Cal State San Marcos celebrated the completion of the structural phase of its University Village Housing and Dining (UVHD) project with a topping-out ceremony on Thursday, March 20.   A topping-out ceremony typically marks the placement of the last or highest steel beam.   Construction on the 2.5-acre site began in January 2024 and is expected to be complete in fall 2026. The 137,000-square-foot UVHD is being built on what was formerly Parking Lot O. It features a three-wing configuration to create gathering spaces and student life areas.   The seven-story residence hall – which includes a 10,000-square-foot, two-story dining facility – will have 555 beds, providing affordable housing for underserved, low-income students.  “We are breaking down barriers to higher education and making it possible for more students to stay focused on their studies and thrive,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said at the event. “From pod-style communities that foster belonging to all-gender restrooms, study and social spaces, and secure, modern designs, this is more than just a place to live – it’s a place to grow, connect and succeed.”  Leon Wyden, CSUSM’s vice president for Finance and Administrative Services and chief financial officer, served as the event emcee and welcomed San Marcos councilmembers Danielle LeBlang and Ed Musgrove, who presented a certificate of recognition from the City of San Marcos.   The UVHD project is being funded in part by $91 million received from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature.   “Today, as we celebrate reaching the highest point of construction, we pause to recognize the incredible teamwork and dedication that got us here,” Wyden said.   Partners on the project include McCarthy Building Companies and Gensler. Wyden also thanked the trades teams and contractors, including Nevell Group Inc. (framing), Critchfield Mechanical Inc. (mechanical), Bergelectric Corp. (electrical), A.O. Reed & Co. (plumbing), Kimble and Company (fire protection) and Sunset Glazing (glazing systems).  Wyden also credited university partners, including Planning, Design and Construction, Student Affairs, Housing and CSUSM Corporation.  “Today’s topping-out ceremony isn’t just about celebrating a structure that has reached its highest point,” Neufeldt said. “It’s about the heights we are helping our students reach because of this project.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

The fastest NCAA Division II women's 400-meter runner in the country is home after sailing to victory at the national indoor track and field championships in Indianapolis on Saturday.  Cal State San Marcos student-athlete Rasha Badrani won in a time of 52.92 seconds, a 0.28-second edge against her closest competitor, Peace Nwaelehia of West Texas A&M.  Badrani said she has been running track since junior high school, but the championship was the culmination of years of hard work.   “I just went out there telling myself that I was the strongest one out there and I know I can finish,” Badrani said.   It’s this mindset that her coach said makes her a winner.  “She has an intrinsic motivation that I’ve never seen before," said Anthony Heredia, assistant coach of sprints and hurdles. “Rasha is always one who will do the things no matter who is watching. She has an insanely strong will, and I think that’s what carries in her races. When she wants something, she is going to take it. And she’s not going to let anyone else dictate that.”  Badrani, a 2022 graduate of San Pasqual High School in Escondido, is a junior at CSUSM majoring in business administration management.   Badrani’s win is the first NCAA national championship for CSUSM's track and field program. She is also the second athlete from CSUSM to win an NCAA national title. The first was Jaime Jacob, who won the 2019 women's golf individual championship.  Badrani said next she wants to win the same race in the outdoor championships at the end of May.  Media Contact Jerry McCormick, Director of Strategic Comms jmccormick@csusm.edu

When Grant Muāgututiʻa was a boy growing up in Oceanside, his love of the Samoan language took him to the homes of community elders who would regale him with stories that had been passed down through the generations. When he was a student at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, linguistics took him to some of the cradles of Polynesian culture: Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand and back to Hawaii. And when he was seeking his first tenure-track job in the field, linguistics took him to Cal State San Marcos as an assistant professor in the liberal studies department five years ago. Muāgututiʻa, though, never could have dreamed that linguistics would take him here – on the shores of Oʻahu, the waves lapping at the sugary sand, as he walked the blue carpet (yes, blue) and rubbed elbows with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and other stars of the Disney glitterati before the world premiere of the animated film “Moana 2” last November. “It wasn’t even in the realm of my imagination,” Muāgututiʻa said. “But it was an awesome experience.” You don’t think of linguistics, simply defined as the scientific study of language, as intersecting neatly with a visual medium like cinema. And indeed, Muāgututiʻa was more than a little caught off guard when the filmmaking team behind the sequel to the wildly popular movie “Moana” from 2016 contacted him out of the blue two years ago. They were seeking a linguist to lend an air of authenticity to character names and other language used in “Moana 2,” which picks up the story of a young heroine from ancient Oceania who’s called by the ocean to go on an epic wayfinding journey. Muāgututiʻa might not have been expecting the directors’ call, but he certainly was a qualified candidate. “As far as I know,” he said, “I’m the only Samoan with a Ph.D. in linguistics in the entire world.” Muāgututiʻa was invited to join the Oceanic Cultural Trust, a collective established for the original “Moana” nine years ago to ensure that the film was not only authentic but also respectful of the cultures and histories of Polynesia. Besides Muāgututiʻa as the linguist, the other 12 members of the trust include an archaeologist, a botanist, a choreographer, a historian and additional cultural experts. The Oceanic Cultural Trust is headed by Kalikolehua Hurley, who was born and raised on Oʻahu. Hurley, who affectionately calls Muāgututiʻa “Dr. Grant,” came to CSUSM last fall as part of a panel discussion about the work of the trust, following a screening of “Moana 2.” “We aim for the stories we create at Disney Animation to reflect the peoples, cultures and places we’re inspired by in their creation,” Hurley said. “ ‘Moana,’ which finds inspiration in Pacific peoples, cultures and islands, would not feel truthful without the inclusion of all the things that make the Pacific what it is, including, of course, language.” Muāgututiʻa was excited by the opportunity to contribute his expertise to “Moana 2,” which debuted on Disney+ on March 12. He recalls being a doctoral student in Hawaii when the original was released and taking his wife and (at the time) two young children to see it in the theater. “I was very moved and inspired by it,” Muāgututiʻa said. “It was amazing to see representations of our culture on the big screen like that." Over the course of many months starting in 2023, Muāgututiʻa and the other members of the trust participated in a series of screening cycles – essentially viewing the film in various stages of completion – and afterward met with the filmmakers to discuss their thoughts as a group. In addition to providing general cultural feedback, as the resident linguist, Muāgututiʻa was relied upon to suggest language for the film – from character and location names to more granular things like dialogue, dialect, pronunciation and spelling – both for the movie itself and for marketing materials leading up to the release. And he couldn’t just fall back on his deep knowledge of the Samoan language; rather, he had to tap into words and phrases common to all of the Pacific Islands, an umbrella term that also covers lands such as Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti and Tonga. Muāgututiʻa’s most valuable contribution was the name of the villain, Nalo, which means “lost” in a variety of different Polynesian languages. Nalo is the god of storms who is jealous of the bonds that humans form between each other and uses his power to curse the island of Motufetū and cut off the voyaging between islands. Muāgututiʻa also gave the movie the character of a fruit bat named Peka, the sidekick of a secondary antagonist, Matangi, who’s an eccentric demigoddess and Nalo’s enforcer. Fruit bats are plentiful in Samoa, and the word “peka” can be traced back to the original Polynesian language thousands of years ago. “I helped shape the names in the movie,” Muāgututiʻa said, “although they all might not have come directly from my brain.” One of the words that didn’t come from Muāgututiʻa’s brain but that pleased him greatly is “tautai,” which means “wayfinder” (or “navigator” or “seafarer”) and is the title that Moana receives during a special ceremony. “Tautai” also happens to be the name of Muāgututiʻa’s second son (he has four children total, the most recent a son born in January). “Watching the film, when he hears his name, his face just lights up,” Muāgututiʻa said. “For my kids, Moana has always been there, so they’ve always seen themselves on the big screen. That’s huge for me, both as a father and a scholar.” As the son of two parents of Samoan descent who was raised in one of the most populous Samoan communities in California, Muāgututiʻa marinated in all things Polynesia as a child – even as he assimilated quickly into the American way of life. His twin passions were language and the performing arts, which makes sense given that they are so intertwined in Polynesian culture that they might as well be synonymous. Polynesia had no written language until only a couple of centuries ago, so music and dance were employed to convey stories across the ages. Muāgututiʻa, in fact, felt torn between studying linguistics and ethnomusicology in college. He chose linguistics, of course, and attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa (the first university in the nation to offer Samoan language courses) for his bachelor’s degree and doctorate, with a stop in between for his master’s at the University of Auckland in Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland, not coincidentally, is the largest Polynesian city in the world. “I was able to piece together this curriculum that I was super interested in,” he said, “learning and filling gaps of the facets of history that weren't available to me in Southern California.” During and between the time that he pursued his two advanced degrees, Muāgututiʻa worked in Polynesian outreach for the Oceanside Unified School District and as the director of performing arts for the Le Fetūao Samoan Language Center in Hawaii (for the latter, he received an award in the shape of a fish hook, a traditional Polynesian symbol, that’s displayed in his office at CSUSM.) Muāgututiʻa is a linguist professionally, but his love of music still burns brightly. For the last three years, he has been in a band called FAIVA (Samoan for “craft”) with two other Samoan musicians. FAIVA has played at CSUSM a few times, and one of their most cherished gigs is performing songs from “Moana” and other Polynesian favorites at Disneyland for hundreds of wide-eyed children and their families. A big part of Muāgututiʻa’s work as a scholar is the melding of language and performing arts, and using the latter as a vehicle for the maintenance and even revitalization of Polynesian languages, many of which face endangerment. At CSUSM, he’s part of a group of faculty and staff behind the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American (APIDA) Success Initiative; one of the thrusts of that collective is utilizing grant money to support language curriculum development for Pacific Island studies. Last year, CSUSM launched its first Samoan language and performing arts program, a five-week course in partnership with MiraCosta College that brought 30 kids from K-8 and 30 adults to campus. The program culminated in a performance at the Oceanside Samoan Cultural Celebration last July. “There's such a strong interest and a thirst to learn our culture, learn our language,” Muāgututiʻa said. “Not only has that enabled outreach to the community, but it also has helped me with the opportunity to develop and test curricular materials. None of this would have been possible without the support of CSUSM and the awesome team of faculty and staff that we have here.” The runaway success of movie franchises like “Moana” – the two films have grossed a total of almost $2 billion worldwide – can only aid in the linguistic and cultural preservation that is the foundation of Muāgututiʻa’s career. And he’s not done with “Moana,” either. He also is a member of the cultural trust for the live-action version of “Moana” that’s set to premiere in summer 2026. He frequently was on location for that film, the production of which wrapped last fall. “In a lot of ways, I was just in the right place at the right time,” Muāgututiʻa said of his work on both versions of “Moana.” “It's a lot of pressure, but also a huge privilege that comes with the responsibility to be able to speak for me personally, for my family, for my people on a platform that millions and millions of people will see for a long time. We haven't always been welcome in these spaces, and to have that opportunity now, I don't take it lightly.”   Watch more videos, of Muāgututiʻa singing a song from “Moana” and sharing the connection of music to Polynesian culture.  Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

