Neil D. McCallum (Architecture, ’72) celebrated his retirement from the practice of architecture in June of 2015 by riding his bicycle from Madison, Wis. to Seattle, Wash. He joined 35 fellow riders in Iowa. The supported ride was part of an event called “Bike the U.S. for MS,” supporting funding for multiple sclerosis research. Along the way, the group performed service projects for those suffering from MS. During the trip, McCallum also climbed Logan Pass in Glacier National Park the day before a fire closed the pass for several weeks. He says that the trip was an unforgettable adventure.

 Elizabeth Pidgeon (Architecture, ’80) will be leaving her position as chief architect for Grand Canyon National Park for a new position in the National Park Service Intermountain Regional Office Historical Preservation Program in Santa Fe, N.M.

Greg Hauser (Landscape Architecture, ’88) is a principal with the HLA Group, a landscape architects firm in Sacramento, Calif., and has become an owner and shareholder with the firm. Hauser has been with the HLA Group for 20 years and offers extensive design experience on a wide variety of project types with an emphasis on park and sports park master planning, design and documentation. He provides strategic direction, oversight of firm operations and leads business development practices.

Holman Vilchez (Architecture, ’02) was promoted to job captain at the architecture firm of Brad Cox, Architect, Inc. in San Jose, Calif. He says that the architecture program at Cal Poly established a strong base for his experiences in the architecture industry, and that the focus on both the design and technical aspects provided great balance for a career that requires both skills.

Carissa Shrock (Architecture, ’03) was one of 12 recipients of the 2016 American Institute of Architects Young Architect Award.

Michael Charters (Architecture, ’10) was recently selected as a winner for the ChiDesign competition as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial with his colleague Ranjit Korah. He worked for the architecture firm SOM in San Francisco and Chicago until 2014 and has returned to school at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in pursuit of his post professional master of architecture degree.