It's time for a self-administered pat on the back for all of us. We made it through another academic year! Now, we move on to all of those "we'll do that this summer" projects. You know, the ones where even though it's summer, there still never seems to be enough time? Yeah, those.  

Speaking of summer, we're officially observing summer hours. For those of us who participate in that schedule, I have an important reminder. While it means getting up a bit earlier and enjoying a shorter lunch break, it also means more time (and daylight) in the afternoon for family, relaxation and for engaging in fun activities for which we may not otherwise have time.

Be sure to take some time out for you. Take advantage of the extra hour of you-time and explore some new hobbies, see that movie you've been wanting to watch or just take a nap. There's always time for a nap! 

No matter how you use the adjusted time or if you continue working normal hours, summer is a great time to catch up on projects, plan for the year ahead and to reflect on all your accomplishments.

We also have a programming note for The Buzz. We're taking a break until August. The August edition will cover summer highlights for June, July and August, and look ahead to September.

Until then, happy summer and Stingers Up!

By Daniel Wilson, Digital Communications Specialist, The Buzz Editor

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

― Henry James, American-British author

The Buzz hits your inbox once a month. Your partnership is the heartbeat of this newsletter. We’re eager to hear how we can elevate it for you. Please share your thoughts, feedback and ideas with us. 💌

Don’t forget to connect with us on Instagram for a peek into campus life! 📸

As we wrap up an exciting and rewarding academic year, Campus Life is already buzzing with energy for what’s ahead. From unforgettable student experiences to new traditions that brought Hornets together, this year proved that Campus Life truly is the heartbeat of the Hornet experience. The year showcased creativity, collaboration and school spirit in ways that energized students and strengthened campus traditions.

Campus Life continues to create meaningful moments that build connection, pride and belonging. Through the collaborative work of Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), Campus Programs, New Student Orientation, Student Organizations & Leadership, Union/WELL, Inc., and University Housing Services, students found countless ways to engage, lead and thrive.

This year was filled with milestone moments. Hornet Pavilion came alive as Union/WELL hosted its first intercollegiate basketball game and students embraced new recreation and wellness spaces. The University Union also reopened an upgraded relaxation and recharging area designed to help students unwind and connect. Across campus, student spirit was impossible to miss, especially with a record number of students running for ASI Board positions for 2026–27.

University Housing Services strengthened the residential experience through signature events like Hornet First Night and the annual Silent Disco. Excitement is also building for the opening of Mt. Whitney Hall this fall, adding 335 new beds for students.

Campus traditions continued to evolve as New Student Orientation introduced the Hornet Send Off, occurring at the end of each summer session with frozen treats, campus connections and their first Hornet swag. Student Organizations & Leadership also united all four Greek councils for the first collaborative Greek Week, celebrating unity, competition and community pride.

Meanwhile, Campus Programs partnered with the CARCs to host Carnival on the Quad, featuring cultural performances, rides, food and games. As Hornets return in August, Campus Life remains at the center of Our Hive, Our Home. Stingers Up!

Samuel N. Jones

Associate Vice President for Campus Life

June is Pride Month and Sacramento State invites students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to celebrate and represent the University during the annual Sacramento Pride March at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 14. It's an opportunity to connect to the city’s Pride Festival celebration. More updates will be shared closer to the event.

June is also National Immigrant Heritage Month and Caribbean American Heritage Month, and in July, we recognize Disability Pride Month.

Asian American & Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) Designation

June includes observance of the Dragon Boat Festival, celebrating cultural traditions and heritage.

Black-Serving Institution (BSI) Designation

In recognition of Juneteenth, Inclusive Excellence and the MLK Center will host the annual Juneteenth Celebration from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, in the Main Quad ahead of the June 19 holiday. Attendees will be able to enjoy live DJ music, food trucks, performances, games, activities, campus resources and local vendors.

Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Designation

Additionally, many Latin American and Hispanic Independence Day celebrations begin during this time and continue through late summer, highlighting important traditions and cultural histories within the HSI community.

Throughout the summer, Sacramento State continues celebrating cultural heritage, community engagement, and Hornet pride while preparing for another academic year focused on equity, diversity, inclusion, representation and student success.

Read below to learn a bit about each of our current Student Assistants. 

Name: Adrian Moore-Gonzalez
Major: Business
Expected Graduation: May 2028
Career Goal: My goal is to be as successful as I can be to help others!
Favorite Thing About Sac State: My favorite thing about Sac State is my Guardian Scholars Program family.
Fun Fact: I'm really good at pickleball.

