- Commitment to ServiceCatalina Melendez isn’t fazed by a daunting schedule. “It’s challenging, but it’s not unbearable,” said Catalina, who will graduate from Cal State San Marcos in May with a bachelor’s in speech-language pathology. Being a full-time student is just one aspect of Catalina’s busy life. She is raising three children – 16- and 11-year-old daughters and a 9-year-old son. She is in the Navy Reserves, eligible to be called to active duty any time now that the three-year exemption since her last active tour in Afghanistan ended in 2014. Then there is the long list of school-related activities, including the Student Veterans Organization and the National Student Speech Language & Hearing Association (NSSLHA). And, for good measure, she’s a PTA member and volunteers every other Wednesday at Tri-City Medical Center. Catalina served in the Marines for nearly nine years before stepping away to focus on her family. Missing the military, Catalina eventually joined the Navy Reserves. It was while serving in Afghanistan that she learned about speech therapy from a co-worker and began giving serious thought to earning her bachelor’s. Catalina enrolled at MiraCosta College upon her return from deployment and is part of the first cohort in CSUSM’s speech-language pathology bachelor’s program. “Throughout her undergraduate studies in speech-language pathology at CSUSM, Cat has contributed to the overall excellence of both the department and its students,” said Rachel Nortz, a lecturer in CSUSM’s speech-language pathology department and the chapter adviser for NSSLHA. “Cat holds the position of undergraduate student liaison for the NSSLHA chapter at CSUSM and through this position she has encouraged new membership involvement from the student body. Being a veteran herself, she has already given back to her country and she now wants to continue that journey by becoming a speech-language pathologist.” Catalina plans to continue her education after receiving her bachelor’s, setting her sights on obtaining a doctorate in audiology, which focuses on hearing, balance and related disorders. “My command is really good about working with me, especially knowing that I’m a full-time student,” she said. “One of my senior chiefs really looks out for his people. That’s what I like about the military. You have those people who really stand out and take care of you. That’s how I want to be. That’s what’s kept me in the military – good people.”
- How Diversity Has Led CSUSM from the BeginningDiversity isn’t a fad. It’s in our DNA at Cal State San Marcos. More than demographics, diversity at CSUSM represents three core values: inclusion, social justice and equity.
- Commitment to ServiceCatalina Melendez isn’t fazed by a daunting schedule. “It’s challenging, but it’s not unbearable,” said Catalina, who will graduate from Cal State San Marcos in May with a bachelor’s in speech-language pathology. Being a full-time student is just one aspect of Catalina’s busy life. She is raising three children – 16- and 11-year-old daughters and a 9-year-old son. She is in the Navy Reserves, eligible to be called to active duty any time now that the three-year exemption since her last active tour in Afghanistan ended in 2014. Then there is the long list of school-related activities, including the Student Veterans Organization and the National Student Speech Language & Hearing Association (NSSLHA). And, for good measure, she’s a PTA member and volunteers every other Wednesday at Tri-City Medical Center. Catalina served in the Marines for nearly nine years before stepping away to focus on her family. Missing the military, Catalina eventually joined the Navy Reserves. It was while serving in Afghanistan that she learned about speech therapy from a co-worker and began giving serious thought to earning her bachelor’s. Catalina enrolled at MiraCosta College upon her return from deployment and is part of the first cohort in CSUSM’s speech-language pathology bachelor’s program. “Throughout her undergraduate studies in speech-language pathology at CSUSM, Cat has contributed to the overall excellence of both the department and its students,” said Rachel Nortz, a lecturer in CSUSM’s speech-language pathology department and the chapter adviser for NSSLHA. “Cat holds the position of undergraduate student liaison for the NSSLHA chapter at CSUSM and through this position she has encouraged new membership involvement from the student body. Being a veteran herself, she has already given back to her country and she now wants to continue that journey by becoming a speech-language pathologist.” Catalina plans to continue her education after receiving her bachelor’s, setting her sights on obtaining a doctorate in audiology, which focuses on hearing, balance and related disorders. “My command is really good about working with me, especially knowing that I’m a full-time student,” she said. “One of my senior chiefs really looks out for his people. That’s what I like about the military. You have those people who really stand out and take care of you. That’s how I want to be. That’s what’s kept me in the military – good people.”
- How Diversity Has Led CSUSM from the BeginningDiversity isn’t a fad. It’s in our DNA at Cal State San Marcos. More than demographics, diversity at CSUSM represents three core values: inclusion, social justice and equity.
