More than 4,000 students are graduating in the Class of 2024 as Cal State San Marcos hosts its annual spring commencement ceremonies this month. A total of 4,018 students have graduated or will graduate as part of this year’s class. Spring commencement follows on the heels of CSUSM holding the first fall commencement in its 35-year history. Those ceremonies last December drew a total of 520 graduates. More than 21,000 people are expected to be in attendance to celebrate the graduates this month. CSUSM’s spring commencement will take place on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at Mangrum Track and Field on campus, with six different ceremonies stretched across the two days.   In the Class of 2024, 55% of the graduates are the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree, and 31% are the first to attend college. More than 45% come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, and 57% are non-white. The ages of the graduates range from 18 to 76. Each of the commencement ceremonies will be streamed live on the CSUSM website and mobile app to allow viewing by family members and friends who can’t attend. CSUSM will award two honorary degrees during commencement: Jim Gruny will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the College of Business Administration ceremony on May 17 at 9 a.m.   Jerri-Ann Jacobs will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in the College of Education, Health and Human Services ceremony on May 18 at 1:30 p.m. Gruny is the community liaison officer for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRDSD) and the Western Recruiting Region (WRR). In this capacity, he advises and supports the commanding general and his subordinate commanders in maintaining a strong, positive relationship between MCRDSD/WRR and the greater San Diego community. His 30 years of service in the Mariners as an armor officer included two combat tours in operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.   Jacobs has a longtime passion for community-building and serving others through philanthropy, including education, music, the arts, youth leadership and volunteering. In 1996, she was a founding board member of the Foundation for the Advancement of Music Education (FAME), which successfully advocated for the return of instrumental and choral music programs to public schools in the San Dieguito Unified School District. In 2000, she and her husband created the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High school with other local business leaders, bringing project-based learning to life in the classroom. More information on CSUSM’s commencement ceremonies is available online.   What: CSUSM hosts commencement for the Class of 2024   When:   Friday, May 17   9 a.m. – College of Business Administration 1:30 p.m. – College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences   6 p.m. – College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences   Saturday, May 20   9 a.m. – College of Education, Health and Human Services  1:30 p.m. – College of Education, Health and Human Services   6 p.m. – College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics   Where: Mangrum Track and Field, Cal State San Marcos, 333 South Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos   Media: Members of the media who wish to attend any of the commencement ceremonies are asked to contact communications specialist Brian Hiro in advance at bhiro@csusm.edu or 760-759-0564. For easy access to the ceremony site, media are asked to park in Lot Z, which is located at South Twin Oaks Valley Road and Campus Marketplace.

From the Dean and Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Drs. Dawn M. Formo and Adam Petersen Dear faculty and staff, We hope your semester is wrapping-up smoothly.  If you will be teaching summer 2024 or directing students to academic learning resources over the summer…keep reading! What? Learning & Tutoring Services for Summer 2024: The learning centers are at the heart of the direct academic support the Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUGS) provides CSUSM students. Virtual and in-person academic support is available (details attached). For a list of specific courses supported, visit our website. We look forward to working with you to ensure students have access to available academic resources.    NetTutor Supports Courses in these Disciplines: Bus, Econ, Fin, Hist, Psych, PSCI, Phil, Span, Stats for Human Development, and Stats for Psych STEM Success Center Supports Courses in these Disciplines:  Bio, Chem, CS, Math, and Physics Writing Center: Supports writing in all courses Supplemental Instruction Supports Courses in these Disciplines: Bio, Chem, Econ, Physics, Psych, and SLP Language for your Syllabi/Cougar Course Container: Faculty are our most powerful partners in engaging students with academic support resources on our campus. To assist you in directing students to campus academic support resources, we have drafted language to include on your syllabi/Cougar Course Containers. See attachment. You may also want to provide this link to your students. When do we open to students? Students are welcome to visit LTS to see the space or study beginning June 3, 2024. Tutoring begins June 3, 2024. Hours M-Th 10am-3pm. Where?: ELB 2^nd floor!  