Newsroom
- Psychology Student Focuses on Mental Health AdvocacyMiyah Walker has had a passion for listening and offering a hand to hold since she was just 13. Being a middle child among three sisters, Walker was often the person who would help and listen to her siblings, cousins and close friends when they needed someone to discuss their feelings or mental health challenges. Without even realizing it at the time, Walker was already heading down the path of psychological sciences. Coming to Cal State San Marcos, Walker felt introverted and nervous to talk to others, but that did not stop her from pushing herself to step outside her comfort zone. Walker has been inspiring her peers and helping create a safe space on campus through her work as a residential adviser, as a collections, delivery and access student assistant in Kellogg Library, and by educating and advocating for BIPOC mental health awareness at Student Health and Counseling Services as a HOPE peer health educator. Walker’s efforts led her to be selected as the recipient of the 2025 Dean of Students Award for Outstanding Leadership. “I was just watching true crime and crocheting when Dean of Students Jason Schreiber called and told me that I won the award,” Walker said. “I was shocked. After I talked to him during the candidacy process, I felt really good about our conversation. I was kind of just thinking, ‘Wow, I just finished talking to the Dean of Students.’ ” Walker first knew that she wanted to work in the psychological sciences at 13 after experiencing her best friend going through a challenging time. Walker was a constant advocate for her best friend by being there for meetings with social workers and comforting her when others were dismissing the friend’s mental health struggles. Walker was able to separate herself from the situation and truly just be there for her best friend. The experience opened Walker’s eyes to the need for mental health advocacy, specifically for BIPOC communities when she would hear people dismiss the mental health experiences young individuals were facing. Walker reflected on the rhetoric used during her experience advocating for her best friend. “People would say, ‘You're too young to be depressed. You don't have anything to be depressed about. You don’t have anything to be stressed about,’ ” Walker said. “There were a lot of things that were happening in her life and happening to her that people were dismissing, and that was taking a toll on her mental health as well. Just seeing how big of an effect it was having on her, I was shocked by the lack of support. It made me aware that people in communities of color do not care as much as they should.” Walker is from Los Angeles and a first-generation college student, so coming to San Marcos was a big transition. But being so active on campus helped Walker thrive, leading her to believe that you always end up where you need to be. After graduating next month with her bachelor’s in psychological science and a minor in Spanish, Walker has big plans for the future. She plans to return to Los Angeles and work as a mental health counselor specializing in underserved communities and communities of color. Her educational and career goals, however, do not end there. Walker plans to obtain her doctorate to work as a psychologist, along with continuing her advocacy and educational work for BIPOC communities, which is similar to her focus at CSUSM. Walker’s hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. “Miyah’s commitment to excellence in leadership, scholarship and service is clear, both as an RA and as a HOPE peer educator,” Stephanie Burga, a residential director, wrote in her nomination of Walker for the Dean of Students Award. “In all of her roles at CSUSM, she has challenged herself to think creatively and communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals. She has also played a significant role in developing programs and initiatives that advance the university’s mission, and each of the programs she’s hosted has contributed to enriching student life at CSUSM.” There’s little doubt that Walker’s legacy at CSUSM will live on as she moves forward with her education and career goals of being a pillar for mental health awareness in the BIPOC communities. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314
