Cañada College Outreach Newsletter
August 2026 Edition 📝
Redwood City 4th of July Celebration
Cañada College was proud to participate in this year’s Redwood City 4th of July Celebration! Our incredible team of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and families came together for the parade to showcase the many opportunities and programs Cañada College offers our community.
Following the parade, we joined fellow community organizations to connect one-on-one with attendees, share resources, and celebrate together. It was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces throughout the day!
CulturAsia Festival 2026
On Saturday, July 11 and Sunday July 12, 2026 our Outreach team was happy to participate in the 2-day long CulturAsia Festival in Downtown Los Altos. CulturAsia celebrated the richness and diversity of Asian cultures through music, dance, food, art, and storytelling, with performers including Katherine Ho (vocals on the Crazy Rich Asians soundtrack) and violinist Rose Crelli (Super Bowl, FIFA), along with K-pop dance groups, Bollywood and Bhangra performances, and more.
Cañada Menlo Park Registration Workshops
Fall semester is approaching soon! Our team partnered with Cañada College Menlo Park (JobTrain), to host TWO registration workshops on July 14 and July 16, 2026! These workshops allowed students to obtain help from our team to successfully complete applications for the Fall semester.
Do you or someone you know need help applying?
Contact our Outreach Team!
Super Registration Event on July – 104+ students registered/230 classes enrolled!
Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula Middle School Summer Programming
For the past five Wednesdays you may have seen a bit more foot traffic on our Cañada College campus. Our campus hosted forty (40) eighth graders from the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula (BGCP). The East Palo Alto students got to take a campus tour, do a scavenger hunt, and take workshops that exposed them to a variety of career pathways such as Early Childhood Development, Animation and Medical Assisting. They learned about how to be financially savvy with SparkPoint and all about Cañada College’s Middle College. Finally, they were treated to Art & Meditation with the Cultural Center, Yoga Foam Rolling, Indoor Soccer and Basketball.
The special programming is a part of the MOU Cañada College holds with BGCP to build a seamless pathway for middle school, high school and college students in Southern San Mateo County. A HUGE thank you to all of our amazing Cañada College programs and instructors who helped make this happen!
Belle Haven Campus Community Middle School Camp Visit
Belle Haven Community Campus Middle School Summer Camp joined Cañada for a visit on July 23! Students enjoyed a tour of campus, learned about our Concurrent Enrollment Program, and Umoja Learning Community. We finished the day with a scavenger hunt, providing students the opportunity to interact with several campus programs and staff.
Cañada College Connect!
We’re Bringing Cañada College to You!
Visit us during our office hours at any of the community locations listed below. Get personalized, one-on-one support, meet our friendly team and discover how you can attend college for FREE.
- Fair Oaks Community Center.
- JobTrain Menlo Park.
- Pal Center.
- Belle Haven Community Campus.
Your future starts here — stop by, connect with us, and take your next step today!
Ravenswood 2026 Community Health and Resource Fair
📆Saturday, August 1, 2026
🕑12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
📍1885 Bay Road, East Palo Alto
Fair Oaks Community Center - Cañada College Connect Office Hours
📆 Tuesday, August 4, 2026
🕑1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
📍2600 Middlefield Rd. Redwood City
Cañada College at Menlo Park - Cañada College Connect Office Hours
📆 Wednesday, August 5, 2026
🕑2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
📍1200 O’Brien Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tabling at San Mateo County Human Services Agency
📆Thursday, August 6, 2026
🕑11:30 am - 1:30 pm
📍2500 Middlefield Rd. Redwood City
Pal Center - Cañada College Connect Office Hours
📆 Tuesday, August 11, 2026
🕑2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
📍3399 Bay Rd., Redwood City, CA 94063
Belle Haven Community Campus - Cañada College Connect Office Hours
📆 Thursday, August 13, 2026
🕑2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
📍100 Terminal Avenue., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Olivia Cortez-Figueroa, College Recruiter
Olivia has over 25 years of experience in higher education working in Financial Aid and Enrollment Services. She has worked in the San Mateo Community College District since 2012. She enjoys connecting with and serving all students but especially 1st-generation, BIPOC students because she was once one of these students herself. Olivia has a BA in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Having been the first in her family to go to college, she understands the challenges first-generation students face - oftentimes you don't even know what to ask because you don't know what you don't know. This is why she is so passionate about sharing information about our Cañada College academic and student support programs with students, their parents, their schools and anyone who is interested in changing their lives. Olivia, together with her 'partner-in-crime' and fellow College Recruiter, Maggie, oversees the Outreach Office and the Student Ambassador Program at Cañada College. On any given day you can find her at a local high school, connecting and planning with a community partner or training Student Ambassadors.
On a personal note, family is very important to her so she is often found with her husband and two children. She likes to knit, crochet, sew and quilt. She also loves to hike and, lately, has been getting into gardening succulents too.
Olivia can be reached at cortezfigueroao@smccd.edu or 650-306-3209.