- Rising Above: Biology Student Aims to Help OthersFrancisco Fernandez knows the importance of higher education. As he enters the final stretch of a seven-year journey toward his bachelor’s degree, Francisco is determined to help others from his hometown of Zapopan, Mexico, follow a similar path to college. Even if it means helping to pay for it himself. Francisco, a senior molecular and cellular biology student at Cal State San Marcos, regularly sends money to his mother in Lomas de Tabachines, a community in the northeast part of Zapopan, which is about 1,400 miles south of Tijuana. She then distributes it to children in the community who are doing well in school. It is typically just $5 here or $10 there, but the nominal amounts of money aren’t nearly as important as the gesture. Francisco will do whatever he can to inspire people from his hometown to pursue an education. “If I get one kid to go to college over there, I’m happy,” Francisco said. Francisco isn’t just helping financially, he’s setting an example through his actions. In September, his efforts were recognized at the California State University Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach where he was presented with the CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement. The award is given annually to one student from each of the CSU’s 23 campuses who demonstrates superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service and financial need. “Francisco is always eager to learn and has an outstanding work ethic,” said Dr. Matthew Escobar, a CSUSM professor of biological sciences and Francisco’s mentor in the Maximizing Access to Research Careers-Undergraduate Student Training Research (MARC U*STAR) program. It’s been a remarkable journey for someone who arrived in the United States a day after his 18th birthday knowing just one word of English – “Hello.” As a teenager, Francisco said he was constantly told he wasn’t smart enough or wealthy enough to attend college. Rather than discourage him, it fueled a desire to pursue an education and help his family. To do that, he knew he had to leave Zapopan. “My high school years in Mexico are just a blur,” he said. “I didn’t know how to be a student. I wasn’t mature enough to be a student and I didn’t do well.” Francisco was born in the U.S., but his parents moved back to Mexico when he was an infant. He returned some 18 years later, in September 2011, and moved into the garage of an uncle who lives in Escondido. Almost immediately, Francisco began taking night classes to learn English. He got a job at a car wash – the same business where his parents worked two decades earlier – and eventually settled into a schedule that had him working 16 hours a day three days a week so he could attend community college Monday through Thursday. Trying to learn English, not to mention the intricacies of higher education, while taking courses at Palomar proved challenging. Francisco didn’t know what a credit class was, didn’t know about choosing a major and didn’t know the first thing about writing an essay. “I literally didn’t know anything,” he said. “Luckily for me, there’s a lot of people who speak Spanish at Palomar and I got a lot of help.” Though Francisco was able to get some direction from advisers, he still cringes when thinking about his early struggles in class. As his English slowly improved, Francisco took his first science course at Palomar. It proved to be a life-changing experience. It was in Jim Gilardi’s biology class that Francisco learned about the North San Diego County Bridges to the Future Program, a partnership between CSUSM, Palomar and MiraCosta to help prepare underrepresented students for a seamless transition to a four-year university and a career in biomedical sciences. The program includes a stipend for students, which allowed Francisco to ease up on the number of hours he was working each week and spend more time focusing on his classes and research. Another door opened after he transferred to CSUSM when he learned about the Office for Training, Research & Education in the Sciences (OTRES) and was accepted into MARC U*STAR, which prepares qualified underrepresented undergraduate students majoring in the sciences to enter and succeed in doctoral studies. Only five new scholars are admitted to the program each year. The accompanying program stipend allowed Francisco to quit his outside jobs and focus completely on school. With more time to devote to his studies, his grades skyrocketed. “OTRES is like your family,” he said. “They care about you. They help you with your personal problems, they help you with your research problems, they help you look for opportunities. I call them my school family, but they’re my family.” Francisco was chosen for a summer research program at Marshall University in 2016 and completed a stem cell summer program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in 2017. The experience in Dallas led him to put UT Southwestern among his top choices for pursuing his Ph.D. “It’s been a long trip from literally knowing nothing to applying to Ph.D. programs,” Francisco said. “If you would have told me two years ago that I’d be applying to Ph.D. programs, I would have said you’re joking.” Francisco doesn’t get back to Zapopan often. It’s a long, expensive trek, so he only visits every two years or so. But he communicates daily with his family via Facebook. His parents tell him about the people in his community who are keeping tabs from afar, invested in Francisco’s success as if he were their own son. It’s similar to the reaction he receives when he visits the car wash where he used to work. “Now when I go to the car wash people ask if I’m doing my best and say, ‘Show them you can do it,’ ” Francisco said. “I have a lot of people who believe in me, here in the U.S. at the car wash and in Mexico in my community. “I’m pretty lucky. I come from humble beginnings, but when I was hungry, I always had food. Even though I struggled a lot, I consider my life as being easy. My parents are alive, I have all my limbs, I can see. I’m lucky. I want to help people who haven’t been as lucky.”