- Children's Show That Professor Consulted on Nominated for Peabody AwardThe Native-themed children’s show that a Cal State San Marcos professor served as a Native production consultant for has been nominated for a Peabody Award. The Peabody Awards recognize excellence in storytelling across television, radio and digital media, celebrating narratives that illuminate, inspire and empower audiences. Their prestigious standing within the media industry stems from their academic foundation and reputation for discerning exceptional content. Joely Proudfit, chair of CSUSM’s American Indian studies department, was the Native production consultant for the Netflix animated series “Spirit Rangers,” which ran for 39 episodes across three seasons from 2022-24. On Thursday, “Spirit Rangers” was nominated for a Peabody Award in the category of “children’s/youth.” “Spirit Rangers” is a fantasy-adventure preschool show that “celebrates community, nature and the rich heritage of Native American storytelling.” It was created by Karissa Valencia, a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the first California Native American showrunner. The show featured an all-Native writers’ room and Natives in every aspect of production. More than 100 Indigenous people worked on the series. “This recognition fills me with immense pride,” Proudfit said. “The lasting cultural impact this show is creating and will continue to create for generations to come makes me forever proud. “This nomination honors not just my work, but the entire team’s commitment to authentic Indigenous storytelling.” Proudfit worked alongside Valencia to help guide all production elements while collaborating closely with Indigenous communities worldwide to authenticate cultural representations, art, music and language. Her meticulous oversight extended to every aspect of the series, from script dialogue to visual artistry and musical sounds. Proudfit, who’s also the director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at CSUSM, consulted on “Spirit Rangers” through her company. Native Media Strategies provides resources that help foster more authentic representation of Native and Indigenous peoples in Hollywood. Among other projects, Proudfit previously offered Native consulting services to “Stumptown,” an ABC crime drama that aired in 2019, and “Hostiles,” a 2017 Western film starring Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale. She currently serves as a consulting producer for "NCIS: Origins" on CBS and also is co-directing an upcoming documentary project. The 68 Peabody Award nominees were chosen by a unanimous vote of 27 jurors from more than 1,000 entries across television, podcasts/radio and the web in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and interactive/immersive programming and media. Winners of the 85th annual Peabody Awards will be announced on May 1, with a ceremony hosted by comedian and actor Roy Wood Jr. to be held on June 1 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. Established in 1940 by the National Association of Broadcasters, the Peabody Award was created to honor excellence in radio broadcasting as the industry’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prizes. It was later expanded to include television and then to new media including podcasts and streaming. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306
Student Announcements
- Campuswide Evacuation DrillA mandatory campuswide building evacuation drill will be held on Feb. 12 at 9 a.m. The drill complies with a California State University policy that requires each campus in the system to conduct a building evacuation drill at least once annually. On Feb. 12 at 9 a.m., a message will be sent via the emergency notification system to start the evacuation drill. Multiple modalities may be utilized, including desktop alerts, digital signage, library PA, Cougar Central PA and text messages. Your building’s fire alarm also may activate. The drill is expected to last 20-30 minutes. Please evacuate the building, report to the nearest evacuation zone and wait for the “all clear” before re-entering. You can review the building evacuation zone assignments at https://www.csusm.edu/em/documents/csusmevaczones24.pdf. Contact Emergency Management at em@csusm.edu with any questions.
- Checking the Status of Campus ElevatorsDid you know there are three ways to check the working status of CSUSM’s 40 elevators and five wheelchair lifts? 1. Facilities Development and Management tracks the working status of our elevators with this interactive map. https://workrequest.csusm.edu/elevator/status.php 2. You can also sign up for email notifications that automatically alert you when our elevators are taken out of service or returned to service here. https://m.csusm.edu/default/kurogo_message_center/channels?feed=messages_channel_eac8ab41-0a30-45fd-aa4b-e1bca1ec9644 3. You can also receive automatic notifications on your phone through the CSUSM App. To sign up do the following steps: • Sign in to the CSUSM App • Go to “Maps” • Click on “Elevator Status” • Click on the “Opt In” button
News Release
- New Solar Powered Benches on CampusFacilities Development & Management in partnership with the CSUSM Corporation is excited to announce the addition of five new solar powered benches across campus. These benches provide: • Built-in charging ports so you can power up your phone or other devices while you sit • Lighted outdoor seating in the evenings—perfect for studying, relaxing, or meeting up with friends after dark These benches are part of our ongoing efforts to create sustainable, student-friendly spaces that support comfort, safety and convenience. Keep an eye out as you walk around campus—you might just find your new favorite spot to charge and chill.
