KUHS Graduate honored with fellow students at California State Capitol
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Jacob Schlottmann-McGonigle is one of nineteen Cal Poly students recognized on the floor of the California State Capitol in January.
The following is a press release from Cal Poly.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Nineteen Cal Poly students, including 2019 KUHS graduate Jacob Schlottmann-McGonigle, were recognized for their awards, hard work, and other accomplishments by state lawmakers on the floors of the state Assembly and Senate in Sacramento on January 30.
“These young adults have distinguished themselves in so many ways during their time at Cal Poly,” said university President Jeffrey D. Armstrong, who accompanied the group to Sacramento. “They truly are representatives of our campus’s Learn by Doing ethos and individuals who are an inspiration to students in middle and high schools who seek to achieve a hands-on education.”
President Armstrong added, “It’s a pleasure to share their accomplishments with California’s elected officials, who will get a chance to see for themselves the quality, enthusiasm and energy of what our faculty, staff and I know will be tomorrow’s industry innovators and community leaders.”
The group was introduced to the Senate by Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, and to the Assembly by Assemblymember Dawn Addis of Morro Bay, who is the first female Democrat ever to hold this seat. Both officials represent San Luis Obispo County.
The students also meet with Karl Larson, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’s higher education advisor. Kounalakis plays an important role in Golden State higher education as a member of the boards that oversee the University of California and the California State University. Cal Poly is one of the 23 CSU campuses. Larson earned a doctorate in molecular, cellular and integrative physiology from UC Davis.
Most of these Cal Poly students call California home — from Santa Rosa to San Diego County. Five are from outside the Golden State including Jacob Schlottmann-McGonigle from Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Schlottmann-McGonigle, a 2019 graduate of Klamath Union High School is a political science senior with a concentration in pre-law in the College of Liberal Arts.
He describes himself as a “future lawyer and public servant.”
Schlottmann-McGonigle has been active in Cal Poly student government for several years — as the student co-chair of the Associated Students Inc. or ASI, Alumni Council; the External Affairs Committee that represent student views of government laws and policies; and chairman of the University Union Advisory Board that makes policy recommendations for such ASI-managed facilities as the sports fields, the student union and even the 50-foot Cal Poly P that looks down from the slopes of the eastern edge of campus.
Cal Poly students are stakeholders in ASI and have access to leadership positions through student government and on-campus employment at ASI facilities. The 22-year-old plans to graduate in June. “My experience in the workforce alongside my many years spent volunteering has shaped my view and understanding of the world,” he said. “Currently, I am interested in going into either immigration or constitutional law as a way of helping people who are less fortunate than myself. Past employers have described me as a dreamer and a doer.” Moreover, he ultimately aspires to “to start my own non-profit.”
The former high school cross country runner has crested even greater challenges. He has climbed 14,505-foot Mt. Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48 states.
The students represent all six Cal Poly colleges: five from the College of Engineering and College of Architecture and Environmental Design; three from the Orfalea College of Business; and two each from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Services, College of Liberal Arts and College of Science and Mathematics.
Each has distinguished himself or herself, as an individual or on a team that has received a national industry award or in other high-profile events. These include the 2023 Tournament of Roses Parade, with its worldwide TV audience in the millions; the concrete canoe team that won the national championship and made history for it; Cal Poly student government officers and Greek system awardees; agriculture and architecture competitions; student research; and student athlete club accomplishments in forestry skills, national mountain biking championship medal recipients as well as the MPV of the team that earned a U.S. soccer title.
The group also met family, friends and alumni at a reception in Alamo and had a breakfast meeting with industry advocates.