Alumni Stories

Humboldt State University has been recognizing the achievements of alumni since 1960 when the University launched its annual Who’s Who Award. This year, we celebrate six alumni who have been recognized as leaders in their fields and have been outstanding contributors to their community, nation, or Humboldt State University.

Lynnette Zelezny (’79 Psychology, ‘81 M.A. Psychology) has just made history by becoming the first woman president of CSU Bakersfield.

It’s Friday night in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where locals are catching the latest episode of "Hello, Птича!" (“Hello, Little Bird!”), Kazakh broadcaster Novoe TV’s weekly English-lan

Over a 25 year career, Daniel Mandell ('79, History) has produced a body of work that tells the story of New England Native Americans from the time of first European contact through the forma

Graduation is always a special day. This year, commencement was especially meaningful for two alumni, who participated decades after they finished their educations at HSU.

Humboldt State University’s 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award winners are Kellie Johnson (’93, Political Science), Ken Pimlott (’88, Forest Resource Management), and Michael T. Rains (’68, Forestry Management, ’71 Watershed Management).

In the mid-2000s a small revolution took place within the transportation agencies that serve the students of Humboldt State University. Seemingly overnight, users had more control of their options

From a debut with the Mad River Philharmonic to performing at opera festivals in Italy, Anna Morris (’06, Music) is passionate about sharing her musical talent.

Raised in Arcata and educated at Humboldt and in France, Alex Ozaki-McNeill (‘15, French & Francophone Studies) is using her love of community to help bring big business to one of Arcata’

Do you know an HSU alumnus or alumna who is doing amazing work? Nominate them for a 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award by Jan.

Two HSU alumni who own Moonstone Crossing Winery in Trinidad, Calif., want to find a cure for cancer. And they’re investing in HSU students to do it.

A zombie invasion and natural disasters, it turns out, have more in common than meets the eye. And one HSU alumna is using that connection to raise awareness of potential catastrophes in Southern

Du Cheng (‘11, Biology) is among 30 recipients of the prestigious Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, the premier graduate school fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants.

Jeffrey S. Navarro was known as a kindhearted mentor to many of his peers in the Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) program at HSU.

When Sarah Wilber (‘14, Communication, ‘16 M.B.A.) was growing up, it was her father who encouraged her to explore the world and seek new challenges. With this advice, Wilber came to Humboldt State. And for the last five years, she’s learned that keeping an open mind to new experiences is key to seizing life’s opportunities.

Leading people and caring for fish have a lot in common. Designing an office is like creating a fishpond; taking care of an office is like nurturing a habitat; and running a business is like fostering an ecosystem. This is the business world according to Po Chung (‘69 Fisheries Management), who founded and led DHL International and is now leading an effort to reform education in Hong Kong.

Leading people and caring for fish have a lot in common.

Humboldt State University has been recognizing the achievements of alumni since 1960 when it launched its annual Who’s Who Award. Distinguished alumni are individuals recognized as leaders in their fields, and/or outstanding contributors to their community, nation, or Humboldt State University. Here are this year's winners.

HSU Humboldt Made Membership

Local firefighters and law enforcement officers are benefiting from a fitness program developed by Kinesiology Professor Young Sub Kwon. Read about it in the fall edition of Humboldt magazine.

More than 300 new HSU students and family members joined Forever Humboldt for Send-Off parties throughout the state. Chatting with alumni, new Lumberjacks gained valuable information on local