Recent News
Master of Public Policy Students Partner with SLO County to Develop Better Mental Health Programs
Feb 4, 2020
Master of Public Policy project team
A group of students in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program is partnering with the San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Department to evaluate innovative projects that address mental health needs in the county.
As a part of California’s Mental Health Services Act, the county received funding to develop programs that promote positive mental health and reduce the negative impact of mental illness. This funding sparked the creation of small-scale projects to address mental health concerns.
From peer mentorship programs for Latina women to trauma-informed care training for employees, the programs address different concerns affecting people in San Luis Obispo. The act was designed to encourage innovative approaches to mental health.
“One of the requirements of getting the funding is that it’s a brand-new program, a unique way of providing a service,” MPP student Ty Ulrey said. “It’s unique that they can fund these programs with the full expectation that they might not work.”
Now, a team of five MPP students are surveying providers and evaluating the programs to evaluate which ones are worth implementing permanently. The County of San Luis Obispo is partnering with Cal Poly’s public policy program to collect data, interview providers and find out which programs are effective.
“Rather than creating a huge program and the infrastructure to support it and hope it goes right, these are smaller-scale interventions to see what works,” Elizabeth Lowham, co-director of the MPP program, said.
Students designed the evaluation process and are working with key providers who helped develop and facilitate the programs. The evaluation process includes two components: collecting statistics and data and qualitative interviews with providers to hear about their experience with the programs.
“This is also leading to connections in local government,” MPP co-director Martin Battle said. “We’re an important institution in San Luis Obispo County, and we should play a role to help good governance.”
The students’ final report will go to the State of California, and the State will work in collaboration with San Luis Obispo County to decide the next steps for the programs.
“It’s a great way to serve the community in a mutually beneficial way,” Ulrey said. “It gives students relevant work experience, and then the County needs independent evaluators. It’s a really cool partnership between Cal Poly and behavioral health. The more that those relationships and bridges can be built, the better.”
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Art and Design Senior Served as Chief of Discipline for Fencing in USA Pentathlon National Qualifying Event
Feb 4, 2020
Allison McClain, Fencing Club President
Top athletes from across the country competed for a spot on the USA Pentathlon 2020 Olympic team at Cal Poly the weekend of Jan. 17. Art and design senior Allison McClain was the Chief of Discipline for fencing and helped organize the fencing event.
Cal Poly hosted the final national qualifying event for athletes in the USA Pentathlon on campus. Pentathlon is a five-sport event, including swimming, fencing, equestrian, shooting, and running. Each athlete competes in mini-competitions of each of the five sports.
The university and the USA Pentathlon worked together to organize the event at the Recreation Center, and they asked for students’ help. As the Chief of Discipline for the fencing portion, McClain, who is also president of the Cal Poly Fencing Club, provided expertise in fencing to ensure the event ran smoothly.
“I was in charge of asking the right questions — like do they need scoreboards or strips? I helped with the technical aspects that Cal Poly might not know about each sport,” McClain said.
From ensuring all technology was running smoothly, to reaching out to athletes, to getting the Recreation Center in shape for the event, McClain practiced event management skills for an Olympic event.
“Fencing is a very technical sport, so there’s a lot of electronic things that can go wrong,” McClain said. Thankfully, my coach and other Fencing Club members were there helping me.”
McClain said the fencing strategy in a Pentathlon can be different from a typical fencing match. Since there are five different sports, the matches are shorter. She said it was interesting to compare different techniques the athletes used as they moved from one event to the other.
McClain had the opportunity to work and talk with USA Pentathlon coordinators and Olympic fencers including former Olympic gold medalist and Pentathlon managing director Rob Stole. She said they discussed potential plans to expand the fencing club on campus.
“It was really neat to see the main gym, with tiles on the ground, nice fencing strips, scoring boxes and the Olympic banners everywhere,” McClain said. “It was great seeing that.”
Join Cal Poly Career Connections!
Jan 21, 2020
Career Connections is Cal Poly’s exclusive online networking and mentoring platform. Mentoring is one of the most impactful ways that alumni can help Cal Poly students succeed. Now you can expand your professional network and provide support to our amazing students. Alumni can utilize Career Connections in a number of different ways:
- Grow your network and connect with Cal Poly’s alumni community
- Serve as a mentor to students and provide one-on-one career-related advice
- Join groups that match your career interests and participate in discussion boards with alumni and students
Career Connections was built with your busy schedule in mind. Completing a profile is simple – you can use LinkedIn to automatically fill in some information. You customize the experience – choose the level of participation that fits your schedule. From posting and responding to discussion boards, to short-term mentoring through email or video chat, to more involved interaction, make Career Connections your own! It’s free, and takes just a few minutes to get started.
