Cougars & Mustangs 

Stressing out about college loans and all the other associated school-related costs?

Here’s some good news to relax your mind and eventually fatten your wallet: A recent report by College Portrait and PayScale.com revealed that Cal Poly graduates and alumni top all other CSU campuses and plenty of private universities when it comes to their median starting career salaries.

At mid-career, their median salaries top all UC and CSU grads—with the exceptions of UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. But Cal Poly offers alumni—and parents—a greater return on investment than private universities and UCs by delivering that earning power at a lesser cost.

According to the report, median graduate salaries of Cal Poly bachelor’s degree graduates are about $55,000 annually, compared to $53,100 for UC Berkeley grads and $50,700 for UCLA grads.

And—holy crap!—the academic awards keep rolling in for the Mustangs.

The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management presented Cal Poly environmental engineering professor Samuel A. Vigil with the Iraj Zandi Award for his efforts in educating students about solid waste management.

The Zandi Award is given each year to someone who has significantly contributed to the field of solid waste management and honors inspiring educator Iraj Zandi, emeritus professor of systems and national center professor of resource management and technology at the University of Pennsylvania.

This sure beats Saturday morning cartoons: Talk with Cal Poly professors and students about their ongoing research into the seas off the Central Coast, Morro Bay’s ecosystem, sustaining local fisheries, mapping ocean currents, dealing with invading species, and other ocean projects as the university opens the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach for free on Friday, April 23, at 9 a.m.

Get your swing on—and get your mind out of the gutter: We’re talking about swing dancing! The public is invited to a dance concert on Friday, April 22, featuring original swing-era tunes played by Cal Poly’s University Jazz Band No. 1. in Chumash Auditorium in the University Union at 8 p.m. Free swing dance lessons will be given at 7 p.m.

Spring is in the air, and apparently that makes Cuesta College students want to dance! As the Central Coast community college preps for its spring break (which officially runs April 26 to 30), the school will hold a dance concert in the CPAC experimental theater from Saturday to Tuesday. All shows start at 7:30 p.m.

The concerts should provide inspiration for students to get the grind on dance floors throughout various spring break locations. ∆

Send Kai Beech your local college news via Managing Editor Ashley Schwellenbach at [email protected].