- Psychology Student Focuses on Mental Health AdvocacyMiyah Walker has had a passion for listening and offering a hand to hold since she was just 13. Being a middle child among three sisters, Walker was often the person who would help and listen to her siblings, cousins and close friends when they needed someone to discuss their feelings or mental health challenges. Without even realizing it at the time, Walker was already heading down the path of psychological sciences. Coming to Cal State San Marcos, Walker felt introverted and nervous to talk to others, but that did not stop her from pushing herself to step outside her comfort zone. Walker has been inspiring her peers and helping create a safe space on campus through her work as a residential adviser, as a collections, delivery and access student assistant in Kellogg Library, and by educating and advocating for BIPOC mental health awareness at Student Health and Counseling Services as a HOPE peer health educator. Walker’s efforts led her to be selected as the recipient of the 2025 Dean of Students Award for Outstanding Leadership. “I was just watching true crime and crocheting when Dean of Students Jason Schreiber called and told me that I won the award,” Walker said. “I was shocked. After I talked to him during the candidacy process, I felt really good about our conversation. I was kind of just thinking, ‘Wow, I just finished talking to the Dean of Students.’ ” Walker first knew that she wanted to work in the psychological sciences at 13 after experiencing her best friend going through a challenging time. Walker was a constant advocate for her best friend by being there for meetings with social workers and comforting her when others were dismissing the friend’s mental health struggles. Walker was able to separate herself from the situation and truly just be there for her best friend. The experience opened Walker’s eyes to the need for mental health advocacy, specifically for BIPOC communities when she would hear people dismiss the mental health experiences young individuals were facing. Walker reflected on the rhetoric used during her experience advocating for her best friend. “People would say, ‘You're too young to be depressed. You don't have anything to be depressed about. You don’t have anything to be stressed about,’ ” Walker said. “There were a lot of things that were happening in her life and happening to her that people were dismissing, and that was taking a toll on her mental health as well. Just seeing how big of an effect it was having on her, I was shocked by the lack of support. It made me aware that people in communities of color do not care as much as they should.” Walker is from Los Angeles and a first-generation college student, so coming to San Marcos was a big transition. But being so active on campus helped Walker thrive, leading her to believe that you always end up where you need to be. After graduating next month with her bachelor’s in psychological science and a minor in Spanish, Walker has big plans for the future. She plans to return to Los Angeles and work as a mental health counselor specializing in underserved communities and communities of color. Her educational and career goals, however, do not end there. Walker plans to obtain her doctorate to work as a psychologist, along with continuing her advocacy and educational work for BIPOC communities, which is similar to her focus at CSUSM. Walker’s hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. “Miyah’s commitment to excellence in leadership, scholarship and service is clear, both as an RA and as a HOPE peer educator,” Stephanie Burga, a residential director, wrote in her nomination of Walker for the Dean of Students Award. “In all of her roles at CSUSM, she has challenged herself to think creatively and communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals. She has also played a significant role in developing programs and initiatives that advance the university’s mission, and each of the programs she’s hosted has contributed to enriching student life at CSUSM.” There’s little doubt that Walker’s legacy at CSUSM will live on as she moves forward with her education and career goals of being a pillar for mental health awareness in the BIPOC communities. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314
Steps Magazine
- Alumna on Front Lines of Fight to Advance Clean EnergyManal Yamout McDermid often feels like she’s standing on the cutting edge of California’s multibillion-dollar green economy. One day, McDermid will be meeting with a company that is developing what are effectively electric helicopters designed to cover distances of less than 100 miles – basically, an Uber for the skies. The next day, she’ll sit down with a business that’s building a device that captures a semi truck’s carbon emissions directly from the tailpipe, pumps it into a tank, then either buries it underground or sells the CO2 for use in products like soda. Still other days might include huddles with firms that make rooftop solar panels, heat pump water heaters, even self-driving cars. “Each of the clients that I work with, I get a chance to embed in their team,” McDermid said. “I get to jump around. And not only is the