Alumni Updates

Kyle Ryan

Theatre, minor in Dance, 2011

Kyle Ryan, 2011 Theatre, moved to Chicago with only a suitcase and lived in a one-bedroom apartment with four other HSU grads. Ryan was accepted into Second City's Conservatory Program and then was hired to perform sketch comedy and improv aboard Norwegian Cruise lines for The Second City. Ryan has performed all over the world, and is currently performing for The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. He currently works at a digital media arts college giving workshops to high school artists all over the midwest.

Bret Comnes

Physics & Astronomy, 2011

Attending Humboldt State University and choosing to major in Physics has been one of the most important and beneficial decisions I have ever made. The faculty are fantastic educators, the curriculum is challenging and rewarding, it has intimate upper division class sizes, and there is ample opportunity to gain research experience if you want it.

I am currently getting started in the Doctoral Physics program at Portland State University.

Max Brunsfeld

Physics & Astronomy, Music minor, 2011

Max Brunsfeld, 2011, Physics and Astronomy, moved to Oakland after graduating from HSU and worked as a software engineer in San Francisco for three years. Brunsfeld recently started working for GitHub, a company that makes tools for collaborative software development, and whose employees are distributed all over the world. Brunsfeld has since moved back to Arcata to raise a family.

Jess Whatcott

Environment & Community (Social Sciences), 2004, BA in Political Science, 2011

After completing a Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Jess Whatcott (they/them) became a tenure-track professor in women's, gender, and sexuality studies at San Diego State University. Dr. Whatcott's first academic book about California's history of eugenics and confining disabled people in state institutions will be published by Duke University Press in August 2024.

Andrea Castillo

Art, 2011

Recently graduated in Art Studio and am working for a non-profit Center for the Arts in Los Angeles at a Summer Art Camp for kids.

James Caton

History, 2011

The flexibility of HSU’s B.A. in History afforded James the opportunity to chart a path for the future by exploring topics that interested him. Upon completing his degree, he began studying economic theory. He completed an M.A. in Economics from San Jose State University in 2013 where he studied monetary theory and history. He completed my Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University in 2017 where he focused on non-equilibrium, agent-based models of systems of exchange. As of Fall 2017, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University where he teaches macroeconomics, entrepreneurship, economic computation, and economic development.

Cedric Keith Aaron, Jr

Social Work, Master of Social Work, 2011

While attending graduate school at HSU, I was a student clinical intern with Humboldt County Mental Health for the 2010-2011 academic school year. I was a California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) Mental Health Stipend recipient as a graduate student as well. After graduation, I was able to transition from intern to full-time employee with Humboldt County Mental Health as a Mental Health Clinician. I am currently working towards my LCSW license with a career goal to become an administrator with Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services. I enjoy attending HSU home football and basketball games
to cheer on our HSU student athletes!

Omar Alejandro Garcia

International Studies, 2011

After working at Solar City, I am currently working in Taiwan as an English Teacher and preparing for an International Business Masters degree. I am still playing baseball and running my audio-blog about identity and cross-cultural interactions. I would like to thank Rosamel Benavides in the World Languages and Cultures Dept as well as the International Studies Dept for providing me a solid foundation to conquer career challenges, domestic and international.

Salina Cuddy

English, 2011

Salina Cuddy, 2011 English, has begun a Master of Arts program in Sociolinguistics at the University of York in England. Cuddy’s focus is language and power, looking particularly at language and gender as well as language and class.

Alexandra McGee

Anthropology, International Studies, Ethnic Studies, Spanish, 2011

I've transformed from a Humboldt Lumberjack to a Berkeley Bear. I have just started my first semester of graduate school as a Latin American Studies masters student. My last semester at HSU, I took an engineering course with Lonny Grafman which got me really excited about small-scale energy projects, particularly how they relate to community participation, rural development, energy independence and environmental sustainability.

At the same time, I've put my anthropology skills to use, moving into a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery to live with a high lama.

I'd love to hear from you. If you want to know more about my adventures, check out my blog:
throughaliseyes-chapterthree.blogspot.com