Recent News
How Learn by Doing Inspired a Career in Hollywood
Sep 16, 2024
Header Image: Damon Claussen during his time in Film Club at Cal Poly.
By Jayan Kalathil
Damon Claussen (Graphic Communication, ‘96) has worked as an editor in Hollywood for more than 20 years, cutting unscripted shows, promos, trailers and behind-the-scenes special features for tv, films and agencies, and just wrapped cutting a feature-length documentary.
He grew up in Burbank and his father was a publicist representing various celebrities and television shows. It was almost natural that as a kid he picked up a Super 8 film camera and started making stop-motion short films in his backyard.
Claussen with his family at Cal Poly
Commencement in 1996
“I loved stop-frame animation. I was a huge fan of Gumby. Loved Will Vinton’s portfolio of work, especially his character ‘The Noid’. The ability to tell a story, that's what I love.”
Claussen wanted an education focused on the creative side of business such as advertising and marketing. He attended Cuesta College before transferring to Cal Poly as a business major. After taking some classes, he realized the courses for a marketing degree were not satisfying his creative itch and soon transferred to the Graphic Communication Department (GRC).
“GRC offered a business element blended with technology, which connected with me. I took all the classes I needed to, but really it was the auxiliary connections that I made at Poly that fostered the direction where I'm at now.”
Those connections were formed through his involvement in the Cal Poly Film Club and with an informal group of students who bonded around creating video games.
"I found my people with two different groups. One was the Cal Poly Film Club, who were all closet film school students and shared this love not just for watching films, but for storytelling and creating fun shorts. It was this little community of misfit filmmakers. I was also a huge gamer at the time and was involved with a small but talented group of five or six students who were building a video game. And some of them eventually went on to work for ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) and LucasArts.”
Claussen with George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch
He fondly recalls his time on campus with his friends, shooting videos, working the club booth to recruit other film fanatics, and even hosting an underground screening of the Star Wars trilogy on the rooftop of Agriculture Sciences building (No. 11). After graduation he was hired for his first job, which happened to be on campus, building content for interactive CD-ROMs and educational videos. That was where he had his first taste of editing.
“That job showed me how to edit with higher-end equipment, still very old equipment, but higher end than the SVHS student edit booths in the AV Department. I learned a bunch just by doing it. You know, that's the Cal Poly way.”
After returning to LA and working on a few different projects, Claussen soon collaborated with a client out of Santa Barbara who was a former second unit director on Baywatch with connections in Hollywood. Claussen worked with him on a variety of documentary/reality shows for networks like The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, TLC, History and The Food Network. This led to other gigs, editing promos, trailers, and what he enjoyed most, behind-the-scenes special features for Warner Bros. & DC Animated Universe.
“If you buy a Blu-ray or download a season pass of a tv series like ‘The Flash’, ‘Superman & Lois,’ or ‘Arrow’, all the extras content, all those featurettes, that's what I edited. Those were fun because they were more cerebral. We had access to the stars of the shows, but also dug deep with questions to the writers, producers, art department show-runners, about the characters, story arcs and subversive topics. Fans really connected with that content.”
Claussen at the "Giants Rising: The Secrets &
Superpowers of the Redwoods" premiere.
Recently, he connected with a longtime producer friend with whom he has worked with on several shows for the Smithsonian Channel. This time it was for a project for the visitor's center of Redwood National and State Park, which led to a much larger project, a full-length feature documentary that Claussen has edited called “Giants Rising”. It’s a film about the secrets & superpowers of redwood trees,” and recently premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and continues to receive accolades on its festival circuit.
“I'm really proud of how it came out. I was present for a couple of screenings and heard from some audience members who were incredibly moved by it. And that's hugely rewarding, to contribute to something that has impact and takeaway,” he said.
Claussen admitted he has been lucky to have worked steadily over the years in his chosen profession, but it has not been without its ups and downs. He explained that recent changes and disruptions in the entertainment industry, including mergers, strikes and the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) may lead to more adjustments in the future.
"AI is changing every facet of every part of the industry, not just in TV and film, but in creative, engineering, even accounting. It's an interesting time and it's moving quickly so we must be open, malleable and ready," he said.
Even though Claussen ultimately didn’t pursue a career directly in his field of study, he still credits his time at Cal Poly as formative and essential to his career path as an editor.
“I truly believe that the best way to approach so many things is just to get in and start doing it and working with it,” he said. “Because theory is great. But hands-on, nothing beats that.”
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Remembering a Mustang’s Legacy of Education and Love
Aug 12, 2024
Header Image: Bill Badgley, Brian Badgley and Carol Ann McEntee. Photo courtesy of Bill Badgley.
By Jayan Kalathil
Carol and Bill at home.
Carol Ann McEntee (History, ‘72) loved children and made it her life’s work to advocate for them, working tirelessly toward the goal of ensuring that all children are respected, cared for and loved. Sadly, she passed away unexpectedly in 2022. To honor her memory and her legacy of education and child development, her husband Bill Badgley recently established a charitable gift annuity at Cal Poly that will benefit the Child Development department in the College of Liberal Arts.
Born in Burbank, Carol attended both Cal Poly and Chico State, where she earned her Master of Arts in School Psychology. During the summer of 1981, while studying for her master's degree, a friend from Cal Poly invited her for a visit to New Hampshire. During that visit, that friend also introduced her to her future husband, Bill. The two hit it off so well that her originally planned short trip lasted the entire summer and was the start of their more than 40 years together.
