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Kaitlyn Carr | Credit: Ash Stone

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - April 2, 2025

In the tiny village of Vernonia, about halfway between Portland and Astoria, Kaitlyn Carr, ‘16, grew up in a family of creatives. Carr was always drawing and taking photos, though it was Carr’s high school art teacher, Ms. Allen, who saw Carr’s raw talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in a creative field.  

After graduating high school, Carr bounced around in a few different community colleges in the region before following her sister to Oregon State and finding her footing in the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts (SVPDA). While working towards receiving her bachelor of fine arts degree, Carr spent long hours in the print studios of Cascade Hall. One of Carr’s print series that she produced during sophomore year examined sweatshop labor practices within the fashion industry through the creation of a 500 edition, multicolor silk screen run over twelve consecutive hours. 

Then, Carr began exploring systemic pattern repetition in printmaking, which would take her on an artistic journey for the rest of her career.

“I’m not entirely sure why, but I became obsessed with repetition,” explained Carr. “It was always something that stuck with me. It was a meditative process where I wasn’t necessarily concerned with the outcome.”

Guiding Carr’s exploration of repetition was a series of supportive SVPDA faculty who encouraged her to keep going, including Shelley Jordan, Kay Campbell, Julia Bradshaw, Yuji Hiratsuka, Michael Boonstra, Anna Fidler, Kerry Skarbakka, and the late-Julie Green. Carr worked alongside Green as a research assistant for Green’s series "The Last Supper." In the groundbreaking collection, Green rendered the last meal requests of death row prisoners on white china plates. Carr’s work with Green largely consisted of website maintenance, photo editing, and document proofing. In addition to Green's mentorship, gaining access to the "business" of being an artist was Carr’s most valuable educational opportunity at OSU.

“All of the faculty were welcoming, supportive, and pushed me to explore new ideas,” said Carr. “But I felt especially fortunate to be able to work with Julie.” 

Her final mixed-media piece at SVPDA, Navigating Race and Ethnicity, won the Provost’s Art Purchase Award, which permanently displays artwork by graduates of the B.F.A. program on the sixth floor of the Kerr Administration Building. 

When Carr graduated from OSU, she worked at a manufacturing and architectural firm, but returned to Vernonia to teach middle and high school art, following in the footsteps of her mentor, Ms. Allen. 

“Returning to the classroom to teach was something that always excited me,” said Carr. “Ms. Allen and I were in touch and when she was planning to retire, she recommended I try my hand at it. Without her support, while as a student of her’s and after, I would be a completely different person.” 

For four years, Carr taught art at Vernonia middle and high school, bringing her expertise as a multidisciplinary visual artist into the classroom. Just as Ms. Allen was a mentor for her, Carr created a welcoming environment for all students interested in art and supported their individual learning experiences. 

During her tenure in Vernonia, Carr was also creating and exhibiting her own work throughout the Pacific Northwest, but in 2024, a unique opportunity took Carr’s work and notoriety to the next level.

In collaboration with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Carr created two six-story temporary installations on the east and west facades of the SmartPark garage on 10th Avenue in downtown Portland. Carr covered the structure’s existing bricks with 3,000 wheatpaste-adhered Tyvek rectangles creating a binary process, like a computing language composed of ones and zeros.

“I was interested in exploring a larger scale,” said Carr. “I approached PBOT and, somewhat surprisingly, they were also into it. I took their approval and ran with it. After that, I was less afraid to ask for opportunities and they kept popping up .”

Since summer of 2024, Carr has created site-specific repetitive installations all over Portland, including for the Soliloquy Fine Arts exhibition, Yukon Tavern, and King School Park. She continues to collaborate with local organizations to develop new installations in town. 

For current fine arts students, Carr recommends making friends and collaborating with classmates within their cohort, as well as to get to know their professors and stay in touch with them.

“Community and consistency are important,” said Carr. “Art is about showing up for one another and yourself.”