subject matter different, but the people are different and the vibe is different. I like that diversity.” Those clients, in turn, value McDermid’s expertise, so much so that they’re willing to pay handsomely for it, in many cases while they’re still trying to get off the ground as a startup. The Cal State San Marcos alumna is the founding partner of Caliber Strategies, a Sacramento-based lobbying firm that helps energy and climate companies – whether sexy startups or stodgy utilities – navigate the regulatory maze that is the California policy arena. In doing so, McDermid draws on almost two decades of experience in state politics and policymaking, going back to when she was a clean energy adviser to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in her early 20s, only a few years after graduating from CSUSM with a degree in biology. “I founded this company because it’s really challenging to bring new technologies to market, especially in a place like California where the market rules are quite complex and there are all these different agencies doing different things,” McDermid said. “We focus exclusively on climate and energy, and primarily on what I refer to as disruptive technologies.” Founded in 2013, Caliber now totals eight employees, and one of McDermid’s fellow partners is Michael Picker, former president of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the nonpartisan body charged with regulating the state’s utilities. The company has almost 50 clients, including investment management giant Blackstone, accounting firm KPMG and Sunrun, one of the nation’s biggest solar installers. Sometimes Caliber’s clients take the form of a legacy company that’s opening a new product line. A.O. Smith Corporation, for example, has been around for 150 years and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of water heaters and boilers, with annual sales of almost $4 billion. But as California increasingly moves toward the full electrification of all buildings, A.O. Smith is gravitating toward heat pumps, which heat water using electricity instead of gas. Enter Caliber. The company worked with a team of nonprofit, industry and environmental organizations to help pass legislation to allocate about $44 million in incentives for heat pumps. Caliber then led an effort with this coalition and the CPUC to design an incentive program that would offer state residents payments of up to $7,300 for installing heat pumps. Another category of clients is fledgling businesses with an innovative solution to a climate-related problem. Charm Industrial is a Bay Area startup with a mission to, as its website touts, “put oil back underground,” an elegantly simple description of the complex science involved in carbon capture and sequestration. Charm approached Caliber in its infancy, seeking to get introduced to the right people, increase its name recognition and create a market from scratch. “It’s about streamlining the process, and even more so trying to educate regulators,” McDermid said. “We educate regulators and policymakers about what the needs of new technologies are. After the policymaker has already said, for example, we want electric cars and you have the market ready, there remain all these barriers that no one has figured out. So it’s a collaborative process to figure out how we get from where we are now to where we want to be.” It was at CSUSM where McDermid discovered her twin passions for environmental science and public policy. Having initially enrolled at the university on a cross country and track and field scholarship (she competed for two years before injuries forced her to stop), she decided she wanted to pursue conservation biology and save the earth one planted tree at a time. At some point in her college journey, however, it dawned on her that planting trees – even 10 to 20 acres worth – couldn’t compare with, say, protecting millions of acres through legislation. As a junior, McDermid spent the fall semester in Washington, D.C., as part of the Panetta Congressional Internship Program, and when she returned, she ran for and was elected president of Associated Students, Inc., for her senior year in 2004-05. She even started a progressive activist organization with some friends. “CSUSM was this perfect testing ground to try out all these different things,” she said. Using her student experience as a springboard, McDermid was accepted after graduation into the Capital Fellows Program, an initiative through Sacramento State that offers paid, full-time fellowships in each branch of California’s government. She was assigned to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office for a year, followed by a year working in the office of First Lady Maria Shriver. In 2008, McDermid got her big break when Susan Kennedy, still early in her tenure as Schwarzenegger’s chief of staff, acted on a recommendation to tap McDermid as her top deputy. Kennedy was seeking not an executive assistant but someone who could step into her high-pressure position when necessary and not miss a beat. In McDermid, she found a kindred spirit, essentially a younger version of herself. “She was perfect,” Kennedy said. “She looked out at the landscape from the perspective