Cal State San Marcos Associated Students, Inc., President Octavio Martinez first heard the term “social mobility” during his freshman year. Fast forward a few years and Martinez spoke on a student and alumni panel at the 2025 Social Mobility Symposium held Feb. 20-21 in the University Student Union Ballroom. Martinez spoke alongside Hunter Brody Chanove and Ashley Bonilla, both CSUSM alumni, and Myles Villafranca, a graduate student at Clayton State University. Brody Chanove works in product marketing management at Viasat and Bonilla is an evaluation consultant for Intention 2 Impact, a social impact consulting firm.  Education has always been important to the Martinez family. Martinez has four sisters, including two with CSUSM connections. One of his younger sisters is a first-year student while his older sister, Yulisa, was the first in their family to graduate from college. Yulisa graduated in 2017 and majored in liberal studies. She returned to CSUSM to get her masters of education and now teaches second grade at nearby Twin Oaks Elementary School.  Yulisa’s journey to a degree provided inspiration for her younger brother. “I always knew I wanted to continue my education,” Martinez said. “My parents never finished college, and it’s something that they wish that they could have continued if they had more time and more resources. They saw what education did for peers that did finish and they always let us know that you can finish your degree and you can have financially stable lives, because education is a gateway to being financially stable and to have prosperity in life.”  After seeing his sister thrive at CSUSM, Martinez also realized how he could thrive, too.  “Because she came to CSUSM, it allowed me to see myself here, too,” Martinez said, “Being a part of my community has been something that I always strive to do; that's something that's super important to me. As I look into my future, that's something that I want to do, and I definitely saw that in my sister.” While attending CSUSM, Yulisa was involved in several organizations around campus. Similar to her brother, she volunteered with ASI.  Martinez first got involved with ASI last year. However this was not the first way he was involved on campus. He worked for the Office of Inclusive Excellence as a student assistant. He also had a job on campus where he gave out reminders on wearing masks on campus during the COVID pandemic.   Between these two experiences, Martinez felt compelled to get even more involved.  “I wanted to make more of an impact on campus and voice student concerns, but also be a voice that I didn't see represented on campus,” Martinez said. “After seeing the work that impacts students, I wanted to do something that was forward facing with students. I knew that ASI was a prominent student group on campus that allowed me to talk to different administrators and with different student leaders on campus. I knew that was something that I wanted to do to close the communication gap between administrators and students.” From October 2023 to May 2024, Martinez was the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion representative for the ASI board of directors. He then was elected president and began the role in August 2024.  Martinez is set to graduate in May with a degree in business administration marketing. He is currently applying to schools to pursue his MBA. He then wants to work in higher education or local government. “Because of my education I am now more confident,” Martinez said during the Social Mobility Symposium panel. “Coming into higher education, confidence was put on a pedestal for me showing that I can be a  leader and share my knowledge with others. I’ve been able to see the impact of Cal State San Marcos and the impact of education and how it has so much influence on a person’s life.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

California State University San Marcos’ Innovation Hub is hosting LabEscape, an escape room built on the principles of science. LabEscape, which was designed by Paul Kwiat and his team at the University of Illinois, provides the opportunity for participants to experience science in fun and eventful ways. Sessions will be held from Saturday, March 8, through Thursday, March 13.  Saturday will be a “mini-event” that is 45 minutes and free for all participants. On Sunday-Thursday, the event is 90 minutes and $4 per person. Reservations are required and can be made online. No science background is necessary. The event is intended for groups of 4-8 people ages 12 and up. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Five years ago, when Christopher Greely first acquired a leadership position at the San Diego biotech where he works and was charged with expanding his team by almost tenfold, he knew just the profile he was looking for. Scientists who had the proper academic underpinning. Scientists who were passionate and driven. Scientists who weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work hard. And it certainly didn’t hurt if they were, like him, scientists who had graduated from Cal State San Marcos. “I brought on board some of my previous classmates and really kept an eye out for any fresh grads from CSUSM who were just looking for an opportunity,” Greely said. “Because I know the educational basis that they're operating with and their scientific expertise. But on top of that, one of the things that I've noticed about the CSUSM community is really the push to strive for more.” Greely would know, since he is one of those strivers. One of two children of a single mother who was a victim of domestic abuse, the North County native embarked on a decade-long journey (interrupted multiple times at multiple schools) in higher education that ended in a single academic year at CSUSM, from which he graduated with a degree in biology in 2017. What a year it was, however. It helped propel Greely into a job