Carol and Bill at their son's wedding.
“That year, we called each other often (before cell phones) and visited coast-to-coast as often as we could,” added Bill.
The following year, after a year of having a long-distance relationship, Carol moved across the country to join Bill when she accepted a job as an elementary school psychologist in Keene, NH. This was the start of her lengthy career working in primary school education where she was committed to helping create safe and nurturing environments for everyone. Throughout it, she remained an advocate for struggling children and worked on preemptive programs to stop bullying.
Bill fondly remembers their life together, including raising their son Brian, and his wife’s love of reading, music, art and nature – especially birds, shells, and mushrooms. Bill’s work included teaching English to adult immigrants, and Carol loved meeting his students as much as he did. Through those many international friendships, Carol and Bill were able to metaphorically travel the world together. Additionally, for 38 years they vacationed during the winter down at Sanibel Island, FL, where Carol would collect shells on the beach to add to her beautiful collection. She brought back many boxes of them to share with her students at school.
When it came to remembering his wife’s memory, Bill wanted to make a gift that would both honor her life’s work and help future generations of educators follow in her footsteps. He knew Cal Poly always held a special place in her heart and it also played a pivotal role in how they met and started their life together.
“Carol was a caring, generous woman. Cal Poly was the beginning of her journey to a career full of care and generosity. And of course, had it not been for her attending Cal Poly, we would have never met,” said Bill. “I wanted to create a legacy gift to reflect our gratitude.”
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Political Science and History Student Selected for Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program
Jul 29, 2024
By Keegan Koberl
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry, a third-year student dual majoring in political science and history from Redondo Beach, Calif., will serve as Cal Poly’s 2024 representative to the Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program.
After a two-week training period at the Panetta Institute at CSU Monterey Bay, Henry will work in the Capitol Hill office of a California congressional representative in Washington, D.C., for 11 weeks in the fall.
“I am eager to use this incredible opportunity as a Learn by Doing experience,” Henry said. “When I am working on Capitol Hill, the practical skills I will learn that are needed for any political science-related job I want to pursue will be immense.
“This opportunity and everything I can learn on the job will be life-changing and hopefully lead me to pursue the career and life path of my dreams.”
Henry is one of the principal founders of the San Luis Obispo Model United Nations Club at Cal Poly. Since founding the club, the university’s Model United Nations team has expanded its membership and participates in a greater number of competitions with improved performances. The club’s delegate membership now comes from almost every major on campus.
Henry is the 24th Cal Poly student to participate in the Panetta Institute program since 2001. He will join 20 other students, all nominated by the presidents of California State University campuses, as well as two private universities, Saint Mary’s College of California and Santa Clara University. The program is open to all academic majors and is recognized as one of the leading internship courses in the nation because of the rigorous training it provides.
The Panetta Institute covers program costs, including course registration fees, campus services during orientation, air travel and housing in Washington, D.C. By covering these expenses, the institute can make the program available to interns from all socioeconomic levels. Cal Poly awardees are supported in part through the Ed and Jan Slevin Congressional Internship Endowment.
Read the most recent CLA News stories
Cal Poly Students Win National Design Competition by Rebranding a Local Small Restaurant
Jun 11, 2024
After a year of research and development, a team of Cal Poly students won first place in the Phoenix Challenge, a national competition where students help small businesses market and rebrand through sustainable packaging design and flexographic printing.
This year’s theme was sustainable packaging for sustainable business, and the team partnered with Bing’s Bao Buns, a small, San Luis Obispo-based restaurant, to redesign their packaging. Five graphic communication students and a consumer packaging concentration student developed and designed both a single and three-pack bao bun carrier and a kimchi jar label to help the business target customers and expand to new demographics.
As part of the Flexographic Trade Association’s annual contest, the team spent the last academic year creating concepts, conducting market research, interviewing industry experts, surveying targeted demographics, iterating structures and designs, and printing on the flexo press in the Graphic Communcation Department’s lab for prototyping. Finally, they presented the works and the prototypes to a group of judges from the flexographic printing industry.
Graphic communication student Umika Kuroda,
consumer packaging concentration student Claire Schatz,
graphic communication students Alex Woon, J
asmine Lee, Jacob Sterrett, and Sydney Doyle.
The students, Umika Kuroda, Claire Schatz, Alex Woon, Jasmine Lee, Jacob Sterrett and Sydney Doyle, took first place against teams from across the U.S.
“It was great to apply what we learn in classes to help solve a branding and sustainability problem with a real-life customer,” Kuroda said.
“Each team member had a specific area they were responsible for – concept, graphics, research and execution, but we all worked together for a cohesive solution,” Sterrett said.
“I appreciated how involved we all were from ideation to execution, and learning the intricacies of how flexography can be a great solution for reproducing branding on various substrates,” said team lead Jasmine Lee. “We formulated inks to match across different packaging materials and were able to delight the customer with our choices.”
The team considered sustainability and accessibility while developing the packaging and labels. The bao bun boxes’ colors were chosen to be visible to those with color blindness, and their construction was specifically designed to use the minimum amount of glue possible while allowing the maximum number of boxes to be cut from the same sheet of folding carton board. The boxes were made of recyclable coated paper and printed with water-based ink, to further reduce environmental impact and safety.
Custom packaging design for local business
Bing’s Bao Buns in San Luis Obispo, CA
The team also designed a custom label for the business’ house made kimchi. The labels offer enhanced branding, reduced manufacturing costs with more efficient production, and offer a safety measure: consumers will know the jar is unopened if the label is intact.
