Alumni Updates

Chloe Schmidt

, 2022

Chloe works as a ballet teacher at Trillium Dance Studios as well as a Pilates teacher at many local studios around Humboldt County. She is pursuing her Master's in Kinesiology at Cal Poly Humboldt, with the goal of continuing on to physical therapy school in the future. 

Jonathan Souza

Music, 2001

Jonathan Souza, Cal Poly Humboldt Class of 2001 (Humboldt State University), earned his B.A. in Music Education and has built a distinguished career as a music educator, arts leader, conductor, and advocate for equitable access to arts education. He currently serves the Gilroy Unified School District in dual leadership roles as Teacher on Special Assignment for Arts and Music in Schools Initiative Support while also continuing his longstanding work running music education and choral programs at Gilroy High School.

In Gilroy Unified, Souza has played a central role in advancing arts education at both the school site and district levels. He facilitated the development of the district’s TK-12 Strategic Arts Plan, guiding a collaborative process that engaged educators, administrators, families, and community stakeholders in shaping a shared vision for arts education. He also helped lead the plan through adoption, marking an important step in strengthening and sustaining high-quality arts learning opportunities for all students across the district.

Souza also helped spearhead Gilroy High School’s successful application for the 2026 California Department of Education Exemplary Arts Education Program recognition. His leadership in that process included coordinating data collection, organizing evidence across disciplines, shaping the program narrative, and working closely with colleagues to highlight the rigor, impact, and breadth of arts education at the school. His work reflects a deep commitment to advocacy, collaboration, and the transformative power of the arts in public education.

Alongside his educational leadership, Souza recently reached a major professional milestone with his Carnegie Hall debut as a guest conductor with MidAmerica Productions, leading a festival chorus and the New England Symphonic Ensemble. The appearance reflected both his artistic excellence and his enduring commitment to building meaningful musical experiences that connect performers, audiences, and communities across generations.

Throughout his career, Souza has received numerous school site and district honors in recognition of his teaching and leadership. His broader professional awards include the 2008 North Coast Section California Music Educators Association Music Educator of the Year Award, the 2010 Wells Fargo Outstanding Educator Award from the Humboldt County Office of Education, and the 2022 Arts Leadership Award from the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Whether conducting, mentoring teachers, leading strategic planning, or advocating for expanded access to the arts, Jonathan Souza’s work is grounded in the belief that music and arts education are essential to student growth, belonging, and success. His career reflects the values of artistry, leadership, and service, and the foundation he received at Cal Poly Humboldt continues to inform and inspire his work.

Lance Torgerson

Geography, 2004

Lance currently works for Off Duty Officers as a security guard and with California State Parks as a Park Aide. His location is Merced, California. He's had several jobs after his 2004 graduation with a BA in Geography in the Eureka/Arcata area and, more recently, in the Central Valley in Merced, CA.

Off Duty Officers

State Parks

Kory Lamberts

Environmental Studies, 2021

Kory came to Humboldt as a transfer student after turning away from a possible career as a football player. Like many students, he had multiple interests, and used his time in college to find a path to combine them. Since graduating, Kory worked with a nonprofit, Negus in Nature, that focused on building bridges between Black communities and natural spaces. While in college and working with Negus in Nature, he became an avid scuba diver, joining the National Association of Black SCUBA Divers, and received multiple opportunities to participate in dives focused on connecting Black people to their histories and connections with the ocean. In 2024, Kory founded the Aquatic Futures Foundation, which he designed to create equitable access to ocean science education and careers, empowering the next generation of marine scientists to build a sustainable future for our oceans and world. Kory also serves as the Chair of the Next Gen Committee for the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) and a member of Aqua Corps, where he helps teach diving & water safety to communities that have been historically excluded from the conversation. Kory also spearheaded the USC Wrigley’s Scientific Dive Discovery program, where he started his work of training scientific divers collegially over two years. He is expanding aquatic education and safety through community-driven collaborations with organizations that have the same mission, like Diving With a Purpose (DWP), Diverseafy, and the Empowher Institute. A profile about him was written in Humboldt Now: https://now.humboldt.edu/news/finding-belonging-water 

