2020

Well. this year has been a doozy.

2020: The year of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health pandemic, the year we lost Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as countless Black lives at the hands of the police—Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and so many more. 2020: The year we can’t leave our homes, can’t go to school or work in person, can’t go to restaurants or museums or live concerts or host friends and family in our homes. The year of increasingly disastrous wildfires, especially in California. As of September 2020, we have lost more than 200,000 American lives to COVID19, and our current president is still campaigning to audiences who do not wear masks or observe social distancing. It is a hard year to remain optimistic.

And yet: 2020 is the year I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. My son’s joy—and to be frank, his oblivion to all the insanity going on outside our home—has kept me going these past several months. While I have had to take a break from writing fiction and producing Play On Words shows, I am proud of the articles published at San Jose State University’s Washington Square magazine and blog this past year. They include:

Despite the challenges that this year has posed, I am hopeful that we can bring some positive change to our nation—and ultimately the world—come November. Please vote, if not for me, then for my son and daughter.

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:

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.

Stories that Inspire and Amaze

This spring I had the opportunity to interview a number of amazing Spartan scientists. Among them:

Finding One's Way: Proprioception and Biological Research: How do we use sensory information to move, balance, and position ourselves? Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Katherine Wilkinson developed a neurophysiology lab at SJSU to explore how and why the human body interacts with the world around us.

Solving DNA Puzzles, One Worm at a Time: How do neurons transmit messages throughout the body? How are memories formed? Miri VanHoven’s neurogenetics lab at San Jose State explores big questions.

Geology From the Ground Up: SJSU Assistant Professor of Geology Kim Blisniuk explores how geologists measure seismicity and communicate earthquake risk to the communities that could one day be affected.

Evan Low’s American Dream: Evan Low, ’03 Political Science, was the youngest openly gay mayor of an American city.

Fire, Water and Spirit

This year, I’ve gotten the opportunity to write about wildfire researchers, stem cell scientists, pioneering STEM educators, a MacArthur genius, and the first woman to receive tenure in SJSU’s chemistry department—to name a few.

I will never look at a forest the same, thanks to the expertise and wisdom of SJSU’s Associate Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science Craig Clements. He shared his experience collecting data 100 feet from the plumes outside Paradise in November 2018, accompanied by an undergraduate and a graduate student researcher. Check out our spring/summer feature “On Fire” to learn more.

Sculptor and artist Titus Kaphar sees art as an opportunity to shed light on history—and to examine and challenge commonly accepted narratives. The founder of a collaborative artist space in New Haven, Kaphar is a true visionary.

What exactly is STEM education and why does it matter? I had the chance to interview a number of teachers at San Jose’s AdVENTURE STEM middle school, as well as the dean of SJSU’s Connie L. Lurie College of Education, chemistry professor Lionel Cheruzel, and Intel’s Rita Holiday. Read more on Washington Square.

SJSU alumnus Marc Slattery studies how the chemistry of marine invertebrates could help scientists understand how to develop drugs. The professor of pharmacognosy and environmental toxicology at the University of Mississippi was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement in recognition of his work.

The Stem Cell Internships and Laboratory-Based Learning program at San Jose State offers graduate students experience in stem cell research labs while they pursue their degrees, preparing them for competitive careers in academia, biotech or research.

In March 2019 I had the opportunity to meet pioneering professor/scientist Ruth Yaffe, who started teaching in SJSU’s chemistry department in 1957, later becoming the first tenured woman professor in the department. A pioneering chemist with a love for Great Danes, it was a pleasure to learn more about her.

Silicon Valley Arts Emerging Artist Sample, 2018

I am applying for the 2018 Emerging Artist Award, sponsored by Content Magazine and Silicon Valley Creates. My writing sample includes text from two published magazine pieces (“The Women of the Olympic Project for Human Rights” and “Throwing Convention: Margaret Jenkins, ‘25 Education”) and “The Bridge,” a fiction piece that is excerpted from my novel-in-progress. This excerpt won the 2018 Mendocino Coast Writers Conference writing contest in the novel category, as judged by Shanthi Sekaran, and will be published in the 2019 Noyo River Review.

I believe this sample is representative of my literary voice, both in nonfiction and fiction.

Please click here to access it.

Thank you for considering my work. And, in the off chance that someone finds this who is not on the jury for the Emerging Artist award, I hope you enjoy my work.