- Business Student Can’t Be Held DownJeff Mata never planned to attend college. He never thought about competing in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He certainly didn’t expect to speak to audiences about the challenges he has overcome. Mata never could have predicted just how much the life he was living in his early 20s would change now that he’s 35. “If I still had my eyesight and was still doing the whole drinking thing, I could have totally gone off track, maybe gone to jail or even died,” said Mata, who will graduate from Cal State San Marcos with a bachelor’s in business administration next fall. “Now I have a new life. I’m living a new, healthy lifestyle and really looking forward to the future. I’m seeing the world in a different way, which I think is a better way. At a certain point in my life, I couldn’t see the big picture that I see now. I was going in a different direction, for sure.” Mata transitioned from a standout wrestler at nearby Poway High School to a fledgling boxer after graduation. When he wasn’t training, he was making a good living in sales. But Mata’s excessive training took a physical toll. He suffered a retinal detachment in his left eye as well as uveitis, an inflammation of the eyeball. Mata’s vision loss was gradual and he completely lost his sight in 2008. “It was devastating,” he said. “I went into a depression and everything was negative – anything and everything was negative. If there was something positive, I’d find something negative about it.” Mata said he tried filling the emptiness he felt through drinking and drugs, and the downward cycle continued for four years. “When I lost my eyesight, my independence was stripped away from me,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything for myself. I couldn’t even choose an outfit for the day by myself. That really takes a lot of your dignity away. It’s a humbling experience.” The turning point came through his Christian faith. Mata attended two rehabilitation programs where he learned how to live and function without his eyesight. At one of the rehab programs, Mata decided to sit in on a Bible study. He started attending church with his parents. He also witnessed the premature death of multiple friends who had lost their eyesight and endured struggles similar to his own. He didn’t want to follow the same path and knew it was time for change. Getting clean opened up opportunities. Once a finely tuned athlete, Mata gained weight during his depression. While learning living skills in the rehab center, people told him his athletic background would make him an excellent candidate for judo. It took a couple of years for him to act on the suggestion, but he eventually found a dojo in San Marcos that trains people with visual impairments. In addition to judo, Mata started competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu against sighted athletes. He has thrived in both disciplines, qualifying for the U.S. visually impaired judo team and competing – and winning – against sighted opponents in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He earned his third gold medal in October at the Sport Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships. Mata’s athletic prowess has earned him a sponsorship with Shoyoroll, a highly regarded manufacturer of the gi garments worn in martial arts. He also has received financial support for training from the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Mata frequently shares his story with others. He’s a speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and also speaks at recovery centers and schools. At CSUSM, he serves as a peer leader in the Tukwut Leadership Circle, which helps students build their leadership skills. “I want to continue sharing the message that there is still hope and purpose in your life regardless of what disability or ailment you may have,” he said. Before losing his sight, Mata never gave a thought to pursuing higher education. Now, he’s a year away from becoming the first in his family to earn a degree. Mata communicates frequently with his professors to ensure that they describe anything that he may not be able to see such as a PowerPoint presentation. Mata said CSUSM’s Office of Disability Support Services has been invaluable in his success, helping him get documents in an accessible format as quickly as possible. Mata plans to continue his education after receiving his bachelor’s with a Ph.D. being his ultimate goal. He also will continue to stay busy with judo and jiu-jitsu and wants to expand his work as a motivational speaker. He is even looking into writing a book about his journey. “I just want to continue inspiring and motivating people who may be going through a struggle in their life, who may have lost hope and bring some light into their life,” Mata said. “It only takes a little bit of light to shine through a whole lot of darkness.”
