Making it Happen at Sac State – Made at Sac State

Tech executive Rick Nelson makes his play to generate support for Carlsen Center

Rick Nelson When 28 local executives hit the golf links later this year for a charity tournament, there will be a lot on the line for Sacramento State.

Rick Nelson ’94 (Communication Studies), the owner and former CEO of Direct Technology and now-Chairman of the Launch Consulting Group, is raising money before and during the Oct. 5-7 Capital Cup tournament for the University’s Dale and Katy Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Individual participants raise money for charities of their choice ahead of the competition – interested parties may donate online – and charities supported by the winning team will share a $50,000 grand prize.

Nelson said his great admiration for fellow Sac State alum Dale Carlsen, founder of Sleep Train Mattress Centers, and Carlsen’s vision for the Center are two big reasons he wanted to lend his support.

“Young people need a place to go and find out how to lead, how to create and advance their own personal ideas,” he said. “It’s the key to fast, specific development of young talent.”

Nelson, who described himself as “not a great student in high school,” took a somewhat circuitous path to tech CEO, with Sacramento State playing a big role. Following high school, he enrolled at what was then California State University, Hayward, but left after one semester and eventually found himself in Carson City, Nev., where he decided to enlist in the Air Force.

Military service brought him to Rancho Cordova, and he enrolled at American River College while also working at UPS. He transferred to Sacramento State in 1989, where he found attentive professors who were willing to probe deep and complicated issues, as well as the support needed to learn from mistakes and continue on.

“Sac State was the target, the goal, to get to a four-year university and challenge myself in that environment,” he said. “Sac State was warm and inviting and probably the prettiest place in Sacramento. To go there and graduate from there was pretty exciting.”

He took an ownership interest in Direct Technology, which develops software solutions for public- and private-sector employers, in 2006.

Sacramento is experiencing a great deal of growth, driven in part by the migration of Bay Area residents to the capital region, Nelson said, and both new and existing businesses will look to Sacramento State for the bright, young and talented workforce that will allow the region to continue to grow. The Carlsen Center, he added, will provide students with the opportunity to learn directly from entrepreneurs and innovators with real-life experiences, not only to hear about their successes but to learn about what pitfalls to avoid.

“Sac State has the opportunity to be the leader in innovation. There’s a lot of energy in this area right now, and this is the perfect time for the Dale and Katy Carlsen Center,” Nelson said. “This Center is absolutely going to ignite a fire in people who want to start their own business and make their own path, and I’m excited to be a part of that.”

CSSA President Mia Kagianas promotes student voices, a ‘caring campus’

It’s a story Mia Kagianas probably has told more times than she can count. During her first year as a Sacramento State student, unsure how to make friends, she sat at a table outside the campus Starbucks with a sign reading “Free conversations,” waiting for someone to join her.

Eventually, as she was packing up to leave, another student finally took her up on the offer. The conversation was awkward, she says, but it gave her enough confidence to walk to the University Union and sign up to host a radio show on KSSU, an action that set off a chain of events culminating in her election as Associated Students Inc. president for the 2017-18 school year.

“Being able to express myself through KSSU, even if there wasn’t anyone listening, was my chance to share what my experience had been and let out some of the struggles I was facing,” Kagianas says. “That’s when I first realized the power of sharing student stories, what we face each day.”

Sharing student stories will remain at the center of Kagianas’ life in the weeks and months ahead: She recently was elected president of the California State Student Association (CSSA) and will spend her final year at Sacramento State advocating on behalf of students across the CSU.

“It’s important that students’ voices are heard because (ours are) the lived experiences,” Kagianas says, adding that challenges students face such as housing insecurity and loan debt can have a ripple effect throughout the entire regional economy. “We can be the representation and symbols behind whether a system is working properly.”

As ASI president, she focused especially on fostering a “caring campus” at Sacramento State. The topic hits home for Kagianas, who came to the University from a small suburb outside Chicago knowing very few people and unable, because of work obligations, to devote any time to extracurricular activities. She felt isolated. Faculty and even Sacramento State President Robert S. Nelsen were there for her in her time of need, offering support and directing her to campus resources.