Almost a decade ago, at another university on another coast, Ellen Neufeldt set out to organize a symposium on social mobility. As she called around to invite participants as an administrator at Old Dominion University in Virginia, she received the same answer again and again: “I will come, but first you must tell me what social mobility is.” Neufeldt related that story on Thursday under a very different set of circumstances. She’s now in her sixth year as president of Cal State San Marcos. Social mobility has increasingly gained prominence in the world of higher education. And, most significantly, Neufeldt was speaking to an audience of more than 400 people packed into the University Student Union ballroom for the now-annual National Social Mobility Symposium. A cross-section of education, government and other leaders from across the country congregated over a day-and-a-half to delve into the once-foreign concept and the many ways that social mobility is interconnected with the vital work of educating students. “The national and higher education conversation has changed in many ways,” Neufeldt said in remarks kicking off the symposium. “Right here at CSUSM and in the CSU in general, social mobility has been part of the core mission of who we are. In fact, through CSUSM’s strategic planning, we established our vision to be a national leader in social mobility. “While social mobility includes upward economic mobility, it also encompasses broader access to opportunities and resources, education, and overall quality of life.” In a fortuitous stroke of timing, the symposium began on the same day that the College Futures Foundation – an Oakland-based nonprofit – released its inaugural California Mobility Index. The CMI ranks four-year institutions in the state based not on how exclusive they are, but rather on the rate of low- and medium-income students they enroll and the return on investment they provide. California State University campuses account for 13 of the top 15 spots (including CSUSM) in the CMI, the debut of which drew coverage from such media outlets as the Los Angeles Times and EdSource.   CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia was one of four keynote speakers at the symposium, calling it one of the system’s “signature events.” “At the CSU and at our peer institutions represented here today, social mobility is our greatest strength, our immense source of pride, and it’s our reason for being,” Garcia said.  Neufeldt discussed, and other speakers at the symposium explored, the concept of a four-legged stool – the systemic barriers that predominate in higher education and prevent the thriving of social mobility. The four legs consist of: the college rankings that historically have focused on, but are gradually evolving away from, exclusion over inclusion; the media that has long skewed its coverage toward Ivy League and flagship institutions; state governments that tie funding formulas to outdated ranking models; and industries and employers that still tend to recruit primarily from elite institutions. “We must be intentional about dismantling barriers, changing practices and expanding opportunities,” Neufeldt said. “We must view every decision by asking ourselves: Who is being left out? What structures are we upholding that need to be reimagined? “This is not just about education. It is about our economy, our workforce and the future leaders of our regions and nations.” Joining Garcia as keynote speakers at the symposium were Nate Hilger, an economist and data scientist and author of the book “The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis”; Charles Welch, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; and Alejandra Campoverdi, founder of the First Gen Fund and a former White House aide to President Barack Obama. On Friday, two current or former elected officials spoke to the assembled crowd: Toni Atkins, the former leader of the California State Senate; and Scott Peters, the U.S. representative of the congressional district (50^th) that includes San Marcos. Atkins talked about the tie between her own story of social mobility as a first-generation college graduate who grew up poor in Appalachia and her political work in the state as a fierce advocate of education, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights. “Social mobility allowed me, the daughter of a seamstress from Appalachia, to become the first woman to be president pro tempore of the California State Senate,” Atkins said. “It allowed me to live a life far beyond my dreams. I want to make sure current and future students get a chance to live that life as well.” Peters appeared at the symposium for the third year in a row. He also hosted Neufeldt and other leaders from CSUSM in Washington last summer. “This is the right place for the symposium,” Peters said. “Cal State San Marcos is a model that I talk about all the time in my work.” The symposium emcee, also for the third straight year, was Wenda Fong, former chair and current trustee of the CSU Board of Trustees. “It is our highest mission to afford students of all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, abilities, identities and orientations the opportunity to earn the lifelong benefits of a high-quality college degree,” Fong said. “This mission and these values have never been more essential. Our world, and the changes coming in the future, require higher education to prepare students for a society of rapid change in technology, increasing interconnectedness and new forms of employment.” Other highlights from the symposium included: a look at how technology is shaping the future of higher education, emphasizing the role of innovation in creating equitable opportunities. quick pitches on impactful programs, and dozens of best practices, showing clear examples of how institutions can foster social mobility in creative ways. panels showcasing how different organizations measure social mobility through rankings and how university leaders reinforce the importance of adapting to student needs. the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) on how institutions and economic leaders work together to drive regional change and bolster the workforce and economy. a discussion on best practices throughout the educational pipeline, emphasizing strong partnerships between K-12, community colleges and universities to create seamless pathways to higher education. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

If you sit down with Nicole Mendez, you may question her decision to major in chemistry and math in her first college experience. After all, years later she owns an MFA from San Diego State in filmmaking and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in literature and writing studies from Cal State San Marcos.  She’s earning the latter while also working full time as the administrative coordinator with the LTWR department. She’s also a wife and mom to three children.  Creating art has always been inside Mendez, and her work reflects that. She will show her documentary “Bad Child” on March 4 in Arts 111 as part of CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures series.   The 13-minute film will be shown at noon, followed by a brief discussion from Mendez. She’ll also lead a panel discussing the impacts of sexual assault, how trauma is expressed artistically and the many resources available to survivors. Staff from Student Health & Counseling Services and faculty and staff from the department of psychology and the School of Arts will sit on the interdisciplinary panel.  As with most A&L events, CSUSM students, faculty, staff and alumni are free. Community members are $5. Tickets are available online.  The topic is heavy. She wrote and produced it as a retelling of her personal sexual abuse as a child primarily at the hands of her step grandfather.   “So the film is entirely my story,” Mendez said. “It goes through every kind of what I see as different stages of the outcomes. I was sexually abused as a child multiple times, so this is something that impacted me throughout my entire lifespan. The film goes through different developmental stages and how it affected me throughout that time.”  The film also has interviews with psychologists who speak to the technical side of recovering and healing. Mendez included facts from her own research as well as statistics on recovery.   Her own personal story is woven throughout the film.  She sees the event as an opportunity to discuss a subject that still doesn’t get enough attention on college campuses, although she is quick to praise the work done by SHCS.  “There’s a lack of people who talk to their children about sexual assault,” said Mendez, 42. “It's not discussed enough as kids are growing up. It's ignored. So I think a lot of young people get to college and they don't think about these risks, and they don't think that these things do happen. And then when they happen to someone they know, or they're aware that these things are occurring, they don't know what to do. They don't know how to help. They don't know how to positively contribute to such an important issue. And so those are all things I want to touch on.”  Filled with expert interviews and personal narratives, the film touches on her experiences while also placing a hard emphasis on the importance of parental and caregiver support in the aftermath.   Healing is an individual journey, one that could be made much longer and more difficult without the presence of support.   That’s particularly important when the abuse happens to a child, according to Mendez.  “How that event impacts you is greatly determined by the support you receive or don't receive when you disclose that event, it is so critical for someone who has had horrible things happen to them,” Mendez said. “After disclosure is supported appropriately, they (a victim/survivor) will likely have less severe outcomes compared to someone who might have had something happen and they tell someone, and the person doesn't believe them, or they tell them they're a liar. There's such a big impact.”  The switch in pursuits to visual arts as an undergraduate student at a small liberal arts college in Portland wasn’t as much of a stretch as it seems because it aligned with Mendez’s interests. And when she took a film class in the SDSU MFA program in 2018, it sparked a passion for filmmaking, leading to a transition from fine art to film.  While some people choose activities when they have free time, Mendez simply doesn’t have much. Instead, she makes time for her creative outlets partly by involving her family.  Her first film — a short narrative about a girl and her grandma — was inspired by her childhood experiences – memories of making tamales with family and listening to music, which often sparked creative ideas. In the film, the girl goes into one of her grandma's rooms and starts using her sewing materials and tries to make herself a dress. At the end, the grandma comes in and offers to help her as a form of connection through action.  Mendez finds inspiration from both real-life experiences and music, particularly non-lyrical film scores. Her art is personal, often reflecting childhood experiences and family dynamics as someone who grew up in Chula Vista but also lived in Florida, Connecticut and other parts of San Diego and L.A.  In addition to making documentary films, she’s an accomplished painter. She painted her daughter for a decade in a series that explored themes of childhood innocence and the contrast between child and adult expressions.  “That was obviously a very personal series,” Mendez said of her now 16-year-old daughter. “I was, in a sense, reexamining my own childhood through these pictures of her. And then when I went off and started making films, I did some animations, and all of those had to do with my childhood. And then the film about the dress. There were elements of my childhood that were put into that.”  Her love for color and patterns is evident in all her work, from painting to filmmaking to her personal style.  Mendez of course finds it challenging to balance full-time work, family responsibilities and creative pursuits. She has slowed down on creative work to focus more on family time, especially as her three children — one in high school and two in elementary school — have more activities.  Mendez’s goal is to educate and inspire collective improvement in supporting victims and addressing sexual assault. Healing is a process, and it’s one that is different for every survivor.  She reported her abuser during the making of the documentary, which took a long time to be processed. He was arrested the same week the film was completed in spring 2022, adding another level of emotional impact to the project.   Just last month — three decades after the abuse began — he was sentenced to six years in prison. At age 87, he will most likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.  The reporting process was challenging with delays and emotional tolls, but Mendez felt it was important to go through it at the pace it required. The documentary serves as a testament to her persistence. The long journey of reporting and seeking justice is over, but the healing continues.  “I won't say there's a real resolution because I do feel like when someone experiences sexual assault of any sort, no matter how minor it is, it affects you forever,” Mendez said. “It'll affect you less if you handle it, you face it, you deal with it, you process it and process it and process it. I do believe it gets better, and some of that is shown in the film. It's not all just dark and negative. It’s more factual and just this is how it was and is.   “I want people to take something away from it as far as how can we be better? Just collectively, parents, teachers, mentors, people who are in those positions to receive that information, those disclosures. How can we as a community, as society, be more supportive and be better?”  Mendez the chemist and/or mathematician never surfaced, and probably for good reason as her art has and will inspire others.   But perhaps there’s something to order, problem solving and truth that chemistry and math provide that also speaks to who she is.   Whatever she chooses to do with her career, it’s clear Mendez is one thing above all — resilient.   “I want to focus on how to help people who have experienced that because when someone discloses sexual assault, the reactions that they receive to that disclosure impact the outcomes of that assault, sometimes more than the assault itself,” Mendez said. “It has such a profound impact on how someone heals or is able to cope that it is really critical that people have an idea of the language to use and how to address those situations.   “And the reality is this does happen, or people have experienced it in their past. But it still affects them, of course.  To know how to interact with someone about those topics who has had those experiences, that’s really important.”  Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

