurship, and how the Ciocca Center is spreading the entrepreneurial mindset. The beginning of this episode features a special message from March 25 about the COVID-19 crisis and recommendations for what to read during the shelter-in-place.

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This episode was released Thursday, March 19—three days after Santa Clara county joined five other Bay Area counties issued shelter-in-place mandates and Santa Clara University announced all spring quarter classes would be online. Besides the obvious public health measures and precautions, this change will bring about many spiritual, emotional and relational issues that will require reflection and intentionality.

Carly Lynch is the Director of Religious Diversity in Campus Ministry at Santa Clara. She has a Bachelors from Azusa Pacific and a Masters in Theological Studies from Boston University and is a resident expert on mindfulness, religious pluralism and embracing slowness.

Victor Lemus is the Director of Retreats for Campus Ministry, and studied at Loyola Marymount University and Santa Clara’s Pastoral Ministry program. Victor hails from Guatemala and worked at Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles before coming to Santa Clara.

Both Carly and Victor are two of the most wise, centered people I know, so I thought an episode talking to them about the nature of the shelter-in-place caused by the Coronavirus would be a perfect antidote to the anxiety many of us feel right now.

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Brian Buckley is a senior lecturer in the philosophy department and has taught at Santa Clara since 2007. His research focuses on the philosophy of law, political philosophy and applied ethics.

In this conversation, we touch on the importance of studying philosophy and the impact philosophy can make on everyday life. Brian shares his perspectives on how philosophy can help you rethink your behavior and make you a more thoughtful, ethical person.

“When you look back on your life, if you have 24 hours left to live, virtually everything you think about will something talked about in philosophy. You’ll be thinking about your relationships, what kind of citizen you were, if you made the world a better place, whether there’s a God, whether your soul will live on, your regrets, what was the meaning of your life. Every single one of them is a philosophical question. You live all your life ignoring the very questions that at the end of your life are most profound to you. And you began your life as a philosopher. Why is the sky blue? Why do people die? What are dreams for? Every single one is a philosophical question. The very nature of a human is philosophical.”

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Dr. Sherry Wang is an assistant professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara. She was recently featured in a SF Chronicle article about the social effects of coronavirus.

Her research focuses on cultural factors in ethnic minority health disparities, such as the role of acculturation, stigma and oppression in risky behaviors or looking at barriers to care for African Americans living in the Deep South. She co-directs the organization Research Initiative on Social Justice and Equity which is a national team of faculty, students, and community members committed to addressing issues of systematic inequalities.

In this conversation, we jump right into some of the most pressing questions surrounding the social impact of coronavirus. How should we respond? How should we treat each other? What are common misperceptions? How should we prepare?

I really encourage you to listen until the end, because her final piece of advice for us in how we treat each other surrounding the coronavirus is some of the most wise and timely advice I’ve ever heard. As Sherry says, instead of calling each other out in fear and discrimination, let’s call each other in for community.

www.voicesofsantaclara.com/coronavirus

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Bonita Banducci teaches Gender and Engineering for Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering Graduate Program Core Curriculum. She was named a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence 2014 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Banducci's original research in one of Silicon Valley's Fortune 500 companies “What is the Contribution Women Make that Could be the Strategic Advantage in the Global Marketplace?” launched her work in Gender Competence®, a new framework for understanding gender differences as competencies. As a founder of the Global Women's Leadership Network, she has been faculty and coach for the Women Leaders for the World Program. She consults with organizations from all sectors: business, non-profit, academia, and government.

In this conversation, we discuss Banducci’s career path, her course in gender and engineering, how STEM and gender intersect, and the meaning of transformative education. 

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Miah Jeffra is a writer, artist, curator and faculty in the English/Theater departments. A military brat, Jeffra moved throughout their childhood, but most identifies the South as home. Jeffra teaches Writing, Drama, Media and Cultural Studies at Santa Clara University and The San Francisco Art Institute, and is Founding Editor and Production Designer for queer literary collaborative, Foglifter Press.

In this conversation, we discuss the eclectic styles and themes of Miah’s books, thoughts on memory and how childhood is affecting us now, and advice for students.

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Andrew Ishak's (pronounced Isaac) work is focused on communication of teams and organizations that work in high-pressure situations, such as tactical police units, fire crews, and sports teams. His recent research is aimed at understanding organizational training for lifesaving critical teams (e.g., wildland fire crews, SWAT teams). He has also conducted research projects on various topics within communication and sport and is the co-editor of a book on sports and identity. He is currently researching the effects of cohesion in intramural and intercollegiate teams.

Ishak is also the main instructor for Public Speaking at Santa Clara University and consults with organizations and individuals on public speaking and interview preparation. He approaches the course using techniques gathered from his research on the training of teams that perform in high-pressure situations.

In this episode, we get into Ishak’s career path, how time impacts communication, his 2018 video-creation journey, random sports knowledge, and more. 

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