Early Risers
Rise and shine with Cal Poly students putting learning into action at the crack of dawn.
Written by Larry Peña // Photos by Joe Johnston
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Student Wyatt Kane leads a sunrise cattle drive at Cal Poly’s Escuela Ranch.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to catch some Cal Poly students sleeping. Even during the darker parts of the year, motivated Mustangs are up with the sun — or earlier — as they pursue athletic excellence, personal development, campus jobs and hands-on learning experiences.
This fall, we followed five groups of Cal Poly students as they got an early start on Learn by Doing.
ROTC Training at the Sports Complex
In the predawn darkness, students in military fatigues haul bulky weights and ropes across the grass of a soccer field at the edge of campus. As they finish setting up a series of stations around the damp field, a group of younger students in U.S. Army windbreakers warm up with calisthenics nearby.
They’ve assembled from all over campus to take the Army Combat Fitness Test, a grueling gauntlet that evaluates how effectively each cadet might handle the physical demands of a combat scenario. The exercise includes weightlifting and push-up benchmarks, and a medley event featuring a backward run while dragging a 90-pound weight sled, a 25-meter lateral shuffle, and a run while carrying 40 pounds of weights — all bookended by 25-meter sprints.
The Army Combat Fitness Test includes benchmarks for hurling a weighted ball, sprinting, and a staple of military discipline: push-ups.
According to Jeremy Rathbun, executive officer of Cal Poly’s Military Science Department, participation in the ROTC program provides a variety of benefits to cadets.
“There’s a social component. We have about 50 cadets on campus, and we work together, train together and play together,” he says. “There’s a discipline aspect — our students are up training and building good habits before just about anyone else on campus. And there’s a leadership component. Lots of companies are looking for this kind of experience that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Cadets begin their assessments with a heavy hex bar squat.
For cadet Andrew Koenig, a third-year history major, one of the biggest benefits is the community. “Lots of people in this program have similar goals, and they’re going to help push you and motivate you,” he says. “No matter where you came from or where you’re going, you know you have someone that’s going to help you get there.”
Opening a Campus Coffee Shop
Few settings are more essential to the college experience than the campus coffee shop. It’s a place to meet up with friends, an informal study hall and a crucial source of energy needed to jumpstart a demanding day of classes.
The yakʔitʸutʸu housing community is home to a bustling campus location of the local chain Scout Coffee Co., where Campus Dining student employees keep the vibes warm and the espresso flowing.
It’s 6 a.m., and animal science student and barista Lola Coetzee is helping prep for the shop to open by making a fresh batch of honey lavender latte syrup. She’s been working here for eight months and has learned many valuable lessons at this fast-paced campus job.
Animal science student Lola Coetzee prepares drinks and serves pastries to the first customers of the day at the Scout Coffee Co. location on campus.
“I’ve learned food safety, how to handle allergens, and good customer service — having a positive attitude really helps,” she says. “You need to be able to be proactive, to multitask and to complete tasks quickly. I think all of those things are going to help me later in life.”
Her coworker Malia Hudson, an experience industry management student, has enjoyed connecting with her fellow baristas in this unique microcosm of campus life. “It’s just really fun to work here,” she says. “We’re all on different paths, studying different things, going into different careers, but when we’re here we’re all doing the same thing and working together.”
Moving Cattle at Escuela Ranch
As the first light of sunrise sets Hollister Peak aglow, a group of riders walk their horses across a sprawling hillside pasture, herding cattle from one fenced-in field into the next.
Escuela Enterprise, part of Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, is partly an educational experience and partly a working beef cattle business. Students operate every aspect of the 3,000-acre ranch, with four selected each year to live on-site and form the heart of the operation.
First image: Student cattle hands at Cal Poly’s Escuela Ranch ride out from the ranch house to move the herd to a new grazing ground. Second image: The herd includes many calves just a few months old. Third image: Travis Smith guides a few stragglers into the new enclosure.
