Outstanding Student of the Year (Academic)

William Randolph Hearst Scholar Julia Jones (Sociology & Native American Studies) is committed to community service and working for various projects that serve Native American youth. She also has demonstrated a wide spectrum of knowledge about Native American history and contemporary issues throughout her work. She has been an indispensable teaching assistant for Native American Studies, helping students navigate their first year of school and providing opportunities for students to further engage with Native American Studies curriculum by leading discussions and contributing to their classroom experiences. Jones led group discussions at Graton Rancheria’s online writing camp for Native youth, who wrote personal essays designed to educate people about Native American history. Jones has also mentored and tutored Hoopa Valley High School math students and created activities as a summer youth worker for Hoopa Valley Child Development.

Outstanding Student of the Year (Co-curricular)

An enrolled Hoopa tribal member (also Yurok/Karuk), Princess Jincton Colegrove (Environmental Studies) has been a mentor at Two Feathers Native American Family Services, a camp planner for Hoopa Tribal Education, an intern for Hoopa Tribal Fisheries, and a guest speaker for the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services. She has been a senior park aide and interpreter at Sue-meg State Park, where she has taught visitors about Native history and uses of the land. Her commitment to Humboldt has been demonstrated through her work with the Department of Child Development department on an ACEs Aware grant and the Ka’m-t’em Speaker Series, as well as her participation in Indian Teacher & Educational Personnel Program and curriculum programs for youth. She was an invited speaker for “Hidden Heroes of the Environment,” an environmental speaker series hosted by Wade Crowfoot, California’s Secretary of Natural Resources

Eileen Cashman (‘84, Environmental Resources Engineering), professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at Cal Poly Humboldt, has 25 years of experience teaching environmental engineering courses. Cashman worked in Electric Resource Planning at PG&E, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, and James Madison University. She is currently a co-lead for the Polytechnic Curriculum & Academic Programs Working Group with Provost Jenn Capps, and has been instrumental in helping the University plan and launch 27 new polytechnic programs, which will be implemented by 2029.

Jason Ramos (‘98, Kinesiology, ‘14 M.S. Kinesiology) is a Tribal council member for Blue Lake Rancheria, liaison for matters of education, energy, and economic development, and Tribal administrator. He has been committed to advancing tribal strategy, policy, programs, and investments in infrastructure and economic enterprise in collaboration with other tribes, as well as federal, state, and local governments and agencies. He supports University research through his Jason M. Ramos Endowment for Kinesiology Research and stewardship of the Blue Lake Rancheria Fellowship for Clean Energy Studies at the Schatz Energy Research Center.

Nichole Muñoz-Murillo serves as deputy legislative secretary in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. She advises on legislation impacting childcare, K-12, and higher education. Before joining the Administration, Muñoz-Murillo served as assistant vice chancellor of Advocacy & State Relations (ASR) for the California State University. During her tenure at the ASR office, she was the architect of several award-winning advocacy campaigns. She has been a staunch supporter of Cal Poly Humboldt, and in her role at ASR, she helped build support at the state level.

Gary Rynearson (‘78, Forest Production Management), a Forestry instructor, was the president of the Natural Resources Management Corporation for 20 years. He was appointed to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection by governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a manager for the Green Diamond Resource Company, he helped pass legislation that allowed for thinning of North Coast forests and supported the reintroduction of the California condor in the lower Klamath-Redwood Creek area. He has also directly impacted the development of an entire generation of forestry graduates.

Walter James Lara, Sr. is a respected spiritual leader and wisdom keeper of the Yurok Tribal people and recognized as a Native cultural and political luminary among Tribal Nations throughout California.

“I will always be thankful for the choices that Walt and others like him made to hold on to and outspokenly protect the ceremonial places, the Yurok values, and expertise in so many areas of Yurok life and ceremony,” Yurok Education Department Director Jim McQuillen says. “I am even more grateful for his tireless efforts to pass on the knowledge that he learned from his elders and how he continues to teach, share, and work with the next generations.”

Lara has invested in establishing and nurturing partnerships with Cal Poly Humboldt. As a forester for the Yurok Tribe, Lara and his team guest-lectured in the Department of Forestry & Wildland Resources for several years. He has guest-lectured on topics such as Native American art of the North Coast and environmental justice.

Lara is actively involved in student-led activities on campus such as American Indian College Motivation Day, California Indian Big Time & Social Gathering, and Indigenous Peoples Week. He is an advocate of higher education, and his children have earned degrees from Humboldt.

Those who know Lara say that “his body of work has influenced generations of scholars, leaders, and community members across social, cultural, political, and governmental spheres.” Lara’s contributions to the Yurok Tribe, surrounding community, and Cal Poly Humboldt epitomize meaningful, life-long service that represents the mission of California State University.

Betty Kwan Chinn is a local philanthropist and hero for her work helping the homeless.

In 2010, Chinn was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian honor in the country, by then-President Barack Obama, who praised her effort and success in “renewing America’s promise by serving those in need.”

Chinn was 7 when her family was violently forced from their home in China during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. She endured untold physical and mental abuse, torture, and near starvation until she escaped to Hong Kong four years later. After emigrating to the United States, she took refuge with relatives in California, later marrying retired Humboldt Physics Professor Leung Chinn and raising two sons in Eureka. One day when she noticed that one of her son’s classmates was living out of the family car, Chinn started sending extra food to school for the family, and her service to the community began.

Today, the Betty Kwan Chinn Homeless Foundation consists of Chinn’s Day Center, offering transitional housing and employment and family services; Betty’s House, a 32-bed family shelter; Betty’s Blue Angel Village, a temporary housing shelter built from shipping containers; Betty’s Annex, a women and children’s center that opened during the pandemic; Betty’s Showers, a public shower facility; and Betty’s Blue Angel Outreach, which provides wraparound services for hard-to-reach individuals in need of specialty services.

Chinn is a visionary leader and an inspiration to the entire Humboldt community. She calls every day an opportunity to give back, a gift in itself.