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The Smittcamp Family Honors College astatine Fresno State has welcomed 1,136 high-achieving students from each implicit California, drafting immoderate of the brightest minds to the assemblage since its inception 25 years ago.
A $1 cardinal acquisition from Earl and Murial Smittcamp and household launched the Smittcamp Family Honors College successful 1998, and the archetypal cohort of students enrolled successful autumn 1999. In a competitory process, 50 apical precocious schoolhouse graduates from a excavation of much than 500 are admitted each year. They instrumentality a bid of specially designed honors courses, execute assemblage work and interact successful acquisition and societal activities.
Graduates of the assemblage person go assemblage deans, United States diplomats and physicians, among different palmy careers. Several different Smittcamp Family Honors College alumni proceed to signifier the Bulldog bequest connected campus, helping to signifier the assemblage and foster pupil success.
Here are a fewer of the galore Smittcamp Family Honors College alumni who person made Fresno State their nonrecreational home.
Stephen Trembley
Stephen Trembley
Title: Senior Director of Broadcast Strategies
Department: Athletics
Academic Degrees: B.A. successful wide communications and journalism (broadcast journalism); M.A. successful kinesiology (sports administration) astatine Fresno State.
Stephen Trembley’s determination to articulation the honors assemblage successful 2004 was influenced by his parents, some Fresno State alumni, making it “a existent honor” for him to proceed the household tradition.
“There’s not different honors programme similar this 1 successful the country,” Trembley said.
During his clip astatine the honors college, Trembley thrived successful the rigorous world environment. He recalls the camaraderie and intelligence challenges of the yearly retreat astatine Huntington Lake, wherever bonding with peers and listening to inspiring speakers were highlights of his assemblage experience.
After graduating, Trembley’s committedness to Fresno State lone deepened. He transitioned smoothly from pupil to professional, starting with a full-time internship successful the Athletics Department. He past pursued a master’s grade successful kinesiology. Trembley present manages diversion broadcast strategies, ensuring that games, property conferences and different events are captured and shared to elevate the Fresno State athletics brand.
One of Trembley’s proudest achievements is his enactment successful broadcasting, peculiarly his relation successful broadcasting the nation’s archetypal assemblage shot crippled exclusively successful Spanish for the Mountain West Conference Network successful 2023 erstwhile Fresno State hosted Eastern Washington.
Trembley said helium is passionate astir storytelling and is committed to serving Valley audiences by showcasing the athletics programme connected assorted platforms.
The honors assemblage instilled successful Trembley a beardown consciousness of collaboration and the value of family, helium said.“Something I deliberation astir is however to enactment alongside the changing satellite we unrecorded in. I judge successful collaboration and change, but conscionable due to the fact that we alteration something, doesn’t mean we can’t alteration it successful a mode that inactive respects tradition.”
As the honors assemblage celebrates its 25th day this year, Trembley reflects connected its bequest of creating a close-knit, talented assemblage that continues to marque a important interaction connected its students.
“It’s done a fantastic occupation bringing talented radical together,” Trembley said. “It is astonishing to spot radical stay. I’ve been successful Fresno, and I tin confidently accidental it has created a location for a batch of unthinkable people.”
Kimberly Stillmaker
Kimberly Stillmaker
Title: Associate professor
Department: Civil and Geomatics Engineering
Academic Degrees: B.S. successful civilian engineering from Fresno State; M.S. and Ph.D. successful civilian engineering from the University of California, Davis
Dr. Kimberly Stillmaker’s travel with the Smittcamp Family Honors College began successful 2004 erstwhile idiosyncratic her begetter worked with suggested she apply. Though she initially aimed for the University of California, Berkeley, her grandfather’s tendency for her to enactment successful Fresno – and the allure of the President’s Honors Scholarship that each Smittcamp honors student receives for up to 8 semesters for their undergraduate grade programme – yet drew her to Fresno State.
Stillmaker’s clip astatine the honors assemblage importantly influenced her world and nonrecreational path. She met her hubby and chap honors scholar, Dr. Aaron Stillmaker, done the program, and their communal determination to travel backmost to Fresno State shaped their careers.
Stillmaker is present an subordinate prof astatine Fresno State, and has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses successful structural engineering, structural mechanics, and first-year engineering courses. She besides provides world mentoring.Transitioning from pupil to module was a earthy progression for Stillmaker. The skills and enactment she received successful the honors assemblage helped her set rapidly and go an effectual mentor and adviser. She said she is driven by a passionateness for improving sex equity successful engineering.
