/ Winter 2025 Content for şŮşŮĘÓƵ en /magazine/marine-biologist-down-under <p>Carolyn Lundquist, Ph.D. ’00, prompted by a high school career test, studied communication at UCLA, until an elective completely changed her path, leading her to eventually settle thousands of miles from her native California.&nbsp;</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30pm Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/marine-biologist-down-under /magazine/alumni-books-2024 <p>From sports and history to mystery and comics, this year featured books for everyone. Our annual roundup features even more Aggie authors than ever before and could keep readers busy for the better part of next year.</p><p>Check out şŮşŮĘÓƵ Magazine’s full list for 2024.</p><h2><strong>FICTION</strong></h2><p><strong>David Starkey</strong> ’84 imagines a scenario in which a jet carrying members of a famous rock band plunges into the backyard of a retired insurance salesman who is mourning his wife’s death from COVID in <em>Poor Ghost</em> (Keylight Books, 2024)</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:40am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/alumni-books-2024 /magazine/music-comedy <p>Seeing a JR De Guzman ’12 show is a lot like attending a concert. The comedian walks onstage with his acoustic guitar over his shoulder and starts in on a mix of stories and songs — but all were written for big laughs.</p><p>De Guzman ’12 has been bringing his unique blend of music and comedy to audiences around the world on almost constant tour since 2021. For this year’s “Working It Out” tour, he wrote an original song for every city he visited.</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:40am Russell L Thebaud /magazine/music-comedy /magazine/students-explore-intersection-artificial-intelligence-and-consciousness <p>In his first-year seminar dubbed “Could a Robot Ever Be Conscious?” Professor Richard Huskey guides students to discuss theories of consciousness. Through a variety of fields ranging from neuroscience to philosophy, students in this first-year seminar have nuanced conversations about artificial intelligence and consciousness, and whether anything distinguishes the two.</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Russell L Thebaud /magazine/students-explore-intersection-artificial-intelligence-and-consciousness /magazine/matter-opinion <p><span>When Oxford University Press suggested Matthew Kennedy, M.A. ’92, write a book for its Opinionated Guide series, he said he knew exactly what film star to cover: Elizabeth Taylor.</span></p><p><span>“I chose Elizabeth Taylor because I've been fascinated by her for so long that it was it was a joy to write and research,” said Kennedy, a film historian and former anthropology instructor.</span></p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/matter-opinion /magazine/home-field-advantage <p><span>Former student-athlete Andrew LaCour ’24 landed his dream job in baseball close to home.</span></p><p><span lang="EN">The left-handed pitcher spent four years with Aggie baseball before signing a contract in August with the Yolo High Wheelers, a new team in the Pioneer Baseball League, or PBL. The team just completed its inaugural season at a familiar location, on campus at Dobbins Stadium, where LaCour took the mound throughout his collegiate career.&nbsp;</span></p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/home-field-advantage /magazine/summer-internship <p dir="ltr"><span>Over the summer, I spent seven weeks doing an internship, paired with an online writing course, in New Zealand with a group of other University of California undergraduates. My major is environmental science and management, following the soils and biogeochemistry tract, and I hoped to gain experience incorporating soil science and sustainable management. As a student journalist at şŮşŮĘÓƵ Magazine, I wanted to share my experience spending a summer interning abroad.</span></p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/summer-internship /magazine/wild-discovery <p>Lohitashwa Garikipati ’17 just discovered a new species of praying mantis.&nbsp;</p><p>The entomologist said his passion for insects ignited during his studies at şŮşŮĘÓƵ. “It’s hard to pick just one important experience, but being involved in research at the university’s labs was instrumental in shaping my career,” he said. He initially started as a biology major and decided to focus on entomology.&nbsp;</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/wild-discovery /magazine/meet-new-university-librarian <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-right"> <div class="media media--type-sf-image-media-type media--view-mode-sf-large"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/sf_large_width/public/media/images/Bill-Garrity-200x300.jpg?itok=QdEaFZMH" width="200" height="300" alt="William Garrity" typeof="Image" class="image-style-sf-large-width"> </div> <figcaption>Bill Garrity</figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>When Bill Garrity was promoted</strong> to university librarian in May, he brought with him 10 years of experience as şŮşŮĘÓƵ’ deputy</p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Jocelyn C Anderson /magazine/meet-new-university-librarian /magazine/polo-player <p><span>On most days you’ll find Paul Griffin studying the finer points of accounting and financial theory. He’s an emeritus distinguished professor at the Graduate School of Management and an international expert on corporate financial reporting, accounting practices, and other key issues in finance.</span></p> November 18, 2024 - 10:30am Russell L Thebaud /magazine/polo-player