When Karen Charles participated in Cal State San Marcos’ commencement ceremonies to receive her bachelor’s in 2000 and her teaching credential in 2001, she did so on a small grassy area in Forum Plaza. At the time, there were four main buildings on campus with University Hall having just opened a couple of years before Charles graduated with her liberal studies degree. So, it’s easy to imagine her shock at seeing campus for the first time since those commencement ceremonies when she arrived in the summer of 2023 to attend family orientation with her daughter, Kaiah, who was an incoming first-year student that fall. “It was crazy,” Charles said. “I thought, ‘This was my little school, and it's just so beautiful.’ I was so proud of how far it's come. I almost got teary eyed. I feel like I was there at the beginning, and it's become this incredible university. Attending orientation, I don’t know why people in the area would want to go anywhere else. It’s so gorgeous and you have everything.” Charles attended CSUSM with a single goal – becoming an elementary school teacher. And she credits the university for helping to prepare her for the career she’s enjoyed for more than two decades. “Like with anything, once you actually get into teaching it can be so different than what you learned in school,” Charles said. “But CSUSM really does a great job of setting you up for success. “It was helpful that so many of my professors had been in the classroom before. It wasn't someone just telling you what it was going to be like, it was based on real-life experience. That made a huge difference learning from people who actually know what you're going to be going through and what it’s like. They didn’t sugarcoat everything, which was good because they know that there are good things about teaching and there are challenging things about teaching.” Charles was a first-generation college student, and she was focused from a young age on becoming a teacher (brief thoughts about becoming a nurse ended in fifth grade when she sliced open her hand and saw the blood). She always loved working with kids – even when she was one herself. In elementary school, she often helped in the kindergarten classes, loving every minute working with younger students. An Escondido native, Charles taught in her hometown at Conway Elementary (now known as Conway Academy of Expeditionary Learning) for three years before moving across town to help open Bernardo Elementary School in 2005. She has been at Bernardo ever since, teaching first grade throughout her career. “I love what I do,” Charles said. “First grade is so much fun because a lot of these kids come in knowing letters and sounds, but they literally leave as readers. First grade is so foundational that just to see their growth is so rewarding. “And we have great families at Bernardo. I love my team that I work with and we have an awesome principal. I couldn't work at a better school.” Charles has similar feelings about CSUSM. She was about 7 months pregnant with her first child, Benjamin, when she received her teaching credential at commencement in 2001. A year later, she began teaching at Conway. She had three more children – Kaiah and sons Elijah and Josiah – with Kaiah following in her mom’s footsteps by attending CSUSM. Like her mom, Kaiah is looking toward a career working with children. She is majoring in psychological science and works about 30 hours a week doing applied behavior analysis therapy to help young children with autism learn and develop skills. “I love working with kids. I feel like I was born to do it,” said Kaiah, who likely will pursue her master’s with an eye on being a therapist. It's gratifying for Charles to see how Kaiah is finding her place at CSUSM and looking forward to diving deeper into her major as she completes her general education courses.       “I'm so happy she's there, and she's really happy that she's there, too,” Charles said. “Right from the time we got to orientation, it just felt like a family and a community.” Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Irma Ramos Arreaga started her role as Cal State San Marcos' outreach and inclusion librarian last February.  Before joining CSUSM, Ramos Arreaga worked at a public library in San Mateo, where she helped with children's services such as story times, arts and crafts, and community work. “The reason that I came here was because the job was very similar,” Ramos Arreaga said. “With outreach, you're doing a lot of work in the community. In this case, the community is the campus, and so all the outreach that I was doing for children is experience that I use here, just in a different setting. “There's typically not a lot of outreach librarians at university libraries. A lot of the time, outreach is embedded into other jobs. In recent years, outreach has become its own job to further connect with the student body. I like outreach because I like talking to people, I like connecting to people, and I get that more in my position than in a different academic library position. I like that CSUSM is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and that I would be able to help my community.” Ramos Arreaga’s position has two different parts. On the outreach side, she's like the library's personal cheerleader, helping plan events, scoping out new services while promoting the current ones and overall connecting people to the library.  On the inclusion side, Ramos Arreaga helps develop new programs through the library, and she works hard to make sure each program is meaningful and inspiring for those who participate.  “The focus is really bringing new perspectives, new identities and new discourse for the campus to be a part of," she said. “We're being inclusive of the different populations on campus through our programming. As we are planning for programs, we're thinking of what groups to highlight and what would be representative and impactful for our campus.”  The day-to-day schedule looks very different for Ramos Arreaga depending on the time of year. Many of her days are spent planning or hosting events in the library. Her busiest time of year is before each semester when the library prepares each art exhibit for the campus population.  The Context Exhibit Series this semester features the work of Isidro Pérez García, whose exhibit is titled “Migratory Land Knowledges.”  “Isidro Pérez García was inspired by his life,” Ramos Arreaga said. “He lived in the States undocumented for 20 years. A lot of the experiences that he had working under-the-table jobs influenced the exhibit, and then his background from Mexico, being from the countryside, working on farmland, that knowledge is also embedded into the artwork. Everything in the exhibit was made by him. The frames in the exhibit include handmade paper. The ink is made from cochineal (cochinilla), which lives on cacti. He harvested this parasitic insect and made ink out of it, which is an ancestral practice. He made all the anatomical hearts that are on the spiral table. He made the spiral table with the help of his brother, using scraps from an old furniture company that he worked at. Every decision that he made for every piece has a purpose. It's very meaningful.” Long before an exhibit is set up at Kellogg Library, an artist must be located. Finding the artist takes a combination of going out to see community exhibits and sourcing through connections. After a potential artist is found, Ramos Arreaga meets with them and thoroughly views their collection, making sure they are a fit for the campus.  Ramos Arreaga’s connection with the artists continues after the exhibit is completed. Eager to get the community involved, Ramos Arreaga invites the artist on campus for a workshop. For the library exhibit last fall, artist Salvador de la Torre came to campus and led students in a printing workshop.  The workshop this semester will take place March 27 from noon-1:30 p.m. Pérez García will be bringing handmade paper and teaching attendees to harvest and create ink with the insects he uses to create his ink. Students will learn to balance the pH level to the ink and change the colors. Students will be able to use the paper to create their own designs and paint. All the work Ramos Arreaga does on campus is in collaboration with the outreach team, including Rosa Rodriguez, James Guerrero and Victoria Holley.   In addition to the exhibit workshops, Ramos Arreaga helps Allison Carr, the academic transitions librarian, run CSUSM’s Common Read program. Multiple times during the academic year, the library organizes programs relating to Common Read. Once again this year, the selection focuses on banned books. The library gives out free banned books at several of these events.   “Who doesn't like giving out free books?” Ramos Arreaga said. “But people are usually really excited, and we interact with a lot of people in a short amount of time. So it's nice to see the campus and give out books.” That is ultimately what Ramos Arrega hopes to accomplish in her role: see the lively campus and spread the love of books to the community.    Upcoming Events Common Read Banned Book Giveaway: March 4, noon-12:50 p.m., Kellogg Library Meet the Artist: Isidro Pérez Garcia: March 18, 5-7 p.m., Kellogg Reading Room (fifth floor) Exhibit Workshop: March 27, noon-1:30 p.m., The Makery (second floor)   Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Join us in celebrating the history and accomplishments of women through Women’s Herstory Month. Cal State San Marcos has scheduled events throughout March that provide opportunities for students to reflect on and discuss their experiences with womanhood and identity.    Sapphic Sounds  March 4, noon, USU 3200 Celebrate women’s herstory with the Women and Gender Equity Center by discussing the rise of queer women in pop and their place in the music industry and by decorating vinyl records.     Journey to the Manosphere March 6, noon, USU 3200 Join us as we explore the rapidly growing "manosphere," a network of online spaces shaping modern masculinity, power dynamics and societal roles.   Women’s Leadership Summit March 7, 9:30 a.m., USU Ballroom The Women’s Leadership Summit invites members of the CSUSM community to explore and engage in topics related to women’s leadership and empowerment. This year's theme is "Amplify Your Voice: Your Impact," providing participants the opportunity to learn how to challenge the limitations placed on women while building the confidence and strength to empower others. The event also will help students network with women in various professional disciplines and learn from each other’s experiences. Register by Wednesday, March 5, and learn more about the topics and speakers on the WLS website.   Heart to Art Workshop  March 11, noon, USU 3200 Join the WGEC and College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics for an engaging conversation and creative activity celebrating women in STEM. Explore how women are transforming the STEM industry while connecting with peers in a fun and inspiring environment.   Celebrando Herencia Chicana March 12, noon, USU 3200   Join us as we celebrate and empower the legacy of Chicana resilience and culture in collaboration with the WGEC, Latinx Center and Cross-Cultural Center.   Make Your Mark  March 13, noon, USU 3200 Join the WGEC and APIDA Student Center for an insightful discussion on the history of tattoos in the Philippines and their connections to gender and identity.    Breaking Down Barriers  March 18, 5 p.m., USU 2310 Join the WGEC and Latinx Center for an empowering celebration of women of color in entrepreneurship. Hear from inspiring panelists as they share their journeys, challenges and successes in building their businesses and making an impact.   DAMN. We Need a Change. March 19, 1 p.m., USU 3200 Join the WGEC to discover practical ways to get involved, make an impact and advocate for the causes you care about.   Know Your Rights Workshop  March 20, noon, USU 3200 Join the WGEC and the DREAMer Resource Office for a "Know Your Rights" workshop and learn how to be a strong ally for our undocumented community. Gain valuable knowledge and resources to advocate and support effectively.   Feminist Festival March 20, 5 p.m., Forum Plaza Join the WGEC and Tukwut Life for a vibrant celebration of femininity and female identity. Enjoy an evening of music, food and performances while building community and embracing CSUSM’s feminist spirit.   Drop the F-Bomb: Trad Wife Movement March 24, 11 a.m., USU 3200 Join us for an engaging discussion on the "trad wife" movement and its relationship to feminism. We’ll explore the historical and cultural roots of traditional gender roles, the resurgence of domestic femininity in online spaces and how these ideas align — or clash — with feminist perspectives.   Uplift & Unwind: Shelf Care March 25, noon, USU 3200 Join the WGEC to talk about feminism and literature while creating bookmarks. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Octavio Martinez first heard the term “social mobility” during his freshman year. Fast forward a few years, and Martinez – now president of Associated Students, Inc., at Cal State San Marcos – spoke on a panel of students and alumni at the 2025 National 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 in Georgia. 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 a master's in 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 they could have continued if they had more time and more resources. They saw what education did for peers who did finish and they always let us know that you can finish your degree and 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 realized how he could thrive as well.  “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, something that's super important to me. As I look into my future, that's something 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 joined ASI last year, though it wasn't the first way he got involved on campus. He worked for the Office of Inclusive Excellence as a student assistant. He also had a job where he gave out reminders on wearing masks on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.   Between those 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. I knew that was something 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 last August.  Martinez is set to graduate in May with a degree in business administration marketing. He's applying to schools to pursue his MBA, and he aspires 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

