Dear campus community, This is a reminder that Injury & Illness Prevention Program training is required for all employees. If you have already completed IIPP training, you can disregard this email. You can verify your completion status by following the steps below: 1.         Log in to Ability LMS using your CSUSM username and password.  2.         Hover over the tile titled My Requirements and then click on IIPP Training. 3.         Click on the course and check your status on the right. 4.         If it says “Finished” then no further action is required. Otherwise, you need to complete the training. How to Complete IIPP Training There are two ways to complete the IIPP training: Option 1 – Online Course (30-45 minutes) Follow steps 1–3 above. Click Launch to begin the training (note: you may need to enable pop-ups in your browser). Option 2 – Instructor-Led Course (45-60 minutes) also includes the required Emergency Action Plan (EAP-8CCR3220) training. Log in to Ability LMS using your CSUSM username and password. Click the Calendar tab at the top of the screen. Select the session you wish to attend and click Enroll. Instructor-led sessions are offered both in person and via Zoom. Walk-ins are welcome but must manually sign in to receive credit. Sessions with fewer than five enrolled participants may be canceled. Training dates and registration links can also be found on the SH&S Training page under Injury & Illness Prevention. Additional information on the campus IIPP can be found on the IIPP webpage.  While IIPP training is mandatory for all CSUSM faculty, staff, and student assistants, completing it periodically as a refresher is encouraged to stay informed about updated safety protocols and procedures. This regulatory required training only must be completed once unless you change jobs that provide new hazards or exposures. Resources: CSUSM Policy: Injury & Illness Prevention Program Injury & Illness Prevention Program Executive Order 1039: California State University Environmental Health and Safety Policy

Sitting in her homeroom class during her first year at Westview High School, Roury Fitzpatrick was captivated by the morning newscast put on by her school. She had never watched the news much growing up, but it was then that she decided she wanted to pursue broadcast journalism. Fitzpatrick, a second-year media studies student at Cal State San Marcos, has had a passion for writing ever since she was young, creating short stories and pretending she was a New York Times bestselling author. When she became interested in broadcast journalism in high school, she convinced her parents to let her change her elective and joined Westview's broadcasting class. Her passion instantly ignited. As a high school sophomore, she learned about Public Broadcasting Service’s Student Reporting Labs (SRL). Fitzpatrick and a few of her classmates helped produce a podcast segment for SRL about teen mental health and high schoolers’ plans after graduating. This inspired Fitzpatrick to create her own podcast. By her junior year, she and her classmates had created their high school’s first podcast, “Wolverine Paws.” It was on this podcast that Fitzpatrick was able to interview many people, including Fox 5 San Diego weather anchor and reporter Megan Healy.  Fitzpatrick has enjoyed every aspect of her journey in broadcast journalism, from interviewing people to filming, editing and being behind the scenes. She loved the experience as an anchor for her school’s newscast but felt it was too scripted at times. Fitzpatrick prefers to take a more authentic route, reporting on the scene or searching out individuals to interview in their fields rather than reading off a teleprompter. “I really love interviewing people because that’s when you get that one-on-one connection and you learn the most about them,” Fitzpatrick said. “But I also do like being behind the camera and editing because I feel that's when you see the magic of it all coming together.” After working with SRL on the podcast segment and experiencing the support and mentorship from members of PBS as a high school student, Fitzpatrick decided to apply for PBS News' College Climate Reporting Fellows program as she was preparing to attend CSUSM. After a highly competitive application process where she had to create a pitch on a climate issue, Fitzpatrick was one of 10 students across the nation selected for the program, joining students from schools that included Cornell, Penn and USC, among others. Fitzpatrick helped co-produce two stories focused on climate issues. The first story Fitzpatrick co-produced was during the SRL’s summer academy trip to Washington, D.C., where she had the opportunity to meet PBS News reporters, ask questions and gather advice about broadcast journalism. The story Fitzpatrick worked on was on Vihaan Mathur, a then-19-year-old climate activist attending UC Berkeley. The story focused on his work combating climate issues, donating to local schools and writing a children’s book about climate change. Fitzpatrick and her team collectively came up with interview questions and shared editing responsibilities. When it came time for filming, Fitzpatrick conducted the interview and recorded the voiceover. Sharing roles with her teammates allowed Fitzpatrick to experience every aspect of creating and producing a news story. The second story Fitzpatrick co-produced for SRL was more hands on. Fitzpatrick was assigned to a group with other SRL members to come up with another story on environmental issues. Her team focused on the language barrier between Spanish and English speakers, and how this makes discussing climate issues more difficult. Highlighting USC’s newsletter, “Sustainability Sin Fronteras,” which aims to inform Los Angeles’ Spanish-speaking communities about climate issues, Fitzpatrick’s group interviewed the newsletter’s co-founder, Mayte Abrica. They also interviewed Miguel Ordeñana, the senior manager of community science at the Natural History Museum, who works to bring climate education to L.A. locals.  