“The Phoenix Challenge competition not only provides an opportunity for students to showcase Learn by Doing problem solving techniques in the industry but provides opportunities for students to professionally present findings to industry professionals and network,” Graphic Communication Department Chair Colleen Twomey said. “It’s incredible to see how this yearlong project culminates in some creative solutions for a local business, and offers students experiences to apply skills in a real-world environment.”
Dina Vees, associate professor in the Graphic Communication Department, advised the students for this year’s competition.
“Every year, the competition is different. Observing the students uncover problems that they solve is so gratifying,” Vees said. “They truly immerse themselves in applying what they are learning in our classrooms and are able to get a “real life” experience out of it. It’s fantastic!”
Read the most recent CLA News stories
President’s Diversity Award Student Winner Honored as 2024 CLA 'Great Grad'
Jun 6, 2024
Cristian Reyes
By Jay Thompson
Cristian Reyes arrived at Cal Poly in the fall of 2020 as a “naive and eager” biology student. Four years later the child development major is poised to graduate with plans this fall to pursue a master’s degree.
“My career goal is to work in higher education where I can utilize advocacy to leverage policy to make higher education more accessible and equitable for underrepresented students,” he said.
He changed his field of study to child development near the start of his sophomore year. Reyes’ grades soon surged, and the McFarland, California, resident made the Dean’s List the following quarter. He’s been honored another five times for receiving at least a 3.5 grade point average on a full-time load of classes.
Cal Poly was an easy choice. He liked its location (“beautiful and the weather is great!”) and the hands-on learning ethos.
“Learn by Doing has profoundly impacted my academic journey and shaped my future goals in meaningful ways,” the 22-year-old said. “This experiential learning model has enhanced my academic understanding and has instilled in me a deep sense of confidence and preparedness as I navigate the professional world. Ultimately, Learn by Doing has inspired me to pursue a career focused on making a tangible impact, where I can continue to apply and expand upon the practical skills and knowledge gained during my time at Cal Poly.”
Like many first-generation students, Reyes struggled in a university setting and a campus population larger than his hometown, but he found his footing through student organizations and advocacy groups that gave focus to his future ambitions.
He found crucial support and a sense of belonging from the college diversity committee, student government, his Latin fraternity Lambda Theta Phi and Cal Poly Scholars, which provides financial, academic and community resources to high-achieving Californians from low-income backgrounds.
He was also buoyed by advocacy experiences that proved motivating and “strengthened my resilience and fueled my commitment to fostering a more-inclusive campus environment for future generations,” said this year’s student recipient of the President’s Diversity Award that honored his commitment to improve equity, and inclusion on campus.
Reyes is also proud of his selection for several state and national fellowships that made a difference for the budding advocate, changemaker and diversity professional.
A summer internship at the Latino Student Fund last year took him to Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to help an organization improve educational access to underrepresented communities living in the district. A month later, he was named to a yearlong fellowship with Today’s Students Coalition, part of the group’s second cohort of outstanding student-leaders looking to deepen their knowledge of federal education policy and create sustainable change after returning to their communities.
“The fellowships allowed me to engage in impactful research, advocacy and community service projects, further honing my skills,” he said. “That summer in Washington, D.C., exposed me to diverse perspectives and experiences, broadening my understanding of public policy and civic engagement and paved the way for future opportunities and endeavors.”
Reyes travels hopeful aided by supportive friendships with peers and faculty and staff mentors.
“Whether collaborating on projects, navigating challenges or simply sharing moments of joy and camaraderie, the bonds formed within the Cal Poly community have left a lasting impression on me,” he said. “They have taught me the importance of building meaningful connections and supporting one another in our journey towards personal and professional fulfillment.”
Read about this year's other "great grads"
On Top of the World
May 7, 2024
By Jayan Kalathil
In 2012, Bob Berger (Journalism, '81) summited Mt. Everest, something only a handful of people can say. He insisted that accomplishing something like this is a mindset he credits his time at Cal Poly with helping him forge.
“Learn by Doing. It really is the way. In my climbing career and marketing career, you just have to get in and try. You know, there's no failure. It's only learning, and we can't be afraid to learn. So that's what you learn in mountain climbing. Over the years, I've learned some pretty good lessons that got me pretty close to negative outcomes, but because of being persistent and being able to figure things out under pressure, we were able to survive. And I think that happens a lot in our professional careers, too. You're up against deadlines and you really learn how to think clearly and be effective. And you can only do that by practicing it, and that's Learn by Doing.”
Berger's love for climbing began before he got to Cal Poly. He first attended Willamette University in Oregon studying biology and playing football. Still, as a California native from San Mateo, he soon realized he wanted to return to his home state. Before he left, he and a couple of friends decided to climb Mt. Hood, Oregon’s highest peak and had an adventure there that started his love affair with climbing.
“So we're there starting at midnight,” he recalled, “and we got caught in a whiteout and had to dig a snow cave for protection and sleep in it. Then when it got light out, and we were coming down, I fell into a crevasse. Fortunately, we were roped up. But that experience got me hooked.”
That summer he started reading books on the subject and soon bought a rope and some gear and started climbing with his friend Tom, another Cal Poly alum. When he arrived at Cal Poly as a transfer student that fall, he accidentally found another kindred spirit upon arrival.