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

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

When the hills above Los Angeles exploded in flames early last month, Matt Rahn snapped into action. Rahn, though, isn’t a firefighter who was called into duty to help battle what became one of the biggest and most destructive fires in California history. Rather, he’s a wildfire researcher at Cal State San Marcos who, in 2019, created a unique degree program called Wildfire Science and the Urban Interface. He’s also the executive director of the Wildfire Conservancy, a nonprofit research foundation dedicated to serving the state’s firefighters and protecting its communities. The wildfires that devastated the L.A. area, and even caused minor damage in pockets of San Diego County, have been contained. But the significant problem of grappling with ever larger and more dangerous fires fueled by climate change is only growing worse, and Rahn can be found permanently stationed on the front lines of that fight.   Question: What was the nature of the work you were doing during the L.A. fires last month? Matt Rahn: I and my team at the Wildfire Conservancy have been doing research related to firefighter health and safety. Specifically, we have been conducting an exposure study related to the toxic, hazardous and carcinogenic materials firefighters are exposed to in a wildland urban interface fire. We are collecting data on exposures using silicon wrist bands (as a passive sampling device that is extremely good at absorbing all the contaminants firefighters are exposed to). We compare these to urine and blood samples taken from firefighters to track exposure to substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (or PAHs), volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), heavy metals and other compounds. We use a variety of techniques, including micro RNA analysis that can measure the change in gene expression, particularly those responsible for either causing (or suppressing) cancer.    Q: What was your reaction when you first heard about the fires? Could you have imagined that it would ever get that bad in the nation’s second-most-populous city? MR: Sadly, I wasn’t shocked. For over 10 years now, we have been saying what is now common vernacular: We no longer have a “fire season,” we have a year-round fire risk. And we no longer have “wildfires” but rather fires in the wildland urban interface (or WUI), which is the area where human development and infrastructure meet undeveloped wildland or natural areas. But this change began much longer ago.  In 1991, in a remarkable and singularly cataclysmic event, the Oakland Hills became engulfed by a devastating fire that resulted in 3,280 homes lost, 25 fatalities and 1,520 acres burned. At that time, the loss was unthinkable; by today’s standards, the Oakland Hills fire, while still tragic, is certainly not the largest of its kind. That resulted in renewed recognition of the dangers posed by fires in the WUI and prompted new research and development into improved prevention and suppression methods, policy, and procedure of these kinds of fires. Unfortunately, that focus was short-lived, and over a decade would pass until California experienced another devastating wildfire, this time in San Diego County, that would grab national attention.  Engulfing more than 280,000 acres, destroying 3,241 homes and causing the loss of 16 lives, the 2003 Cedar fire surpassed all records and became the most devastating fire in California’s history. With a total economic loss of nearly $2.5 billion, we realized that the devastation was not contained to acres burned; the fiscal impacts to our communities far outweighed the actual cost of fighting this megafire. Even with a peak of 6,635 firefighters battling the blaze, suppression was less than 2% of the total cost of that wildfire incident. For more context, since 1970, the U.S. has witnessed a roughly 300% increase in acres burned each year. Fifty years ago, wildfires would burn about 3 million acres per year across the entire U.S.; today, a single fire in California can consume one-third of that historic national acreage. So, fast forward to the fires in Paradise, California in 2018 and the 2023 fires in Maui, where over 100 people lost their lives. Sadly, we all should have seen this coming.   Q: Do you think there’s any merit to the criticism that city officials could have done more to keep the fires from getting so out of control? Or was this strictly a scenario of worst-case environmental conditions? MR: Persistent drought, hot and dry temperatures, and extremely high winds in a community not built to modern standards for wildfire-prone areas were dangerous starting conditions for any fire event. The high winds provided an extremely short opportunity to prevent a conflagration. These winds also prevented the use of aerial attacks in the early stages of the fire. Fire agencies were left with ground resources, battling one of the most difficult and hazardous fire storms in U.S. history. Given the extreme fire behavior and conditions, the ultimate suppression and containment of the fires and prevention of additional losses was due in large part to the remarkable firefighter staffing and surge capacity that was mobilized.  It’s easy, if not dangerous, for folks so quickly to criticize agencies and municipalities, and make a tragic incident like this a political talking point. Organizations like Cal Fire, L.A. City and County Fire, and even the National Institute of Standards and Technology are all working to recreate the mobilization of resources and try to understand how response impacted outcomes. This is a very complicated and labor-intensive process that needs to be completed.    Q: If I’m remembering correctly, the worst fires in the state over the last decade or so have been in Northern California, including the Camp fire in 2018. Do you think Southern Californians had acquired a false sense of security and complacency? MR: Unfortunately, many communities acquire a false sense of security and complacency. We see this year after year. When there is smoke in the air and a major incident that galvanizes our communities, state and nation, all the attention is given to that fire, with a collective promise that we will not forget and will work to keep our communities safe. But as time passes (and in some cases, not much time can pass), communities become lax in their collective efforts for fuel reduction programs, maintaining defensible space or other factors that can significantly contribute to community resilience. We cannot allow this to occur.  In fact, the Wildfire Conservancy along with some of our instructors in the Wildfire Science and the Urban Interface degree at CSUSM have teamed up to address this exact issue. We were awarded a grant from the FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety program in support of community resilience and advanced training support for Maui. Together with the County of Maui and Maui’s fire department, emergency operations and community associations, the Wildfire Conservancy will build on existing programs with the Responding to the Interface (RTI) program (from Cal Fire and the International Association of Fire Fighters) as the foundation for working with high-risk communities to develop a comprehensive and customized WUI firefighter training tailored to Maui and its communities, and create an annual event that is designed to improve community resilience, awareness, outreach and education. We are working to bring this effort to a national stage starting with Maui and continuing to California and beyond.    Q: What have you heard from the fire crews that were battling the blazes in L.A.? MR: We have so far connected with hundreds of firefighters from Cal Fire, L.A. Fire Department, L.A. County Fire Department and other departments like Santa Barbara, Ventura, Fillmore, Oxnard and Pasadena. They are just now beginning to catch their collective breath and recover from these incidents. They are keenly aware of the exposures they have experienced in these fires. The success won by those “boots on the ground” may come at a significant personal and societal cost. The fires resulted in extreme high-level exposures for responding firefighters, at a scale not seen since Sept. 11, 2001. Many of us in the scientific community are speculating that these fires may well constitute an exposure incident that far exceeds that momentous day. The full impact has yet to be realized.    Q: How long have you been a scholar and researcher of wildfire science? How did you first get involved in it as a discipline? MR: I began working on wildfire issues shortly after the Cedar fire in 2003 and became more fully engaged in research after the Witch and Guejito fires in 2007. My first projects were focused on things like fire sensors to provide early detection of wildfires in remote areas and economic impact studies related to the Cedar fire. I then moved quickly into research on attack effectiveness, completing the seminal study on wildland firefighter staffing that is still used to this day as the standard for helping advocate for proper state firefighter staffing. We then moved quickly into firefighter health and safety, given the impacts we were seeing related to cardiac events, dehydration and heat illness, and cancer. Since then, my time and effort on wildfire and urban interface fires has increased dramatically, culminating in the new degree program at CSUSM in 2019 and the launch the same year of the Wildfire Conservancy.     