Heather Takahashi

Off the Court

Cal Poly alumni, as Heather Takahashi tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Victor GloverNASA astronaut, Artemis II pilot

  Victor Glover took his engineering degree from Cal Poly in ninety nine, became the first Black American astronaut to live aboard the space station, and this April he piloted Artemis Two around the Moon. Long way from San Luis Obispo.

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• George Ramosthree-time Pulitzer-winning journalist

  George Ramos came through Cal Poly and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize three times as a journalist. Three. Mustangs do the reading and the writing.

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• William H. Swansonformer Raytheon chairman and CEO

  We also claim Bill Swanson, class of seventy three, who ran Raytheon and admitted to plagiarism in a booklet he claimed to have written. In two thousand six the company cut his pay by about a million dollars. Learn by doing, I guess.

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• "Weird Al" Yankovicrock parodist and entertainer

  Yes, Weird Al Yankovic is a Mustang. The rock parodist and all-around entertainer is on the Cal Poly alumni list, and honestly that explains a lot about this town.

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• Burt Rutanaircraft and spacecraft designer

  Burt Rutan, Cal Poly alum, designed SpaceShipOne and the Rutan Voyager. Some people leave the Central Coast and just keep going up.

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