How can one turn popular candies such as gummy bears, gummy worms and peach rings into a side business? Ask Cal State San Marcos marketing student Mo Carrasco.  Carrasco has been surrounded by entrepreneurs for multiple years, as her mother and aunt have a business in which they create and sell rim dip, a paste usually created with tamarind and chamoy that are then used to cover the rims of beers and other beverages. Carrasaco’s mom and aunt developed their own recipe for these rim dips in 2020. While Carrasco wasn't involved in the process, she used it as inspiration for her own business, Hot Summer Gummies (@hotsummergummies on Instagram).  “Where I live, tamarindo gummies are very popular,” said Carrasco, who is from Imperial Valley. “Personally, I don’t really like those ones, but my mom’s recipe was really good, so I pitched ideas.”  Carrasco’s mom was on board with the new idea. Together they picked up different kinds of candy, developed logos and packaging, and then Carrasco started selling the new gummies at her community college sporting events while attending Imperial Valley College.  “A lot of people really liked them, and I was selling out every time I went to the games,” Carrasco said. “I pitched the gummies to the owners of the stores that had rim dip in them. They loved the idea and gave me space to put them in their stores.” Carrasco said her goal going forward is to expand her business into San Diego, or even sell the gummies on campus. Carrasco is on the right track to help her business progress. Last fall, she was the winner of the Innovation Hub’s Quick Pitch competition, which closely resembles the hit TV show “Shark Tank” in which competitors pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. Carrasco received $1,000 for her winning pitch.  “I was in shock,” Carrasco said. “I had a big smile on my face, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, no way.’ ” Carrasco put the prize money into her savings, with plans to utilize it for her business.   Not only did winning the Quick Pitch provide funds to help grow the business, but it also equipped her with lifelong lessons.  “I remember sitting down at the competition and I almost walked out because I was so nervous,” Carrasco said. “But I said, ‘We’re just going to do it.’  “It really showed me what I was capable of and helped me step out of my comfort zone – and it made me feel that what I'm doing is good. I got really good feedback. I brought gummies with me and went home empty-handed at the end of the night because I sold them all. It just gave me a lot of confidence.” Carrasco is using this newfound confidence while working toward her degree at CSUSM. She will graduate in May 2025 with a bachelor's degree in marketing. While she has thoughts of continuing with the business, her dream is to be a social media coordinator for the Los Angeles Lakers.  “I’m very open-minded,” Carrasco said. “I’ll just see what happens.”  Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

A new space has opened in the Cal State San Marcos library that promotes and celebrates the old-fashioned idea of using your creativity and your hands to make stuff. The makerspace, called The Makery, is located on the second floor of the library, just inside the doors leading to the main traffic circle, in an area that used to house the media library. It was unveiled to the campus community on Feb. 29 as part of a soft opening, and the grand opening celebration will take place on April 23, with a ribbon-cutting attended by President Ellen Neufeldt and other campus leaders at noon followed by a open house until 6 p.m. And of course, as befits the name, The Makery’s first official week from April 22-26 will feature a host of maker activities, inviting guests to gather, create, invent, tinker, explore and discover while using a vast assortment of tools and materials. “I don’t want people to be afraid to come in, or afraid of failing or afraid of what they don’t know,” said Kodie Gerritsen, a CSUSM alumna who’s now the makerspace specialist. “They can just come in here and mess up a bunch and still have a finished product at the end of it. I use the term ‘get your hands dirty’ a lot because that’s the point. The point is to come in here and get messy and make things.” The Makery is a project that’s five years in the, er, making. Having noticed that more than half of the 23 California State University campuses boast makerspaces in their libraries, CSUSM’s library dean, Jennifer Fabbi, took the idea to a group of administrators and faculty in 2019. They began to develop the concept, surveyed professors about how they would use it and even visited some existing makerspaces around the state. Then the pandemic struck, shelving the project for more than two years. It was revived in fall 2022 with the hiring of Gerritsen. She had graduated the previous year with a degree in arts and technology/applied physics, and was working as a STEAM ambassador for Center ARTES, an on-campus arts organization founded by CSUSM music professor Merryl Goldberg. Lucy HG Solomon, another School of Arts professor and Gerritsen’s main faculty mentor, heard about the makerspace opportunity and thought Gerritsen would be a good fit. “And it turns out I was,” Gerritsen said. Gerritsen set about designing the 2,280-square-foot space with Char Booth, the library’s associate dean; the Office of Planning, Design and Construction; and an internal library group. Funding came from a Kellogg Library building endowment that is specifically to be used for library renovations. The Makery was chosen through a campus naming contest. It was the overwhelming winner over the other two finalists: “Sandbox” and “Buildbox.” “A makerspace in the library allows for a centralized space that is accessible and open to everyone in the campus community,” Fabbi said. “The Makery is a space where students, staff and faculty can use information to create new knowledge, which is what the library is all about.” The creative flair and sense of whimsy that Gerritsen brought to the design of The Makery is evident even before you step into the room. A large neon sign hanging above the door displays the name of the makerspace in blue, green and orange letters. To the immediate right past the entrance is a collection of 27 high-density foam cubes that can be used for sitting