Alumni News

Student script wins national award from Broadcast Education Association

Jae Hamilton wrote raucous speculative episode of U.K. teen sitcom ‘Derry Girls’ 

What started as a class assignment has turned into a national award for a San Francisco State University student who has since graduated. Jae Hamilton is a first-place winner in the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts. Her speculative script for an episode of the U.K. teen sitcom “Derry Girls” brings a raucous yet thoughtful twist to a Catholic girls school in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. 

Hamilton (B.A./B.S., ’22) is among 300 student winners, representing 82 colleges and universities nationwide. They were honored at an awards ceremony at the festival on April 17 in Las Vegas. BEA is a leading international academic media organization that drives insights, excellence in media production and career advancement for educators, students and professionals. 

Hamilton wrote the script last fall as an assignment in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) 470: “Dramatic Writing for Television and Electronic Media.” The plot takes the “Derry Girls” protagonists to a shop in town where one of the characters gets in a dispute with the owner for overcharging for candy. In the episode’s secondary plotline, Hamilton takes the Derry girls as far from their comfort zone as she thought possible: to a museum exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs, showcasing his trademark provocative images of nude men. 

“It’s hijinks, but the basis is taking care of your own and standing up for what you feel is injustice,” Hamilton said. “I wrote it because it’s funny, but it’s also about self-acceptance. Even though they are very simple characters, they deal with lots of different emotions and themes.” 

A double major in Visual Communication Design and Creative Writing, Hamilton entered San Francisco State as a transfer student after a career as a theatre props technician in Atlanta. She is pursuing a career in video game design, and her passion is writing plays.  

“Writing is my happy place. It always has been,” Hamilton said.  

Hamilton is not the only member of the SF State community to be honored at the BEA festival. Her BECA 470 instructor from last fall, Associate Professor Marie Drennan, garnered Best of Competition in the Mini-Episodic/Webisode category of the faculty scriptwriting competition. 

Learn more about the SF State Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts and Creative Writing departments and the SF State School of Design

  

Jae Hamilton selfie while seated in front of a kitchen sink and window

SF State alum, author Ernest J. Gaines honored with USA stamp

Gaines (B.A., ’57) is most known for his novels ‘The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman’ and ‘A Lesson Before Dying’

A San Francisco State University alumnus is the latest American to be honored with a first-class stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. The late novelist Ernest J. Gaines is the face of the 46th stamp in the Black Heritage Series

Gaines (B.A., ’57) is known for writing about the people in small-town Louisiana where he was raised, often exploring enslaved people, their descendants and their enslavers. He rose to fame in 1971 with “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” a historical novel chronicling the recollections of its 110-year-old Black protagonist, whose life spans from slavery to the civil rights era. After garnering a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize, it was adapted into an Emmy Award-winning television movie starring Cicely Tyson. His novel “A Lesson Before Dying,” about a Black man on death row for a murder he did not commit, not only won the 1993 National Books Critics Circle Award, but was also an Oprah’s Book Club selection. President Barack Obama awarded Gaines the National Medal of the Arts in 2013. Gaines died in 2019 at age 86. 

“Ernest J. Gaines remains an important role model for Creative Writing students at San Francisco State,” said May-lee Chai, associate professor and acting chair of the Creative Writing Department. “We remind our students that his first short story was published in our undergraduate journal, Transfer Magazine, which he later said led to multiple opportunities for him as a writer. His legacy as a literary giant and advocate for social justice is deeply inspiring.” 

Gaines was born in 1933 on a plantation in Oscar, Louisiana. He lived in the same former slave quarters where his family had been residing for five generations. At age 15, he moved to the Bay Area — the Navy town of Vallejo — due to a lack of educational opportunities in the South. His region of rural Louisiana lacked both a high school and a library where Black people were welcome. After Vallejo Junior College and the Army, Gaines enrolled at SF State. 

“It was there that I really got seriously into the writing,” Gaines said in a 2016 interview with the Academy of Achievement of his time at SF State. “I had some wonderful teachers on the campus at that time who were writers as well. And they encouraged me to write.” 