“I was checking into the Palomar dorms and some guy saw me walking in with my plastic milk crate with my rope on top," he remembered. “And he says ‘Hey, I saw you had a rope. Let's go climbing.’ That was my friend John, who also lived in Palomar. We started climbing on Bishop Peak but then we started climbing all over.”
Berger and his Poly friends would road trip around the state on their breaks from school, from the Eastern Sierras to Joshua Tree and Yosemite. Over time, as they became more skilled and learned to use tools like crampons and ice axes, they ventured to climb Mt. Shasta, Mt. Rainier, Denali, Mt. Elbrus, Aconcagua, and Mt. Blanc. Eventually, an idea began to take root, one that he’d had since childhood.
"From the time I was a little kid, about six years old, I always wanted to climb Mount Everest."
But that dream would take decades to fulfill. In the meantime, he had a career to pursue.
Although he transferred to Cal Poly as a PE major, he immediately began taking Journalism classes. He wrote for the Mustang Daily and eventually became the sports and outdoors editor. He also had a memorable internship as the publicity director for the Calaveras County Fair and International Frog Jumping Jubilee, made famous from Mark Twain’s short story. After graduation, he worked for a newspaper before switching to marketing in Silicon Valley doing writing and creative work.
After working for agencies and companies such as Edelman, Apple, and Oracle, he had an opportunity to move to Colorado to open an office in Denver for a global PR agency. That move brought him closer to the mountains, and climbing became a more accessible and frequent pastime for him. Eventually, he would make a friend there who shared his passion for climbing, and in July of 2011, when he was 54, the two were offered an opportunity to climb Mt. Everest the following spring.
After training for the rest of the year, they left for Nepal in March 2012 and spent two months with their group acclimatizing to the altitude. Acclimatizing involved testing their capabilities and climbing from Base Camp up to Camp 1 and back, then up to Camp 2 and back down over several weeks, to slowly get their bodies used to going up to higher altitudes. They also had to wait for just the right weather bubble to start their ascent to the summit.
"In the wintertime in Nepal, the jet stream comes down and goes right across the top of Everest,” explained Berger. “And what all the climbers wait for is this weather window that happens when the monsoons move north. And so, as the monsoons move north, they push the jet stream north which creates this bubble which lasts maybe a week or two weeks over the mountain. And that's why you see all these photos of these big crowds waiting to go on to the top of the mountain.”
Climbing at that altitude is extremely risky and dangerous, and acclimatizing is essential to help prevent dangerous health hazards, such as cerebral edema.
Berger explained, "With cerebral edema, you get kind of tired and sleepy. What will happen is these people will summit, and they'll be coming back down and they'll see the camp in the distance and think ‘Oh, it's like right there. I'm just going to sit down and rest,’ and then they never get back up again.”
During the two months he spent acclimatizing, he was awed by the difference in daily life in Nepal compared to America.
"When you're in the Khumbu Valley, you feel like you've been invited into a Sherpa's house. It's just beautiful. It's quiet and peaceful, with beautiful peaks. There's nothing mechanized there at all, so anything, food or whatever, that moves up and down that valley is either on the back of a Sherpa or on the back of a yak.”
Finally, with the conditions just right, they began their climb to the top. The summit push had them climbing from Camp 3 to Camp 4, which they arrived at early in the morning and then rested in their tent all day. Then, at 8:00 pm, they headed out to tackle the last 3,000 vertical feet to the 29,032-foot summit. The climb to the top would take all night, but Berger remembers it vividly.
"There was no wind and it was absolutely clear. We had a three-quarter moon so you didn't even need a headlamp because everything was perfectly lit. The stars were so crisp and clear that you felt like you could reach out and grab them. And it was only -50 degrees Fahrenheit.”
When he reached the top, he took a moment to take it all in and watch the sunrise.
"That mountain just commands so much respect,” said Berger. “I sat there with my friend from Mexico, and just talked about how lucky we were. I saw this beautiful sunrise coming over the Tibetan Plateau and you could see the curvature in the Earth's surface. It was just an amazing spiritual experience as much as anything else.”
Despite accomplishing a lifelong goal, Berger has no plans to slow down. He recently competed in a 64 km cross-country ski marathon in Finland, and has his sights set on other mountain ranges across the world.
“It's like an addiction,” he said. “I'd love to go back and do another 8000-meter peak. Like they say, when you get to the top of the mountain, keep climbing. Because one learns by doing!”
Read the most recent CLA News stories
'Indigenous People Are Still Here.' Student-Led Campus Tour Highlights Native Connections
Apr 2, 2024
By Larry Peña / Photos by Joe Johnson
Like most public spaces in California, Cal Poly lies on land originally held by Indigenous people — in this case, the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini (ytt) Northern Chumash tribe. That connection — along with other campus ties to Native culture and history — is being explored in a new interactive campus tour developed by students.
The tour, which was developed by students participating in both BEACoN Research Scholars and Summer Undergraduate Research Project programs, is designed to shed light on aspects of Native American history that intersect with locations, names and objects around campus.
“Historically, we've done a really bad job in California of recognizing that Indigenous people are still here,” said ethnic studies professor Lydia Heberling, who coadvised the project. "This is a small step that we can take toward re-centering California Native peoples in the present.”
The tour begins, appropriately, at the yakʔitʸutʸu housing community on campus, a residential complex for first- and second-year students named for and designed to model the locations of the original ytt village sites of San Luis Obispo County. The complex is also home to the Native American and Indigenous Cultural Center (NAICC).
Ethnic studies student Amy Contreras leads a
recent tour past the Native American and
Indigenous Cultural Center.
