Breadcrumb
College of Professional Studies
The College of Professional Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt seamlessly integrates core competencies within practical contexts through a variety of immersive experiences. Our graduates emerge as exceptional leaders in their respective professions and communities, embodying a steadfast dedication to social, economic, and environmental justice.
Applied Learning
We provide every student with dynamic opportunities for experiential learning in real-world scenarios, where they engage in practicums, research, internships, clinical, and service-learning experiences. Each is designed to enhance students' career-ready skills, ensuring they are well-prepared for their future.
Social Justice and Sustainability
Through the application of active learning and critical thinking, we prepare students for meaningful community-oriented careers that foster a just, inclusive, and environmentally conscious society.
Personal Guidance
Through innovation and collaboration our faculty challenge and support our students, ensuring their success beyond the classroom. Our students receive academic and career guidance from their faculty advisors, professional advisors, and peer mentors.
Alumni Updates
Matias Solorzano
Psychology, 2025
Matias will start a PhD program in Special Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the Fall 2025 semester. He also received an Education Graduate Research Scholars fellowship from the School of Education at UW-Madison to assist him in pursuing his research interests. At UW-Madison, Matias will conduct research on the transition to adulthood in employment for autistic individuals. He seeks to connect more autistic adults to resources that will help them find employment. Recently, Matias completed an internship with the California Department of Developmental Services in the Autism Services Branch. This internship helped him make connections at DDS and made him realize that working in civil service is a good career path for individuals interested in making the world a better place for individuals with disabilities.
Kathleen Dunn
Nursing, 1974
After working as an RN and rehabilitation clinical nurse specialist in San Diego for 45 years, Kathleen retired (2017) and started traveling around the world. Unfortunately, she had the onset of multiple sclerosis while on a trip to Iceland in June 2023. After a month in hospitals and an acute rehab center, she returned home. She can walk with a cane up to about 50 yards, and use a power carbon fiber folding wheelchair for further distances. Kathleen has started to travel again, although in a different style, and took a 35-day cruise to the South Pacific in early 2025. She misses snorkeling and hiking!
John and Linda Rubert
Business Administration, 1978
John and Linda met at Humboldt State in 1972 square dancing with the Lumberjacks and Jill’s. After 34 years of running a business, they are retired now and enjoy their cabin on Hayden Lake in Northern Idaho.
Kauyumari Sanchez
Psychology
Kauyumari Sanchez, PhD published the article Cross-modal matching of monosyllabic and bisyllabic items varying in phonotactic probability and lexicality in Frontiers in Language Sciences, 4, 1488399. https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1488399
Ethan Gahtan, John Steele, Emma F. Jones, McKay Gog Butler, Darina Trendafilova, Mayra S Mendez, Luke A. Jernigan
Psychology
Professors Ethan Gahtan (Psychology) and John Steele (Biology) along with students from psychology, biology, and chemistry developed a new transgenic zebrafish line in the Behavioral Neuroscience Research Lab. This development was first described in 2022 in the Journal of Comparative Neurology. They developed a zebrafish fluorescent reporter line to track neuronal chloride (Cl-), KCC2, expression in vivo during early brain development. "KCC2 regulates neuron excitability and development". Then in 2024 the team contributed this genetics resource to the Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) to make it available to external researchers. Article reference: DOI: 10.1002/cne.25411 ; ZIRC entry: https://zfin.org/ZDB-PUB-221018-26#summary
Sara K. Sterner
Education
Dr. Sara K. Sterner was recently chosen to serve on the award selection committee for the Children's Literature Assembly Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts. The seven-member national committee reviews texts written for young people in grades K-8, reading 700-1,000 books annually. Each year the committee selects 30 books that best exemplify the criteria established for the Notables Award. The role is a three-year appointment.