Learn more about the SF State Creative Writing Department. 

 

President’s Leadership Fellows Program celebrates 10 years of empowering future leaders

Over 2,000 SFSU students trained in leadership development and career readiness

San Francisco State University’s office of Career and Leadership Development (CLD) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the President’s Leadership Fellows Program (PLFP) on Wednesday, Nov. 13, bringing together alumni, University leaders and supporters to commemorate a decade of transformative impact. The event also honored philanthropist Kathy Kwan, whose support has been crucial to the program’s success.

Since its launch in 2014 as a pilot initiative serving just 25 students in the Lam Family College of Business, the PLFP has grown significantly. Today, it’s equipped over 2,000 students across all disciplines with the skills needed to thrive in the professional world. The program, which transitioned to the office of Career and Leadership Development (CLD) in 2017, provides career-focused leadership training and mentorship through a semester-long curriculum. Open to juniors, seniors and graduate students, it meets weekly over lunch, offering interactive workshops on essential career skills such as resume building, interview techniques and networking. Participants also engage in self-exploration activities to build confidence and articulate their strengths.

Lynn Mahoney, Kathy Kwan and Sophie Clavier

SF State President Lynn Mahoney (from left), philanthropist Kathy Kwan and Dean of Graduate Studies and Career Development Sophie Clavier attend the 10th anniversary of the Presidential Leadership Fellows. 

Kyle Crier, a 2018 Business Administration graduate, participated in PLFP as an undergraduate and considers it one of the highlights of his time at SFSU. “The program taught me to hold myself to high standards — something that sets you apart in any role,” said Crier, now a recruiting operations manager at the online learning platform Brilliant.org. “PLFP provided me with practical skills, like networking and business communication, that I use every day in my career. It laid the foundation for my professional journey in the best way possible.”

Sophie Clavier, dean of Graduate Studies and Career Development at SFSU, said the program can transform students into professionals. “PLFP workshops aren’t just about teaching skills; they’re about unlocking each student’s potential, shifting their mindset and empowering them to lead with confidence, purpose and a vision for positive change."

For Gigi Huie, a graduate in Hospitality and Tourism Management who now works as a financial analyst at the University of California, San Francisco, PLFP was a pivotal experience. “The program challenged me to think critically, push boundaries and embrace new ideas,” she said. “It has shaped my career path and instilled a lifelong commitment to leadership and service.”

The PLFP’s success has been supported by a generous donation from the Eustance-Kwan Family Foundation, which has contributed over $4 million to SFSU and CLD programs over the past decade. Kathy Kwan, the foundation’s founder, was inspired to give back to her parents’ alma mater. Her parents, who grew up in San Francisco’s Chinatown, were the first in their families to attend college despite facing significant barriers. Kwan’s philanthropy is a way of paying it forward, ensuring that future generations of students have access to the mentorship and resources that helped her family succeed.

“If you can get a student into a mentorship program, and they go through career services and leadership development, their chances of landing a great position are much higher than if they were left on their own,” Kwan said. “San Francisco State University is truly an engine of upward mobility.”

Visit the Career and Leadership Development website to learn more about the President Leadership Fellows Program

ABC news anchor and alumnus Whit Johnson returns to SFSU to inspire students

Johnson visited campus to share insights from his “strategic and surprising” career with Journalism and Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts students

Emmy-winning journalist Whit Johnson (B.A., ’04) has experienced a lot in the 20 years since he was a Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) major at San Francisco State University. He was among the first reporters to interview Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed. He reported on the recent total solar eclipse and covered two Olympics. And he just got back from Florida, where he covered Hurricane Helene. 

When you’ve had experiences like that, you build up a lot of stories — and Johnson returned to the San Francisco State campus Tuesday, Oct. 1, to share some. The co-anchor of the “Good Morning America” weekend editions and anchor of the Saturday edition of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Johnson talked to students about journalism, his journey and his advice for launching a successful career. The event, held in SFSU’s Knuth Hall, was moderated by Journalism Professor Venise Wagner, who brought along students from her class “Social Impact of Journalism.” 