STEM Success Center: ELB 250. Writing Center: ELB 273 for in-person tutoring; see our website for virtual support options. Do students visit the academic learning centers?: Yes! Supported by ~120 trained peer educators, Academic Success Center, STEM Success Center, and Writing Center supported nearly 21,000 student visits during the 22/23AY. This represents a 48% increase from the 21/22 AY.  Fall 2023, students made 11,218 visits. Thank you, faculty and staff, for directing students to these learning centers and for your key role in recommending students to serve as peer educators in Learning & Tutoring Services. We can support many more students, so please continue to direct them to us. To what effect?: Data suggest that students who make at least five visits to a single learning center per semester in support of a specific course tend to earn higher grades. Visiting the learning centers early and often is sage advice. In the words of one of our peer educators, “The more you go, the more you know.” Friendly Suggestions: Add the attached language to your syllabi and Canvas course containers. Encourage students to stop by LTS during the first week of the summer session to get acquainted. They can simply come by to look around. Encourage students to make use of the free tutoring at least once during weeks 1-2. Remind your students that LTS is a safe space to learn. Encourage them to bring a friend with them when they visit LTS. Remind your students that with regular visits to LTS early and often throughout the semester, their learning will be deeper, and their GPA will likely be higher.  Feel free to reach out to us with your questions and suggestions. In his role as Assistant Dean, Adam Petersen now supervises Learning & Tutoring Services. You can reach him at apetersen@csusm.edu For Learning & Tutoring Services questions, contact Evan Smith (esmith@csusm.edu), Learning & Tutoring Services Director. For Writing Center questions, contact Allison Reyes (ajreyes@csusm.edu), Associate Director of LTS for Writing Support. For STEM Success Center questions, contact Paulina Coronado (pcoronado@csusm.edu),  Interim Associate Director of LTS for STEM Support. For Supplemental Instruction (SI) questions, contact Alex Picasso (apicasso@csusm.edu), SI Coordinator.   We know that the more students believe they belong, the better they do academically.  Thank you for all you do to enrich this vibrant learning community. Best wishes as you wrap-up the spring and prepare for the summer session! Dawn Formo Dean of Undergraduate Studies Adam Petersen Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Juliana Abraham has a variety of head coverings that she wears when she’s outside. One day might be a head scarf, another day a Cal State San Marcos baseball cap. But Abraham isn’t trying to make a fashion statement. After undergoing radiation therapy as a teenager, she has a 75% higher risk of skin cancer. And when she removes the head covering that she’s chosen for a particular day, she can adjust her hair to show the C-shaped scar where doctors cut open the top of her head to perform brain surgery when she was 12 years old. It has been nearly a decade since the surgery, and, not surprisingly, the experience has completely altered the course of Abraham’s life. Before the surgery, she was a Level 9 competitive gymnast, meaning she was on a path to try out for the Elite program from which U.S. Olympic gymnasts are selected. While that dream ended because of her health issues, the experience opened Abraham’s eyes to her future career. “I've known that I've wanted to be a nurse since I got sick,” said Abraham, a first-generation college student who is graduating from CSUSM this month with a bachelor’s in kinesiology. “After the second time I got sick, I knew that was probably my calling. Before that, I was in the gym eight hours a day training five days a week, sometimes six, and that was my career. And then everything just kind of came to a halt once I got diagnosed with a brain tumor. “I had the light-bulb moment during proton radiation therapy in 2016 after the second surgery. My nurses in both years when I was sick always made an impact on me. It always felt like home being in the hospital for some reason. It was such a connection that I had with those nurses. I cried when I was done with therapy and I rang that bell that they have you ring. I was so happy but also upset because I wasn't going to see them anymore. It was like I was losing a part of my family in a way.” Abraham has been laser-focused on a nursing career ever since. Abraham was still a tween when she began suffering a variety of ailments – including headaches, double vision, and back and stomach pain. She figured it must be related to her intense gymnastics training or puberty. A visit to an eye doctor changed everything. Abraham was diagnosed with papilledema, a swelling of the optic discs in the eyes. The doctor said Abraham needed to go to the emergency room immediately because of related pressure on the brain. An MRI revealed the brain tumor. Doctors initially thought they were dealing with a common benign tumor, but a surgery that was expected to last five hours took more than eight as they discovered it was a central neurocytoma tumor, which is rare in children. It’s so rare that Abraham’s doctors published a case report about it in BMJ, an international peer-reviewed journal. A groggy Abraham actually woke up toward the end of the procedure as the doctor was putting stitches in her head. Abraham, whose head and upper body were mobilized to ensure that she didn’t move during the procedure, asked her doctor if he could scratch her nose, which was bothering her. The doctor politely declined, noting that he was a tad busy. So, Abraham, ever the gymnast, lifted her knee to her nose, scratched it and put her leg back down. “He stopped what he was doing, looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Did you really just do that?’ I’m drunk on anesthesia, groggy and don't know what's going on and said, 'I think so.' And then I was out. That was the first thing he told my parents when he came out to speak to them.” When Abraham was fully awake following the surgery, she was paralyzed on the left side of her body. Rigorous physical therapy helped her regain use of her left side and she even returned to gymnastics. But during one of her follow-up appointments, doctors discovered a regrowth. Abraham underwent a second surgery a year after her first. This time, doctors were unable to remove it completely due to its proximity to the hypothalamus, which controls things like heart rate and hormonal release. Abraham underwent proton radiation therapy to eradicate the remaining tumor and tried again to return to gymnastics. But one of the lingering effects of Abraham’s paralysis after her first surgery is drop foot syndrome, which means she can’t always lift the front part of the foot. As she increasingly had accidents while performing routines, she realized she had to retire from the sport she loved. Nurses were a consistently positive presence throughout Abraham’s medical journey, and with Olympic dreams no longer a possibility, she turned her attention to a new goal. Figuring out how to finance that goal was a challenge for someone from a low-income background, but Abraham’s medical team stepped in to help. Abraham was referred by her neuro oncologist to Make-A-Wish San Diego, which empowers children battling critical illnesses by granting them a wish. Make-A-Wish granted Abraham’s request for a scholarship to help pay for college, providing a $10,000 grant that covered costs for Abraham’s first year at CSUSM. With many nursing programs in the state impacted, Abraham decided to major in kinesiology. She’s working her way through nursing prerequisites with an eye on starting a program in spring 2025. That would put her on track for two milestones in 2026 – a nursing degree and being officially clear medically. Doctors wanted Abraham checked annually for 10 years following the second surgery because of the regrowth, but the hope is that she will be declared clear in December 2026 and can fully focus on the next chapter of her life – helping others the way so many nurses helped her. “What better profession for me to go into than nursing?” she said. “I know what kids are going to be going through and I know how to prepare them for it. I know how to be there for them and hopefully make them feel better and more comfortable. I can let them know, ‘Hey, I've been through this, too.’ ” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The end of the semester can be a stressful time. Your health, safety and wellbeing are important, and CSUSM is here for you. If you or someone you know needs support, there are several resources available: For students:  Cougar Care Network The Office of Inclusive Excellence Student Health and Counseling Services Student Leadership and Involvement Center Student Life Centers for Identity, Inclusion and Empowerment  For faculty and staff: The Office of Inclusive Excellence Faculty Care Facilitator Staff Center Employee Assistance Program

Even the tarantulas that reside in Dennis Kolosov’s lab are fascinated by the work of master’s student Jocelyne Dates. Whenever Jocelyne enters the lab, they scurry to the side of their cage, hoping to grasp a glimpse of what she's working on.  While not fond of them, Jocelyne musters up the courage to walk past the tarantulas to her lab station where she works with her own animals – caterpillars.  Although Jocelyne spends multiple days in the lab working with these insects, she has not always felt confident around them. In fact, she was scared of them. Facing her fears, Jocelyne has learned how to thrive, overcoming challenges while striving for a career that will support her family.  Jocelyne has stood out to her instructors at Cal State San Marcos. A master’s of biological sciences student, Jocelyne was selected this month as the recipient of the President's Outstanding Graduate Award, the highest honor a graduating student can receive. She also received the Dean’s Award for Graduate Studies, which recognizes the accomplishments of one master’s student. To qualify for the President's Outstanding Graduate Award, a student must show outstanding achievement in multiple areas such as academics, professional and service activities. Jocelyne has gone above and beyond when it comes to these requirements, and her journey, while not easy, has paid off. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, Jocelyne started her postsecondary education in Illinois at Parkland College where she received an associate degree. Jocelyne moved with her children and then-husband to California, where she started attending CSUSM to pursue her undergraduate in biology.   Right before starting at CSUSM, Jocelyne and her husband divorced. As a single mother of three kids, balancing being a student and a parenthood has its fair share of challenges.  “Undergrad is a set schedule,” Jocelyne said. “It doesn’t anticipate parent-teacher conferences or a kid being sick. I don’t have a lot of the freedoms other students have. A teenager has no less energy than a 2 year old but they're still navigating high school and choosing a college and how to buy a car and get a loan. A lot of emphasis is put on having little kids and thinking that once they reach school age you can navigate anything, but it's really not the case.” Not only did Jocelyne have to learn to anticipate the unexpected, she often went without some things many people in their academic journey had access to. “Childcare was $30 an hour and I made $14 at the time,” Jocelyne said. “So a lot of times we got free food on campus. There were times where we had to take advantage of something or go without. I didn’t have any resources, so I did most of it solo.”  Jocelyne said the most challenging part is balancing. “You've got multiple roles as mom and dad, and there's not a whole lot of positive storylines about single parents,” she said. “Usually the first line of everything is ‘single parent, broken home’ or the story is ‘They've done well, despite growing up in a single-parent household.’  “Our house is not broken. We have a ton of fun, but it's a balancing act.” Not only does Jocelyne have a great relationship with her kids – she has sons who are 22 and 19 and a daughter who is 14 –  but she has gained skills that have transferred over to her journey in grad school and the science community.  “All the skills I have as a single parent transferred directly into grad school,” Jocelyne said. “Things like multitasking, organizing a schedule, planning ahead and anticipating the inevitable. So, unlike a lot of people, grad school has been a breeze. I love it. I think it's just ideal for an adult who's already had to adult a little bit.”  Jocelyne credits much of her success to the mentors she met at CSUSM. Not only did professor emerita Linda Pershing play a critical role during Jocelyne’s undergraduate journey, but so does her current adviser, biology professor Dennis Kolosov.  “He’s just been great,” Jocelyne said. “It’s very much a family in his lab.”  Jocelyne’s work in Kolosov’s lab has focused on caterpillars. She studies their kidneys, which function much differently than in a human.  “And caterpillars, I always say, are a lot like my teenagers – they literally eat everything, nothing's toxic,” she said. Jocelyne also brings her knowledge from the lab into the community around her to inspire young scientists. Her neighbor has a 5 year old who loves science, so Jocelyne and other neighborhood kids go to the park for “Science at the Park” sessions. Next up for Jocelyne is continuing with her education. Jocelyne was accepted to 12 Ph.D. programs, and involved her kids in the process for every step of the way.  “I made the decision with them because it was going to involve a move, and they're going to be along for the ride so they have a say,” she said. “We were all in the kitchen together when we clicked the ‘I accept’ button, and we did it together.” They clicked accept on Vanderbilt’s offer, and she will begin classes in the fall. While there, Jocelyne will begin working with multiple species of animals such as mosquitos, beetles and treefrogs.  “We struggled for a really long time,” she said. “So it's nice to have something outside of just being a mom that I can do. There's no yearly review for being a mom. You don't get a raise, there's no report card. So sometimes it's nice to have something outside that's tangible. It's been difficult, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They've been phenomenal." Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

More than 4,000 students are expected to graduate from Cal State San Marcos this academic year, including six standouts from the Class of 2024 who are receiving special recognition for their achievements. Honorees were nominated by faculty or staff and endorsed by their college’s dean. Here is a closer look at each award recipient:   Jocelyne Dates, master’s biological sciences  President’s Outstanding Graduate  Dean’s Award, Graduate Studies Dates' work ethic in the laboratory has inspired her peers and instructors, and her research will leave a lasting impact. Dates has mastered and established techniques that require the manual dexterity of a neurosurgeon while participating in the lab. She has impressively designed the lab logo and built custom-made research equipment, which increased data acquisition rate for an intricate bioassay from 50% to 100%.    Dates has taken the role of a mentor to multiple undergraduate and graduate students and creates a nurturing learning environment. In her role as a Summer Scholars mentor, she provided guidance to 13 undergraduate students and one graduate student, which resulted in a total of 25 conference presentations and several publications prepared.   Dates’ outstanding scholarship and research contributions are the pinnacle of excellence. Her hard work has led her to be accepted into 12 Ph.D. programs (she’ll attend Vanderbilt this fall) and she has secured over $1 million in external fellowship funding to date. Dates will graduate with four manuscripts and one invited book chapter while having delivered 10 conference presentations and co-authored another 15 conference contributions as a mentor.      