Sydney Verga

Environmental Studies, 2021

Sydney Verga graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2021 and moved to San Diego, California, in 2023 to start law school. Now, they are almost done with their final semester at University of San Diego School of Law. They are actively involved in the campus community and extracurricular activities, including but not limited to competing as part of the Appellate Moot Court team and being Co-Chair and Technology Coordinator for the student-run USD Law Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic. Since starting law school, Sydney has worked as an intern for Legal Aid Society of San Diego's Pro Bono team and a law clerk for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control Office of Legal Counsel. Sydney is currently a law clerk for Singleton Schreiber, a client-centered law firm specializing in mass torts/multi-district litigation, on the Environmental Litigation and Policy Team. They will graduate from USD in May 2026 and sit for the California Bar Exam in July 2026. 

Maggie Demorest

Environmental Studies, 2024

Maggie graduated with an Environmental Studies Degree with an emphasis in Ecology and Conservation from Cal Poly Humboldt in the spring of 2024. For the next year, she continued working at Freshwater Elementary School as an Instructional Aide, After School Program lead, and Nature Club teacher. She worked there until starting the Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) in October 2025. Her site placement as a WSP Corpsmember is with the Eel River Watershed Improvement Group and the CCC-Fortuna Fisheries Department. This position grants her the opportunity to help restore the Eel River Watershed through habitat surveys, spawner surveys, designing and conducting large wood installations that provide stream diversity and salmonid habitat. She also has the pleasure of being able to plan the Creek Days Environmental Education Fair, which provides over 300 elementary school students with hands-on environmental education every spring. Maggie says it is a blessing to be able to blend my environmental studies background with direct field work while exploring the beauty of Humboldt County every day. 

Paige Williams

Environmental Studies, 2016

Paige has been living in Portland for the past 10 years and working as a software engineer for the past six years, mostly trying to work on applying software to environmental justice issues. Paige worked at a startup that was monitoring air quality in environmental justice communities for five years. She recently started working as a software engineer at Ecotrust, a non-profit based in Portland that works at the intersection of equity, environment, and economy. Paige has been focused on an Indigenous knowledge database, which has been built in partnership with the Tribal Marine Stewardship Network. She is excited about working with tribes in the Humboldt area. Ecotrust also has a partnership with Cal Poly Humboldt on their Indigenous Agroforestry Network. Paige says working here has really felt like a full-circle moment. She cites her interdisciplinary degree as one of the successes she's had over the past 10 years. She feels that it has given her a compass for which to apply her skills.

Ira Goldstein

Geography, 1991

Ira has been a Watchmaker for over 30 years, but he will always be a Geographer at heart. Ira still loves looking at maps and traveling with his wife Barbara, whom he met at Humboldt. Ira owns a Timekeeper watch repair in Eagle, Idaho. 

Brian Brown

Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1990

Brian retired in 2025 after 21 years leading the California Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) program with the Water Education Foundation and 32 years as an Education Specialist at the Forestry Institute for Teachers, a program of the California Society of American Foresters. His entire career post Humboldt has been dedicated to educating K-12 students, teachers, and the general public about science and management of natural resources using much of what he learned in the HSU Forestry and Social Sciences teaching program - and plenty more learned from all the amazing teachers and partners he worked with since 1990. 

Brian retired, moved to Missouri, and was married in September of 2025, and now he finds himself standing at the same crossroads he stood on upon graduation from Humboldt. He's spent all these years on the path of teaching and education, and he is now enjoying the start of his journey into forest and land management, as he learns about the forests and other habitats of the Missouri Ozarks right in his own backyard. Life has been and continues to be quite an adventure!

Steven Berke

Geography, 1974

Steve has lived in North Idaho for the past 40 years. He has had careers as a cartographer, landman, and right-of-way agent. Steve is currently retired and enjoying traveling and golf.