Cal Poly Announces Great Grads from Class of 2007

SAN LUIS OBISPO - Cal Poly's class of 2007 includes some 3,600 graduates who will participate in commencement ceremonies in the newly renovated Alex G. Spanos Stadium on June 16.

All the graduates are exceptional. However, if you're looking for interesting grads to profile for a good feature story, consider these "great grads" from the class of 2007:

Sarah Grieve
Sarah Grieve won Cal Poly's 2007 Academy ofAmerican Poets Contest for a poem that dramatizes global warming. Grieve, from Carpenteria, will receive a $100 award from the academy for her poem "Hot Water," which imagines the very real, personal toll that global warming may take on an individual. Two years ago, Grieve won the campuswide Al Landwehr Creative Writing Contest in the poetry category. A former starting center on the Cal Poly women's basketball team, in 2005 Grieve was chosen Mustang Scholar Athlete of the Year as well as the Outstanding College of Liberal Arts Student of the Year. She will graduate with a master's degree and will pursue a Master of Fine Arts in poetry at Florida State University, where she will also teach freshman writing.

Charles Sacavage
Sacavage will graduate with a master’s degree in Civil Engineering. The 27 year old former Marine captain and Iraqi war veteran was deployed from Camp Pendleton in 2003 as part of the initial Iraqi invasion. He participated in a follow-up tour in Iraq in 2004. Upon leaving the service in 2005, Sacavage came to San Luis Obispo to work full-time and pursue a graduate degree. He will move home to Pottsville, Penn. following graduation to pursue a career in consulting and hopes to enter the International Guard as a reservist.

Cynde Spence
Cynde Spence will graduate with a degree in Architecture with minors in city and regional planning, sustainable environments, and environmental design. A formerly single mother of three, ages 15, 11 and nine, she recently remarried and is expecting a new baby in August. Spence spent seven years as a full-time student, taking advantage of various financial aid opportunities. She hopes to integrate her skills to pursue a career in historic preservation with the City of San Luis Obispo.

Esther Valle
Esther Valle is graduating with a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning. She was recently awarded a Public Policy Fellowship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, DC. Valle is one of fewer than 20 students in the nation to receive the award. The nine-month fellowship begins in late August and offers a monthly stipend with health insurance. The goal of the program is to offer Latinos from across the country an opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the national level in the public policy area of their choice. Valle came to Cal Poly from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She hopes that experience with CHCI will give her the tools needed to help increase public participation in community development projects.

Brittany Wiley
Brittany Wiley will receive her undergraduate degree in English. A first-generation student, Wiley made the most of her time at Cal Poly by participating in student academic service programs. She was a student coordinator for the Allensworth Mentoring Program, secretary for the Society of Black Engineers and Scientists and served as a member of the Black Student Union. Wiley was recently named a 2007 Cal Poly Woman Student of the Year. The Paso Robles native will pursue her master’s degree in Africana Studies at University of Albany, part of the State University of New York system. Wiley’s dream is to earn a Ph.D. from Cornell University and teach African American Studies.

To interview any of the Great Grads listed, contact Stacia Momburg in the Cal Poly Public Affairs office at 805-756-6260.

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