Fitzpatrick and her group spent three days in L.A. brainstorming interview questions, dividing work and filming through pouring rain to piece together their story. “There was a lot of rain, we were cold, we were wet, and we had to protect these very nice cameras as we hiked through muddy trails,” Fitzpatrick said. “We were just happy we got through it. It was such a great experience.” Working with SRL and co-producing stories has provided Fitzpatrick with so much knowledge and experience as she continues on her journey pursuing broadcast journalism. Fitzpatrick loves exploring new topics of research and enjoys the connections she is able to create with the people she interviews. In the future, she hopes to continue her work with PBS or branch out to other news outlets focused on making change. “I want to tell stories about important issues like war, politics or underrepresented communities,” Fitzpatrick said. “I want to tell stories that have substance to them, stories that matter, where people will turn on the news and feel they need to listen.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

As a student-athlete competing in cross country and track and field, Renton McGregor spends most of the year practicing and competing. “On top of training up to three hours a day, my major in algorithmic mathematics is very demanding and leaves little time to hold a job,” McGregor said. “I’m grateful for Brooks and Marion Reid’s support and hope to pay it forward someday, especially in math or athletics.” McGregor's appreciation of the Reids comes from being the recipient of both the Reid Athletic Scholarship and the K. Brooks and Marion Reid Student Achievement Award in Discrete Mathematics. These scholarships are just two of the many ways the Reids have contributed to Cal State San Marcos over the years. Founding faculty members Brooks and Marion Reid have been champions of student success since CSUSM’s earliest days. Brooks, a mathematics professor emeritus, and Marion, the university’s founding dean of Kellogg Library and now dean emerita, have contributed to initiatives across campus, from academics and research to athletics. Brooks currently serves on the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CSTEM) Advisory Council, staying connected to students like McGregor. "It was exciting to be part of CSUSM from the very beginning,” the Reids said. “The library and mathematics have always been close to our hearts, and we’re proud of how the university has flourished over the years. We had fulfilling careers here, and giving back is a way to honor that legacy and help future generations thrive.” In addition to scholarships and mathematics awards, the couple supports an annual Reid Lecture Series, which invites the campus and local community to experience the beauty of mathematics through continued support for programs like the Mathematical Association of America Institutional Membership, the Putnam Mathematics Competition and the San Marcos Informal Mathematics Colloquium. Thanks to the generosity of donors like Brooks and Marion Reid, CSUSM students have the resources to thrive both academically and personally. Their gifts also contribute to the university’s $200 million “Blueprint for the Future” campaign. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Cal State San Marcos’ Supplemental Instruction program received accreditation from the International Center for Supplemental Instruction, becoming one of the nine California State University campuses to join the nationwide list. This national recognition confirms that CSUSM’s Supplemental Instruction (SI) program upholds the International Center’s commitment to academic excellence and student success, demonstrating that it meets national standards for quality peer-led learning and support. Vice Provost Mary Oling-Sisay credited the efforts of Adam Petersen, assistant dean of Undergraduate Studies; Evan Smith, director of Learning and Tutoring Services; and Alex Picasso, SI coordinator. She also noted that the recognition would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of faculty partners, including Lenuta Gonzales, Yasmine Sheraft, Robert Iafe and Alexander Buyain, all of whom provided strong recommendation letters to the accrediting committee. Offered through the Learning and Tutoring Services at CSUSM, SI provides students with an opportunity to collaborate with their classmates and deepen their understanding of course content. The goal of a supplemental instruction program is to promote success by positively impacting the way students learn in challenging courses, such as upper-level psychology, physics and speech-learning pathology. Through SI, students can meet with their peers for in-person and online tutoring sessions. SI was created at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, providing a non-remedial approach to learning that supports success by integrating various learning methods tailored to students’ needs. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim assistant director of editorial and external affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

