Benjamin Canfield-Hershkowitz, Giuliana Magnasco and Jacob Williams are three Cal Poly soon-to-be graduates who have had unique college experiences.
Celina Oseguera
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Fall graduation is here and some seniors are preparing to leave Cal Poly for good.
Six soon-to-be graduates, one from each of the academic colleges, reminisced about their time at Cal Poly and pondered what their futures would hold.
College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED): Jacob Williams
Construction management senior Jacob Williams’ journey to Cal Poly was not a straight shot.
It took a few breaks and community college quarters before he landed in San Luis Obispo.
After high school, Williams spent a quarter at his local community college. When the quarter ended, he decided to travel for two years. He visited Canada, Jamaica and Mexico.
“It was probably the best experience of my life,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t trade taking those two years for anything.”
Williams returned to his local community college after his trip, but after completing two years there, he decided to live in Hawaii for six months. There he applied to four-year universities, including Cal Poly, and was accepted.
During his time at Cal Poly, Williams was involved in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design Ambassadors Program.
Williams also competed in national competitions with construction management groups such as the National Association of Homebuilders, which won the 2013 International Builders Show.
Though he arrived at Cal Poly later than others, he managed to impact campus all the same.
He had quite an impact on Raymond Ladd, CAED Ambassadors Program and Special Projects coordinator.
“You hate to see your members move on — but, at the same time, you are happy for them,” Ladd said about Williams’ imminent graduation.
Williams already has a job lined up when he leaves Cal Poly as a project engineer at a construction company in the Bay Area.
“It’s been a great experience here at Cal Poly,” Williams said. “It’s been an incredible journey and I would not trade it for the world.”
Orfalea College of Business: Sophia Pennella
Although she would fall in love with it eventually, Cal Poly was not economics senior Sophia Pennella’s first choice.
Unsure of Cal Poly at first, she fell head over heels as soon as she set foot on campus.
“It felt right as soon as I came here,” Pennella said.
After her visit, Pennella wanted to join the Cal Poly family. She applied and was accepted.
Pennella plans to attend graduate school for environmental economics and natural resource management.
But, before she could think about life after graduation, Pennella had another topic on her mind — her senior project.
For economic majors, the senior project is a research paper.
Luckily for her, Pennella’s minors — French, photography and geography — gave her extra information to put in the paper.
She also received help from friends, family and faculty.
“It felt like this culmination of all the resources I had at Cal Poly were coming together for this ultimate assignment,” Pennella said.
One of those resources was economics area chair Stephen Hamilton.
“He has been incredibly supportive and such a great professor my entire time here,” Pennella said of Hamilton.
Hamilton had nothing but good things to say about Pennella.
“She is someone who will have a lot of success in the future,” he said.
With her Cal Poly career nearly over Pennella had one last thing to say.
“Just for anybody reading this, just cherish your time here because it’s a really special place,” she said.
College of Engineering: Benjamin Canfield-Hershkowitz
Some students receive a Cal Poly acceptance letter and proceed to complete necessary tasks like signing up for meal plans or choosing housing.
That was not the case for mechanical engineering senior Benjamin Canfield-Hershkowitz.
“I was in a unique situation,” Canfield-Hershkowitz said. “I was put on a waitlist for Cal Poly. So, I wrote a letter saying how cool it would be if they let me into Cal Poly.”
Writing the letter bumped him higher on the list and even prompted the vice president of admissions to call him personally.
He wanted to say yes, but had to take care of some other business first.
“I had already planned to go to UC Irvine and got housing there so I had to figure out if I could drop out of all that first,” Canfield-Hershkowitz said.
He was able to cut loose ends with Irvine and attend Cal Poly instead.
During his time at Cal Poly, Canfield-Hershkowitz was an avid member — and eventually the president — of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He was also a member of Phi Sigma Kappa.
Canfield-Hershkowitz plans to join the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program when he graduates. After training in this program, he’ll work underwater in submarines.
With graduation around the corner, Canfield-Hershkowitz’s professors could not help but imagine what class would be like without him.
“I hope he gets replaced by someone like him,” mechanical engineering associate professor Jim LoCascio said.