“There aren’t many colleges that offer an experience like this,” says Wyatt Kane, a fourth-year bioresource and agricultural engineering major, who is the head of this year’s on-site crew. “I would never choose another college besides Cal Poly, because you get opportunities like this here.”
Students in the enterprise drive cattle from pasture to pasture to ensure even grazing across the ranch and conduct daily checks of the herd. They also provide medical care for the animals, giving routine immunizations and helping birth calves.
Students Lindsay Knoch (left) and Colt Chamberlain (right) guide some far-ranging cattle back to the rest of the herd.
Relatively few of the students will go on to work with cattle after graduation, but nevertheless the Escuela Enterprise provides an inside look at a key agricultural industry — not to mention invaluable experience running a business and working as a team.
“I feel lucky working here,” says third-year agricultural business major Travis Smith. “I’ve got some of the best roommates and coworkers.”
On the Court at Mott Gym
It’s 7 a.m. at Mott Athletics Center, but the energy is high. A Missy Elliot song thumps through the gymnasium as women in green basketball jerseys sprint back and forth across the floor. Many of them have already been in the training room for an hour or more, stretching, warming up and getting physical therapy. Now there’s an air of celebration as they gather together in the middle of the floor, cheering and shouting encouragement to each other.
Practice for the Mustang women’s basketball team officially begins when they put their hands in the center of the circle, shouting in unison, “MAKE IT COUNT!”
First photo: Head coach Shirele Stires gives some instruction at a quick huddle between drills. Second photo: Forward Sierra Lichtie drives for a layup against one of the team’s practice opponents. Third photo: Teammates Gabby Robinson (left) and Sydney Richards (right) exchange high fives at the beginning of practice.
Just like in a game, the pace of the practice is relentless. The players move from drill to drill: one moment weaving across the court in squads of three or five, running offensive formations; the next moment pairing up to practice rapid-fire passes and three-pointers. Over the sound of shouting and the ball bouncing on the hardwood floor, head coach Shanele Stires can be heard calling out, “Game speed, ladies!”
According to Stires, the early morning routine gives the players an opportunity to set their priorities for the day. “Doing this first thing in the morning allows us to start fresh and focus on basketball,” she says. “It’s a great way to start the day. They get it done, then the rest of the day they can focus on their academics.”
Gillian Bears (left) and Nora Perez (right) take turns practicing three-point shots.
Sierra Lichtie, a forward on the team and a third-year business major, doesn’t mind the early starts. “Being part of a team means that if I don’t show up ready to go, then I’m letting my team down,” she says. “It really helps having 14 other girls ready to do it with you every single day.”
Shaping the Future at the Children’s Center
It’s 7:30 a.m., and liberal studies student Ava Gresham gives patient instruction as two eager children cut out folded paper snowflakes at the Orfalea Family and ASI Children’s Center. Despite the early hour, all three seem to be having a genuinely great time.
“Seeing them early in the morning with smiles on their faces, like they’re ready for the day, makes me more excited to be here,” Gresham says.
Located on campus, the center employs dozens of students from across all disciplines to assist the professional staff in providing childcare and early childhood education to families in the Cal Poly community, including many students, staff and faculty members.
First photo: Liberal studies major Ava Gresham guides a snowflake craft. Second photo: Child development major Cherokee Trent helps a child with a puzzle. Third photo: Psychology major Tri-An Pham assists with the construction project at the Orfalea Family & ASI Children’s Center.
For many student employees and interns, working here provides a crucial opportunity to apply what they’re learning in the classroom as they prepare for careers in education and child psychology.
“As much as I learn about children in my classes, without working at the children’s center, I wouldn’t be able to fully understand what it’s like to work with them,” says Cherokee Trent, a fourth-year child development major. “I have gained so much knowledge about how to support children and how to guide them in learning that I wouldn’t have been able to learn just through class.”
For others, working with kids provides a welcome break from a demanding course load.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with children,” says Keala Sunada, a fourth-year biomedical engineering student who grew up caring for her many younger cousins. “I love the supportive environment. My major is very difficult, so it’s nice coming here and having other things to do besides solely focusing on schoolwork.”