Q: How has the field evolved over the years as wildfires have gotten bigger and more destructive? MR: We have been ringing the bell on wildfires and the WUI since the early 2000s. Back then, we were using terms like “the new normal.” Today, everyone is keenly aware of the risks, and the number of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in answering the call has increased significantly. Our first symposium on these issues was held a little over a decade ago in Sacramento, in partnership with Cal Fire and Cal Fire Local 2881. Experts from around California and the nation gathered and agreed that wildland firefighting was easily a decade behind structural/urban firefighting. The recommendation was to increase research and education programs in response to this. CSUSM has helped lead that effort with the new degree program, and organizations like the Wildfire Conservancy have formed to prioritize some of the most pressing issues facing our communities and first responders.    Q: How would you describe CSUSM’s wildfire science program and what it does? MR: The degree program is unique. It’s focused on the WUI as its primary mission, educating our next generation of firefighters to deal with the unique issues related to these kinds of incidents. Clearly there is a need, and that need is growing. It is no longer just a California issue or something that is particular to the western U.S. Nearly every community in the nation has some kind of risk related to WUI fires. Providing the training and education for that growing risk is critically important.  What makes this program unique is that it was designed with firefighters and key agencies, including Cal Fire, the fire departments of San Diego and L.A., the U.S. Forest Service, NIST, and many other departments from around the country. We designed our curriculum based on their input, and it includes coursework in community planning and resilience, firefighter health and safety, wildfire law and economics, kinesiology and fitness, and even emerging tools and technologies. Our program also offers a course in firefighter mental and behavioral health, the first of its kind in the nation. The program is designed for working professionals, is fully online and has the ability to put a pause on coursework for students who may be deployed to major incidents during the semester. And yes, several of our own students were working on the L.A. fires.  We are lucky to have some of the foremost experts as instructors for some of the more specialized courses, and several remarkable faculty members at CSUSM also are teaching in this program. One last thing I should mention is that each student, at the end of their last semester, works with us to conduct their own “senior thesis” and research project focused on WUI issues. I’m happy to say that three of our former students will publish their research papers in the new Journal of the Wildfire Conservancy, a new science journal produced through the CSU system.   Q: CalMatters did an award-winning investigative series called “Trial by Fire” in 2022 about the traumatic toll of wildfires on firefighters, almost akin to being in war. How concerned are you about that, and what are some steps you’d recommend to deal with it? MR: Modern firefighters are responding to some of the most horrific, toxic, hazardous and carcinogenic incidents ever imagined, working in environments where the human body was never meant to be. They are sleep-deprived and regularly experience potentially traumatic events that can affect their mental health. We are seeing the results of this today through rising rates of cancer (far higher than the general population), increased rates of suicide and suicidal ideations, and high rates of heart attack and stroke. We can and must do better for those who are sacrificing themselves (and their families) in service to our communities. This is why we started the degree program and launched the research foundation. I know this is the thing that motivates so many of our fantastic researchers, faculty, instructors and students who have dedicated their careers to helping.    Q: I know funding, and the lack thereof, is a big part of this, but how would you like to see firefighting improve to confront the threat posed by bigger wildfires fueled by climate change? MR: We need to give our fire agencies the resources, staffing and technology they need to respond to these events. We absolutely do need more boots on the ground, air attack resources and access to new tools and technologies. We also need a significant investment in personal protective equipment and advanced technologies that can reduce occupational exposures and risk. Fire prevention is also a big piece of the puzzle. We need to take the commitment to fuel management and defensible space seriously, and dedicate the resources needed to create long-term, large-scale sustainable efforts. We also need to rethink our laws, codes and regulations related to housing, businesses and infrastructure, and invest in programs that can better inform future decision-making, land-use planning and community-wide wildfire protection plans.    Q: What lessons are you taking away from the L.A. fires? Should we be rebuilding in these fire-devastated areas? How can we make such communities more resilient? MR: We as humans tend to build in high-risk areas, whether they are fire-prone or at risk from floods, earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes. We have made remarkable strides in addressing community resilience and facility-hardening across many of these high-risk areas, including wildfires. We know what can and does work, and considerable investments are being made to develop new materials, designs and strategies to increase protection. However, none of this works if we continue to allow for poor planning and fail to provide for programs to help improve and retrofit existing communities. It will continue to fail if we don’t take our commitment to fuel management and defensible space seriously. And it will fail if we don’t take immediate action finally to fund a full-time, year-round fire service through Cal Fire and provide our struggling fire agencies the staffing and resources they need to do their job. In addition, we desperately need a significant overhaul to California’s insurance laws and regulations. Each of these issues by itself is not a solution and can easily fail when handled alone. However, if we think of each issue as a separate stick, when they are bundled together, they form a stronger and more resilient unit. We are all in this together.  Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

When Geraldine (Gerri) Frances Brooks earned a degree in biology in the 1950s, the acronym we now know as STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – had yet to be coined, but it would become an indelible part of her legacy.     As president and one of the founding members of the Lawrence E. and Neva B. Fenstermaker Foundation, Brooks has been instrumental in supporting STEM at CSUSM for nearly 30 years. While the Fenstermaker Foundation is now sunsetting, its legacy will live on through a $1.3 million endowment in perpetual support of STEM students at CSUSM. This transformative gift will be further amplified by a $1 million matching contribution from the Epstein Family Foundation. “Supporting STEM has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life,” Brooks said. “Three decades ago, we chose CSUSM because it was new and so full of potential. This university is exactly what we needed in North County San Diego, and it has been wonderful to watch it grow.” Over the years, in addition to the recent endowment, the Fenstermaker Foundation has donated $1.9 million to STEM initiatives at CSUSM, providing more than 130 STEM students with scholarships and establishing a $40,000 library endowment for science resources. “We are deeply grateful to the Fenstermaker Foundation board of directors,” CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. “Their generosity has transformed countless lives, creating a ripple effect of innovation and opportunity that will benefit our community for generations to come.”   From first gen to multi-gen impact As a first-generation college student, Brooks put herself through school at Adelphi University in Brooklyn. At the time, it was rare for women to pursue higher education or build careers in fields such as biology, making Brooks' achievements both groundbreaking and inspiring. Notably, she worked alongside pioneering scientist George Nicholas Papanicolaou, whose development of the Pap smear revolutionized cervical cancer detection. The Fenstermaker Foundation was founded in 1995 by Lawrence Fenstermaker, who served in the 11^th Naval District in San Diego. While Fenstermaker did not attend college, he was passionate about learning and helping others obtain an education. Along with Brooks as one of the original five board members, the Fenstermaker Foundation started giving to CSUSM in 1996 and has remained a steadfast supporter ever since.     “The Fenstermaker Foundation’s endowment will allow CSUSM Summer Scholars students to get paid, hands-on research experiences in STEM,” said Julie Jameson, director of CSUSM's graduate program in biology. “This type of opportunity truly changes lives and fulfills the university’s mission of student success.” CSUSM proudly honors Brooks, a remarkable champion of STEM education. Through her visionary leadership, the Fenstermaker Foundation has made an enduring impact on CSUSM, fostering innovation and creating opportunities that will empower students and transform lives for years to come. Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

