Student Highlights
MPA graduate student Efren Sanchez-Delgado presented “Crossing Boundaries: Farmworkers Breaking the Silence” at an International Forum in September 2014 sponsored by the CSU, Chico Office of International Education. Efren shared experiences from his summer 2014 internship working at Colorado Legal Services in the Migrant Farm Worker Division. Efren’s presentation covered topics including conditions of employment, health and security in the workplace, civil rights, immigration, and H-2A workers.
MA graduate students Emily LaRue and Sarah Messer, along with political science professor Ryan Patten, presented research on “Drug Court and the Expansion of Life Course Theory” at the 42ndAnnual Conference of the Western Society of Criminology in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2015.
Student research assistants working with the Consortium for Public Safety Research spent time on a project last fall in collaboration with Butte County and residents of Stirling City, California. A portion of the small town located above Magalia sits on a failing sewer system. Under the guidance of faculty and a county employee, research assistants surveyed Stirling City residents in hopes that the information collected will qualify the area for grant funding.
California State University, Chico junior Nicolas Woo has received a prestigious Wang Family Scholarship to study in Taiwan during the 2015-2016 academic year. Woo, who is triple majoring in international relations, economics and Asian studies, is one of 17 CSU students statewide to receive the $4,000 study abroad award. He will spend the next academic year at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. “I’m really interested in trying to get as much language training over there as possible,” Woo said, adding he’s taken four semesters of Mandarin at CSU, Chico. While in Taiwan, he plans to visit relatives near Hong Kong and immerse himself in his Chinese heritage. The Wang Family Scholarship was established in 2000 with a $1.2 million gift by CSU Trustee Emeritus Stanley T. Wang. The scholarship aims to prepare students for work and service in an international and interdependent world. Academic interest in China or Taiwan and financial need are among the criteria for selection. “Nicolas exemplifies a new generation of college student with multidisciplinary interests within a global context,” said CSU, Chico study abroad advisor Steve Wildhaber. “His year in Taipei will greatly strengthen his understanding of economics and international relations, while giving him a competitive edge in the job market after graduation.”
--Sarah Langford, CSU, Chico Public Affairs and Publications
Criminal justice student Rachel Brown was selected at the first ever recipient of the Margaret “Peggy” Conway Community Corrections Scholarship by the Civic Research Institute. Along with a cash grant of $1,000, Rachel received a complimentary set of reference books, as well as one-year complimentary print subscriptions to several periodicals. The Civic Research Institute is a publisher of reference and practice materials for professionals in law and government, behavioral health, banking and finance, taxation, education, and the social sciences.
Alumni Highlights
Criminal Justice alumna and CSU, Chico women’s track athlete Hayley Swanson graduated from the Alameda County Sheriff’s law enforcement academy in September 2014 and was hired by the Livermore Police Department.
Taylor Johnson, who earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in May 2015, was selected through a highly competitive application process for a Running Start Star Fellowship to work on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Running Start is an organization that works to bring young women into politics. For one semester, Star Fellows work with a female member of Congress, are trained by high-level political mentors, live in a house on Capital Hill with other Star Fellows, free of charge, and receive a $2000 stipend.
Lieutenant Colonel Eric N. Thompson, United States Marine Corps, who earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1996, was selected to serve as the Commandant of the Marine Corps Military Fellow at MIT's Security Studies Program for the fall 2014-spring 2015 school year.
Darion Johnston, who earned her Bachelor’s degree in political science and communication studies in May 2015, was one of 18 individuals selected to participate in the 2015-2016 California State Assembly Fellowship Program. The Assembly Fellowship Program, considered to be one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious legislative fellowship programs, gives fellows the opportunity to work full-time as a professional legislative staff member and participate in the California legislative process.
Alumnus Adam Henig, who received his Bachelor’s degree in 2002, has recently published his first book, Alex Haley’s Roots: An Author’s Odyssey. Henig’s book was independently published in 2014 and has been well reviewed, including a review by Publishers Weekly. Henig is currently working on a book about a doctor’s efforts to integrate Major League Baseball’s spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida.