Beyond J

Jeffery Benson calls himself a disruptor because he’s never been one to follow the traditional path.

The 61-year-old graduated from Sac State with his bachelor’s degree in Career and Technical Studies in December 2024. In May, he returned to offer words of wisdom and encouragement to fellow Class of 2025 graduates during Spring Commencement, where he proudly represented the College of Education as its Dean’s Award recipient and accepted the President’s Medal as the University’s top graduate.

A native of Topeka, Kansas, Benson’s ties to the civil rights movement run deep. His mother, aunt and grandmother were three of the 13 original plaintiffs in the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that led to U.S. school desegregation. His father also attended the segregated Monroe Elementary School, which was at the center of the case.

It’s a legacy that has become a driving force in everything Benson has done throughout his life and career.

Benson, who is now pursuing his master’s of science in Law at McGeorge School of Law, joined “Beyond J” to discuss the many stops he had along his journey to a degree, including the unique experience that inspired him to attend Sac State, his visit to the White House for the 70th anniversary of the landmark case, meeting former President Joe Biden, and his aspirations to obtain his doctorate of law and serve as an attorney and policy advocacy analyst for the state.

The episode also includes Benson’s Commencement speech, delivered to College of Education graduates on May 17.

For former foster youth, attending college, let alone graduating, may seem daunting. In fact, nationally, only 4% of college students who have experienced the foster system will earn a degree.

Bucking that trend are the students in Sac State’s Guardian Scholars Program, which provides support and resources to former foster youth at the University. The program has just over 200 students participating, and will see nearly 40 of them graduate this academic year alone.

Linda Ram, the program’s director, joins “Beyond J” this week to talk about the challenges former foster youth face in college, how Guardian Scholars supports them, and the tremendous growth of the program in just the past few years. Also joining us is Thomas Taylor, a Guardian Scholars student who is working toward a degree in Mechanical Engineering, to share his experience both in the foster system and at Sac State.

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When Ryan Todd came to Sacramento State as a student some two decades ago, the idea of colleges and universities investing significant time and resources into sustainability was a concept still in its infancy.

But Todd liked the outdoors, so he decided to major in Environmental Studies. He left Sac State with not only his degree, but also a commitment to do his part to help the planet. Little did he know, he would one day return to his alma mater to do just that.

Today, Todd is Sac State’s director of Sustainability and Energy, leading a team of dedicated staff and students who are working hard to help the University achieve its ambitious climate goals: zero-waste by 2030, and carbon neutral by 2040. It’s important work, he says, that not only helps the environment but also uses the campus as a living laboratory for students to innovate and gain skills that will help them in their careers.

This Earth Day, he joins “Beyond J” to talk about Sac State’s latest sustainability initiatives and share some tips for how members of the campus community can reduce their impact on the environment.

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What can the common fruit fly teach us about autism? That's a question Sacramento State Biology Professor Kim Mulligan and her students are working to answer.

Mulligan's research centers on the molecular basis of brain disorders. In her lab on campus, she and her students use the common fruit fly to study how genes and environmental factors can converge to cause neurodevelopment disorders, such as autism and fragile X syndrome. Fruit flies are an ideal organism for such studies because they have many genes associated with human diseases.

Mulligan joins Beyond J to talk with us about the broader implications of her research and why she's so devoted to teaching and mentoring, as well as share her favorite travel destinations and Sacramento Kings players.

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In 2015, after all 20 Academy Award acting nominations went to white actors, social media responded with the #OscarsSoWhite campaign to press for greater representation in film.

Now, ten years later, has Hollywood made good on its promise to diversify? What do this year’s nominations say about the state of filmmaking? And where is the industry headed overall?

Michele Foss-Snowden is a professor of rhetoric and media at Sacramento State, whose research, in part, looks at representation in film, TV and other media. Ahead of this year’s Oscars, she joined “Beyond J” to talk with host Phillip Altstatt about this year’s nominated films, the importance of not just the quantity of representation but also the quality, and overall trends in Hollywood.

“M. Foss” also shares how she incorporates this critical lens into her teaching at Sac State, and discusses “The TV Doc,” her podcast where she “prescribes” TV episodes to watch to “alleviate … emotional ailments.”

Shortly after the 2024 general election, Sacramento State President Luke Wood met with some of the University’s undocumented students and posed a question.