In honor of Black Excellence Month, Cal State San Marcos’ Black Student Center is hosting a series of events to celebrate and foster empowerment among the CSUSM Black community through the arts, education, student engagement and community initiatives.  The festivities will conclude with the annual Black Excellence Awards Gala on Feb. 27. In addition to the listed events, plans are in the works for events that include a meet-and-greet with the Black Faculty & Staff Association, and Networking with Excellence through the Career Center. Black Excellence Month events are open to all students and the campus community.   Black Excellence Month Flag-Raising Ceremony and Lunch Feb. 4, 11:30 a.m., Chavez Circle flagpole/USU Ballroom Start the month of celebration with words of welcome, encouragement and reflections from members of the campus community followed by a celebratory lunch. This event serves as a powerful reminder of the rich cultural heritage and the ongoing pursuit of equity and justice. All are welcome to attend and engage with the BSC community, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Black excellence.   Black Brilliance In Motion: A Workshop for Black-Identifying Males With Hip-Hop Artist Quentin Robinson Feb. 4, noon, Arts Building 101/Black Student Center (USU 4200) In collaboration with Arts & Lectures, this workshop will help Black men use movement to connect with who they are and create their own path. Following the workshop, at 1 p.m., attendees are invited to an Q&A session with Robinson in the Black Student Center. The event is open to students, staff and faculty.   Creating Our Excellence: A Keynote With Kevon Lee Feb. 11, noon, Black Student Center (USU 4200) Lee, a motivational speaker, will deliver a speech empowering students to chart their path with excellence. Attendees will leave with a greater skill set to navigate the societal context in which we exist.   Divine Nine Panel Feb. 13, noon, Black Student Center (USU 4200) All are invited to learn about the National Pan-Hellenic Council and expand their network through the Divine Nine, which represents all nine member NPHC organizations.   Carnaval Feb. 13, 5 p.m., USU Ballroom Join this annual collaboration with the Latinx Center to celebrate with cultural games, food and entertainment.    Black Student Center Birthday Hour Feb. 18, noon, Black Student Center (USU 4200) Come celebrate the Black Student Center’s eighth birthday! This event is intended to honor the history of the center while continuing to push for progress in the years ahead.   Black Excellence Awards Gala Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m., USU Ballroom The Black Student Center is hosting this inaugural event in collaboration with Tukwut Life to celebrate and highlight the Black community. The evening will be a showcase of achievements and inspiring stories from our vibrant community. Guests are encouraged to dress in their finest attire to honor the occasion and the remarkable accomplishments being celebrated. Please RSVP using this form by Feb. 17 Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Suzanna Krivulskaya is a Cal State San Marcos history professor who specializes in the history of religion and sexuality. It’s only natural, then, that her first book is about one particular way that those two topics have intersected in American life.  Jan. 17 was the publication date of Krivulskaya’s debut book, titled “Disgraced: How Sex Scandals Transformed American Protestantism.” The book is described by its publisher, Oxford University Press, as a “sweeping religious and cultural history of Protestant sex scandals in 19th- and 20th-century America” as Krivulskaya “investigates the cultural consequences of scandal, what demands the public made of religion in response to revelations of pastoral misdeeds and how Protestantism itself changed in the process.” Krivulskaya, who has worked at CSUSM since 2019, says she’s thrilled that the book is out in the world. “The project is the culmination of years of research, draft workshops in communities of deep thinkers, and revisions,” she said. “I hope that the topic will attract a broad readership, and I hope that they learn from the many fascinating stories I tell in the book.” “Disgraced” originated as Krivulskaya’s dissertation during her time as a Ph.D. student at the University of Notre Dame from 2015 to 2019. In the course of her research for the project, she combed newspaper archives from the first half of the 1800s, which witnessed the emergence of human interest journalism. She then traced how the U.S. press covered the stories of ministerial downfalls through the late 1900s.  “It turns out that sex scandals have not been mere aberrations in the history of American religion. In fact, they have plagued churches since the birth of the modern press in the 1830s,” Krivulskaya said. “Initially, newspapers were hesitant to report on stories of ministers’ sexual transgressions because they wanted to protect the sanctity of Protestantism, which was the faith of the majority. But ministers kept getting caught up in scandals.  “By the end of the century, the press was on a crusade to expose all manner of hypocrisy among the nation’s leaders. Churches and religious institutions, in turn, strategized about addressing the crisis in their midst – to varying degrees of success. Scandals continued to propel newspaper sales and excite public sentiment, ultimately compelling Protestant institutions to attempt to handle matters internally to protect their reputations.  “By the late 20th century, a culture of secrecy and the rise of charismatic religious celebrities enabled tremendous abuses of power, as the scandals of multiple televangelists demonstrate. And, at the same time, scandal ceased to shock the public, thereby losing some of its generative potency.” Krivulskaya says her goal is for readers to come away from the book with a deep understanding of the major developments in journalism, religion and sexuality since the 19th century. She also wants readers to feel inspired to hold religious institutions accountable in the wake of scandals.  “Finally, I hope readers have fun,” she said. “The stories I tell in this book are fascinating, and the characters are colorful and compelling. I hope my narrative does them justice, and I hope my readers get to know these historical figures in all their messiness and complexity.” “Disgraced” is available for purchase on Amazon. It also can be bought at Oxford University Press for 30% off using the discount code AUFLY30. Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

For most of her life, Patrice Amon has bristled at the popular notion that Latino people vote as one monolithic bloc. So when she came across a script last year that delves into that very subject, she knew she had to make it her next stage production. The result is “The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote,” a play that will be performed at Cal State San Marcos on Wednesday night. Directed by Amon, the chair of CSUSM’s theater department, the show will take place at 7 p.m. in Room 111 of the Arts Building. Tickets are free. “There’s often an assumption that different parts of the Latino community will all act the same,” Amon said. “There is an abundance of diversity within the community. There’s a variety of languages that are spoken, a wide array of racial identities that we hold, a diversity of religions we practice. In that way, it is overly simplistic to imagine that all Latinos vote in a single bloc. There’s such diversity within the community that our voting practices are often just as diverse as we are.” “The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote” centers on Paola Aguilar, a university professor who’s an expert in Latinx studies and who’s in debt from years of fertility treatments. Facing financial strain, she accepts a lucrative offer from a political party seeking to decode and capture the titular vote ahead of an impending election. As Paola navigates the party’s often superficial understanding of her community, the play satirizes the oversimplification of Latino identities. The script was written by Bernardo Cubria, a Mexican playwright who lives in Los Angeles. Cubria based the story on his own experiences of volunteering for the Democratic Party and going through in vitro fertilization with his wife. Amon saw an early reading last January at The Old Globe’s Powers New Voices Festival and decided to produce it through TuYo Theatre, a San Diego company that specializes in Latinx narratives and for which she is co-artistic director. The play opened on Jan. 3 at a high school in Chula Vista, and after the show at CSUSM, it also will be staged at High Tech High and San Diego State. The 90-minute comedy features a cast of six, including Kevane Coleman, the administrative coordinator for the CSUSM art, media and design department who’s also a professional actor, singer and dancer. Coleman plays the role of Bernard, a political adviser who works with three other advisers to recruit Paola to help bolster the party's share of the Latino vote. Bernard and his partner have been on their own IVF journey, and he uses that as a way to befriend Paola after she has a miscarriage.  “When audiences, especially our students, come to see this play, I know many of them will see themselves reflected on stage,” Coleman said. “That representation is powerful and vital to the work we do as artists, but also the work that we do within each of our communities. As the president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association on campus, this production has also been an extraordinary learning experience for me. To be immersed in the Latin community by doing this show, it has broadened my understanding of critical issues facing this community.” Besides faculty in Amon and staff in Coleman, “The Hispanic Vote” also has CSUSM representation in the crew from Abby Chacon, a senior theater major who’s serving as assistant stage manager. About 40 tickets for the show are available. To reserve a seat, email info@tuyotheatre.org. “I think this play will resonate with our students and the larger campus community,” Amon said, “because we all want to live in a world where we spend more time thinking about the nuances of our world.” Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