The tours include a discussion of the geography of the county’s original ytt settlements; an introduction to the student experience at NAICC; stops at Muir and Tenaya residence halls for lessons about key moments of Indigenous resistance to settlers; visiting a mural painted by an Aztec artist at the Baker Center that celebrates Indigenous knowledge ; and a discussion about cultural practices and land stewardship around a cluster of native white sage.
Visitors can experience the tour in one of three ways: a guided in-person tour with a member of the research team, a self-guided tour with a printed booklet, or a digitally guided tour using the team’s ArcGIS story map.
Ethnic studies student Amy Contreras and computer science and ethnic studies student Sophie Martyrossian initially began working on the tour in early 2023 along with ethnic studies professors Becca Lucas and Lydia Heberling, who brought the idea from the University of Washington, where a Native undergraduate student had developed a similar Indigenous walking tour.
As they developed the tour materials, the students conducted interviews with ytt tribal members, did their own archival research and learned human research standards critical to avoiding past mistakes in anthropological research. They also collaborated with members of the ytt tribe to ensure a respectful and accurate tour experience.
“One of the important goals in the research and development part of this project was to think through the stakes of how we approach conversations with tribal members, given the not-always-great history between researchers and Indigenous communities,” said Heberling. “We wanted the students to learn how to approach that aspect of this project in a relational way, in a respectful way, and in a way that centers the interests of the tribe, so that we’re not just taking their information without doing something with it that does some good for them.”
One thing that the tour notably does not include is any reference to sacred or cultural Indigenous sites that may or may not be on campus. That was an intentional omission, at the request of the ytt tribal members who worked with the group.
“Something really important I learned is the phrase ‘sacred is secret,’” said Contreras. "When it comes to doing research about Indigenous people, you have to really be okay with the information that they provide — that there might be things they don’t want to divulge. No matter where you step, no matter where you are, you always have to come with good intentions.”
Contreras gives a presentation on the on the first
stop of the tour at the yakʔitʸutʸu housing
community, while Heberling and Lucas
(first and second from right) watch.
As the tours become available to the general public, the students and professors that developed it hope it can lead to better cooperation and understanding in the future.
“Our deeper hope for this project is that it acts as a model of how to interact in a positive way with a tribe, whether it is here in San Luis Obispo or in any university setting,” said Lucas, who is a member of the ytt Northern Chumash tribe and helped facilitate connections with key tribal leaders. “There's a lot of interest on campus in working with the tribe, which is awesome, but to really ensure mutually beneficial conversations, and the ability of researchers to hear ‘no,’ and to stop and pivot if that happens, is really important in any working relationship, academic or otherwise.”
Many of the discussions on the tour touch on areas of history not often covered in history or social studies classes — for example, the story of the Ahwahnechee tribe who occupied the Yosemite Valley in the mid-1800s, holding out against attempts by the state of California to forcibly relocate them to reservations.
“Something that both of us hear consistently as we teach upper division ethnic studies courses is, ‘How have I never heard of any of this before?’” said Lucas. "If we can have those experiences with members of the community, I think that would be huge. It's not about trying to make anyone feel bad about the past — it’s about bringing everyone along so that collectively we can do better in the future.”
Header image above: Ethnic studies professor Becca Lucas, in the green Cal Poly sweatshirt, presents during a tour stop at the University Union. Contreras and Heberling stand near her.
Read the story in Cal Poly News
Alumna and Local Attorney Wins Distinguished ‘Rising Star Award’
Mar 28, 2024
By Nicole Troy
Local immigration attorney and alumna Nicole Mullikin (Modern Languages and Literatures, ’15) is the 2023 recipient of the Women Lawyers Association of San Luis Obispo County’s “Rising Star” award, honoring her work as a lawyer with fewer than seven years of experience.
Mullikin, who is bilingual in Spanish, opened her practice, the Law Office of Nicole G. Mullikin, in 2022 with a focus on family and humanitarian immigration cases, including, but not limited to, adjustment of status, consular processing, citizenship, military parole in place, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal.
Melodie Rivas (left) and Nicole Mullikin (right)
at the San Luis Obispo Women Lawyer’s
Association’s award ceremony.
“I feel incredibly honored and humbled to be the recipient of this award and I am thrilled to be receiving it alongside my friend, San Luis Obispo College of Law professor and San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation Director of Family Law Services Melodie Rivas, who won the Outstanding Woman Lawyer Award,” Mullikin said. “This is the product of all of the people in my life who have helped me to rise — my husband, family, friends, mentors, professors, teachers, clients, and this wonderful community of attorneys. I hope to continue to make them proud in my work supporting immigrants.”
A San Luis Obispo native, Mullikin attended both Pacheco Elementary school, a dual-immersion program where students acquire literacy in both English and Spanish, and Cal Poly, majoring in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese and minoring in Asian studies.
“One of the things that is so important about my Cal Poly education is that I am able to connect with my clients on a deeper level, because I can speak their language,” Mullikin said. “If someone’s talking to me about how they've been the victim of a crime or domestic violence, and they can tell me in their own language and I can understand without a third person in the room to interpret, it's a lot less stressful for them.”
Mullikin at her graduation from San Luis Obispo
College of Law.
The State Bar of California catalogs 736 active licensed attorneys in the county, 49 of which have identified Spanish as an additional language spoken. And one local organization, the San Luis Obispo Legal Assistance Foundation (SLOLAF), sees the need for additional multilingual attorneys in the area.