at Carlsbad’s Trinity Biotech, which he then parlayed into a position at TriLink BioTechnologies by May 2018. Almost seven years later, he’s still there, having been promoted six times, most recently in 2023 to associate director of nucleic acid products manufacturing. TriLink has about 200 employees, and Greely estimates that up to 10% of them are CSUSM alumni. Included in that group are a couple of others who are high in the company’s hierarchy: Justin Barbosa, vice president and general manager of discovery; and Evan Myers, associate director of process development. “CSUSM provides a high-level education that prepares us for the future,” said Myers, a 2016 graduate who tutored Greely through the STEM Success Center when they were both students and now works with him closely at TriLink. “Chris is an exceptional worker who brings huge value to the company.” At no time was that more clear than in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the virus was beginning to rage out of control, BioNTech, the German biopharma giant and an existing client of TriLink’s, approached the company asking for its assistance in producing a vaccine that would combat COVID. TriLink, which specializes in the synthesis of nucleic acids and mRNA capping analogs, possesses a proprietary technology called CleanCap that simplifies mRNA manufacturing by removing additional enzymatic steps, resulting in higher efficiency and better yields. BioNTech wanted as much CleanCap as it could get its hands on. There was just one problem: TriLink had recently moved into a new building in Sorrento Valley, and its GMP (an industry term that stands for “good manufacturing practices”) lab wasn’t operational yet. So while Greely was building out his team from five people to 45 to prepare for the heightened demand from BioNTech, he also had to devise a solution that would bridge the gap from where TriLink was in its manufacturing capacity to where it was going. That involved doing some of their work in a standard chemistry lab like the ones Greely utilized back at CSUSM and the rest in a temporary GMP lab. “It enabled us to partner with BioNTech and Pfizer and say, ‘Hey, we understand we’re not equipped right now to satisfy your needs, but we’ll make it happen,’ ” Greely said. By the time the state-of-the-art lab facility was completed, Greely and his team were ready to hit the ground running. Starting on Valentine’s Day in 2021, they worked around the clock every day for about eight months to ensure that BioNTech had enough CleanCap to produce the vast amounts of COVID vaccine necessary to inoculate millions of people around the globe. “It was an enormous satisfaction knowing that you were helping your community, the overall population, the whole world,” Greely said. “During the pandemic, some of my lead engineers would say things like, ‘I’m coming in at 2 a.m. because you called me, because the equipment is down, and at the end of the day, I want my daughter to be able to go back to school.’ That was huge.” Greely was prepared for such a period of growth, both personal and professional, because of the training he received at CSUSM. He vividly remembers a biochemistry course with professor Kambiz Hamadani that was three units but seemed like twice that. At the time, Greely felt overwhelmed by the volume of work, but once he was a new employee at TriLink, he suddenly found himself grateful for the grueling experience. “The principles that Hamadani taught and the ground that his virtual lab covered prepared me for some of the standard operating procedures I would see in the lab within my first three months of starting my job,” he said. “That was eye-opening for me, the real-world application of what’s being taught at CSUSM.” After growing like gangbusters during the pandemic, TriLink contracted in 2023 as the demand for the COVID vaccine decreased. But the company is coming off a prosperous year fueled by the development of a new iteration of CleanCap that’s being used by industry partners for cell and gene therapy that could help cure diseases. “Whenever I interview anyone, they always ask me, ‘What do you love about TriLink?’ ” Greely said. “And my response always stays the same: I am never bored. It’s all about pushing to that new benchmark, clearing that next hurdle, seeing how far we can take our intellectual property for the betterment of the human experience.” Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Cal State San Marcos is one of 12 schools in the California State University system to receive a new designation known as “Research Colleges and Universities” (RCU), it was announced on Feb. 13 by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The new RCU category recognizes institutions that typically do not offer many or any doctoral degrees and spend at least $2.5 million on research on average in a single year. There are an additional eight CSUs included in the R2 category, which is assigned to universities that spend at least $5 million on research and development and award at least 20 research doctorates on average in a single year. The Carnegie Classifications are the nation’s leading framework for categorizing and describing colleges and universities in the United States.  The new classifications created multi-dimensional groupings of institutions that now go beyond a single label and reflect significant changes to how research is recognized, including the methodology that determines whether an institution is classified. “Congratulations to all of the CSU institutions recognized by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education,” CSU Chancellor Mildred García said. “These classifications underscore the CSU’s commitment to engaging our undergraduate students in applied research that lifts communities and addresses our state's most pressing challenges across fields of study – and they wonderfully reflect the CSU’s mission and core values.”

