Cal Poly Alumni in the News - July 2010
Business Alum Rides from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra del Fuego
Cal Poly graduate David Sacher (Business Administration, '09) has finished his bike trek from the tip of Alaska to the bottom of South America. His seven month journey included overcoming stomach sickness, knee pain and robbery attempts on the Pan-American highway. Sacher began his journey from Alaska to Argentina in July 2009, a month after he graduated with a degree in business. He's got a blog full of photos and writing about the trip.
Read about Sacher in the San Luis Obispo Tribune
iFixit Alumni in the Los Angeles Times
Alumni Kyle Wiens (Computer Science, '05) and Luke Soules (Industrial Engineering, '06) were in the headlines again in June for dissecting Apples -- the latest iPad, to be specific. The 26-year-olds met as freshmen at Cal Poly and created iFixit. Wiens was a computer science major, looking for a Web project. Soules, an engineering major, was selling parts on EBay for spare cash. Seven years later, IFixit has 25 employees, a profit record, and a company web site that attracts millions of viewers for its "teardown" videos of the latest tech gadgets.
Read the LA Times story on iFixit
'Weird Al' Touring New York, Writing Children's Book
Architecture alumnus 'Weird Al' Yankovic (Architecture, '80) is on tour on the East Coast and also working on a children's book. He says the book is partially inspired by his 7-year-old daughter. "When I Grow Up" will be published by HarperCollins in the winter of 2011.Yankovic said the young spirit reflected in his book is what he likes most about his job. "I don't have to grow up," he told the Watertown Daily Times. "I don't have to be an adult. I've always been passionate about music and comedy and I feel blessed to be able to do both for a living."
Read more in the Watertown Daily Times
Three Alumni Receive Honorary Degrees
Kazunori Katayama (pictured right), Frank Suzuki, Nelson Akagi and Taro Kobara came to campus in June after 70 years to receive honorary degrees as part of the California State University's Nisei Degree Program. The four were among some 30 Cal Poly students who had their education interrupted by relocation to internment camps during World War II.
Photo by Chris Leschinsky
Read the story on Cal Poly's Nisei Commencement in Rafu Shimpo
Food & Wine
Duo Combat Palate Fatigue
Palate fatigue is not an issue that many people can consider a job hazard. However, it is a problem that many winemakers experience and one that Cal Poly grads Andrew Macaluso (Wine & Viticulture '08) and Nicole Chamberlain (Wine & Viticulture '08) encountered while attending in the college’s enology program. The palate-cleansing beverage they developed, San Tasti, was noted in the news.
Read the Santa Barbara Independent story
'Senior Project' Restaurants Still Going Strong, Serving a Slice of Italy
The original Giuseppe’s Cucina Italiana in Pismo Beach opened in 1988 based on chef/owner Giuseppe (Joe) Difronzo’s Cal Poly senior project for his political science degree. Some 22 years later it's still got diners lined up to get in, and Difronzo (Political Science '92) has a second location in downtown San Luis Obispo: Palazzo Giuseppe.
Read about DiFronzo in the SLO Tribune
Former Wild Horse owner opens new Paso tasting room
Wild Horse Winery founder Ken Volk (Fruit Science, '83) is opening a new tasting room on the west side of Paso Robles. Volk sold the winery, inventory, vineyards and brand for $32 million to Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. in 2003. Volk has served as chairman of the board of the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association and was part of the founding board of World of Pinot Noir. He is a founding board member and chairman of the Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture Advisory Council.
Read about Volk in the SLO Tribune
Dairy Science Short Course Grad's Artisan Cheeses Wowing Wine Country Markets, Restaurants
Soyoung Scanlan started out wanting a career in chemical engineering, but found her true calling making gourmet cheese after a course at Cal Poly's Dairy Products Technology Center. Scanlan's Andante Dairy crafts French-style cow and goat milk cheeses for some of America's best restaurants, including French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Coi and Boulevard, and can be found at San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery and a few Whole Foods markets, and at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza farmers market.
Read more about Scanlan in the San Jose Mercury News
Career Moves
RTI Electronics Names New Chief Operating Officer
RTI Electronics (RTIE), a leading manufacturer of passive electronic components including thermistors, film capacitors, magnetics, and audio power conditioners, has named Bob Lane (Industrial Engineering '83) as its new Chief Operating Officer. In addition to his Cal Poly degree, Lane received a professional certificate in Construction and Architectural Engineering from UC San Diego.
Read about Lane on Topix.net
Cuesta’s Stork joins Sierra Vista Medical Center Board
Cuesta College Interim President Gil Stork (Math, '64, M.S. Math, 66) has been elected to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center Governing Board, which consists of 17 members elected for three-year terms. Stork has served Cuesta College in a variety of roles since 1967. In addition to his Cal Poly degree he earned a doctorate in educational administration from Brigham Young University.