The Olympic Project for Human Rights, 50 Years Later

I’ve had the opportunity to write for a number of universities over the years, but what makes San Jose State University stand out is its legacy of social justice. I’ve been privileged enough to devote my last few months to interviewing a number of alumni who were involved in the civil rights movement at SJSU 50 years ago. I pursued each of these stories because I believe now, more than ever, it is critical to elevate voices of American change, especially those who have benefited communities of color, first-generation college students and the women and men who go on to inspire future generations of change-makers.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Mexico City Olympics, in which Spartan athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their gloved fists on the medal stand in a civil rights salute. As members of SJSU’s Olympic Project for Human Rights, spearheaded by Harry Edwards and Ken Noel, their lives and stories have been well documented over the past five decades. This made me wonder: what about the women of the OPHR? Who were they and how did they contribute? What did they go on to do?

While pursuing this story, I had the pleasure and honor of learning from Sandra Edwards, Mary Noel and Gayle Boze Knowles, three alumnae who volunteered with the movement. Together with their friend Rochelle Duff Davis, they distributed OPHR material at track events, managed correspondence and helped spread word of the movement on campus and beyond. All four of them went on to become teachers, principals and educators. Coincidence? I think not. Learn more about these amazing women at Washington Square.

I spent a few months researching the history of SJSU’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which was one of the first such programs in the state. I am grateful to S.T. Saffold, Debra Griffith, Judge Robert Rigsby, Erika Cortes, Gabriel Reyes, Humberto Garza, Teresa de la Cruz, and countless others for sharing their experiences with me. You can read all about the history and future of SJSU’s EOP on Washington Square.

In early June I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with Mary and Ken Noel, educators and activists who devoted their years at San Jose State to recruiting and supporting first-generation black college students. Ken co-founded the United Black Students for Action with Harry Edwards, and later the Olympic Project for Human Rights. Mary became a teacher, principal and school board member, and to this day the couple remains dedicated to supporting education. I was compelled to write both a profile on Mary and a story on Ken.

San Jose State will be recognizing the 50th anniversary of the famous Mexico City salute with a special town hall sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change. Harry Edwards, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos will be joined by Wyomia Tyus, as well as two of the Olympic rowers who supported the OPHR at Mexico City, Nate Boyer, the Green Beret who has supported Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, and a number of journalists and academics. I’m grateful to work at a university that supports a productive conversation around civil rights, and even more excited that I’ve gotten the chance to learn from a number of these people firsthand.

Washington Square Spring/Summer 2018: The movement toward equity

I was delighted to contribute to the spring/summer 2018 issue of Washington Square, San Jose State University's alumni magazine. The theme this spring was moving toward equity. San Jose State has quite the legacy of social justice and it was an honor to explore some of these topics with notable alumni, faculty and community members. I enjoyed writing a feature on SJSU's first Olympian, Margaret Jenkins, as well as profiles of alumna and speech pathologist Dr. Pamela Wiley, who developed a program that pairs young men with autism with law enforcement. I also learned a lot from SJSU Physics and Astronomy Professor Peter Beyersdorf, whose research on black holes contributed to a major discovery in 2015. Dr. Marilyn Easter of SJSU's Lucas College and Graduate School of Business has developed an amazing program for undergrads called Generation of Aspirational Learners--it was a pleasure chatting with her as well.

Other notable features written by fellow contributors include a great piece on the Silicon Valley housing crisis and an exploration of the impact of movements such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #BlackLivesMatter and #NeverAgain.

I learn from every issue we create and from every person I interview. I hope their stories inspire.

Washington Square: Fall/Winter 2017

I'd like to share links to San Jose State University's alumni magazine, Washington Square.

This fall's theme is health and innovation. Check out great articles about the future of mobile health, our San Jose State of Healthcare feature, or my profile of SJSU's first woman athletic director, the multitalented Marie Tuite. I was also delighted to chat with the fabulous Netta Conyers-Haynes, who is now Facebook's head of internal communications for North America, Matthew "Levee" Chavez, creator of Subway Therapy, and packaging professor Fritz Yambrach, creator of the Fritz Water Vest. I like to think that microbiology professor Cleber Ouverney is SJSU's Bill Nye, especially if you read up on his year spent in the Amazon rainforest. 

Spartan up, my friends, Spartan up!