When Sol Haro first attended Cal State San Marcos, he felt isolated. Not because of the school – Haro was an active student and involved in campus clubs – but because of a struggle with his identity.  As a Mexican American child of a single parent from a low-income household, he felt a level of pressure to find a place where he thought he belonged. This pressure was amplified by Haro’s gender identity as a transgender man. He felt alone on campus — othered — because he rarely saw his identity reflected around him. “I didn’t see myself in my peers or professors,” Haro said. “I always tell people I’m a triple threat because I’m brown, I came from poverty, and I’m trans. A lot of things have happened in my life, so it's hard to find people who relate to me without disclosing all those things.” Haro graduated last spring with a degree in social sciences, and he now works on campus as a basic needs assistant for the Cougar Care Network. The impact of his work on campus earned him the President’s Student Champion Award for Inclusive Excellence and Diversity this year, and he was honored as the winner at the All Peoples Luncheon on Oct. 23. “Every human being has a right to basic needs, and we should not have to suffer to acquire them,” Haro said during his acceptance speech. By his senior year at CSUSM, Haro realized that what was blocking him from connecting with others was the internal shame he carried as a transgender man. With that in mind, he not only began working on self-acceptance but also sought to be a representation of transgender people in higher education that he longed to see. Last academic year, Haro learned about an opening for a civic engagement ambassador through Service Learning and Civic Engagement. He was drawn in by the office’s advocacy and decided to apply. In his application, he stated that while he is committed to neutrality, his passion is in helping those from underrepresented communities. Soon after becoming an ambassador, Haro began creating a comprehensive and easy-to-understand CalFresh guide for CSUSM students. After going through the challenging and confusing process of applying for CalFresh as a transgender man, Haro used inspiration from his mother to help motivate him to push for a change. “My mom was like, ‘If you don’t like something, then do something about it. No one’s gonna do it for you,’ ” Haro said. The guide is a tool to help all students, but it also highlights issues that transgender students seeking basic needs might encounter, such as what to do when their preferred name doesn’t match their legal name. This was not only a way for Haro to help other students on campus, but also a tool for self-empowerment. “I wanted to create this guide for every student, because getting basic needs is what you deserve. It shouldn’t be so difficult,” Haro said. While his guide focuses on the experiences of transgender, undocumented and mixed-status students, it is for everyone, and Haro encourages all students to apply for CalFresh. “More than half of our students probably qualify for CalFresh, and they’re not doing it because they either don’t know what it is or they have some shame around it,” Haro said. “But if you need that help, there’s no shame in receiving it. You don’t need to suffer for your basic needs.” Breaking the stigma around public assistance programs like CalFresh was also one of Haro’s goals with the CalFresh guide. He saw the shame his mother felt in using programs like CalFresh, Section 8 and Medi-Cal. That shame was amplified by how people reacted when his mom pulled out her benefits card at the grocery store. He said he doesn’t want to see other people struggle the way his mother did just to fulfill their basic needs. “Your physical health, your mental health, food impacts both of those,” he said. “Statistics show that when you have a lack of basic needs, you’re not showing up to class and your grades are dropping. How are you supposed to thrive in school and get your degree if all you’re thinking about is how hungry you are?” Haro has found that seeking assistance can be empowering rather than bringing shame. Creating the guide wasn’t easy. The CalFresh application contains technical language that can be hard for some to interpret. It required cross-referencing documents, taking notes while completing his own application and interviews, and spending hours on research. Every conversation Haro had with a CalFresh representative during this process became a valuable tool to help students. “I wanted the guide to be empowering for people,” Haro said. “Yes, the process is difficult, but once you get the benefits, it’s totally worth it.” Along with the CalFresh guide, Haro has also collaborated with various university departments and student organizations to raise awareness about social justice, voting rights and public policy issues. In 2024, he won the Innovation Hub’s Social Innovation Challenge for his proposal to redesign CSUSM’s commuter hub into a lounge focused on students’ comfort and basic needs. Last year, Haro also contributed artwork that centered on transgender joy and the normalization of transgender identities on campus. The picture, which is on display in the University Student Union, features Haro shirtless, three months after his top surgery. Haro described being open about his transness as “so incredibly scary but so empowering” and “filled with self-love.” As Haro continues his work with the Cougar Care Network, he’s thinking beyond the campus community. What began as a way to navigate his own challenges is now opening doors for others, a step toward lasting change built on lived experience and compassion. “This is representation,” Haro said. “I’m happy, I’m thriving and I’m filled with joy because of who I am.