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Justin Martin

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - April 9, 2025

Come time to choose a major before enrolling in his first year at college, Justin Martin picked engineering, but he wouldn’t stay an engineer for very long. Martin switched soon after, enrolling in a theatre arts class at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst in New South Wales, Australia. It was his teacher J McCutchen, who had a connection with OSU’s theatre arts program, granting him the opportunity to study abroad at OSU in 2001.  

Studying theatre at the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts as an international student permitted Martin to learn about the expansiveness of American drama in a welcoming and supportive environment. 

“OSU gave me a whole new perspective on theatre,” said Martin. “At Bathurst, I was learning more about audiences, like how to talk to and entertain them. At OSU, it was more about the script. Classes were focused on acting, writing and interrogating the intentions of playwrights and what they’re doing with a script.”

While at OSU, Martin studied with Charlotte Headrick, now professor emerita at OSU, who became a long-time mentor. “Charlotte was, and still is, a huge part of my life,” said Martin. “I learned more from her in the short time I had at OSU than from really anything else.” 

Immediately, Martin started working on theatre productions. Though his time at OSU was brief, Martin assistant directed and stage-managed a number of plays, including Buried Child, and Pentecost.

“We had such an amazing group of actors,” said Martin. “Our productions were big, yet inclusive. I felt that I could really start to spread my wings as a director.”

Martin went back to Australia, graduated from Bathurst, then, got into the esteemed Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, where he jumped right into the director’s chair, studying and working on smaller, local productions at The Ensemble Theatre before getting a job at the Sydney Theatre Company under Kate Blanchett. 

Martin’s big break was in 2011, when he became an associate director for Stephen Daldry on Billy Elliot: The Musical, working for two years on Broadway, and touring throughout North America, Korea, Amsterdam, and Australia. Daldry would later become his mentor and directing partner for future productions. “There was a massive learning curve going from smaller productions to a multi-year tour,” said Martin. “At the end of it all, I was exhausted, but had come to appreciate theatre as a job, and not merely a hobby.”

After a break, Martin returned to London to associate direct a series of critically acclaimed plays with Daldry, including The Audience, Skylight and The Inheritance Parts 1 & 2. Many of these productions also had subsequent runs on Broadway. He also continued to direct in his own right including The Jungle and The Fear of 13 (starring Adrien Brody). In 2023, Martin’s award-winning West End production of Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer transferred to Broadway, breaking box-office records and earning 23 awards, including The Olivier for Best Play, as well as Tony and Olivier Awards for Comer.

Most recently, he co-directed Stranger Things: The First Shadow with Daldry in the West End, which he’s now preparing to bring to Broadway in 2025.

“Ironically, my initial goal for going to theatre school was to work at my local theatre company, not Broadway,” said Martin “Which I realize is the opposite of what most people would probably want.”

In addition to directing live theatre, Martin also worked on the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown, BBC Two’s Together, for which he received a BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama, and Sky Atlantic’s The Lovers. 

Despite all of his success, Martin continues to reflect positively on his time at OSU. 

“I was only in Corvallis for two terms,” said Martin. “But it was one of the most formative moments of my life. It was the first time where I saw myself as a director. And was championed as one. I will never forget it.”

For students already interested in pursuing theatre as a career, Martin explained that “it’s possible, but you’ve got to really want to do it. It’s got to be your obsession.” To those who aren’t interested in theatre: “don’t give up on it,” said Martin. “Theatre is sometimes based on old ideas, but it can also be fun and a way to connect to the world around us today.”

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Emanuel Magaña

By Taylor Pedersen, CLA Student Writer - April 2, 2025

Emanuel Magaña, ‘10, M.S. ‘12, never planned on working in higher education. Growing up in Woodburn, Oregon, a predominantly Latino community, he was surrounded by people who looked like him, shared similar backgrounds, and lived under similar economic circumstances. It wasn’t until he arrived at Oregon State University that he realized just how unique his upbringing had been—and how much work remained to ensure equitable access to education for students from communities like his. Now, as the Assistant Director of Multicultural Retention Services at Portland State University (PSU), Magaña is dedicated to increasing access and retention for underrepresented students.

