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Press Releases | Spotlights
A Full Circle (and Global) Moment for Peter Hansen ’18
Pitzer College alumnus Peter Hansen ’18 has received the two-year Presidential Management Fellowship to work for the United States African Development Foundation. He will serve as a grants management specialist, helping invest directly in African grassroots organizations and social entrepreneurs. A seasoned globetrotter, Hansen has lived in four countries besides the U.S. “Included within my role is the opportunity to travel to Africa multiple times a year. I spent the first six years of my life in Lagos, Nigeria, and have not been back to the continent since 2002. This feels like a full circle moment!”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Taps Michele Siqueiros ’95 for Advisory Team
Pitzer College alumna and trustee Michele Siqueiros ’95 is making history as an advisor to Los Angeles’ first female mayor, Karen Bass. Siqueiros numbers among 103 members of Bass’ transition team—headed by civil and labor rights leader Dolores Huerta as co-chair—for the mayor’s first 100 days in office. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the mayor’s transition team for the city I was born and raised in and love deeply!” said Siqueiros.
Protecting Vietnam Bears: Pitzer Alumni’s Research Culminates in an Herbal Recipes Book
In collaboration with Pitzer and Claremont Colleges alumni, Animals Asia, the Traditional Medical Association of Vietnam, and the Hive have published a book of local women’s herbal remedies. This book presents an alternative to the practice of bear bile farming that is harming the bear population in Vietnam. In October, the group hosted a launch party to celebrate printing 1,000 copies. “I’ve found Pitzer students to possess a keen curiosity for sustainability problem solving. They are drawn to programs like this Vietnam Health Design program because they get to imagine and work with local communities to design better futures while seeing the real-world constraints and needs.”
Madison Quan ’22 Earns 1,000th Point in Sagehens Women’s Basketball
Madison Quan ’22 netted her 1,000th career point as the Sagehens fell to SCIAC rival CMS 70-64 on Wednesday night at Voelkel Gymnasium at the Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Wellness.
A recent Pitzer alum and a current Claremont Graduate University student, Quan is playing this season on the Pomona-Pitzer women's basketball team after missing one year to Covid as an undergraduate.
Explore Pitzer’s Robust Study Abroad Programs With Sayjal Waddy ’07
Meet Sayjal Waddy ’07, Pitzer alumna and staff member in the Office of Study Abroad and International Programs. In this Q&A, she discusses the Pitzer-run study abroad programs in nine different countries and how their cultural immersion breaks learning out of the classroom silo. "You have classes, language learning, family stay, and trips. As you grow in your language ability, you better communicate with your family, which helps you improve your language and helps your independent study. One impacts the other. That’s how learning should be."
A Literary Arts Career: Pitzer Alumnus Quentin Ring ’01
As the executive director of Beyond Baroque, the oldest literary arts center in Los Angeles, Pitzer alumnus Quentin Ring ’01 nourishes creativity in all facets. Discover how Pitzer in Nepal’s cultural immersion, collaborations with Pitzer faculty, and creative passion launched Ring’s dream job. "At Pitzer, I felt empowered because I had close relationships with my professors to explore literary and artistic interests."
Earthwatch Award Supports Pitzer Alumna’s Caterpillar Research in Her Hometown in Thailand
Chanchanok Sudta ’18 has received the Neville Shulman Earthwatch Award to research the eating habits of Lepidoptera caterpillars and how environmental disturbances impact plant-insect networks. Sudta will work with young students and continue her international ecological research that was first inspired at Pitzer’s Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology. “If I went to a big university, I might not have had the chance to do research for 10 weeks in another country. I got to interact closely with professors. Many of them influenced how I show up in the program I’m in now.”
Pitzer Alumna Pursues Social Justice Through Black Radical Farming
Pitzer alumna Yaquana Williams ’21 described how her study abroad and environmental advocacy experience at Pitzer equipped her to support healthy nutrition in her hometown. For her senior thesis in Africana Studies, Williams examined how Black farming collectives across the African Diaspora nurture the land and local communities. She was inspired by Black farmers in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. “The farm spaces not only serve as places to get food but also community hubs. People can gather, be in tune with nature, and reclaim those spaces.”
Pitzer Alumna Saves the Planet One Grocery Store at a Time
Pitzer alumna Lily Simon ’15 made food and climate change the heart of her work after graduating as an environmental analysis major. She is an account manager at Afresh, a software platform that helps grocery retailers order goods more accurately to reduce food waste. “Pitzer opened my eyes to issues that I had heard of but couldn’t put into practice. It showed me the importance of putting awareness into action. That is the heart of a mission-based liberal arts education.”
From Incarceration to the California State Assembly: Pitzer Alumnus Reggie Bullock ’22
Reggie Bullock ’22, who earned his degree through Pitzer’s Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA program, has been accepted to the Jesse Unruh California Assembly Fellowship. Assembly fellows serve as full-time legislative staff to gain hands-on experience in public policy, politics, and the California state legislature. “When I sit back and reflect from my time beginning in the criminal justice system at 14 years old to now, just getting out after a 17-year sentence, it’s definitely surreal."
