Class Notes

Heather Contreras

‘07, M.A., Arts, Education
‘11, Ed.D. Arts, Educational Leadership and Administration

In March 2024, Heather Contreras was appointed superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. With 22 years of experience in teaching across various grade levels, site administration, and district office leadership, Heather brings a wealth of expertise to her new role. Beyond her educational roles, Heather actively promotes leadership development and educational change, serving as a mentor, teacher and member of the California Educational Partners Collaborative.

Gurjant Dhillon

‘17 Business Administration, Operations Management

Gurjant, while attending Stan State, was able to utilize the fundamentals learned to kick off his own business, Cre8ive Entertainment. Since 2015, he has built a company that services the wedding and live show/production industries. Over the years, he has built a portfolio as a wedding DJ and has been able to travel the world entertaining the masses.

Jack Waldorf

‘62, ‘13, History

Jack was re-elected to a second term as the Stanislaus County Behavioral Health Board Chairperson. He was appointed to the Board by the County Board of Supervisors and has served for 22 years, with three prior two-year terms as chairperson.

Desiree Jones

‘22 MBA

Desiree has successfully reached her goal of gaining employment at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As a Business Analyst in the Finance directorate, she will support the Livermore Lab's mission by implementing strategic initiatives learned at Stan State to enhance the complex financial systems and processes.

Kim Craddock

‘95 Cultural Anthropology

Kim is making a difference in her community as the Chief Probation Officer for Calaveras County. She credits her experience studying cultural anthropology at Stan State as an important element of her success.

"When you come from a small community, everybody knows everybody, or is related, so everybody’s kind of the same. When I left Calaveras County to go to Stanislaus State, I found there was so much more. It’s so enriching when you’re immersed in it, especially when you have people from different cultures with different points of view. I don’t think I’d be a good probation officer without those experiences."

Amy Bublak

‘88 Sociology, Criminal Justice

Warrior Hall of Famer and Turlock Mayor, captured gold for women’s javelin and the broke world record at the 2023 World Police & Fire Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

Yesenia Maldonado

‘21, Communication Studies

Yesenia is working in her new role of human resource technician for Delhi Unified School District (DUSD) after being the event coordinator for the Turlock Chamber of Commerce. Yesenia assists in maintaining DUSD’s website and social media presence.

Julio Pimentel

‘14, Biological Sciences

Julio successfully defended his doctorate in Cancer Biology at Wayne State University. He credits Stanislaus State as part of his success and encourages underrepresented groups toward academia.

Manuel Zaragoza

‘21, History

Manuel had an acrylic painting titled “mysteries triangle seeker” selected for display in the Mistlin Gallery in Modesto June 15-July 15. It was his first attempt at acrylic painting. Zaragoza plans to refine his art skills and seek out more art competition opportunities.