An event showcasing the oral histories of military veterans highlights the spring lineup of the longstanding Arts & Lectures series at Cal State San Marcos.   This season boasts a diverse selection of eight events as the university hosts renowned guest speakers and performances.   Attendees can reserve tickets online via the Arts & Lectures website now.     All-Out Turf & Popping Hip-Hop Cypher and Battle Feb. 5, 1-10 p.m., USU Ballroom A day-long cypher and battle led by two notable hip-hop artists, Johnny Lopez (Johnny 5) and Quentin Robinson (SpecialFX). Born in Oakland, Johnny5 is a Latino professional turf dancer and the founder of TURFinc, a Bay Area company that instills positive changes in the community through dance. SpecialFX is a father of two, a Marine Corps veteran and the founder of Movements 4 Movements. At CSUSM, they will share hip-hop dance and culture during an event that includes guest lectures, dance workshops and a cypher featuring authentic hip-hop dancers, performances, competitions and classes. CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: $5 Community: $10   Songs of the Wayfarer Feb. 15, 7 p.m., Arts 111 “Songs of the Wayfarer” is based on select poems of Rabindranath Tagore, India’s Nobel laureate. Translations from Bengali to English were created by Jayanta Acharya, original music was composed by Mtafiti Imara and dances were choreographed by Anusree Bonnerjee and Cherie Hill. Each step in this collaborative process involved reflections on the central theme: one who goes on a spiritual journey. It’s both an ancient and modern theme found in many disciplines, including literature, religion and mythology. These songs ask questions of what defines us as individuals and as connected humans. CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: $5 Community: $10   From Fungi to the Planet: Complex Systems in Science and Art Feb. 17, noon, USU Ballroom Join a panel of scientific and artistic thinkers for a deep look at the roles of fungi on the planet and microscopic elements within complex systems. Scientists from the Treseder Lab at UC Irvine will examine fungi’s layered relationship to planetary life and discuss how fungi mediate and connect distant ecosystems. David Familian, also from UC Irvine, will introduce life webs and AI as complex systems, a topic that comes to focus in the art exhibition “Future Tense: Art, Complexity and Uncertainty.” Moving across perspectives in art and science, the panelists will reframe how we picture the planet. The lecture will be preceded by a workshop from 10:30-11:30 a.m. CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: Free Community: $5   ‘Bad Child’: Film Screening and Interdisciplinary Panel on Sexual Assault March 4, noon, Arts 111 “Bad Child” is a short documentary about the more intimate, less visible outcomes of enduring repeated childhood sexual abuse. The film focuses on one survivor's reflections while expert interviews place emphasis on the importance of parental and caregiver support. Director Nicole Mendez will discuss the film’s format and its contents, then host an interdisciplinary panel examining impacts of sexual assault, artistic expressions of trauma and resources available to survivors.  Panelists include CSUSM faculty and staff from Student Health & Counseling Services, the Department of Psychology, the School of Arts and more. CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: Free Community: $5   Veterans History Project: An Unveiling of the Journey March 19, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom This event showcasing the oral histories of military veterans offers an intimate look into the personal experiences, challenges and triumphs of veterans from diverse backgrounds. The stories shared will be archived at the Library of Congress and in CSUSM’s Kellogg Library, preserving their legacies for future generations. The keynote speaker is Amy Forsythe, a Marines Corps veteran, Navy reservist and CSUSM alumna. The formal program will be preceded by a veteran/military resource fair and reception at 5 p.m. CSUSM students: Free Military-affiliated community and resource fair guests: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: $5 Community: $10   Jason Magabo Perez April 7, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom Through poetry, performance and video, Jason Magabo Perez – the most recent poet laureate for the City of San Diego – will explore the poetics of memory as an act of anticolonial future-making. Perez is a poet, essayist, performer and author of the book of poetry and prose titled “This is for the mostless” (2017) and the forthcoming book-length poem "I ask about what falls away." An associate professor and director of ethnic studies at CSUSM, Perez will be joined by DJ, music producer, performer and longtime collaborator Shammy Dee.   CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: Free Community: $5   Xtreme Wellness: Keep It Moving April 14, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom In "Xtreme Wellness," featuring the Oside Steppers and guest instructors, you can experience modernized step aerobics set to hip-hop music, offering a fun, intense workout that burns calories, boosts cardiovascular health and relieves stress. The event includes showcases, instructional sessions and practice for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. In a bonus panel discussion, get to know your instructors and discover how they use movement to enhance their well-being. The panel will be moderated by Daja Marks, a CSUSM alumna, artist/activist and experimental documentarian CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: $5 Community: $7   Educational Equality Now: The Legacy of the Lemon Grove Incident in the Mexican Southwest and the Challenge to Desegregation in the United States April 23, 6 p.m., USU Ballroom The 1931 landmark case Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District was the first successful school desegregation court decision in U.S. history. This lecture by Dr. Robert R. Alvarez Jr., a professor emeritus of ethnic studies at UC San Diego and the son of the lead plaintiff in the case, will review the specific struggle by the Mexican families of Lemon Grove in the greater context of the Mexican challenge to U.S. school desegregation. The case established the rights of children of Mexican immigrants to equal education, despite local, regional and national sentiment that favored not only segregation, but the actual deportation of the Mexican population in the United States. Current educational equity issues for Mexican immigrant and Latino communities will be contextualized through regional data compiled by the National Latino Research Center at CSUSM. CSUSM students: Free Faculty/staff/alumni: $5 Community: $10 Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

As the end of the year approaches, many are already looking ahead to 2025. But before putting the finishing touches on your list of New Year’s resolutions, let’s take a look back at some of the most-talked-about stories of 2024.   CSUSM Receives Two Gifts Totaling $20 Million, Largest in 35-Year History In a historic moment, Cal State San Marcos received two philanthropic donations totaling $20 million – the largest gifts in its 35-year history. $10 million from Price Philanthropies Foundation will create a first-of-its-kind, three-year accelerated bachelor's degree and workforce pipeline for behavioral and mental health. The other $10 million came from Daniel J. Epstein – a director of the CSUSM Foundation Board – and his wife, Phyllis. Their contribution will serve as a unique dollar-for-dollar matching gift opportunity for all CSUSM donors to double their impact across campus.   Balancing Act: Master's Grad Perseveres Through Challenges A master’s of biological sciences student, Jocelyne Dates was selected last spring as the recipient of the 2024 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. Jocelyne is continuing her education by pursuing her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt.   'I Just Want to Make Him Proud and My Life to Count' Last spring, at 76 years old, Kathryn Cook walked across the graduation stage as the oldest graduate of Cal State San Marcos' class of 2024. Her path to this accomplishment was not one of a traditional four-year-and-done experience. In fact, it was 50 years in the making, with monumental life transitions and rocky hardships in between. The passing of Cook’s husband in 2019 led her to continue her education at CSUSM and graduate with a sociology degree.   From the Baseball Diamond to 'The Bachelorette' Austin Ott had never watched an episode of “The Bachelorette” when he received a DM on Instagram from the show encouraging him to apply. While nervous, his communication and media studies degree from Cal State San Marcos gave him a foundation to build on. Ott’s first speech in COMM 100 gave him an idea of what being in the public eye might look like. “My time at Cal State San Marcos was probably the best years of my life,” said Ott, who graduated in 2019. “There’s nothing better than playing the game you love and being around your best friends.”   American Indian Student Follows Passion for Animals, Environment Aiden Valverde, an American Indian Studies major from the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, has made significant contributions through his engagement with the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center. As an intern for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Valverde was able to connect more with his culture, and his passion for animals and the environment. “Aiden exemplifies everything we strive to achieve in American Indian Studies and at the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center,” said Joely Proudfit, the department chair of American Indian Studies.   Computers a Lifelong Passion for Trustees' Award Winner In 2009, Minh Tran’s family moved to Escondido from Vietnam, the only home that he, his parents and his two older siblings had ever known. Now, the fourth-year student who’s on track to graduate in May, was honored as CSUSM’s recipient of the 2024 CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, the California State University’s highest recognition of student accomplishment. Students are selected based on academic achievements, financial need, excellence in community service and personal hardship. Awardees have all demonstrated inspirational resolve along the path to college success, and many are the first in their families to attend college.   Graduate Crafting Career on Helping Children A child and adolescent development major at Cal State San Marcos, Tania Arceo spent the last year and a half working with Voices for Children, a nonprofit organization where volunteers are trained to become court-appointed special advocates. Volunteers like Arceo represent juvenile dependency cases in San Diego County. Since graduating last spring with her bachelor’s, Arceo has started her Master of Social Work program at CSUSM this fall.    Alumnus Seeks Better Mental Health Through Better Cuts John Edwards was only 12 years old when he taught himself how to cut his own hair. By the time Edwards enrolled at Cal State San Marcos as a transfer student returning to higher education in 2021, he was close to completing barber school. Now a licensed barber and a recent CSUSM graduate, he operates a small studio in San Diego, rotating about 25 clients through his single chair. Edwards studied psychology at CSUSM, and it was at the university that he dreamed up the idea of melding his longtime practice of barbering with his fledgling research on mental health treatment.    CSUSM Earns Prestigious Seal for Serving Latinx Students Cal State San Marcos has earned the prestigious Seal of Excelencia, a national certification for institutions that strive to go beyond enrollment and more intentionally serve Latinx students. CSUSM is one of only 17 colleges and universities to earn the Seal of Excelencia in 2024. In 2018, Excelencia introduced the seal to certify colleges and universities for their efforts to become learning environments where Latinx, and all, students thrive. This year marks the organization’s 20th year of service to accelerate Latinx student success in higher education.   Surfer Makes School History With National Title Tanner Vodraska, a Cal State San Marcos business student, became the first surfer in university history to win an individual national title. The junior competed in the college men’s division of the 2024 National Scholastic Surfing Association interscholastic national championships at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point. Vodraska dominated the field. He posted a two-wave score of 17.5 points in the final, far outdistancing his closest competitor. “I feel really proud of myself because I set a goal to win the national title before I graduate, and I accomplished it,” Vodraska said.   Incredible Mulk: Class Project Becomes Thriving Business Melissa Finestone remembers the assignment in her business marketing class that started it all. Each student was required to develop a business plan based on a product they conceived. Finestone decided to curate a product that combined her passion for cooking with a childhood love of chocolate milk. But Finestone wanted to develop a healthy alternative to other chocolate milks on the market. When Finestone couldn’t find a product on the market that met her requirements, she chose to make her own. Using her Vitamix blender to grind almonds in her kitchen at home, Finestone crafted samples of chocolate- and strawberry-flavored, plant-based almond milk. She served it to each student in the class while presenting her product. The overwhelming support from her peers inspired Finestone to launch The Mulk Co. in June 2018, only one year after she graduated from Cal State San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in global business management.  Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

