PBL End-of-Year Celebration

The PBL Book Club concluded with a cheerful May luncheon for tenure-track faculty, bringing together colleagues from across disciplines in a spirit of collaboration and excitement. Faculty shared four inspiring cross-disciplinary presentations that showcased remarkable creativity while fostering community, sparking new ideas, and energizing everyone in attendance. It was a memorable highlight of the semester.

Presentation 1 Ink & Time, Cuesta's story through The Cuestonian. 

The project is a SLO campus library display chronicling campus life from the 60's to the present as published in Cuesta's student newspaper, The Cuestonian. It's a class project for COMM. 210, Group Speaking and Communicating. Student teams will be charged with various pieces of the class project. This collaboration is shared by Comm. instructor Beth-Ann Dumas and Journalism/Comm. instructor and Cuestonian advisor, Dr. Jeremy Shermak.

Presentation 2 Curating Identity

Developed by Leah Halliday and Sharon Haupt.

Curating Identity is a Project-Based Learning initiative centered on a single, compelling question: How can we design a virtual art gallery that connects the past to today? This project transforms students into Digital Curators who move beyond memorizing the Western canon. They will explore museum archives, selecting artworks that resonate deeply with their cultural heritage and personal identity. Working in core value-based teams, students will collaborate to design and launch public-facing virtual galleries that link historical art to their lived experiences and engage the wider Cuesta community.

Presentation 3 Going Pro in Something Other Than Sports

Developed by Sarah Miller

Going Pro in Something Other Than Sports is a Project-Based Learning experience built around ENGL C1000 for the Cougar FAST Way program in Fall 2026. Paired with COMM C1000, the course serves a cohort of student athletes. Student-athletes benefit from unique opportunities while also navigating distinct academic, personal and post-college challenges. In this project, students will identify key issues affecting student-athletes and propose practical, research-informed solutions. Working in a group of four, they will engage in personal reflection, conduct research and plan and write essays and present their work to relevant stakeholders. ​​