---

Happy June COMS Mustangs!

This newsletter is designed to help keep majors, minors, faculty, and staff up-to-date so you can learn about news, career advice, events, networking opportunities, well-wishes, and inspirational stories surrounding your peers and community.

---

Announcements 

Special Note to Our Graduates
ConGRADulations :)! We are so proud of you and excited for you as you embark on the next chapter of your lives. You have earned this amazing accomplishment through your hard work and resiliency during the challenges of the past few years. You are amazing for all that you have done and all that you will do. Thank you for the time you have spent at Cal Poly and for being a part of our COMS community. You will be missed and we're wishing you all the best! - From the COMS faculty and staff.

Graduating Senior Exit Survey
Are you a senior graduating this spring? Before your time at Cal Poly wraps up, remember to fill out the COMS Senior Exit Survey. This will help the COMS department stay in touch with our graduates and to know what your plans might be after graduation. Best of luck in your future endeavors and know that we would love to stay connected to you!

COMS Awards & Spring Social Recap
We had so much fun celebrating the end of the academic year with our students, faculty, and staff at both our COMS Awards & Recognition Ceremony and also the annual Spring Social! Stay tuned in the next week to our Instagram account to see some special pictures from both events. 
 

Alumni Spotlight
We're proud to share the amazing stories of our current students and alumni! This month, we're spotlighting the work and leadership of alumni member Dr. Steve Woodard! 

• Dr. Steve Woodard (he/we) was a COMS major who graduated in winter, 1995. His almost thirty-year career in education has taken him around the globe as a teacher and senior-level administrator. He has served in institutions including the University of Washington, Edmonds College, the historic IES-Complutense high school in Alcalá de Henares (Spain), and Cal Poly. During his time at Cal Poly, he served as the interim Director for the Multicultural Center (Fall 2001) and as the first Quarter Plus Coordinator (Summer 2014). As a lifelong educator, he is currently the Vice President of Community Engagement for Volunteers of America Western Washington, a nonprofit that provides human services like food banks, early childhood education, and the 988 crisis lifeline. Find out more about Dr. Woodard’s reflection on his exceptional career and time at Cal Poly on our Instagram Spotlight.

---

Events & Opportunities

Student Degree Planner
Give your feedback on Degree Planner! Degree Planner is a virtual degree planning tool that provides undergraduate students with a personalized, pre-populated path to graduation. You can now participate in a 10-minute anonymous survey to provide valuable input on how different campus populations perceive and use Degree Planner. To participate, complete the survey by June 3, 2023 at the survey link.

LGBTQ Support Group
Mental health matters! Join the peer support group for the LGBTQ community, which helps those seeking healing related to grief, loss, & bereavement. If you identify as LGBTQ or are an ally seeking a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment, they are here for you! Meetings are held on Mondays 6-7:30pm with the first meeting on June 5, 2023. Alternating meetings take place in-person and on Zoom. For more information, check out the digital flyer.
 

Media & Comm Research Initiative
Want to receive travel funding to present the results of a class project at a destination conference? The Media & Communication Research Initiative will soon be accepting applications for the 2023-2024 cohort! In this program, you can apply to receive funding and support to present original research from a class project at an academic conference. For more information and application materials, keep a look out for an upcoming email announcement. 
 

Polyhacks Planning Committee
Join the 2023-2024 Camp Polyhacks Hackathon Planning Committee! Camp Polyhacks is an ASI Student Club that organizes a yearly interdisciplinary hackathon focusing on local challenges. This event brings students from across campus together for a weekend to learn from community partners and tackle pressing problems in the community. This is a great learn-by-doing experience that may count for class credit (e.g., internship) and/or senior project. Plus, you'll work closely with an inspirational team. In turn, you will: Gain hands-on experience and hone practical skills, join a close-knit team of passionate students, and build relationships and network with industry professionals. For more information visit the signup link.

The Women’s Network
The Women’s Network (TWN) is launching on Cal Poly SLO’s campus! Their mission is to cultivate and celebrate women’s ambition by connecting members to industry leaders, professional development resources, and career opportunities. TWN hosts a variety of workshops, such as building resumes and cover letters, holding practice interviews, and walking through how to navigate LinkedIn. To join, all you need to do is fill out the membership form. All women and non-binary folks are welcome. There are also open leadership positions on TWN-Cal Poly SLO’s Executive Board and Campus Ambassador Team! This is a great opportunity to develop your leadership skills and to form connections with other ambitious women. You can find the position descriptions in the application. 

Advize Internship 
Advize is a career exploration platform in which students can access thousands of videos of recorded informational interviews from early to mid-career professionals across industries and functions to unlock career insights. They are currently hiring a team of Remote Career Content Production Interns across all majors. Their interns will support building a video library by documenting professionals' experiences across industries and functions. Interns will receive a $300 stipend after completion of the internship. Applications are due Friday, June 9th at 11:59 PM. 

Americorps 
Cal Poly is recruiting college seniors and recent Cal Poly grads for an AmeriCorps service year on-campus. Gain a headstart for your career by helping college students navigate and overcome systemic barriers to achieve their goal of a college degree. Earn sought-after skills in team leadership, facilitation, equity and inclusion, data management, intercultural communication, and transferable industry expertise. To be eligible, must be a recent Cal Poly grad or expect to graduate by August 2023. Compensation & benefits include a living allowance of $23,000, an education award of $6,895, Medical, dental, and vision coverage, and student loan forbearance and interest accrual. For more information, visit the CollegePossible page.
 