“Even though SLOLAF doesn’t work in the same areas of law that Nicole does, we do see the need for having bilingual attorneys and support staff, and we utilize ours regularly,” Donna Jones, the executive director of SLOLAF said. “In all of the cases SLOLAF closed last year, ten percent of them involved clients who self-identified as Limited English Proficiency.”
According to a survey by the State Bar of California in 2017, 18.3% of respondents said they used Spanish within their legal practice — something Mullikin says is crucial when communicating with clients, especially within immigration law. "In the professional world, my ability to speak and write Spanish fluently is absolutely essential. I wouldn't be able to do my job the way that I do without it,” she said.
Her ability to speak more than one language has not only helped her inside of the office, but also in her endeavors to connect with the local community.
“I've done talks with SLO County Undocusupport, which is an organization that supports the local undocumented immigrant community, and I have found it useful to volunteer at events like these because it helps to build bridges, and it makes people realize, 'Oh, it's not scary to talk to an attorney and there's even someone that speaks Spanish fluently’,” Mullikin said.
Since opening her office, she has continued to serve the community by volunteering at dozens of local events and giving more than 15 presentations on immigration law.
“I am so grateful to be able to give back to the community that I grew up in and I think that it's very important for everyone to have knowledge about immigration law, whether it helps them, their family or their friends,” Mullikin said. “There are a lot of things on TikTok and other sources that aren't entirely accurate about immigration law, so the more correct information that we can put out there to help combat misinformation, the better.”
Mullikin as a panel speaker at Cal Poly’s event
United by Excellence: Paving the Road to
Higher Education for Latinx Student.
On top of volunteering and presenting, she is also affiliated with several local organizations including the San Luis Obispo Bar Association, Latino Outreach Council, Women Lawyers Association of San Luis Obispo County and the advisory boards of both the San Luis Obispo College of Law and Cal Poly World Languages and Cultures Department. She has also taught courses at San Luis Obispo College of Law.
Mullikin’s expertise not only serves the local community, but she has also represented clients from more than 18 countries.
“One of the fun things about my job is that I get to learn about new countries and cultures just like I was doing at Cal Poly when I was learning about Chinese and Latin American cultures,” Mullikin said.
A self-proclaimed “lover of languages” from an early age, she knew that no matter what career she found herself in — language and culture would be at the center of it.
“I don't think I can overstate the impact that Pacheco Elementary School has had on my life. Without that foundation and bilingual education, I would never have become a Spanish major, and likely never an immigration attorney,” Mullikin said.
The Cal Poly World Languages and Cultures Department served as the next stepping stone on her language-focused career path and ended up bringing her back to her roots.
“When it came time to pick a major for college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to help people and that language skills would pair well with any career,” Mullikin said. “And what makes the World Languages and Cultures Department stand out is that the motto of Learn by Doing is really taken to heart. I wasn't memorizing grammar lists like you may think would be normal for a traditional language course. Instead, we did activities like practicing conversations with classmates and volunteering in Spanish language classes at Pacheco.”
Mullikin and Kevin Gregg, presenting
together about immigration law
at an UndocuSupport community
event in Paso Robles.
After graduating from Cal Poly, Mullikin worked fulltime for Cal Poly’s Extended, Professional and Continuing Education (EPaCE) program before enrolling in the San Luis Obispo College of Law earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree and a Master of Legal Studies degree.
Her passion for immigration law sparked in 2019 when she began interning for Paso Robles immigration attorney Kevin C. Gregg. “Kevin took me under his wing and mentored me, and I knew that was my niche.”
With language playing such a pivotal role in her life, Mullikin is passionate about sharing that love and encouraging others to learn additional languages.
“In the Venn diagram of life, if you can speak the language of your neighbors, then your diagrams overlap and it's no longer ‘us’ and ‘them’,” Mullikin said. “Languages build bridges, and in this day and age we need as many bridges as we can get.”
If you or someone you know needs confidential immigration services, you can contact Nicole Mullikin at (805) 242-2030 or visit her website at nicolemullikinlaw.com.
Read the most recent CLA News stories
'These Women Were Lost to History.' Students Curate Museum Exhibit on SLO's Hidden Voices
Feb 13, 2024
By Gabby Ferreira // Photos by Joe Johnson
A new historical exhibit in San Luis Obispo delves into the lives of four women who were pillars of the local community — and it was co-curated by two Cal Poly students.
“Hidden Voices,” which is currently on display at the History Center of San Luis Obispo County, was the product of nearly two years of work by recent anthropology and geography graduate Zoë Levit and fourth-year history major Jess O’Leary.
Jess O'Leary, left, and Zoë Levit, right, stand in
front of the sign advertising their exhibit d
uring its opening in November. Courtesy photo
"It’s called Hidden Voices because these women were lost to history. Their stories — their contributions to San Luis Obispo — were forgotten,” Levit said.
The exhibit spotlights Nettie Sinsheimer, philanthropist and wife of prominent 19th century businessman A.Z. Sinsheimer; Stella Louis, co-founder of the Chinese Students Association of Cal Poly and daughter-in-law of well-known Chinese merchant Ah Louis; civil servant and “Black Rosie” Alice Martin; and Maxine Lewis, who founded an organization to help others called Grassroots II, which is still operating today.
“Working with Zoë and Jess was a pleasure,” said Thomas Kessler, the History Center’s executive director. “They brought a perspective to talking about history that is extremely valuable for our community.”