Magaña’s parents immigrated to Oregon from Mexico, working in the fields picking berries and fruit throughout the year. His family instilled in him the importance of education—his mother had never gone to college, and they wanted a different path for their children. Magaña’s older brothers attended OSU, paving the way for Emanuel to follow.

Growing up in Woodburn, Magaña experienced a unique privilege in a low-income setting. “Because so many of us qualified for free and reduced lunch, the whole school had free meals. Even sports were free—there were no participation fees,” Magaña recalled. “It wasn’t until I got to OSU that I realized that wasn’t the norm.”

The transition to college was a culture shock. Corvallis, a predominantly white town, felt vastly different from his hometown. “It was very odd to experience that on a daily basis. Walking across campus, I’d sometimes feel like I didn’t belong,” he said. This feeling of isolation pushed him toward spaces that reflected his identity, like the Centro Cultural de César Chávez, where he found a sense of home and belonging.

Extracurricular activities played a crucial role in Magaña’s success. He joined ASOSU, became involved with Omega Delta Phi—a multicultural service fraternity—and worked at the Centro Cultural de César Chávez. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he was hired as a graduate assistant at the cultural center while completing his master’s in College Student Services Administration (CSSA). While at the center, Magaña contributed to the development of the center’s now permanent home on campus across from Reser Stadium. In addition to working at the center, it was the CSSA program that solidified his passion for working in student affairs. “I realized I wanted to be that mentor for someone else—the same way my mentors had guided me.”

Magaña’s transition to PSU marked the beginning of a new chapter. When the university opened La Casa Latina, a cultural center dedicated to serving Latinx students, he jumped at the opportunity to build something from the ground up as program coordinator. Then, after a few years, Magaña transitioned into a role at Latine Student Services, advising Latino students and managing a scholarship program for first-generation students. “It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done,” he said."

Now, as Assistant Director of Multicultural Retention Services, Magaña is focused on expanding PSU’s outreach to multicultural communities and ensuring that underrepresented students not only access higher education but thrive in it. He is also pursuing an Ed.D. in education leadership policy, aiming to create systemic change on an even larger scale.

Despite his professional success, Magaña remains deeply connected to OSU. “I’m always talking about my time at Oregon State and how much it still impacts me today,” he said. His journey—from an 18-year-old feeling out of place in Corvallis to a leader shaping the future of higher education—serves as an inspiration to the very students he now mentors. Through his work, Magaña is proving that access to education is not just about getting students into college—it’s about ensuring they have the support, community, and opportunities to succeed once they get there.

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Dr. Traben Pleasant

By Taylor Pedersen, CLA Student Writer - April 9, 2025

Dr. Traben Pleasant’s path to anthropology was somewhat unconventional. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach, California, Dr. Pleasant, Ph.D. '20, wasn’t an exceptional student in high school and was a bit of a hyper kid. While local gangs and drug dealing was a normal part of his “beautiful neighborhood” in his words, there were also alternatives, and so he spent much of his time playing sports, enjoying the ocean, and, in his own words, “twiddling my thumbs” at times before graduating at 17 years old. College didn’t seem like a viable option immediately after high school, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve for a brief period before transitioning to active duty with the U.S. Marines. In the military, he graduated at the top of his class as the “Company Honor Man” (the best Marine out of 400) during Marine Corps boot camp in 2002. By 2003, Dr. Pleasant was waiting at the border in Kuwait, preparing for an invasion, for what would become three tours in the Iraq War over the next two years.

While military service instilled discipline and resilience in Dr. Pleasant, it also awakened a curiosity that would later define his academic career. After his contract ended in 2006, Dr. Pleasant chose not to re-enlist, opting instead to pursue higher education through the GI Bill. He enrolled at Humboldt State University, in Northern California, where a single anthropology class altered the trajectory of his life.