- Alumna Finds Renewed Purpose as CFOFemale finance chiefs are rising. While the representation of women in senior financial roles is still less than 15 percent among Fortune 500 companies, there is progress. Last year, the number of female CFOs doubled. One of those executives joining that C-suite rank is CSUSM alumna Denise Gurulé (’10). In May 2017, Gurulé was named CFO of Feeding San Diego, the leading hunger-relief organization in San Diego County that provides 25.2 million meals annually to local residents. Gurulé never imagined herself in the nonprofit arena, having spent nearly 15 years working for Merlin Entertainment’s LEGOLAND California. She worked her way up from junior accountant to assistant controller while earning her BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting at Cal State San Marcos. From her executive office above Feeding San Diego’s warehouse in Sorrento Valley, Gurulé laughs at the irony, recalling a business course in government and nonprofit accounting and how she scoffed at the thought of ever leaving the for-profit industry. “I remember thinking, ‘Who would do this?’” she said. On her nearly two-decade-long academic journey – one that included an extended hiatus as she took guardianship of her 2-year-old second cousin (who she now calls her daughter) – the single mom found that her love for numbers had a greater purpose to serve people. U-Turns and Speed Bumps Gurulé was 41 when she crossed the commencement stage to shake President Karen Haynes’ hand. The road to her bachelors was long and it included speed bumps and some unexpected detours. The ’86 San Marcos High School graduate first wanted to be a fashion buyer and even studied at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Though it was a passion, pursuing fashion as a career never quite felt right. So Gurulé turned to a familiar subject that always clicked for her: mathematics. Thinking she might like to own a business one day, accounting seemed like a natural fit. She enrolled in accounting courses at Palomar College, taking one course at a time and in 1999, she began working in the accounting department at LEGOLAND California. She transferred to CSUSM in 2000. That first year, Gurulé became a single mother as she took guardianship of Amanda. Adjusting to the new role of mom while balancing work and school was debilitating. Gurulé took a step back from her studies and put her degree on hold. Seven years passed, and then one night during a family dinner, her dad spoke up. “I remember him telling me, ‘Mija, I want you to finish your degree. Move back home, we’ll help with Amanda, and we’ll make this work.’” Moving home in her mid-thirties didn’t feel like progress, but Gurulé knew she would need the support of her family. She also knew that this time around, she needed a mentor. Gurulé was matched with then-business professor Dr. Jim Hamerly as part of the University’s Faculty Mentoring Program. Focused on her studies, working part time and armed with a mentor, Gurulé thrived. She was promoted to assistant controller a few months before she earned her bachelors. When Gurulé was ready for the next challenge, she once again turned to her mentor, Dr. Hamerly, who suggested she consider TGG Accounting to give her more opportunity to grow in her career. A competitive recruiter for CSUSM alumni, TGG is a managerial accounting firm that works with small businesses to help owners make better informed financial decisions for their companies. Crunching the Numbers for Good At TGG Gurulé discovered that her knack for accounting enabled nonprofits to serve more people, operate at greater capacity and flourish financially. Gurulé quickly became the go-to nonprofit accountant for her firm. It was there that Feeding San Diego came on her radar. She began as a consultant, filling gaps in accounting leadership. In November 2014, Gurulé officially moved over to Feeding San Diego as the director of finance. Last May, CEO Vince Hall named Gurulé the Chief Financial Officer. It’s a Matter of Green Feeding San Diego is part of the 200-member network of Feeding America and a member of the California Association of Food Banks – connections that allow the organization to leverage resources at minimal costs. For example, when local farmer harvests are larger than demand or when produce is deemed aesthetically unsellable because it’s misshapen, farmers donate their product and organizations like Feeding San Diego pay a small pack-and-pick fee to cover farm operation costs. The partnership means healthy food options are made available to families in need at the lowest cost to the organization. It’s a partnership made possible by financial strategy and agreements. That creative thinking fuels Gurulé and has her focused on the next big challenge. San Diego needs 80 million meals to meet the food insecurity needs of the community. Only about half of that need is being met by area food pantries and nonprofits. “Accountants are always working in the past,” Gurulé said. “My goal as a CFO is to work with our executive leadership team and look into the future to talk about how we’re going to meet the need. Being a CFO gives me the freedom to dream, and then crunch the numbers and find fiscally responsible solutions to get us there.” “What we do is so important. Leaving a legacy is what matters. I want to know that I left my world better than it was when I got here, and to accomplish that you need to start with what’s right in front of you.”