When Cal State San Marcos holds its annual fall commencement on Sunday, many nontraditional students will cross the stage in their caps and gowns. A nontraditional student, in general parlance, is one who goes or returns to college later in life rather than right after high school. Jonathan Jennings, one of those hundreds of fall 2024 graduates, likes to call himself a “nontraditional nontraditional” student. Not only is he 37 years old and pursuing his second degree, but unlike nearly all of the 50-odd students in his Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program cohort, he does not have an educational background in science. Jennings, rather, graduated from UCLA 15 years ago with a degree in world arts and cultures, which is one of the only academic programs of its type in U.S. higher education. He describes it as a unorthodox fusion of dance and anthropology. “I took everything from ballet to postmodern to African war dances to tai chi – you name it,” Jennings said. “If a culture moves in a certain way, I studied why they move that way, how it affects the way they interact with other people in their culture and how you can respectfully create your own work as an artist without disrespecting the culture.” It's how Jennings applied his first bachelor’s and the path he took toward this second one, however, that elevates his story beyond a mere curiosity. After leaving UCLA, he fulfilled his lifelong ambition of becoming a professional dancer. One of his first jobs was as a performer on a Disney cruise ship for nine months, providing on-board entertainment through a medley of shows. Jennings parlayed that opportunity into one that was significantly longer and somehow even more exotic. He worked for much of the next eight years as a dancer at Tokyo Disneyland. Assigned to the wildly popular, Tokyo-specific stage show “One Man’s Dream II: The Magic Lives On,” which featured humans performing alongside Mickey Mouse and many other classic Disney characters, Jennings danced five times a day, five days a week for a total of more than 8,000 shows. “It made for a great icebreaker in the ABSN program,” he said. “Day one of orientation, tell us something interesting about yourself: ‘I used to perform with Mickey and his friends in a show called “One Man’s Dream II.” ’ It’s a unique experience. Not many people have gotten the opportunity to do that.” During his tenure at the theme park, Jennings earned a promotion to line captain, a role that’s responsible for leading rehearsals on days when the director and production team aren’t available, as well as mitigating conflicts between cast members. Away from the job, he enjoyed the minor celebrity status that accompanied being a Disney performer in Japan, while finding time to travel to countries throughout Asia. Asked if he still misses that chapter of his life, Jennings said: “Every day, though I think it’s mostly nostalgia now. I was young. I was making good money. The world was my oyster.” Dancing is often a young person’s profession, and when Jennings reached his early 30s, he realized that he would need to discover his second act. In December 2019, he took part in the final staging ever of “One Man’s Dream,” returned to his hometown of Spring Valley and retired as a dancer. As he began to contemplate what would come next, he thought about things that brought him joy. He thought about his love of babies, shaped by a formative experience helping to care for a newborn cousin who lived with his family when he was just 10 years old. He thought about his exposure to caretaking through poor health suffered by his stepfather and grandfather. He thought, in other words, that nursing – especially pediatric nursing – might be a good fit. So early in the pandemic, he spent a year at Cuyamaca College knocking out the science prerequisites required for him to attend nursing school. Once those were complete, he applied to CSUSM and began studying in its ABSN program in spring 2023. While he battled feelings of imposter syndrome in the classroom from his lack of science training, Jennings sought out any and all chances he could uncover to gain nursing-adjacent seasoning. One such opportunity came through CSUSM’s Mobile Wellness Initiative, which engages students from the seven disciplines of the College of Education, Health and Human Services (including nursing) in community-based health education and promotion events. Starting in February, Jennings volunteered for about seven events in the community, doing things like blood pressure screenings for adults and healthy eating activities for kids. “Recognizing my own ignorance, the fact that I don't have health care experience, I wanted to expose myself to as many scenarios where health care is provided and communities to which is provided as possible,” he said. “It put a very human face on health care for me, in a way that's not in a hospital room where everything's beeping.” Matt Mincey, a nursing lecturer who established the Mobile Wellness Initiative, has witnessed Jennings in action at several community health events and seen how the outsized personality and stage presence that Jennings brought to his dancing career translate to the field of nursing. “One of the things that nursing students struggle with is confidence, especially when it comes to speaking with others,” Mincey said. “Most students find a way to break through that barrier, but it comes at different times for everyone. Jonathan just had this ability from the get-go. He is humble, but he is also confident in what he knows and he is eager to share with anyone who will listen. “I am excited to see where he goes after graduation but already feel the loss in our operations that will be hard to replace.”  For his final semester this fall, Jennings worked an externship in the cardiothoracic ICU at Rady Children’s Hospital (one of the top such units in the country) and also did clinical rotations in telehealth at UC San Diego and as a school nurse. He has interviewed for a full-time job at Rady and hopes to have received a job offer by early next year. If he gets the position, he won’t be dressing up in costumes and dancing for patients. But he perceives almost daily the ways in which his previous life benefits him in his new life. “Other than actual textbook content, I don't think there's a corner of nursing that my old career doesn't apply to, which was surprising to me,” he said. “It's being versed in a lot of soft skills that I didn't recognize were skills until I had to apply them in a field where that's not the dominant thing that we're using to create value. If something's going wrong and the doctor has to run out and get a new piece of equipment, I can stand in that room and hold the audience and distract them from pain or whatever they're feeling, as opposed to freezing and standing there awkwardly or leaving the room. I didn't see that as a marketable skill in nursing, but now I do.” Media Contact Brian Hiro, Communications Specialist bhiro@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7306

“Once in ACE, always in ACE.” Those were the words said by Leigh Quijada, director of ACE Scholars Services, that helped welcome Deborah Hawkins back to Cal State San Marcos.  A sociology major, Hawkins began her college journey at Mt. San Jacinto College before transferring to CSUSM where she was part of ACE, which supports former foster youth. However, Hawkins withdrew from CSUSM in 2017 feeling like she wasn’t ready and it was too much to handle.  But in 2022, she was inspired to return by her 3-year-old son, Zion.  “When I had my son, I was like, ‘No, I have to go back to where I started,’ ” Hawkins said. “I have to go back to my goals and I need my son to see that I can graduate. I need to have a career that I know I want, so I decided to buckle down and bear through the hardships.” Hawkins was born into foster care and remained in the system until she was 18. Much about her past remained unknown to her. For example, she recently found her biological mom and nine siblings.  Being in foster care put Hawkins through plenty of ups and downs.  “I actually got a placement when I was 7 that was pretty stable so I was in that home for a long time,” Hawkins said. “However, there were a lot of things that went on inside that home that no one knew about, not even the social workers that came in. It was hidden. Social workers have a lot on their plate, and so growing up, I just knew that I wanted somebody to pay attention.” Hawkins plans to be the person who pays attention toward people with stories like hers. She understood from a young age that school was the way out of the system, and the way to open a better future for herself and others. “I didn't know what the next steps looked like for me when I turned 18,” said Hawkins, “but I knew I wanted somewhere stable to live. My goal was to finish high school and then go live at college. It didn't work out that way, but I think that one of my main motives to go to college was stable housing, because that was the only thing I knew would make me stable.” Hawkins had almost no choice to attend school, and no choice to do so on her own timeline.  “On graduation day in high school, I went home and my bags were packed outside of the house,” Hawkins said. “So it was ‘go time.’ I had no choice but to sink or swim. I was just trying to go to school and be stable. I didn't know I would graduate.” When Hawkins, a first-generation student, reapplied to CSUSM after her son was born, Quijada was the first person to reach out to her, leaving Hawkins in shock. “Leigh has been following me since day one, just walking with me. So I'm so grateful for that.” Hawkins said. “I didn't even know I still qualified. I'm older, so I didn't know I still qualified for the services. They were like, ‘No, once in ACE, always in ACE.’ ”  This support from Quijada and Laurie Orr, an ACE counselor, helped give Hawkins the extra support and push to graduate this fall.  Hawkins works as a social worker assistant in Riverside County, and her graduation this fall will open the opportunity for her to become a full-time social worker. Eventually, Hawkins’ goal is to open her own nonprofit helping foster youth.  Specifically, she wants to help those who are about to age out of the system.   “I remember that when I turned 16 in foster care it's when your wheels start spinning and you realize you’re going to be 18 in two years,” Hawkins said. “You don’t know where you’re gonna go. You don't have solid advice or people to help you.  “So I would want to start with helping kids who are about to be former foster youth, and then help transitioning and former foster youth as well.” Although Hawkins has gone through challenges, she is determined to make her son proud.  “He was the main motivator, because it seemed daunting, especially having to withdraw and the weight of it all just felt bad,” Hawkins said. “But I knew I had to go back, so I reapplied.” Zion will be attending commencement on Dec. 15 and will grow up to recognize how big of an accomplishment graduation is for his mom.  “I'm still in shock,” she said. “I'm graduating. It sounds crazy to me, I still haven't processed it all yet, but I know it's gonna mean a lot. “I am so grateful for my village that has become family that have helped me along the way. I couldn't have done this with out their support as well as the support of ACE.”  Media Contact Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314