“I never imagined that I would end up here [as a network anchor],” Johnson said. “But the one thing that I think I did have going for me was just a work ethic that I developed while I was here at San Francisco State.”

Johnson grew up in San Francisco, and both his parents are SF State alums. (Johnson’s dad actually joined him for his Oct. 1 visit, and they were both chuffed to talk about how the school evolved from the ’60s to the early 2000s to now.) Johnson came to the University for the broadcasting department — and soccer. He wanted to be a professional player, but injuries halted that journey. 

 “While I was here, I sort of evolved from a wannabe morning disc jockey and prank caller to a sports broadcaster to a news broadcaster,” Johnson said. Since the news initially seemed intimidating, he leaned into sports broadcasting. He even voiced Gator basketball, welcoming spectators and doing PA announcements. 

Whit Johnson, Venise Wagner and nine students smiling on a stage

Johnson with some of the students who attended the panel. Photo by Nicole Lange.

As he approached graduation, he began putting together VHS resumes, using the campus editing bay to work on the tapes. “Out of dozens of tapes, I got exactly three job offers. None of them were in sports,” he recounted. 

He accepted a broadcasting job in Yakima, Washington, for a salary of $18,000. Though it felt less than ideal, the move set the trajectory of his professional and personal career. He met his wife, journalist Andrea Fujii, in Yakima. When she got a job in Salt Lake City, he followed. He got a job at CBS News in Washington, D.C., while she got a job in Baltimore. To prioritize his family, he returned to local news with KNBC in Los Angeles, before ultimately ending up at ABC News in New York, while his wife became a freelancer for ABC News.

“Every career move along the way has been both strategic and surprising,” he told students. But the chain of events all started because he was prepared for that first post-grad step.

“The facilities here allowed me to fine tune the skills that I needed to get my first jobs, get my foot in the door … ,” he explained, emphasizing the importance of being able to pitch himself as a reporter who could shoot, write and edit his own material on a tight deadline. “[As a student] I was hanging out in the news studio, in the sports studio. I was doing reports when I wasn’t supposed to be doing reports. I was hanging out in the control room when I wasn’t supposed to be in the control room. I was using the edit bays just on my own.”

 

A student interviewing Whit Johnson in front of studio cameras
Whit Johnson with a student wearing a headset getting ready for a live to tape interview
Whit Johnson with a student in a radio studio
Whit Johnson (left) and his father (right)

Left to right: Johnson doing live to tape and radio interviews with students, and posing with his father in Marcus Hall.

Johnson maximized his time with his professors, too. He fondly recalls talking to professors like Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts Marty Gonzalez, KRON-TV’s weekend morning anchor today, peppering them with questions about getting into journalism, salaries and more. “I asked all the awkward, uncomfortable questions,” Johnson recalled. “Through those experiences, through access and talking to people, I learned that you’ve got to be willing to pack up and go where you need to go.”

Some of his most memorable SF State experiences were listening to speakers who came to talk about their own careers. They were often people he grew up watching on TV. Now current SF State students get to say the same about Johnson. In addition to the talk in Knuth Hall, he also dropped by Marcus Hall to be interviewed by BECA students for live to tape and radio interviews.

“He had a lot of information that was needed for all of us. I like to hear about his stories of where he went and what happened,” said first-year Creative Writing major Savannah Paquette, who attended Johnson’s morning panel. 

“In order for this job and career, you need to just get up and go to random places, to record and give the information to the world,” she said of what she learned from Johnson.

Learn more about SFSU’s Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communications Arts and Department of Journalism.

Alum part of Santa Cruz team that won Pulitzer Prize for breaking news

Photojournalist’s images and video part of award-winning coverage of destructive Santa Cruz storms

On May 6, Kevin Painchaud (B.A., ’97) received a cryptic message from his boss, the managing editor of Lookout Santa Cruz, a digital-only news organization covering Santa Cruz County. She told him and the rest of the 10-person newsroom to assemble for a company meeting at 10 a.m. “Don’t worry — it’s good news,” she told him. No one had any clue what she was about to say.

