Stories of Service

I’m approaching my third anniversary of writing for San Jose State University, a job I love because of the amazing people I get to interview. Here are some highlights of stories I’ve gotten to write over the last few months:

• Like Father, Like Son: Pabel Mijangos, ’20 Finance, learned how his father Octavio Mijangos’ journey to the U.S. informed his own path to an education while writing a paper for his Global Dimensions of Business course.

• Hadiyah Ghogari Aims High: Hadiyah Ghoghari, ’20 Computer Science, hopes to work for NASA while creating opportunities for fellow female engineers.

• Marisa and Terell Johnson: Creating Space: For the entrepreneurs behind Inglewood’s La Create Sp_ce, creativity is an equal opportunity resource.

• Serving San Jose: San Jose City Manager David Sykes, ’91 BS, ’95 MS, Civil Engineering, sees his work as an act of service.

• Scotty Anderson: Putting PR to Work for Students and Community: Anderson believes his San Jose State education armed him with the communication skills needed to make change. He hopes current and future Spartans will take advantage of the Strategic Media Lab to fine-tune their PR skills and make an impact.

• Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch: “Bring Your Humanity into the Room”: Kickbusch became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Field Support of the U.S. Army before launching Educational Achievement Services, Inc.

• Spartan Entrepreneur Spotlight: Nicholes Anvari of Turon: What if there were a platform where tutors could list their rates, hours and areas of expertise, and tutees could shop around to find the right match? Turon is here.

• Spartan Entrepreneur Spotlight: Sameer Saran of ParkStash: Sameer Saran, ’18 MS Computer Engineering, founded ParkStash, an app that pairs landowners with drivers searching for parking, to help students find parking.

• A Work of Wonder: Campus Sustainability Coordinator Kristen Wonder and SJSU alumna encourages the Spartan community to embrace sustainability.

I’ve also had the opportunity to cover the Connie L. Lurie College of Education’s inaugural Future of Learning event, as well as “[dreamer] project: an Undocuplay,” a documentary theatre project based on verbatim interviews with SJSU students.

There are more great stories coming soon with the fall/winter 2019 edition of Washington Square.

Inspiring Spartans

Every day I feel grateful for the opportunity to tell the stories of Spartans, alumni and faculty of San Jose State University. It has always been my dream to make a living writing meaningful stories, and this semester is no different. I’m proud to share a few of the recent profiles that have been published on Washington Square, SJSU’s alumni magazine blog.

Kinesiology Professor Shirley Reekie first hopped aboard her father’s sailboat at age two, inspiring a career in athletics and sport history. This Spartan women in sports story shares her connection to Margaret Jenkins, SJSU’s first Olympian.

Wayne Merry, ’59 Conservation, was one of the first rock climbers to summit El Capitan.

Photographer Dan Fenstermacher, ’16 MFA Photography, traveled to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria to capture the stories of survivors.

Theatre Arts Professor Buddy Butler believes his productions can engage young audiences in complex issues and inspire thoughtful dialogue.

Spartan swimmer Lisa Covey Peters, ’07 Physics, leads an exciting career as a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin.

Gymnast Shanice Howard was named the 2011 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year and went on to become a physical therapist.

Agnieszka Winkler launched and led one of Silicon Valley’s most successful independent advertising agencies in an era when she was often “the only woman in the room.”

Big thanks to all of these amazing people for sharing their stories with me, and to the designers and photographers who made these stories come to life. Coming this spring: a special series on science research at SJSU. Stay tuned!