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Fernando Amador likes to call himself an accidental archivist. Long before he was an assistant professor of history at Cal State San Marcos, Amador was a doctoral student at New York’s Stony Brook University who was doing field work for his dissertation in Mexico. Hoping to comb through the historical archive of the people of Temacapulin, a small town northeast of Guadalajara, he was surprised to learn that they didn’t have one. What they had was thousands of documents piled haphazardly into boxes, all too vulnerable to environmental damage in the event of, say, a flood. Helping to organize the town’s historical record wasn’t part of Amador’s dissertation, but his conscience wouldn’t allow him to return to New York with the papers in such disarray. So he gave himself a crash course in archival studies – which traditionally is more the domain of librarians – and, with the aid of some volunteers from the community, he led an effort in 2022 to whip the archive into shape. During the three months that Amador was in Temacapulin, word of his project spread to neighboring towns. It just so happened that the Indigenous community of San Juan de la Laguna (La Laguna for short) was in the midst of an effort to organize its own historical documents. The people behind it invited Amador to town, and he discovered that this project involved almost twice as many documents (nearly 20,000), stretching back more than a century earlier, to the late 1600s. “When I saw that this project was a different beast compared to the first one,” Amador said, “I knew we needed more resources and more help.” After a hiatus of a few years – during which he finished his dissertation, earned his Ph.D. from Stony Brook and was hired by CSUSM – Amador finally found himself in position to revisit the La Laguna archive. Last spring, he received a $15,000 grant from the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library, the largest library in the world and the home of such storied pieces as the original Magna Carta. Over the summer, Amador spent two weeks in La Laguna, and the funding not only paid for his trip, but allowed him to purchase laptops and hire and train five members of the community as full-time workers on the 10-week project. “I never imagined I’d end up in this field, but it truly offers incredible opportunities,” he said. “I get to meet new people and develop skills in an area where, surprisingly, historians often know nothing about – archives. You’d think that’s odd, like chemists not learning about the equipment in their own labs. Now that I’m doing this work, I realize just how striking that gap is between what historians do and the archival side of their profession.” Amador streamlined and accelerated a process that had progressed in fits and starts since his initial visit to La Laguna three years earlier. In helping gather the materials, he found that many of them were stored in unfavorable conditions, such as sacks, cardboard boxes and bound together with string. Many also were marked with water stains. As the group surveyed and created an inventory of the documents, they encountered samples both mundane (countless tax receipts) and captivating. One example was a paper record of a legal battle in the early 20^th century between a town resident and an immigrant from Lebanon. “How did a man from Lebanon end up in this little town?” Amador said. “That whole story sounds fascinating. Discovering history through these documents is, in a way, truly thrilling.” Beyond just the work itself, the biggest challenge that Amador faced was gaining the trust of an Indigenous community that traditionally has had a fraught relationship with the local government and the outside world at large. “With me coming from the United States, people wondered, ‘What are his priorities? Why is he here helping us? What’s in it for him?’ ” he said. “It really came down to open communication – reassuring them that I’m doing this because I love the work and involving them in the process as much as possible.” As the grant-funded initiative wraps up this fall, Amador is considering a return to La Laguna in January to review the finished product in person. And as the domino effect continues, the second project might lead to a third one. Another nearby Indigenous community heard about the work Amador led in La Laguna and requested his support for its archival project, which features more digitized material instead of old, yellowing papers. For that one, which remains in the preliminary stages, he is coordinating with classically trained archivists, namely Sean Visintainer and Jennifer Ho of the CSUSM University Library. He’s also talking with Visintainer and Ho about the possibility of introducing and teaching a history course in archival studies. “I really did stumble into this type of work. I still am even hesitant to call myself an archivist,” Amador said. “I'm learning so much, and there's still so much for me to learn. But it does seem like this is where my career is headed – bringing archival studies and history together in some way.” Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306