The editorial team assembled via Zoom. That’s when Managing Editor Tamsin McMahon blurted out, “We won the Pulitzer!” There was stunned silence. She repeated herself, but this time with context: “We won the Pulitzer for our breaking news coverage of the Santa Cruz storms.” McMahon had submitted an application for the coveted journalism prize in secret, thus the dumbfounded reactions of her staff.

Kevin Painchaud holds a camera

Kevin Painchaud

After watching the televised broadcast of the Pulitzer Prize announcement, it finally sunk in. Painchaud, the Lookout’s only photographer and videographer, was in tears. “For me, the years of insecurity and second-guessing my passion for photojournalism as a career suddenly brought validity to what I love to do more than anything else, which is to tell stories with my photos,” he said in a recorded speech posted to the Lookout Santa Cruz YouTube page.

The storms that battered Santa Cruz County began Jan. 1, with the most destructive on Jan. 4, and continued for three months.

“It was huge amounts of rain… high tide, and the biggest swell in a long time. And then the saturated soil from previous rains created a perfect storm that literally just flooded so many areas,” Painchaud said. “There’s a lot of restaurants on the coast — they got destroyed. Two of our piers got destroyed.”

A School of Cinema graduate, Painchaud drove from one flooding site to the next, capturing it all with his camera and posting it to the website and social media in real time.

“There were communities that were flooding and they didn’t know where to find out where to evacuate, where to go to get certain supplies, where to get sandbags,” he said. “We were kind of it for the county. Everybody turned to us. It was just the drive that our entire team had, to be there for our entire county and community.”

Painchaud continues to be recognized for his coverage during that period. First it was the Pulitzer, and then on July 15 the California Newspaper Publishers Association awarded him the Photo of the Year award for an image he captured of a man assessing damage done to his dream beach home in Rio Del Mar.

Painchaud started his photojournalism career in high school when he began working for the school newspaper. That’s when he fell for the profession. “It allowed me to learn about people — who they really are and not who they are perceived to be,” Painchaud said. “Having that access and that kind of connection with humans, I just loved it.

By college, he was an experienced photojournalist who had covered politics, sports and entertainment. But he was onto something new — film and television. While he was earning his undergraduate degree at San Francisco State, he was filming a television show called “Music on the Edge” that aired on different cable channels. He’d follow around touring bands. “The city was my little backyard TV show,” he said. “I knew all the venues; any concert I wanted to go to for free and shoot.”

Painchaud wasn’t that involved in campus life because he was so busy with the TV show and other projects. He owned a clothing line and co-founded SF State’s improv group, Small Chicken, with his friend Cole Stratton (a 2022 Alumni Hall of Fame inductee). They performed on an off campus.

What defined his college experience was the community he created. “I love that intimate feel of the college and the community that we had there,” he said. “It’s fun having such a small campus and a good network of friends.”

He moved to Los Angeles and pursued a career in television and film after earning his degree. He worked in the film industry for more than a decade before deciding to move home to Santa Cruz to raise a family near his parents. That’s when he reignited an old flame — photojournalism.

“I’m doing the job that I wanted to do since I was a sophomore in high school and I want to do this for rest of my life,” he said. “I have so much creative freedom and the ability to tell the story the right way, through photos.”

Learn more about SF State’s School of Cinema.

A man stares out at the destruction of his home

Eric Stark looks out of an opening in his home in Rio Del Mar after it was ravaged by 2023 winter storms. Credit: Kevin Painchaud/Lookout Santa Cruz

Commencement honorees encourage graduates to champion ‘a world of fairness and compassion’

Civil rights attorney Walter Riley, actor and activist Benjamin Bratt and DePauw University President Lori S. White all emphasized service and leadership at the May 24 ceremony

San Francisco State University celebrated the Class of 2024 at its 123rd Commencement ceremony Friday, May 24, at Oracle Park. More than 4,000 graduates attended the event along with thousands of family and friends.