---

Student Awards & Recognitions

The COMS Department celebrated the accomplishments of our amazing students at our Awards & Recognitions Ceremony, Thursday, May 18. At this event, we announced student achievements in areas such as academic excellence, research, service, and DEI efforts. Congratulations to our awesome students! 

Department Awards
 

Recognition for COMS Club

• Co-President: Mackenzie Demay
• Co-President: Madison Vernon
• Treasurer: Dylan Fuentes
• Public Relations: Ella Polischek
• DEI Chair: Mackenzie Demay
• Event Coordinator: Bailey Marie Kulesza
• Secretary & Webmaster: Sydney Rosenthal    
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anuraj Dhillon

Recognition for Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) 

• President: Sydney Rosenthal
• Vice President: Joshua Wiegman
• Treasurer: Mia Chaney + Joshua Wiegman
• Secretary: Erin Byrne
• Planning & Events: Rachel Sealund
• Member at Large: Chloe Decas
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Leslie Nelson

New Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) Inductees 

• Abigail Dorman
• Alexis Barksdale
• Ashlyn Beale
• Ella Gaudreau
• Ella Polischeck
• Giulianna Curran
• Grace Callan
• Hannah Siegel
• Iley Wotring
• Kaela Fisch
• Kamryn O’Reilly
• Kendall Baebler
• Kimberly Garcia Cruz
• Kristina Yan
• Liana Chen
• Lily Hanson
• Lily Rivas
• Lindsey Dwyer
• M.W. Kaplan
• Natalie Rousseau
• Nicole Barlia
• Nina Olson
• Owen Sawyer
• Prema Yousuf
• Sara Conlon
• Schuyler Eley

Recognition for Involvement with Undergraduate Research

• Chloe Abinanti
• Skylar Alves
• Meghan Day
• Mackenzie Demay
• Abigail Dorman
• Wendy Miyazaki
• Tyler Rivas
• Ava Schafbuch
• Julia Voss
• Evelyn Walker
• Ava Whitehorn 
• Josh Wiegman

Outstanding Research Award

• Mackenzie Demay
   

Recognition for Service

• Mason Asphar
• Erin Byrne
• Mia Chaney
• Kim Cruz
• Savannah DeBaets
• Mackenzie Demay
• Nicole Douglas
• Daniela Jacobson
• M. W. Kaplan
• Sydney McCarter
• Sydney Rosenthal
• Savannah Tompkins
• Kristina Yan 
   

Outstanding Service Award

• To the COMS Department: Sydney Rosenthal
• To the College/University: Savannah DeBaets
• To the Community: Mackenzie Demay

Recognition for Visionary Student Contributions

• Skylar Alves
• Alexis Barksdale
• Ellianna Blumenfeld
• Mackenzie Demay
• M. W. Kaplan

Visionary Student Award

• M. W. Kaplan
   

Academic Excellence Award

• Ashlyn Beale
• Erin Byrne
• Brookelyn Bochenek
• Mackenzie Demay
• Savannah DeBaets
• Abigail Dorman
• Madison McCarthy
• Emily Olstad
• Sydney Rosenthal

Outstanding Senior Award

• Mackenzie Demay

---

University/Leadership Awards

In addition to our COMS Department awards, we're also enormously proud of our students who have won recent college, university, leadership, and events awards! Another round of congratulations goes to the following students:  

Holistic Justice Challenge

• Top Three Teams: Matthew Muren, Anahi Marquez-Silva, Rachel Strohecker, and Sophie Albiani
   

Legados Debate 

• Finalists: Araceli Aronin, Alondra Cardoso, and Gerardo Martínez-Hernández

Social Science Student Symposium (S4)

• McCall Award for Best Undergraduate Paper: Chloe Abinanti, Evelyn Walker, Julia Voss, and Tyler Rivas

​​​​​​
College of Liberal Arts Awards

• CLA Service to the Community Award: Mackenzie Demay
• CLA Contributions to Objectives/Public Image of the University Award: Savannah DeBaets 

​​​​​

---

Faculty News

Dr. Darrian Carroll
Dr. Carroll recently published a study in Rhetoric Society Quarterly titled Being in Good Faith: African American Women in Defense of Anita Hill. This study examines the 17 November 1991 “African American Women in Defense of Ourselves” advertisement in the New York Times - an advertisement that was a reflection of 1,600 Black women coming to the defense of Anita Hill after the Hill-Thomas Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings.
 

Professor Martin Mehl
Professor Mehl was recently featured in ScreenPal's "University of Life" series in an article titled The "Missing Manual”: empowering 21st century learners for growth, success, and happiness. We are also excited to report that Professor Mehl was able to share the 15 million dollar campaign for the "3T" initiative (Transfer Bridge, Technology & Tax) and present his preliminary "3 L" TedTalk about “Preparing Technology-Driven Accountants with an Analytical Mindset” as a consultant & scholar-in-residence for the Accounting Advisor Board on May 12th.
 

Professor John Patrick
Professor Patrick was also recently featured in ScreenPal's "University of Life" series in an article titled Personalizing communication and student/teacher connection through video. The "University of Life" series focuses on integrating digital literacy and screen coaching into their classrooms, instructional design, and overall curriculum planning to foster happiness, connection, and growth.

Promotion Announcements

Big congratulations to Dr. Aubrie Adams, Dr. Anu Dhillon, and Dr. Leslie Nelson, COMS professors who were recently promoted to Associate Professor! We're so proud of your accomplishments in teaching, research, and service. Cal Poly is honored to have you all serving our students and COMS community!

---

Sharing is Caring

Do you have an announcement to share with COMS majors, minors, faculty, and staff? Email Dr. Brie to find out how to share it! Follow COMS on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn