Throughout the Spring 2017 semester, I conducted my service learning at the Sunny Brae Middle School afterschool program. Using my experience from the Environmental Studies program, I led an environmental art class where students learned the importance of frameworks by looking giving a critical look at photographers work and also putting what they learned to practice by taking photos of their own. I hope that knowing how frameworks operate will allow the students to be critical about the produced world around them.

Serving in the community is a proven way for students to build a sense of belonging on campus and throughout the greater community while applying the things they are learning in their courses. As an intern in the Center for Service Learning and Academic Internships I have been able to put into practice the commitment to social justice and diversity from Sociology and the skills in Social Advocacy, Community Organizing, and service through nonprofit organizations through participation through training in activism at Berkely, creating the Humboldt Cares Club, and recruiting volunteers for the needs of Humboldt County.

Social judgments of faces predict important social outcomes, including leadership decisions. Some studies have even linked these face preferences to actual election outcomes, within one second using just facial cues. Facial dominance and trustworthiness have context-specific effects on leadership decisions, with facial cues linked to dominance being preferred in hypothetical wartime scenarios and facial cues linked to trustworthiness being preferred in hypothetical peacetime scenarios. Here, we report a conceptual replication of Spisak et al. (2012), using only female faces that vary naturally in perceived trustworthiness and dominance.

Interacting with cashiers is commonplace for most Americans. This study included exploration of the nature of customer-cashier interactions. The overarching finding was that social attitudes and expectations for cashiers create a climate in which cashiers are dehumanized and vulnerable. Ultimately, cashiers are expected to maintain a polite, enthusiastic, robotic persona while rules of conduct for customers are mostly unrestrictive. The results exhibit the importance of paying attention to one’s own attitudes and behaviors toward workers. Cashiers are human and attempting to look beyond their “customer service personas” is important to foster positive socialization and environments.

This project was part of a senior seminar course credit in pursuit of a Recreation Administration degree, and stemmed from a deep devotion and love of outdoor recreation. With a core focus around financial accessiblity and engagement with local outdoor recreation, I wanted to create a visually appealing and readily available map displaying these locations in relativity to the Cal Poly Humboldt campus. All locations allow students, visitors, and community members to engage with nature-based activities without the burden of high costs or extensive travel. This project not only reflects my passion for equitable outdoor access but also represents a personal and professional growth experience.

With support from the NCAA and U.S. Department of Defense, the North Coast Concussion Program (NCCP) has embarked on a groundbreaking two year study of the history and impact of concussions among NCAA athletes. This multi-institution study is aimed at understanding the neurobiological and psychosocial nature of concussive injury and recovery for the purpose of enhancing the safety and health of collegiate student-athletes, service members, youth sports athletes and the broader public. At Humboldt State, faculty and students of the NCCP work together to conduct baseline and post injury monitoring of neurocognitive, motor control, and behavioral data in about 450 athletes from all sports.

This project aims to demonstrate to educators about students being a product of their own environment by observing the Humboldt Office of Education’s-Court Community Schools’ classroom environments. These observations will be compared to a variety of different learning styles that work best with at-risk youth. These learning styles would be recommended ways for educators to help bridge the gap between at-risk students’ academic and social skills in traditional-learning classroom settings.

During the summer of 2019, I was given the opportunity to participate in the HSU Tibet program under the direction of Anthony Rossi. The program is set up to allow each student a chance to conduct field observations of various topics. My focus, as a Religious Studies major, was set to learn about the various ritualistic practices unique to Tibet Buddhist. The ritual that I have chosen to focus on is the Tibetan Buddhist Cham, a festival dance that we observed in Drigung on June 30. My goal is that my project gives a comprehensive understanding of the religious goals of this ritual through an analysis of the dance formation, history, and meanings to its community.

We collaborated with Dr. Bayan at Waterfront Recovery Services to create a post-discharge safety plan for patients. The safety plan will be used and implemented on each individual client to reduce substance use and create a life of sobriety.

Evidence suggests a lack of reintegration services in rural Humboldt County. In an effort to understand the disconnect between the clients and the services, we will conduct focus groups and interviews with current inmates at Humboldt County Correctional Facility, service providers and ex-offenders. We aim to promote communication between both parties that will ease the process of reentry and inhibit recidivism through empowerment and access to necessary resources. This research will serve as a guide in the planning and development of the new rehabilitation center. We will also create an easily accessible resource guide and certificates of achievement for those reentering the community.