by Three Students Represent Orfalea College of Business During Tour of Statehouse
Students present their research findings at the Student Undergrad Research Project (SURP) Symposium during the fall of 2022. (Photo: Andy Sherar)
Three Orfalea College of Business students accompanied Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong to Sacramento this month, where lawmakers honored them and other students for their accomplishments.
In all, 19 Cal Poly students from all six colleges were recognized Jan. 30 on the floors of the state Assembly and Senate. Each student had 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 young adults have distinguished themselves in so many ways during their time at Cal Poly,” Armstrong said. “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.”
He continued: “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.”
Here are the three students from the Orfalea College of Business:
Adam LeClair
Carlsbad, California
LeClair is a business administration student with a focus on information systems.
His fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, received two national awards in 2022. The group received the Best Community Service Project for efforts to assist San Luis Obispo’s Hawthorne Elementary School, a federal Title I school that receives funding to improve academic achievement schoolwide. Zeta Beta Tau also received the Parent Relations Award for maintaining active communications with parents and actively engaging them throughout the year.
LeClair also serves on Cal Poly’s Interfraternity Council, or IFC, that works to overcome issues related to fraternity and sorority life on campus.
Being able to represent his fraternity and the IFC in Sacramento is a great honor, LeClair said.
“Personally, I never imagined myself being selected for something like this, but it is an absolute privilege to be honored on the same level as the remarkable people that are attending this tour as well,” he said of the group of peers.
LeClair initially was attracted to the campus by the outdoor activities and opportunities to get involved. But this utility player came to love the “unique variety of classes I never would have imagined being able to take. I value education amongst a variety of topics, rather than mastery in a single area. I am very happy that I am able to explore and learn all types of topics while I am still in school.”
LeClair plans to graduate in 2024.
Cole McKnight
Alamo, California
McKnight, who is majoring in industrial technology and packaging with a minor is sales, is president of the award-winning Delta Chi Fraternity. The campus chapter won the President’s Cup — Delta Chi’s most coveted and prestigious award — that demonstrates “superior excellence in operational performance, while promoting a strong values-based fraternal experience and creating a measurable impact for their members, campuses and communities.”
The 130-member group “put an emphasis on involvement in the campus community,” according to the parent organization. “The chapter raised nearly $3,000 for RISE San Luis Obispo County, an organization that supports survivors of sexual assault, sexual violence and domestic abuse … (and) hosted three philanthropic events … raising over $5,000 in support of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.” The non-profit foundation has awarded over $310 million in cancer research grants nationwide since 1993.
As a result, McKnight feels pride as a representative of his fraternity.
“I am very honored to represent Cal Poly to the state lawmakers in Sacramento,” the 22-year-old said. “I am thankful to represent such a great organization here on the Cal Poly campus and am very proud of all the work we have done.”
McKnight is from a Cal Poly family, as both parents are alumni, so it was an easy decision on what university to attend. He plans to graduate this year and pursue a career in business.
“My career goal is to manage the entire sales team at a software company,” he said.
Ciera Millard
San Marcos, California
Millard, who is studying business administration and information systems, received first place last November at the Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition and Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference.
The 19-year-old evaluated ETV, a three-step data-processing technique (Extract, Transform, Visualize) that results in more insightful and useful conclusions from the analysis process. She presented her findings in a video at the conference.
Her goal, after graduating in 2025, is to piggyback on that success and work in information systems and help design computer networks to better protect and maintain sensitive data.
“Data science and statistics education is in increasing demand as decisions based on data analysis are rising in prevalence throughout the technology-powered workforce,” she said. “Cal Poly is helping me pursue my goal and has also allowed me to speak at multiple conferences about topics I’m passionate about, like data science education.”
Millard looked forward to meeting state lawmakers.
“To represent my college and university in Sacramento is truly an honor,” she said. “I am very proud of my school. To be selected to show them what makes Cal Poly unique is something I never expected.”
One of her hobbies is Dance Dance Revolution, a fast-paced arcade rhythm dance game launched in Japan about 25 years ago. It has shifted away from public facilities in the wake of the pandemic, Millard explored in her 2020 video, “Dancing with Myself,” that debuted at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. The fleet-footed DDR player, ranked 19th in the nation, thinks the now-more-virtual game and community it spawned will endure.