In addition to celebrating new graduates, San Francisco State and the California State University (CSU) conferred honorary degrees on three individuals who’ve distinguished themselves with their service to others: actor and activist Benjamin Bratt, attorney and civil rights activist Walter Riley and the late psychologist, activist and educator Joseph L. White (A.B., ’54; M.S., ’58). White’s degree was accepted by his daughter Lori S. White, president of Indiana’s DePauw University. All three acceptance speeches emphasized the importance of activism and encouraged the Class of 2024 to make a difference in the world.

“I accept this recognition of my life’s work in civil rights, against racism, against police brutality, against exploitation of our environment and people for the benefit of the economic and political elite,” said Riley, who received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws. “I acknowledge all those whose work make this campus a place for truth and justice. Through our collective efforts we can move closer to a world where ideals become realities.”

Riley attended SF State in the 1960s and participated in the 1968 student strike that led to the creation of the University’s College of Ethnic Studies. Later he was active in the labor and anti-war movements, and after earning a law degree from Golden Gate University he took his fight for social justice into the courts.

“Every generation needs a purpose,” he told this year’s graduates. “May that purpose be just, creating a world of fairness and compassion.”

In his acceptance speech, Bratt recalled the struggles of growing up poor in San Francisco, one of five children being raised by a single mother who’d emigrated from Peru.

“School proved to be the refuge that I needed,” said Bratt, an award-winning actor and producer best known for roles in “Law & Order,” “Modern Family” and “Traffic.” “I loved school, and it was there that I discovered I was an eager and enthusiastic learner and seeker. More to the point, it was there that I discovered my own creativity and the power of the arts.”

Bratt, who received the honorary degree Doctor of Fine Arts, challenged his audience to use their educations to make a difference.

“If you are receiving your degree it’s because you’ve discovered your own voice and have enjoyed the privilege of someone else’s belief in you, perhaps your teachers, your own family, your community,” said Bratt, a longtime supporter of the American Indian College Fund, Amazon Watch, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Mission Cultural Center and other nonprofits. “The question is: What will you do with that privilege and the power of a prestigious university education? I’ll let you in on a little secret: We’re counting on you to do something spectacular even as you figure it out, because you are the inspiration of our hope.”

White talked about her father’s pioneering work as an educator and psychologist. A two-time graduate of SF State, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University, he became known as “the godfather of Black psychology.”

Benjamin Bratt speaking during SF State's 2024 Commencement

Doctor of Fine Arts recipient Benjamin Bratt.

He returned to SF State in 1968 as a professor of Psychology and later dean of Undergraduate Studies, helping to launch what is now known as the Department of Africana Studies.

“Graduates, I hope you are inspired by my dad’s story and his lifetime and legacy of service to others, of which many of you are direct recipients,” said White of her father, who was granted the honorary degree Doctor of Letters. White added that she hoped graduates would see her father in themselves and, like him, accept that “those who have been so richly blessed have a responsibility to give back to others in meaningful ways.”

Other Commencement speakers included SF State President Lynn Mahoney, Associated Students President Ersa, graduate speaker Genesis Sorrick and undergraduate speaker Eddison Jintalan Contreras. The ceremony will be made available to view in its entirety on SF State’s YouTube channel.

Learn more about the University’s 2024 Commencement.

Spring/Summer SF State Magazine spotlights groundbreaking Gator storytellers

Whether through dance, photography, music, comics, books, radio or film, these SF State alums, students and faculty are finding innovative ways to tell their stories

SF State Magazine’s Spring/Summer 2024 issue, now available online and in print, explores inventive storytelling, with articles, profiles and even comics that shine a light on how Gators are sharing their perspectives with the world.