"He said, ‘We can go two ways. We can go into hiding if that makes you all feel better, or we can be out and we can be proud and we can say that Sac State stands with you,’ ” said Kim Gomez, coordinator of the University’s Dreamer Resource Center. “Everyone unanimously said, 'We don't want to hide. We're done hiding. We want Sac State to show us that they support (us).’

“It’s good for incoming students to see that we’re not hiding. We have so many resources available.”

Following the re-election of Donald Trump, whose campaign rhetoric called for mass deportation and hardline immigration policies, Sac State’s 500-600 undocumented students, as well as those from mixed-status families, face new uncertainties and challenges on their path to graduation.

In this episode of “Beyond J,” Gomez discusses the mood of undocumented students following the election, and the support and resources available to them and their families through the Dreamer Resource Center. Also joining is Basia Ellis, an associate professor in the College of Education, who shares insights from her research into the psychology and experiences of undocumented immigrants, especially in the face of hardline policies.

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Scientific research is “a lot of fun,” Sac State Chemistry Professor Kathie McReynolds insists.

But in her lab, it also has a serious purpose. She and her students are studying agents capable of slowing the spread of deadly viruses, including those with the potential for causing epidemics or even pandemics.

In the latest episode of “Beyond J,” McReynolds discusses her academic journey and career path, the joy of teaching, why she makes sure to involve stuednts in the lab and the implications of her groundbreaking research.

Eventually, her studies of “molecules with purpose” could contribute to the development of nasal or throat sprays that could keep viruses like coronavirus at bay, reducing illnesses and hospitalizations.

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For Erin Kaplan, theater isn’t just a performance. It’s a chance to have a conversation.

At 19 years old, she was a student at the University of Michigan and on track for a career as a lawyer when she participated in a program that taught theater to girls incarcerated at a youth correctional facility.

Kaplan, now a Sacramento State Professor of Theatre and Dance, says she ended up learning just as much from the girls as they learned from her.

The experience led her to change her career from law to teaching and to embrace a tradition of theater known as “Theater of the Oppressed,” which seeks to promote social change by directly engaging and involving audiences.

For example, Kaplan recently directed a student production at Sac State called the “Forum Theater Festival,” where student actors wrote and performed short plays about oppression. Audience members were then invited onto the stage to act out how they would respond in the situations depicted.

In this episode of “Beyond J,” Kaplan discusses with host Phillip Altstatt her journey to this theater tradition, how art can promote social change and the opportunities she is providing to her students to engage in this type of work.

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Mail-in ballots are already trickling in, and voters soon will decide the direction the United States will take – for the next four years, at least.

In a new “Beyond J” podcast episode, Rebekkah Mulholland, Sacramento State Public History Program director, and Kim Nalder, director of the Project for an Informed Electorate, offer their insights on the 2024 election, cutting through the noise of a contentious, high-stakes campaign.

In addition to providing historical context, Mulholland and Nalder touch on the pros and cons of modern-day polling technology and more restrictive voting laws several states have enactede.

They also talk frankly about how the war in Gaza is influencing their students, who represent many of the nation’s newest voters, as well as how political rhetoric and misinformation are raising alarm.

Even Taylor Swift gets a mention as host Phil Alstatt takes this Election 2024 conversation beyond campus to the region, the state and the world.

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Sasha Sidorkin is an artificial intelligence realist. Or, as he puts it, “I know what hype is.”

While the conversation about AI can swing between excitement about its seemingly endless capabilities and concerns about sweeping job losses or, in some circles, the potential end of the world, Sidorkin, Sacramento State’s chief AI officer, takes a more measured approach.

As head of Sac State’s National Institute on AI in Society, Sidorkin speaks frequently in the community about the technology and also hears concerns from faculty about the potential for student cheating. Sidorkin tells “Beyond J” that, yes, some jobs will disappear, but not nearly as many as people think. Yes, AI can write a five-paragraph essay, but it’s not capable of human creativity or agency.

And no, we are not living in a simulation.

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Tammy Linn was the child of drug addicts, and grew up with instability and loss. She lived with multiple foster families and bounced around from school to school before ultimately dropping out. Unable to read and write, and eventually turned to crime before landing in prison.

In our second episode, we introduce you to six Sac State students who share their experience and advice entering the internship and job market during a time of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re also joined by Emma Wadiak and Stephaine Francis from the Sacramento State Career Center, who discuss how the department is helping students navigate these difficult circumstances.