Call to Action

An impassioned group of alumni and industry leaders make student success their mission.

By Christopher Park

A Question of Legacy

For Clark Rucker (’83, engineering technology), it’s a simple but large question.

“What legacy are we leaving behind as we transition into our soon-to-be retirement years?” asks Rucker, a now-retiree from Boeing after 33 years of hard work. “How have we assisted to shape the minds of young, impressionable college students to not only think, but believe that they have a solid chance to be whatever they want to be in life if they put their minds to it and work hard?"

It’s the question that loomed over not only Rucker, but 26 other men and women. Together, they comprise the College of Engineering's Dean’s Leadership Board (DLB), an advisory board of high-level executives and alumni who bring their expertise and knowledge from their respective engineering fields. Collectively, they leverage their resources to help students on their way.

And in 2019, they had an answer to the question.

They established a common mission called SOAR—Support student success, Offer opportunities, Actively advocate, and advise and Resource acquisition for engineering education. In short, leverage their professional perspectives to offer tangible, actionable value. With a North Star established, the DLB divided themselves into three teams, each delivering on their share of responsibility to fulfill the mission.

Across the last two years, they’ve done much: seven virtual tours, a four-part seminar series, and a huge on-campus mentorship luncheon for hundreds of engineering students.

“Life is about relationships. Nurture them and be a part of them in an engaged way.” - Eric Schmidt (’92, Aerospace Engineering), DLB Member and President of Exquadrum

First, the virtual tours gave students an inside look in the professional engineering world. Employees (many of them alumni) from companies like Boeing, Fluor, Tilden-Coil, and LA Sanitation represented a diverse set of engineering firms and companies students learned about and from.

Second, was a series titled “Stuff They Didn’t Teach You in School,” a four-part seminar hosted by DLB members that gave students the rundown of securing their first job in the field. It covered the essential elements of job-hunting—creating a compelling resume, preparing for the interview, following up from an interview, and negotiating a salary.

“Before participating in the seminar, I had a shabby resume and a poor understanding of the nature of the workforce,” says Jordan Sycip, industrial engineering student. “Listening to the knowledge and experiences of high-level executives helped me redefine how I view and act in a professional setting.”

DLB capped off their multi-year effort with In-n-Out on the house thanks to Larry Gates (’87, civil engineering), DLB member, perennial Cal Poly Pomona philanthropist, and co-founder and president of DRC Engineering. Dubbed the “Power of Food” event, engineering students enjoyed lunch and more importantly, actionable advice from DLB who attended the event. The main message? Build and maintain your networks and seek mentorship to keep opportunities open.

“Life is about relationships,” says Eric Schmidt (’92, aerospace engineering), DLB member and president of Exquadrum, one of the many members present at the event. “Nurture them and be a part of them in an engaged way.”

For electrical engineering student Maggie Hoang, she took his advice to heart and earned the first job of her life.

Generational Impact

A second-year student and well-versed in power and radio frequency, Hoang went up to Schmidt that day, picking his brain about how she can go about establishing her own career. Schmidt answered from experience—instrumentation engineering is a great niche for electrical engineers. She thanked him for his time and connected with him on LinkedIn and Cal Poly Pomona’s mentorship network, PeopleGrove.

From time to time, she’d catch up with Schmidt and post her personal engineering projects on LinkedIn. Eventually, Schmidt saw enough in Hoang to extend her an internship opportunity at his company, where she’s spent a productive summer working with instrumentation, collecting data, and converting digital signals to analog.

“Not only did that event and networking program connect me with Exquadrum, but I also now have a female mentor from Raytheon that I call bi-weekly to catch up with school, work, and life,” says Hoang. “I love having the opportunity to be a part of the STEM industry even though I am very young.”

Hoang is illustrative of exactly the impact DLB aimed to have over these two years—empowering the next generation with decades of industry experience and insight. And they have plans to keep it going.

“We plan to build on past momentum and expand the already successful content in the year ahead,” says Michael Beckage (’87, engineering technology), DLB member and chair, and chief technology officer of Diversified Technical Systems. “DLB members share a common appreciation for the challenges facing students preparing to enter the job market, and we simply wanted to do something to help!”

Have you noticed? Rucker, Schmidt, Gates, and Beckage are all alumni. Coming back to their alma mater to pay it forward in ways that aren’t simply material, Rucker makes a plea to all his fellow alumni.

“I encourage, no, I implore you to think about what legacy you are leaving behind. Ask yourself ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if one, maybe a few, or a handful, of students could look back one day as their professions get started and think about how you were the spark in their life that helped to begin their career?’”

The question looms large. For the DLB, they have their answer.

Caption for second photo: Virtual tours and seminars were attended by hundreds of students.