in a large group collaboration or for alternate purposes like building a wall or other structures. On either side of a desk where a student assistant is stationed to welcome visitors are two enclosed rooms. One of them, called The Pantry, features a few desktop computers for people to work on digital projects in a quiet atmosphere. The other is named Gina’s Game Corner in tribute to Georgina “Gina” Lopez, a longtime library employee who passed away last year. It has a game table and shelves that are stocked with games, puzzles and other forms of entertainment. “I wanted to have a place where people can relax and have fun, unload a little bit,” Gerritsen said. “We ultimately settled on a game room, in part because Gina enjoyed those types of things, and also because we have a lot of games in the library and many people don’t know about them.” The rest of The Makery is a large open area with half a dozen square tables topped with butcher blocks and surrounded by bright, colorful chairs. All are on wheels so that the furniture can be moved into any configuration. On an afternoon last month, two of the tables had been pushed together to display a paper welcome banner that visitors could draw and color on, and a third table held a container of purple kinetic sand. The star attraction of The Makery, however, is the back wall. There you can find the primary making equipment, such as sewing machines, embroidery machines, a cameo cutter machine, button makers, a craft printer, a paper cutter and a power drill. There also are bins upon bins of arts and crafts supplies like paint, beads, string, ribbons, clips, rubber bands, markers and dozens more miscellaneous items. The opposite wall is lined with shelves that showcase some of the creations that students already have made during the limited time that The Makery has been open. “It's been cool seeing them make things on their own without direction,” said Ryan Dorsett, a 2015 CSUSM alumnus who in January shifted from a different job in the library to run the makerspace with Gerritsen. “It's like, ‘Wow, you made that here.’ We really wanted people to be excited about the space, and there's been a lot of excitement that students have expressed. They've been very clear in their joy.” Gerritsen said her goal for the rest of this semester is to work out any operational kinks that crop up while gathering data on user numbers and behavior. Starting next school year, she plans to incorporate more programming and foster more partnerships with the campus community, which could include student orientations and campus tours stopping by The Makery or holding academic classes in the space. “We’ll see how much of that can happen by the fall,” Gerritsen said, “but it’s going to grow as time goes on.” The Makery is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The coordinators are seeking donations of craft supplies, office supplies or “anything that you can use to make stuff with,” as Gerritsen put it. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

The final spring Arts & Lectures event will feature Jason Perez, San Diego poet laureate. Through poetry, performance and video, San Diego poet laureate Jason Magabo Perez explores the poetics of memory as an act of anticolonial future-making. Perez is also an essayist, performer and author of a book of poetry and prose titled “This is for the mostless” (2017) and the forthcoming book-length poem "I ask about what falls away." He is an associate professor and director of ethnic studies at CSUSM. He will be joined by DJ, music producer, performer and longtime collaborator Shammy Dee.   The event is at 6 p.m. on April 15 in the USU Ballroom. Reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website. The event is co-sponsored by the Ethnic Studies program.     CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures series offers a diverse lineup of artistic, cultural and scholarly events every semester based on input and proposals from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. Attendees can reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website.    What: Arts & Lectures event “Jason Perez” Who: Jason Perez, San Diego poet laureate When: 6 p.m., Monday, April 15 Where: USU Ballroom  Cost: Free for CSUSM students, faculty, staff and alumni; $5 for community members Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jason-magabo-perez-tickets-795746708827?aff=oddtdtcreator  Information: Arts and Lectures website Media Contact Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

By now, almost everyone knows that the United States will experience a solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Residents of 13 states are in the so-called “path of totality,” meaning that they will have a chance to view a total solar eclipse, in which the moon completely covers the sun. California isn’t one of those 13 lucky states, so the best we’ll see is a partial eclipse, which isn’t as dramatic but can still be plenty fun. And Cal State San Marcos is getting in on the action. The College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics will host a solar eclipse viewing event on Monday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. outside the University Student Union. There will be a solar telescope and sunspotters (weather permitting). Guests can make their own pinhole camera, create a moon crater and learn about research projects that engineering and physics students are involved in. The physics department will provide free solar eclipse glasses, since you should never look directly at the sun during an eclipse. The event is being organized by Tara Fetherolf, a visiting assistant professor in physics who specializes in astronomy. In San Marcos, the maximum coverage of the sun will be 53%, and the time of maximum eclipse will be 11:12 a.m. This will be the last chance to see a total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. until 2044. