Every fall at Cal Poly, the entire campus community comes together. Students return from vacations and internships. Faculty prepare for a more rigorous class schedule, and support staff readies the campus for the annual flood. Brand new Mustangs take their first steps on a campus that will be their new home for the most formative years of their lives.

To celebrate this season, we’ve developed a few special items for this issue focused on one of the big traditions that brings Cal Poly together: Week of Welcome. It’s an indelible part of the Cal Poly journey, and it unifies our students like perhaps no other experience.

I also wanted to thank all of you who have come together over the past year in support of the new Cal Poly Magazine. This summer we learned that we’d won two big awards in the education world. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education has awarded Cal Poly Magazine a regional bronze award for excellence in university print magazines and an international silver award in the category of best digital magazines for our online edition.

Those awards aren’t just about well-written stories, fancy design or user-friendly interface. They’re a testament to a community driven by a quest for excellence. And they’re a reflection of your support as you spread the word about the outstanding work being done at Cal Poly.

Thank you for being a part of this strong university community, for being an active participant in Cal Poly Magazine, and for sharing your stories with us.

Sincerely,

Larry Peña
lpenaiii@calpoly.edu