College of Science and Mathematics: Lauren Barnett
After high school, kinesiology senior Lauren Barnett had a few prospective colleges on her list. One of them was Cal Poly.
When she visited Cal Poly during the Poly Royal event, those other colleges went out the window.
“Everyone was just so welcoming and friendly and I did not get that feeling at any other school,” Barnett said.
She then decided Cal Poly was the right choice for her.
During her time on campus Barnett was intensely involved in the kinesiology department. She was a part of the kinesiology student council and played a large role in academic collaborations between the department and outside groups.
Kinesiology professor Kevin Taylor was the person responsible for starting both the student council and the collaborations between students and outside groups like the North County Sports Recreation Program.
When he needed a student to help spearhead both projects, he turned to Barnett. He had faith in her leadership skills.
“Whenever I need a good ambassador for the department and somebody wants me to send a student, Lauren is one of the first people I think of,” he said.
Along with helping in both projects, Barnett volunteered her time at the children’s center on campus and worked as a student assistant in the kinesiology department.
Barnett expressed both excitement and sadness about her upcoming graduation. The sadness stemmed from her realization that she would leave people behind.
“I think I’m going to miss my friends that I’ve made,” she said. “I have two roommates that are like my best friends here.”
But, her excitement about applying to nursing programs and the prospect of snagging a job in Ventura, Calif. after graduation made leaving Cal Poly seem less painful.
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science: Kyle Alexander Anderson
The fact that college students have to divide their time between social life and academics is hard enough. But, Kyle Alexander Anderson — a recreation, parks and tourism administration (RPTA) major — had an additional section of his life that demanded his time.
His extra time went to training with a professional minor league baseball team during his final two years at Cal Poly.
Anderson started at Cal Poly like many others. He applied during his senior year and began after he graduated high school.
He was also signed on to the Mustangs baseball team his first year of college.
Although both milestones — getting accepted by Cal Poly and the baseball team — were exciting for Anderson, the real journey began during his fourth year at the university.
With only three quarters left to graduate, Anderson was contacted by a baseball scout.
“After my senior season, one of the scouts got ahold of me and asked if I’d like to play for the Blue Jays organization and there was no hesitation,” Anderson said. “It was a pretty easy answer.”
School was put on hold during spring training and baseball season, but Anderson was determined to finish the remaining credits for his RPTA degree.
During his two years with the minor baseball program, Anderson spent both offseasons at the Cal Poly campus, attempting to finish his degree.
“I admire him for not wavering once on the decision to come back and get his degree, as he was very committed to doing so,” Brian Greenwood, associate professor of the RPTA department and Anderson’s senior project adviser, said in an email.
Anderson finished his education just in time for fall graduation.
Even with the excitement of earning his degree and the prospect of playing in the major leagues after college, Anderson could not help but think of what he would miss after graduation.
“Once you move on it’s kind of sad just because you have so many memories here and you might not see the people that you are used to seeing anymore,” he said.
But, Anderson said, he will still come to campus after graduation. He plans on using the on-campus facilities during the minor league baseball offseasons.
College of Liberal Arts: Giuliana Magnasco
Some students’ educations end with Cal Poly. They then go on to the workforce, or elsewhere. That was not the case with history senior Giuliana Magnasco.
In fact, she has already sent out applications to law schools, but Magnasco has yet to decide where she will go.
“I am interested in Pepperdine right now, but I am just keeping my options open right now,” she said.
Magnasco’s Cal Poly journey began when she was accepted by the university during her senior year of high school.
During her time on campus, Magnasco was introduced to the Safer program by associate history professor Christina Firpo.
“I was involved with a few different clubs, but the main one was Safer,” she said. “That one really influenced what I wanted to do with my future career.”
The program’s focus on violence and abuse prevention was a topic of interest for Magnasco, according to Morris.
“I have also been very impressed with her commitment to using the study of law to end violence,” he said in an email.
Magnasco was also involved in this line of study and work when she interned at the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Division at the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, Morris said in the same email.
With graduation around the corner, Magnasco had one piece of advice to share with students.
“Get involved with something and try out different things,” she said, “I found out what I wanted to do and I think that is just because I took that initiative.”