Apr 24, 2025
Val Soto – an instructor in SOU's First Year Seminar program – is in the spotlight for this latest podcast episode.
Soto discusses his his stint in the U.S. Army and then his decision to attend Southern Oregon University, and how his years as an undergraduate – eventually earning bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies (Health and Physical Education, and Mathematics) – prepared him for his graduate studies in the University of Iowa's Interdiscplinary Neuroscience program and his teaching career.
He teaches writing courses in the First Year Seminar program, integrating his functional neuroanatomy interests such as the physical implications of stress, focusing on free will and the manifestations of consciousness.
Soto says that in his academic journey, he has been "guided by mentors who consistently showed up for me, and that's something that I strive to do for my students."
Soto is interviewed in this 10th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is SOU freshman Hailey Demarest, of Wolf Creek, Oregon.