Over the previous year, she worked to make ASI and its programming more accessible to students, changing election bylaws so more students can participate, improving communication to students, and raising the visibility of ASI programs such as Peak Adventures, the Aquatic Center, and the weekly food pantry.

“We’ve redefined what it means to belong,” she says. “We have experiences on campus that are available to students, but maybe students are timid or they don’t feel like it’s for them. Sacramento State and the people on this campus try to tear down those ideas of ‘You can’t do this’ and make it, ‘You can do this, this place is for you.’ ”

Creating a more caring campus is a goal that has been shared with Nelsen, with whom Kagianas has developed a strong relationship and considers a mentor.

“I’ve learned a lot from (Nelsen) and how he leads, which has inspired my leadership,” she says. “But he also trusts me with decisions. Before he makes certain university decisions, he’ll ask me what my perspective is. I feel really empowered by that trust.”

Nelsen praised Kagianas’ commitment to her fellow Hornets and her work to promote a caring campus.

“It has been my absolute privilege to get to know Mia over the past few years, and to work so closely with her during her presidential term,” he says. “Mia’s heart for her fellow students and her tireless efforts to make Sac State a place of belonging are outstanding. I look forward to seeing her over the next year while she completes her degree, and then to watch her journey after she leaves Sac State.”

Though she came from out of state, Sacramento was not completely foreign to Kagianas. It’s where her father spent much of his childhood, and where she visited often as a kid to see family and to go skiing in Tahoe. Growing up in a family of small business owners, she knew she wanted to major in a business-related field, eventually settling on human resources management and entrepreneurship as concentrations, the latter of which she had been interested in since it was the result she got after taking a careers test in the sixth grade.

“I was really thankful Sacramento State offered a concentration in entrepreneurship because it’s becoming more and more relevant in our society and not that many colleges have it as an emphasis,” she says.

Sixth grade also was where she began her time in student government, becoming elected to her middle school student council. In high school, she broke the mold by serving as the student body president all four years. At Sacramento State, she previously served with ASI as director of undeclared students and director of business administration, as well as vice president of finance for the CSSA.

“This is a campus where I’ve found who I am, I’ve found what my passions are, and I found a family that will be very, very hard for me to leave,” she says. “I hope to always be very strongly connected to it no matter where I am or what I’m doing in my life.”

Alumnus and new Sacramento police chief Daniel Hahn sworn in at Sac State

A week after being sworn in as Sacramento’s 45th police chief – and the first African American to lead the force – Daniel Hahn ’95 (Marketing) is comfortably settled into his new office at the city’s Public Safety Center, 5770 Freeport Blvd.

He has surrounded himself with photographs of his wife and two daughters, as well as his collection of Oakland Raiders memorabilia. A football player Herky bobblehead has a prominent spot amid the keepsakes.

It’s long been a tradition for Sacramento police chiefs to be sworn in at City Council chambers. Hahn chose instead to have his ceremony in the University Union Ballroom at Sac State, his alma mater. More than 1,000 people witnessed the joyous event.

“The council chambers wasn’t big enough, and I wanted to have it out in the community, as opposed to downtown, because we need to include all of our neighborhoods as we move forward as a city,” Hahn says. “Downtown is extremely important, and it’s really the hub of the city, but I wanted to give a little love to the neighborhoods. And I’m from Sac State.”

There was green and gold and plenty of blue in the University Union on Aug. 11 as Hahn was officially sworn in. Family, friends, law enforcement officers, and other guests were on hand for the occasion, including Sacramento State President Robert S. Nelsen and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Hahn was sworn in as chief surrounded by his wife, his daughters, and his adoptive mother. In his remarks, he talked about growing up in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood, the importance of community, and returning to the campus where he earned his degree.

“I can’t think of too many places that are more important to our city, and our community, and our youth, and the future of our community, than my alma mater, Sac State,” Hahn said.