Alumni Profiles

When Elizabeth Pimentel ('00, Spanish, Business Administration) walks onto the court at Chase Center in San Francisco, where more than 18,000 fans cheer on the Golden State Warriors, she feels electrified. The loud cheering and applause cover the sound of the music, and her nerves peak. Using only her memory, she performs a dance routine for the Warriors' Hardwood Classics, an official dance team for the NBA's Golden State Warriors made up of members who are age 55 or older.

"It's a wonderful experience. It is an incredible craft that we can execute. It's such a joyful way of bringing cheers to the stadium because people don't expect to see these 55 to 80-year-olds bring this much energy. Everyone there is genuinely happy, loves to dance, and we all love the Golden State Warriors," Pimentel says.

Pimentel's road to the Golden State Warriors Hardwood Classics dance team began at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she discovered her inner strength to persevere through anything she set her mind to.

Born in the United States but raised in Mexico, Pimentel believed she was Mexican until the U.S. government summoned her to return at 18, disrupting her plans to study civil engineering. Moving to Eureka, where her father worked in the lumber industry, she faced challenges, including her limited English skills. Enrolling at College of the Redwoods and later attending Humboldt, she initially pursued mathematics. However, after becoming pregnant, she happily stepped away to focus on motherhood.

Years later, she returned to Humboldt and thrived as a part-time student and as an employee. She worked in admissions and student recruitment. While studying part-time, supported by colleagues, and discovering evening classes in the Spanish department.

Her work in admissions grew to leadership in international student recruitment, where she proposed expansion efforts. Supported by University leadership, Pimentel helped establish partnerships with universities abroad, including exchange programs in Oaxaca, Mexico and China.

Through her work, Pimentel formed long-lasting friendships with faculty members who became her mentors. Professors like Lilianet Brintrup and Rosamel Benavides-Garb played pivotal roles in her journey. Together, they organized Humboldt's first International Conference, which gathered experts on Alexander von Humboldt and travel literature.

She continued balancing her career growth with her passion for dance, a lifelong hobby that provided a much-needed outlet.

"Dance was my therapy," Pimentel says. "While at Humboldt, I took Middle Eastern dance and Folklorico ballet. Dance allowed me to be myself."

In 2006, Pimentel and her husband moved to the Bay Area so he could pursue his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley.

Eventually, her love for sports blossomed into a passion for basketball, and the Golden State Warriors became a passion. Then, her passion for the Warriors and dance beautifully merged when she auditioned for the Hardwood Classics dance team in 2023. For two seasons now, Pimentel has poured her heart into every performance, dancing alongside her team at Chase Center.

Chris Manning ('90, Journalism) is deeply passionate about the art of storytelling through sound. His career has involved performing at Wembley Stadium, creating immersive soundscapes for iconic scenes like "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Guardians of the Galaxy," and recording Santana's 1999 album "Supernatural."

"Whether I'm telling a movie story with sound or whether I'm telling a story through a musical recording, it's all about shaping and designing the quality of sound you want and how it resonates emotionally with you. I use lots of sound tools like equalizers, compressors, delays, or reverbs to give a scene or song a sense of space, a sense of setting, and meaning. It's my favorite thing to do because it allows me to be the most creative I can be. I can really bring a lot of life, vibe, and emotion out of those performances and help tell the story," Manning says.

The sense of community, the depth of friendships, and the beauty of nature at Cal Poly Humboldt left a lasting impact. Manning cherishes the deep and genuine connections he formed, including meeting his wife, Dyer Passano-Manning ('91, Psychology).

"Humboldt was the best choice ever. Every time I wasn't in class, I was immersed in nature—fishing, hiking, camping. The people were real and encouraging, and the friendships I made were deep and meaningful. The connection to the land and people really shaped who I am today," he says.

One of his most impactful classes was Native American Studies with Jack Norton, which introduced him to local Tribes and their deep-rooted ecological knowledge.

"It opened my eyes to a truth I hadn't been taught growing up," Manning says.

He remains an advocate for Indigenous-led environmental efforts, having worked on "Bring Them Home," a film about Native Tribes restoring buffalo herds in Montana and "Artifishal," an environmental documentary about salmon restoration on the Klamath River, a subject close to his heart due to his time spent fishing and learning from local fisheries professors at Humboldt.

But it was his experience as a musician playing the bass in local bands that Manning quickly found his passion for sound engineering and music production.

After graduating, Manning pursued a career as a musician, touring with bands across the U.S. and Europe, and even making appearances on MTV. Later, he became a sound recording and mixing engineer at The Plant and Fantasy Studios. Eventually, he transitioned into the world of film and began working at Skywalker Sound, where he currently applies his audio expertise to post-production and sound design. He's worked on major projects like Marvel's newest film "Thunderbolts," Disney'

s live-action "Mulan," and "Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny," focusing on Foley sound—recording real-world sounds that bring characters and scenes to life.

Manning continues to draw inspiration from the natural world and the lessons he learned at Humboldt, blending his love for sound and storytelling.