The issue’s cover story focuses on two groundbreaking choreographers — Associate Professor of Dance Ray Tadio and alumnus and kumu hula (master hula teacher) Patrick Makuakāne (B.S., ’89) — who use traditional dance to express who they are and where they come from. Another feature article presents a gallery of portraits of Gator musicians — with all the photos courtesy of Journalism students. In a first for the magazine, the center spread is a comic book-style exploration of the University’s Creative Nonfiction Comics Making certificate, also created by student artists. And journalism legend Ben Fong-Torres (B.A., ’66) returns to the magazine to conduct an in-depth interview with cryptocurrency pioneer and philanthropist Chris Larsen (B.S., ’84). 

The issue’s departments expand on the storytelling theme with stories about the unique programming on campus radio station KSFS and a scientific illustration grant that supports the work of artists through SF State’s Estuary & Ocean Science Center. And the magazine is filled with profiles of amazing Gator storytellers, including:

Check out the full issue of SF State Magazine now.

Alumna-turned-ambassador reflects on 30-plus-year career as U.S. diplomat

U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Caryn McClelland presents her Letter of Credence to His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam.

Caryn R. McClelland was appointed to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Brunei Darussalam in 2021

Caryn R. McClelland spent more than three decades as a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, a path she’s unknowingly been preparing for since childhood. Her parents’ wanderlust had the family moving every few years to cities in New Jersey, Maine, Michigan and California, eventually ending up in San Francisco. With each move she’d reinvent herself. For some, that might grow tiresome, but the San Francisco State University alumna says she thrived — and developed resilience and adaptability that helped her climb the ranks of the U.S. Foreign Service.

McClelland (M.A., ’90) is now ambassador to the nation of Brunei Darussalam, an absolute monarchy strategically located on the island of Borneo. The U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment in 2021, the culmination of 33 years in the Foreign Service. She was accepted into the program in the early 1990s while earning a graduate degree in International Relations from San Francisco State. (She earned her B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles and later earned an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.) Since joining the Foreign Service, she’s had posts in Vietnam, Latvia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Turkmenistan and other nations.

McClelland learned about the Foreign Service at the recommendation of a family friend who thought she’d be a good fit. At the time, McClelland had just graduated from UCLA and was deciding what to do next with her life. “I thought this was a great opportunity and a way to represent my country, but also experience life overseas,” she said. She was sold. She began studying International Relations at SF State soon afterward, building a solid foundation for the work she’d be doing abroad, and passed the Foreign Service exam shortly before earning her degree.

It wasn’t just the travel that appealed to her. “I took an aptitude test once, and it concluded that I needed to either cure world hunger — like do a big global thing — or I needed to find a job that changed frequently,” she said. The mission of a U.S. Foreign Service officer is promoting peace and prosperity and protecting American citizens abroad while advancing the interests of the United States. It’s work that deals with important global issues and changes constantly — the perfect career for McClelland.

Looking back on her decades-long career, she believes she’s made differences large and small. “There are things that we do every day as diplomats that have a long-term impact on individual lives and countries. In Vietnam it was dioxin remediation at Agent Orange sites,” she said. “There’s an organization in the military, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, that identifies missing service members, so it’s repatriating remains and reuniting them with loved ones who never thought they would see their family member again.”

Caryn takes a selfie with several other fellows

Ambassador McClelland posed for a selfie as she bids farewell to the 2023 Yong Southeast Asian Leadership Professional Fellows following their pre-departure orientation at the U.S. Embassy in Brunei.

And then there are major multinational projects, such as getting a pipeline built to transport oil and gas from former Soviet nations to international markets. She authored a pipeline strategy in 1995. The main pipeline project, which required the coordination of many agencies within the U.S. government, international lenders and commercial entities, took about 10 years to complete. “It required bringing everybody together,” she said. “But when the tap on that pipeline opened, it changed the trajectory of those countries that it went through.”

The work is rewarding but also challenging, something she relishes, she says. One of the most important lessons she’s learned is that “no” is not the end of the conversation, it’s just the beginning.

“Everybody is different and every scenario is different, but I think the commonality is a certain persistence to always look at new ways to achieve an end,” she said. “The people who are most effective in this job are the ones who are constantly willing to reinvent themselves and reinvent the way they think about things to get to ‘yes.’… It’s always constantly adapting and refocusing and reprioritizing and being willing to look for avenues that you didn’t originally see, which requires you to learn so much from other people.”