“I always had an insatiable appetite for culture and travel,” Pleasant recalled. Initially drawn to primatology, his first major field experience took him to Costa Rica. But while studying primates in the wild at a research center (“La Selva”) in the mountains of Costa Rica, he found himself increasingly captivated by the region’s Afro-Caribbean communities he’d come across in the towns. “I started wondering, ‘Who are these people speaking Spanish? How did this happen?’” he said. That intrigue led him away from primatology and toward cultural anthropology.

After earning his bachelor's degree, Dr. Pleasant deepened his research while studying in the UK at University College London (one of the best schools in the world at the time), where he focused on Afro-Latin populations in Central America, particularly in Bocas Del Toro, Panama. One of his mentors, recognizing his interest in Caribbean cultures and warm coastal environments (and surfing), encouraged him to conduct research there. What began as a month-long research trip evolved into a long-term academic focus that still exists today.

When Dr. Pleasant later pursued a Ph.D. in anthropology at Oregon State University, his work in Panama became the foundation for his dissertation. He secured a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to return to Bocas del Toro and study the impact of the country’s national digitization initiative. Panama was installing “InfoPlazas” (computer centers) across the country and in rural villages, aiming to bridge the digital divide and improve educational opportunities for its citizens. Dr. Pleasant's research explored whether these efforts led to meaningful upward mobility and the potential to enhance education, particularly for Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous communities in the islands. At the time, “the impacts of the Infoplazas were just beginning,” he admitted, “but the potential was there.” However, the NGO that Dr. Pleasant worked with, called “Give & Surf,” was, and still are, making amazing, longstanding impacts in the local Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous communities of Bocas del Toro while partnering with the Infoplaza initiative and using their facility. Today, many of those initial potentials are being realized and the lives of many locals, youths and adults, have been changed for the better thanks to Give & Surf and the Infoplazas. 

Now, Dr. Pleasant has brought his anthropological expertise to an entirely new arena: veterans’ healthcare. As a qualitative researcher at the VA office in Portland, he applies qualitative research methods to study aging, dementia, PTSD, and cannabis usage among veterans. “I wasn’t initially thinking of aging when I came in,” he explained. “But I found that neurology, aging, and dementia research were open spaces that were welcoming to qualitative and cultural research. The VA has a surprising number of anthropologists today.”

While Dr. Pleasant’s primary research is on aging, dementia, and rural veterans’ healthcare, one of his current projects examines how veterans use cannabis as a therapeutic, which is a particularly relevant topic in Oregon, where cannabis is legal and dispensaries are widespread. “Veterans use cannabis—it’s just known,” Pleasant said. “But the federal government hasn’t legalized it, and there’s little guidance on exactly how VA clinicians should discuss its potential harms or benefits to their patients, the veterans.” His research aims to highlight and inform evolving policies on cannabis, and the prevalence of use among veterans within the VA Healthcare System.

Dr. Pleasant’s successful journey—from a Los Angeles born kid and rambunctious high school youth in Long Beach, California, to a decorated Marine Corps Iraq War Veteran, to an anthropologist studying digital access in Panama, and now to a researcher at the VA—has been defined by relentless curiosity and adaptability, often when the odds were not in his favor. Whether studying Afro-Caribbean communities or the healthcare needs of aging veterans, his work underscores the power of anthropology to shed light on human experiences, and life experiences just as complex and interesting as his own.

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Kevin Shimomaeda

By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - April 16, 2025

After graduating from OSU with a double major in sociology and psychology, Kevin Shimomaeda, ‘17, is using his expertise to serve the Corvallis community as a program manager for Jackson Street Youth Services,  a non-profit organization that provides basic need services, including transitional housing for young adults. 

“We use a holistic approach based on a hierarchy of needs, because basic needs are not enough to foster long-term success,” explained Shimomaeda.

