Cowell College
’77 William CASS’s short story collection, Something Like Hope & Other Stories, was recently released by Wising Up Press. After graduating as a literature/creative writing major, Cass has gone on over the years to publish over 250 short stories in a wide variety of literary magazines and anthologies. He has received one Best Small Fictions nomination, three Pushcart Prize nominations, and has won writing contests at Terrain.org and The Examined Life Journal.
’88 Hammon P. ACUNA was promoted to chief operating officer at Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc., where he has worked for over 14 years. He has lived in Silverlake/Los Angeles Calif., since 2004. Hammon celebrated his 24th anniversary in July with his husband, Jeffrey Muehl. Their 11-year old daughter, Lola, started middle school at Immaculate Heart in August of 2021. Lola has already expressed an interest in becoming a UCSC Banana Slug, Class of 2032!
’91 Cathy FRASER notes that Bay Area folks were right—LA is not the Bay Area. But, she writes, “we have built an amazing life and are so grateful for all the blessings. Wonder if BA folks have changed much?”
Stevenson College
’70 Kathleen KELLY/Sullivan worked in nonprofit arts after NYU work, then as a special ed teacher in the Monterey area. She retired twice and moved to Nipomo, Calif., last year. She writes, “Would love to see old friends!”
Merrill College
’18 Jett PETTUS joined Columbia Business School as a research associate, and then the National Bureau of Economic Research as a research assistant. She will be starting her Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, where she will be supported by a National Science Foundation Economics Fellowship. She plans to study industrial organization and public economics.
Kresge College
’95 Yasmine MAHDAVI‘s debut book, Roots in Iran: Stories of Visionary Women, was published in September 2021.
’98 Katie MORROW founded and leads the Santa Cruz–based international nonprofit Limitless Horizons Ixil, which was awarded the international UNESCO Literacy Prize on September 9. Limitless Horizons Ixil is one of six global laureates to receive the prize in honor of its innovative approach to literacy programming during COVID-19 in the rural indigenous village of Chajul, Guatemala, home to the Maya Ixil people.
’99 Reyna GRANDE was awarded the 2021 Latino Spirit Award for Achievement in Literature and Advocacy by the California Latino Legislative Caucus. The Latino Spirit Awards were established in 2002 at the State Capitol in Sacramento to highlight positive role models within the diverse Latino community. Every year, the Caucus honors Latinos/as in a variety of categories that range from athletics/sports, to public service and human rights.
Porter College
’91 (also Ph.D. ’02) Jonathan Likeke SCHEUER‘S book Water and Power in West Maui was published in June 2021. This volume will be of interest to scholars and historians, and a must-read for practitioners in water management and control, and contemporary environmental and indigenous struggles in Hawai‘i and the Pacific.
’95 Brian CHAREST‘s new book, Civic Literacy in Schools and Communities: Teaching and Organizing for a Revitalized Democracy, is now available. Charest is an assistant professor at the University of Redlands.
’05 Matilda STUBBS‘s research on autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, and “slime” culture was featured on the cover of Anthropology News. The ethnographic article “Slimefulness as Self-Care” explores the ways that sensory play and social media can promote mental health and semiotically examines the global subculture of “slimers,” young and old.
Oakes College
’16 Sheah DEILAMI-NUGENT worked as a research associate for Innovations for Poverty Action in Tanzania, and then as a pre-doctoral fellow at Stanford University. She will be starting her Ph.D. in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at UC Berkeley this fall. She plans to study development, political economy, and labor.
Rachel Carson College
’92 Christian MARSH, an attorney who specializes in energy and resources at Downey Brand, was honored as a 2021 Northern California Super Lawyer. Super Lawyers awards attorneys from more than 70 practice areas who excel in their respective fields of law.
’12 Lauren Yoshiko TERRY helped put together the inaugural issue of Broccoli Magazine, a fashion- and art-centric magazine for people who love cannabis that’s met global acclaim. She now co-hosts Broccoli’s podcast, Broccoli Talk, and writes a weekly industry newsletter for creative entrepreneurs in cannabis and hemp called The Broccoli Report. She writes, “The values and skills I acquired while at UCSC played a huge role in me following my instincts, despite traditional societal norms, in diving into this industry, and in fueling me to create an independent source for quality journalism positioned to help small businesses compete with big dogs, and win.”
College Nine
’04 Ashley WILCOX‘s experience of learning at UCSC led to her ministry and writing career. Her book, The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible throughout the Year, was published by Westminster John Knox Press in August 2021. “The creativity that is everywhere in UCSC inspired me to approach old forms with new energy,” she wrote. “This is exactly what I have tried to do with my book.” The book highlights the stories of women in the Bible and feminine images of God.
Graduate Studies
’18 Vanshika FOTEDOR (M.S. applied economics) accepted an offer of admission to the economics Ph.D. program at USC. She had been working at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a Senior Research Economist, focusing on the economics of energy storage.
’18 Cebe LOOMIS (M.F.A. social documentation) launched, with a business partner, Candid Fare, a platform that explores the creative relationship between food and art to reveal the shared humanity in our food systems. The new business, she writes, “is in direct conversation with my UCSC MFA program and builds upon the education I received as a graduate student.” Candid Fare fosters an environment that appreciates the diversity of food and the personal stories of those people involved in their systems.
In Memoriam
Marc AARENS (Cowell ’69), a member of the Pioneer Class of UCSC, died in June 2020. Aarens was very active and involved with his UCSC community. He was one of the original Alumni Association members, a loyal UCSC donor, and a faithful presence at Alumni Weekends throughout the years.