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Yasmine Farley was a doctoral student at Old Dominion University when she attended a career fair and met the director of a career center at another regional institution. The woman encouraged Farley to branch out and expand her horizons in higher education. “She coaxed me into trying career services – and I absolutely loved it,” said Farley, who earned a Ph.D. in higher education from Old Dominion University. “From there, I made sure that all of my experiences would be catered toward going into a career in career services. “So I did a second internship at Old Dominion teaching a major and career exploration class on campus. I taught an academic recovery class. I was trying to just gain as much experience as possible with career services to make me a good job candidate once I finished up my degree.” Farley has devoted her career to helping other students find their career path and prepare them for the job market. It’s what she has been doing since August for students at Cal State San Marcos as the director of the university’s Career Center. Among the goals of CSUSM’s strategic plan is ensuring that every student has the opportunity to participate in hands-on, engaged learning and high-impact, career-activating practices, something Farley has taken to heart in her first year at the university. A point of emphasis during Farley’s hiring was the need to prioritize academic internships, and the Career Center is in the process of hiring for two positions that will help. The interview process is underway to hire an associate director of internships and partnerships, a role that will focus on reshaping CSUSM’s internship program and aiding the campus employment process. Farley also will be hiring a career and internship support specialist to provide additional student support, advisement and guidance related to academic internships and career pathway planning. “We want to make sure that we have those good partnerships across campus and really get some more external partnerships going to bring more internship opportunities to our students, and specifically paid opportunities that will tie into the social mobility aspect of our strategic planning and the institution in general,” Farley said. Paid internships are important to Farley. As a first-generation college student herself, Farley knows the importance of showing low-income and underrepresented students how internships can boost their future success. It’s part of why she and her team have been working hard to get in front of students, whether at cultural centers, classrooms, campus housing or workshops. “We want to help them understand how important it can be to get an internship and how much it can help them in their future career,” she said. “Because it's all well and good for you to have a job to meet the needs of today, but you're also in college to think about your future and being able to advance yourself and your family. And internships can help in that, which is also why we want to have that emphasis on paid internships because we understand that students may have financial needs and may not have the luxury of taking an unpaid opportunity just to gain experience.” As Farley has been meeting with campus constituents, she has focused on three goals: strengthening relationships with collaborators, both internal and external; enhancing services; and elevating the identity of the Career Center. “There were just some things that I was seeing pretty immediately when I got here that were simple changes to help people know more about what the Career Center is doing,” she said. “And I feel like that has been very helpful with increasing career counselor appointments and attendance at some of our workshops.” That included record-breaking attendance at CSUSM’s fall job and internship fair last October, which drew more than 500 students to the USU Ballroom. Farley is hoping for a similar turnout at the upcoming spring job and internship fair, which is April 9 in the USU Ballroom. “One of the things that I have charged my team with and that I really want to see us grow in with the Career Center is our partnerships across campus,” Farley said. “We are partnering with a lot of our identity centers, we have been going into the residence halls, partnering with RAs and really getting out of the office. We don’t always want to make students come to us, we really want to be able to meet students where they are so that they can get this information in a variety of ways and from myriad places.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The signature spring Arts & Lectures event will feature George M. Johnson, a bestselling author who champions for Black and queer representation in literature.  As Johnson’s memoir achieved massive success as a New York Times bestseller, it also became the American Library Association’s third-most-challenged book of 2021. But with each shove, Johnson continues to persevere and advocate for Black and queer voices.  “Black storytelling has often been banned,” he says. “My book is a tool so that Black queer kids and LGBTQ teens can see themselves and read about themselves and learn about themselves.”  Johnson will speak about the importance of sharing diverse stories – why we should remain resilient, how representation in media can support young adults’ mental and physical health, and what we can do to support these voices. By listening to one another and understanding the history, language and actions necessary to change the world, we can form a community where we are all free to be our true, authentic selves.  Johnson will be signing copies of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” after the event, which is at 6 p.m. on April 3 in the USU Ballroom. It's co-sponsored by the University Library and Pride Center.  Reserve tickets online at the Arts & Lectures website.  CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures series offers a diverse lineup of artistic, cultural and scholarly events every semester based on input and proposals from students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.    What: Arts & Lectures event "An Evening With George M. Johnson, author of ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ ” Who: George M. Johnson, bestselling author When: 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 3 Where: USU Ballroom  Cost: Free for CSUSM students; $5 for faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for community members Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-george-m-johnson-author-of-all-boys-arent-blue-tickets-795743810157?aff=oddtdtcreator  Information: Arts and Lectures website Media Contact Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314