Megan Hosfield, sociology  Dean’s Award, College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences  Hosfield has sought out all the opportunities available to her on campus. After she successfully completed Jonathan Trinidad’s statistics course, she volunteered to audit his class. Trinidad quickly saw her deep understanding of the course, and he recruited her as a paid teaching assistant. In this role, Hosfield actively engages with students and provides them with clear explanation and personalized assistance during class and office hours. She has become a role model to students in lower and higher division statistics courses by leading by example and being responsible and reliable.  In addition to her remarkable work as student teaching assistant, Hosfield leaves an impact on her peers. While in Marisa Salina’s large lecture sociology 311 class, Hosfield shared her own experiences with the intersections of various systems of oppression. It was a powerful experience for Hosfield’s classmates about inequities within public health and social services. Hosfield’s hard work has led her to be accepted into eight Ph.D. programs in sociology and public health. She plans to study how people with mental health and substance abuse issues begin to rehabilitate socially.  Jack Norwood, business administration, management  Gerevas Family Dean’s Award, College of Business Administration  Norwood works as a programming specialist for Associated Students, Inc., at the Temecula campus where he helps students by developing and managing student-focused programs and initiatives. In this role, he also works with other university student affairs departments and organizations in support of Temecula students.    Norwood has volunteered his time as an ambassador for the Temecula campus. He has participated in an Extended Learning marketing campaign, outreach events to prospective students, and represented the campus on efforts with community partners and Mt. San Jacinto College. Norwood has also represented the Temecula campus as part of the Business Organization for Student Success, the ASI Student Advocacy Committee, the Extended Learning Student Fee Advisory Committee, and has been the university representative for the Temecula Student of the Month.  Beyond the university, Norwood has participated in community service activities. He has been a site lead for the Cesar Chavez Day of Service for two years. Beyond his leadership, Norwood explicitly defines the day of service to the volunteers and its comprehensive benefit to the communities served.    Miranda Grzywaczewski, kinesiology Dean’s Award, College of Education, Health and Human Services  Grzywaczewski has shown a consistent and unwavering commitment to the CEHHS mission and vision as well as consistent engagement in community service and leadership activities. Through class discussion and peer assignments, she leads by example with her outside-the-box thinking. The effort and hard work she put into her coursework shows in her 3.94 CSUSM GPA, as she is one of the top-performing kinesiology students.  Grzywaczewski possesses a certification to do vascular stiffness measurements, which makes her one of four students to achieve this status. This process takes over 30 clinical screenings to perfect these vascular analysis skills. Grzywaczewski also serves as the CEHHS representative for Associated Students, Inc., where she holds office hours and encourages student engagement. She has a clear passion for service and care toward others.    Patricia Tulloch, biological sciences Dean’s Award, College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics  Tulloch has pushed through barriers and has emerged as a motivated leader who is dedicated to helping underserved communities. She leaves a positive impact while conducting biomedical research as a teaching assistant and working to make a difference in her local and international community.  Tulloch has been a dedicated researcher in biology professor Julie Jameson's lab for three years. She always brings a positive attitude to the lab, and she was excited to learn about mouse surgery, anesthesia delivery and dissection. Tulloch has shared her findings at the University of Irvine Immunology Fair and received funding to present at the American Association of Immunologists meeting in Chicago. She is committed to the study of skin diseases, diabetic wounds and psoriasis and she is a co-author on a manuscript that is soon to be published.   In addition to her work in the lab, Tulloch is a dedicated teaching assistant for Molecular Medicine, BIO 456. In this role, Tulloch demonstrates a natural ability to guide students through a team-based learning strategy while they work on case studies focused on medical therapeutics.    Nick Melanese, business administration, marketing  Dean’s Award, Dean of Students  Melanese was recruited to the men’s cross country and track and field team where he became CSUSM’s record holder for the 800 meters, a multi-time California Collegiate Athletic Association champion and an NCAA qualifier.    Melanese was elected as a Leadership Council Member for track and field, where he oversees and facilitates conflict management, team-bonding, apparel and social media during council meetings. He has also been awarded the Elite 13 Award, which recognizes the athletic and academic achievement of a student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average in their sport. In addition to Melanese’s athletic achievements, he joined the University Student Union team as a video production student assistant in 2021. Melanese’s creativity and dedication to the USU’s mission and values were quickly recognized, which led him to transition to becoming the USU’s marketing coordinator.  Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314