of, if she were the chief of staff to the governor, how would you prepare for this? How would you brief him on this? What information do you need from the agencies or the departments or the senior staff? “It’s a very tough role to step into, and she earned everyone’s respect because she was so good at what she did. She made me twice as good at what I was doing because she was as good as me.” Near the end of his eight years as governor, Schwarzenegger began to feel a particular urgency to buttress his accomplishments in the climate space. He tasked Kennedy with figuring out how to secure permitting for a host of renewable energy projects being incentivized by the Obama administration, and Kennedy in turn tasked not only Picker – the former CPUC president and current Caliber partner – but also McDermid. “It was a failure-is-not-an-option initiative by the governor,” Kennedy said. “I gave Michael all the power, and I gave him the most powerful weapon I could think of, which was Manal. The two of them were responsible for basically unlocking gigawatts of renewable energy in California, which completely changed the landscape of the state’s climate initiatives.” McDermid’s efforts were so successful that, when Schwarzenegger left office in 2011 and Jerry Brown entered, she was among just a handful of staffers retained out of the nearly 100 in the governor’s office. She departed later that year to take a job in Washington as a lobbyist for NextEra Energy, an electric utility holding giant, before Kennedy lured her back to California in 2013. With her longtime mentor, McDermid launched not only Caliber but also Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), a company that was born out of the shuttering of the San Onofre nuclear power station in June 2013. That closure created an immediate 20% power shortage in large portions of Los Angeles, a gap that AMS filled by building what McDermid called the “world’s largest virtual power plant” – battery storage systems at commercial sites like Kaiser Permanente, Irvine Company and Walmart. Over time, AMS shifted its focus from developing those large-scale energy storage projects to providing software that allowed others to optimize their own energy storage assets. When AMS was sold in 2020, McDermid rededicated herself to Caliber, which had been on the back burner for a few years. During the pandemic, she got married and moved from San Diego (where she grew up after her family escaped war-torn Lebanon when she was 3) to Santa Barbara, her husband’s hometown. Manal and Hitch, her husband, have a 3-year-old son, Malek. McDermid makes frequent trips to Sacramento and to San Francisco, where Caliber has a small office. Not coincidentally, the Bay Area also is the headquarters of the CPUC, one of the regulatory bodies that Caliber works closely with, along with the California Energy Commission, the Air Resources Board and the Natural Resources Agency. Many for-profit companies have an adversarial relationship with the regulators that establish the rules governing them, but that’s not the case with Caliber or most of its clients. They’re all in the same boat and rowing in the same direction when it comes to the state’s ambitious climate goals, which is one of myriad reasons why McDermid loves the work she does. “We’re very focused in California precisely because we actually want to get things done,” McDermid said. “I don’t want to spend my time convincing someone that climate change is a problem or that we should put more electric vehicles on the roads. The nice thing about California is, at the highest level, the leadership is completely bought in on what the problem is. And it’s more about figuring out: How do we solve it?” Manal Yamout McDermid Major at CSUSM: Biology Graduation year: 2005 Company: Caliber Strategies Website: caliberstrat.com Founded: 2013 Number of employees: 8 Talking Business With Manal Yamout McDermid What's the best advice you received about starting a business? Work with people you like. It's super simple, but if you pick people you like and admire and want to spend an inordinate amount of time with, you really can't go wrong. In some ways, getting the people right is more important than the idea and the path to market. What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs? Same advice as the first one: Choose your partners carefully, and choose them based on their character, their integrity and your level of trust in them. Don’t just think about breaking into a market. What's the greatest challenge in starting your own business? I think it's the uncertainty and the self-doubt that come with it, like: Should I grow? The greatest challenge is believing that as you scale up, things will work out, and getting the confidence to take that next step. Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently? No. I'm a firm believer that whatever happens was supposed to happen, and it doesn't mean that it was good. But I wouldn't have done it differently. What are the qualities of a good entrepreneur? I would say confidence, belief in yourself. The ability to really pay attention to what's happening around you, whether that's the market or the people you surround yourself with. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306