How do I get started?
- Go to careerconnections.calpoly.edu
- Click “Join Now!”
- Complete your profile and if your email matches our records, you’re all set!
- If your email is different from our database, verify the email sent to your inbox (if you don’t receive one, check your spam folder) Hold tight as we verify your account.
- Start networking, mentoring and more!
Learn more and sign up today at careerconnections.calpoly.edu
Jane Lehr to Serve as Founding Director of Newly Formed Office of Student Research
Jan 16, 2020
Jane Lehr, professor in the departments of Ethnic Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, will serve as founding director of the newly formed Office of Student Research in the Office of Research and Economic Development. 
In her new role, Lehr will focus on increasing the transparency of access to research opportunities, supporting the professional development of both student researchers and research mentors, and increasing the submission and success of grant proposals that integrate student researchers, among other responsibilities.
Lehr is also affiliated faculty in the Center for Engineering, Science & Mathematics Education (CESAME); the department of Computer Science & Software Engineering; and the Science, Technology & Society Program. She will continue in these roles as she serves as director of the Office of Student Research on a half-time basis.
During her time at Cal Poly, Lehr’s work has focused on educational equity, including substantial activity designed to increase access to inclusive and equitable experiences in undergraduate research across campus. As director of the California State University Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CSU-LSAMP) in STEM Program at Cal Poly and in partnership with BEACoN Research Mentors and other campus entities, she has worked closely with students, faculty, and staff across the university to make progress toward this goal. More recently, Jane has engaged in new partnerships designed to provide support for Cal Poly graduate students entering research both as mentees and mentors.
“These experiences have given Jane a deep understanding and respect for the existing research activities of each college and an awareness of their strengths and nuances,” Renee Reijo Pera, Vice President of Research and Economic Development, said.
Lehr has also collaborated with the Office of Research to better understand the landscape of undergraduate research at Cal Poly, identify how inequities in access and experience might emerge for students, and explore how the Office of Student Research might enhance existing efforts of colleges and departments to address this issue.
“I am excited to have Jane continue her work with our office after so many years of successful collaboration,” Pera said. “I know she will build an Office of Student Research that will be of tremendous benefit to our campus community.”
Graphic Communication Major Shares Color Research
Dec 12, 2019
The 2018 FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship second-place recipient Linnea Landgren, a senior graphic communication major, shares her research on replicating consistent color.
Music Student Produces Two Videos Featuring Mustang Band for SLO Transit
Dec 12, 2019
Brian Mendez filming the SLO Transit videos.
It’s not often that music junior Brian Mendez produces something without sound — especially when it’s a video of a band. But when SLO Transit asked the Mustang Band to produce a promotional video for the buses, he was up for the challenge.
A jazz saxophonist, music producer and video producer, Mendez directed a promotional video and an instructional video featuring the Mustang Spirit Team that now screens daily on SLO Transit buses. He spearheaded the entire project, from storyboarding to filming and editing.
“It was hard to come up with everything from scratch, but honestly, that was part of the fun,” Mendez said.
There were two videos: One promotional video showed the Mustang Spirit Team (comprised of the band, cheer and dance teams) using SLO Transit to get to the Big Game at Spanos Stadium. The video served as a promotion for Cal Poly Athletics and SLO Transit alike. The second video was a detailed demonstration on how to use the bus for new passengers.
Mustang Spirit Team poses for a group photo while
filming the SLO Transit videos.
Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff knew when he was contacted by the City of San Luis Obispo about a video collaboration that Mendez would be a great leader for the project.
“As a member of Mustang Band, he is very aware of the character of the band and what aspects of their performance carry that special visual energy,” Woodruff said. “When I first suggested the project to him, he jumped at the opportunity and already had some ideas for the shot list.”
Mendez faced a few hurdles when tackling the project. One of which was the mere size of the instruments when loading onto the bus.
“We knew going into this that we weren’t going to have many tubas,” Mendez said. “When I was planning it out, I wrote, ‘one tuba at most.’”
Another challenge was creating a video that showcased the vibrancy and enthusiasm of Mustang Band — without the music.
“They told me the video would have no sound on the bus, so I had to make it more visually interesting,” Mendez said.
Mendez commutes using the bus daily. In addition to the thrill of seeing his name under “directed by” while riding the bus, he said this project made him realize the value of being a selfstarter.
“I learned that I am really capable of doing these things on my own. I feel like a lot of people are under the impression that to make something happen they’re going to need a lot of help,” Mendez said. “Obviously help is needed in the long run, but I realized that as an individual, you can make a lot of things happen.”