For students considering a career in the Foreign Service she recommends looking at all the different ways to join. There’s the Foreign Service exam — the route she took — but there are also fellowships and internships. Students can visit Department of State Careers to view options. There are also other employment opportunities at other federal agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, that have career opportunities abroad, she adds.

The Foreign Service is not for everyone, she acknowledges. To start, it’s an “up or out” organization, like the military. Officers either get promoted or they must leave. But the most common reason people leave is that moving around every few years can be taxing, especially on families. She has a daughter, so she knows the difficulties.

For McClelland, the benefits far outweigh the downsides. “When I joined the foreign service, my goal was not to become an ambassador. My goal was to have a rewarding career filled with wonderful experiences, meeting new people and constantly reinventing myself,” she said. “It was, ‘How could I do good but also constantly challenge myself?’”

After more than 30 years with the same organization, it’s safe to say she found her answer.

In 1946, SF State became the first university in the U.S. to establish a Department of International Relations. Learn about studying International Relations at SF State today.

Actor and alumnus BD Wong returns to campus to share his story with students

The Tony Award winner discussed the challenges he had to overcome as a queer Asian American actor

Award-winning actor and alumnus BD Wong recently returned to the stage at San Francisco State University not to perform, but to share insights gleaned from his decades-long career in film, theatre and television. A Tony Award winner for his groundbreaking role in “M. Butterfly” on Broadway, Wong is also known for appearances in films like “Mulan” and the “Jurassic Park” and “Father of the Bride” series.

While on campus at San Francisco State’s Little Theatre Tuesday, March 12, Wong answered questions from students and faculty as part of two forums, one hosted by Professor of Theatre and Dance Yutian Wong and the other by Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Amy Sueyoshi and Asian American Studies Professor Russell Jeung. Wong talked about his craft, shared advice for students hoping to launch careers in the arts and discussed the lessons he’s learned navigating the entertainment industry as a queer person of color.

Wong began acting in high school. The San Francisco native credited his high school drama teacher for instilling a sense of confidence in his ability to perform. Often cast as a lead in school productions, he never thought about his race. Then he came to SF State … where, unfortunately, he felt invisible. It was the late 1970s, and he was the only Asian American student in the theatre department. Faculty didn’t know how to serve him, he told students.

“They were certainly not programming anything that I could do that would have helped me assume my potential,” he said. “Nor were they transcending race and giving me roles that were not related to who I was as a person.”

Since then, the University has made a concerted effort when it comes to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive community. But Wong’s experience at the time caused him to drop out of college in 1980 and pursue theatre in New York City. Eight years later he made a huge splash in “M. Butterfly,” launching a career that would later include recurring roles in several TV series, including “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Oz” and “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens.” He accepted an honorary doctoral degree from SF State at the University’s 2022 Commencement, and he recently returned to San Francisco again to star in the play “Big Data” at the American Conservatory Theatre.

Though things have improved for Asian American actors since he began his career, Wong says he still wishes there were better parts and more representation. He’s had to learn to speak up and take action to open doors.

“Nothing good can happen from being passive, so I taught myself and started to enjoy fostering the conversation. It began with myself and then it bled into having this conversation with other Asian American actors who I could relate to and who could relate to me and that led to a form of activism,” he said. “It was small battles being won and them getting larger and larger. And today we have a presence that we simply didn’t have before. It’s partly because of this whole journey of micro-successes and discussions.”

Wong advises students starting out in the industry to be open to any role, whether it’s as an extra, a production assistant or a stand-in. It’s important to get exposure and to learn, he says.

“I did extra work, and it was really helpful to me just to be an observer on a set to watch the professional principal actors work with a camera,” he said. “I was in crowd scenes and stuff like that. That’s not fun, but I found it very valuable. I was fascinated by the process.”

Theatre Arts student Connor Diaz was in the audience Tuesday and found the event invaluable. “It was just really incredible to see someone in the industry explore all aspects of the craft,” Diaz said. “As a performer, I really want to invest myself in other people’s work. From someone with so much experience it was truly a gift to have that.”

