Alumni Updates

Find classmates by name, major, or year of graduation

Jess Whatcott, Environment & Community (Social Sciences), 2011

Submitted: January 28, 2024

After completing a Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Jess Whatcott (they/them) became a tenure-track professor in women's, gender, and sexuality studies at San Diego State University. Dr. Whatcott's first academic book about California's history of eugenics and confining disabled people in state institutions will be published by Duke University Press in August 2024.

Abbey Ramirez, Environmental Studies, 2022

Submitted: January 24, 2024

Since graduation, Abbey moved to Sonoma County on Pomo and Coast Miwok land, where she is the Head Gardener for Traditional Medicinals Tea Company (the company that makes Throat Coat!) She tends the educational garden, which serves as an herbal library, displaying many medicinal herbs the company uses in its teas. She is also the zero-waste coordinator working with the environmental department on getting the tea company recertified as a zero-waste facility. Abbey is still working with CCAT as a member of the Steering Committee, and she is always proud to say where her education came from!

Robin Rader, Environmental Studies, 2015

Submitted: January 9, 2024

Robin is unsure when her last update was, but she had a baby two and a half years ago! She's been a stay-at-home mom ever since and is taking drone courses to get a commercial license for flying one. She's not exactly sure what she'll do with that, but she can be flexible with it and continue raising her son, so that’s a plus! Robin loves being a mom! She says it’s so awesome watching her son grow and learn. We garden, and he loves it. They hike, cook, and learn together; what a beautiful thing!

Miranda Olberg, English, 2019

Submitted: January 6, 2024

Since graduating from Humboldt, Miranda has worked closely with all ages—from infants to young adults—in various education roles across the country. Currently, she teaches at a forest school in northern Vermont. She is finishing a Master of Education at Antioch University New England with concentrations in place-based education, nature-based early childhood, and mindfulness integration. She is also working toward a teaching license with an endorsement in birth to third grade. Miranda hopes to continue furthering her education and research in the environmental humanities.

Ashley (Perez) Mezeske , Environmental Studies, 2015

Submitted: January 6, 2024

Ashley moved her family from Humboldt to rural Michigan in August of 2023. While living in Humboldt, Ashley worked briefly in the nonprofit sector, helping to provide resources for various aspects of childcare for a local organization. She has been a stay-at-home mother after having her first child in 2018. She plans to open up her own business with an interdisciplinary environmental lens this coming year. She says the concept of a “third place” and the loss we have of them in society has become very interesting to me lately. She loves Humboldt! 

Henry Mulak, Journalism, 1984

Submitted: January 4, 2024

Henry Mulak is developing a branded media company following 40 years of reporting, including for the "Big Three" broadcasting networks in the United States. The Ah! Channel (https://ahchannel.com) focuses on artificial intelligence. This comes on the heels of some six years studying computer science and business in Stanford University's Continuing Studies program. Henry was ahead of the curve when OpenAI released ChatGPT in November of 2022, quickly joining a startup in the development of digital personas. "The potential for growth here is tremendous," Henry says, noting that business models in everything from media to healthcare are changing rapidly.

Chris Manning, Journalism, 1990

Submitted: January 3, 2024

Humboldt State University was one of the greatest decisions of Chris's life! He has since gone on to have an award-winning and successful career in music performing, production, sound engineering, and sound for film. He works at Skywalker Sound in Marin County on sound for major Blockbuster movies. Chris intends to return to Cal Poly Humboldt to help him finish a creative historical Novel he has been working on for 7 years. 

Samuel R Harper, Fisheries Biology, 2014

Submitted: January 1, 2024

Since graduating, Samuel has become a user experience designer at Infinity Ward, having worked on popular video game titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. He is earning a master's degree in Human Factors from Bentley University. Samuel has also taught UX courses at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Central Florida. Samuel currently resides in Austin, Texas.  

Virginia Howard Mullan, Anthropology, 1980, 2006

Submitted: December 28, 2023

After teaching middle school, all subjects, at Bridgeville Elementary for 31 years, Virginia decided to put more time into her writing. In the last few years, the North Coast Journal, Senior News, The Sun, The Times-Standard, and The Eel River Valley DAR Newsletter have included her work in their publications. Virginia published a book entitled "What Remains: the People and Places of California's Expositions" about California World's Fairs in 2021.

Shiloh (Green) Soto, Environmental Studies, 2016

Submitted: December 13, 2023

After graduating from Humboldt, Shiloh earned her M.A. in interdisciplinary humanities at UC Merced, where she will also graduate with her Ph.D. in the spring of 2024. Her graduate work is housed in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and analyzes a public history project she directed with the San Joaquin Valley's city of Livingston. Shiloh moved back to Humboldt in 2022 and eventually found exciting work on campus in Cal Poly Humboldt's College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences as the College Graduate Programs & Recruitment Coordinator! 

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