- Incredible Mulk: Class Project Becomes Thriving BusinessMelissa Finestone remembers the assignment in her business marketing class that started it all. Each student was required to develop a business plan based on a product they conceived. Finestone decided to curate a product that combined her passion for cooking with a childhood love of chocolate milk. But Finestone wanted to develop a healthy alternative to other chocolate milks on the market. She noticed that there was a growing demand for more plant-based options, and she wanted to create a product that would avoid a laundry list of unfamiliar ingredients. When Finestone couldn’t find a product on the market that met her requirements, she chose to make her own. Using her Vitamix blender to grind almonds in her kitchen at home, Finestone crafted samples of chocolate- and strawberry-flavored, plant-based almond milk. She served it to each student in the class while presenting her product. “I remember a classmate saying, ‘I do not drink flavored milk, no matter what kind of milk it is, but I would buy this one,’ ” said Finestone, then known by her maiden name of Mandim. The overwhelming support from her peers inspired Finestone to launch The Mulk Co. in June 2018, only one year after she graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in global business management. “What she is doing in starting up a food business is extremely difficult,” said Dick Lansing, who worked with Finestone as part of the College of Business Administration’s Career Mentor Program. “There are all sorts of hurdles and problems and costs that you need to go through and take into consideration. “I generally don't recommend anybody go into the food business, as an individual person, unless they have a lot of money they want to lose. But she had a plan, which was really good and really smart.” Today, Finestone’s signature almond milk is available at nine farmers markets throughout San Diego County and three in Los Angeles. She has gone from grinding almonds in her kitchen to using a commercial space in Vista, where she produces 10 different flavors and three seasonal offerings. The chocolate and strawberry flavors that she shared in class are among the most popular – and the recipe hasn’t changed much since then. “I can’t pick a favorite, but I associate each flavor with a memory,” Finestone said. “When I think of strawberry, I think of the student who complimented me in class because I couldn’t believe that she liked it so much.” Finestone takes pride in using only real ingredients in her almond milk; it contains no additives, fillers or preservatives. She sources her almonds from a farm in California’s Central Valley, where 80% of all almonds in the United States are harvested. Mulk has become so successful that Finestone has employees to cover the numerous farmers markets, though she still can be found each Sunday at the Leucadia Farmers Market. “My husband tries to get me to stay home and rest on Sundays, but I just love it,” she said. “There’s just something about the community and relationships you build with other vendors. I love the friendships you make, not just with your customers but with fellow business owners.” Finestone never intended to be an entrepreneur. It took a one-way ticket around the world for her to discover this path. Finestone grew up in South Africa, where she earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from Witwatersrand College and then graduated from Inscape Design College. She had a well-established career in interior design, even winning an interior designer of the year award for Virgin Airlines’ launch in South Africa. When Finestone’s parents moved to Australia, where her sister had landed a job, Finestone decided to move with them. But she quickly learned that Australia wasn’t where she wanted to live long term. Instead, she packed her belongings to find someplace that felt like home. It began a journey that took her from Melbourne to Sydney and then on to Chile, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, India and Thailand. With visits to more than 30 countries over her lifetime, Finestone credits the globe-trotting experiences for shaping her as a businessperson. In fact, it was a trip to India that inspired one of Mulk’s most popular flavors. The company’s golden almond milk is blended with turmeric, cinnamon and ginger, a nod to the Indian drink masala haldi doodh, which translates to “golden milk.” “I remember drinking it at Indian street markets, and it was delicious,” Finestone said. “I knew I wanted to create a version of it for Mulk.” After nine months of traveling, Finestone returned to Australia to see her family. She didn’t stay long, taking an offer to visit a friend in Los Angeles. This trip was different from the others, though. It was her first time in the United States, and she fell in love with Southern California. Finestone found herself with new opportunities, and she leaned into her passion for cooking, which had been a constant in her life since she was 6 years old and honing her skills with her mother and grandmother. Her talents led to a job as a chef for Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer. But