SF State Music alum collaborates, tours with André 3000 on guitar

Multi-instrumentalist Nate Mercereau has collaborated with pop stars like Lizzo, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd 

When hip-hop legend and actor André “3000” Benjamin released an album by surprise last fall, he was not the only multi-hyphenate involved. San Francisco State University alumnus Nate Mercereau is a member of the nine-time Grammy winner’s ensemble on the album, “New Blue Sun,” and on tour.  

Mercereau (B.Music, ’10) is in a different universe of guitarists. He uses an electric guitar, a guitar synthesizer and a Midi-guitar.  

“He hardly ever sounds like he’s playing guitar, but he’s an awesome guitarist,” Benjamin, of the hip-hop group OutKast, told National Public Radio. “He’s kind of like a magician in a way.” 

On stage, Mercereau samples the band’s live performance by hand, using Abelton software to record a loop of sound, creating an in-the-moment composition. This improvisational technique creates a new sound with every note.  

“I have a microphone going directly into the sampler, and I also plug my own guitar into the sampler,” Mercereau says. “I’m either sampling the sound of the group live with me, or I’m sampling myself live. ... The sample becomes my ‘instrument,’ pitched all up and down the fretboard.” 

Mercereau’s magic is not just on guitar. He plays up to a dozen instruments on songs he has co-written for Lizzo, Shawn Mendes and Leon Bridges. Drums, piano, violin, French horn, glockenspiel, you name it.  

Mercereau’s own recordings are more exploratory, describing them as “music with a sense of discovery and “a searching quality.” In 2021 he garnered national press for an album of “duets” pairing his guitar work with the wind-blown hum of the Golden Gate Bridge.  

Dissonant sounds 

Before being admitted to San Francisco State’s School of Music, Mercereau had to audition. He didn’t know it yet, but his ambitions would swerve in a different direction.   

“They ended up accepting me as a guitar student with the caveat that I would also play French horn in the Wind Ensemble,” he said. 

Exceeding that requirement, he played in over five other student ensembles and made a name for himself off campus. 

“I was playing every possible gig I could,” he said. “I was playing weddings. I was playing restaurant gigs. I was playing bars and clubs all around the Bay and also in the church.” 

Joining the SFSU Gospel Choir band, led by student Mike Blankenship, opened Mercereau to an entirely different way to play music. No longer did it have to be an academic, conceptual exercise. 

“It was like, ‘Let’s get to the stuff. Let’s deliver this music. Let’s really play,’” Mercereau said, noting Blankenship’s mentorship. After graduation, they both joined Sheila E.’s band for five years of touring worldwide. 

“Nate was one of those students who just has it. I could tell that major success was ahead of him,” said Paul Wilson (B.Music, ’08), the longtime staff technician for the SF State School of Music. “His musicianship was always off the charts, and he was also just the nicest humble guy.” 

Deep listening 

Mercereau is still absorbing lessons from SF State Professor Hafez Modirzadeh. Modirzadeh told students that he enjoys listening to two radio stations at the same time to hear how the dissonant sounds blend together. It took Mercereau years to decipher. 

“I find through the years an influence in the small things that he did say to me, or even just a look in his eyes when he would walk by,” Mercereau said. “When he was talking about stuff like that, I wasn’t ready for it, but it was something that stuck with me. And now I think about those things a lot more.” 

Mercereau thinks about Modirzadeh when sharing the stage with Benjamin’s ensemble. He appreciates the professor as “a creative thinker.” 

Benjamin and each member of the “New Blue Sun” ensemble are also creative thinkers, on the same wavelength. Connecting on levels musical and personal, they practice “deep listening”: being present, open, emotional and thoughtful with each other. 

“Each of us is bringing our whole lives to the moment of creation together,” Mercereau said. “I’m very into being here on the Earth, and I’m very into getting involved in things and feeling how it feels to be alive. To move through life with that level of awareness, it feels really powerful.” 

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