From the Editor

What is student success? As we were discussing themes for this issue, my colleague, the fabulous university writer and copy editor Cassie Myers, described a visual for student success that has grounded the stories you’ll read in this issue. She visualized student success as “connected to a tree, from root to branch. The roots may be an inspiring class, a compliment passed from a professor to a student, a student’s mentor handing out a flyer for a study abroad program. The branch may be a new career, a student inspired by a professor becoming a professor herself, or a community service project inspired by an offhand comment. You never know how far down the roots reach, or how broad, strong or wide the branches will become.”

When a transfer student meets an impactful mentor, when an aspiring scientist lands a role in a faculty research lab, or when a first-generation Spartan crosses the stage with diploma in hand — their careers blossom. That is the hope at San José State.

The root and branch motif running throughout the following pages reflects the connections and potential created on campus, at events like Research Week or Commencement, in student government, clubs, career fairs and beyond.

These are some of the many Spartan roots that help students grow. Educators like Physics and Astronomy Professor Cassandra Paul, who has redesigned an introductory course to support active learning, help ground students who may feel overwhelmed or unprepared for the courses they most want to take. Programs like Peer Connections offer a variety of tutoring and mentoring support services and train student employees on pedagogical principles that can be applied to any discipline. Academic advisors and identity centers have helped Spartans of all backgrounds feel that they belong.

Spartans branch out in many ways. Grace Vincent, ’25 Aviation, is the first ROTC cadet from San José State to be commissioned as a lieutenant through the new Space Force exclusive pipeline. Jordan Orosco, ’17 Math, Teaching Credential, has helped his own students succeed by rapping about math. Analyss Benally, ’21 Communication Studies, plays basketball professionally abroad and leads basketball camps for children and young adults across the United States. Cade Story-Yetto, ’25 MA Higher Education Leadership, helped pass a law to make community college free in the West Valley Mission Community College District. How many more students will succeed when granted free tuition?

Student success can be subjective, hard to define or measure. That’s why we turned to members of our community to ask: What does student success mean? Is it reflected in one’s GPA, resume or acceptance to graduate school? Or is it shown in one’s determination to show up to class, get the work done and learn something new? For Brian Maurer, ‘26 Communication Studies, who lives with autism, success is showing up on campus and connecting with others.

There is no single right answer, but there are meaningful ones. We hope you’ll discover them alongside us, or, if you feel so moved, that you’ll share your own definition of student success.

None of this is possible without the hard work of our outstanding writers, including Cassie Myers; Michelle Smith McDonald; Rhoda Shapiro; Adriana Avila; Brian Cheung-Dooley; Sam Kamangar; and Jim Hsia; photographers Robert C. Bain and Florian Pilsl; art director and designer Pourya Nadimi; creative director Michelle Frey; assistant director of web and user experience design Alexander Rock Fredell; digital content analyst Trevor Phillips; digital marketing and communications manager Brian Anderson; Senior Associate Vice President for University Marketing Communications Guiselle Nuñez, and of course to all of the wonderful people who share their stories with us every day.

In gratitude,

Julia Halprin Jackson Managing editor