Finestone yearned for something else. She started studying business leadership and management at Santa Monica College and landed internships in public relations and marketing. She always thought her time in the U.S. would be temporary, that she would eventually return to Australia to be closer to her family. Then she met her future husband, Adam. One of Finestone’s internships was located next to the packing and shipping company owned by Adam’s parents. She frequented the store to mail packages, becoming such a regular that Adam’s parents invited her to a Christmas party where she met their son, who was visiting from San Diego. Finestone eventually moved south to be closer to Adam and continued to pursue her business degree, first at Palomar College and then at CSUSM. “I liked the idea of having a degree that would support any industry,” Finestone said. Finestone also had support from Adam, whom she credits for inspiring the name of her almond milk business. “My husband makes fun of me when I say ‘milk.’ It sounds like I’m saying ‘mulk’ because of my South African accent,” Finestone said. “The name just stuck, and I felt like it was fitting for my business.” Starting any business comes with challenges, and the food industry is notoriously difficult for budding entrepreneurs. It wasn’t just Lansing, a College of Business Administration advisory council member, who warned Finestone about how grueling it could be. As Finestone grappled with whether to start a business or find a corporate job, she reached out a week after graduation to Jim Hamerly, then the college’s dean. “I certainly shared some of my concerns and skepticism with Melissa about starting a food business,” Hamerly said. “She told me, ‘Well, I'm manufacturing it in my kitchen at home and I'm crushing my own almonds.’ And I'm thinking, ‘Oh my.’ ” Hamerly knew that could be problematic for adhering to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines and that a commercial kitchen would be needed. At the time, Hamerly was helping his brother with a soup stock business, which required Hamerly to learn about packaging and manufacturing fluids. He shared what he learned with Finestone, even connecting her with his brother. Both Hamerly and Lansing were impressed with Finestone’s drive to launch her business. She decided after meeting with them that she would start small and serve her milk at a few local farmers markets. It was familiar territory to Finestone, who worked as a food service vendor for Bitchin’ Sauce, an almond dip company, while attending CSUSM. “I knew the lay of the land,” Finestone said. “I was able to create connections with other farmers market vendors and get ideas for my business.” When Finestone was just starting out, Hamerly was a regular visitor to her booth at Poway’s farmers market on Saturday mornings to support her and purchase Mulk products. “She's really good with people,” Hamerly said. “I used to sit on the sidelines and watch her sell to people as they came through the farmers market. A lot of CSUSM students start businesses, but she's really got a great head for business. She gets it.” Six years after launching Mulk, Finestone is familiar with the landmines that come with owning a business. But the happiness that radiates from her customers keeps her going. She is continuing to grow the business, with hopes of one day having Mulk available in Whole Foods. Finestone still thinks often about the day that her classmates tried her almond milk for the first time. She smiles when she recalls their reaction, and the memory never ceases to fuel her motivation for the future. “I have had lots of challenges,” Finestone said. “But I believe in my product and I see people’s faces when they find something they like. And when customers keep coming back, it just tells me that I'm actually fulfilling some sort of need. That's really what keeps me going.” Melissa Finestone Major at CSUSM: Global business management Graduation year: 2017 Company: The Mulk Co. Website: themulkco.com Founded: 2018 Number of employees: 3 What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs? “Rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how passionate you are about this idea because it needs to be 11. Don't be scared of starting a business. It might fail, but it also might set you up for your next success. I've come across entrepreneurs who have started one product, realized there were a lot of roadblocks with the product and then they switch and start doing something else. And then they actually move forward with that one.” What’s the greatest challenge in starting your own business? “Employees and when your equipment breaks. I use industrial equipment and I'm not an engineer. So if something goes wrong, it's really stuck.” Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently? “It would have been so cool if I was studying business while I was starting a business. Because I think I would learn a lot of principles and it would have helped getting feedback from professors.” What are the qualities of a good entrepreneur? “Resourcefulness, passion and a high learning curve.” Media Contact Bri Phillips, Communications Specialist bphillips@csusm.edu