Shimomaeda’s sister introduced him to psychology, which prompted him to attend the School of Psychological Science at the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), but after taking a handful of sociology-focused baccalaureate core classes, Shimomaeda added sociology to his academic resume.

“Psychology helped me better understand people’s behaviors,” said Shimomaeda. “But it was sociology that provided me with a broader perspective of societal issues; specifically how the system was failing young adults.”

A particularly impactful experience while a student was in Dr. Michelle Inderbitzin’s Juvenile Delinquency (SOC 440/540) course. Shimomaeda and his peers had the opportunity to visit a juvenile detention facility and speak with youth detained there. It was in Dr. Inderbitzin’s class when things began to change for Shimomaeda and he could see a career forming in front of him.

“It was eye-opening to learn about the real life experiences from those currently incarcerated,” said Shimomaeda. “Our conversations captured my curiosity as to why these teenagers were deciding to commit crimes. For many of them, I saw their detention as the outcome of poor circumstances, entirely preventable, and a societal failure.”

After graduating, Shimomaeda went straight to work for Jackson Street Youth Services in Corvallis. His first role was serving residents directly as a Youth Advocate/Case Worker. Now as the Next Steps Program Manager, Shimomaeda manages Jackson’s transitional living program for young people, many of whom are formerly incarcerated or living in at-risk environments at home.

Although Shimomaeda expressed that entering into his position with Jackson Street Youth Services was a hard learning curve for him at first, he values the unique perspective that he was able to bring to the organization based on his education at CLA. After witnessing the high prevalence of homelessness that exists throughout Oregon, Shimomaeda described that he feels empowered by knowing how to start helping those communities.

One common circumstance that Shimomaeda encounters is young adults who enter the program with adaptive response behaviors that they developed from childhood trauma. Many individuals do not know what it is like to have their own personal space, and the services offered through Jackson help teach new coping mechanisms as healthier options. 

Shimomaeda shared, “As staff members, we have to humble ourselves to accept that we don’t know everything, and that is how we can meet people where they are at in life. This work is hard, because we aren’t going to have full closure in some respects, but we can still show these young adults how much we care about them and their wellbeing.”

Oregon has one of the largest unsheltered populations in the country, including approximately 4,000 Y.E.H. (youth experiencing homelessness). Jackson is only one of five programs in the state that have a transitional living program, which not only provides a private living space for youth, but also employment resources, training, and mental health services to help build a stable foundation. 

“Sustainable living requires us to be honest about our mental health needs, and for many young adults moving into their own space for the first time, it’s an absolute necessity,” said Shimomaeda. “Building habits proactively can help mental health issues become more manageable, before the problems escalate into intense hardships.” 

Concerningly, a portion of Jackson’s transitional housing are previously unhoused OSU students, who had to choose between paying tuition or living in their car. Through an Oregon Department of Human Services grant, Jackson is also able to help with tuition assistance for students.

“It is much more than just providing a roof over your head, we want to offer any available opportunities for young people that can help them succeed in life. It is up to each individual to decide if they want to use the resources, but it is our responsibility to offer that support. Often we will witness someone’s worst day, but we also can be a part of their best days as well,” Shimomaeda expressed.

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Erika Wolters

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - March 20, 2025

The federal government owns about 53 percent of Oregon's land, one of the highest in the country, by a combination of the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. Only two months into 2025, the Trump Administration has begun to articulate its priorities in the management of  public lands, outdoor recreation, and the environment, potentially impacting Oregon’s vast wilderness and residents who use the federally-owned lands for their enjoyment. Support for federal management of public lands in the Western U.S. is high, even among voters across the political spectrum. 

Erika Allen Wolters, a political science professor in the School of Public Policy, focuses on environmental, energy, and water policy, as well as public perception of federally-owned wilderness. Wolters’ latest research on the topic was published in The Social Science Journal.

How do you expect the administration’s efforts will play out in terms of public perception of federally-owned lands? 

