Alumni and Student Spotlights
Alumni


For alumna Maritza Fuerte, the opportunity to work hands-on in the biomedical engineering industry has defined her SJSU experience. Having earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SJSU, Fuerte realized early on that her studies were closely aligned with what employers are looking for in Silicon Valley.

San Jose Legends: Rod Diridon launched the city’s light rail but got into transit by accident
Rod Diridon, alumnus of SJSU's statistics graduate program, had a train station named after him and was widely renowned as the “father” of Silicon Valley’s modern transit system. In Latin, "Diri" means direction and "doni" means giver, so Diridon's career has been quite fitting.

Alumna Accepts New Leadership Role as Distance Education Administrator
Teri Faught, an alumna of the MA in educational administration program at SJSU, has been offered the position of distance education administrator for the Mountain View Los Altos High School district. In her role, Faught will support schools with online education and distance learning. Faught previously served as assistant principal for Mountain View High School.

MPA Alumnus Combats Homelessness Amidst Pandemic
Darius Brown, a Masters in Public Administration alumnus, has been working to support homeless community members as part of the City of San Jose’s Housing Department. We asked him how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted his work, as well as how his MPA degree has contributed to his career in public service.

Alumna Ashley Hall Forges Path into Medicine through Biomedical Engineering
Ashley Hall found her way into biomedical engineering after completing her degree in materials science and engineering at the University of California, Merced. Though nervous about starting an M.S. program in a new discipline upon arrival at SJSU, Hall became more enthralled with the multifaceted nature of the field from each course she took.

NASA engineer developing technology for missions to moon, Mars
Ali Guarneros Luna, mother of four, went back to school to make her childhood dream a reality. Today she's an engineer at NASA working on small satellite technology.
Current Students

Samuel Semahegn Uses Graduate Degree, Industry Experience to Engineer a Better Life
"I developed a microfluidic system for sensitivity and continuous bacteria detection from aqueous solutions. In some parts of the world, they don’t have clean water, so we are doing research on how we [can] filter contaminated water by using this system. I’m from Ethiopia—that motivates me to do this research.”


Francesca Fanucchi: Creating a Bright Future in Justice Studies
"As a child, I struggled in school, often being labelled as lazy and unmotivated. I felt inferior, inadequate, undisciplined, and hopelessly disorganized. I never envisioned attending university. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sensory processing disorder that I was able to understand and address these struggles. I am [now in] the final year of my Master’s degree in Justice Studies...I hope my experience encourages other students with learning disabilities to achieve their goals in higher education and reach their full potential."

Graduate Equity Fellowship An ‘Absolute Godsend’ Says iSchool Recipient
October 6, 2020
The School of Information proudly announces that Erin Mundy, a student enrolled in the Master of Library and Information Science degree program, was awarded a $4,000 Graduate Equity Fellowship sponsored by the College of Graduate Studies at San José State University.
Kinesiology student takes first place in Lightning Talk Competition
November 13, 2020
Annie Ronning took first place in the Lightning Talk Competition at the inaugural Institute for the Study of Sport, Society, and Social Change virtual conference: “Dream with Your Eyes Open: (Re)Imagining Sport in the Age of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.” The event was designed “to continue the legacy of equity and social justice by addressing the issues and challenges in sport,” according to the program’s webpage. In her Lightning Talk, Ronning presented research on increasing cultural competency in athletic training education.
SJSU Students Use Data to Help Serve City’s Most Vulnerable Communities
August 11, 2021
Saritha Podali, ’22 MS Data Analytics, and Fengling Zhou, ’22 MS Data Analytics, collaborated on a data project to assist the City of San José in allocating resources to local communities. The result? An interactive map that highlights exactly which communities could use greater support.