Note: Since the video is played on buses, there is no audio on the video.
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CSU + Adobe XD Creative Jam
Dec 11, 2019
Participants from eight different CSU schools — including Cal Poly — took part in CSU + Adobe XD Creative Jam on Oct. 11–12. Creative Jams, an event series where local thought leaders share a behind-the-scene peek into their processes and projects; meanwhile, teams compete in a tournament that puts their creative skills to the test using Adobe Creative Cloud.
CLA Students Earn Top Spots at CSU Media Arts Festival
Dec 11, 2019
Three students placed at the 29th annual CSU Media Arts Festival in Los Angeles on Nov. 13, sweeping the top three spots in Screenwriting and first in Promotional Video. The annual CSU Media Arts Festival is a film competition for students in the 23-campus CSU system.
Journalism major Shanti Herzog placed first and third in the Screenwriting category for two original screenplays; English major Matthew Lam placed second in Screenwriting for an original screenplay; and art and design major Casey Wieber placed first in Promotional Video.
Read the most recent stories in The Link
Join Cal Poly Career Connections!
Dec 10, 2019
Career Connections is an exclusive online networking and mentoring platform that connects you to Cal Poly’s professional community.
Alumni want to be here for you – they want to help you as you explore your own career path. As a student, you can utilize Career Connections in a number of different ways:
- Reach out to alumni to get career related advice
- Explore the profiles and career paths of Cal Poly alumni
- Browse the many resources and online career tools available to you
- Join groups that match your career interests
Make Career Connections your own!
Maybe you have a few questions to post on the discussion board or you want to have a quick video chat. You may also want more involved interaction – you decide what’s right for you. It’s free, easy and a great way to connect with the Cal Poly community.
How do I get started?
- Go to careerconnections.calpoly.edu
- Click “Join Now!”
- Complete your profile (log in with your Cal Poly user name for quick access)
- Start exploring and networking!
Career Connections was built with your busy schedule in mind. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to get started. Learn more and sign up today at careerconnections.calpoly.edu
Read the most recent stories in The Link
CLA Student Works on Project with New York Times Student Journalism Institute
Nov 15, 2019
Recent journalism and ethnic studies alumna Isabella Paoletto had the opportunity to work on a journalism project with the New York Times Student Journalism Institute during her last quarter at Cal Poly.
Isabella Paoletto in front of the New York Times office
The two-and-a-half week-long institute provided training and writing opportunities for student journalists who are members of the National Association of Black Journalists or the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, or who attend a historically black university. Paoletto traveled to New York in May to participate in the program and received training from New York Times journalists and editors.
Paoletto pitched and wrote her own long-form story about the horrors of New York subway systems. She interviewed approximately 50 strangers on the subway for her article, “Your Tales of Subway Horror: How Bad Is It?” In addition to anecdotes of crawling rodents and sexual harassment, the article delved into the issue of the subway system’s failing infrastructure and organizations that are working to solve the issue.
“This definitely taught me to overcome my fear of going up to random people and asking to interview them, which is a good skill to have,” Paoletto said.
But she was no stranger to reporting before the Institute. As a journalism student and a reporter for Mustang News, Paoletto said she learned the skills necessary to enter the experience with confidence. She credited the Journalism Department for teaching her the reporting skills that prepared her to cover the issue.
“I was actually surprised because a lot of the things [The New York Times journalists] were teaching in those training sessions, I had already learned at Cal Poly,” Paoletto said.
The article was published on the New York Times Student Journalism Institute’s website, along with a biography on Paoletto and her dedication to social justice and covering underrepresented voices.
“The journalism industry itself is predominantly white, so it was nice to be around people who have similar perspectives and cultural backgrounds as support,” Paoletto said. “That was the first time that I learned these spaces existed for students of color in journalism.”
Journalism associate professor and Mustang News print advisor Patrick Howe commended Paoletto’s adventurous work ethic, as she had to take time out of her last quarter and keep up with classes while completing the project in New York. Her willingness to take on challenging projects translated to the newsroom as well.
“What I remember most about Isabella is she took on some of our most serious topics as a reporter here,” Howe said. “In particular, I remember her for her coverage of diversity and inclusivity issues. She explored campus culture on another level of depth than most student reporters do, and she dove into issues that actually affect the campus.”
Now, Paoletto lives in New York full-time and is completing a fellowship with Business Insider. She hopes to eventually return to the New York Times as a reporter covering immigration and race-related issues.
“It’s my dream job,” Paoletto said. “I just love all the work they do.”