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See Our Top Photos of 2025
A student sits in a dirt pit with flowering grasses at the top. They examine some soil.
Written By Gabby Ferreira | Photos by Joe Johnston and Dylan Head

As we come to the close of another year, it's time to reflect on the incredible work of our students, faculty and staff — and celebrate the university photographers who capture every moment of Learn by Doing. The Cal Poly News staff went through our photo archives to choose the photos we felt best represented 2025. See them all below.

January

A student smiles as they ride a lime green sled down a mountain of shaved ice.

A student catches some air at the ASI Snow Day event in the UU plaza. The event featured a sledding hill, photobooth, hot chocolate, donuts, free beanies, and a snow play area. See more photos from the event at Cal Poly Magazine.

February

Students in costumes from the board game Clue dance onstage.

Students run through a dress rehearsal for the Theatre and Dance Department's spring production of "Clue: The Musical." Read more about "Clue: The Musical" at Cal Poly Magazine. 

March

Students wearing orange vests and hard hats stand in a half-constructed buildling.

Second-year architecture students tour a residential construction site in San Luis Obispo. 

April

A student in camo pants rappells down the side of a building.

Cal Poly's ROTC chapter holds rappelling demonstrations during Open House. 

May

A student sits in a pit with a shovel next to them and tall flowering grasses visible at the top, while they inspect soil.

Environmental earth and soil sciences student Nabila Wildman collects a soil sample on campus. Learn more about Wildman's research and career goals. 

June

A student in a textured space tests a mechanical component.

A student uses an anechoic chamber to tune the mZ circuit board’s dipole antenna on a CubeSat. The chamber simulates a space-like environment with isolation from other materials and reflections. Read about the CubeSat program at Cal Poly Magazine. 

July 

A professor stands at the base of a giant Sierra juniper tree.

Professor Matt Ritter stands at the base of the Bennett Juniper, the largest-recorded Sierra juniper tree on Earth. Read more about the Bennett Juniper. 

August

A toad being held in a hand.

Professor Emily Taylor, the director of the Physiological Ecology of Reptiles Lab, holds a California toad. 

September

A student uses a pitchfork to pull pinot noir grapes into a destemming machine while students and faculty process grapes.

Students and faculty process freshly-harvested pinot noir grapes. See more scenes from harvest. 

October

A group of students in red and white clothes strikes a pose during a dance performance.

Students perform during CultureFest, an annual celebration of diversity through culture, food, and community. Cal Poly’s cultural clubs and organizations perform throughout the day to showcase pieces of their culture through clothing, dance, songs and more. 

November

A view of Kennedy Library at dusk. A student is walking down the concrete steps toward the building.

A view of the recently-renovated Kennedy Library at dusk. The library reopened in September following a two-year closure. 

December

A student flips through a species identification card at a tide pool in Montaña de Oro State Park.

A student in professor Crow White’s MSCI 300 Marine Ecology class takes part in a Rocky Intertidal Ecology lab in Montaña de Oro. 

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