Cal Poly Cat ProgramWe are the Cal Poly Cat Program (CPCP)! We are an on campus cat shelter aimed at helping cats and benefiting student learning. We work hard everyday to maintain the health and well being of all our animals. Donating to our program will help dozens of cats get the medical care they need. Reaching our goal will help us vaccinate, treat, and feed every cat in the shelter for the rest of the year.

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We would have extra funds for emergencies and future chronic illnesses. When more funds are available we can help more cats! Having the resources to maintain the health of our feline friends is mutually beneficial for our student volunteers. Many animal science students get hands on medical experience when working with the CPCP cats. This often helps them when applying to graduate programs like veterinary school.

Cal Poly Executive Partners Program

Students of all majors receive warm compassion from the kitties when they miss their pets at home. We all know how stressful college can be and maintaining CPCP is one way to lighten that load. Here are some wonderful examples of cats that have touched our hearts from the words of volunteer, Dana Humphreys:“.recently a woman tragically found herself homeless and was seeking an organization to take her 7 cats! Not missing a heartbeat CPCP stepped up and took on the challenge, cats ranging from 1 year to 18 years old began to trickle into the shelter.

One cat in particular needed extensive medical treatments (eye surgery & 9 extractions); the procedures put a dent in the medical budget, but seeing how beautifully he has recovered, there is no question it was the right decision. Another heartwarming tale involved two adorable cats found as strays in North County and SLO who recently came into our shelter. They were well-mannered, not feral, but their microchip registrations were not current so no clues as to where they came from. Realizing their owners would be missing them, the CPCP student staffers jumped into action, through social media sites the word was spreading across the county “Is this your kitty?” It took a village but both cats are now reunited with their owners!!”Since the program’s inception in 1992, over 3,000 cats have been adopted out. CPCP started as a senior project and it continues to impact students everyday. There are many ways students, families, and community members can help.

Donations, volunteering, fostering, and adoptions are just some of the fastest ways to get involved. We will be hosting an open house on November 16th so you can come and meet the felines themselves - stay tuned for more info! We encourage you to share our campaign and story to allow us to keep helping the cats of Cal Poly and the greater San Luis Obispo area. Please visit our program website at and our Facebook and Instagram under Cal Poly Cat Program.

Partner students gather around during a workshop at last weeks pre-collegiate symposium. Courtesy PhotoThe top sophomore students from high schools with large minority populations in California visited Cal Poly as part of a pre-collegiate symposium to help them plan for higher education.The program also serves to add diversity to the existing student body at Cal Poly.The roughly 200 visiting sophomores spent 24 hours on campus receiving tours, doing group icebreakers and attending workshops.“Most underprivileged students are in the larger cities like L.A. And San Francisco,” program coordinator Melissa Pierce said. “It’s definitely a program aimed at diversifying Cal Poly by informing these underrepresented students about the school.”. The two-day symposium was hosted by the, a recruitment program that establishes formal partnerships with first generation, low-income high schools that have lower college attendance rates.“I knew I wanted to work in education outreach,” Pierce said. “The lack of a level playing field at a lot of high schools motivated me to want to help change it.”Beginning with 22 high schools in 1999, the university now has 182 partner schools from across the state.

Grant money and the university provide all the funding for the event including meals, transportation and facilities.The program’s purpose is to inform minority students about the opportunities offered at Cal Poly, a challenge since many of the students were unfamiliar with the university.Mariah Espinosa traveled to San Luis Obispo from the Bay Area. She said she didn’t recall ever hearing about Cal Poly until she saw the sweatshirts around campus and recognized the logo.“I didn’t know if a four-year was for me but being here has opened my eyes to a lot,” Espinosa said.To be invited, students need to have a minimum 3.6 GPA.Carol Mills, a counselor at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, chaperoned for the symposium for the ninth time.“The more adventurous usually go. For those that don’t come, some have never been out of their neighborhood and aren’t willing to venture this far, or the parents won’t let them,” she said.Nadia Ventura, a counselor from, was another returning chaperon this year.“These kids haven’t had as many opportunities and most have never stayed overnight at a college campus,” Ventura said.The students and chaperons were greeted by 15 Cal Poly group leaders, most of whom attended one of the partner schools.“We see so many sophomores that come through and now they are Cal Poly students,” Pierce said. “They were shy and scared and now they are helping lead and run the event.”Sociology junior Daniel Galvan and general engineering freshman Nick Simon helped lead the event this year.

They graduated from Ramona High School.“These are valedictorians and students at the top of their class most likely to go to schools like Cal Poly,” Galvan said. “We make sure they stay together and are having a good time. They are only sophomores so we are planting a seed for them to come to Cal Poly.” Partner students gather around during a workshop at last weeks pre-collegiate symposium. The first day's events consisted of a more social aspect; the students are encouraged to play games and interact with leaders. The second day, ambassadors from each of the six colleges set up demonstration stations that included details about and projects involved with the colleges.

Courtesy Photo“When they hear about graduates starting up Jamba Juice and other senior projects, they get hyped,” Mills said.For the evening, the chaperons stayed at Embassy Suites while the sophomores spent the night on campus through the Vista Host Program, a volunteer opportunity for enrolled students in on-campus housing to host one or two visiting students.Before leaving, the sophomores are given a tour of two different academic colleges selected randomly, unless they show a specific interest in one.“This is just to show them there are different options,” Galvan said. Epa design manual odor corrosion control international. “Most don’t really know what they want to do yet.”College ambassadors gave tours of their academic departments. Graphic communication senior Rachel Hutchinson gave multiple tours Friday.“We are asked to give our expertise on our majors,” she said.

“The program emphasizes the importance of going to college and helps to broaden their understanding of what’s available.”Hayoon Chung, a sophomore at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Students, said she had originally planned on coming just to get a couple days off from school. Chung said she now thinks she wants to be an architect.“In L.A., they talk about the Ivy leagues and the UCs,” Chung said. “They don’t encourage the Cal States, so I never really looked into Cal Poly. The professors seem personal and the architecture program seems more fun, but also hard.”The students that come notice the lack of diversity on campus.“When we leave, my kids often comment on how white the campus is,” Mills said. “I just tell them, ‘If you don’t go there, it will never change.'