Nettie Sinsheimer's area of the exhibit features
posters about her life and achievements, as
well as objects that help illustrate her life such
as an antique nurse's uniform and a menorah.
The pair started the project by researching Nettie Sinsheimer and Stella Louis, some of whose belongings are stored in the History Center’s offsite warehouse. They found the information they needed easily enough, but locating objects to help tell these women’s stories involved a few days of combing through the warehouse for artifacts.
“It was such a daunting task and we had no idea where to start,” O’Leary said. “We were searching for objects we wanted to use in the exhibit, but we didn’t know what we were looking for and we didn’t know if we would find anything.”
Some of the items on display for visitors to see
include dolls and certificates that belonged
to Stella Louis
They decided to use a mix of items that belonged to the women — like a book awarded to Nettie Sinsheimer and Stella Louis’ dolls and wedding invitation — and other things that helped illustrate the different time periods and the women’s unique cultures, such as an antique nurse’s uniform and a box of vintage Chanukah candles resting against a menorah in Nettie’s portion of the exhibit.
“We have a bunch of really cool artifacts in the exhibit that were exciting for us to find,” O’Leary said. “We’d be digging through stuff and suddenly — ‘Oh my gosh, this is the journal of this woman I've been reading about.’ I think that was the most satisfying part of curating this.”
Alice Martin's area of the exhibit includes a
display case showing the plaques she was
awarded for volunteer service, her coin
purse and a small toy airplane.
Levit and O’Leary also worked with Cal Poly archivist Laura Sorvetti, who first told them about Alice Martin, to review Martin’s collection at the Cal Poly Special Archives. Martin, a “Black Rosie” who supported the war effort as an aircraft mechanic during World War II, worked for decades at the San Luis Obispo Housing Authority. Her items that Levit and O’Leary chose for their exhibit include photos, a small toy airplane and two plaques for her outstanding volunteer service and work with the Housing Authority.
Finding information on Maxine Lewis was a bit more challenging: at first, Levit and O’Leary only found a few newspaper clippings and a photo. They conducted extensive interviews with Peggy Fowler, the executive director of Grassroots II, and Lewis’ daughter to learn more about Lewis and her impactful life.
“A lot of this process was the research gathering stage. That took a long time because we just wanted to get as in-depth as we could,” O’Leary said.
A photograph of Maxine Lewis next to the
Grassroots II sign is displayed alongside
information about her work founding
and running the organization.
There was just one item they intentionally left out of the exhibit: a piece of Stella Louis’ petrified, 100-year-old wedding cake, unearthed in a box of her belongings.
When the exhibit opened in November, Levit and O’Leary were pleasantly surprised by some special guests: Maxine Lewis’ family.
“Jess and I had no idea that was going to happen,” Levit said, adding that the family asked when the exhibit would close to ensure a relative driving in from LA could make it in time. “It was so surreal to have her family there and just be able to speak to them and hear their stories about this woman who was so incredible. That was the coolest part for me.”
Working on an exhibit for that long meant that both Levit and O’Leary formed a unique connection with the women they researched, but Stella Louis held an especially personal resonance for Levit.
Stella Louis' wedding shoes are among her
items on display at the exhibit.
“I’m a Chinese American woman myself,” Levit said. “Stella introduced Chinese culture and tradition to the people of San Luis Obispo in the 1920s. She and her husband had a restaurant that was a hangout for Cal Poly students and introduced them to Chinese food and she hosted Chinese New Year at her house. She also founded the Chinese Students Association, which is one of the biggest identity-based organizations on campus.
“Introducing this personal culture to people has been something I’ve tried to do in my own life. I really liked the way she was very welcoming to all people who were interested in Chinese culture and broke down the walls of fear of another identity especially in a time when people weren’t as welcoming. I think she was very brave in that regard.”
In one corner of the exhibit, posters tell
visitors about Stella Louis' restaurant and
involvement with the Cal Poly community,
side-by-side with photographs and
stories from Alice Martin's life.
The process of researching and putting together an exhibit was a Learn by Doing experience for both students in different ways. For O’Leary, who plans to pursue law school, the process helped her develop communication and research skills. For Levit, the process helped her with her career direction.
“My master’s thesis is actually related to collections. I want to keep putting up exhibits,” Levit said. “I really like designing and figuring out a way to convey information to a broad audience about a niche subject.”
The exhibit doesn’t have a set end date, and both Levit and O’Leary hope the stories of these women stay with people who come to the exhibit when they leave.
“A lot of history, to people who don’t study history, feels boring because it’s wars and monarchs and broad-scale events — which do inform the way we live today, but they’re not the kind of stories that stick with you,” O’Leary said. “We wanted to lay out these really personal histories of these women that hopefully someone will think about and internalize — even if it’s just on the walk from the museum to the car.”
“I hope that the stories that we tell go back home with the audience and that the lives and legacies of these women are preserved, that they aren’t forgotten,” Levit said. “I don't want them to be forgotten again.”
Read the story in Cal Poly News
Five CLA Professors Awarded Inaugural HSI Mini Grants
Feb 7, 2024
At the inaugural Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Symposium last October, the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion (OUDI) announced the HSI Mini-Grant Program to further the university's mission of becoming an HSI that thinks critically and holistically about serving the Latine/x community.
Out of 39 applications, OUDI selected 16 projects for funding including five CLA projects led by five CLA faculty members and one student ranging from English to communication studies to music to psychology and child development.
Learn more about the CLA-related projects below.
