If you happen to be around the Campus Center, chances are you’ll see your Dean of Students and SGA Adviser Don Turney, amiable and in a hurry.
Turney attended Bakersfield College from 1975 to 1977. He took care of his general education here and played football and baseball. He was part of the football team when they took the national championship title in 1976.
“I have a connection with BC,” said Turney. “I love this school with that love I owe it, in that sense I want to give back to the school what it gave to me. It gave me my educational foundation to go on and succeed.”
Turney went on to receive two master’s degrees from Fresno State and Pepperdine universities, one in journalism and communications and one in psychology.
According to Turney, he found his voice here at BC and he credits his success to former counselor and professor Norm Hoffman.
“He grabbed me and chewed me out. He knew I could do better,” said Turney. “This teacher turned me around. I want to help students find their own voice the way he helped me.”
Turney feels as though he has to let students make mistakes even if he feels there will be rough consequences, and then help them pick up the pieces.
“I’m an adviser, not a dictator,” he said. “I advise (students) to do their best, but they have to understand that behavior has consequences and when behavior is against school rules they will suffer the consequences.”
Turney has an open door policy and encourages students to come to him.
“Any student here can see me,” he said. “If I’m not available students can make an appointment with me so I will have sufficient time for them.”
Many things lead to success in Turney’s opinion, community involvement included, and he suggests that students should get involved with school or community activities as much as possible.
“I do understand that students are maxed to their gourd with daily activities. They have families, jobs, and relationships,” he said, “but student organizations are there to help other likeminded people. Structured involvement makes them persist. It’s my raison d’etre (reason for being), if they get involved they are going to persist to graduation.”
One thing Turney sees as well is that students put too much pressure on themselves on deciding a major and it makes students give up and drop out.
“Nobody thinks about how many canvases Van Gogh ripped up to finally find his masterpiece,” he said. “Tear up canvases, keep trying things until you find your masterpiece. It helps knowing what you don’t want to do.”