Currently, Trump is benefiting from a Republican majority (albeit slim) in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and a conservative Supreme Court. Efforts by Republicans to get management or ownership of public lands has gone on for decades. In 2016, the platform of the Republican Party called for the federal government to turn federal land over to the states, indicating for the first time, a unified position on public lands. However, every federal effort to transfer ownership or management of federal public lands to the states has been unsuccessful. Further, bipartisan public outcry over these efforts indicate how unpopular state ownership or management of federal lands are to the American people. 

During the first Trump administration, we witnessed the reduction of federal lands through Trump’s use of the Antiquities Act. Most notably, Trump used the Act to significantly reduce the size of Bears Ears National Monument. Over 2.5 million people submitted public comments in opposition to this reduction. Trump has already indicated that he wants to revert Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to the 2017 boundaries established during his first term. Further, Trump’s Department of Interior Doug Burgum issued an order called “Unleashing America’s Energy” to mandate an exploration of energy development opportunities on federal public lands. While unpopular among a strong majority of Americans, we can expect continued efforts to wrestle control of public lands out of public hands by the Trump Administration, though efforts to do so will most likely be met with swift opposition.

Water policy continues to be a galvanizing and polarizing issue, particularly in the Western U.S. and among voters of both parties. Your research in 2022 and 2023 looked at public perception of water resource management and group identity. What did your findings reveal?

Both studies revealed that personal identity is predictive of water conservation policies. Specifically, in 2022, we found that belief about personal efficacy, human-caused climate change, and those who identify as politically liberal were more likely to support water conservation efforts. In the 2023 study, we found that people who identify themselves as environmentalists, conservationists, or wildlife advocates support water conservation policies. Both of these studies are based on surveys conducted in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, areas where extended periods of drought and water scarcity or water shortages are becoming increasingly familiar. Due to extensive, and sometimes complicated, water rights in these states, water conservation or reuse is the most likely way to continue to meet water needs. While it is perhaps unsurprising that people who identify as more liberal, or as an environmentalist or conservationist, are more likely to support water conservation, more work is needed to incentivize water conservation in order for these states to continue supplying water for residential, agricultural, industrial and other uses.  

The Trump Administration has already taken big steps in reducing the federal workforce in agencies that manage public lands. What could be some of the downstream effects of a smaller workforce?

The administration’s cuts to the National Park Service (NPS), the Forest Service (USFS), and other land management agencies threaten to significantly reduce access, management, and protection of federal public lands. Recently, the administration laid off over 1,000 NPS employees (roughly 5,000 people have been fired who work in federal land management agencies). The NPS has been underfunded for years, making it difficult for the NPS to maintain and protect the parks. These cuts sharply undermine the Public Trust Doctrine which states that public lands are to be preserved for use by the public; essentially all Americans own federal public lands. Under the Public Trust Doctrine, the federal government has a responsibility to manage public lands for the benefit of all Americans. The administration’s cuts significantly undermine this duty. 

Concurrently, Trump is appointing people who may weigh more heavily on resource use within public lands.  The USFS Administrator, Tom Schultz, is a former Idaho timber executive, who some believe will likely open up more Forest Service land to significantly increase timber harvesting (though it should be noted that Schultz identifies as a public land user and may strive for a more balanced approach). Irrespective, Trump is trying to eliminate the need for consideration of the Endangered Species Act or other federal laws protecting federal lands, making it easier to increase timber production, oil and gas extraction, or mining on federal lands without proper consideration of environmental impacts. Our public lands provide habitat for endangered species, are the headwaters for clean water, offer carbon sequestration, and provide recreational opportunities. With this effort, there is the potential for species extinction, a reduction in clean water, an increase in wildfire risk, and a reduction to recreation on public land. 

The public is already responding to the cuts, and to Trump’s actions and appointees. Across the nation, thousands of people are at National Park sites protesting the cuts to NPS. With the majority of Americans, regardless of party affiliation, in strong support of the protection of public lands, I would expect to see on-going and vocal objections to the layoffs and subsequent impacts on federal land management.

