Alumni Updates

Find classmates by name, major, or year of graduation

Pam Webb, English, 1987

Submitted: March 19, 2020

Pam Webb, English, 1987, is pleased to announce the upcoming release of her book Someday We Will, published by Beaming Books. This is a book for grandparents and grandchildren who are separated by miles, and the wait until the next delightful visit can seem endless. In Someday We Will, kids and grandparents mark the time by dreaming of all the wonderful things they’ll do together someday, from bicycling down a hill to whiling away the hours on a beach. Before they know it, someday is here! illustrations by Wendy Leach. Someday We Will is perfect for grandparents and grandchildren who look at the calendar with impatience and longing for the the next fun-filled time with their loved ones.

Robert Deane, Journalism, 2007

Submitted: March 2, 2020

Robert Deane, Journalism, 2007, works as a Library Technician II for the Oregon Tech Library in Klamath Falls, Oregon. In February of 2020 Deane graduated with his Masters in Education: Social Studies, from Western Governor's University and is now working on his Masters in Library Science from St. John's University via distance education.

Shannon Whaley (Bush), Psychology, 2001

Submitted: February 21, 2020

After graduating from HSU, Shannon Whaley, Psychology, 2001, moved to Seattle to pursue a career as a domestic violence counselor as well as a chemical dependency professional. After leaving the social services in 2005, she became a hairstylist for seven years, working at the top salon in Seattle. In 2013 she moved to the Cayman Islands to figure things out and became a credentialed coach through the International Coaching Federation. In 2015, Whaley opened her own business and began working as a business and marketing coach. She became a coach trainer and eventually the head of admissions for a coach training company. In 2017 she moved to Italy and met and married her husband, where they live with three cats.

Michael M O'Boyle, Forestry & Wildland Resources, June 1971

Submitted: February 14, 2020

Michael O'Boyle, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1971, spent 16 years with the USDA Soil Conservation Service, and ended up as a district conservationist. He then served in New Mexico and California. Afterward, O'Boyle completed 20 years with the Madera County Animal Control Department in California, retiring in 2010.

Aneesh Kumar KV, Fisheries Biology, 2014

Submitted: February 14, 2020

Aneesh Kumar, Fisheries Biology, 2014, is currently working as Project Scientist at Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology. Their area of research is Eco-morphology of deep sea fishes and Otoliths.

Aaron Louis Cobas, Politics, 2016

Submitted: January 29, 2020

Since graduating, Aaron Louis Cobas, Politics, 2016, has been trying to acquire his dream position that he has wanted since the age of nine years old. Last December, that dream came true. Cobas has accepted a full-time position as a Park Ranger for New Mexico State Parks. Ever since he was little his fondest memories have been going up into the Sierras, as well as Yosemite and Joshua Tree, looking at the majesty that is our public lands. Because of the education and training he received at HSU he has an exciting new chapter in life and the new adventures that come with it.

Julianne Fernandez, Oceanography, 2014

Submitted: January 28, 2020

After earning her degree, Julianne Fernandez, Oceanography, 2014, interned with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District in Illinois. As a Physical Science Technician in Water Quality she assisted in monitoring the upper Mississippi River. Fernandez worked on her M.S. in Geology at the University of Cincinnati, where her research focused on methane emissions from Lake Erie. Fernandez completed her M.S in 2017 and soon decided to pursue a PhD. She’s currently a Marie Slodowska-Curie Postgraduate Research Assistant in the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway University of London, UK. She studies urban methane emissions from London and other European metropolitan areas.

Barbara Muskat, Art, 1975

Submitted: January 18, 2020

Barbara Muskat, Art, 1975, has been teaching in a public school setting for the last 26 years. She taught as a secondary art teacher and for the last 15 years taught kindergarten where she includes the arts in many ways. Muskat will be retiring at the end of the 2020 school year.

Michelle Gienger, History, 2007

Submitted: January 13, 2020

A few years ago Michelle Gienger, History, 2007, transitioned from a Federal Investigator at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to a Management and Program Analyst with the US Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General. In this position, she is on a team that conducts reviews of DOJ programs for the DOJ, Congress, and public.

Janelle Thompson, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1993

Submitted: January 13, 2020

In 2019, after 28 years with the U.S. Forest Service in a position as a timber sale administrator, Janelle Thompson, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1993, was promoted to Tahoe National Forest, Sierraville Ranger District Timber Management Officer. Thompson began her career in 1987 as a temporary employee on the timber marking crew at Sierraville. She received a permanent career appointment in 1991 as a forester with an emphasis in timber sale administration. During the last 20 years she has also worked as a support dispatcher (EDSD) for major wildland fires and other incidents across the United States. September of 2022 Thompson will be eligible to retire with over 31 years with the U.S. Forest Service.

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