Achievements

Joshua J. Frye

Communication

Dr. Frye has been contracted to provide evaluations for high-level foreign nationals seeking special work visas in the United States. These petitioners are seeking a National Interest Waiver for unique endeavors that require extraordinary ability and specialized skill sets not currently available within the US workforce.  By vetting these individuals and writing technical expert letters of opinion to be included in their visa application to the US Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS), Dr. Frye is contributing to building a highly specialized, diverse, and inclusive cadre of innovative professionals working within the US to advance the national interest.

Dr. Armeda Reitzel

Communication

Dr. Armeda Reitzel, Professor Emeritus, delivered an invited presentation titled "The Triple A’s of Ancillaries:  Advancing Academic Achievement" at the 2025 LIbreFest held in July. Her talk focused on the benefits of open pedagogy.

Kiera Sladen and Ruth Worthington (Fellows), Tani Sebro and Emily Worm (Program Directors)

Politics

Kiera Sladen and Ruth Worthington (Politics) were selected for the Fall 2025 Youth Voice Youth Vote Student Fellowship through LEAD California for their project entitled, "Empowering Young Voters: A Civic Engagement Series for Underrepresented Communities in Humboldt County." The fellowship will be directed and supervised by Tani Sebro (Chair, Politics) and Emily Worm (Director of the Center for Community Based Learning). This project will empower young voters in Humboldt County through a series of Fall 2025 events at Cal Poly Humboldt, led by the Politics Club. Their campaign will focus on reducing barriers to voting in rural and tribal communities, educating student voters through a nonpartisan voter education workshop, and promoting awareness of voting rights for students who are formerly or currently incarcerated. Through strategic partnerships and community outreach, this project aims to build a stronger culture of civic engagement in historically underserved communities across the North Coast of California.

Vincent Biondo

History

Vincent Biondo served as Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies for Trinity Term, 2025, and presented new research on the history of waqf, or charitable trusts, and the implications for Christian-Muslim relations, Church-State relations, and Moral Economy.

Dr. Amy Rock

Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis

"Experiences of Women AAG Presidents: Leading Through Diverse Voices" (Li, Mossa, Dixon, Oberhauser, Rock, Sultana, and Mukherjee, 2025) has just been released in electronic format (https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2025.2500588).  The first in a series of articles on the status of women in Geography, this article focuses on the experience of women presidents of the American Association of Geographers, specifically the challenges they faced and the changes they brought to the organization and the discipline.  This article will be bundled into a special issue of the Professional Geographer, encapsulating two years of research by the team.

Esmeralda Macias, Aldina Kelecija, Peter Biren, and Viacheslav Kozlov

Philosophy

In April, Cal Poly Humboldt undergrad philosophy students were invited to Pacific University of Oregon to their 27th Philosophy Conference to discuss their authored essays. Esmeralda Macias, Aldina Kelecija, Peter Biren, and Viacheslav Kozlov discussed topics like the ethics of pornography, philosophical intuitions surrounding AI, and positivism in the Latinamerican canon.

Samantha Ramos

Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis

Geography major Samantha Ramos won second place for student paper at the California Geographical Society annual conference for her research on the spatial patterns of migrant deaths at the Arizona border.

Andre Oliva

Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis

Geospatial Science and Technology major Andre Oliva won first place in the digital map competition at the California Geographical Society annual conference for his research looking at the accessibility of veteran services in the state of California

Frank Cortes

Geography, Environment & Spatial Analysis

Geography major Frank Cortes won first place in the student map design competition at the California Geographical Society annual conference for his map showing Indigenous languages in Mexico.

Amber Rae Alvarez, Madison Henderson, Cruz Lopez, Lana Murillo, Veronica Patton, John Rutter, Kiera Sladen, Ruth Worthington, and Noah Zerbe

Politics

The Cal Poly Humboldt team representing South Sudan (Amber Rae Alvarez, Madison Henderson, Cruz Lopez, Lana Murillo, Veronica Patton, John Rutter, Kiera Sladen, and Ruth Worthington) at the National Model United Nations conference in New York took home an honorable mention award for their excellent work. Despite its name, the National Model United Nations conference draws 5,000+ students from more than 90 countries around the world. The recognition placed Cal Poly Humboldt in the top quarter of all schools competing at the international conference. 

Model United Nations (PSCI 377) is taught every spring by Prof. Noah Zerbe and is open to any interested student.