Name: Sarah Omari
Major: Health Science
Expected Graduation: 2029
Career Goal: My goal is to become a healthcare professional and help underserved communities, especially foster youth and immigrant families.
Favorite Thing About Sac State: My favorite thing about Sac State is the sense of community and all the support programs that help students grow academically and personally.
Fun Fact: I speak four languages.

Name: Solomon Robinson
Major: Business Administration (concentration in general management), minor in Leadership (BHC)
Expected Graduation: Spring 2027
Career Goal: My goal is to become a financial advisor and own my own business.
Favorite Thing About Sac State: My favorite thing about Sac State, without a doubt, is the scenery. The trees and native animals that wander about are great to observe on a daily basis. It helps give me a sense of ease and comfort.
Fun Fact: I love to run and lift weights! 

Khue Anh Tran, assistant program coordinator for the PRIDE Center, has demonstrated strong performance in supporting many aspects of our divisional values. With her background and expertise in gender studies, she took initiative in the development of our new advanced level of allyship training to promote a deeper level of inclusivity.

Khue Anh is also instrumental in the ideation and implementation of our collaboration with several partners on campus, including the University Library to conduct three workshops on protest art and zine-making, with the Multi-Cultural Center and MLK Jr. Center on the “Baldwin Collective Series,” and with the APIDA Center on an “Open Mic Event” to promote cross-divisional partnership and advocate for student engagement.

Click the button below to learn more. Congrats, Khue Anh!

The Staff Talent Appreciation & Retention (STAR) Awards program acknowledges the exemplary performance and contributions of staff members within the division.

We NEED your HELP! We did not receive any nominations for the April STAR of the Month. We need nominations to be able to recognize our amazing colleagues! We ask that you please head to our submission form below to NOMINATE the next STAR of the Month!

Welcome to Honey, Wings & Stings!

The Buzz highlights members of the Student Affairs family who have been promoted (Honey 🍯), newly hired (Wings 🦋), and those who are leaving our division, including retirees (Stings 🐝).

Join us in recognizing and congratulating these extraordinary employees!

Honey 🍯recognizes our staff who have been promoted or transferred to new roles within Student Affairs.

Congratulations to these outstanding members of our Student Affairs family!

Wings 🦋 recognizes new hires in the division, with a list of names, titles and start dates.

Join us in welcoming our newest division members!

Stings 🐝 recognizes members of the Hornet Family who are departing the division, including our retirees.

Join us in wishing these folks all the best on their next adventure!

By Daniel Wilson

Digital Communications Specialist, The Buzz Editor

Thousands of Hornets may now call themselves Sacramento State alumni following two days of celebrations at Spring Commencement 2026.

The event welcomed graduates, families, friends, supporters and the campus community to Golden 1 Center on Friday, May 22, and Saturday, May 23.

About 6,400 graduating students celebrated with decorated hats, loud cheers and applause, and plenty of energy. As President Luke Wood and other speakers offered words of praise, encouragement and reflection, attendees cheered on the graduates and watched them cross the stage over four ceremonies.

According to University leadership, the number of graduates represents an "11% increase over the 2024-25 academic year total of 8,260. The projection includes 2,740 students awarded degrees during the Winter 2025 ceremony," as well as the 6,438 students who were eligible to participate in Spring 2026 Commencement.

Volunteers from the campus community, including many of you from Student Affairs, supported the event in various roles to ensure it was a huge success. It wraps another academic year that was full of excitement, innovation, progress and lots of wonderful memories for the entire Hornet Family.

Earlier in April and May, Sacramento State also celebrated the achievements, resilience and pride of our Hornet graduates across 15 celebrations. The individual ceremonies honored students from diverse identities and cultures while marking their academic accomplishments.

Celebrations spanned Project Rebound, Guardian Scholars, EOP, the Black Honors College, the Disability Access Center, the Parents and Families Program, Cultural and Academic Resource Centers and others. 

Looking ahead, University officials said "applications for Fall 2026 are up more than 5%, with nearly 40,000 submitted. ... More than 4,600 prospective students and their families attended the University’s largest-ever Spring Admitted Student Day."

Check out our links below to read more about the events, see photos from all the celebrations and to learn more about how the Hornet Family celebrated our graduating Hornets this year. Student Affairs congratulates the Class of 2026! 

Throughout the year, departments, offices and centers in Student Affairs hold various events for students, faculty and staff. We appreciate your support, attendance and participation in our Student Affairs events whenever possible.

