Alumni in the News - August 2008
Features
Alumna Stephanie Brown Trafton
is Cal Poly's First Olympic Gold Medalist
It's been 76 years since a U.S. woman has won a gold medal in the discus throw. At the Beijing Olympic Games, Cal Poly's own Stephanie Brown Trafton (B.S., Industrial Engineering, 2004) won the Olympic discus title with a best mark of 212 feet, 5 inches. Brown Trafton, 28, an Arroyo Grande High School and Cal Poly graduate who currently lives and trains in the Sacramento area, is being credited by the media for rallying the U.S. track and field team to additional victories.
Read more about Brown Trafton's Gold
Read the New York Times story
Read the Washington Post article
Read the ESPN story
Read the Seattle Post-Intelligencer article
Tribune Story on Brown Trafton Setting her Sites on Next Olympics in London
Crop Science Alumna Gina Miles and Her Trusty Horse McKinlaigh Take Silver at Olympics
Cal Poly graduate Gina Miles of Creston (B.S., Crop Science, 1997) won the silver medal in the equestrian eventing final at the Olympics on Tuesday night in Hong Kong, finishing just behind Hinrich Romeike of Germany. Kristina Cook of Great Britain earned the bronze. Miles, riding McKinlaigh, had a clear round that brought her up from fourth to second place on 56.10 penalties. Romeike had 54.20 penalties.
Read more about Miles' second place finish
Read the Tribune story on Miles' silver
Read the LA Times story
Read the Horsechannel.com story
Read the KSBY story
Read the Tribune story on Miles' homecoming
McKinlaigh and Miles compete at the Pan Am Games
- Photo Courtesy Gina Miles
Mustang Baseball Alum Brings in Score for Canadian Team
-- But Not Enough to Make the Medal Cut
Former Cal Poly Mustang standout Jimmy van Ostrand played for Canada's Olympic Baseball team in Beijing. He helped rally the team in its shut-out of the Netherlands -- but Japan's powerhouse performance kept Team Canada out of the medal running. Van Ostrand, of Richmond, B.S, drove in the final run of the game against the Netherlands in Beijing. A single by van Ostrand scored Mike Saunders of Victoria.
Read more on Team Canada
Alumna Competes in Olympic High Jump in Beijing
Sharon Day (B.S., Kinesiology, 2008) was among the four Cal Poly alumni who competed in the Beijing Olympics. The former Cal Poly Women's Track Team high jumper finished tied for 24th place today in the women’s high jump qualifying at the Beijing Olympics. Day made her Olympic debut in the rain at the Bird’s Nest. Day missed her first attempt at the opening height of 5 feet, 10 ¾ inches, then cleared the height on her second attempt. She then made 6-0¾ - missing out on qualifying for the finals but sharing the Olympic experience.
Read the full story in the SLO Tribune
Alum Astronaut Greg Chamitoff
Talks to Students from Space Station
About two dozen members of the Buchanan High School Columbia Mission Club gave up their last weekend of the summer vacation to take part in a two-day space station simulation. The adventure went into orbit when they talked with NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff (B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1984) aboard the International Space Station via a live uplink. The group's advisers are Jim Esquivel and Paul Lake. Lake is a Buchanan physics teacher who went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with astronaut Chamitoff.
Read the story in the Fresno Bee
Alumni Family's Humane Organic Cattle Ranching Operation Brings Gourmet Magazine Raves
“Food and Wine” magazine recently featured the Rickert family's 34,000-acre Prather Ranch on the slopes of Mt. Shasta in Northern California. Jim Rickert (B.S., Agricultural Business, 1971) and wife Mary LaSalle Rickert (B.S., Dairy Science, 1972) and children James J. Rickert (B.S., Crop Science, 2002) and Aileen Rickert (B.S., Ag Science, 1999) are running a beef cattle ranch that's certified as humane and specializes in organic-fed beef. Their Prather Ranch was the subject of two recent stories: one in in Food and Wine magazine, and one on Cattlenetwork.com.
Read the 'Food and Wine' Story on the Prather Ranch
Read the Cattlenetwork.com story on the Prather Ranch
Couple's Central Coast Produce Business Grows from Senior Project
Philip (B.S., Crop Science, 1987) and Nancy Langston of SLO Grown Produce are innovators when it comes to growing fruits and vegetables. They've found new ways to work inside a box, growing produce in ways that make the most of the vertical space. They coax tomatoes into 30-foot vines, hang cucumbers upside down, and grow other plants in a unique hydroponic system developed from Philip Langston's Cal Poly senior Crop Science project.
Read the full story in the SLO Tribune
Careers
Alum Melds Engineering, Agriculture Skills in Salinas
At one time Mike Seebeck (B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 2006) dreamed of designing airplanes, but that all changed when he switched his college major from aeronautical to mechanical engineering. The young engineer now uses his skills modifying or designing new equipment for various ag companies in his job with Custom Equipment Co. in Salinas.
Read more in the Salinas Californian
CPA Alum is New Merced County Auditor-Controller
Lisa Cardella-Presto (B.S., Business Administration, 1995), a certified public accountant and Merced native, will take over as Merced County's auditor-controller in January, the Merced County Board of Supervisors announced. Cardella-Presto, 35, will replace Stephen Jones as the county's top financial officer. Jones announced plans earlier this year to retire mid-term in January. Cardella-Presto will finish his term, which ends in 2010.
Read the story in the Merced Sun-Star
Alumna Retires After 30 Years at Oroville School District
After serving the Oroville Union High School District for more than three decades, director of education Nancy Negri (B.S., Physical Education, 1973) is retiring. Negri was first hired as a physical education and math teacher in 1975, moving to Oroville for her first teaching job after graduating from Cal Poly.
Read the story in the Oroville Mercury-Register
Alum Retires after Years as San Bernardino County Schools Chief
Herb Fischer (B.S., Business Administration, 1965) retired from his post as San Bernardino County superintendent of schools recently. After working at his father's nursery in San Bernardino, after receiving his degree in business administration from Cal Poly, he decided to make a career change, and went on to earn his teaching credential, master's degree and doctorate from UC Riverside.
More on Fischer in the San Bernardino Sun
Sweet Job: Alumna Hired to Head Publicity
for California Strawberry Commission
The California Strawberry Commission announced in August that Liza M. Teixeira recently joined the marketing and communications team as Public Relations Specialist. In her role, Teixeira will provide support for media relations, industry communications and public outreach. While at Cal Poly, Teixeira served as Editor-in-Chief for Cal Poly’s Ag Circle Magazine, a publication for the University’s College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences. Before joining the Strawberry Commission, she served as the Agricultural Marketing Assistant at the California State Fair, and as a Rural Health and Safety Program Intern at the California Farm Bureau Federation.
More on Teixeira
Passings
Tom Dunn, OCOB Graduate
Tom Dunn, a 27-year-old graduate of the Orfalea College of Business (B.S., Business Administration, 2003) died recently in a fall while mountain climbing in Washington state, where he had been vacationing with friends. He was a project manager for Kds Plumbing in San Jose. At Cal Poly, he was an active member of the Christian fraternity on campus, Alpha Gamma Omega.
Read the story in the SLO Tribune
Retired Engineering Professor Irvin Kogan
Irvin J. Kogan, 86, of San Luis Obispo passed away Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, at a local care center. At his request, there will be no funeral service. In 1957, Kogan and his wife moved to San Luis Obispo where he had accepted a position as instructor on the faculty of the Department of Electronic Engineering. He later taught in the Department of Electronic Technology until 1984 . In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that friends make donations to their favorite charity.
Read the obituary in the SLO Tribune