Further, many rural communities will be negatively impacted by the federal workforce layoffs. Rural communities serve as the gateway to public land. These places are facing economic losses as their communities are often home to full-time and seasonal workers, and provide gateway tourism services like lodging, recreational outfitters, and restaurants. The cuts, in conjunction with Trump’s efforts to reduce protected lands, will have a very real impact on local communities and more broadly on Americans who value public lands for all the amenities they provide.

A part of your research agenda focuses on aquaculture (e.g. shellfisheries), which occurs in either state or federally-managed waterways. How could these industries be affected by recent administrative actions?

Recently, the administration laid off hundreds of people working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA provides critical information on climate change, particularly the impact on ocean conditions. For shellfish farmers, having up-to-date information on ocean chemistry as well as other ocean conditions is critical to their industry. In a paper my colleagues and I published this year, we examined how oyster farmers in California and Oregon could build longer term adaptive capacity to changing ocean conditions, primarily ocean acidification. Farmers stressed the importance of updated ocean science and monitoring. NOAA funds, in part, Oregon Sea Grant and California Sea Grant, collaborative arrangements between scientists, industry representatives, Tribes, community members, conservation groups, local governments and state agencies working, in part, to maintain sustainable aquaculture and resilient communities and economies. The reduction of NOAA funding threatens the ability of these sea grant programs, and potentially undermines the ability of shellfish farmers to maintain viable and robust businesses. 

Is there anything that you would like to share on the topic? 

Public lands are intricately woven into the identity of Americans. They are a unique idea premised on the belief that federal public lands are entrusted to the federal government to manage for the public trust. It is unsurprising that there are already protests against federal land management agency layoffs. No matter party affiliation, a majority of Americans support the protection and management of federal public lands. Efforts to usurp the public trust for private interests, or to undermine the efforts of public land management agencies to adequately manage the lands for the public, has historically and is currently, meeting with strong public opposition. In this area, a majority of Americans are unified and demonstrate a consistent commitment to maintaining public lands in public hands.

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Kari Hoy

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - March 26, 2025

Kari Hoy’s original goal to enter public service stemmed from a government class in high school. Initially wanting to become an immigration lawyer after involvement with her local representative, Rep. Joseph Neguse, her interest transitioned to international politics upon starting at the College of Liberal Arts (CLA).

Wanting to leave her small hometown of Evergreen, Colorado, Hoy toured OSU and loved the campus and Corvallis’ natural beauty, enrolling as a political science major. Her academic journey took another turn after taking Michael Trevathan’s International Environmental Policy and Politics (PS 477) class sophomore year, prompting her to add environmental economics as a minor.

“It made complete sense to me,” said Hoy. “I’ve loved the broader context of my political science classes, but economics has been a helpful way of quantifying policymaking.”

While at the School of Public Policy, Hoy worked as an undergraduate researcher in Trevathan’s Global Politics Research Lab and took part in the University Legislative Scholars Program.

During her senior year, Hoy applied and received an Experiential Learning Scholarship from the College of Liberal Arts, which allowed her to travel to Washington D.C. for Pi Sigma Alpha’s annual conference. Not only did Hoy attend the national political science honors society’s convention, she also participated in a panel discussion focused on the ongoing war on Ukraine, referencing her own research from a class she took on the subject from Dr. David Bernell

“This was a fantastic opportunity for me to share my research and learn from my peers about their experiences in public policy and political science. This was a huge step in my career and I couldn’t have done it without the scholarship.”

Hoy was able to take what she learned from her studies in political science and from attending the conference and apply them to her current role as policy director at the Associate Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU), where she looks for ways to have OSU students engage with state and federal policy making. 

Now, Hoy is looking to finish up her last term at CLA and hoping to find a role in international politics, either in public service or private sector, with potentially grad school on the horizon.