- Crate Expectations: New one-stop Shop for WorkoutsThe weight was worth it. "And it looks good with the blue turf,'' CSUSM basketball player Ethan Alvano said. Cal State San Marcos’ newest fitness facility -- powered by Aire-brand equipment, weights and training ropes -- has blossomed behind the M. Gordon Clarke Field House. A converted shipping crate is serving CSUSM students and athletes with a one-stop, outdoor tarp-covered strength and conditioning area that comes with a cushioned surface and a killer view looking west. It has quickly become a place to see and be seen. "You know how there is a Muscle Beach up in Venice?'' Erik Blekeberg said. "This is our beach.'' Well, if it's a beach then Blekeberg is its lifeguard. Blekeberg, who is in his second year as the CSUSM Sports Performance coach, recalls what was used before the center’s arrival. "It was this small, little Home Depot storage shed that you would have for a couple lawn mowers in the backyard,'' Blekeberg said. CSUSM student-athletes wanting to be a cut above also toiled under an unrelenting sun. But a canopy now shelters them from the elements. "It's exciting because you have this space which has everything,'' Alvano said. Blekeberg said the ability to organize workouts and have them in a confined, but comfortable, setting is essential when overseeing 13 Cougars squads. "It makes for a better way to organize the teams and manage them more efficiently,'' Blekeberg said. “There is little transition time from the start of the workout to going to work on turf, or on speed, or on jumping. Everything is just more efficient and you get more work and you get better.'' Blekeberg, who also teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II at CSUSM, tailors workouts to the skill set of the athletes on the particular teams. It's his way of improving their play as he serves as a coach, albeit one who is concentrating on bodies and fitness and not techniques. "I can't teach somebody how to pitch or how to shoot a jump shot,'' Blekeberg said. “But if a coach comes to me and says, 'We're slow,' I can make them faster. If a coach says, 'My team doesn't jump well,' we can make them more powerful. "Then I get a kick out of seeing their improvement. It validates my work.'' Blekeberg didn't play sports while a student at nearby San Dieguito Academy. He liked video games and was "a nerd that wasn't necessarily the most gifted athlete.'' But he enjoyed the weight room, where he would work on building up different parts of his body. Now he does it for the Cougars' teams. "Let's say you want to get better at basketball,'' he said. “Well, if you can improve your jumping, then you can improve your basketball. That's how I look at it.'' Said Alvano: "It's awesome. And it's just another thing going on with San Marcos athletics. It's an exciting time right now.''
- Committed to Inspiring a Diverse Student BodyBorn and raised in the highlands of Kenya, Dr. David Bwambok was mesmerized by the healing powers in traditional medicinal plants often employed to treat villagers in place of modern pharmaceuticals. He set out to find out why, earning a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in analytical chemistry and furthering his research as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard along the way. After more than three years as a senior scientist at Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Wilmington, Mass., Bwambok in September took what he learned and became an assistant professor in chemistry and biochemistry at Cal State San Marcos – drawn in large part by its commitment to diversity. “I wanted to broaden the impact I was having, and for me, teaching is the best way to do that,” said Bwambok, whose research emphasizes the interface of chemistry and biology and who is interested in designing task-specific ionic liquid materials for forensic analysis and medical diagnostics. “It’s very fulfilling to see someone who may have a limited background in chemistry discover, ‘Yes, I can do this, I, too, can make a difference.’ ” Why CSUSM? “There is something about this place,” said Bwambok, whose daughter is a CSUSM criminology and justice studies major and who notes the campus setting reminds him of his childhood home in the Kenyan highlands. “There is a collaborative environment, a very inclusive environment with a commitment to diversity. I am the first in my family to go to college, and when I came here, I found so many students who also are the first in their family to go to college and who come from a similar background. It feels like family.”
- Knocking the ‘Fluff’ Out of ArtMerryl Goldberg is on a mission to change public perception of the arts. “I’ve never met a kid who wasn’t capable,” said Goldberg, a music professor in CSUSM’s School of Arts. “I have met a lot of kids who haven’t had opportunities. I was one of those kids for whom the arts opened a world of possibility.” For Goldberg – an avid boxer with a wicked left hook and longtime professional saxophonist turned renowned leader in arts education – one of the greatest challenges to fully integrating the arts in K-12 education is debunking the notion that arts are fluff or “nice to have” despite what research proves. “There is now a significant body of research that shows that kids who participate in the arts perform better in school, attain better jobs and become empathetic citizens” said Goldberg, who has been studying how art influences learning for more than two decades. “But what I have found is that the research isn’t enough.” To break through that stigma of fluff, Goldberg is zeroing in on public awareness as part of her newest endeavor, ARTS=OPPORTUNITY, a research-based initiative backed by a $200,000 grant from the Stuart Foundation and $25,000 grant from the Panta Rhea Foundation. ARTS=OPPORTUNITY focuses on improving K-12 arts literacy and advocates that every child, every day needs to have real opportunities to learn in, and through, the arts. Led by a team of artists, educators and business leaders, the multifaceted program, which launched late last year, provides leadership training, summits, workshops and anchor events for educators, parents, youth and teens, and arts providers. Goldberg has her sights set on the big picture. Beyond improving K-12 test scores and attendance rates, which increase significantly when art is integrated in the K-12 curriculum, research shows that participation in the arts can be a precursor to career success and civic involvement. Not only does art encourage risk taking, flexibility and thinking outside of the box, but a student who participates in art is more likely to pursue and succeed in college. Art-literate students are sought after as employees and set higher career goals. “Art is essential and it unlocks opportunity,” Goldberg said. “I revel in helping to change the landscape of education so that all kids, especially kids who have not had opportunities, have a chance to have arts fused into their daily lives.” Learn more at csusm.edu/artopp
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