Alumni Updates

Jessie Perez

Biological Sciences, HSU - CIRM Scholar Alumni, 2010

Jessie Perez recently founded a company to help provide clean air during the global pandemic and the company would like to spread the word about a new technology that can keep people safe in the spaces they work, learn, and live. https://www.geekwire.com/2022/former-dod-nuclear-engineer-leads-new-seattle-startup-developing-air-purification-technology/

Alissa Sobo

Chemistry, 2010

After graduating from Humboldt State University, Alissa Sobo, Chemistry, 2010, stayed in the community and opened a restaurant called Naan of the Above. Alissa sold this business and moved to the bay area to teach science in after school programs. Alissa then had two children, and while staying at home with them, taught herself to code. She built a web application called Ample that was recently mentioned in the New York Times. She now works as a software engineer for Mozilla.

Micah Carnahan

Wildlife, 2010

I left school in the middle of my last semester, fall 2009, due to the birth of my son. He was born with a congenital heart disease known as Transposition of the Great Arteries or TGA. We (my wife, my newborn son and myself)were immediately flown to SF where my son would receive surgery. During our 3 month stay at UCSF I was able to keep in contact with my professors and they worked with me to finish my coursework during my stay. My son is 15 months now. He is healthy and doing great! I received my degree and quickly began interviewing for careers that could sustain my new family. Because of the skills and training I received from HSU, I was chosen from a number of candidates to be the new Environmental Scientist for the CA Department of Fish and Game's Lake and Streambed Alteration Program. I am so thankful, and proud, to have studied at HSU and to have had the privelage of learning from the best professors in the country. Thank you HSU!

Kathryn Hedges

Biological Sciences, 2010

Kathryn Hedges, 2010 Biological Sciences, started a handcrafting business in Silicon Valley at TechShop in 2011. She creates jewelry, holiday decor, and souvenirs and sells locally and globally online.

Áki Jarl Láruson

Biological Sciences, General emphasis, minor in Chemistry., 2010

I am starting my second year as a doctorate student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Månoa. I am focusing on molecular ecology, population genetics and quantitative genetics in the shallow water urchin genus Tripneustes. Thanks to Professor Sean Craig of Humboldt State, I had my first publication as a lead author before finishing my first year of Grad school.

Tai-Aqua Morgan-Marbet

Environmental Resources Engineering, Economics, 2010

Tai-Aqua Morgan-Marbet, Environmental Resources Engineering, 2010, started in 2012 working for Lincoln and Long Engineering in Grass Valley, CA. She still works for them here and there as they need help. She then worked for AM Baird Engineering and Surveying in Fortuna, CA from 2013 to 2014. She worked for LACO Associates in Eureka, CA from 2014 to 2016. Finally, she is currently working for Kolstad Land Surveying and has started her own firm, Lost Coast Engineering, with two other engineers (an HSU graduate and a UC Berkeley graduate).

Damien Adams

Mathematics, 2010

Damien Adams, 2010 Mathematics, earned a master’s degree in Mathematics from San Jose State University and acquired a full-time teaching position at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, Calif. Adams has also started a podcast, Women in Math: The Limit Does Not Exist promoting women in mathematics, and founded the college’s Math Club.

Holly Edmundson

Physics & Astronomy, 2009

After graduating from HSU I went to grad school at University of Oregon where I got my Masters in Materials Science with an emphasis in Optics.

I got a job in the semiconductor industry. Humboldt's physics program gave me a major advantage when it came to E&M, electronics and lab experience all of which I used regularly in grad school and still use in my 'real job'.

Marshall R Ligare

Chemistry, 2009

Marshall R. Ligare, 2009 Chemistry, finished his PhD at University of California Santa Barbara and is starting a postdoctoral research position at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Benjamin J. Crain

Biological Sciences, 2008

Benjamin Crain, Biological Sciences, 2008, recently took a position as an Ecologist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the North American Center for Orchid Conservation. With a diverse group of collaborators, he conducts research in the Republic of Palau where they study the diversity and distribution of orchids, monitors their dynamics in the Ngardok Nature Reserve, and studies the fundamental ecology of orchids by looking at their relationship with mycorrhizal fungi. The team's goals are to improve knowledge and increase awareness of orchid diversity in Palau, understand the ecology of these plants, and develop strategic plans for conservation and restoration of orchid species and their habitats.