Alumni Spotlight Archives
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: POLITICAL SCIENCE FIRSTGEN ENDOWED INTERNSHIP AWARD
First-generation political science (POSC) majors can now receive financial support for completing an internship within the political science field. The POSC FirstGen Endowed Internship Award has been made possible by a generous endowment created by Dr. Ronald (Ron) Schmidt and Rosemary Taylor Schmidt. The award fund will start making awards to students in the Spring 2023 semester.
As first-generation college students themselves, Ron and Rosemary are grateful for the support they received from earlier generations of California taxpayers. They are both highly motivated to “pay it forward.” Ron and Rosemary both had long careers at CSULB and developed a deep love for the campus and its students. Rosemary was in Student Affairs, advising the Political Science Student Association, and after Ron became the faculty advisor to the same group, they became friends as well as colleagues. Ron and Rosemary have now been married for forty-one years. Throughout their marriage, Ron and Rosemary have been donors to several units on the CSULB campus, as well as to UC Riverside, where Ron earned his Ph.D., and where they started a “pay it forward” scholarship fund for first-generation UCR political science students.
Read more about the Political Science FirstGen Endowed Internship Award
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MICHAEL ANASTASI
Michael Anastasi, Region Editor of the USA Today and VP of the Tennessean
Few twelve-year old kids subscribe to Time Magazine, but CSULB alumni Michael Anastasi did. Perhaps this early interest led Anastasi to his current role as editor-in-chief of the Tennessean in Nashville and editor of the South Region of the USA TODAY Network. While Anastasi now lives in Nashville, he is still involved in the CSULB community and has not forgotten his home state of California.
Anastasi graduated from the Department of Journalism in 2001 and was an editor for the Daily 49er newspaper. However, before becoming part of The Beach community, he was a student at UC Davis, majoring in international relations. At the local newspaper, Anastasi was quickly recognized for his natural talent for journalism. Anastasi accredits this to always being subscribed to papers growing up, believing he “learned through osmosis how to organize news stories.” After receiving the job, he joined the CSULB community to continue his education.
Read more about Michael Anastasi.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: YOHO FAMILY
The Yoho family are multi-generational CSULB alumni, consisting of Steve Yoho, his wife Nancy, and their two kids Dan and Alison. Steve graduated from the College of Business with a degree in finance in 1982, while Nancy graduated in 1981 from the College of Liberal Arts with a degree in Geography. Dan and Alison followed their mother into the geography field, graduating in ’08 and ’13, respectively. Alison also earned an M.S. in Geography in 2016. Multiple generations of CSULB graduates inspired them to establish the Yoho Family Student Award, which awards financial aid to deserving Geography majors in their junior or senior year.
Read more about the Yoho Family
Community Spotlight
Joan Roberts and Honoring Dr, Edwin Roberts
Dr. Edwin Roberts was a beloved professor at CSULB in the Political Science department. He loved his job, and his colleagues expect that he would still be doing it to this day if he had not passed in 2005. Dr. Roberts was gone too soon, but his memory is not forgotten.
Dr. Roberts is survived by his family and his sister, Joan Roberts.
To honor his legacy, Joan became a part of the extended CSULB community by creating an endowed scholarship for students in the Political Science Department. The scholarship is titled the Edwin A. Roberts Memorial Endowed Award. It awards students in their Junior or Senior year and is based on scholastic achievement. Recipients must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.