Read about Stork in the SLO Tribune
Tuolumne CPA Elected President Of CalCPA San Joaquin Chapter
CPA Michelle E. (Mord) Benton (Business '00) has been elected president of the San Joaquin Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) for 2010 - 11. Benton, who resides in Tuolumne, is president of Michelle E. Benton Accountancy Corp., with offices in Turlock and Sonora. Her firm provides tax, audit and business consulting services to clients involved in the agriculture, real estate, manufacturing and construction industries.
Read more on the CalCPA Web site
CPA Karan Pohl Elected President Of CalCPA Central Coast Chapter
CPA Karan (Greer) Pohl (Business, '98) has been elected president of the Central Coast Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) for 2010 - 11. Pohl. The CalCPA Central Coast Chapter serves 400 members in San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County.
Previously the chapter's vice president and treasurer, Pohl is chief financial officer for Coast National Bank. She is a director of the Cal Poly Alumni Association and a member of the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo.
Read more on the CalCPA Web site
Alumna Selected as Interim Superintendent for Templeton Schools
The Templeton Unified School District has chosen a Cal Poly alumna as its interim Superintendent: Jean Burns Slater (M.A., Home Ec, '81, Administrative Credential '93). She earned her bachelor's degree from San Diego State University and doctorate in education from the University of Southern California.
Read about Slater in the Paso Robles Press
Cal Poly Swimmer is Aquatics Center Director
The pool at Bret Harte High School is going to open in July, and a friendly face will greet swimmers at the new facility. Lauren Gerber (Kinesiology, '06) is now the aquatic center director at Bret Harte High School. It's a natural fit: Gerber was on the women's swim team at Cal Poly.
Read about Gerber in the Calaveras Enterprise
New Grad Headed for Internet Sales in Downtown San Luis Obispo
Elizabeth Rossiter (Ag Business, '10) was profiled in the Danville Patch about her post-graduation plans. She's starting in August doing sales for an internet company based in downtown San Francisco.
Read more about Rossiter in the Danville Patch
Alumni Launch Digital Media Firm Named After Hathaway Street
A firm launched by two Cal Poly alumni in 2008 is expanding. The firm, Hathaway, was founded in 2008 by Cal Poly graduates Kevin Rice (Ag Business, 2007) and Jesse Dundon (Industrial Technology, 2007, M.S, Industrial Technology, 2008). So far their client list includes Expression College, UC Berkeley, and Pyramind. The duo named the firm Hathaway because they founded the company from a home on that San Luis Obispo street. The Hathaway staff also includes Cal Poly graduates Garrett Deiter (Art & Design, 2009) and Ryder Ross (Computer Sciences, 2009).
Read the KKFX story on Hathaway
Carla Sousa retires after 29 years of helping 4-H in Tulare County
Carla Sousa (Home Ec, '76) has retired after administering Tulare County's 4-H program for 29 years. Sousa started her professional 4-H career in Ely, Nev.
Read about Sousa in the Visalia Times Delta
In Politics
Phil Serna gained political insights from father's campaigns
Phil Serna (MCP, City and Regional Planning, '94) was 5 years old when he sat on his father's shoulders at a United Farm Workers' picket line in south Sacramento. For Serna, now 42, the protest was the start of his own journey into public service, one that led to a successful bid for a seat on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Serna has worked most of his adult life in city planning and development.
Read more about Serna in the Sacramento Bee
Passings
Marcella Alicia Dilger
Marcella Alicia Dilger (Education, '80), 64, passed away Saturday, June 5, at her home in Arroyo Grande. She attended Bakersfield schools and graduated from East Bakersfield High School in 1964 and Bakersfield College in 1966 before coming to Cal Poly.
Read Dilger's obituary in the SLO Tribune
Nancyann Curtis-Dubost
Nancyann (Elementary Education '57) was born in August 1932 in Los Angeles and passed away Monday, June 7, 2010, in Adelaida, Calif.
Read the obituary in the SLO Tribune
Nikki Smith Blose
Blose (Psychology, '96), died June 13. She was born in Modesto and raised in Stockton and was a child welfare worker for 13 years in Santa Barbara County. In addition to her Cal Poly degree, she earned a master's degree from Antioch while raising three daughters as a single parent.
Read the obituary in the Stockton Record
Mary Moss Barth
Mary Moss Barth (Child Development, '77), 55, died June 19 at her home surrounded by her family and friends. She earned her Associates of Arts degree from West Valley Community College before coming to Cal Poly.
Read the obituary in the SLO Tribune