English Department
Project Lead: Associate Professor Jason Peters
Research and Innovation: This project aims to assess what, if any, anti-racist pedagogical approaches are present within Cal Poly's First-Year Composition Program and identify any potential inclusivity gaps. By gathering insights from both instructors and students, the research will inform possible pedagogical enhancements and improve culturally relevant curricula, benefiting historically marginalized communities within the program, including Latinx/e students. This effort supports the creation of an inclusive campus environment that recognizes and values the diverse cultural backgrounds of Cal Poly's students.
The project seeks to contribute to the broader academic discourse on anti-racist pedagogy and critical language awareness in composition programs. The data collected will be used for conference presentations and published work, promoting discussions about systemic inequalities in the classroom which not only empowers Latinx/e students to address issues affecting their community, but encourages them to stand for change as well. The research will employ three methods: surveys, focus groups/interviews, and classroom observations. For the purpose of this project, the researchers will be grounding their discussion surrounding anti-racist pedagogical approaches through the following definition: anti-racist pedagogy, a form of Disruptive Teaching, critically examines the role of education in disrupting white supremacy (University of Michigan, Inclusive Teaching: Practicing Anti-Racist Pedagogy).
Communication Studies Department
Project Leads: Communication studies student Lilianna Rivas and Assistant Professor Leslie Nelson
My senior project is a podcast with different guests each episode to explore identities and issues within the Latine community. Some topics would include the Latine trans experience, colorism, how loss of the Spanish language affects self identity, and Machismo culture. My project focuses on the question, “How do Latine individuals navigate and communicate their identities in society and within the Latine community?” The podcast brings diverse Latine voices to light as my podcast will focus on intersectionality. Latinx/e is not a monolith, the culture is rich and diverse and it causes conflict. To support a community includes addressing the issues in the community to ensure that all members are seen and supported. Issues regarding identities such as gender and sexuality are not addressed in Latine spaces like in the household. By making my podcast, I bring these issues to light and give people with intersectional identities a voice. The podcast will be a miniseries that I plan to premiere each episode in La CASA along with a discussion about the topics included in the podcast.
Music Department
Project Lead: Assistant Professor and Director of Bands Christopher Woodruff
Residency for Mariachi Voces Tapatías
The multi-day residency of local professional mariachi ensemble "Mariachi Voices Tapatías" will include presentations on history and style of the musical genre of western Mexico. The residency will also include masterclasses sharing the techniques of playing in the style for players of wind, brass and string instruments. The residency will culminate in a public performance by the group along with those students who have participated in the masterclasses and rehearsals.
The residency goes beyond providing entertainment service for campus events. It is intended to engage with current students of Hispanic heritage through this rich musical tradition, to illuminate in some depth for students who have had only superficial exposure to this cultural practice, and to develop skills for those campus students (not just music majors) who possess some skill on the relevant instruments.
Outreach for participation will be campus wide as well as to Hancock and to Cuesta. Depending on interest, Bldg. 45 (Music & Theater Building) may be insufficient to facilitate, in which case we would need to identify appropriate rental space (PAC Pavilion) for classes and performance.
Psychology & Child Development
Project Leads: Assistant Professor Susana Lopez and Associate Professor Jay Bettergarcia
The Psychology and Child Development Department is committed to supporting our Latine students via educational initiatives that center Latine students and foster a sense of belonging across campus. For the purposes of this HSI mini-grant, two Latine faculty will co-create Cal Poly’s first-ever Latine Psychology course with a group of Latine psychology students. In line with HSI-taskforce recommendations, this course provides opportunities for Latine students to engage in servingness through the co-creation of decolonial approaches to psychology education.
Decolonial approaches and Liberation Psychology explicitly name power imbalance and structures that perpetuate inequities. Liberation Psychology’s roots are in Latin America, and it aims to further understand oppression while working toward liberation of oppressed groups. This is in stark contrast with traditional psychological approaches that address the downstream mental health consequences for individuals rather than the structures causing harm.
The Latine student’s voices and experiences will be centered when developing the course, however, all students will benefit from Latine-focused courses as we expand our curriculum to reflect more closely the breadth and nuance of human experience and development. Additionally, the development of this course and future similar courses also increases future opportunities for hiring and retaining faculty with expertise in Latine psychology.
Psychology & Child Development
Project Lead: Associate Professor Jay Bettergarcia
While research about Latinx students’ experiences with belonging and servingness at HSI’s has increased, little is known about the specific needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ Latinx students. Latinx LGBTQ+ students’ sense of belonging and connectedness to community is often affected by the racism experienced in predominantly White queer and trans spaces, while also simultaneously navigating cultural gendered norms, heterosexism, and cissexism in predominantly Latinx spaces. Students living at these intersections are likely to have varied experiences navigating life on-campus and in the community, however, these experiences are not well documented or understood.
In my previous work with Latinx students, undocumented students, and LGBTQ+ students at Cal Poly, we focused on campus health and wellbeing (Mansager, Williams, & Bettergarcia, 2021) and barriers to accessing basic needs services (Mansager, Bettergarcia, Williams, 2022). To date we have not meaningfully examined the experiences of students at the intersections of these identities.
The proposed project provides mixed-method research experiences for bilingual Latinx LGBTQ+ students that centers community-based participatory research methods and a critical qualitative approach. The results of this work will inform the development of programs and services for students living at these intersections while simultaneously supporting queer and trans Latinx to develop as co-researchers.
See the full list of projects awarded.