Want your events featured in The Buzz? Add your events to Trumba (details below) and let us know so we can consider them for inclusion.

Here are some upcoming events to attend this summer: 

Upload your events to Trumba, Sac State's event management platform. It's designed to help organize, share and promote campus events with ease. Uploading to Trumba only takes a few minutes and is an easy and efficient way to keep students up-to-date on all the exciting events we have planned!

Learning & Development offers a wide variety of employee professional development trainings, events and activities each month. All trainings subject to change. See the full calendar at the button below for up-to-date events, additional information, and to request accommodations and register.

Here are some highlights for June (see calendar for more summer events): 

The Career Center offers a wide variety of career development and employer networking resources, trainings, events, career fairs and activities for you, your students and alumni each month.

See the full calendar below for events, additional information, and to request accommodations and register.

🚨 Action Required: Konica Scan Folder Migration (deadline: July 6) all temporary Konica scan folders will begin utilizing permanent auto-deletion after July 6. Please review your scan folders and migrate any important files to permanent storage solutions, such as your department’s shared drives or Microsoft Teams sites, before this date.

🎨 Sac State's Marketing and Strategic Communications team recently updated the University's brand identity system. It's important to keep up with these changes to ensure editorial style, color usage, logo and graphic implementation, and more are on brand. Did you know? Staff have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, including Adobe Express, which has templates specifically for Sac State. Adobe Express is an easy-to-use design tool, and the templates may be used to quickly create branded social graphics, flyers, invitations and more. Visit sacstate.me/templates to get started. Other recent, exciting brand changes include updates to the color palette, font and logo updates, and new tools and resources for University staff.

As we wrap up an incredible spring semester and transition into the summer months, the SA-IT team is working hard behind the scenes to optimize our campus systems and prepare for the upcoming fiscal year. We have one major deadline on the horizon and a couple of quick reminders to keep your digital workspaces running smoothly:

Equipment Checkouts ⚠️

If you currently have SA-IT equipment checked out, this is a friendly reminder that many loan periods are ending this month. To help us keep devices available for the whole division, please plan to return your equipment by the listed due date or reach out to request a renewal if you need a little more time.

Returning or renewing on schedule helps us support upcoming events, trainings and new staff needs across Student Affairs. As always, our team is here to help!

Summer Hardware & Fiscal Year Planning 🛠️ 

Are you or your department anticipating any hardware adjustments, new staff setups or specific technology needs for the upcoming fiscal year? Summer is the perfect window for us to collaborate on tech planning. Reach out to us early so we can help you map out your needs before the fall rush.

Streamline Your Requests with ServiceNow 💻

As a reminder, the fastest way to get technical assistance, request software access or report an issue is through our ServiceNow portal. Submitting your requests here ensures they are routed directly to the right specialist so we can get you up and running as quickly as possible.

Thank you all for your partnership and dedication to our students this past semester. We hope you have a wonderful, productive start to the summer!

Student Employment 📝

Please don't approve any federal work study (FWS) hours in CHRS for hours worked after May 22. Verify that FWS students have enough award remaining for hours worked May 1 - 22. Through May 31, FWS students need to be converted to a regular student assistant position.

In addition, verify summer statuses of your student employees. Undergraduate students enrolled in six or more units total during the summer sessions should be hired as a Student Assistant (job code 1860). Undergraduate students enrolled in five or less units or not at all for summer should be hired as a Bridge Student Assistant (job code 1874). Summer hiring dates are June 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2026.

Friendly Reminder 📆

Check year-end department deadlines as June 30 approaches. Visit here to check.

Thank you for supporting Hornet Weekly - Sac State's email newsletter sent every Tuesday to students. 

Hornet Weekly is currently on a break for summer and will return at the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester. Stay tuned for updates! 

We cannot produce Hornet Weekly without submissions from our Student Affairs family and all of our campus partners.

Want to keep up with the latest editions of Hornet Weekly? Have items to include? Click the buttons below to learn more, submit your items and visit the Archive.

Have you heard? We have an easy way to request campaigns, emails and more. Use our new forms to request graphics, photos, videos and targeted SacSends!

We are here to help. Let us guide you on the best practices and platforms for reaching students. Planning ahead streamlines communication pathways, helping you connect with your target audience(s).

Thanks for reading the May 2026 edition of The Buzz Around Student Affairs!

🐝 The Buzz is usually sent the final week of each month.

The Buzz will take a break during the summer months and will return in August.

Please submit updates for the next newsletter no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19. 🐝

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