U.S. Army Maj. Patrick Sorensen ('06, Chemistry) gained national attention when his portrait, featuring him with long hair and ceremonial Native American feathers while in uniform, went viral.

He was inspired to request a religious accommodation to the men's dress code after attending an American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference. There, Sorensen connected with U.S. Air Force women from the Indigenous Nations Equality Team, who shared their experiences with religious accommodations for Native Americans in the Air Force. Motivated by their stories, Sorensen, who aspired to grow his hair longer than regulation, realized that seeking similar accommodations was possible.

Sorensen is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, a federally recognized Tribe in Oregon. He was taught that hair represents spirit and strength, and that eagle feathers are used to send his prayers to the Creator above, as the eagle flies highest in the sky. Sorensen wears his feathers in uniform to represent his fallen soldiers.

Now, as a Native American Army service member who has been given the exemption, he is helping others gain religious accommodations to do the same.

"When I requested the accommodation, I wanted to include the length of my hair and the eagle feathers. I understood that I wasn't just doing this for myself but for other Native service members who wish to do the same," Sorensen says.

As a child, he discovered a chemistry textbook and decided to read it, sparking his passion for the subject. He humorously refers to himself as a certified nerd for finding joy in reading a chemistry textbook.

With the support of Trio Upward Bound, a federally funded college preparatory program for low-income high school students, Sorensen attended Cal Poly Humboldt to study chemistry.

Several faculty members in the Chemistry department positively impacted Sorensen, including Professors William Golden, Robert Zoellner, and Kjirsten Wayman.

A key lesson from Golden that continues to resonate with Sorensen is the idea that scientific concepts and equations are limited in their ability to provide true understanding of the world.

"He emphasized that there is a great deal of mystery in the world, and it's essential to keep an open mind," Sorensen says. "This idea resonated with me, especially in the sciences, where we often strive to categorize everything neatly. Golden pointed out that this approach doesn't reflect reality. The truth is that the world is filled with mystery and confusion, and our goal is to create order to navigate through this fascinating world."

Sorensen's open-mindedness, inspired by Golden's insights, goes hand in hand with recognizing how important it was for him to honor his cultural and spiritual identity, challenging strict norms, especially in a military system that is typically neat and uniform.

After graduating from Cal Poly Humboldt, Sorensen enlisted in the Army. Since then, he has held many positions and is now a Marketing and Public Affairs Operations Officer for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Sorensen says the Army has been supportive, adding that the Army is dedicated to fostering an environment that encourages soldiers to reach their full potential, including accommodating their individual religious beliefs.

"They genuinely wanted me to be at my physical, mental, and spiritual best so that I could be the best soldier possible. There are many leaders like me throughout the force who are eager to support the next generation of soldiers and service members as they join. We are here to help them succeed," Sorensen says.

This spring, David White ('87, Art, '89, M.A. Art) was back on campus—paintbrush in hand, refreshing a legacy that's grown for more than three decades. He came, as he does every 10 years, to care for the space he created: the art hallway.

What began as a quiet artistic gesture in 1989 has become one of Cal Poly Humboldt's most beloved, living works of art. Known by generations of students, faculty, and alumni simply as "the art hallway," this immersive, evolving installation transformed a once-ordinary corridor into a place of wonder.

White first began creating the art hallway while pursuing his Master of Arts degree at Humboldt. The installation, he says, was an extension of a show, titled Davood's Garden, in a gallery just down the hall.

One night, he quietly installed a handmade door frame around the office of Art Professor Don Anton—the first seed planted in what would become a sprawling creative ecosystem.

With Anton's support, the hallway grew, and the campus community took notice.

Now, 35 years later, the hallway has become a place not just to view art, but an invitation to slow down. To breathe. Rounded doorways, a bench shaped from salvaged wood, and hand-built curves softening the building's rigid lines.

The installation was White's way of breaking up the monotony of stark white hallways and 90-degree angles with gentle curves, organic textures, and deeply personal details. Snakes wind subtly through the design, alongside crafted flowers and mementos collected from his travels.

One of his favorite elements is a former bulletin board—once a space for campus flyers and posters, it's now transformed into a tribute, bearing the names of fellow artists, custodians, and former professors like Anton and Art Professor Mark Johnson, a mentor to White.

While working on the hallway remains a fond memory from his time at Humboldt, the freedom and support White received from professors such as Johnson and Anton were impactful. He never felt boxed in as an artist and was able to work in various mediums.

After graduating, White spent nearly two decades in Japan, teaching English by day and making art by night. He worked in old factory spaces turned galleries, designing walkways and immersive exhibits. Now living in Humboldt County, White works as a carpenter and continues to create art, sometimes small wooden sculptures of people or creatures, a foot or two tall.

He finds constant inspiration in materials around him, working with mediums including paint, metal, and whatever he can get his hands on. As White's skills evolve, so does the art hallway. He's spent thousands of hours creating the installation, which he updates every decade or so, cleaning, repainting, and adding new touches.

"It's amazing how respectful people have been. I love watching it grow like a plant in the woods. The work tells me what it wants and needs. There's so much joy in working this way, White says.