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Ruth Brombach

By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - March 26, 2025

Growing up in Cologne, Germany, Ruth Brombach studied psychology at the University of Koblenz/Landau and University of Wuppertal, where she originally became interested in becoming a therapist after receiving both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology. Yet, it was during her time at Wuppertal that she fell in love with research and decided not to pursue becoming a licensed therapist.

Brombach’s undergraduate thesis explored the connection between the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and obsessive compulsive disorder, finding that higher neuroticism was significantly associated with increased OCD symptoms. For her master’s thesis, Brombach then dove into the psychological-perspective of FoMO, on the recommendation of her advisor, and validated the German version of the Fear of Missing Out Scale, a numerical scale to assess the fear people feel of missing out via their everyday experiences. Brombach found that the scale demonstrated good internal consistency, but did not confirm the one-factor structure of the original study. Instead, an exploratory factor analysis identified three distinct factors, leading to a better model fit. Additionally, the study found significant positive correlations between FoMO and constructs such as smartphone usage, depression, and the need to belong, while negative correlations were observed with psychological need satisfaction and self-esteem.

“FOMO is a relatively new phenomenon in psychology,” explained Brombach. “It’s a widely felt emotional response to having anxiety from missing out on a potentially rewarding experience. Typically, it’s connected to social media use.”

Now in her third year of her Ph.D. program at the School of Psychological Science, Brombach is currently working alongside psychology Assistant Professor Jessee Dietch in the Sleep Health Assessment, Intervention, and Dissemination (SHAID) Lab, which focuses on developing interventions for insomnia, shift work disorder, and nightmares. As a lab member, Brombach explores the impact of technology on sleep health. 

Brombach’s master’s dissertation at the School of Psychological Science looked at how college students’ social vs. nonsocial screen time predicts depression and anxiety, and, in turn, sleep health. Brombach found that social screen time moderated the association between depressive and anxiety symptoms and insomnia, such that higher social screen time was associated with increased insomnia symptoms in participants with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, while this effect decreased in participants with more severe symptoms. However, high depression and anxiety symptoms were a predictor of insomnia regardless of the amount of social screen time. Non-social screen time had no significant effect on these associations.

“College students have sleep problems for a variety of reasons,” said Brombach, “including stress surrounding school work, lifestyle changes, moving away from home, and balancing school, work, and social activities. The research really showed how social screen time may exacerbate existing anxiety, affecting sleeping patterns.” 

Now as a Ph.D. student, Brombach’s work in the SHAID Lab combines her FoMO research from Wuppertal with her master’s research at OSU, looking at different dimensions of sleep health in the context of FOMO.

“Social media has made it more accessible to know about the plans of others, which has strongly influenced the moods and behaviors of high school and college students,” Brombach explained. “Students may not take care of themselves because of the fear of missing out on an experience, which affects their overall mood and ability to study efficiently.” 

Brombach’s research explores these dynamics through a combination of surveys and qualitative interviews, allowing for both quantitative insights and deeper exploration of students’ experiences with FoMO and its impact on mental and sleep health.

However, Brombach noted that she doesn’t believe that social media is entirely negative, but it depends on how it is being used. “Scrolling on your phone for hours or constantly comparing yourself to others obviously isn’t good, but using social media in moderation can be healthy for some individuals.”

One reason that Brombach became interested in continuing to research FOMO at OSU was because of her own personal experiences. After growing up and living in Germany, moving to the United States caused Brombach to have concerns about missing out on experiences with her family and friends back in Germany. 

“I am so interested in this new study, because I’d like to see if my experiences are generally common or personal to me specifically. It’s difficult for me to connect with my long-distance family and friends, which amplified my own worries about missing out.”

During her time at OSU, Brombach has enjoyed how helpful and fun her psychology classes have been. After graduating with her Ph.D., she hopes to continue focusing on research on FoMO and sleep health. 

Brombach said, “I’m looking forward to seeing where the future takes me, and I would love to publish papers relevant to people that could bring positive impact. But even if I can just help one person sleep better, that would be a great achievement for me personally.”