Stillmaker is co-principal researcher connected the ADVANCED Partnership Grant NSF astatine 4 CSU campuses. This inaugural aims to amended equity for women successful engineering.
“I perceive my students’ concerns, and I privation amended for them,” Stillmaker said. “My students’ experiences thrust me, and I privation to spot them with outstanding careers with tons of opportunities.”
The Honors College prepared Stillmaker for her relation astatine Fresno State by minimizing her fiscal load and allowing her to absorption connected her studies. The supportive assemblage and the advising she received were invaluable, she said, and helped her postgraduate without indebtedness and profoundly engaged her with the campus.
“Something I took distant from the Smittcamp programme was its intrusive advising,” Stillmaker said, “I americium actively invested successful my students, and tin service my students faster with my anterior cognition arsenic an alumni.”
Looking back, Stillmaker didn’t expect the profound idiosyncratic benefits and beardown assemblage she recovered successful the honors college. Meeting her hubby and forming lasting friendships were unexpected yet cherished outcomes, she said. She is profoundly grateful for the affirmative interaction the programme had connected her life.
“I anticipation aboriginal and existent scholars instrumentality this accidental to get engaged with the assemblage and to get to cognize your classmates — some successful the Smittcamp programme and outside,” Stillmaker said. “The individuals who I was studying with are present radical I’m moving with and adjacent friends of mine.”
Stillmaker acknowledges the noble and generous tone of the Smittcamp family’s donation, which has created opportunities for section talent. The Honors College’s enactment has been a cornerstone of her occurrence and continues to animate her contributions to Fresno State, she said.
Ryan Ditchfield
Ryan Ditchfield
Title: Assistant professor
Department: Criminology
Academic Degrees: B.A. successful governmental subject and B.S. successful criminology (forensic behavioral science,) astatine Fresno State; M.S. and Ph.D. successful societal science astatine Iowa State University
Originally from Zimbabwe, Dr. Ryan Ditchfield and his household moved to Fresno due to the fact that it was the lone spot successful the United States wherever they had relatives. As helium approached the extremity of precocious school, Ditchfield explored assorted assemblage options, including Cal and UC Irvine. However, the Smittcamp assistance astatine Fresno State was peculiarly appealing due to the fact that it offered fiscal enactment without the request to beryllium U.S. residency.
Ditchfield joined the Smittcamp programme successful 2012, and the clip successful his undergraduate years was filled with memorable experiences. He forged adjacent friendships that person endured for implicit a decade. The program’s accent connected diverseness was important to him, arsenic it resonated with his values.
He said 1 of his astir transformative experiences was getting progressive successful probe during his freshman year, which ignited his passionateness for academia.
“Having peers astir maine to assistance usher maine was truthful important successful my world journey,” Ditchfield said. “I thought I was conscionable going to survive, but I ended up thriving present due to the fact that of the fantastic environment.”
Surrounded by motivated peers who aspired to situation themselves, Ditchfield recovered an situation that fostered his ambitions. These relationships helped him navigate the complexities of assemblage beingness and inspired him to prosecute research. He graduated successful 2016 arsenic the Undergraduate Dean’s Medalists for the College of Social Sciences.
Returning to field arsenic a module subordinate successful 2021 felt breathtaking for Ditchfield. His experiences arsenic a Smittcamp student provided invaluable insights into pupil life, enabling him to make meaningful, accessible and engaging probe opportunities for his students.
Ditchfield, a criminology professor, is passionate astir addressing wrongful convictions and promoting evidence-based procedures. His enactment combines technological enquiry with advocacy, aiming to amended justness strategy practices. He enjoys designing originative assignments that promote students to make their ain ideas and prosecute profoundly with the taxable matter.
“I americium ever challenging my students to bring retired the champion successful them,” Ditchfield said. “I anticipation students proceed to situation themselves and question retired opportunities that look hard oregon hard to achieve. A batch of students person potential, they conscionable request to get retired of their comfortableness zones.”
Looking back, Ditchfield ne'er imagined helium would extremity up wherever helium is today. His travel is simply a testament to the transformative powerfulness of the Smittcamp Family Honors College, helium said, and the enduring interaction it has connected its scholars.
(Story by Katie Xiong, pupil adjunct successful University Marketing and Communications)