Elinne Becket and Robert Iafe can’t quite agree on what sparked her interest in him. Ask Iafe and he’ll say the crack he made about Becket’s beloved Croatian soccer team did the trick. Not so, says Becket. “At first, I actually disliked him for weeks,” Becket said. “Once he finally started being nice to me, then I started liking him. But he's like, ‘No, that's what caused interest.’ This is one of those agree to disagree moments.” But there’s no such controversy when it comes to their engagement in 2022. “It was perfect,” they both said, nearly in unison. Becket, a biology professor, and Iafe, a chemistry professor and department chair, tied the knot two years later, exchanging vows last Oct. 5 at the place that has become a second home for them – Cal State San Marcos. If getting married at one’s place of employment seems unconventional, it shouldn’t to those who know Becket and Iafe. The passion they have for their students is the same passion they have for the university. And CSUSM’s Event and Conference Services (ECS) team ensured there wasn’t a moment of doubt about having their wedding at the McMahan House on campus. “Everyone at ECS literally brought me to tears in a good way multiple times because they were just so helpful and so thoughtful,” said Becket, noting the tireless work and attention to detail of event planners Lizette Alvarado and Zayla Paschall. “It went perfectly because of them. I'm just so, so grateful for the fact that they made it even more special than I thought it was going to be.” It was a day that was 16 years in the making. Becket and Iafe met in 2008 at UCLA where each was working on their Ph.D. (Becket in molecular biology and Iafe in organic chemistry). Though they were in different departments, they met through one of Becket’s former teacher assistants who was lab mates with Iafe. They were friends for about six months before they started dating, though the friendship could have been derailed by Iafe poking fun at Croatia’s painful exit from the 2008 Euro Cup when Turkey tied a quarterfinal match as time was winding down before advancing on penalty kicks. “It was just enough of a bite for her to be annoyed but have that interest,” Iafe said. Becket remembers it a bit differently. Born in Los Angeles, she traveled between the U.S. and Croatia frequently as a child during the Croatian War of Independence, spending time with her grandparents while her mom helped guide humanitarian aid to the front lines. Needless to say, her ties to Croatia – and its soccer team – run deep. “Oh, he knew what he was doing,” she said. Iafe rebounded from the faux pas and their friendship evolved as they regularly hung out in UCLA’s grad lounge while waiting on results from their respective research experiments. Both play piano, leading to battles in the grad lounge pitting Becket’s classical music against Iafe’s penchant for Elton John (Becket’s wedding processional was to John’s “Your Song,” which Iafe often played for her). The piano duels led to another talent they share – dancing. Becket has danced a variety of styles throughout her life and Iafe competed in ballroom in college. Their friendship blossomed, and, on Dec. 16, 2008, they had their first official date, even marking the occasion with a photo. The 16-year wait from that first date to their wedding day wasn’t intentional so much a product of juggling a relationship with the challenges of establishing their respective careers. “Marriage was always what we wanted to work toward, but we were just enjoying what we had,” Becket said. “It was less important about the legal thing and more important about saying vows in front of our loved ones.” And it was those vows that remain a highlight from their wedding day, particularly Iafe’s words. He took to heart an early conversation they had when they were dating – though, much like the soccer joke he made, they don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on the way that conversation went. “So, 16 years ago, she had a couple of demands for me,” Iafe said. “She said, ‘You are not allowed to read your vows. You have to say it from the heart.' ” “This was when I was 20, when we first started dating,” Becket interjected. “And it wasn't a command, it was an off-the-cuff cuff remark where I was like, ‘I don't understand how people can just read their vows.’ It was one of those things of, ‘If you really mean it, you should be able to say it, blah, blah, blah.’ ” “And I listened to every word that she said,” Iafe said. Fast forward 16 years and Becket jotted down some bullet points to ensure that she would hit on the topics that were most meaningful. Iafe, on the other hand, decided to wing it. While there is friendly disagreement over whether it was truly off-the-cuff or well-rehearsed, they agree that Iafe nailed it. “Of course, this guy has the best vows ever memorized and completely showed me up,” Becket said. “And what's really annoying was that when we were talking about who goes first, he's like, ‘You know what? I'll let you go first.’ He said he didn't want to repeat something I said. “And, no, it was because he wanted to show me up,” she added, laughing. “The video shows me saying, ‘Oh, now I know why you wanted to go second.’ ” Similar to how he lectures, Iafe said he had major points he wanted to hit and just let it flow from there. His groomsmen, Becket said, tell it differently. “They were telling me, ‘He was practicing all day,’ ” Becket said. “Just the major points,” Iafe said. “How we get there, I don’t know. It’s a journey. Live on the edge.” As they approach their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple this week, there aren’t any special plans in the works. They’ll mark the occasion in the low-key way they normally do. And before Becket can give details on what they normally do, Iafe jumps in. “We don’t actually celebrate Valentine’s Day,” he said, “because every day is Valentine’s Day.” Less than five months into marriage, spoken like someone who already knows the key to wedded bliss. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Cal State San Marcos software engineering professor Simon Fan will be honored as the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Engineering Educator at the San Diego Engineers Week Awards Banquet on Feb. 18.  The banquet, hosted by the San Diego County Engineering Council, brings together community leaders to celebrate those who are advancing engineering and technology.  Fan is a founding faculty member of CSUSM’s software engineering program, helping it develop a unique curriculum and achieve ABET accreditation, which shows that a university program meets established educational standards.  Among Fan’s accomplishments was the creation of a yearlong capstone program that emphasizes engaged learning with industrial mentors and targets the specific needs in the region. Fan also works to build a supportive engineering community on campus and helped bring the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers student chapter to CSUSM. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314